The Fred Cormier Memorial Garden

My dad - or "Pop" as everyone in our family called him - was a man of many outdoor talents. He could hunt and fish like no one else could.  He was often featured on the local outdoor shows, and a constant contender at the annual ALBC Top 6 Bass Tournament (fyi, the Super Bowl of Louisiana bass fishing). 

And when it came to gardening, he was a master at that also!  Of course, his job was with the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, working with farmers, and with the folks at the LSU Extension Service.  So he was always up to the latest research on vegetable varieties.  He knew tomatoes and bell peppers better than they knew themselves, lol.  And every other crop as well.

Even after he retired, he kept his finger on the pulse of Louisiana agriculture - including garden crops. Living on 2 acres afforded more than enough room to plant a wide variety.  Even better, our home was on the bayou... the garden benefitted from the alluvial soils deposited over hundreds of years, back to when the Bayou Teche was the main artery for the Atchafalaya River.

That deep, rich soil combined with a colossal garden produced more veggies than you'll find at a supermarket!  During one season, it produced: tomatoes, bell peppers, hot peppers, eggplant, zucchini, squash, cucumber, lima beans, snap beans, cowpeas, corn,  cabbage, lettuce, Chinese cabbage, snap peas, carrots, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, winter squash.  I'm sure there's a few other veggies I missed... those are just the ones off the top of my head.

After Pop passed away, the family made an effort to continue the garden, albeit on a much smaller scale.  However, it seems to be growing in size a bit.  My nephews Steven and Ira, and Ira's wife Chrissy, have been instrumental in keeping it going.  The results have been pretty amazing.  The photos show 2 plots as of the first weekend in May.  The zuchini and squash are coming in, the eggplant is ready, so are the snap beans. I'm not sure if it's the slightly warmer climate one hour south of Alexandria, or that rich soil, but just about everything is ahead of mine except the cucumbers.  I'm guessing it's the latter.

Anywho, I'm so glad to see Pop's Memorial Garden is bringing fresh, organic produce to the family table once again.  He's probably bragging to his friends in Heaven about his industrious grandchildren.

2015 Spring Garden

Two weeks ago I put in my Spring garden. By "Spring", I mean those plants which will produce in late spring, summer, and as last year proved, into fall.  I'm talking cucumbers, bell peppers and tomatos.  As part of my rotational regiment, these went into the "east plot" (last year, they were planted in the "west plot").  Each of the two plots are 16x6 in size, bordered by 2x6 boards.  The soil in each was dug out to 3 feet, then amended with a combination of compost (from my compost pile), manure and Miracle-Gro garden soil.

Yes, I'm a disciple of the late Mel Bartholomew - Dean of Square Foot Gardening. It works!

Plant progress has been slow.  Even though the weather has been warm, perhaps the ground is still a bit cool.  I'm not discouraged... last year this time it was only slightly more advanced. Then in April it really took off (but that was after I added the "secret ingredient"... I'll explain in a future post).  At least 3 plants had to be replaced due to wind damage.  We had a storm that came last week that produced 45 knot gusts!

The West Plot isn't empty.  Half of it is currently in progress.... I'm experimenting with cantalope and watermelon grown on a vertical frame. Yes, another SQFG concept.  I did this once before and it worked out pretty well.  The key is to grow small melons like Sugar Baby.  I think the standard melons would break off under their own weight (although I couldn't find a forum post to confirm that).  Later the other half of the West Plot will be put to snap beans.

2014 Flicks - The Final Verdict

Just as I predicted - Hollywood saved it's best for last.  It always does.  The final 2 months of the year produced three of my favorites - "American Sniper", "The Theory of Everything" and "The Imitation Game".  I loved each one of these movies!  Unfortunately the local theatre showed "Birdman" only for two weeks and I missed out on that one, but from the trailers it looked appealing.  So did "Grand Budapest Hotel"... hey, I'm a Wes Anderson fan!  Add to that, "Heaven is for Real" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" and that's my best list.

Another movie I wanted to see but didn't was "A Walk Among the Tombstones".  Liam Neeson movies are a coin flip - some good, some bad.  But from trailers this looked like positive.

I did see part of "Boyhood" and I'm thinking it got raves for it's very different approach.  But it put me to sleep.  Another movie I saw - "God is Not Dead" - was filmed in Louisiana.  Like the vast majority of movies made in part with our tax dollars, it was not good.  At least it didn't suck like "Benjamin Button",  "Dukes of Hazzard" or "Shark Night 3D".  The state legislature needs to make changes to the film credit program. Have the script reviewed by a panel before any scenes are shot.  If I was on such panel, there might've been three movies EVER made with the tax credits.

But I digress... the end of the year restored my faith in Hollywood.  What little there is! 

Garden update - 10/15/2014

Well the summer plot is still going strong.  I expected such from the sweet peppers... if they survive the summer heat, the plants have more production in the fall. Well, all the plants survived and we're picking bells daily.  The surprise has been the cucumbers. Hard to believe... a couple of the plants are still producing, albeit no longer on a daily basis.

The fall plot is going great.  All the broccoli and cauliflower plants continue to grow briskly and there's beaucoup snap pea vines climbing up on the six metal wire frames. No fruit showing yet, but it's still early. 

Tennessee Smallmouth

Our vacation this year was a trip to North Carolina, in part to visit our older son and his wife (who live in Raleigh) and to meet her parents who had flown in from El Salvador.  The other part was to take in the scenery of the Applachian mountains, as well as do some hiking and fly fishing.

During our return, we planned a one-day fly fishing trip with Josh Pfeiffer. Josh and his wife Ashley run Frontier Anglers, a fly fishing guide and outfitter service out of Maryville, TN. Josh grew up in the Smoky Mountains, fishing and hunting. These days he guides for trout and smallmouth bass on the Holston River, smallmouth on the French Broad River, and during the winter months, for trout in the park.

Lisa and I had smallmouth on the brain. Based on generation schedules, the Holston looked like the best bet. Josh took us to his launch spot with his compadre, Ronnie, who runs shuttles. Ronnie is quite the character, a true river man. Fly fishing from a raft was a new experience for me, but as the day progressed, I came to enjoy it.

 It was a slow start as the smallies repeatedly struck at, but short of ate, Lisa's swimming minnow. However, every now and then one found the hook and made Lisa a happy, happy woman!

Meanwhile, my popper went largely ignored. I told Josh that maybe a Fluff Butt would work, and he laughed, then inquired, "What's that?". Didn't take long for the Butt to do it's job.  On the first cast, I felt the fly line go tight, and set the hook hard. Some denizen below gave a hard-charging performance and a serious bend to my 6-weight Redington Predator rod.  A couple feet below the surface I recognized it as a 'killer gobbule'.

After landing it, I had to explain to Josh what a gobbule was (bream) and then what a killer gobbule was (river bream).

For the next 20 minutes, most of what came to the boat via the Fluff Butt were killer gobbules. Josh suggested trying a cicada pattern to avoid the sunfish.  He was wrong... there's no avoiding those gobbules!  These sunfish definitely fit their byname... they were big and thick and the fight was as hard as any sunfish I've ever caught.

Mixed in those gobbules was a smallie here and there. Nothing larger than 12 inches. At least Lisa was still catching a few.

By late morning, Josh was starting to lament that the bite was slow, and there was no doubt in our minds he was right. We could see these fish examining our flies, even taking nips, and then swimming away.  In some cases, we'd sightcast to a smallie only to have our offering completely ignored.

But that all changed when he tied on a Stealth Goober to my leader.

From that time, to when we took out just before sunset, the SG didn't get 5 minutes of rest!  Most were 12 inches or under but occasionally a bigger one would eat. And when it did, you knew it.  As my friend Jeff Guerin likes to say of bigger smallies, "it's like fighting a wet cat"!  I even established a personal best, with a 17-incher. 

Lisa and I truly enjoyed our float trip, and our guide. A good guide isn't just someone who puts you on fish, or helps you catch them. They are well prepared, well mannered, good conservationlists, know a lot about the area, and in Les Miles terminology, have a want for you to catch fish. If you're looking to fish smallmouth (or trout) in east Tennessee, check out Frontier Anglers, website www.frontieranglerstn.com.

Wildwood: home-grown wood-fired pizza!

Being a fast-food junkie doesn't mean I accept mediocrity.  A list of my favorite FF joints includes  good stuff like Paneras and Schlotzkys (soups and sandwiches), Five Guys (burgers), Canes and Chick-Fil-A (chicken), and Eddies barbecue.

Of course, can't forget the pizza! Here in the Alexandria area, BJ's off Jackson Extension and Johnny's in Pineville offer pretty good pizza compared to the national brands.

But my new favorite spot - Wildwood Pizza - offers something totally unique. It's located in the center at the corner of Texas Street and Jackson, in the old location of Spirits (which moved to a larger building on Texas Street). Wildwood Pizza is a locally owned establishment that uses home-grown ingredients from area farmers and producers. The pizza comes in one size, 12 inches, for $8.50.  You choose the sauce, meat and veggies to add from a plethora of choices (up to 4 meats/veggies at no extra cost).  Our you can choose from the house specialities.  The pizza is then baked in a brick oven, and delivered to your table.

The pizza was delicious, albeit just a tad overdone. Fresh, organic ingredients do make a difference!

Check out their website at www.wildwood-pizza.com.  Based on the growing crowds at lunch, the word is out.