Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Merry christmas

 
And a happy new year to all my friends old and new .Let's hope that 2009 is going to be a good year for every one .My resolution is to finish one project,completely
Crowldawg aka Tom Crowley ,Orient ,NY
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

The down side of staying warm




I think the pictures speak for themselves .Don't clog your oil burner on the coldest weekend of the season so far .
Trying to find a knowledgeable mechanic is difficult .The guy who took care of my burner for years dissappeared a few years ago .I have had a number of incompetants since then so this year its me and the internet
I keep clogging my filter with the sludge in the bottom of the tank .My fuel man just started adding some additive to disolve it but I always add my own and now I have doubled it
I also found that the electric motor had a dead spot in it and changed that out as well .If the motor lasts as long as the first one chances are I won't need another one.lol

Danny's






Every couple of years I sit down and make a batch of fishing lures Mainly for my favorite pass time surfcasting .I think I made enough poppers to last me a life time a few years ago. Besides that I always buy a few lures everytime I'm a at the tackle shop.
These new ones are all swimmers .I can cast them from the beach or boat or use them for trolling winter always seems to be a good time to do this but even with heat in the shop it takes forever to dry .So what should take a day or two drags on to a week or two
These are through wired on stainless wire which prevent the hooks from pulling out .I have found a few over the years where some one just uses threaded eyes to attach the hooks when I find Them the hooks are gone
The white one with the wire through it was an old lure that I found on the beach that I drilled out and through wired .The others are ones that I turned on the lathe ,I usually use cut offs of doug fir or red cedar

Friday, November 28, 2008

Old school




I was able to save and refurbish all the appliances except the water heater in the Globetrotter. I did that because they all worked on pilot lights .I wonder what would still be working after the coach was hit buy lightning this summer.
For the past few days I have been trying to get the heater working .It worked last year but a year is a long time .Today I sprayed some chlorinated hydrocarbon into the inspection hole .The pilot was clean as a whistle .It still was clogged .Out came the air hose and with a few blasts with some low preesure air and I finally remove the obstruction.It lit and is still running now the only problem is that the control knob doesn't appear to be working
I'm going to ask a question.Does the control knob control the height of the flame or does it control the length of the burn? These are the only two controls .There is no thermostat. The wires that may be visible control a manual 12 volt blower fan.TIA for any advice

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Tomorrows the Big Day

Nothing much to say .I'm going to be told I'm AOK or on hold for another month
I don't think I'll mention that I have been feeding and shaking down my coal stove for a week.I haven't tried to split any wood though.lol

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

A few more weeks

On the 24th I find out if after three months of physical rehab I'll be able to go back to work .The last time I saw the doctor he told me I could do certain things BUT DON'T GO CRAWLING AROUND INSIDE ANY CABINETS .Well that's what I have to do on the trailer.I was at the Orange Big Box yesterday and had to make a major decision COPPER or PEX .As I have stated once before because I have all the tools for copper I'm going that way .It was $100 for 50ft of copper and $100 for each pex tool .The globe trotter has 3 different sizes of copper all of which are somewhere in the garage .The depot sells by the ft for pex but the supply house near me sells only complete rolls .I won't need 300ft anytime soon
When every thing is AOK I'm going to have valves that have either flare or compression fittings .I don't want to be sweating off a valve that might need to be replaced in the middle of nowhere
Whats left of the original pumbing has garden hose patches in at least 3 places.I'm going to go oil up my flaring tool

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Rainy Saturday

Its raining outside. No Fish to be had across the street so instead of doing anything of substance I have sat here and read and watched YOU TUBE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_vSY_fSdzM&feature=related.

Warren Haynes playing with Phil and Friends. Did Phil get that bass from the Funk-a-delics?

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

tree frog

Its going to freeze tonight .A very unusual occurrence this early in my neck of the woods
Any how today I brought in all the plants that will not tolerate the 25F that its supposed to go to .They are all sitting in the kitchen right now. There is about 8-10good sized plants .Most will be moved around the house i.e. Boston ferns .The rest will end up in front of the two large windows in my office/study .
The point of all this is somewhere in all that greenery is a frog or a toad calling away .It did start till he warmed up a bit but every 10-20 minutes he is singing me a song
I hope I don't find him in the toilet tomorrow doing the backstroke or worse yet ,face down....

Monday, October 27, 2008

The Finished Project




I used to work

 
 
 
 

Just clearing out some pictures.This was something I did before the hip went south
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fall figs

 
I have been bragging about my figs all season long .I don't know where the other photo went but this yellowish white ones are the last of the seasonand deeeelicious
Its getting like winter tommorrow and one of these nights I'm going to get that killing frost that everyone else has gotten.The benefit of living near the water
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Fall treats




These are some of the bluefish that I caught over the weekend and didn't release .I'm smoking them with cherry as I type .Thats the dominant wood on the estate. Another hour or two and it will be done .I freeze some for thanksgiving and pass some out to any one who wants some

Sunday, October 26, 2008

what a difference a few days make



This was montauk today check out Reel Time.com

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Blitzing blues

I went to the mecca on Thursday but nothing happened .Montauk point is the Mecca for surf casters like myself .When I picked up my friends (two I hadn't seen since 1967) we headed straight to the point .We were greeted by a 25MPH wind right in your face and 6 ft surf .There wasn't a bird or fish to be seen .
We hit every beach I could access .Climbing cliffs is out till next year .Nothing!!!
We even went as far as buying some frozen bunker and chunking for a few hours .
Finally at around 3 PM I decided that it was time to leave and face the 2 hour trip home Ironically if you look out of Steve's windows across Block Island Sound you can see the water tower on Plum Island .The same one I can see from my house .We figured by water we are only about 15 miles apart .That $100 in boat terms and it cost me about $50 to drive around
What the heck I had the pleasure of sitting in bumper to bumper both ways as I traveled through the beautiful Hampton's .yuck
Anyhow after getting the crap beat out of me for 5 or 6 hrs I arrived home to a similar situation that you can view on the video link I posted.Its been that way for 4 days now .Today there wasn't a parking space anywhere.I went across the street and fished all day long

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

gas lights


I saw a picture of one on Franks blog. After a little thought I decided to get one. A chrome one to go with all the stainless steel that will be in the be in the globetrotter .
One small problem if I mount it where Frank has his the doors for the top storage will hit it . Not even clear it. I hope I can mount it a little lower without creating a safety hazard
Come on Doc give me that clearance so I can find out

Bluefish


What would a fisherman in the NE do without them .All I ever here is , there was nothing but blues .
I just spent 2 hrs catching and releasing on barbless hooks .Damn I need a nap after that workout .I still can't figure the big attraction with the money fish ;Striped Bass .They are not as much fun to catch and I'm not real found of eating all those PCB's either

Saturday, October 18, 2008

New AC/heat pump


Earlier in the summer Colin and I replaced the 44 yr old air conditioner with a new combination AC/Heat Pump .When i took the globetrotter to Oneonta in June we used the AC because it was 90+ for a few days .
This morning it was 46 F so I decided to test out the heat pump in the drive to see how well it worked .I can report that as long as the nights don't go below 40 and I have access to 110 we will be as snug as 2 bugs in a rug .
Now I just have to get the propane heater working correctly .It either full blast or nothing
HELP UNCLE SYD!!!
If not I guess I'll have to buck up before we hit the road . I'm just waiting for the surgeon to lift the hip restrictions and then its back to working on the old girl full time before it gets to cold

Friday, October 17, 2008

drift

I prefer to flyfish over every other type . This is poetry in motion and its only the trailer

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

NoDepression.com

NoDepression.com

This used to be a hard copy, now just this .I find a lot of my music here

Anger management

After a long and beautiful Columbus Day weekend that had thousands clogging local roads for hours looking for the Perfect Pumpkin , I decided to stop at the beach and check it out .
By God there were fish every where . I caught three small blues with three casts .I was using my cane as a seat sitting on the boat ramp
A guy pulls up to launch his boat .He was in a hurry to say the least .I was picking up my surf bag and heading toward my truck when he starts beeping his horn .The fish weren't going any where and if they did. he would have run them down any way .The fish were no more than 10 yards off the beach
I said I would move my truck and he kept beeping .That was it .
Before I put my pole in the pole holder on the front of the truck, my lower middle class Irish upbringing showed through and I got a series of expletives off that made a few on the beach stop and turn around .
I moved the truck and he proceeds to launch right into the middle of the blitz on the beach .I didn't look back but I hope a few buck tails hit his boat before he got the damn thing started
Not a good way to start a beautiful day

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Finally !!!! but I wasn't there

I went to the beach today around noon, nothing going on .Came home to mow the lawn hopefully for the last time .Battery dead .
Dutch stops by for a while, says he will meet me around dusk . An hour later he calls and says he's been to the beach and caught and released 5 bass .He's going back later .I go back around 3:00 the fish are about a mile up the beach .
I'm having a hard enough time walking around in the sand with the cane that I didn't think I needed .After about an hour I hit a few more beaches .Nada .Go back to Truman's beach which is the only one I don't have to climb stairs coming and going .Just step out of the truck. "It was a the right place but it musta been the wrong time" .I made a few cast .Easy enough .Just practice today

Let's see what happens tomorrow .It's not going to be much of a run this year

Hydrangea Hill











I went for a walk after this mornings rain .When I returned I went around the yard and took a few pictures of the premises. We are supposed to get a few warm days but my sources in Canada says that cold weather in on the way .
Hydrangeas to most people are just that blue snowball plant that everyone seems to have .Maybe its an obsession , at last count we had over 52 different plants in the ground .I write down the varieties but they all seem to disappear,so I can't name all the plants.
In a few weeks this will all be gone and winter will be on its way.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

On the Beach


Its not one that I made but its still in the wrapper because nothing has shown up on the beaches yet .I know they are catching fish in deeper water but it looks like another bust year for surfcasting .
We still have a few weeks left but this should be peak beach season .I read on one of my bookmarks that there are tons of fish hitting the beaches in Jersey .I hope I don't have to leave out the Long Island chapter of "The Run " this year

Friday, October 3, 2008

YouTube - Peter Rowan - Tony Rice Cold Rain and Snow

YouTube - Peter Rowan - Tony Rice Cold Rain and Snow

TO QUOTE ONE OF THE VIEWERS .I wish I were a base guitar

Fishing Jones

Fishing Jones

Interesting reading from over at fishing jones .I hope Pete doesn't mind my plagarism

Natures Bounty





The other day a friend of mine came over and asked to borrow a couple of scallop dredges from me .There is rumor that we might have a scallop crop for the first time in a decade . When I opened my garage frig this PM and there was a bushel of clams .
Thursday my old college buddy Steve comes over from Montauk where he now lives for part of the year. He had a tupperware container full of Porgies for me .In return I gave him a big bag filled with tomatoes and pears .There isn't much left around here.
My brother just landed from Houston so after a few hours research I decided to make up a small dish to enjoy for tonight. It's my version of a cajun soup that calls for red snapper ,oyters and shrimp .
I have the fish and clams so lets give it a try.
The one picture with the leaf in oil is from my Bay tree

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Early Fall

A friend emailed today and asked why I'm not blogging .When I returned from the hospital I looked over the blog and I decided that I wouldn't add any thing till I started doing something again .Writing about an injury get old in a hurry.
My rehab is right on schedule .Its just taking me longer than I thought to get back to things .The doctor deep 6ed my annual trip to Maine to go grouse hunting .I guess sitting in a truck post op is hazardous to your health.
I'm getting around with a cane and walking about a mile /day .Bending or kneeling could ruin the whole operation .I go down to my shop every day look at it and the piles of shit growing in there and then walk out .
I moved the Airstream out to the curb because the wild cherry tree it sits under was turning it purple from the bumper crop of cherries .It sits there still waiting for the pipes and wood that will make it self sufficient
We also had a bumper crop of tomatoes ,raspberries ,peaches and pears .Trouble was I was in rehab and my wife was driving 2 hrs a day to watch me sleep.
I started driving last week ."You don't miss your water till your well runs drive" What a pain in the ass it is to be driven around.
I have been going to the beach a couple of times /day .Pete over @fishing jones has video of the blitzes in Montauk .I have not seen a fish break the surface yet .I hear rumour that its happened a few time but I can't vouch for it
All the summer birds have moved on even though a Carolina wren is calling as I type this .It was a splendiferous year for hummingbirds but they left 10 days ago .I did see one for a nano second Mon. after that double hit of Nor'easter /hurricane .Orient sits out in the Atlantic almost a hundred miles we get stuff that mainlanders don't.We had four inches of rain over the weekend
I've been checking every ones blogs .I haven't evaporated into cyberspace. Just haven't had anything to say
Over and out!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

I'm baaack!!

After two weeks of great care at Peconic Bay Medical Center's Orthopedic Rehab Center I arrived home a few days ago . I'm still a bit groggy so I haven't felt like writing .
I'm on a cane and will be for about a month .If I get the necessary approvals I'll be back in time for the Bass/Blue run across the street .If PT goes well I'll be able to carry things and I plan to get back to working on the Globetrotter .
From what they said at the hospital it will be a few months before I can go back to work .
The big danger until I get the health approvals is dislocation . I feel like I should be walking around with my framing square making sure I don't brake 90 degrees at the hip
Frank asked me about the drugs . Well the Rolling Stones and Townes van Zandt both wrote songs extolling the benefits of Morphine .Well they can keep it .After two days I asked to be taken off it .I was hallucinating and that has never been one of my favorite pastimes!! A shot and a beer yes ,hallucinogens no .
Physical therapy starts tomorrow at 9:30 and that will be 3X/week .So the soap opera will continue for at least a few more weeks
Any one need some tomatoes ?

Friday, August 22, 2008

off to see the wizard

I'm leaving in about 10 min to finally get that new hip . I'm going to see if they can install a full race cam as well .Then I'll be good for another 100,000 miles. To all out there,keep fishing, polishing , sanding ,picking tomatoes or whatever we have talked about this past year!!!!
I'll be back in a couple of weeks
TC

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Damn!!!!!!!!!

I was fiddling trying to edit all my favorite links .One little click on the wrong button and now they are all gone .It will take me awhile to find them all again considering I'm still on my daughters computer .You will all be back soon

looking back/moving forward

Picasa Web Albums - crowldawg - 2008-02-08-17... - IMG_0179.jpg
Its been almost a year since I bought the old Globetrotter on Ebay.Ive lost a half a years work on the ole girl because of my own personal renovation.
I go in the hospital a week from friday for a new left hip . Hopefully I'll be back walking and working in a few months and back on the road with the Globetrotter by mid winter
Lets see where should I go this winter ? lol

After looking at this post a few times I thought I should clarify the picture .It was taken before I took the Airstream to Florida to spend 6 weeks working on the girl . This was before my hip went flat.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Monday Observations

This morning as I looked outside It was like the only creatures that read my last post were the birds . I went out side to asses yet another torrential nocturnal down pour, the woods were full of birds .It was like they came on schedule. The swallows are still flying all over the place. Now I have a few nuthatches in the trees. Going up and down the trunk scouring the bark for small insects .
The wild cherry trees ,which make up most of the canopy are full of those little cherries they make.There were cedar waxwing,catbirds and tons of grackles gorging themselves on the fruit.
The rest of the yard seemed fine .It looked a whole lot better than last Thursday when the garage and car took direct hits from lightning .Half the GFI's in the shop were fried and there is something wrong with the car that they are still trying to diagnose.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Half Full,/Half Empty

I could never get that straight .Today I turned 60, but I have had the same feeling my whole life .Summer is over .Shit its the first week in August
When I was a kid it was because school was only 3 weeks away.
The other evening I had that same feelings again . Not because of the upcoming day but because I looked up and the skies where full of swallows
Here on Eastern Long Island they start showing up by the thousands around the first of August . They are the first visible sign that change is in the air. I don't know if they funnel down out of New England and use the twin forks as some navigation aid or what but they show up like clockwork just like in Capistrano .
Most are tree swallows heading south. They line up on all the telephone lines ( I wonder what they did before the lines) They make their little trips out over the marshes and fields filling up with the thousands of mosquitoes that are so prevalent all summer long
They don't stay very long .They are gone by the first week in Sept .Off to places unknown but while they are here they put o quite a show .I'm sure most people don't even notice them but over the years I have seen clouds of then at times.
They are just the beginning of that mass fall migration. I hope I'll be able to walk the beaches when the blues and bass start to show up at the end of Sept.

What were they smoking ??

After three day and a couple of hundred $ Dell sends me the new hard drive.I don't know what they were referencing but the new drive is about 5 times too big to fit in the old banking port.
The new drive is about 5X5 and about .75 inches thick .The cooked one is about the size of a Razor phone .
We are doing a swap lets see what happens next week
There won't be too many photos until I get the new part .I may try to use Courtey's computer but I start going to the hospital on Mon

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

You can't live with them .you can't live without them

My GD computer's hard drive died 2 nights ago. This will be hard drive number 3 thats on its way
I have put thousands of hours on that computer over the last 5 yrs so I don't know if I should curse it or be thankful.
Thanks Courtney for yours while I'm waiting on Mr.Dell .How do you say Dell in Indiaian or Pakistani?
I'm taking suggestions on a new laptop. Who knows when I will need a new one

Friday, August 1, 2008

58 lbs bass

My friend Dutch just stopped by to see how I was doing after the double hernia repair .He told me that some young kid just learning to free dive in the Sluiceway, the body of water between Plum Island and Great Gull Island had the catch of his lifetime .
It wasn't the poundage but the fact that after he surfaced after a drift he notice a lot of splashing near him. As he swam toward the commotion he saw as seal circling a bass .Apparently the seal put a bight or two into the bass .According to Dutch the seal was about the size of the bass .He apparently stunned him .
When the seal saw the diver he bolted leaving the stunned bass floating on the surface The diver picked up the fish and took him home for sale
I know nothing other than what I just relayed to you all .I don't know any more about it .Maybe some of my fisher friend ,bloggers will know more than this to share with us all

Thanks XM

"1. Danko / Manuel - Drive-By Truckers" This is where I found this song Joe

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Gotcha




Your going to have to click on the photo .I finally caught one of those elusive hummingbirds . Its there believe me