Preparation, practice, pain

I spent the better part of yesterday evening putting together some noodle jugs to hopefully place in the lake tonight. I had rough idea from someone I talked to recently about how to build the jugs but lacked a couple particulars, so I had not started putting anything together. But yesterday at work I had a few minutes to look at a couple videos that filled in the missing information. Pastor and I put out a couple jugs when we were on the lake Monday evening, but they were pretty rudimentary. Effective to be sure, but not what I was looking to use for myself. The ones I assembled were ½ inch PVC, capped at both ends, slipped into a piece of pool noodle. One end has an eye hook attached for building the rig.

Inside the PVC is a piece of rebar about three inches long. When the jug is set out on the water, it is made to float flat on the surface. When a fish takes the bait, the jug is pulled downward, and the rebar weight slides to the bottom of the pipe causing the jug to stand upright in the water. That makes it easier to see if there is a fish on the line. It is not foolproof, but I think is a clever way of using the jugs. I have been told that when the weight hits to eyehook on the service end of the jug, the sound causes the fish to pull against the jug further setting the hook. We will see. I have been accumulating the parts over the past few days so, the cutting and assembly of the eight jugs made took me about an hour.

I have to meet red Shaw this evening to pick up some cattle panels I am buying from him. Ten panels and the posts that are part of the assembly. To get them, we have to disassemble a dog kennel that has stood empty for years and is not wildly overgrown. It should not take long, but I will not hurry the chore. Mama is going with me so she and Joanne can visit while Red and I work. If I do manage to get back before dark, I will determine whether or not to set out the jugs tonight. If it is too late when we get back to the farm, I will put them out early tomorrow morning and retrieve them late that day. My hope is to set them out tonight so they can sit through the night. Like all plans, this too may fall apart along the way, but at some point, I will eventually succeed. At least I am prepared.

When I set aside the work I was doing in the shop, I watered our plants. They were in desperate need of a good drink of water. I took my time giving all the trees, bushes and beds a thorough soaking. That took about an hour because neither Mama nor I had watered in several days. Mama has not watered in the morning like she has done in the past. I have been away from the farm until well after dark for the past few nights, so I have not had the chance to water in the evenings either. Anyway, after all the plants were soaked down, I went into the house to cool off – and dry out.

Once cooled and cleaned, I got out the cello and removed the bridge. I had bought a replacement bridge because the one in the cello seemed wrong somehow. The replacement bridge however required more customization than I was willing to get into last night. So, I ended up putting the old bridge back on – just the way it had come off. It was then that I noticed it was on backwards to the contour of the fingerboard. When I matched the bridge to the fingerboard and got the cello tuned, it was much easier to play. I also got out a beginner’s cello book I had bought and found out that I had been trying to play the instrument with it positioned too low for me. Extending the peg on the bottom of the cello to the correct height allowed me much more freedom to play. I still sound awful, but it is easier to play awfully. After torturing Mama and Victoria for about forty minutes, I switched to the guitar. I sound awful on that as well. And my left hand and forearm were worn out from playing the cello. I lasted less than an hour total.

When I did lay down late last night, I noticed my right ear was hurting internally. It got worse through the night and persisted through the morning. I will have to doctor that tonight as soon as I get home. I have a very busy week next week. I cannot afford to get sick.