Update to some of my earlier posts............

I spoke with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division the other day and it was determined the giant Northern Hogsucker I had posted earlier would NOT be recognized as a state record.  It may very well be the state record BUT.....they stated the additional work it would take to keep track of every fish in Georgia with subsequent records would simply be too much work and this was not considered a desired or sought game fish.  Seems like the lazy man's excuse but it wasn't my decision to make(I may be biased).  I did submit it to GON(Georgia Outdoor News) last week and they said they may run the picture.  The Fisheries Department is supposed to send me a validation of the catch with confirmed weight/length/species as a keepsake. We shall see.

Now on to gardening.........

I had a tree in the back yard, inherited like everything else, I couldn't identify.  Well, it finally bloomed and I was able to figure it out.   It's a Lavender Rose of Sharon Hibiscus and a mature specimen at that.   It had a short bloom however, as typical with large flowers, it only graced my yard for a brief moment.  

My raised vegetable garden is a disaster and is all but lost.  I have some okra finally coming on, one squash plant, and a cucumber plant that may still produce.  The tomato's growing right next to the garden look like great however.  I am blaming the lack of sun on the poor production.  Next year, it's tomato's and peppers in the raised garden, since they seem to prefer this section of the yard.  I cut a small Oak down that was partially shading this box out and it has done better.......still not good enough.  Next year it will be better.......You never know till you try.
  

 

Garden Update 06/21/2013

 My Canna Lillies have really taken off.  I started seeing them come up around March and what the worms/slugs haven't eaten, have done really well.  The previous owners planted these and they are not in the right place and are cramped due to spreading.  I will be digging these up when the foliage dies in the Fall.

 This is a Commelina Dianthifolia.  This is really a neat little flower.  When it sprouts it looks a lot like a grass shoot until it gets 8-10" tall and produces a little pod.  The pod has several little buds deep inside if you look down into it.  Each morning, a new electric blue flower rolls out for 4-5 days straight.  The bloom lasts only several hours as the sun withers it away.  A very neat, hardy to sun/drought, little addition.  Grows in clumps like grass.

 My Cosmos!  They have done really well this year.  I have never grown Cosmos and when I ordered a mix packet online, I really didn't know what to expect.  They have surpassed my expectations.  While it seems I am good at growing mainly orange, they seem to bloom steadily and consistently with 2-3" blooms that last 4-5 days before another takes it's place.  I will have a LOT of these next year.  They love the sun, have brilliant colors that really stand out, and don't require lots of water.

Some more of my "Twinkle Star Mix" that I ordered online.  These were not the easiest things to grow.  I killed quite a few before I got enough plants to make a couple pots of them.  They are really moisture specific and don't like to have wet feet.  I did manage to keep a few going and have several more ready to bloom.  The one next to the blooming Phlox is going to be a deeper pink.  Once they start blooming, they really produce the flowers......reminds me of Vinca's, only smaller.

Garden update....06/05/2013

Wanted to give a quick update on some of my flowers I have blooming right now but I am still behind where I hoped to be at this point.  My yard still has a long way to go : (    That is enough of my whining and here are some pictures:


My Hydrangea's are really coming along.  Four established plants are along one small section of fence.  I didn't cut them back and while this one looks great, the other three are spindly.  Next year I will cut them closer to the ground to prevent drooping.  This one is rocking out though!

 I have no clue what this is.  It is growing beside my raised garden and was a very pretty purple.  I thought I might include it here.  Maybe someone else knows what it is.

 My blue Hosta's I didn't know I had, that came up in the middle of a bed I had cleared for something else, are blooming right now.  I am gonna move those this winter to a more shade friendly place.  Doing good here though as I didn't have the heart to dig them up mid-season after they had put so much energy into sprouting.  This bed gets a lot of sun and will be loaded with flowers next year.........I hope!

 The previous owners wanted to make it hard on me and planted random tulip bulbs around my yard.  One sprouts here, one sprouts there, and they are all random.  Kinda like a tulip Easter egg hunt.  This is one here that just bloomed.  I also have some Bearded varieties in a separate location.  Yet another plant I need to dig up and concentrate to a single location.

 I am so happy with my Cosmos's and how they have really come along.  When they decided they wanted to grow, boy did they.  I have several blooming, all have been orange thus far(secretly happy about that "War Eagle") but I thought I would have got a Cheddar Pink or two.  I planted a bunch of Pinks but no blooms yet.

 I have never been a huge marigold fan but this year may have changed my mind.  I bought a flat the other day, planted them in a very tough situation, and they have really been a joy to see every day.  Always blooming, never in need of deadheading, and they don't mind the extreme heat.  I liked the French version with the bi-coloring verses the double bloom or plain African variety.  The bugs hate them too!  Did I mention they were cheap?  I may have found a new staple for my garden!

  Saved my favorite for last.  Here is a Twinkle Star Phlox in red with white trim.  I absolutely love this plant.  It was harder to get going then I thought it would be.  With the weird year and the cool-hot-cool-hot.....it was hard to satisfy this plants heat desires.  It likes LOTS of sun.  I hope it really starts putting out soon.  This is the first bloom.

State Record WHAT????

So, here is the skinny.....  I went home to see the folks the weekend after Memorial Day.  I left late on Thursday from Alabama to make the 3.5 hour drive North into the mountains of Georgia, slept in Friday morning, and decided if I was going to get any fishing done, I better do it that Friday before everyone gets off work..  I hit one of my local holes in search of trout.  I love eating trout, probably my favorite, regardless of the fact they are always stocked or recent holdovers.  Any who........the water is up from all the rain and the flow rate is pretty high.  Not good conditions for a good trout fishing trip but I press on anyway.  I go fishless through a very good section of water before I see a fish move on the bottom.  It looked like a pretty good fish but it wasn't a trout, which is odd, because that's all there ever is in this section of creek.  It had a walleye color but it's head was really big.  I take my nightcrawler and pitched it, and pitch it, and pitch it......till finally I feel the fish mouthing the bait.  I set the hook.........fish fights pretty good.........reel it up.......and this is what I get:

I have been fishing North Georgia mountain streams my whole life.  I have NEVER caught one before.  Lots of Redhorses or Hornyheads but never a true sucker fish such as this.  Apparently it's a pretty good specimen because the Tennessee state record weighed 2lbs and 9ozs compared this fish at 1lb 10ozs.  Its called a Northern Hogsucker and is native to North and North Central Georgia streams.  It's is more prevalent up north where it can reach weights of 4lbs or more.  We are at the very Southern tip of its effective range so it's not a very common species for anglers. 

I got to thinking.......I wonder if this might be a state record?  I couldn't find any documentation where a Georgia record had been kept.  Tennessee keeps a state record, why not Georgia?  I took the fish over to the Lake Burton Fish Hatchery and met with a guy named Johnlee Thompson.  A super nice guy who, with many laughs, weighted the ugly beast while I filled-out the proper paperwork.

Johnlee called me on that following Tuesday to tell me the biologist for the hatchery will not recognize my catch as a Georgia State Record BECAUSE no records currently exist for Northern Hogsuckers and they aren't going to start now.  Being the total hard headed individual I am.......NO wasn't an option.  I wanted a real answer, not just a simply blow off.  On to the next rung up the ladder......another biologist, this time in Social Circle, Ga by the name of Patrick O'Rourk(pronounced O'Rook).  After a brief conversation with Patrick, he gave me two more pieces of information:

1)  The reason they most likely won't acknowledge my catch is because it's simply to much work to record every species record catch.  There are thousands of different species of fish in Georgia, and to record a catch for each one would be a monumental job.(I took this as a C'mon man, I don't want to be the one who passes this along)

2)  The Northern Hogsucker is not a common or shall I say, sought after fish species.  Georgia does recognize two types of shad, bowfin, and other non-game species so........Yet another blow off. 

While I can appreciate the workload these guys have, it's mostly up to the fisherman to record and process a record fish properly.  Many times, this never involves a biologist or DNR officer.  When it does, it usually makes their day, to see record catches, and be around extremely happy individuals.  Essentially, I don't get it.  Why wouldn't you want to recognize as many species as possible.  It gets folks out looking for that next record, makes that record more possible, and that is good for everyone, including the DNR(buying licenses).  I will post an update when I hear back..........I am expecting a "sorry, but we don't recognize that species" response but hey, maybe I am wrong.  Update to follow!!!