Daves New Boat and First Fish

It was the first time out testing Daves new Boat. His old aluminum boat had seen better days, and the motor was toast. Water had backed up through the exhaust port and even though it had been flushed after the last use in March, the crankshaft bearings had rusted. His son-in -law hated to see Dave not being able to fish and had told him to buy a used boat, for his Christmas present. Waiting until the Mechanic Roy, (my brother in law), arrived from Iowa, they poured over used boats on Marketplace and found a possible replacement. Checking the boat out, a fiberglass 1974 Predator, the motor had started and ran great, so they both agreed, and Dave bought it. The boat and trailer needed work and Roy did the work with the expertise of years of experience. When it was seaworthy, Dave and I took it out on its maiden voyage. It behaved flawlessly. The fish didn’t cooperate with us and so we only had one bite, or should I say Dave had one bite…. After an hour by the bridge, we decided to move, and he picked up his pole and started to wind it in. The rod twitched and a fish started to make a run. It headed away from the bridge, with its razor-sharp barnacles, and doubled over the rod. It was a big fish, but Dave was up to the task. Stowing the poles and grabbing the fishnet I watched as it made made run after run, before finally tiring. When he finally got it to the surface it was still a few minutes before I was able to swipe the fish headfirst into the net and fold it over the fish, (it was longer than the net). Using both hands, it took all of my strength to lift it into the boat.

It was perfect! The only fish of the day and Dave caught it! It was too big for us to lift up for a picture, (and to be kept), over forty inches long, and so we were able to release it safely. We both watched as it made a couple of flips of its tail and then returned to the depths. It was a great release! That was the only fish of the day, but what a fish! It was not the biggest he ever caught but it was a beautiful black drum! A great first fish to christen the boat, Well done Dave! Clear skies

Making Jewelry for the 2024 Season

It’s been a long time since I have updated our blog/journal. December is such a busy month with Christmas and New Years Activities. Among them was a Christmas Eve, Dirty Santa event, A Christmas Day Feast, a New Years Eve Shrimp and Crab Boil, and finally a good luck New Years Day meal, (all the meals main courses were cooked, grilled, or boiled by Alan and Zita, our parks Activities Directors. They are the best and are one of the main reasons we return to the park! Meanwhile our 2024 show season will soon begin, and I have been frantically making jewelry. I grind the pieces in the summer, bring them here to South Texas and then finish them. Of them the Larimar cabochons were purchased finished so I only wire wrapped them, (larimar is a rare expensive stone that often breaks apart while grinding, A dealer we buy from said she loses about two thirds of the rock slabs as they often break, as did the rough we bought).

Larimar is found only in one place in the world, the Dominican Republic, and the mine has been closed due to safety concerns. Its price has skyrocketed. So much so that it is now often faked by mixing colored stones with molten glass, (true larimar, blue and white pectolite, does not transmit light and is softer than a knife blade). Having finished almost all the cabochons, other cases are of Kingman Tourquoise,

and several that contain a plethora/mixture of other stones.

I have now switched to making bracelets.

Each one, including the rock grinding, take about five to six hours. My goal is to make nineteen before the March show, I have only finished one. Enjoy the pieces. prices vary from 25-375 dollars. All are for sale. (We also have about ten more large cases, numerous rings and even earrings, over 90% made by us. If you need something specific we do take custon orders) Clear skies (If you wish to purchase send us an email at markandrenita@yahoo.com. You can id the piece by returning the picture with the piece circled or descibing it. We will send you pictures of both sides with a quarter for scale and price. If you decide to buy it we will ship USPS First Class Insured/priorty. You can call us to pay with a credit card or mail a check. If after reciept you don't want to keep the piece we will refund you the money and you ship the piece back. (We used to sell on etsy but were not happy with their policies)