A pleasant day

What a pleasant day it was here in starkville. today i cleaned up a few things around the house and the yard, then for lunch i tried some oyster mushrooms, that i have grown myself, in some pasta made by a friend, they were not spectacular or anything but i thought they were pretty good. next i made a tour through the green houses on campus and took some lovely pictures at least i think they are lovely. much to my dismay nothing has been done to display the amazing orchid collection that we have here. nor our cacti collection which i could easily see being set up as a more realistic scene. but they never asked me for my opinion even though i have tried to voice it through the horticulture club with no luck. but the day continued with a little bit of free tire work courtesy of Gateway tire they fixed the small leak in my tire for free. thanks guys.. next J,P,& I went on a loop around the block to pick up more of the wonderful black garbage bags of leaves we got a few....

next Isabel and i went to my buddy ray's and picked up an english bulldog puppy for Randy this little booger is something else they called her Ginger but i think randy said he might call her Mary ? maybe but she sure does make some funny noises and smells but i guess we all do. after all of this i picked up some more bagsOleaves for the ever growing monster in my back yard. Grace and Peace.

AT trail gear list

So here is a shot at my first round Gear list. for starters if there is a recycled or up cycled or eco frindly option that's probably the on i would chose. I will start at the ground and work up. Shoes-Keen's Shell Rock mid WP size 14, Socks Multiple pair of Thorlo hiking socks, next will be some capilene base layers not sure exactly which types yet, then some pants/shorts, some capilene boxers, capilene t-shirt, capilene long sleeved with the zipper, and if it can be found some with thumb holes to hold those sleeves in my gloves, Gloves the best i have found so far are a pair of North Face, still looking to narrow them down, next will be either some puffy jacket or a fleece i think, and then some sort of skull cap. i have a Red Ledge Parka that is green, some Red Ledge Pants would rock i hope. next i guess we will work on the pack right now i am looking a Osprey ??? then possibly an Ecopro 15 degree sleeping bag i am thinking the 6 footer will work swimmingly. then a female ecopro with a left hand zip for Isabel would be nice they are supposed to be mate-able not that she will be hiking with me but if she was to camp with me at some point it would be cool for that to be an option. P and ali are getting them and will be giving us a review on them shortly after Christmas i hope. so next i will move to the kitchen, i am not sure whether i will take a pump just tablets time will tell, i would like to get a titanium Pot and Cup not sure of the brand yet. then i will need something to carry fuel in for an alcohol stove that i plan to make, plus i will need a windscreen but again that can probably be assembled at home. from there i will need foods and other goodies i hope to get plenty of venison summer sausage made up and stored to be used on the trail as well as some venison jerky. i hope to get Franola Granola to Sponsor me along the way well at least send me some occasionally. well i am sure there are things i am forgetting like a spare battery for my camera and a headlamp and some sort of trekking poles. but as i research these things i will update them.

Our Home

So we purchased this home in march of 2008 only 3 months after being married. its a brick home on a monolith slab, and here in oktibbeha county the clay in the soils shift seasonally which has caused considerable cracking in the bricks but its not something that is going to just fall in (i hope.) we are located in an area formerly as Ramsey's bottom, along Hollis Creek. Hollis Creek flows into the Noxubee River (Noxubee= Stinking Water in Cherokee) which flows to the Tombigbee, to Moblie Bay, to the Gulf of Mexico. Speaking of this do you know your Water shed??? (I just described the route of mine.) i know even in elementary school people learn about the hydrologic cycle but how many people apply it to where they live or where they visit??? i gues this affection stems from all of the time that i love spending on the water. well i will post pictures of the house and how it has progressed since we moved in in May. when we moved in i quit mowing the back yard except for paths and a couple of patches. the goal for the front yard is to bring it up to the standard of a yard you might find in the Southern Living magazines, isabel also loves the ideas that can be found in Martha Stuart, so we will see how it progresses for know i am growing lots of edible plants and i started numerous perennials this summer. isabel wasnt so happy about the gourds that i let grow crazy this summer however she did love to decorate with them this fall. well thats enough typing for now i will put up some pics...

Life time Goals: Build an Amazing Relationship and Family with Isabel.

Hike the AT

Paddle/Pedal/Row the entire Mississippi river

Pedal the Natchez Trace and possibly other great parkways of the world

travel to see the amazing creation we call the World

To Get Started!!

So to get started I figured i Just needed to start typing and things would come out. I have lots of hobbies that i would love to turn into a profession, however it seems the only thing i can turn into a profession is being a student SO FAR... I want to start this blog to fish for ideas and maybe supporters of my hobbies. My amazing Wife Isabel is so gracious to allow me to do so many things. I am sure through the pages you will hear lots about her. back to it though I am starting this blog to show off our home in Starkville MS, where i am installing a "sustainable landscape" chocked full of edible foods and water detention/retention practices/ BMP's. I have dreams of organizing the entire house and designing/ building a living machine here. Oh and buy the way i plan to HIKE the entire AT beginning this MAY when i will hopefully graduate from Mississippi State Univ. with a Degree in Landscape Contracting. plus i want to grow food for a CO-OP that provides for local resturants, Officacilly start the Stinking Water HomeBrew Club and have scheduled meetings, i am delving into growing edible Mushrooms, i have a passion for wood working, and the list goes on... there will always be a chunk of my Heart in the Chattooga River in SC/GA, as well as The Mighty Mississippi both places i have spent weeks paddling and constantly daydream about getting back to. well this post should be confusing enough , but dont expect them to get to fancy all of the sudden i learned this fall from one of my teachers that i am a Concrete Random personality type so this makes it difficult for me to do everythiong the logical straight forward way, i jump from one thing to the next, wich explains why i have so many hobbies, and the way this post has turned out. by the way being a Whitewater Kayaker in Starkville always has its exciting times it seems every time i find a decent wave to surf on the cops show up to spoil the fun. more on this later, oh yeah i did some creekin mississippi style today on two seperate creeks, Catalpa creek and Trim Cane Creek, with a good friend, and yes the wind chill was 31 degrees F and it did snow right after we got finished but it was worth every minute. Grace and Peace.