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Spaulding Smails

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Everything posted by Spaulding Smails

  1. THIS. I started hunting when I was about 8. Single shot .410 and a lever action .22 (same ones my boy shoots now). Had to learn to be patient and selective when shooting dove and quail with my dad. You can't throw the Hail Mary shot because you only get one chance. And i had to learn to aim small at squirrels and rabbits. Once I got to about 10, I'd deer hunt from the stand with my dad, go back and eat breakfast, then walk around the ranch for a few hours with my .22. So much fun to bring back dinner. My dad would make me clean them and he'd cook them. He wasn't fond of eating squirrels and rabbits, but he'd humor me and it taught me to respect what you kill. I'm not a marksman by any stretch of the imagination and I don't practice nearly enough, but I still prefer to shoot an over/under. My buddies will go through 3-4 boxes to get a limit of birds, but I can usually do it in less than a box. It's not that I'm all that good of a shot, I just don't spray lead unless I know I have a good shot at knocking the bird down. My son's learning the same principles with the .410 now and he's starting to get the concept of swinging through the bird, adjusting for distance and speed, etc. It was so nice to seem him comfortable behind his new 243 last winter when he took his first doe. He was calm, patient and waited for the right shot. We had talked so much beforehand that I didn't even have to reinforce it when he had the crosshairs on her. His shot was a bit far for him to be comfortable for a head / neck shot so he took aim behind the shoulder. He waited for the other smaller does and yearlings to clear before firing. I was watching through the binoculars and saw it hit and saw her run, but I couldn't tell exactly where he hit her. I was afraid I was going to have to track her forever, but he reassured me that it was a clean lung / heart shot. He was right. 30 yds from the sendero, she folded up. I attribute that not to time on the range but time shooting free-hand through iron sites on a 22. It's so easy to throw a scope on a 22 or buy a kid a semi-auto, but there's something to be said for forcing them to learn to take the right shot.
  2. I ran through a very strange change in Texas climate last week. Hot and humid in Austin Monday. Rockport Tuesday where we got hammered by a big thunderstorm that evening. Cool air that night. Not a breath of wind on Copano Bay Wednesday AM. Literally glass across the entire bay. Got hot in a hurry. Drove home that evening and awoke to 59 at my house in The Drip Thursday morning. I woke up and was out the door at 4:30 that morning, and thought I had slept through August and September. It was glorious. Drove to Junction Friday to check on some stuff at the ranch. Drier than a popcorn fart out there. Dust everywhere and all the vegetation is burnt to a crisp. Then, went to Houston and saw scattered thunderstorms and 1000% humidity Saturday. Went for a four mile run at 2 PM and looked like I just swam across a lake. But, dammit, that rain sure did have everything looking nice and green. It's amazing what 150 miles in any direction from Austin can do to the weather and landscape.
  3. That's a great list above. If he hasn't shot much before, bring him a BB gun too. My son had a blast shooting small targets while we waited for the birds. Bring snacks too. Also, don't underestimate the need for ear protection. Makes a huge difference if he is new to it or sensitive to loud noises.
  4. Headed to the Florida Keys later this week with my wife. Chasing bonefish and snook Friday. Snorkeling and diving for lobster Sunday. It's a chill / beach trip so didn't want to push the fishing envelope too much. Regardless... can't f'n wait.
  5. I second San Antonio over Austin. That time of year, I'd recommend Lost Maples, Enchanted Rock and Government Canyon.
  6. I remember it being pretty good. Nothing I'd go out of my way to eat again, but if in Mobile again, I'd order it. Kind of like "catan" or alligator gar in Laredo. Not bad, but wouldn't make a point to seek it out again. Kind of a "when in Rome" order for me on both of those fronts.
  7. The folks from Mobile to Pensacola would rather eat mullet than trout or redfish. I guess it has a lot to depend on what the mullet are eating.
  8. My company has 58 employees (including myself). We're in construction, but we pay very well when compared to our peers. We offer health/dental/life insurance, PTO, and a 401(k) with a 4% company match. Most of which is not common in our industry, especially for a company of our size. And I have a whopping five employees who take advantage (again, including myself) of 401(k). Less than 10%. Two hourly field employees, two office employees and me. 53 employees are essentially giving up free money. And we did a big company-wide retirement workshop with our 401(k) provider when we rolled this out in early 2017 and include several pages underscoring the need to save in our new-hire packet. The majority of people don't think about retirement. They are truly living paycheck to paycheck. And no amount of help can force them to change their habits.
  9. On the retirement front, I've seen five different people retire recently that have affected my perception of what it means to retire and my desire to do so. 1) My dad. Retired five years ago at 58. Completely right decision for him. He would've keeled over from a heart attack if he didn't go cold turkey. He's doing the things he loves now and didn't give a shit about leaving business / business relationships behind. He also had a decent nest egg built up so that he and my mom could continue to live a comfortable life. No real changes to spending habits. 2) My FIL. Retired last year at 61. Owns a side business that keeps him engaged and income coming in, but retirement account from his primary employer wasn't off the charts. A decent retirement income, but needs the side business income to maintain his comfort level. Right decision, but he's handling it poorly. He's become more isolated, hasn't taken care of his health, and hasn't found other things to occupy his time. And if the other business goes away, he'd be forced to change his habits. 3) My MIL. Retired last month at 63. Put off retirement four times over the last year. I'm almost certain she'll go back to work as a consultant. She's already wigging out about money and has nothing to do. She misses the routine and engagement with others. 4) My former business associate. Sold his business eight years ago and made a killing at the age of 42. Retired for two years, bought a sweet ranch. Hunted and fished every day for a year, then decided he missed running a company. Started a new business. Sold that one earlier last year for another modest killing. Earlier this year, he decided again that he missed the day-to-day engagement and business environment. Went back to work in sales for another mutual friend. Doesn't need the money, but wants to be productive. 5) My best friend's dad. Sold his business to his two sons last year at the age of 67. Stayed on part time working 2-3 days per week at a modest salary. Doesn't need the money, but likes to come into the office and feel productive. What this has lead me to believe is that you're probably better off scaling back and staying engaged (if possible) for a multitude of reasons. Heck, going to work as a golf course marshall or Home Depot associate seems more enticing than going cold turkey unless you have a very comfortable retirement nest egg PLUS activities (travel, ranching, hunting, golf, fishing) to keep you busy.
  10. Like minds, bro. I'm two years younger than you and of the exact same thought process. 10-12 more years of grinding, try to get kids through college so they don't have to think about loans, then start to slow it down, spend more time at the ranch and maybe travel some. But, I don't see myself ever retiring. At least not anywhere near 61. I'd rather scale back my work load, make less money, but stay engaged in the workforce and keep income flowing in. The one thing that I've learned about myself (and my wife) is that we tend to spend more when we're not working. Working would allow me to make more and theoretically spend less.
  11. After thinking about this since yesterday, the one change in my stance is on the accumulation of student debt. If I knew my degree course and ultimate career was something I loved doing but was going to produce an income at a level that wouldn't enable me to pay for my student loans, why not slow down your degree plan, go to community college where possible, work nights, etc to minimize the debt? I had a full academic scholarship to UT. My parents said, "Great! That means we don't have to pay for shit!" Full scholarship meant tuition, room & board and sometimes books. I worked part-time every fall/spring semester and full-time every summer. I had no interest in accumulating even a penny of student debt. How many of these recent grads with huge debt loads worked while in school? I'm a big fan of controlling what you can control. You can't control life expectancy, inflation or wage stagnation and you can kind of control healthcare costs but you can 100% control the debt portion of that equation.
  12. This is well summarized. In a vacuum, it's easy to look ignore those factors as a whole and attribute it to entirely too much avocado toast and lattes, but each of those factors absolutely contribute to the inability to contribute effectively to a retirement plan. Heck, I'm 38 and I've seen my own preparedness for retirement change due to a number of factors. I went from ahead of the curve to behind the curve to trying to catch up with the curve in the last 10 years. Add to the fact the obligation to pay for higher tuition for my own kids and that $ number for retirement gets tougher to achieve.
  13. Thanks for the clarification. I had no idea that there was an income contingent plan. I just assumed you were paying it off in a traditional fashion. Sounds like your income contingent plan wasn't even covering interest. That sucks, but you did what you had to do. At this point, it certainly sounds like you are correct to just ride it out for seven more years. It also sucks that, to a certain degree, it's in your best interest to have a lower income during that timeframe.
  14. You should pay it off with your credit card, then pay down that balance every month... How is that even possible? Are you paying the minimum every month? Only the interest? What kind of balance are we talking about here? I'm just trying to wrap my head around that kind of math.
  15. My wife's grandmother still has the invite and name badge from that fundraiser. She and my wife's grandfather were already in Austin when news of the assassination started to make the rounds. I've never asked her if they got their $200 back. Next time I'm in East Texas, I'll try to get a picture of it.
  16. Yep. And the shitty thing is, short of digging it all up, you're pretty much screwed. I had one spot at my new house that showed signs of heat stress before anything else last summer. I put down 2-4" of thunder dirt from GeoGrowers everywhere before sodding. Evidently, we were light in that area. I took a sharp shooter and I hit a rock shelf about 4" below surface. Don't underestimate how much impact that can have on the turf.
  17. Cactus can chime in on this, but I've learned through my last two houses that the soil beneath the turf is everything. It's so disappointing to see 95% of builders scratch the existing dirt that's been trampled during construction then slap sod on it and expect it to grow. Very few take the time to amend the soil. Once the sod is down, you have an uphill battle. From my experience, annual top dressing with high quality soil is about the only way to try to rectify the situation.
  18. Good feedback. Thanks as always. I had one freeze back pretty bad, but it sprouted up from the base of the trunk and has actually been the strongest grower of the four. I'll give them into next year to see how they perform in a third growing season.
  19. Don't waste your time with the new Netflix thriller "How it Ends". Watched it last night on a whim without reading reviews. Holy crap. What a shit-tastic movie. Great (although over-used) premise about armageddon, but the lack of character development, random events that don't even remotely affect the storyline and absolutely gaping plot holes plus a bullshit ending left me pissed off more than amused. That move sucked all kinds of ass.
  20. I have four fig trees that I planted when we moved in last spring. They were in 1 gal pots. Minimal growth in year one and the same in year two. They have plenty of foliage, but aren't growing any larger. I've tried more water, less water, tree fertilizer. No noticeable impact on anything. They're planted in well-draining soil, get full sun and have good mulch around them. I made sure that the root ball was slightly above grade when I planted and I've kept the roots clear from too much mulch. Any idea why they're not growing? Anything I can do differently to promote growth?
  21. Don't forget "Butt-Fuckers" in the Fuddruckers font in the top left corner. I chuckle every time I see that one.
  22. Barn looks great. Super jealous! I put this product down in my garage. Works best with new concrete. I did it in one weekend myself. Pretty straightforward and holding up really well to hot tires, etc. https://www.sherwin-williams.com/painting-contractors/products/hc-shieldcrete-waterbased-epoxy-garage-floor-coating
  23. Daniel Stone is probably your best bet. On 290 in Cedar Valley. They're not the cheapest around, but will be the easiest for that small of an amount.
  24. Get as much knowledge from the outfitter as possible if you don't have anyone that's been. I'm assuming you'll do a three day trip. If you're putting in at Del Norte, Dolan Falls is only about 1.5 miles down river. You can paddle upstream a bit that morning and not lose any time. There's some springs there and the smallmouth fishing can be good. Portage river right at Dolan. Water will be low, so watch out for submerged boulders if you guys are swimming / diving off the bluff. Three Tier can be worse when the flow is down. I've seen that rapid tump more paddlers than anywhere else (myself included). Stay river right if you try to run it. You can camp just down river from Three Tier on some rocks (just past John Eddy's mansion) along the bank river left. Or you can go a bit further to the new paddler camp at mile 20 river right. On day 2, you'll encounter some reed banks. Stay left on almost every single one. Dandridge will be OK with a lower flow and is a really cool stretch of river. That's where Blue Sage starts and you'll see quite a few houses. We call the stretch below Dandridge "Lake Motherfucker" because it's always dead into the wind. Side note... about half way down Lake Motherfucker, there's a submerged airplane engine. No fuselage. No propellers, but definitely a big V8 airplane engine. We found it last year while snorkeling. Nobody has any idea that it's there let alone how it got there. See if you can find it. Just right of center of the big lake at the start of Blue Sage.... Dry Devils Rapids can be tough too. Mid-way through Blue Sage. The lake below Dry Devils holds the biggest bass on the river, IMO. Fish deep if you want to catch them that time of year. Turkey Bluff is below that. Look for the cave drawings river left to figure out why it's called Turkey Bluff. You can either camp on rocks in the Narrows (Turkey Bluff is the start of the Narrows) or there's a paddler camp at mile 29. I'd vote to enjoy the Narrows and camp there. My favorite stretch of river from a beauty standpoint. If you go all the way to the second paddler camp, it'll be a long day 2, then you'll just be dicking around at the Big Satan (Dan Hughes) take-out which is at mile 30. It's easy to miss. Not well marked, but river left across from the big bluff. Fishing there can be decent. You could paddle past that and come back up if you're feeling froggy. We did that once and found some nice spots and some decent fish.
  25. Another friend that goes with us uses one and likes it. I prefer to pump my water into a larger container so I don't have to dick with the straw every time I want to drink. I use a Katadyn Hiker Pro. About $80. Also, make sure at least one of you has a jet boil. Eating a warm meal in the evening beats the hell out of jerky. And necessary for coffee. I have a portable French press that I take. Nothing better than sipping a hot cup of coffee watching the sun rise above the Devils.
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