A non-profit charitable org. I have been involved in for years.
Habitat For Crappie Humanity.
You may have heard of it. We may not be completely legal, but we aint cut no boat dock trees down at any WBs lately either. We are mostly above-board and can be seen at any time if you happen to frequent local reservoirs in the middle of moonless foggy nights.
The sacrete is still drying this last dwelling is so recently built. Now, granted this one is just yur standard fourplex, its a little unassuming but if you are found homeless with nowhere else to live, I have found these suit crappie to a T. Also, older, wiser, and biggest crappie sometimes have grown old with the many neighbors a subdivision brings to the table, and prefer to live in relative solitutde. Size does not matter in this application has been my experience, and I have been in the Habitat biz for over 2 decades now. I find that the neighborhood you build in has more importance than being close to the 7-11 and a mall.
This particular fourplex has a history that leaves me with so many jumbled emotions I feel I may go haywire, and have to smoke it outta my system.
The trees in particular make me ashamed and proud, all at the same time.
Have a friend in the nursery business who can grow trees much like these. He had been so generous, done me a favor or 2, and I felt the urge to make a kindly gesture back. I purchased 4 trees much like these from him, with the story attached that I wanted to put them in my backyard, which I rent, and have no permission to do so, just to think the major funding of 20 bucks total would maybe turn into a meal at Long John Silvers, since he likes to eat em but aint much on catchin em. I took them once living, thriving, trees home and what they dint die from in those black pots unplanted & unwatered, winter took care of. Having aspirations of giving homeless crappie a place to seek refuge, I looked at these now twice-dead sticks and pilfered all that nice soil mix they were in for my own gardening needs, and put the crew to work hauling a little aggregate and a little sacrete. I thought of the grower fondly as construction began, and wondered if he'd be hacked at me that his tree growing had been so rudely left to the wolves, or honored that every fish I catch off them will have his DNA print on it? I hope none of you will have to question whether or not I will gleefully call him after my 1st bucketfulla huge slabs come off these and rightfully invite him to come join and be a much-deserved part of it.
Of course not. I bought them trees and they are mine. He best keep his butt away or I'll shoot. Ask C-Rex, I have a dog and I'll use him if need be. I have yet to drill holes in the trunks, mount toothpicks, and impale Crappir Nibbles but heck the sacrete aint even set up yet.
Some of you may would like to know where they are going but have the pride not to ax. Well, I'll tell ya. In the water.
The weird case of the trees Shellquacker grew
I do not stretch any truths in this telling:
I brought these trees home from Les' place late last summer, and very unlike me, neglected, abused, and abandoned em. No lie. They laid in their black plastic buckits rootbound and never once got a single drop of water. Then winter came and they laid outside and those rootballs enjoyed -8* weather, froze frequently. It was at the time of spring that I finally looked at em, felt ashamed at what I had let happen, and decided to make some kinda use outta em by contributing them to the Diascund Underwater Fish Attraction
Project.
I did so, in the original post. Well, I prepped them anyway. Then I set them next to the house and forgot about them.
Look at the rootballs in the original pics. I knocked off every last bit of soil that was around them before pouring the cement in, so as that there would be a good open tangle of roots for the cement to set up around. That was some yummy potting type soil Les grew em in and I saved every bit of it for my own greedy use.
Bout 3 wks ago something comes to my attention. A fleeting glimpse of the trees as I was taking my morning pee off the back steps showed BUDS on them trees. :eek: Now I am gettin the heebie jeebies and wondering what kinda Satanic Cult growing federation Les is a member of. He has a rather dark side anyway, along with a cpl potent herbal treatments, this is getting borderline freaky. I call him on it, but he fesses up to nothing. Man cannot live on bread alone by dammy, and darned if I will be easily led to accept that cypress trees grow outta pure concrete.
After much inner reflection, I find I cannot sink these trees to attract fish any more. I think I will take them to Chick Lake and set them out in about 2 ft of water and when I am 149 yrs old I can go back and marvel at the wonder of it all.
This has me so befuddled I may have to see if I can steady myself to shake a cpl red ones outta the bottle.
