Biggest snowfall of the season

Cash is oblivious to the -5 wind chill

Looks as if I took this picture after a few Budweisers

Two-and-a-half hours of shoveling

Sundown on a cold Strafford evening

Missouri Chili Recipe Revealed!

Mike's Secret Chili Recipe Revealed

For the first time ever, I am going to disclose my recipe for my chili that has remained a deep, dark secret for decades. The batch I am about to enumerate upon will easily feed 10 people. I usually freeze some, and keep a portion in the fridge for lunch the next two weeks.  

I was going to let this recipe die with my demise, but with a sudden burst of sentiment, I have decided to reveal this culinary blend so that gastric distress can prevail.

This MUST be prepared only when a severe cold snap is in progress.

Brown 2 lbs. of ground beef, set aside.

Brown 2 lbs. of top sirloin cut into 1/2 inch cubes, set aside

Sauté 2 1/2 cups of yellow onions.

Mix all meat and onions in a dutch oven. Add 2 packs of Williams Chili seasoning, 2 cans of whole tomatoes (quartered), 1 quart of V-8, 1 small can of tomato paste, 1 can of tomato sauce, 2 cans of kidney beans (drained), 2 cans of red beans (drained), a can of regular Coke (the secret to this recipe), and 2 tsp. powdered cumin.

Simmer 2-4 hours on medium.

Mr. Roebke and Dean go Fishing

On Wednesday, February 11, Dean and Mr. Roebke took the day to go fishing.  Mr. Roebke met Dean at 4 a.m. and they headed for Winona, Missouri, to fish on the 11 Point River at the Highway 19 bridge. After a breakfast at the McDonald's in Mt. View, the pair timed their assent on the river perfectly. They geared up in their waders, and, after debate, decided to used their spinning reels rather than fly rods. 

WHAT A MORNING! The duo trekked about a mile on the Ozark Trail which runs parallel to the river, finally descending upon the river at the break on daylight at a spot downstream from Greer's Spring. The heavy mist was lifting from the river and the red and yellow hues from the rising sun made for a spectacular scene. An eagle flew overhead in what had to be the greatest of signs. 

Mr. Roebke started with very bad luck. On his first cast his line broke. Tying on another brown rooster tail, his next cast was attacked by a 3 lb. small mouth bass. After a great fight, the monster was landed. Next cast, ANOTHER strike. The line again popped. Again, another lure was attached. Dean was having doubts about the quality of Mr. Roebke's line, and when it snagged and broke again, the issue was settled. All this time Dean hauled in two nice small mouths. With this set back, we decided to return to the car and grab our fly rods. 

Nearly an hour later, our flies hir the river. The action which began so promising was minimal now. We did manage to land a few small trout and by 10 a.m. we had almost reached the bridge. We were fishing a fast riffle. Dean caught two in a span of a minute.  Mr. Roebke pitched his wooley booger upstream and was rewarded with a huge strike. Line zipped from his reel as the fish struggled. At Dean's suggestion, the fish was guided into a shallow pool and subdued. It was a 20 inch rainbow trout. The largest of the day. 

We went to the truck for a snack. Dean wanted to go back to using the spinning reels, so, at his urging, Mr. Roebke stripped off his line and replaced it with 6 lb. test. 

The plan for the afternoon was to drive down a logging road to a spot about a mile downstream. Perhaps a bit disconcerting for Mr. Roebke that the parking spot was in a cemetary.

 There is a large island there which they were going to circumnavigate. it was uncanny how they would fish in stretches with no nibbles and then get to a place where they would both catch 3 or 4 in the same spot.

Alas, more bad luck for Mr. Roebke as the bail for his reel fell off at 3:45 signaling the end of the fishing day.