09.07.26 Did some assessing and planning up at The Fly Barn...

      It was a lazy Labor Day weekend Sunday so I loaded up Luke and headed for Ridgeland. But that wasn't after sitting down at the computer to do some research on how to get things switched over from New Jersey to South Carolina. 

     First I had to navigate South Carolina's Board of Nursing website to see how Theresa and I get our New Jersey nursing licenses endorsed down here. We're both RN's and I'm an APRN and the process is not all that easy. In these days with AI and fraud running rampant people can try to pull a fast one to get a license so there's a ton to submit. Now doubt I'll be on the phone with them tomorrow as it's confusing as hell.

     And speaking of nursing, I've stayed in touch with my former students up at Capital Health in New Jersey who have already started their fall semester. There's a part of me that's missing not 

being there with them for their final year. When I saw there was a mass shooting in Trenton, 11 shot, 2 dead, last weekend it brought me back to my time teaching clinical in the ED/Trauma Center. Not that I ever wish bad on people, but, like my time in the fire department, if it's going down I want to be there. 

     And while on the computer I went to Google Maps and put The Fly Barn on the map. I had to pick what kind of place it was and the only thing that was close was "Sports Club", which is kind of 

what it is, or will be. No doubt this place will become a great hang for fly tyers and anglers, but also for my soon to be friends at Sun City, who need a place to escape "The Bubble" that are 55 and over communities. 

     For it being Labor Day, and Sunday, I was surprised when I rolled in and saw guys at work at the houses across the street and next to me. The house next to me is getting refurbished and the house across the street is getting a new fence installed around the back yard. One thing I've seen down here is that people just don't install fence sections like they do up north, but prefer to have them built from scratch. 

     The sounds of Spanish music from both places filled the air and I needed to share the air space with music more of my liking, and understanding. I knew I had packed my

battery operated portable Ryobi radio and I found 95.5 which is a classic rock station. If you're old like me, and from the New York area, then you remember 95.5 WPLJ. That station was Classic Rock until the mid-1980's before they went to a Pop/Top 40 format, before going off the air in 2019. So the music of AC/DC and "Hells Bells" mixed with some mariachi band of music while we all worked.

     The goal for yesterday was to lay out the new fence location, as it was constructed way over the true property lines. I don't know what the old owner and contractor were thinking but it's a mess, while well built, and also too high. Besides it just doesn't make sense and the layout looks weird. 

     Luckily I had the where with all to get a survey done before we closed and I needed that to find out actually where the property lines are. I'll be heading to Town Hall tomorrow to discuss moving it and getting within compliance as they are following this neighborhood-in-transition very closely. 

     I've come to learn that the property caddie corner to me has been sitting as you see it since a fire destroyed what structure was there. On one side of that is new construction, on the other, a vacant lot. But the parcel above is owned by the Gretsch family. That's Gretsch, the famous drum 

manufacturer, whose manufacturing facility is just beyond the rear tree line in the above photo. They have 16 acres and I took a spin around the block to check out their building (above). They started in Brooklyn in 1883 before moving to Ridgeland in 1985. It's here where they produce the high-end United States series drums. 

     It was then back to the building, shack, hovel, or tiny home, that is attached to the pole barn. If this were built today it would be called a Barndominium, yes that's a building type, where you have a living space attached or inside a barn type structure. Inside I found an old, but large, gun cabinet that I'll throw up on Facebook Marketplace.

     The second will be a big old disgusting refrigerator/freezer that sits outside. It still works but smells like ass or death depending on how the wind blows. 

I figured it would be good for a yard or bait shop once it's cleaned up. That'll be a come and get it for free, so I don't have to move it myself. 

     And then it came down to see what surprises the building has in store for me. Over the years the rains have just fallen off the metal roof near the foundation and rot, and some insect damage, is plain to see. I found a circular saw and made some cuts and was pleasantly surprised. 

      While the siding was shot the foundation was solid concrete and the sill plate and studs were in serviceable shape. I worked my way around the budding to the bathroom area and that was in a little bit rougher shape. A few kicks off the walls and I could see daylight, which is never good. Theresa and the realtor were skeeved by the toilet but that can just cleaned up, alright, I'll just drop a new one in after some structural repairs.

     I was glad to see Pex tubing running throughout so plumbing wise it'll be easy to work with. While I got my account with the water department up and running I still don't have water so that'll be a stop at Town Hall on Tuesday. 

     I stayed for a few hours before Luke and I almost died of heat stroke. While this place is well shaded it's just f'in hot. Just check out those feels like temperatures. I don't know how anyone 

down here's overweight if they do anything physical out in this heat. I guess it's all that good Lowcountry cooking.

     Before we left I hung a few things I found as I looked through the bins for the tools that I needed. It was just a few decorations to make this place look like it's occupied, and well loved, and like home. 

      As I drove home my mind was working overtime with design ideas. I'm no designer but I figured I could do something on the computer to visualize what was going on in my head. But first, shoes off, and then a shower because this isn't Titusville, it's Sun City. It's been a week since my new life began. I have yet to hit the gym but I've done pretty well just changing my eating habits, which could be better, and taking long walks with Theresa and Luke, plus the outside work in the equator like temps.

     I've tried to cut out the carbs and sugar but have cheated from time to time. Luckily I found the scale when we were bin diving in the garage so I laid  it down and stepped on.

     If we take my starting weight last week at 214 then I'm down just about 7 pounds the first week. That means 7 more until I'm under 200, which is where I want to be, on my way to 190. Imagine if I hit the gym or laced up those basketball shoes? 

     After getting all cleaned up I sat down and put mouse to computer. I wanted to see how the barn might look with the board and batten look. And then there's The Fly Barn logo that will go somewhere. It's a residential neighborhood and I want this place to look classy, even though less than classy people may be hanging out there. So here's what I came up with...

     I really like how it looks, at least on the computer. Few things come to mind. First there's a lot of electrical conduit running around. There's some big 220 lines that were installed for the RV that was parked there. I'll need to get a buddy from NYC Electricians Local 3, I have two, one I met here, and one that's gonna visit, to take a look and see if I can convert it to 120 and maybe help relocate it. 

     I also like the logo on the building and not the barn. My neighbor shouldn't have to look at a big sign every time she leaves her house. And that siding where I have the logo above? 

      Well currently it's T1-11 and in good shape. Replacing it with concrete fiber siding raises a few concerns. One, do I really need to replace it? What if I painted it and put on some batten strips? I think it would look just fine. Another concern is the weight of the concrete materials up there. Why put that added load up there? In a storm or hurricane it'll just be that more prone to collapse. But the big concern is me working off a 24 foot extension ladder to remove and then replace. Surely that's a 20-foot plus femur and hip fracturing fall. It'll be sketchy enough for me to paint it and install the trim and battens anyway. 

     And with all of the talk of projects and work the topic of a pick up truck keeps dancing in my head. Three things about pick up trucks in the Lowcountry. There is like zero rust. But, they ain't cheap. Not the new ones, almost new ones, or the beaters, which are hard to find. And down here they don't need four wheel drive like we do up north. 

     I found the below war-wagon listed out of Savannah. It's pretty much what I'm looking for and reminds me of the 1995 square body that I had that I sunk at the Atlantic Highlands Marina. For $2,700 and four wheel drive this could be the one. 

     I've been trying to come up with different angles, or sales pitches, to get Theresa on board. "The Suburban is my nice truck? I need a pick up for the work around The Fly Barn and home? I need it to tow the boat? Did you see what happened to me in the puddle last week?". So far none are really working. She says I always buy crap, which may be true, but I also never pay full price, and never have a payment. She wants a new couch...maybe there's something to bargain with. But, I have to act fast, these trucks don't sit around for long.

09.06.26 I got it...Welcome to The Fly Barn...

     Ok, here it is, final answer...it's, The Fly Barn. I don't care if I like it, love it, or hate it, it is what it is. The previous names just didn't do it for me. What I was looking for was a name that started with "The", had something to do with fly tying or fishing, and had something in it that described what it is or where it stands. So having "Fly" in there makes sense. 

     So far so good. We have "The Fly". Now I thought of making the second word "Angler" or "Anglers". It could be something that goes along with The Average Angler, but Average wouldn't work. See I, well we, like things that start with "The". Theresa is The Holistic Helper, me, The Average Angler and The Psychiatric Practitioner.  And as you can see both of the last two words start with the same letter. This all means nothing in life, and you may not care, and I wouldn't blame you.

     So then I had to look at word number three. What is this place? A garage? A tiny house? Just ghetto? And I have to remind myself that one day this place is going to be sweet, so I don't want to pick out any name, but one with some class that I can put up a sign on. I looked online again at the different types of construction and what popped out to me was that this is a pole barn. Bingo.

     Now a had two other words that could work in the name, Pole and Barn. So this a pole barn. Now that I look at it I have to wonder how this joint would hold up during a hurricane? Alright, that'll be for another time and post, that I hope never happens. 

     I searched online and found 548 synonyms for the word barn. I again was looking for something that started with "F" to match up with Fly. Here's what some of my choices were,

     Nothing seemed to link up or jump out at me. But as I went further down the list there were a few names that definitely seemed like they could fit nicely. These would be the words that Theresa and our realtor used to describe this slice of heaven.

     Words like fleabag, flophouse, dump, and slum. While they me a true description now they won't be relevant for much longer. So I was left with just Barn.

     When I put it together I had, The Fly Barn. I like it although I wish the last two words started with the same letter. And other places that started with The Fly... . Well we had The Fly Hatch, and there's The Fly.... Shack, Stop, Den, and so on. With my brain all twisted up with options I went to the dreaded AI for some help.

     After seeing the results it kind of twisted up my head. The Fly Barn came up first, but that one I already came up with, but it was under the neutral heading, which to me, means boring. Then I had to ask the question if the name only had to be three words? 

     After all of the name game over the last months, with several names, ones chosen and then changed, and then a last ditch effort in using AI, I'm sticking with The Fly Barn. And I already have a nickname. But its proper name will be The Fly Barn, but when I refer to it it'll be, The Barn. "Honey, I'm heading up to The Barn", or maybe, "Why don't you take your s%$t and go to The Barn....", love her.

     While I was writing I paused because a logo idea came into my head, and I like it, a lot. I can visualize this on some hats, shirts, and of course, on the side of the building. 

    So there it is, "So let it be written, so let it be done". I'm really digging it. But maybe next time I do it I'll spell Ridgeland correctly. I just had to fix it...

09.05.26 First good rain at The Guide House, I can't with that name...

 

     Got to spend some time up in Ridgeland doing a little yard work and organizing inside the inside of the structure..... I say structure because I still can't come up with a name that fits this place. It's on a corner, Colin's Corner, nope, The Boat House, nope, The Fly Shack, someone else has that, The Guide House, it's not a house and it doesn't fit. The Carport? The Barn? The Hovel? The Fly Hut? Anyway, it'll come to me but it's annoying. 

     While there I also did some layout for moving that fence that's off in the distance in the picture above. I'm having some thoughts, although it creeps Theresa out, to just clean the place up and use it rather then have a whole demo and reconstruction. A coat of paint inside and some air conditioning and it could be a great place to hang and tie flys. In the future I can see one of those Amish type built sheds on the property. 

     I would rather spend my time and money getting the place, one in fence compliance, and then spruced up for the neighborhood. I think board and batten siding would look great and will be a 

good replacement for the T1-11 siding that's there, with a lot of it rotted away along the foundation. I saw that the water does during a good rain yesterday and it pretty much runs off the metal roofs and down along the house, aka, shack, shed, hovel, workhouse.

     I first want to start with the walls around the garage. It should be, my famous last words, pretty easy to remove and then put up Hardie sheets, or fiber cement panels, which will clean it up a a lot. Luckily in town there's a county recycling facility and they take construction debris. I just need something, like a beater pick up, to get the materials and then get rid of the debris. 

     Like most other days the heat builds to a point and then it downpours. Then it's comfortable before the oven gets cranked up a bit. Yesterday there was a late day high tide so I went and took a look. These photos of water, trees, and grass will have to do until I find the fish. 

     I had company yesterday as another fly rodder was working the same flat. After the water filled it we talked and he said he one tailing redfish, as I did, but neither had a good shot. One of the things I saw, and learned, was that, I believe, is that some of those larger wakes in skinny water are huge mullet. I've seen smaller fish and shrimp, but these are the corn cob sized type. 

     And in the striped bass scene Charlie, aka Bunky Limpert, took a break from chasing largemouth and muskie and put his 19 foot Lowe out into the big blue ocean, and he didn't regret it. 

     Charlie was live-lining mackerel off the coast of Maine when this 47-inch fish bit. Charlie said fighting and landing this fish while alone wasn't easy. One of the things I had to question was does a fish that size, now way up in Maine, take the trip south to outside of the Chesapeake in a few weeks? Or do these fish stay and winter over up in New England. Some tracking tags would be cool in order to follow these migratory, or not, large female striped bass.

09.04.26 There's more to do down here then fishing...

     While I've spent most of the first week down here looking for those elusive redfish there's other things to do. We've been spending a part of each day opening a bin or a box and trying to figure out what to do with it. While the garage looks like Sanford & Son could be shot there it's better then paying to keep it in a storage unit. 

     Before the incoming and his tide I went up to The Guide House for a check in and to find some simple tools to handle some things around the house. When we first arrived down here the three homes on the block were for sale and when I rolled up yesterday all had been sold and were occupied. It's a neighborhood now and I have to do my part to be a good neighbor. So I mowed the grass and hung up the American flag to give the place some color, pride, and life. 

     I'm sick of posting pictures like the above but that's what I'm doing. Walking and stalking looking for tailing redfish. What was interesting yesterday was there was no life on the strong and wind driven incoming tide. That was totally different from the spot I'd been hitting the previous four days. At this spot there were markedly more fiddler crabs so I thought I might have better luck. 

     After I baked for a bit I went back to my truck and found the below. Water was starting to fill in where I had parked. Not that it would have been swamped but it showed me how and where the water winds up on bigger tides. 

     Then I did what every good New Jersey beach angler does. They get in the car and try and find fish. Tailing redfish shouldn't be too hard to find, if I was in the right spot. I drove and broke out the binoculars but again couldn't find a tailer. The only thing that got me was a crab that made its way up the stalk of a grass I think to grab a snail that was perched above the water. Its carapace looked like a redfish fin for a while. It at least drew my attention and interested me for a bit. 

     I walked a few miles no doubt going from the super skinny, or supra tidal, zone to where the sound met the entrance to the marsh. Not a nothing. Nowhere. With high tides today around 330 if I go it would be later. 

     Last evening I met with the fence contractor who built the fence from scratch at The Guide House. That was two years ago. When I bought it the town let me know it was out of compliance. And now that the neighborhood is up and running I have to address before they bring the heat. So we came up with a plan, an early one, on how we are going to handle it. I could do it alone but would welcome the help from the guy who did. I told him to come up with a price, which would include me being the laborer. 

     I don't know what the idea of the original design was but it looks kinda wonky. Right now it sits over the property line onto the county road, and it's too high. I went over to a neighbors house, corner house upper left, who was having flat work done. He was a contractor who bought the house for family to live in. He did a beautiful job but had poured too large of a foot print of concrete, so the town made him rip it up and put pavers down. Ouch. I guess they mean business down here in the south. 

     I have a vision about this place which will include a new apron running from the street to the entrance to the garage. But first I have to deal with this fence which is well built,

but kinda of fortress like in appearance, and way out of the property lines. Today will be my first visit to Ridgeland Town Hall so I'll see how welcoming they are. 

09.03.26 Yeah, I'm not finding this...

      Now to be fair the above is a picture from an article that was in FlyLords magazine about redfishing in Texas. But I have to say with now a little under a week of fishing those flood tides I would have expected to see some of the above, or more than the three I have seen. One I watched to learn and two others were off in the distance.

     I started yesterday early on the incoming tide. I wanted to get there and wander around looking for the head of the channel where the water is deepest on the flood tide before it pours over onto the flat and the shorter grass. 

     Even though I was way early, with the heat and humidity brutal, I waited it out and watched the water first come from underneath my shoes and then like a slow wave into those finger channels. And with the water came life. Most of the activity came from bait fishes like mud minnows, or mummichogs, finger mullet, peanut bunker, and shrimp. The water also brought blue crabs that I saw picking around the stalks of grass. 

     When the water got deeper there were larger wakes which are some type of predator fish chasing the bait. And while the water was relatively clear I couldn't get a good look as to what was swimming in front of me. Every now and then there was an explosion coming from inside the tall grass which sounded like someone had dropped a bowling ball from the sky, but again never within sight.

     I ventured to deeper waters near the creek to see if the fish were closer to the bigger waters rather than being way up in the back. While throwing flies there may be more difficult it was worth the shot as I continue learning the structure and tides. Again, I didn't find moving grass or tailing fish, which is getting frustrating. 

     I found the above illustration during a search of tidal plains on Wikipedia. It explained the differences in the tidal zones with names, between deeper water (littoral), subtidal (below low tide), intertidal (low tide), through supratidal ( above high tides).

     Fly fishing skinny water is very dependent on the moon phases and tide cycles. That's here in the Lowcountry, back in New Jersey, or on the Vineyard. Low tides are low tides and high tides

are high tides but when the sun and moon lines up you get those coveted flood, or spring tides. The last spring tide was the full moon on August 28th, the next new moon will be on September 11th. In between the full and new moons is the neap, or week tide. 

     The tidal range down here in the Lowcountry is around 6 to 8 feet. They can be higher or lower during the spring tides along with storm surges and wind direction. If you've ever seen a blowout tide then you know. An example would be a low outgoing on the beach with a strong west wind which pushes the waters out. 

     Today I'm going back to where I started last week. I need a change of scenery and look for something new. High tide comes in around 2 o'clock so I'll be there a few hours before. 

     I'll be looking for cruising fish in the deeper waters rather than watching and waiting on the flats. With the neap tide a day away today will be it, I think, for fishing. I have to get back to going through bins and boxes and setting life up down here. It still feels like an extended vacation, but it's time to find that healthy balance, which will include work. Because the new moon is only a week away and those flood tides bring in the fish, or so I'm told.