Saturday 31 October 2009

Doc Hays and the Trophy Bass






















Doc Hayes had a veterinary clinic on Sterlington Road a few blocks from where I lived in Monroe, Louisiana. I can still smell that place and see all the amazing specimens stored in glass jars filled with formaldehyde.

I always stopped to admire the trophy sized big mouth bass mounted on an oval board above the door between the lobby and the exam room of the clinic. Everyone who came to the clinic asked about the Big Bass, caught well before my family moved to Monroe in 1949. I couldn't quite read the small plaque below the bass. But I knew the story just like I knew Doc's reputation as an avid fisherman. He loved to talk about fishing.

Yes, that fish had a story. It took cunning to catch him. Doc tried many times. He knew where that bass lived in bayou De Siard. Doc tried all his hand-tied lures and lots of different live baits but the Big Bass wasn't interested.

Now Doc had a knack with knots and stitches. He had lots of practice on dogs, cats and livestock. When he was driving out to vaccinate cattle for TB, he pondered over that bass. At last he figured out a possible way to tempt the bass.

Using his skill with knots and stitches, Doc set about making a tiny harness to fit a mouse. I wondered if he used the clinic exam table for this job. He laced two small hooks on each side. The hooks sat flat against the mouse. Doc and the harnessed mouse headed for the bayou where Doc rowed out to where the Big Bass lived. Attaching line from his fishing pole to the harness, he set the harnessed mouse onto a small wooden board that he floated next to the rowboat. He gave the board a gentle push and it slowly floated away with the mouse toward the bass's hidey hole. When the time was right, Doc gave a little tug on his fishing line. The mouse plopped into the water and began swimming frantically.

Big Bass couldn't resist. He swallowed the mouse, hooks and all.

Doc Hays had Big Bass mounted and put in place of honor above the door. I never forgot that fish nor Doc's cleverness.

J in JaM

Sunday 1 February 2009

Wesekh (Broad Collar)

by M in JaM
Our summer days can get hot and humid. But in tropical highlands, cool mornings make me want to throw a little something over my shoulders. I wanted to knit something lightweight, a single layer, something that would stay on and that wouldn't hang down into my oatmeal. I wanted to use my latest handspun yarn: a soft merino/soy blend, hand-dyed by Ewe Give Me The Knits.

Because I have limited experience as a knitter, I also wanted a pattern. An online capelet pattern (free) posted some years ago by Fuzzy Galore gave me the courage to procede. I made a swatch with my merino/soy handspun and adjusted the simple pattern for my gauge and needles. I cast onto circular needles (for the first time ever!) and began knitting. I followed the pattern directions except I made my "capelet" shorter. It extends to the edges of my shoulders. It measures 6" instead of 12" from top to bottom. Wondering what to call it, since it wasn't really a capelet, I searched online and found the "wesekh", or broad collar, of ancient Egypt (usually made with beads). I had knitted a wesekh. I like it.

photo by J in JaM