Top_Heavy's World

I have walked all of my food plots todate and I am crushed. I have one small section of clover and one small section of winter wheat (full seed and drying nicely from last falls planting) are all I have left. Every plot I checked was the same... flooded out and grown over with heavy grass, some as high as my shoulders.
I have decided to let it go until the first week of August and then mow it all, let it grow for 1 week, spray it with Round up, let it sit 2 weeks and then till it all with a 60" rear tine tiller or a tractor and disc. I have to start every thing over and to beat that it all has to go into a fall food source.
I have decided on BioLogic products this year. I will be planting some wheat, some turnips and some rape, but mostly I will be planting a blend with strong amounts of Austrian Winter Peas. I have been seeing and hearing about the unbelievable drawing power of this plant and I will have 5 acres or more in at least 40% peas.
This entire mess will mean I have to replant perennial materials in the spring again, but by using the tiller this fall, I hope to reduce the amount of work in the hard to get places.
August will be a busy month so I will bring you pictures of the progress then.

I have been doing a lot of research in preperation for the Iowa State 1000 yd bench rest competion next week. Pretty much what I have found out is I have nothing that is recommended, the wrong weight gun, barrel length, stock style, a sling, a bipod, no sand bags, too light of bullet, too light of cartridge... I am looking forward to the practice sessions this weekend. I will finally see what 1000 yards is all about.
I finished the loading for next weekend tonight. I had to weigh 240 bullets to get 100 that weighed exactly the same, 167.9 grains. I have 110 that weigh 168 and the rest vary a little, fine for practice but not consistant enough for competition. Every powder measure was exact by weight, not volume. Some people use a powder drop which opens a small vial to the powder, then closes the top and opens the bottom. This allows the set amount of powder to drop into the empty brass below. This isn't as exact with the long grains of the powder I am using and when the loads are weighed there is too much variation for my taste. I am really liking the Redding press and Sinclair reloading products I purchased, they are worth the price in ease of use and quality of craftmanship.
I will shoot at 1000 yards this weekend and report back on the groups.

Tonight was spent loading 150 rounds of super accurate ammo for my custom .308 Winchester. I have decided I am going to shoot at the Iowa State Championship next weekend. My rifle is a light tacticle/long range hunting gun so I will be a little out of my league, but this rifle can shoot and hopefully so can I! This is a bench rest competition and my rifle is set up for long range prone position shooting. Prone shooting is basically laying on your stomach on the ground and shooting the rifle with only your arms, shoulder and sling to hold the gun steady. Benchrest competitions allow guns upto 22 lbs and the light guns class allows for muzzle breaks. The guns are rested on sand bags or mechanical supports that have infinite adjustments. I will probably use a front sand bag to try and compete, but I shouldn't be able to place in the upper half. There is about 50 shooters expected in Pella for the shoot and I will be in both classes. Sort of funny, my first competition, my first time shooting over 800 yards, and I am going to break the ice at the state championships. I plan on having a good showing and learning a lot, I might even invest in a bench rest gun. The rifle I will be shooting is a hunting rifle, I am a hunter at heart, shooting against the super tricked out bench guns is a little intimidating. The .308 is also thought of as a 800 yard rifle, it drops off really badly after 800, so I will also be competing with many guns better suited for this range.
I am going in with many disadvantages and no major expectations... sounds like the makings for a great weekend of fun!

The flood water is gone, the clean up has had a couple of weeks to get into full swing and the full amount of devastation is really becoming clear. I was lucky, I had nothing in the affected areas and my company is only benefiting from the clean up. Cedar Rapids will be different for a long time. The lists of houses to be demolished is scary, the busines locations that lost everything is heart breaking. Over all the town has been pulling together pretty well, few looters, thieves and problems, just good people trying to find some semblance of normal life.

We have been working 24 hours per day with almost 60 people so I have been very negligent here, the site is up and running great after a couple of slow weeks and I am getting busy with trail cameras and food plots. I will start writing about deer hunts and associated ideas in the coming weeks. I will get back to regularity here, thanks for still being here!
Matt

The water is dropping quickly now, leaving a stinky, dirt covered world, that none of us have seen before. Downtown Cedar Rapids looks like a demilitarized zone. I drove around and picked up garbage today, the massive amounts of junk, broken windows, flooded vehicles, bent over trees and road signs... it was amazing.
My heart goes out to the people who actually lived in the areas flooded, my back aches as much as my heart as I know what toils have been undertaken these past couple of weeks. I worked in Palo to try and hold back the water.... that house got water 8' higher than the last sandbag.... that was tough to handle as my first labor or love was lost. I tried to help get belongings from another garage... we were unable to save much of the equipment in the brief moments we were given... a friends lawncare business had no flood insurance and he can't just replace that much equipment. My second attempt failed too. I spent an entire Saturday trying to pump, bail and drain a basement that was 5 1/2' deep. we got it down to the sump hole and we were forced to shut of the generator and clear the area... the neighbor had a gas leak.... the basement is again filling up and has a huge 3" crack developing down the length of a wall... I fear the house will be condemed. My next attempt failed.
I feel so worthless at this point. I have given my house, showers and food, my time... hours and hours of time, lacking sleep for over a week, and yet none of my struggles have visible success. I am glad I have helped so much, I love all that I have worked with and for, I just wish I could have done more. I am sorry to you all.
I wont quit, I am here for all that need it, just sort of looking for that first big "WE DID IT" experience. Good luck to all that are still fighting the good fight, God bless to all that have lost so much, and Thank you to all of the others out there who have volunteered