Doc

If I had to guess (and that's all it is), I would say that it is badly distorted picture of of a fox, dog, or coyote with possibly the far right leg extended forward, blending in with the neck and snout of the head. Terrible motion distortion.

The one thing that I would like to do before I croak would be to make, by hand, my own longbow and arrows with knapped broadheads and take a deer with that stuff. I don't think that it will happen, but everything on a bucket list does not necessarily ever happen.

For those that do not know what a "Bucket List" is, it is a wish-list of things you want to do before you croak. I am curious as to what outdoor activities (Camping, trapping, hunting, fishing, hiking, etc.) you want to do at some point during the rest of your life that you so far have not done.

In the 1980's, a group of 4 of us bowhunting coworkers decided to go on a moose hunt. We drove everyone in the office crazy with our attempts at the perfect cow moose call, for about a year. We studied topo maps and researched every moose hunting magazine article we could find. Well, finally we did it. We went up to Shining Tree, Ontario Canada. We were required to use an outfitter so we had them get the licenses and we booked a cabin (which we didn't actually use) for a week's hunt. From the camp, we drove many miles on an old dirt road. Unloaded the canoes and gear at a very remote lake. We went to the end of that lake and portaged about 150 yards into another lake and went to the far end of that lake. We were in deep. So that evening we set up two tents and all the things that we needed for a wilderness camp. That night we were all sitting around the campfire in the pitch dark, many miles from any civilization, Yacking about the usual B.S. that hunters talk about at a campfire.... Oh but wait.....There was a nasty little prank that was brewing long before we ever left home. Our dog loved to play tug of war with an old bath towel and while she was yanking on the towel, she would start with this gosh-awful loud snarling and growling like some sort of deranged rabid wolf. It was scary. But it gave me an idea. I had this small portable battery-powered cassette tape recorder. So I put about a 15 minute empty segment on the beginning of the tape and then started taping a bunch of this loud wolf-like snarling and growling. Yeah, you're probably already guessing what I did..... Back to the campfire. I said I was going to take a leak, and I left the group and went off into the darkness with the tape-player. I turned the thing on and returned to the campfire. The 15 minute blank section of the tape let everybody forget that I ever left the campfire. Suddenly, there was a loud horrible wolf-like snarling and growling coming from out in the pitch black darkness not far from the camp. Panic set in as everybody scrambled for knives hatchets and any weapon we could put our hands on. By the way this was an archery moose hunt so there were no firearms in camp. I did my best he-man John Wayne act and volunteered to lead the way out to see what this creature was. When we got to the tape-player, I dove on it and turned it off. It took a while before everyone caught on. I guess it was my rolling around on the ground laughing that kind of tipped them off. It is surprising that they didn't throw me in the lake.

Ha-ha-ha-ha......Things happen. I will repost later.

Back in the mid 80's, 4 of us guys from work went up to Shiningtree, Ontario, Canada on moose hunt.......way back in. Old dirt road for miles, into a lake all the way to the end of that lake. A 150 yard portage into another lake and all the way to the end of that lake. It was damned remote. We set up a camp on the shoreline of the lake. But before we wet, I packed a special extra piece of equipment. We had a dog that enjoyed playing tug-of-war with any piece of cloth, and while doing this she would make these gosh-awful growling and snarling noise that sounded like some deranged rabid animal. I had a small portable tape recorder, and I taped a long session of all these loud growling and snarling noises, leaving a 15 minute empty section of the tape at the beginning. So the first night after our tent-camp had been set up we all sat around the campfire talking about the usual BS that hunters talk about around the fire, and I said I have to take a leak and went off into the total black darkness. I pulled the tape recorder/player out of my bedroll without anyone paying attention and took it with me. I turned it on and came back to the campfire. That 15 minutes of empty tape gave time for everyone to forget I had even left. Then all of a sudden, in the middle of the deepest, darkest Canadian wilderness came this horrible loud maniacal growling and snarling out of the darkness. Panic set into the camp as everybody grabbed knives and hatchets and anything they could to defend themselves. It was an archery hunt, so there were no guns. Finally, we decided to go out and see what vicious thing it was that was threatening the camp. So I put on the big brave John Wayne style act and led the crew through the darkness using just flashlights to light the way. When it turned out to be a tape recorder, I am not sure what kept those guys from throwing me in the lake.

So, can you imagine walking to your stand in the pitch dark with only a bow in your hands and all of a sudden you hear that screaming, snarling noise in the bushes just ahead of you? That just might get me thinking about turning around and heading back home.

Yuck! That place just has way too many rats.

Mange is a highly contagious skin disease caused by parasitic mites that burrow into the skin and cause inflammation. It is primarily found in mammals, including dogs, cats, foxes, and raccoons The sarcoptic mange is noteworthy because of the fact that it is a zoonotic disease which can easily be passed on to humans. So don't be handling any dead mangy critters.

The last bunch of days have shown me the best snow removal system with more predicted to keep the snow gone. It doesn't cost anything and it is all done by the same guy that put it there. Come-on spring!

I have seen foxes that were quite hairless and all crusted up with mange. Not a nice disease.

I was wrong. The Democrats are the political party that just keeps on giving and giving. They are really getting to be a great comedy act. That lovely singing that sounds like bag of bobcats and those clown videos where they are bouncing around trying to look like fighting stances, or more likely somebody going into convulsions. And those lovely paddle signs and the weirdo shaking his cane at Trump during his speech. I think they are doing their best to destroy the Democrat party......And maybe that isn't really such a bad thing.

Yup! That is an old-timer. I have seen them that size on our hill. The second pic looks like a great place to have a seat and take a break.

Check out that meat-pole. Has to be the result of AR's..... right?

Guys that are out there trying to ice-fish might find those things useful. Actually, ice has been a real problem on our driveway, and I have had a couple of close calls where I almost went down. Where did you buy those, and how much did they cost?

This one had a mange problem starting on his tail.

He had better not get too aggressive or he will quickly learn about skunks. Especially if he gets some of that in his eyes.

There has been a few times when I have noticed deer and turkeys hanging together. I often wondered if that was because they both kind of relate each other with finding acorns, and use each other to locate that food source. Do you suppose that they have formed some sort of symbiotic relationship based on food?

How does duck egg production compare to chicken egg production? Anybody know?

We had ducks years ago. The darn things became pets. They used to follow me around. Butchering time was not pleasant. We also had rabbits, chickens and goats. Yeah, we got caught up in that farming thing that everyone gets into out here in the country. It worked good for my two boys. They had chores to do, and they learned about responsibility and actually doing something for their allowance.

Anybody have any pictures of odd-shaped trees?

When they legalized rifles here in our county, I decided to go for something with reduced recoil. I had been shooting a 12 ga shotgun. So I called up my son and had him bring his .270 up for me to test fire. I honestly decided that the .270 had no kick at all. So I bought one. My suggestion is to find someone that owns a .270 and ask to take a shot or two. I would be surprised if the recoil bothers your bad shoulder. I don't know the nature of your shoulder injury, but I cannot imagine that the recoil of a .270 would aggravate it at all.

Here is just one of the hundreds of designs on the internet. Do a Google search, "building a chicken coop" it all begins for you: https://easycoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/FreePlans/12x8_Chicken_Coop_Plan_Free.pdf This is a pretty jazzy one, but you can also de-feature as far as you want. There are other ones that incorporate an outdoor yard too. Have fun.

I have thought about an outdoor shooting shed that could be mostly closed up with only a small shooting port, and a small heater inside for winter use. I would have removable side panels with bug screening when the panels are removed for spring and summer shooting. Room enough for at least two shooters. A roof overhang to protect the gun barrel from rain or snow. I would do whatever possible to keep the weather out even in a driving wind. There would be a wide bench for accessories (bullets spotting scope, and whatever else might be there. Enough room to lean gun cases and other paraphernalia against the back wall. If the shed does not wind up too heavy, I might consider some bicycle tires to make it mobile and some ATV hitches front and back so I could pull it around to vary the shooting distances. I'll bet I'm not thinking of everything. The reason I posted this is because I am planning a construction of a such a "shooting shed" next summer and I'm looking for ideas. I don't want it to be finished and then have to say, "Gee, I wish I had done this or that. It is a one-shot deal.

If you were going to build the best shooting bench your imagination could conjure up, what features would you include?