Doc

I discovered that using a vise was pretty quick and a more controlled way to keep from bashing them up too much. I got a lot of complete halves. Same thing with the hickory nuts. It actually went along pretty quick.

Is there such a thing as a "gruntled" hunter?

So, this year was a record year for bumper crops of nuts. The hickory nuts were covering the ground, and they actually had had that outer shuck already peeled off. I picked up a 1/2 peck basket full in just a few minutes. That was so quick and easy, that I visited one of our local black walnut trees, and gathered up a pile of those too. Just stepped and squashed the soft green outer shell and picked the walnut out. I took them all up in the basement and laid them all out on newspaper for about a week and let everything dry off. Then during one of those wet throw-away days, I sat in the shop cracking hickory nuts and walnuts. You really need a lot of patience to sit there and do that ..... kind of makes you wonder if you'll ever get a life some day .... lol. Well anyway, when I got done I had quite a pile of shelled nuts ready for cooking. So I put them in the freezer and yesterday the wife got into a baking frenzy and did up several batches of cookies and a few cupcakes that featured these two kinds of nuts. First of all, let me point out that to my knowledge there is no place that you can buy shelled hickory nuts and shelled black walnuts, so basically we are talking about a rather scarce delicacy. Second, I have to say that each of those two varieties have a very distinct and unique flavor. Third, I will say that those cookies (and cupcakes) were some of the best tasting things I have ever had. I believe that I have tasted some stuff that is absolutely fantastic and that 99.99% of the people have never and will never get a chance to taste. So, am I the only one here who has ever gathered and shelled hickory nuts and black walnuts? Because I will say that if my time were counted for anything at all, those nut-meats are quite a bit like gold in terms of value. I believe that they are a harvest that is impossible to commercially automate. But as a once in a lifetime experiment, it was worth every minute.

Generally speaking, I am not one to keep shooting until nothing is left moving. The wack 'em and stack 'em philosophy just isn't my thing. But then we are talking about a different state with different population dynamics and control needs. I don't have a clue what the mindset and needs are down there. Perhaps there is a need to mow them down like rats at a dump, who knows? I will say that it is a shocking picture of action that we seldom get to take part in, and perhaps it's a picture that a lot of us would rather not be involved in. That may account for all the uproar.

This time of year, the fur is prime, and they generally look all fluffy and plumped up. But yes, he does look like he is doing very good.

The deer were able to put on some hefty fat reserves this year in many parts of the state, which will help them withstand anything so far with no problem. But If winter extends into March and April with deep snow, that is when their supply of reserve energy will be tested. However, those talking about thick crusting on the snow put the deer into a different winter mortality category that relates to losses to predators rather than starvation. Anytime coyotes or dogs can run on top of the snow where the deer punch down into it, The coyotes or dogs have a distinct advantage. Also, I do recall hearing of a large deer-kill that was due to an extraordinary icing event where a bunch of deer actually slid to their deaths in a deep/steep ravine. I can't recall where it was that that happened and it was a bunch of years ago. But something like that might be a problem in certain unique areas where the ice is so thick that they do not break through but also have no traction.

And people question the ethics of baiting?? .....lol.

Nice deer, and great that you were able to zero in on him with just using Google Maps.

First project in the spring is a new roof for the barn. 38 years for an asphalt shingle roof is pushing the life expectancy a bit .... lol. And I have a bit of roof damage to show for it. Metal roof this time. Also, it is time to get back at the brush clearing down along the driveway. That damn wild rose is sure persistent. In a hunting category, I want to try a bit more off-hand shooting just to see if I can improve a bit there. Not sure how that will work out. After all, it's not like I am getting any steadier in my old age .... lol. I might also drag out the old recurve just to see what I can do with it. I have to add a couple of pear trees to my orchard. Also, I am going to try my hand at grafting. I have a scrawny Bartlett pear tree that really should come out of it's shaded location. It never is going to do well where I planted it years ago, in fact it is dying. I also have a real nice-shaped seckle(sp?) pear tree that has these little dinky, hard-as-a-bullet, pears all over it. So I want to make a bunch of grafts from the dying Bartlett tree to the seckle pear tree that has the crappy little pears. I'll see how that works out. Also, I have a lot of trim work to do on the trees in my mini-orchard. They have been ignored and finally need some attention. Also have some spray work for apple scab on the apple trees. These damn trees really are high maintenance. Also have some repair work for the pump shed. There is no shortage of projects around this place. So maybe I should be enjoying the winter break instead of always complaining about the weather .... ha-ha. The work begins when the snow goes away.

Back in the olden days when I took my rifle hunter safety training, Our instructors made sure we understood what a bullet (12 gauge slug to be precise) could do to the human body by showing some very gruesome detailed pictures. That was the right message, in the right context, with the right impact, and was aimed specifically at hunter safety. Of course if that were to be done today, you would have a mob scene of angry parents on your doorstep. No problems with having little Johnny sit down every week watching somebody on Criminal Minds cutting eyes out their live victims or eviscerating some lady while she begs for her life, or any number of other atrocities that they depict each week.

What is the current record these days?

I ain't saying nothing! I know how those lake effect bands can shift at any second.

Does it not bother anyone that every day there seems to be more and more ways that we are being put under government and commercial scrutiny. A lot of this stuff resembles conditions of house arrest. How much power and control do we really want to put in the hands of the government. The limits on personal surveillance seem to be completely disappearing and everyone is simply shrugging their shoulders and chalking it up to the necessities of protection from terrorism. I'm afraid that the real costs of 911 are the levels of freedom and independence and privacy that we are now willing to accept losing in the name of homeland security. This drone stuff is simply another stage in the spread of our 24/7 surveillance which is just another way of saying 24/7 controlled and guarded condition.

I remember the joke back with the old westerns was how many of the good guys were "hand-shooters". Guys like Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers were so good they only needed to shoot the gun out of the bad-guys hand rather than drill him in the heart-lung area .... lol. Also there never seemed to be any blood. Apparently they were killed without putting any holes in anyone. Oh and even though the good guy had a gun in his holster, he always chose to engage in a fist fight to capture the bad guy. I guess the point is that the movies never dwelled on the blood and guts details of the action. Also the main theme of the movies was not simply about gratuitous torture and blood-letting instead of a moral message of good triumphing over evil. Fast forward to today with the flood of C.S.I. kinds of programs where we have corpse after corpse laying on a slab with the chest split open and the coroners fondling dripping human organs. Or the shooting victim laying twisted in some grotesque fashion on the sidewalk with half his face blown off. And then there is that show called Criminal Minds where the deranged evil-doers devise and perform some of the most graphic, disgusting, forms of torture in minute detail that the authors can devise. And of course the directors ensure that every close-up detail is captured for the audience's shock and entertainment. Do these things inspire demented minds to turn these things into action? I suppose that with kids of all ages being constantly bombarded with these images, it is only a matter of time before you get the right kid with the wrong mind who will say, "Damn, that looks like fun". Probably the big difference between the movies of the olden days and the movies of today was that the level of detail and reality and violence has grown. The central theme is not so much about any kinds of moral messages as in good vs. evil, but more focused only on who can out-gross the next with disgusting images and demented actions. Being bombarded with that sort of thing on a daily basis does make you ask whether or not that affects defective minds? I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised. Certainly, there have been more than a few documented copycat kinds of heinous crimes based on movie themes, but you can have that result simply from the evening news.

I do have one white-flash camera, in fact I just bought it. It is not used for deer scouting, but for other animals where picture quality is important. Most of these kinds of pictures will be taken at night and the IR cameras will get you only black and white images of not all that great quality. The purpose for my white-flash cam is to get those higher quality critter (foxes, coons, rabbits, mink, muskrats, beavers, etc.) pictures. So, the purpose of the cam is important in the selection.

Not to get the thread side-tracked too far, I have to say that I can't agree with this. We cannot allow the antis to dictate the topics of our discussions. I refuse to let them control our opinions and our right to state them. I am not going to hide my opinions or be muted by this crowd. I believe that nothing bad comes from discussion. We may occasionally have problems with the way we word our discussions, and the thin skins of those who may feel offended that anyone would ever question certain practices. But to stifle dissent and discussion would be a huge capitulation to these people and I for one, refuse to allow them that power over us. No matter what details we may argue about, we are always united in our defense of hunting in general. That never changes no matter how loud our internal disagreements or discussions get.

Is the camo related to hunting, or simply a fashion statement? I see a lot of camo on kids that will likely never step foot in the woods.

This "global cooling". Al better get with it and get both sides of this issue covered immediately.

I believe that device would be illegal in NYS as per the following- From the Environmental Conservation Law of New York, Title 9, figure11-0901 paragraph 3f: No wildlife shall be taken with an arrow with an explosive head ........ That thing likely would fit the definition of an explosive head.

That's the way I am getting. It's worse each year.

You know sometimes self-restraint is a good thing simply because it is my own idea. I used to get funny about free overtime at work. When it was my idea just to get the job done, I was all for it. When it became mandated, my attitude switched around completely. Then it felt like someone stealing from me .... lol. There sure is a lot of that that comes out in me when it comes to AR. When I voluntarily do it, I'm all for it. When somebody tells me it will be mandatory, all of a sudden it doesn't sound so good anymore.

Well, I have always thought that a stronger presence of the DEC in the schools might be a good part of the solution. Some periodic school presentations by DEC personel would be a good start. Not just to push hunting, and maybe not mentioning hunting at all, but just a school level effort to push outdoor activities and an appreciation for the importance of matters of environment and nature. Perhaps a program of public spots on TV that offset the messages of the anti-hunters might help in the battle for the hearts and minds of today's youth, as well as the adults that guide the attitudes of youngsters. A bit of a push that emphasizes camping and hiking might also help reverse some of the techno-lazy craze for both youth and adults. Things have to be implemented to re-establish the cool-factor of outdoor activity. If reversals can be made in those areas, things like hunting and fishing and trapping will just naturally come along for the ride.

Unfortunately, the bounty system has not been demonstrated to be significantly effective. It turns out to be good tax money burnt up without the benefit of results. Do I have some moral issue with it? ..... Not a bit. But I do have an issue with throwing money away.

One of the problems with this recruitment problem is that the general opinion is that if you can just introduce kids to hunting, it will somehow magically stick for life. And so we devise all kinds of special youth seasons, and pat ourselves on the back for having solved the problem. The fact is that the problem is cultural. Times are changing and so is each generation and their wants, needs and aspirations. Techno-gadgets are king now. If it doesn't have a button, a beep, and a display, it simply ain't worth doing. How you fight cultural evolution is beyond me, but that is the front where the battle has to be fought.

I have heard of bucks losing antlers in mid December, and I have personally seen antlered deer as late as March. With a natural span of that length of time, it would have to be very difficult to spot any kinds of new trends in any single year. Has anybody ever read anything on what causes the antler to fall off, and what factors effect that?