Enigma

It's a caucus. See the popcorn buckets on the table. Listening to the commentary it's hard not to chuckle; when you realize we're all just frucked. https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2024/01/16/workers-count-votes-king-presidential-election-gop-iowa-caucus-2024-vpx.cnn

Just got finished with hn.1. I'd like to speak w Dr. Fauci please.

For @CharlieNY

Domestic meat rabbits are sedentary, fed a controlled diet and are slaughtered young (10 wks on average). Wild rabbits live life on the run and have a different diet. Domestic meat is therefore more consistent in taste and tenderness. I cook it frequently. You don't need a crock pot or anything special to slow cook rabbit. Any old heavy bottom pot with a lid will do. As previously mentioned there are a plethora of rabbit recipes on the web. Find one that sounds good and give it a try. I'm sure you can easily find one similar to your grandmother's. I'm sure it'll be great. My go to for farm raised is par boiled till tender, coated in Louisiana fish fry mix and oven baked. Crazy good. Good luck!

I eaten smoked carp, pickled carp and carp made into fish patties. It's actually not awful to eat if it's prepped correctly and well seasoned. But that goes for pretty much every other other fish, fur or fowl as well. There are other things I would do with them before eating them.

Killing deer, catching fish and telling the story on his own terms. I hope you had a Happy Birthday.

Two cannibals are walking along and find a dead clown. Couple minutes later one cannibal say's "Hey. Does this taste funny to you"?

As previously mentioned, it was a fantastic day to be in the woods. Very slight but consistent breeze, wet but not too cold. I couldn't believe how quiet it was. Made my way to a bench overlooking an oak flat this morning. Stateland. Fresh sign everywhere and even a couple freshened up scrapes. Unfortunately the only deer I saw all day was in the dark on the car ride to hunt lol. I usually only hit this spot during the late season. Hadn't been there since this time last year. Some changes happening there. New resident beaver(s). I think he was a little overconfident on this one lol. And something I'd never seen before, a triple trunk cherry tree. And the trunks were all very straight. Interesting I thought. Planning one more hunt on 1.1 if the weather is decent. We'll see.

Our "leaders" lol

I appreciate all of the kind sentiments and I'm sure my son would as well. But the work's not done lol. Son #2 is a sophomore at Albany. We'll see how he turns out in a couple years. He's off to a good start. A quote that was introduced to me years ago. I remind my sons of it when they need it. Perhaps you know someone who could use it as well. “Tentative efforts lead to tentative outcomes. Therefore, give yourself fully to your endeavors. Decide to construct your character through excellent actions and determine to pay the price of a worthy goal. The trials you encounter will introduce you to your strengths. Remain steadfast...and one day you will build something that endures: something worthy of your potential.” ― Epictetus Thanks again.

This past summer my oldest told me in conversation he thought he could graduate college a semester early and be done. 3.5 yrs rather than 4. Apparently those college level classes he took in high school were going to pay off. Well he called me yesterday and told me he was indeed done with school and was strictly focused on his career now. He earned a BS in Finance and Financial planning. My man! From the day he turned 16 he's had a job lined up and I don't think he's ever quit. He washed cars, washed dishes, made burgers at McDonald's, did retail and even humped concrete for two summers on a crew. Last January he did an internship at a financial services company in Rochester. A couple months later they offered him a formal contract to work for them. He's been working 30hrs a week at the firm this last semester in addition to the school work. Gratified and happy for him. Hard work = success.

Deer live in a variety of environments including some that live in very close proximity to humans. Their behavior and reactions to human interaction are going to vary. Yes, I agree, a big woods buck is going to react differently to a bad human experience when compared to a suburban deer. But it'd be a stretch for me to say that a big woods deer is going to now be more freaked out and spooked, now more elusive in some way, now a mental basket case that's somehow now unhuntable, after one bad human encounter. If that were the case deer trackers in the northern states would never be successful.

Find the ladder stand lol.

And here's where the hunting humor kicks in . . . Couple yrs ago my gf buys me electric socks and an electric vest. I didn't ask for them but she was a gem. Charge up these USB batteries, tuck them in and go. The vest is nice. 5 settings. Push the button on the collar. Last year opening day I'm sitting there thinking I need to get these socks running. Brutal cold. I reach down to click the button on the socks and there isn't one. No go. You need a frickin' app on your phone to run the socks. I mean you can adjust the temp on either sock individually. Crazy. I went home w cold feet smh. Times change.

Ok. But who remembers the electric socks form back in the day that ran on D batteries? I bought a pair 25yrs ago for my #1 hunting buddy that always had cold feet. Sorry to hijack your thread @airedale but I didn't think a new one was worthy.

Deer conditioned to human presence are not a lot different than forest deer with respect to this: When you get busted inside their comfort zone they all bug out and get harder to hunt. If you get busted hunting farmland deer you can probably kill the same ones tomorrow 1/2 mile away on the same farm from a different stand. Get busted hunting city deer and you might be able to kill them them the next day 150 yds away sitting on a bucket behind a neighbor's shed. It's the same idea but the size of the playing field is different. And the tactics differ. I find city deer more nocturnal. They move around all night guided by motion sensor lights and barking dogs. Seems to me they move later in the day, shrinking shooting time. That being said the city bucks do the same thing as big woods bucks during the rut. Get stupid. Make mistakes, get hit by cars etc. Same for the late season. They both hit food sources and hunker down.

And there's usually some dinks running around here and there to try and fool. Not my house in the background but I've drank gin and tonics on that patio and killed deer off that lawn lol. Suburb of Philadelphia.

I agree with @suburbanfarmer. Hunting them is still a challenge, but I actually enjoy the suburbia challenge more. It's a different mindset and different tactics (bowhunting mostly), but it's fun to think outside the box and get creative. I spent a lot of time in my early hunting career hunting that way. Good times.

All v burger goes 3:1 ground pork and into a lean bulk venison breakfast sausage. That's what they like. Small patties. If I want a burger I go 81.29 beef on the grill or stop by 5 guys.

It happens. Couple years ago we hunted in a pouring crap rain all day long. Couldn't see through my glasses or scope. Gun was not shootable at the end. Lesson learned. I actually prefer nasty weather at this point for hunting deer with the mz. I'm better prepared, they better be too.

I hunt with a high calf rubber boot, medium wool sock over a regular Nike dri-fit sock inside. No issues. Covers 90% of my deer hunting time.

The last couple years I've had the most fun in the late season. Lil' snow and a couple other guys on stateland and otherwise. Last deer I killed in NY was 1.1.23. Still have an arm's length of tags to fill this year. Keep your powder dry.

Just had a chat with my gf. I'm her "super important person." We both agreed it was a good thing I didn't teach her too much more about firearms.

Google Earth.