wooly

Thanks! I told her I'd do it for 350 since it was my first crack at one like this, but she insisted on giving me 450 when she saw it in person.., so now I ask 500 for these,lol

What are you using to carve this brute? Great job tackling such an intimidating project! Here's one I did last summer for a customer who let me do whatever I wanted artistically as long as I had a buck carved in time for her husband for Fathers day! 48" tall x 22" at base

Thanks for the birthday wishes! Love and miss you guys but I think we need to keep seeing other people!

Personal preference, but I'd leave the limbs on that one until you get a few chunks removed from elevated section of the trunk. That'll help prevent it from rolling when the log sections drop. I'd start somewhere in the middle. Cut down from the top until you see your cut starting to close up.(pay close attention not to go too far) At that time you can pound a wedge in the top of the cut to keep it open or it'll pinch your bar. Remove your saw and continue to connect your top cut from the bottom of the log. She'll slide right down like a drunk stripper on a greasy pole.

Sorry for your loss Dave. Sounds like your bro was a good dude regardless of his struggles.

Thought some of you guys might like this one. Few areas I feel I could have done better on, but overall happy with it and will make some changes on the next. Wood is maple.

Happy B-day Dave! Have a good one!

One more thing that's probably worth mentioning in all this. My insurance was dragging their feet getting the Doxycycline approved for me when prescribed last week. Sis took it upon herself to call the pharmacy and bitch about the delay, and ask the price of the meds to purchase them out of pocket. The pharmacist told her a 2 week supply would be $180. Sis continued on with her angry outburst and the pharmacist found a way to cut the cost down to $68. Still not satisfied with that, sis continued to give them hell, and by the end of their conversation I got the pills for $30 and didn't have to wait any longer for insurance approval!

I haven't made it out past my log pile since that hike in March. Not really interested in the woods anymore since I became the main course on the menu! My odds of experiencing illness or serious injury are much better close to home juggling the saws! That's what I hear! Thankfully I already wake up every day with all those symptoms so that would be a breeze for me,lol.

I never got the chance to ask him! Never saw it or felt it until last week when I noticed the mark suddenly appeared and then the ring around it a few days later. I had some nerve work done to that arm so my sense of feeling is non existent in some spots.

First time for me! Doc says it could be a month or more old which would put me right back to my only tic infested shed hunt this year back in mid March. Just started the Doxycycline today and follow up with bloodwork next month. The pup picked up a handful the same hike, but has been tic free since her Seresto collar. All my years in these woods I've NEVER seen them like this before.

Sending up my prayers for the moog family.

Haha- I wasn't sure if that's just how slow they really moved, or if he was injured. I was actually hoping to find a few quills laying around just for my personal collection of animal parts, but I couldn't find any. I probably could have just reached down and plucked a few out of him, but I decided against that idea at the last moment,lol

Got out for a short hike today and found my first ever porcupine here on the edge of a stand of big hemlocks. I've seen the sign around for a few years now but never laid eyes on one in the wild. He seems to be missing an ass full of quills to me, but I'm no expert on these things. Very lethargic critter that tried to keep his butt towards me every time I tried to get in front of him for a pic which I'm guessing is his best defense. Tough dudes to photograph that's for sure, and if he wasn't sitting off the trail not 5ft away from me I probably would have walked right by him without noticing. I didn't have much time to spend with him, so eventually we both made off in separate directions unharmed.

Thanx man! They called her "Eve" at the shelter, but believe it or not I have a hard time pronouncing that,lol. They kinda looked at me funny when I told them to change her name on all her paperwork. Kind of a masculine name for a female I guess they thought, but the lady felt better about it when I called her Miss Timber! 100% lap dog! She loves being held and sleeps ON TOP of me every night! She snores like a chainsaw too the second she closes her eyes...... LOUD! She's a poser Dave! Once the tree is on the ground she likes to climb up on the stumps and trunks I got here.... you'll see soon I'm sure! She's the perfect model for me!

I'm back with a legitimate contribution this time! "Timber" is a lover, not a fighter Rescued her as a 1 1/2 year old stray on 2/15/20. Due to her pibble breed and re-homing requirements of being an only pet with no kids in the household, she'd been stuck in the shelter for far too long without much luck of finding a new home. Loves ALL people and HATES other animals, but she's warming up slowly to some of the backyard wildlife we've come across here and is fitting in perfectly! She's even inspired me to pick up the camera again lately! This pup's the best thing that's happened to me since chainsaws were invented!

Yeah, this little pup is a ball of love! Her name was "Eve" at the shelter but I changed it to "Timber". Kinda wanted a saw related name for her and that was the best I could come up with.

Picked up my new lover girl today from the SPCA! Already gave her my first fresh shed antler of the year so I think it's pretty serious,lol

Thanks guys! A few quick notes on that skull. I thought it was an old one at first but there were legbones and spinal chord still at the scene with connective tissue holding them together so it was definitely from this year. Also, the rack color seemed odd to me as well as the rodent chew on the antlers. Instead of nice clean cut chew marks, the antler chews were jagged and porous, and almost looked torn leading me to believe they weren't fully hardened yet before they became chew toys. The dark areas on the antler that weren't on top exposed to the elements were fiberous and stringy, and could be peeled off like a thin skin layer of string cheese leading me to believe that buck died sometime before hunting season while he was still in velvet..., or at least partial velvet. I've never seen one in this condition before, so it's all purely speculation on my part, but I can't imagine what else could explain any of that. Also think maybe that little 3pt side got rattled off when the youngster came upon the wounded warriors remains and tried to settle an old score with him..., but again, that's all purely speculation on my end!

I had to run out and pull our blind from hunting season this afternoon, so I decided to go for a quick hike around the block before I got around to that. Spotted an old skull first and could tell the tines were pretty chewed up, but then I saw a tine sticking up beside it a few feet away and figured that had to be the broken piece. Nope.... first fresh shed antler of the year from another buck laying right next to it just as it lays in the first few pics! Felt AWESOME to get back out there and find some bone again!

Seriously.... I would NOT have endorsed it here if didn't work for me in field tests, BUT it HAS been working for me since early November even through our sub zero cold snap! Have to imagine it would work just the same for both applications you guys described!

I haven't been around much to share anything valuable lately, but I thought you guys might get some use from this one. Sis picked this anti-glare/fogging polish stick up for me at a craft show in Ohio this past fall. She was sold on it after a brief demonstration by the salesman on her own daily wear glasses. She gave me a stick of this stuff and as you can imagine I was skeptical, BUT I've been using it on my safety glasses and camera lenses I use for carving outside ever since, and it works freaking AWESOME. I usually wear a dust mask or spandex cover over my mouth and nose while carving. In the winter time I normally can't do that because my glasses IMMEDIATELY fog over with condensation from my breath pouring out the top and I can't see jack squat. This stuff works incredible, and I can only imagine it would work equally as well on rifle, shotgun, and x-bow optics! I usually draw an "X" on both sides of each lens, and then just polish it off with a clean soft rag or shirt sleeve. Also usually repeat daily for best results prior to heading out into the cold to begin my work. It seems to lose effectiveness after a day to me, but reapplying is a cinch, and this stick will go a long ways into next year as well I'm sure of it!

A few of my pups from this past year!

Thanks for all the B-day wishes guys! Spent a nice "quiet" day with my saws slinging bar oil all over a chunk of maple I'm trying to finish up for a customer. First year in a long while I didn't spend in the woods on my annual B-day shed hunt, but life's headed in a different direction lately, and it ain't ALL that bad.

I'm just guessing but I think I'm pretty close when I say 200-250lbs. The widest points across the base are over 32"