wooly

This past winter has claimed another brand new blind that we purchased last spring. My own fault for not pulling it before the snows piled up, but currently have a new one on order. Was recommended this little gadget by an acquaintance, but not sure for how long, and under what conditions he's used them. I'd never heard of these things until now, and they just seem so obviously simple I wonder how well they really work.... if at all. The guy that recommended them isn't exactly the most reliable source for the latest and greatest gear updates, and we didn't get into a lengthy conversation about them, so I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with them at all? Probably hitting up Cabelas this weekend and thinking about picking one up for the new hut to see if we can get a few more seasons out of it than we've been getting. https://www.cabelas.com/product/Blind-Saver-trade-Ground-Blind-Roof-Support/1611915.uts?slotId=0

Ha- actually already had plans to make a few of these polished antler arrowheads once the weather breaks. Doubt I'd ever feel confident enough to deer hunt with them, but it might be fun to load a quiver up and try to plug some summer chucks with one!

We're getting to the point now where any additional snow will really put a hurtin' on the deer and other critters if it piles up much more before green up. This is probably the most critical point of winter for them as they run out of fat reserves and any available food gets buried again under feet of snow like we are right now. Fortunately it looks like this latest round wont be on the ground for long, but who knows what the rest of the month has in store for them. At least they didn't have to contend with any sub zero temps with this latest blast. On a positive note, I did flush a woodcock earlier this week before the storm so the end may be in sight!

Here's a couple more that happened years apart but are kinda related to each other that involved gas and fire instead. Not really hunting or fishing related, but who doesn't enjoy an exciting back woods bon fire story.... Back when I was maybe 10-12 years old, me and my buddy headed down to the same creek I mentioned in my original post for a little shore line camping excursion. We were loaded up with everything we could steal from our parents to get us through the day. Lunch, snacks, tarps, lighters, sleeping bags, and a little gas in a plastic can to get the party started. We picked out a rocky burm along the creek to set up our camp. All that work had made us hungry so it was time to start cookin'. We gathered some wood and attempted to get a fire rolling. Almost according to plan as we hoped, neither one of us were having much luck igniting the smoldering stick pile for any length of time with a lighter alone, so it was time to break out the flammables we knew would come in handy at some point. There wasn't much gas left in the can... maybe a few cups at most, but I was certain that would be all we needed. I took the can over to our wood pile and began to dowse the sticks. Seconds after I started, I must have hit a hot ember and flames shot up the stream of fuel, down the spout, and into the can leaving me holding a ball of fire. Naturally being young and dumb, my first and only reaction was to toss the entire can into the creek so that's exactly what I did. When the can hit the water, and all its light density flaming contents poured out onto the surface, those few cups of gas dispersed on top of the water igniting the entire creek on fire for a 20yd stretch just like in the movies. The current was carrying the fire down stream and panic set in as it ignited the brush along the edge and spread into the woods around us. We both took off like the two scared little school boys that we were. Stopping to look back, my buddy who was a boy scout at the time decided to go back and try to extinguish the raging inferno by throwing rocks at it. I couldn't believe what the crazy bastard was doing, but it appeared to be working so I j eventually joined him. Together we managed to put the fire out and avoided the wrath of our fathers had they ever found out about what we were doing out there when they let us out alone. I thought for sure we were gonna burn the entire town to the ground! 10-15 years later now and I'm about 22-25 years old. Fire involved once again. Me and another buddy a few years younger than me have plans to hook up with a couple gals at one of their parents houses while they are on vacation. Nothing special on the agenda for the night but some movies, some drinking, and a bonfire back in the woods off the backyard after dark. Another one of those stubborn stick pile situations that didn't want to ignite, but this time I wasn't in charge of fire starting duty. As I'm off to the side with my gal, I see my buddy coming back from the garage with a 5 gallon metal gas can. By the time it registered with me what he was about to do from my previous experience years earlier, but it was already too late. All I managed to get out of my mouth was "Brian, I don't think that's a good......." KAAAAAAAAABBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!! Like someone had dropped a bomb, an explosion erupted that shook the entire neighborhood. When I looked back all I saw was my buddy running away from us across a grassy opening screaming his head off, engulfed in flames. Without thinking about it, I chased him down and tackled him in the grass extinguishing his body which was covered in flames by that time.. The metal can was blown to smithereans sending shrapnel shards into his barely conscious carcass at that point. He was covered in blood and the smell of burnt clothes, flesh, and hair was the most disgusting thing I've ever smelled in my life. We got him loaded up to take him to the hospital. He was in shock, and now joking and laughing while peeling giant flaps of skin and hair off his face, head, arms, and neck. His GF tried to keep him calm and wrapped in towels and blankets on the back seat so he would stop picking at himself. Eventually he made a full recovery, although he looked like quite the monster for some time after that. Today you would never guess he had suffered such severe burns back then, but he spent a lot of time with his specialists to get him fixed up and looking normal again through multiple skin grafts and surgeries. A few years later he married the gal he was with that night, and today they live happily ever after with 3 little trouble makers of their own to keep an eye on,lol

Sorry, I had to...

Just an off season topic I thought might be entertaining. Post up some of your own stories, near death experiences, wild animal attacks, edible plant poisonings, treacherous terrain accidents...etc, etc.. I'm sure many here are like myself and don't find NY to be a very dangerous place to enjoy the outdoors throughout the seasons, but I've had my share of close calls. Probably my most serious happened within the last 10 years or so as I was hiking along one cold winter day looking for antlers. Back then I would set out for the day with everything I could possibly ever need in my backpack and hike for miles and miles. Being so familiar with the area, I often wondered why I even bothered carrying all that crap with me. One day after setting out at the crack of dawn, I began working my way towards home to get there before the sun went down. After hiking for miles in knee deep snow all day, I was exhausted and looking for short cuts to get me back to a nice warm house, a hot meal, and a bed to rest up for the following days hike. In the home stretch of my hike, I came to a creek I have to cross just about 3/4 mile from my front porch. I could see all the critter tracks on the frozen creek taking advantage of the hard water and packed down snow that made travel easier on them. This of course seemed like a brilliant idea at the time and one I would also use to make the last leg of this hike much easier on my tired body. With sub freezing temps for weeks leading up to this, there was no doubt in my mind the ice was plenty thick enough. My mind was already celebrating making it through another all day hike and was on "auto pilot" as I made my way upstream at a good clip anxious to cover those last few hundred yards as quick as I could. As I came around a bend in the creek, I noticed a spot ahead that was drifted over with snow. Without giving it much thought at the time, and with no easier way around it, I marched on and decided to trudge right through it just the way I had with all the deep snows behind me that day. By the time I took my first few steps onto this different kind of surface in front of me, I could feel the difference under my feet and got a bad feeling about where I was, but it was too late to turn back. Without warning, and faster than I could react, the ice below me opened up and swallowed me whole! When my feet didn't hit bottom, I knew I was in trouble. Fortunately for me, that bulking backpack full of "survival gear" I questioned myself for carrying on all my hikes had hung up on the edge of the hole in the ice preventing me from going straight through, perhaps getting sucked under into the swift current that flowed below. To this day I'm not exactly sure how I managed to pull myself out of the water and back on top of the ice. I do remember what a chore it was though with all my clothes and gear being so much heavier after being filled with water. I can promise you though, there was no well planned technique or training involved. Almost instantly after I recovered from the close call, I realized I still had a ways to go through the knee deep snow again as soon as I got off the creek, and I could already feel my layers of clothes turning to ice around me. My entire body was feeling intense pain from the shock of being submerged in ice cold water and the air temperature wasn't helping none. I knew I had to get home, and I had to get there FAST! I took off on a sprint to cover the last few hundred yards, but the deep snow wouldn't allow that to go on for any longer than 20-30 yard bursts. Every time I'd stop to catch my breath, the bitter cold wasted no time freezing me in my tracks to the point where it was hard to get moving again. I'm not sure it was a conscious decision, but at some point I just began to take a slow and steady walking pace that kept me warm(er) since I didn't have to take any breaks even though I wouldn't cover any more ground any quicker the way I hoped to. I eventually made it home and got out of my soaking wet clothes. My body was numb and shaking uncontrollably until it slowly started to warm back up hours later. I couldn't even talk to explain what happened when I walked through the door, but I think it was pretty obvious without saying. No telling what would have happened had I gone through further down stream farther from home. No telling what would have happened without all that "survival gear" strapped to my back that never came out of the pack. I finally warmed up and realized just what a close call I had. I also found a new respect for hard water even in familiar territory and NEVER take my proximity to home for granted any more, or as an excuse to get lazy and take chances while alone afield in the dangerous state of NY! Let's here some of your scary schtuff!

Does this guy have Velcro on his azz or what...? Looks like fun until you plug the horse in the back of his head,lol

I've still got some experimenting to do with layering the solution for darker coloring effect..., blending the transition areas on the main beams.., and somehow polishing it to bring out a more natural look. I'll keep messing with this one to see just how far I can go with it since it still looks a little "flat" to me. I'll follow up with some updated pics if I stumble upon anything that really brings it back to life. I'm going to add some different stains and finishes to the antler on top of this stuff to see if I can really make it pop! Although it looks 10x's better than what I started with, I just don't think it looks as good as it could if I put a little more time, effort, and thought into it.

This is probably the most realistic way to color old antlers I've found. Very cheap and easy- just mix the granular powder with water and brush it on your old bleached horns. When the solution dries and changes color, hit it with a ball of steel wool to bring out a shine and some highlights. You can find it on Amazon- https://www.amazon.com/KP02N-Greensand-Filter-Regenerant-Pounds/dp/B00HVX4HUI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1519589407&sr=8-2&keywords=POTASSIUM+PERMANGANATE Here's a weathered old sun bleached antler I did this morning in a matter of 10 minutes. I'm sure I'll come up with a few other applications for this stuff on some of my other projects.

I HONESTLY really like that!

Just try to keep it under 55 and you should be fine!

The redtails here are pretty bold and I've had them attack snakes, mice, and squirrels just feet away from me. The ultimate hawk attack I ever saw was when this redtail dive bombed a group of wood duck chicks and their mother in the deepest section of the creek and then swam to shore. I had no idea they would even attempt that! How I managed to get these shots off in time is still beyond me, it all happened so fast.

Both my parents are half deaf and it's annoying as all hell for the rest of the family or anyone else trying to communicate with them. My father is the worst. He HAD hearing aids and gave them away because he said he doesn't like having things in his ears. The guy he gave them to (my uncle) died, so it doesn't do him much good anymore. Almost funny listening to him talk on the phone with the TV cranked up to 35 in the background. Then he'll start yelling at whoever is on the other end telling them how old he is and they need to speak louder because he can't hear them. Sometimes he gets so frustrated he just hangs up. My mother will sit there after you complete a sentence and just look at you with this blank stare on her face. That's when you know she hasn't heard a single word you said and you'd be better off having a conversation with a rock. A few seconds later she answers with something that is totally unrelated to what you were talking about.... "Mom, what did you do for your birthday?"......"Oh sure hunny I'd love to watch the puppy this Thursday". I don't even have a damn puppy,lol If your hearing ever gets that bad, do yourself and everyone else a favor and get some help for everyones safety. It should be standard check up procedure for the elderly and moderately to full blown senile! I couldn't tell you how many times my old man hasn't heard the back-up cam alarm going off in his truck and damn near backed over somebody in a parking lot. Fortunately for him, and everyone else, he's only managed to take out a few concrete pillars, front bumpers, and garage doors so far. One time while I was up there the smoke detector started going off. Pops laid there napping like a baby, and mom sat there doing her cross stitch as a cloud of smoke filled the room. Someone had accidently brushed up against the stove and turned one of the electric burners on when the wind through the open kitchen window blew a paper towel off the counter that caught fire and landed in the trash can smoldering away. Had no one been there at the time to check out the alarm, the room probably would have been engulfed in flames and they would have cooked right where they were despite all the audible warnings going on around them with no chance for escape. I've noticed my own hearing is on the decline in recent years as well. The list of bodily breakdowns is constantly growing though, so it's not top priority on the list of fixes that will get done anytime in the real near future, but it IS on the list to be checked out eventually since I'm aware of it and not afraid to admit it to myself. Getting old sucks, but there's no sense putting an end to the streak on account of being stubborn and set in your ways.

One more little guy today just off a beech ridge that they had all tore up. Will need to do a more extensive search in there soon, but just passing through today.

You got my attention!

Buy her a x-bow! If she's not pluggin' bulls and feeling better about herself in an hour.........grounded until she's 32!

Ok, I gave you guys enough of a head start..... Ready or not, here I come!

I may be doing some craft shows this fall if I can build up enough inventory by then. I suppose I could make an eyeball out of just about anything I put some thought into. A piece of antler did cross my mind, but I just wanted to get this one done and thought the glow in the dark beads were a good match.

Perfect!

Haha- I told you I'd eventually get even with you for that box of spike antlers! Shoot me your addy and I'll send him out tomorrow! Thanks guys!

LOL- now I get it! I don't think you'll find my first creepy attempt of the day anywhere online! I just go with whatever the antler gives me with a bit of my own crude drawings to help it along.

Thanks Larry! Maybe 4 or 5 hours into this one. Not sure what a CAD program is, so I don't think so,lol

Thanks for your honesty! Sometimes I think you guys just tell me what I wanna hear,lol!

Haven't tried an antler eagle in a while so decided to give it another shot today. Seeing some good improvement from some of my earlier attempts, but still got some areas I see that need to improve. Eyes always give me fits, so this guy got some glow in the dark beads for eyeballs that fit pretty good after I got beyond the point of carving a set. I'll get it right eventually.

I get some strange looks from folks when I tell them I like to carve animal skulls in my spare time. Most don't understand it until they actually see it, and then they find it pretty cool. Sounds weirder than it really is I guess!