Daveboone

I found one down in Georgia once....cool critter, but had a bit of an attitude! Never found one in NY though.

Actually turtles are pretty easy to clean...just have patience. I butchered them leaving the shells intact...chop off the head, give it a good scrubbing, then I skinned the meat around the legs and cut the quarters out. You get a surprising amount...probably more cutting the shell, but I wanted it intact. The nervous system with turtles is VERY primitive, so even a brain shot they keep a kicking for hours. SEven hours after butchering, the heart was still beating! My veterinarian taught me a trick though....Cut the tail off close, then take a straitened coat hanger. Run it up the middle of the spinal cord and work it back and forth a bit..it destroys all the central nervous system and they are as dead as dead can be. If I remember correctly, the shell has to be 12'' long to be legal to kill/keep.

incredible book on the aftemath of the battle "A strange and Blighted Laond"....I forget the authors name...written by one of the guidesat Gberg, about the field of battle and the local repercussions. The scene he painted in your mind describing the field after Picketts charge was sheer horror.

The view from Little Round Top puts the whole battle field into perspective.

When muzzleloaders first became popular with thier own season, it was cap and ball. Seasons changed and equipment changed over the years due to hunter demand. Shotgun season went from smooth bore to rifled shotguns to now rifles in many areas. I no longer bow hunt...took a few with my compound, didnt like the high tech bowhunting approach and took up the recurve for awhile, and enjoyed it much more, but couldnt shoot to be good enough to hunt responsibly. Therefore I tend not to get into the xbow debate much. BUT...considering the primitive nature and intent of bowhunting, I do not think that xbows should be used during thier season. Unfortunatetly also, all...and I am saying ALL xbow hunters I know do not put the practice in with thier bows to shoot proficiently and are very prone to shooting irresponsibly due to the "rifle like accuracy and trajectory" of the xbow. They suck with them. of course there are plenty of responsible shooters out there, but it seems many of them use it strictly as a crutch, and a poor one at that.

My wife and I saw him a few years back at the Lewis County Field days. Great fun show, a very talented professional and gracious performer. It was the only concert we have ever gone to that my wife got excited about. Two of my very favorite songs: Long haired Country Boy and Trudy. Fire on the Mountain is probably my favorite album.

I am always in awe of guitarists like his skill. I wonder if that solo is just flowing from him or if he wrote it as such?

I have frequently seen nice used boats selling for about half or less what you would expect...and the pics are always of what looks like southern locations with palm trees, ornate brick driveways, etc. Not CNY scenes. I responded to one once...always cell phones. They are eager to move it and are out of town, send my bank info and they will ship it to me!

Pretty sure it is a lowly garter snake, just a very light one.

I got major goose bumps walking the "sunken road". as Marlo said.....The Horror......

A lot of folks who go to Gburg are unaware that Antietam is only about 45 minutes away. It is considered the best preserved of the battlefields, and is a beautiful area. Much smaller area. Gettysburg is always worth a return trip, so much to see.

I had to pull my tree stands....I have a few I leave on the public land nearby...a seldom ventured corner, no one has ever bothered/found them to my knowledge. They were logging the area up to a couple weeks ago. I need to see if they have finished. They sure have changed the scene. I threw some throw and grow down on the logging roads, but we haven't gotten poop for rain since.

The battle of Gettysburg started...If you have never been there it is a worthy destination for a day or a week.If you cant make the trip the movie"Gettysburg" is quite accurate historically with great actors.

If I was so gifted...reloading supplies. But I also need a good pair of hiking boots. It seems most of my footwear has been on its way out this spring.

Honestly, the world hasn't affected us dramatically anyway. We aren't eating out as much which is good, we don't wander too far from home. Family is well. I am very happy that I am starting to see friends socially again, even if it is just for a beer or two after work. That said, I don't think any of this will affect hunting much. People who don't hunt and are worried about meat, would need to get a hunter safety class, figure out a place to hunt and learn how to. And then get it processed, which is the bottleneck for meat supply anyway. I have been taking two deer a year the past few years. We eat venison a couple times a week, enjoy it, but really don't want to eat it more . I will if opportunity present shoot two more again this year, like the past few I will make more sausage and prepared meats to change things up.

cecropia . Big and beautiful the caterpillar is equally impressive.

Before I purchased my .308, I read up on pretty much the same stuff as you. I got the springs from Grainger, which helped somewhat but not enough to make it worthwhile: There is a big trade off on hammer strike and trigger weight. I tried multiple combinations along with different brand of primers...none made enough difference to live with. I Also happily am used to stoning and honing my triggers, but from multiple sources I learned this was not an action conducive to such, and the darn step is almost impossible to remove. I was heartbroken, but between the issues ….and I had never had a rifle that had so many, and the total loss of confidence in it, I traded it off for what I had in it. Granted, I do a lot of bench shooting and for most general hunting purposes probably the gun is fine, just not what I am used to.

How is your trigger pull/action on the Henry Single Shot? I had a .308 and was totally disgusted with it....extremely heavy, horrible let off, and nothing can be done with it. As well, major problems with ignition/hammer fall, also not much to be done with it. I hope yours is much better than mine, which was intolerable, and I traded off. Put a big bad impression on Henry to me.

Young Frankenstein is tops in my book..the scenes with Gene Hackman in particular. I think it holds up best of all of Mel Brooks movies. Beer fest was great...almost like it was filmed forty years ago. The Big Lebowski is in my top five, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?

To my poor eye, it looks like a beater of a buck in real life, and his scars show it. I have a similar mount. I wouldn't have it any other way. There are instances to use another cape (poorly cared for cape, etc) but that doesn't seem to be the case.

there is logging behind my land on the state /county property, and I had to pull all my stands back there. I can barely recognize the land now, but I think actually it will be a good thing. I threw down 20 lbs of throw and grow on the logging paths. I think they are finishing up. Over the next few weeks I will get busy getting my stands back up (officially not supposed to be there, but they are inexpensive usually well hidden stands, and over 12 years no one has ever bothered them.

I dont mind snakes, but if I turn over a rock/ log , whatever and see one, I always jump a mile. closet sissy.

I had the exact same boat with a 15 Evinrude on it for quite a few years. The wife made me sell it for a 17 foot pontoon....it is a great fishing platform and comfortable for more people, but slower than molasses and I cant launch it or load it by myself with anysort of a breeze.... I really want a 16-17 foot center console deep v with a 4 stroke 25 horse or so.....

breakfast: couple eggs over easy and venison cutlets seared in butter, Lunch: Cheese burger Dinner: Gonna join the Squirrel Whisperer and be happy with what hits the plate! But my wife and I have been thinking about indulging in a littleneck clam feast...I think that would be good timing.

Pike fishing is my favorite, and my go to lure which I seldom change from is a #5 Mepps Aglia in gold or silver, depending on the overcast.