philoshop

With the Bills I've always held the theory that as long you don't set your expectations too high you won't be terribly disappointed. I ran naked down Minnesota Avenue in Buffalo with about thirty drunken friends, guys and gals, after the Bills lost that first SB. We screamed and yelled and cavorted in the snow banks and then life moved on. My pecker gradually reappeared the following weekend, so it wasn't a permanent disability. I was a cold day though. Why do peckers shrink in the cold but women's nipples grow? If there was truly justice on the planet either both would grow or both would shrink.

This thread was started about venison stew with no pics and no details. I'll divulge the details now. Ahem...my name is Ann Elk, and I'm now going to divulge the secrets of my research, ahem... ( you either watched Monte Python or you didn't.) Sorry. Fully coat the venison with fine flour and put it into the crock. Add potatoes and hefty Vidalia onion slices over the top, lots of nice carrot chunks, some mushroom slices. a couple of cups of beef bullion and a healthy dose of Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for the day and then have dinner. Don't forget to pick berries if they're in season. Any other good stew recipes?

I've found that it's easier to track in the dark with a kerosene lantern than it is in bright daylight. It's about focus. That goes back well over forty years. Short of tracking dogs, I'll take a dark night and lantern every time over daylight tracking. ETA: I just need a nap before heading out these days.

I've come up on deer on Lake Ontario, 3 or 4 miles from shore, that I couldn't keep up with in my kayak. I was able to do a little over 9 knots in my kayak with GPS proof and younger abs. Deer are strong swimmers and can really motor along in the water when they want to. I've seen them in the Erie Canal outpacing tugboats by a fair margin.

One thing to keep in mind is that property taxes are rarely 'cast in stone'. They're almost always negotiable to some degree, especially given the vagaries of land quality and intended use. Just because a previous owner may have been paying too much is not necessarily an indication of what a bit of careful persuasion on your part might lead to.

I think I know her.

If you've ever smelled the smell of a skinned and gutted coyote, you would never eat one.

What a great photo! Have that printed and framed immediately. Please. Your son will look at that photo fifty years from now and say. "That's my Dad and my Grandad. They taught me how to hunt."

There is a market out there for what you're doing. It's incredibly honest and heartfelt. That's rare. But like any other market in the world of craftsmanship it's going to be populated by people who want to use you for their own personal gain. My advice is to stay away from the shows They can't create stuff, but if they can commandeer your stuff and make a buck they're happy. I hate to be cynical about it, but that's just the way it is. I spent well over a decade in that world and met some of the nicest people you can imagine. I also met some of the worst snakes that the human race has to offer.

Exactly what I'm saying. He got me once just above the waistline of my underwear, then three more times along my inner thigh well above the knee. If you've never seen the spiders that inhabit docks and boathouses I don't think you'll understand. They're big, and they're mean. Even the rats, bats, and birds stay away from those things. Like someone said earlier here, they're not really poisonous, but they are venomous. Four bites in five or six seconds from a critter the size of a walnut whose trapped in your pants can definitely mess with your day. The homeowner is a good friend and retired cop who I hunt ducks with. He was concerned but kept cracking the jokes while he kept an eye on me in the chaise lounge. "Ambulance or beer?" Had he thought it was really serious we would have been running up Route 14 at well over 100 MPH to the hospital. That spider messed me up for a couple of hours, but the story will live forever. Even my friend's neighbor calls me "spidey" now when we play cards. I'll catch one of those big SOB's some day and put it in his pants so he can feel what it's like. Just kidding. Not my style.

My current lady-friend is a black chick. Not slightly cocoa-colored or cream- in- coffee- black. She closes her eyes and mouth and she disappears in a dark room. I don't hide from her for any reason. Her smile makes my day!

I'm not a fan of spiders. I had a walnut-size one jump into my chest waders while I was working on a boathouse a couple of years ago. The SOB bit me four times before I could get the boots off. I spent two hours lying in a chaise lounge that afternoon watching a Grateful Dead show in my head with the homeowner asking if I needed an ambulance or a beer. It wasn't really funny at the time, but I can laugh about it now.

I've had people walk within five feet of me and not even know I'm there. I like camo.

I took my little three-legged stool out this morning, and the camera. It wasn't really raining, but even the squirrels weren't particularly interested in playing. No deer sightings. It was like sitting in a very cold and wet car wash stall for no real reason.

Not a Marine by any means. Thank you to your stepson for taking on the job, however. It's a big commitment. Trust your friends and always watch your "six". That's what my SEAL buddy told me. I can only assume it works for the Marines as well.

Two places to start. The local Town or village hall and the local breakfast diners. They know more about what's going on than anybody else in the area including the politicians. After that I'd head to the local hardware/Ag stores. And don't BS anyone or you'll be standing there alone in two seconds.

Do some homework and talk to local people who have had timbering done. Most timber brokers are honest people, in my experience. The shady ones don't stay in business very long. Most will do a walk-around and consultation for free. It's an education. Whatever percentage the broker is taking is likely a percentage you wouldn't have gotten in the first place. The other thing is they have a real incentive to be careful with the land and the machinery that might tear it up. A logger isn't likely to care what your land looks like when he leaves if someone isn't there to tell him to clean up his mess. Nothing against loggers, they just have different priorities from most land owners. Been there. Leaving three foot deep ruts from a loader in some guys woods is just really not cool. Especially when there's a dozer on site that could fix it in less than an hour. Clean up your mess. I've been out of it for too long to give you any names. Sorry.

I had a young, agitated buck trying to knock over my wood stacks yesterday morning by ramming into the logs with his head. I'm not sure if he thought he was some sort of Western wild sheep banging heads with an adversary or whatever. He seemed to be helping in straightening out the rows, so I let him go for a while before chasing him off. I actually find deer much more interesting since I stopped trying so hard to kill them. They're dumb as tree stumps, for the most part, but they can make you look like a fool at any time. Other than being sentient/self-aware we're not much smarter than they are. Certainly not in the woods.

Wait, what? Did he think that no one would notice the missing the deer?

I don't think there's anything quite like introducing a youngster to the joys of duck hunting. From frozen fingers to leaking hip boots to the wind pulling the semi-frozen snot out of your nose. Just kidding. Enjoy your hunt, and the time with your young relative.

I generally live by the rules, even the ones with which I tend to disagree. It's called being a part of civilized society. But if the biggest buck I've seen in 10 years walks under my stand 20 minutes before legal light, I'm probably not going to pass on the shot. It is what it is. I didn't wake up thinking ,"Today I'm going to break the law." I'll wait for "legal light" to tag him, though.

I used to be very good at voice-calling geese. That was a lot of fun but required a constant stream of warm drinks. I don't know how the geese do it all day, every day. I've never heard of this guy, but my deepest condolences to his family and friends. RIP brother.

One of the biggest-racked deer I've ever seen in my life was on Lake Ontario, about three miles out and he seemed to be headed towards Fair Haven. I paddled up with my kayak and said hello. There was no response.

I've caught several bucks napping on benches on leeward and sunny sides of hills. It takes a lot of skill to sneak up on them. It ain't hiking and hoping. Even a young buck won't tolerate much stupidity from an intrusive hunter. An older buck you'll never see again. Ever.

I see golfers on the course way before sunrise when I drive to the diner for breakfast. I know they're not just out there whackin' range balls either. If you can see a two hundred+ yard tee shot, a twenty yard bow shot shouldn't be much of a problem. I don't like to admit to illegal activity on a public forum but the sunrise/sunset thing is something I'll admit to violating a few times. Changing out of hiking gear and into hunting gear in a tree stand when a buck shows up an hour before shooting time. I'm standing there in my Duofold longjohns with this buck looking at me in a creepy way. Are there deer lawyers by any chance? He seemed to like the electric lantern, and I illegally fed him pieces of a granola bar. I would have taken the shot if I could have gotten to the bow more smoothly. My buddy said I should have just grabbed the arrow and made the jump onto his back. Good friend with lots of memorable scars and stories.