philoshop

Are you sure that was a bear and not one of the members here? He looked kinda familiar but I'll wait for someone else to provide a name.;-)

I'll trade ya. I've had serious arthritic pain in my left hip for over forty years. Always managed to ignore it and get on with life. Two weeks ago I fell on my front porch for no reason that I can discern and broke a few ribs when I landed on some 5 gallon buckets full of kindling. When you fall onto a five gallon bucket it leaves kid of a smiley grin. I wasn't at all amused. I haven't dealt with broken or cracked ribs since I was a kid racing motorcycles. It really sucks when you're older. I've spent the last two weeks waking myself up during the night by moaning and groaning like a female tennis player every time I move or roll over in bed. This morning I woke up to pain in my right hip. At least it's a new malady. This getting old crap ain't fun. All the best to everyone able and willing to get out there. Be careful when the wind picks up or the lightning starts. Even the pros get the heck outta the woods when the weather gets bad.

I don't do anyone's thinking for them. I connect certain dots in ways that other writers and publishers may have not seen before, and the people who publish are happy to have that "AHA" moment that they didn't quite see before because they were busy with something else. That's all it is. They're busy and don't always catch some of the subtle stuff. I don't catch it all either, and rarely catch it on the first pass. None of us catches everything on the first pass, but when I do catch it or "twig to it" I pass it on. Don't misread this. I connect dots of information along timelines. That's it. So and so said or did this on such and such a date and this other person reacted with... And I have footnotes, which is why people hire me. It's not speculation The Leftist script-readers on TV are entirely different. They get "marching orders" rather than hints and deep dives into potential stories. That's why they all use exactly the same words no matter what channel you're watching.

That looks really good, Biz. it's very America.

That looks really good Paula. I'm eating peanuts and a can of soup tonight. If you and your husband ever attack me in a parking lot I'll go willingly. If Wooly is there he can shout at people who don't want to see us have dinner together.

The first photo looked like a Euro boar/ wild pig. Nice bear, young man. Welcome to hunting.

Just kidding guys. Very nice take for an early season warm-weather hunt. Congratulations to all. BTW I'm not kidding about the cooking and dish-washing offer. I just miss the camaraderie of the deer camp. It's been a while. I'm also not a very good dish-washer either but once the plate is full you won't care.

I'm a little suspicious of that hose. Are they pumping that deer full of air to make it look bigger? And do these guys belong to "The Lollipop Guild" by any chance? Curious minds want to know.

That is one serious big-bodied deer. Congratulations to all of you. If I volunteer to work as the camp cook and head dish washer next time can I join you? I won't even hunt. Just wanting to take the backstrps out of that critter for a venison and eggs breakfast with some nice home fries.

As I said in another thread, most of the hunting "safety" gear I have was cobbled together stuff from my tree-climbing days. I wouldn't be comfortable even giving that crap away. On the other hand, I do have some very nice, even brand new carabiners, prussik lines, climbing ropes, cinches, tethers, pulleys, and a bunch of other stuff that could be handy if anyone is interested. You could probably live the whole season in a tree with the gear that I have. I can't give the stuff away, but I'd be willing to part with it pretty inexpensively if someone could put it to good use. i posted in the "hunting stuff for sale thread". I'll try to get some pics up soon. The "double-locking" carabiners run about 30 bucks a pop, and I have a bunch of them, many are brand new I just have to find them in my shop. Nice stocking stuffers for a boy in your house. They're fun to play with even if they never get used for climbing.

Just wondering if anyone might be interested in climbing gear I no longer use. Trying to clean out my shop and my house, and it might be useful for hunting from trees. After working as a professional tree climber years ago I thought it might be fun to get into recreational climbing. My body said NO WAY DUDE. Now I have some really high-end gear I"d like to get rid of if sombody's interested. I'll have to look through everything, but I can put together a list and put up some photos if someone is interested. It would be nice to see the stuff find a good home.

We have eyesight, intellect, and capacity for rational thought. We, as humans, can't even seem to deal with that most of the time. If I could smell or hear things a mile away I'd go crazy.

For someone who wants the basics on being in trees, using ropes and knots, etc, I would highly recommend a book called "The Tree Climber's Companion" by Jeff Jepson. It's about as basic as you can get without being childish. I think you can get it for less than ten bucks on Amazon, and probably cheaper than that on e-bay. It's an excellent overview of what it takes to safely stay in trees. Please be safe folks.

Most professional climbing gear is designed to prevent traumatic free-fall from high places. It's still on the user to not lose their grip on life to begin with. Consumer-type gear like hunters use is not like that. It's designed with the assumption that you're dumb enough to actually need it in the first place. I mean no offense here folks, and don't get me wrong. When you spend all day, every day in the tree-tops with a chainsaw you learn very quickly about how to stay alive. It's a big part of the curve. Right up there with "don't cut your ropes or tethers with the chainsaw". It's really just about always paying attention. Very few people seem to do that today. It's disturbing.

I heard what sounded like a relatively close shotgun blast just a few minutes ago. It was not the quiet "pop" of a skeet load either. I hope some youngster connected.

A big chunk of seatbelt material with a rope attached was all I ever used in a treestand. That's not safe or recommended BTW. Then again I climbed trees with a chainsaw for several years. Lots of specialized gear. I'm sure I'm not the best person to be asking for safety advice unless you really want to get technical, and I don't even remember most of it now. If I didn't hit the ground in a bad way or didn't get hit by one of Wooly's carving logs I called it a good day. It was a tough life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Now I bruise or break ribs just falling down on my front porch. This whole getting old thing sucks.

Not sure if this post was directed at me or just sent out in general. Also not sure what the overall point really is. If directed at me, I've already made it very clear that I don't publish. I produce content for others to publish as they see fit. I trust everyone I sell content to, and they're very good about not crediting me in any way. That's the deal. But there are ways for people to find out who's doing the writing. That sucks. Those people then publish my name, phone no., street address, photograph, etc. It's called Doxxing, and it's becoming a favorite tool of those on the Left. It's not a good thing. It's inherently dangerous. I'm sitting here in my kitchen/office right now wearing pajamas with a .380 strapped to my ankle and at least three other loaded guns within reach. I don't like this situation one bit, but It's not something I created. I just have to deal with it. At least those on the left are mostly unarmed because they're terrified of guns. I can't complain about that. I don't have a website and I don't have any social media accounts like facebook or twitter or whatever. When I write an article I choose the person who I think is most likely to publish it and use it in the best possible way. That often involves a substantial vetting process, but in the end we're all friends. It's competitive , but it's not adversarial. I send the content/article, they send me a check and a thank you note, and I agree to not sell it to anyone else, while they agree not give me any attribution. Sometimes the content is published verbatim, and sometimes it's chunked up as sidebars. I don't care either way. I absolutely will not disclose any names of those who regularly buy my content, but the list is pretty substantial and actually impressive If I may say so. We actually run in a relatively small circle of Conservatives. They like my work, and they have way more money than I do. If I didn't need to eat once in a while I'd do it for free though.

I get hate mail and death threats nearly every day and I don't actually publish anything. I sell my work to others to publish and trust that they will secure my identity They do so because they know they won't get any more content from me if they screw up. I obviously don't sell anything to Leftist organizations because that agreement would immediately be out the window. Different story. Just ask Dr. Ford how that kind of agreement works. There are so many ways right now to check stupid little things like overall writing style and word usage, that anyone can be cornered if someone is looking to do that. I deal with it every day. I've been writing since I was a teenager. It's disturbing and unsettling. No one has to publish my name or address for someone to hang a target on my back. This is how we live right now. "Be prepared" is the best advice. Probably the only advice. If you are going to openly oppose the Leftist agenda, you need to "watch your six" at all times. Their motto is "shut up and obey". That's not a friendly sentiment under any circumstance.

I'm out of likes Wooly. But that gets one. Paula would probably just ask me in for dinner I'd be cool with that.

I spent a lot of time in the phone booth at Celso's deli and arcade when I was a kid. And the phone didn't even work most of the time. Trying to remember now if you pushed or pulled the door to get it open. Don't even remember, but a couple of teenagers could fog up the glass in just a couple of minutes. Good, sweaty fun from 45 years ago. If you didn't live through it, you can't even imagine it.

Venison stew is how this thread started. That and my neglecting to pick some berries for dessert ;-) Stew looks good!

Be nice to the turtles unless they're big enough to eat.

I write Conservative political commentary for a living. It's a very poor living, to be sure, but that's a whole different story. I work long hard hours for next to nothing, and take an enormous amount of abuse and criticism for doing so. One of the things I have to pay very close attention to is intruders trying to hack my computer usage and sneak up on me. Here and elsewhere.The other thing I pay attention to is that I shoot every day to stay proficient. ;-) I have a friend who is a long-time IT security person, now mostly retired, who thankfully works for hamburgers, salads, and beer, and she's informed me that someone on this site seems to be lurking in my background. Not sure who it is or even why they're doing it. I don't post my political stuff here other than the occasional comment, so I can't imagine that it's very productive for the intruder. Just wanted to let you know. I wish there was a prophylactic for this crap.I'd be wearing two or three of them. This is not a dig at you in any way BurmJohn, or at any of your admins. This is a great site and very well-maintained. It's happening everywhere. People just need to be aware of it and be careful about what they post. I'm not a coward in any way, but I don't want a mob of crazed Leftists in my driveway either. "Doxxing" is somehow becoming the norm and the "sport du jour", and it's absolutely wrong. People will be killed like this. Just be careful folks.

Absolutely my favorite President since Reagan. A kid from Queens NY not ashamed of speaking his mind, who absolutely horrifies his political opponents. ;-) "I know you're not thinking honey, you never do. But what does your question have to do with trade agreements?" It's okay, though. nothing a couple of Midol and a quart of ice cream won't take care of. Now I'm just being mean. Apologies to you more Conservative-leaning ladies on this site.

Another good run from Water Rat!! We definitely have to have a couple of beers together some day. I don't have time to look for memes but I would be choosing along your lines. Damn, my friend! You're good at it!!