Curmudgeon

The best earplugs I have found are wax. When they warm they mold to the shape of your ear. They are great for light sleepers. I bought them in France but they should be available here for a couple of bucks.I keep plastic plugs on a string when hunting deer. As soon as a deer is sighted, I put them in.

Two personal rules based on other family member's experience: Never co-sign a loan; and never buy a used scope. Sorry, Pygmy. I'm sure it is a great scope, just experience talking.

I have not been happy with any cheap scopes. I had one of those Bushnells on my 10/22. Between that and the factory mount, I couldn't hit squat. I bought a higher quality mount and put a 30 year old Weaver scope on it. It is good now.

There is a book of photos like that from somewhere in Scandinavia.

Phade - I don't know what it is. I wanted Browning to view the video before I sent the camera back. They declined. I think your supposition would also apply to every camera at a site taking still shots. It does not. The video and still cameras are stacked one on top of another. The Browning was at 2 sites. At the first, the person who maintains the site complained about this problem coming and going - quite independent of the still camera. When we moved it to my site, the results were the same. Here - a few years back - I put a roof over the camera post to keep the lava flow of raven excrement from covering the camera. That can really cover the lens.

At your prompting - all of you - I followed up with Browning. They say the replacement was a new camera - sans packaging, etc. It arrived in a box with some cushioning around it, nothing but a camera body. The lens was dirty when it arrived. The camera had fingerprints on it. The only thing in the box besides camera and packaging was a note "we tested this one". So, maybe they sent a new one. However, their techs need to wash their hands and learn to communicate.

The "stuff on the lens" disappears in one second that coincides with the camera being bumped. How does that happen?

If you want to see the video in question, this should get you to it. It is in a compressed folder - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6BW6Pa5XnvddVlrMlk5RHl1MVU/view?usp=sharing Warning: It's 88 MB. Don't use your dial-up service. Let me know if this works.

The problem was, I did not know it wasn't weather until 3 months in. I am not going to battle with them. I just don't have the energy right now.

Based on a Phade recommendation, I purchased a Browning BTC-7FHD primarily to take video at eagle research sites. Much of the video was of very high quality. Some was foggy, like what you would expect from moisture in the air. This problem was on and off. Then in one video - a foggy video - a raven bumped the camera. It instantly became perfectly clear. That would not happen if it was moisture on the lens. I returned the camera under warranty. Browning sent me either a used or refurbished unit to replace it. I bought a new camera that did not work properly from day one. I expected them to fix it (unlikely), or replace it with a new camera. The used camera seems to be working fine. I just find this to be less than adequate.

Happens to eagles all the time, including this one near my house. In the west - where perches are scarce - it is worse. They are adapting power lines.

Power is back but the land line is out until at least Saturday. I will need to hike up the hill with the cell if I need to make a call.

This Cooper's Hawk has been sitting 15' from the house for almost an hour. The feeder birds are not happy. Both photos taken with a cheap point and shoot. The head shot taken through my spotting scope. Note sheep in the background.

Oh yeah! Rebar, hammered into frozen ground.

Left-right? This is a civil liberties issue that goes beyond political leanings. Anyway, the lefties on this site are so middle-of-the-road real lefties wouldn't tolerate their company.

Mike's post is not political. It is about criminality. The follow-up commentary is political. So, any topic can be driven to the politics section.

The complaint seems entirely reasonable to me.

The price I see is $14.95 not $7. Okay, I found it. It is now out of stock and you can back order 1 - only 1.

Ap - Really interesting. I am wondering if you were in camo. A bow hunting friend had a Sharp-shinned Hawk - a jay size bird eater and miniature cousin of a goshawk - watch him after landing next to him on a branch. When my buddy blinked his eye, the hawk came right at his face like it was attacking a bird. It must have thought his eye was prey. Sharpshins are regular at bird feeders. When they are around, woodpeckers freeze. You would think they are made of wood. The hawks do not perceive them as animate. They are ignored unless they make a mistake and move too soon - before the hawk is gone. I've seen that happen. The hawk waited and waited. Finally something moved and died. As far as a redtail attacking an adult turkey, I have never seen contact. I did see a redtail come in low on a group when the turkeys' heads were the only thing showing above the grass. When it got almost on top of the turkeys, it reared up, seemingly realizing a turkey was more than it bargained for.

Keep it up Biz.You've got them hooked. Now reel them in.

It is going to be interesting replacing him. There seems no possible outcome that is good for the Republican Party. Obama would be a fool to appoint anyone left of the center of the road. If the Senate stonewalls a moderate pick, they risk motivating the D's and thus losing the election. Then Bernie or Hillary get to choose. Even if the Senate manages to hold off approving an Obama pick, and an R won as president, they will not find someone to replace Scalia as a conservative intellectual force.

Goshawks are probably the most dangerous bird in North American. They are extremely defensive of their nests once the eggs have hatched. When I needed to go near their nest for research purposes, I would often carry an umbrella to give them a target that was not my head. I have talked to turkey hunters who have been buzzed by them. I also know of a couple of instances where nesting goshawks have been shot during May. One of those incidents happened a couple of years ago on public land along the Finger Lakes Trail in Chenango County. The hawk was well known to hikers. As far as I know, it never hit anyone. Back in the 90s, someone writing in a statewide publication was claiming goshawks were coming into hunter's turkey calls because they wanted to kill turkeys. If you know anything about goshawks, this is absurd. They are a bit smaller than a red-tailed hawk - see photo, gos on right. A gos coming in aggressively does so because a threat is too close to its nest. One time, a gos burst out of thick cover in my face, coming right at me. I did not see or hear it until it was about 30 feet away. Time to change my pants. They are actually both rare and hard to find. They find you when you are near their nest. Have any of you encountered goshawks acting aggressively during turkey season?

-29 and no power this morning. It just came back on. That is the thermometer reading, not wind chill.

You seem to recall. What hogwash. Papist - Why don't you give him some lessons.