wolc123

That's good, maybe they will hold off the coons because I have sweetcorn that is almost ready to pick. That reminds me, I got to get out there and check the traps. If you hear a .22 rimfire crack or two, I may have some. A shotgun blast will be a skunk. I released a rabbit yesterday and all possums will now be released, to help out with the ticks.

Are crossbows welcome now ?

Very interesting. Well, since it appears that the general section has gone all-in on politics, I may as well join the party. This might be the first half-sensible thing that I have seen you post, indicating that there is hope for your salvation thru the acceptance of Jesus Christ, just as there is for all people. Is it religion or science that causes you to believe that new life begins at conception, and that Roe vs Wade needs to be struck down ? Science actually proves religion if you understand it well enough (something cant be made from nothing). You must be ecstatic that the ultra liberal Judge RBG kicked the Bucket just in the nick of time, such that "orange man" was able to seat a third anti abortion SCJ, or am I wrong ? Even if you dont like anything else that he did in those four years, you got to give him credit for that. If not, then I have to wonder if you meant what you said in the quote posted here, or if you truly are a 100 % bs troll as I have long suspected. Congratulations, you have been WOLC'd.

That looks pretty cool. I got a little taste for how much fun it is with a couple caught while jigging myself. The first was up on the Niagara bar maybe 25 years ago in April. We had been getting a few assorted browns, coho, and rainbows trolling stickbaits in shallow. I didnt see why they wouldn't go for a jig, so I went out a little deeper and drifted over the bar with a black and white 5/16 oz bucktail jig, on 10 lb mono, tipped with a perch minnow. A big laker hit that and it took around 15 minutes to land on the light line. That was one of those unforgettable fights and I always wanted to try it again some day but havent had the chance. The other one was about 5 years ago while I was ice fishing on a small, deep Adirondack lake where my in-laws built their retirement home. It was last stocked with Lakers about 10 years prior and very few remained but they were big. A nieghbor had hooked several the winter before but none would fit thru the hole and he lost them trying. I had been catching the usual dozen or so smallmouth bass and perch or two that morning on tip ups and a hand line with a jigging Rapala. All of those were very docile in the cold water barely putting up a tussle. I knew I had something big when the heavy laker started peeling out the drag on my little ultralight ice fishing outfit, after hitting a small jigging Rapala tipped with a perch minnow head on the center hook. It took me at least 20 minutes to subdue it enough to try and squeeze it thru that little hole with a little ultralight and 6 pound test. It had fought so much and undergone so much trauma on the squeeze, that I didnt think it would survive the return. I gutted it and found someone's Senko in the stomach. I dont remember the fish tasting very good when we cooked it, sometime later. I had tried for years to hook one of those on the open water there without so much as a bite. Apparently, that one had broken off on some bass fisherman, based on the plastic bait I found in its belly. I think the last of them is likely passed on now, because I haven't heard of anyone hooking one in several years.

I sold my Johnson 15 last year. It had real low hours and I gave the guy a good deal on it. It hadn't been starting real good the last year or so, and probably needed a good carburetor cleaning. I thought about the cowl/sticker swap a time or two with that one. The Adirondack lake, where my in-laws live, also has a 10 hp max limit. We get by now with my father in law's new 10 hp Honda, and 1965 Johnson 5.5, and my 1956 Evinrude 5.5 and and 1950ish Mercury 5. If I can find the time to get my new rowboat registered I may give Hemlock lake a try. If I do I will most likely run the 5.5 Evinrude. I haven't run it yet this year but it will be on kicker duty over the next week up on the St Lawrence. I hope to fire it up a time or two, if I can find some walleyes on a deeper drift. Unlike bass, they are dumb enough to hit a jig right under the prop of a gas outboard. Sometimes, it almost seems like that below water exhaust noise attracts them to the bait. The last time I used my 15 Johnson was after I caught a walleye up there at about a 40 ft depth on a drift. I fired up the 15 (with some difficulty) and used it in reverse to hold that depth. I soon got another walleye, on bottom, directly below the spinning prop. Reeling in those big "water filled pillow cases" ain't all that fun so I shut it off and went back to drifting shallower for "spooky" bass. My wife was happy with the walleyes because she likes eating them better than bass (I dont).

Why is this BS posted in the "general" section. If it is not political then what is ?

Lazy-style stuffed peppers made with vacuum sealed ground doe from 2019. It was so good that I had to have a second bowl.

I am not sure of the brand and I bought it about 7 years ago. I see that Amazon has a similar or possibly even the same one right now for $ 29. That one is Heyeasy brand.

I use one up in the northern zone and I really like it. It is extremely comfortable and easy to carry. The only time it sucks is in the rain, when it acts as a funnel and collects water from the tree you strap it to, giving you a wet backside. One nice thing about it, is that it allows silent turning nearly 360 degrees around as long as the tree is not too big. The last buck that I killed from it up there came in about 180 degrees from the direction that I expected. I was able to silently turn and delever the shot with my 30/06, dropping him in his tracks. It is so easy to carry, you dont even realize it is strapped to your belt. I like to still hunt and strap it to a tree in nice looking spots. So far, I have only killed one doe up there that way, during the early ML week.

I second that and say skip the treadmill also. I never jogged, but my sciatica issues started soon after I started using a treadmill. Even with that, the joint loading on your knees and hips is horrific. I switched to bikes and rowing machines for cardio (real boat or bike when outside weather is pleasant, indoor/stationary most of the time), and no more trouble. The only jogging I do is in our 4 ft deep pool, where the water cushions the impact loads.

I took "Joe" on a little camping trip yesterday, down to his namesake's old camp. Quite a crowd of friends and neighbors were there to drink him goodbye.

It may be a case of sciatica. I dealt with that in 2015 and it pretty much hobbled me up throughout all of deer season and then some that year. I thought I was going to need a hip replacement but it turned out that a simple stretch, repeated several times daily, was the cure. To do that stretch, you sit down on a chair. Lift up your foot on the affected side, and place it on your knee on the opposite side while seated. Push down on the affected knee with your hand to stretch the nerve. Repeat several times. The first one made me feel a little better and after about a week of doing that every day, multiple times, the pain was all gone. I have added that stretch to my daily workout since then and the pain has never returned. I do that stretch on both sides 5 or so times, 3 days a week. I hope that works for you. The sciatic is the largest nerve in the body so it is no wonder that it can cause so much pain.

I am really looking forward to the NZ hunting this year, especially the early ML week. That is my favorite time up there. It is the only time of year when the hunting and fishing are both very good. This will be the third time that I will be able to stay that whole week up there. I might even catch the last hour or so of daylight with my crossbow on the Friday before. There seems to be a good antlerless population around camp up there this year and I hope I am able to punch that tag. It looks like our venison supply will be gone by then, so I will have plenty of incentive. On past trips up there on that week, I mostly hunted the first and last couple hours of daylight and fished for smallmouth bass on the lake in between. I will do some of that again this year, but I am also going to hit a trout stream that winds around back of a mountain ridge. I always hear deer down in that creek bottom when I am walking along the ridge. This year, I am getting a pair of waders and I will carry my little carbine sidelock 50 cal ML along with my fly rod, as I wade that creek at mid-day. I would be happy with a doe or a few brook trout. Here are a few pictures of doe or two that I saw on trips up there on President's weekend and the fourth of July. Hopefully, we meet up again in October when I am packing. I will probably stay thru the opening weekend of Rifle again this year. Last year I blew a chance at a big Adirondack buck on opening morning when I did not pay enough attention to a twig snapping on that rainy morning. My last trip up there this year will likely be Thanksgiving weekend. I have taken two bucks in the snow up there on that weekend over the last 7 years. The snow makes it a lot easier but I have to get thru opening weekend of SZ gun season with my buck tag if that is going to happen. I may up my minimum for SZ opening weekend criteria from 3 points on a side to 4, just to get another crack at a NZ buck. The scenery and solitude up there make them worth twice as much or more to me than SZ bucks. I tried a little early bear hunting last year up there with no signs of any. From now on, they will probably just be "targets of opportunity", if I happen across one, while deer hunting.

I only ever dealt with one taxidermist who was fast, good, and cheap (well maybe just with family, because one local member here wasn't too happy with him). Unfortunately, he passed away a few years ago. I have dealt with five others, including one who is still in business, that covered 2 of those 3 bases fairly well. Lately, I have been getting by doing euros on deer myself, with a power washer that I garbage-picked from a nieghbor across the street. Free is always good. If I ever wanted another deer shoulder mount, I would likely go back to the same guy that did my last one. His price was just ok, but his quality and delivery times were good. If I ever wanted another fish, I would give it to a young fishing buddy. He has only done a few, but they turned out great. Fortunately, I have never lost a deer, but I have lost a largemouth bass, a red fox, and a bantee rooster (was supposed to go in the fox's mouth), when the taxidermists became sick and died or closed up shop and moved out of state.

That's a lot of mowing. I only cut an acre and even that can be a pain. I picked up a 3rd, low-hour used riding mower this year, and that has eased my pain considerably. The two that I have been using the last 8 years have been needing considerable work the last few years, but all 3 are currently operational. I did pull the deck off the roughest one, because it could use a bit of welding. I also like having a deckless one for pulling the sweeper when the grass gets too thick or for leaves. I may just leave the deck off of that one and build a rack for the back and use it as a "cheap" atv to get back to the range, check traps, etc.. The deck fits the newer one and has all good spindles and bearings, so it will make a handy spare. All three of mine are 15 hp with 38" decks, two hydrostatic John Deeres (150LT & 155 LT), and an old Poulan 4 speed manual shift. I only use that one when the grass gets too thick that it bogs down the JD hydro's, and for mowing around a row of pines that would put the plastic hoods on the JD's at risk. I can usually knock off the acre in under an hour. I have cut it 19 times, so far this season, without a single significant breakdown. I wonder who owned the latest JD that I picked up. It is actually a few years older than the one I had been using but can't have more than a couple hundred hours on it. All of the safety stuff still works on it. I got it from an old guy who buys, fixes and re-sells broken ones. He said this one needed a carburetor. It starts and runs like a new one.

Yes, then it was Leo's, then North End Tavern, then Hickory Hollow, and now Marvin's.

We are getting wolloped in Wolcottsburg.

One thing is for sure, I dont miss raising beef cattle at all. Getting most of the protein that my family needs from free-ranging venison is so much better. Dealing with the hay was my least favorite part about the cattle, followed closely by manure. Clover/corn fed venison tastes better, is way healthier to eat, and is much more fun to acquire. Not having to deal with hay, manure, vets, frozen water in winter, etc., are big bonuses. I pity the fools who rely on domesticated livestock for their food.

Do not despair. Spring plantings are overrated when it comes to food plots for deer. I killed my best buck on our farm the one year in the last 150 when it was too wet to plant any corn. My suggestion would be a few nice big plots of wheat/soybean/white clover mix planted between Aug 25 and Sept 15.

Everything looks good in the basement. I looked at my sump pump receipt. It looks like my warranty is good until 10/19/24. My main sump pump is a submersible but my backup is a pedestal type. Now that the rain has let up a bit, I got to go try the new plug in the rowboat. I love that Hectors hardware on Main street, because they always have what I need. Edit:"like a glove" Ps, I know it's in backwards but the ground is too wet to kneel down for the reach around.

Mine, from Home Depot, is about 3 years into its 5 year warranty. They usually last me 3 to 4 years. I have a cheap ac backup, ready to go in the pit, in case it fails. I keep the box it came in handy, along with the sales receipt to ease the exchange at Home Depot when it fails. I had a water backup sump pump during the October storm, but since we also lost most of our city water pressure during that storm, it only added to the flooded basement. I wont make the mistake of relying on one of those again. I have also had poor results from a battery backup. I keep my generator tuned u and ready to go in case we loose power. Thanks for the reminder Lary, I am going down to check it out right now. I don't ever remember a summer day with this much rain. I just got back from the Hardware store where I got a new plug for my new rowboat. I also found a set of oars for it that I had misplaced. If this rain keeps up I may need that to get to the market for food and beer.

Normally, I look for at least 3 points on a side for the first half of the seasons. I would definitely make an exception for that one if he offered me a good shot. That would make for a very unique euro. The last spike that I killed was a mule deer in Colorado about 20 years ago.

Roast beef sandwich (venison is half gone so time to start rationing), with a side of fresh picked summer squash. The yellow beer goes well with the yellow squash.

If you look up "cupcake", you may run into this definition: "a compound-only bowhunter who is against any deer hunting during archery season with a crossbow".

Another toast to the boys from Rochester, along with a little fresh zucchini: