wolc123

I know all about those stumps. I had a similar issue with my 3-point spring-tooth harrow while working on plots last fall. A stump busted it up pretty good. I used a couple big c-clamps to hold it together for the remainder of my fall plantings, which included a few acres of wheat/clover/soybean mix. Those clamps worked ok, but I had to take it pretty slow. After some badly needed maintenance last week, it should be full-speed ahead with that harrow this spring. Fortunately, I had plenty of welding rod in the shop, and found enough scrap steel laying around, to fix it up stronger than it ever was. I also got the lawn mowers ready to go (quite a bit of welding needed there also). Just need some warmer weather and for it to dry up a little bit now. I really hope I can get in some corn this year. Last year was way too wet and was probably the first year in the last 150 that no corn was grown on our farm. I can't keep deer around, after opening day of gun season, if I don't have any standing corn. I have plenty of seed, and all the equipment is ready to go. I just need some fertilizer and the weather to cooperate. It looks like off-road diesel will be near an all-time (inflation adjusted) low this planting season, so there will be no excuse for not putting in plenty of acreage.

Those are best if fry them up fresh (with lots of pepper and good beer).

A buddy of mine killed an old moose up in Canada several years ago (the taxidermist aged it at 8.5 years). The rack was still nice, but definitely on the downward side. He said that the meat tasted good but was tough, compared to other (younger) moose that he had killed and eaten before. He thawed out the remaining meat and canned it, using a pressure cooker. I got to try some of that, over noodles with gravy, while down at his camp during ML season a couple years ago. It was excellent, probably some of the best-tasting and tenderest wild game meat that I have ever had. Canning is a good way to tenderize venison, if you do not have the time or the facilities to properly age it prior to putting it in the freezer. Many folks don't seem to be bothered by tough meat, but if you are, canning is a good way to soften it. My venison is too valuable to take a risk on canning it, so I have never done it. I always worry about the jars not properly sealing and spoilage of the meat. I have a deer fridge out in the garage, so I always get rid of the rigor mortis by hanging the skinned and cut up carcasses in there, if it is too warm to hang them, with the skin on, in our insulated garage. Frozen and thawed meat from properly-aged deer is almost as tender as the canned meat out of a jar. Another nice bonus of the canned meat, is that you don't have to worry about power failures. Any time our power goes out for more than an hour, I start the generator and run the first cord to our big freezer in the basement because I don't want to risk loosing our meat. The sump pump gets the second cord. After that, I will run a third cord up into the house to a power strip so the wife and kids can have some light and watch TV.

I hope they get this thing straightened out by the third Saturday in June, when bass season opens. I have not done much fishing prior to that in recent years anyhow, but I use to when my boat was new (It is over 30 years old now). I spent a lot of time then pike and walleye fishing after the first Saturday in May. Maybe they will relax the restrictions a bit by then and you can still go after that million.

I think Trump has done a great job handling the Covid-19 pandemic. I will admit that my vote for him in 2016, was mostly for the "lesser of two evils", but his actions have greatly exceeded my expectations. I am most impressed with his selection of Mike Pence as VP (I figured he would have picked a black woman to target those two demographics), and of his two very conservative Supreme Court picks. I really can't believe the restraint he has shown in dealing with CNN. In my opinion, that network has been guilty of high-treason in their treatment of Trump, during this time of global suffering. I watch CNN now, just to see what companies buy advertising time there, so I learn what not to buy and where not to shop (You will never catch me on a Kubota tractor or shopping at TSC for that reason). My vote for Trump in 2020, will be based on his accomplishments, which I feel that history will judge better than all Presidents except Eisenhower (my personal #1), and Lincoln. Ike was more responsible than any other individual for our WW 2 win (and desegregated the military), and Lincoln defeated the rebs (and freed the slaves). The three men had one thing in common and it starts with "R".

That bass in going on ten pounds, it just has a long way to go.

It sounds like this ventilator issue is being blown out of proportion. I have now heard several mention that most of those who end up on ventilators don't survive anyhow. It seems to me that it would make more sense to focus more time, energy and money on prevention and finding a cure, vaccine, etc.

Usually, it is church with the family in the morning and then dinner over at my folk's place. Sadly, that won't be happening this year. I remember at one of them dinners a few years ago, my mom asked if we wanted a "Palm Sunday". She asked that we hold out our hands, into which she plopped in a scoop of ice cream. Luckily, I did not go first. I was the only one who chose not to participate. She mentioned that yesterday, when we had a family on-line face-time get-together. My sister is the only one who is now allowed to go into our folk's house. The highlight of the meeting for me yesterday, was when I asked my sister to fetch the antler my dad found out on the clover field a week ago. She brought it in and held it up for me. I was able to identify it as being from the big buck I saw over there a few times thru archery season last year. I was not sure if he made it thru gun season, but now I know he did. Based on that shed, there is no doubt that he was at least 3.5 years old last year. I definitely have something to look forward to this fall. With the minimized selection available in stores (no hamburg or chicken), our venison consumption is up a bit and we are down to about two deer left in the freezer. Fortunately, the fish supply is holding up good also, because there is no telling if or when the boat launches will be open. More importantly, we all have something to look forward to, as a direct result of something that started on Palm Sunday 2020 years ago. That was when our Savior got on that donkey, and started His ride to the big city, where He would be tried and executed on our behalf. Because of that sacrifice, which paid the full price for all of our mistakes, we will all have a much better forever. Many are suffering today, but cheer up because next Sunday is a comin (along with deer hunting this fall).

That is exactly what I did. It did not hold my interest. "The Ballad of Lefty Brown" was a lot better (I watched that yesterday).

My wife has been doing requests. She made our oldest daughter's favorite today (steak hoagies). The "steak" was actually thin-sliced backstrap, cooked medium rare, from last fall's crossbow buck. I made all the rest of the meat from that deer into grind, and we are down to the last couple bags from that one (our younger daughter's favorite meal is tacos) This was the first we had of it's backstraps however, and those hoagies were spectacular. Thankfully, there is plenty of that left in the freezer. Although this one only had a 39.5" chest girth, his backstraps were pretty thick, and none of it was lost from shot-damage (unlike my last two shotgun kills).

Is Chrysler making any ? That would make it easier for Ford to step up production and start rolling out the F'd Over Reconditioned Dodges.

Moving into right field might help your hunting a bit.

I just use a small fanny pack, or nothing at all. On most shorter hunts, I can fit everything I need in the pockets of my Jacket and bibs. In cold conditions, I clip my quart thermos of hot cider on the fanny-pack belt, or a canteen of water when it is very warm. On longer hunts, I pack some snacks (candy bars, etc). I also carry a folding gerber saw, rubber gloves, zip lock bags for heart/liver/nuts, a butt-out, and compass in the pack.

Just like Clinton and Arkansas, there is a way to get a different governor next year. Based on the current foundering of Biden, I would not be surprised to see Cuomo emerge from the wreckage and become the Democratic candidate for President this fall. I think they celebrated in Arkansas when Bill and Hillary moved up north to the big White house.

If "making things worse" is what has his approval rating currently at an all time high, then he must be on the right track. You sound like you are blinded by your hatred of him, like most still are in the main-stream media.

There is good in all people, and I see some in Cuomo during this crisis. His comments about "a silver lining", which someone attached earlier on this thread, were spot-on. My problem, is that he is on the wrong side on most of the issues that I care about, the chief of which is abortion. Wis willingness to cooperate with Trump (even though it is out of desperation), during the Covid-19 crisis, gives me some hope that he might be able to alter his stance on the abortion issue. To me, that is far more important than Covid 19. The numbers of lives ended in the US by abortion are staggering compared to those which may be lost in this country to the virus by even the highest estimates. More than 10 times the number of unborn lives have been ended in this country, since Roe vs Wade (65 million), than the born ones who were exterminated by the Nazis during WW 2 (6.5 million). Put that in your pipe and smoke it Democrats, and think about it in November when you cast your votes all. If you don't buy my numbers then Google it. The truth is difficult to hide in the information age.

Do all lives really matter to Cuomo ? What about those who have not yet emerged from the womb ? Trump's two picks for Supreme Court Justices are about as clear of proof imaginable that he really does care about ALL lives.

Sorry Dan, thats the wrong buck, but you did give me an idea for a taxidermy project. The little 6-point, second from the bottom, was the Texas-heart buck. It would have been cool to have a photo from the front, when that bullet struck. My father in law always tells me that the eyes would probably have been protruding out pretty far, right about then. The cape on the shoulder mount up top was given to me by a friend. He had a buck that his grandfather had killed re-mounted on a larger cape. He gave me the small mounted cape, and I attached the rack from my first buck into it. My dad made the walnut plaque for the back. Dad also made the little red-oak plaque that the Texas-heart buck rack is now on. When and if I find the time, maybe I will put my first buck's rack back on that small oak plaque that it was originally on. Then I can put the Texas-heart rack into the little cape. I will try and pull the glass eye balls out as far as possible, to try and re-create the actual "holy crap" facial expression. I will also put the exit hole in the lower neck (there was no entry hole). The exit hole was just to the left of center on the lower neck (the buck's head was facing right when the bullet struck). That may be the best shot that I have ever made on a deer and it would be nice to have a lasting reminder of it. I always go for "aim small miss small", and hope to hit an individual hair. There was no hair at the spot I aimed that time, but there is also no doubt that my bullet struck right on it.

I have removed many of them with my power washer, while doing euro mounts, but I have never tried eating one. Birds and other vermin always clean up every last scrap, along with the eyeballs, lips, etc, within 24 hours. I have always been amazed at how small a whitetail buck's brain is, considering how elusive they are. The brain of a 3.5 year old buck is about the same size as one of it's nuts. It would take several to provide enough calories for a meal. Certainly the small size makes the head shot a much poorer shot choice than the butt shot. The Texas-heart (butt) shot offers a quick-kill zone of at least a foot in diameter, while the head shot is less than 2".

I have not been over to visit my parents (both in their 80's) since the Covid-19 stuff started. My mom mentioned on the phone last night that dad found a big antler near the back of a clover field behind their house (4 points on it). He has been trying to find the other side, with no success so far. I have been concerned about the fate of a big 8-point, that I saw a few times over there during archery season, and now I can rest a bit easier. It appears that he made it thru gun season. I did not see any bucks over there during gun season, after I "accidentally" killed the resident old doe on opening day. I had seen several bucks over there earlier, all having smaller or busted-up racks, except for the big 8, which never gave me a good shot opportunity. I was a bit concerned that a big, busted-rack buck that a neighbor killed over there might have been him, but dad's antler find proves otherwise. I am guessing that he will be 4.5 this year, which is a bit out of my league, but has me looking forward to the coming season. I had killed 3.5 year old bucks over there in 2017, and 2018, but missed my chance last year. I did manage to get one at home with my crossbow, but the bodies (and chest girth) are a lot bigger on the ones over at my folks place, on average.

That'e how the Inuit get there vitamin C. After that moss gets fully digested, it is all gone. They don't have much citrus up there.

About half of the trees on our farm are ash and they have been getting hit hard by the borer for the last few years. I am getting sick of burning ash firewood. That is all I have been using the last 6 years. All of my permanent tree stands were in ash trees and I finally got the last one of those down (2) years ago. Thankfully, I never fell out of any of them. Now it is all ground blinds or ladder stands in maple, oak, or poplar trees for me. One thing is for sure, I wont miss the ash trees when they are finally all gone. I hate cleaning all the ash they make out of the woodstove. I see where they got their name. I don't need to clean the out stove nearly as often when I burn cherry, oak, maple, or walnut. Good riddence to those ash trees. I also don't think they have any value to deer, and aluminum works better fro baseball bats

That part always gets left on the gut pile. As far as the nuts go, I will never again let them go to waste. Pepper is the key ingredient, and it makes them taste just like the finest, freshest sea oysters. If and when you get the balls to give them a try, remember to make a small slit thru the outer membrane prior to tossing them in the frying pan. If you don't, they will explode. I use olive oil, but "Meateater" Steve Rinella recommends butter. I tried them first on Thanksgiving weekend of 2014, when I saved a pair from my first Adirondack buck. My mother in law fried those. Unfortunately, most was lost in the explosions. Those explosions made a mess in their kitchen, and my father in law (fearing a repeat of that incident) threw the sack containing those, from 2016's infamous "Texas-heart" buck, over the edge of a steep cliff. The next time I was able to try them was from a button-buck in 2018. That time I witnessed the explosions, but fortunately they were mostly contained by a deep iron frying pan. They tasted ok, but not much flavor. I made the slits and eliminated the explosions from my next buck that year (a 3.5 year old), but once again they had very little "taste". Those in the photo on this thread were from last year's 3.5 year old buck. That time I used plenty of pepper, and I learned that was the true "secret" for making them taste spectacular. They were so good that they really have me looking forward to hunting season this year. I should have enough tags for (7) bucks (5 would need to be buttons), but I will be very thankful for just one or two. Hopefully, you will get to enjoy plenty this season yourself.

Rigor mortis effects the liver very significantly. That is why many people think the liver from older deer is too tough to be enjoyable. If you cook and eat it right away (within a couple hours of the kill), it is possible to get ahead of that process, but that timing rarely works out. An easier method is to keep the livers from older deer in the fridge for a week or so, prior to freezing. That will allow time for the rigor mortis to break down and it will be tender when cooked. If you freeze the livers, a day or so after the kill, you are locking in the rigor-mortis at about the maximum toughness stage, and they will be very chewy when thawed and cooked. I left a lot of livers in the gut-pile from 1.5 year and older deer for this reason. Fortunately, I never abandoned a button-buck liver (the 6-month olds are not affected by the rigor mortis process), and they were always tender and awesome tasting. I have only been blessed with button bucks every other season, during the last 36 years and last year was an off year. I saved the liver from the 3.5 year old buck that I center-punched with my crossbow last season, and I placed it in the fridge for week. I ate about a third of it fresh (it was quite large compared to those from button bucks, which I can easily down in one sitting), and froze the rest. It was very tender and almost as tasty as that from button bucks. The other two packages, that were in the freezer, were just as tender and tasty as the part that I ate fresh (after a week in the fridge). I just ate the last one a couple weeks ago. Based on that experience, I am going to keep saving the livers of older deer, especially if they are very cleanly killed like that buck was. I did not keep the liver from a 3.5 year old doe, that I killed later with my shotgun, because that was not such a clean kill (It took me three 16 gauge foster slugs to end her suffering). How cleanly the deer is killed has some effect on the flavor. I always save the deer hearts, and my wife pickles them for me each year on Valentines day. She uses a recipe that my grandmother had for beef heart and tongue (I always liked the tongues better, but they are too small to bother with on deer). Since I only had two deer hearts last year, she added a couple of beef tongues to the batch. That was some damn good eating for sure.

The external buck deer organs are good also: