Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[sean donato]

I got the door hung, and some more of the wall below the breaker box covered. Was digging around for finish screws and found the squar bar and tube I had got for the main door latches. Stopped working on the wall and made the latches. (Well over due project.) Now I don't have to block one door closed to open the other.
In hunting related news, just had a conversation with dad a bit ago. He said there's an decent 8 and really nice 10 point bucks wandering around in the little farm we hunt. Since dad and one of my brothers already got a deer during archery, I can use dad's stand, and it sounds like it will just be me, his friend and possibly his friends son. The other guys are doe hunting (which I find irritating in the first weekend.) Since they both got bucks too already. Should set me up for some prime hunting, best stand location in the woods and they will end up leaving super early and hopefully push any deer over in their side to me.

 

[MustangMike]

Speak of the devil, I guess it is happening in England too ... notice that shooting is prohibited!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/rea...1&cvid=6ee8f61519a54e138d04495b526a2ed2&ei=25

 

[SS396driver]

You cook the whole WILD turkey? Now, I keep only the breasts. Legs are tough and inedible.

If you dry brine the turkey it will come out well. The leg will always be a little tough but the thighs come out fairly tender and moist

 

[snobdds]

Hope you appreciate what you have. Parts of upstate NY are still beautiful, but downstate NY farms and open space (not gov owned) have all but disappeared, and the public hiking trails remind you of folks getting online to get on the subway. Trains bring them up from NYC on the weekends.

I'm fortunate to have my 50 acres in the Catskills (I paid only $300/acre in 1985). It was cheap because it is off the grid. You are not allowed to live there year-round. Land in NY is very expensive, and there are no spreads like yours. Unless it is cleared fields, we don't have endless prairie land like you do, it is pretty much all heavily wooded.

Hundred-acre horse farms down here go for millions of dollars, and the taxes are more than most ordinary folks earn in a year. It seems the more folks want to move out of NYC (often with very deep pockets) the more expensive everything gets. I remember driving through the Bronx with my father and he would say "This used to be all farms". Now you can go several counties above NYC and say the same thing. The largest remaining farms have either been purchased by the government or by not-for-profit entities.

Another problem, even though it is illegal, baiting is widespread and diminishes your hunting opportunities. I often see nice deer in Sept on the trial cams, and they all but disappear after bow season opens in Oct.

And don't get me started on all the illegals ... they don't even try to enforce the hunting and fishing regulations on them. It is a sad state of affairs!

Oh I know, we do not take it for granted.

The tax thing is a real issue. People would faint about how much taxes and upkeep are. Luckily the wife and I can do it. We worry about our kid being able to afford it. We are taking steps to ensure its survival, but who knows what will happen. The ranch has been in the family even before Wyoming was a state. I'm going to try ensure at least a couple more generations.

The best thing is, it keeps me busy and fit. I have thousands of trees to manage. I have miles of irrigation ditches to make sure are cleaned out. Plus miles of fence to always check. I really only have time after work and weekends to check on things. I have a trusty dog that loves walks and lets me keep an eye on things.

 

[EchovsStihl63]

Upstate is beautiful, I live in the Hudson valley which is equally a beautiful. Just don’t really care for my state’s politics, but we don’t discuss those in this thread. View attachment 1220808View attachment 1220806

You're close to my wife's family. They live in Pleasant Valley and Hyde Park

 

[FXJenkins]

I have a trusty dog that loves walks and lets me keep an eye on things.


View attachment 1220843

We know you got more than one....

 

[FXJenkins]

Speak of the devil, I guess it is happening in England too ... notice that shooting is prohibited!

Owned by the Duke of Northumberland's son...

I know a guy too...

 

[diver64]

Thats awesome, jaguar take some notes..

That latest ad shows how out of touch they have become. Makes me think they are intentionally trying to Bud Lite themselves.

 

[GrizG]

Hope you appreciate what you have. Parts of upstate NY are still beautiful, but downstate NY farms and open space (not gov owned) have all but disappeared, and the public hiking trails remind you of folks getting online to get on the subway. Trains bring them up from NYC on the weekends.

I'm fortunate to have my 50 acres in the Catskills (I paid only $300/acre in 1985). It was cheap because it is off the grid. You are not allowed to live there year-round. Land in NY is very expensive, and there are no spreads like yours. Unless it is cleared fields, we don't have endless prairie land like you do, it is pretty much all heavily wooded.

Hundred-acre horse farms down here go for millions of dollars, and the taxes are more than most ordinary folks earn in a year. It seems the more folks want to move out of NYC (often with very deep pockets) the more expensive everything gets. I remember driving through the Bronx with my father and he would say "This used to be all farms". Now you can go several counties above NYC and say the same thing. The largest remaining farms have either been purchased by the government or by not-for-profit entities.

Another problem, even though it is illegal, baiting is widespread and diminishes your hunting opportunities. I often see nice deer in Sept on the trial cams, and they all but disappear after bow season opens in Oct.

And don't get me started on all the illegals ... they don't even try to enforce the hunting and fishing regulations on them. It is a sad state of affairs!

Ditto for up here in Ulster County… My local “Sanctuary City” is panicked in the face of Trump’s plan to send the undocumented home… On the other hand it would help with the housing crisis!

 

[FXJenkins]

That latest ad shows how out of touch they have become. Makes me think they are intentionally trying to Bud Lite themselves.

Equity ***** Hedge Fund Strategy...

 

[GrizzlyAdams86]

In 2022 I was invited out to visit a family I know that had moved out near Durango, CO. Once I got west of Lincoln, NE I got off the interstate and stayed off them across Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado and back. My only regret was not taking more time off so I could see and do more, but that gives me a reason to go back out there again. Put just shy of 2600 miles on my 08 Chevy (that already had over 200k miles on it), and it was the first time I went over the Continental Divide.

 

[SS396driver]

Saw something I haven’t seen in a long time today . A new gas powered school bus not a short bus mind you but a full sized bus .
My neighbor said the district bought the new ones this time around because they were cheaper and since they don’t keep them for more than 5 years the maintenance was less also ,and gas is much cheaper than diesel . And no more school closures because a few buses won’t start in February

 

[rarefish383]

Looks like mulberry from here Joe.

I took off to WV for a couple days, came home today, heading back up tomorrow. I cut a thick cookie for a base. I'[m going to turn one of the limbs down to the yellow wood and see what it looks like. Going to make a paper towel holder.

The wood is a Red Bud. I planted it when my kids were in grade school. Now I've got the dang things growing everywhere.

 

[MustangMike]

The ranch has been in the family even before Wyoming was a state.

We had some valuable land in our family from the leg of the family that was involved in the fur trade with Canada way back when, but it was "lost" when a family member had medical bills from a car accident (she was a pedestrian) during the depression. Such is life.

 

[FXJenkins]

Speakin of scrounging...If anyone is Secret Santa shopping for me, ima 9.5

https://www.krsaddleshop.com/produc...MIhoOLzN_uiQMVz5SDCB2YwBLmEAEYASAGEgIJMPD_BwE

 

[chipper1]

That latest ad shows how out of touch they have become. Makes me think they are intentionally trying to Bud Lite themselves.

Makes me wonder if it's a corporate shaming ritual of sorts, happens all the time for individuals, so it doesn't seem far fetched.

Equity ***** Hedge Fund Strategy...

Good ole Billy gates bought 81mil of shares in bud light when it was at its low, wonder what he's made on it. The ufc signed a 100mil contract with bud light during the same time frame, then trump was there like the next week...

 

[farmer steve]

Glad I wasn't in the tree stand when this came down yesterday. Might have been a underwear changing moment.

 

[sean donato]

Saw something I haven’t seen in a long time today . A new gas powered school bus not a short bus mind you but a full sized bus .
My neighbor said the district bought the new ones this time around because they were cheaper and since they don’t keep them for more than 5 years the maintenance was less also ,and gas is much cheaper than diesel . And no more school closures because a few buses won’t start in February

One of my friends works in a shop that does mostly mostly light/medium duty trucks and vans, municipal, police, fire, ems, and refuse. He's said over the past few years there has been a big swing away from the diesels back to gas engines. Cheaper to work on, usually pretty reliable for the length of time they are kept. Said the 8.1L chevy engine and the Ford 7.3L has basically become a mainstay for the truck and van based chassis they work on. Said one of the municipal refuse companies has nearly completely switched to natural gas engine to get away from the emission/ after treatment problems they have with the diesels. It's not so far to believe school busses wouldn't follow suite, makes perfect sense these days.

 

[MustangMike]

One of my friends works in a shop that does mostly mostly light/medium duty trucks and vans, municipal, police, fire, ems, and refuse. He's said over the past few years there has been a big swing away from the diesels back to gas engines. Cheaper to work on, usually pretty reliable for the length of time they are kept. Said the 8.1L chevy engine and the Ford 7.3L has basically become a mainstay for the truck and van based chassis they work on. Said one of the municipal refuse companies has nearly completely switched to natural gas engine to get away from the emission/ after treatment problems they have with the diesels. It's not so far to believe school busses wouldn't follow suite, makes perfect sense these days.

I have been screaming for over a decade that school buses should run on Natural Gas.

Nothing like jogging down the road and have a diesel bus start moving in front of you ... not pleasant!!!

The technology to run on Natural Gas or Propane has been around for a long time. Heck when I worked in a warehouse in the 70s all the forklifts ran on propane. They were considered "safe" to run inside!

 

[MechanicMatt]

One of my friends works in a shop that does mostly mostly light/medium duty trucks and vans, municipal, police, fire, ems, and refuse. He's said over the past few years there has been a big swing away from the diesels back to gas engines. Cheaper to work on, usually pretty reliable for the length of time they are kept. Said the 8.1L chevy engine and the Ford 7.3L has basically become a mainstay for the truck and van based chassis they work on. Said one of the municipal refuse companies has nearly completely switched to natural gas engine to get away from the emission/ after treatment problems they have with the diesels. It's not so far to believe school busses wouldn't follow suite, makes perfect sense these days.

It’s idle time, I have a corrections truck in my shop right now, 8,000 miles. Cam bearing failure

Has enough hours on it that the 33-1 calculation shows it to have over 140,000 miles

Guess how man oil changes it’s had???