Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[MechanicMatt]

My sister moved up to the Rochester area in nothern NY. It was my first time being there this past memorial day. I was in utter shock about how beautiful it was there. Her inlaws have a lake house on one of the finger lakes, lake chucka, and it was great. The thing that I was astonished by was the amount of houses on that lake. There was not a piece of lake front property that did not have a house on it. It was wild to me, considering my lake has nothing on it, expect a little dock we use to take out a little boat.

But man, upstate NY was great.

View attachment 1220790

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.

 

[FXJenkins]

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

If we weren't the same age I'd ask you to adopt me... borrowed that one.

 

[djg james]

Have several Turkeys in the freezer now . Going to get one out and into the fridge to thaw for thanksgiving. I’ll do a farm turkey too not everyone likes wild turkey .

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

 

[BeatCJ]

snip... Just don’t really care for my state’s politics, but we don’t discuss those in this thread.

I think that's true for many of us. Our (sub-)urbanized areas with high population (and vote) densities don't believe the same as much of (the majority of?) the people living in the land mass of the country. I was amazed how granular the vote counts were throughout the entire country.

 

[MustangMike]

I have too much grass and if I don't use it, it turns to weeds. My grandfather was the rancher, I make my money from other things. I was never into being a cowboy and neither was my father. Now my neighbor is a real cowboy and he runs about 30k head on my land in the summer. Him and my grandfather were good friends so I just let him use the grass for free as a thank you for helping my grandfather in his later years.

It goes on for miles and miles...

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!

 

[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.

 

[Haywire]

Them southern folk in Wyoming sure hunt funny.

 

[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.