Dennis

Glad to hear you came thru your surgery in good shape. Wishing you a complete and full recovery.

I have one coming up myself … OK otherwise,  still shooting my bow….

Scout aka Ray

Ok ………… First of all, you clowns get healthy; Ya got shootin’ to do.

I’m working on the details of a couple of fun rounds.

Dennis and Ray, best wishes for a speedy recovery. Get lots of fresh air, even if you can’t shoot anything. Richard, be sure to keep us posted on your fun rounds.

All is well here, except it’s winter and I can’t wait for spring. T.J. and Kerri are getting ready to go to the Expo in Kalamazoo. Always a fun time, especially after last year’s show was canceled. I hope to see all my friends at the PBS Gathering in Reno in March, and this summer at the Compton Rendezvous in Michigan.

I hope all of you are getting a good start to 2022!

Mom

Webmom – Richard

Thanks for the kind words and sentiment. Continuing to persevere and moving forward. Still shooting ok. Yes on can’t wait for spring….

All ya all have a great trip and gathering at the expo. I would Like to go to that one of these days, but not this time.

I hope this year is a fine one for all.

Scout aka Ray

Aeronut

That not swallowing well sucks.. I like a piece ot toast ( fresh sourdough bread)with my coffee!

I have shoulder problems coming– but so far – shots and stretching are working .  Wishing you a quick and full recovery…[ wishing me one too 😜 haha]

The woods are my church . I go as often as I can

Scout aka Ray

Aeronut

Looks like we ( NM) are getting a bit of snow 3/4 inches+ today . Not much wind , so not to bad so far.

We shall see what tomorrow brings. Not big on the cold , but we need the moisture….

Scout aka Ray

Hey, you guys hurry and get over your ails.

Been way dry then a bit of snow here in Amarillo. All the trees we have here in the panhandle kinda helps in the ******* persistent wind :-)…

The 1st snow, 2-2″ fell without the wind blowing, the second one, 1-2″ piled up in feet in places and none in others… Usually the case here.

I live on the very edge of town and have a sheep and goat pasture to the north of me that is also getting inhabited by prairie dogs. Whilst out back shooting my bow I got movement out of the corner of my eye over the top of the fence. I keep two ladders against fence so I can see what’s going on (there’s aplenty on our long open edge of town alley out back).

What I saw was a big hawk taking a prairie dog and a bald eagle taking the prairie dog from the hawk. It wasn’t much of a tussle. I have a pic but too far for my phone to be a good pic.

My living on the edge ain’t so bad usually. Nobody has figured out tho how my stump I have my vise mounted on by my little barn has gotten an indention in it and a .45 bullet laying on the ground where it bounced off. Scary what goes on at times.

Anyway,  Y’all get well, good luck on the weather and hopefully covid will start leaving us alone…

• This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by Ralph.

I’m sure that stump will show you some respect now 😜

We’re supposed to get 3 days of nice weather starting tomorrow.  Looking forward to it.  Saw the first Daffodil flower yesterday.  Just a month early.

Aeronut

We got the same thing here in NM, over night — Didn’t last long , burned off by end of day. However we are always happy to get precip here… “winter is a long time going huh”

Scout aka Ray

So Dennis, how is the back healing up?  Hope the Dr. is satisfied.

~Kees~

Aeronut

I fully understand your situation,  dealing with the medical establishment can be very frustrating.  Especially under all the stress of the covid….at least they sorted out the shoulder – sounds like.?.

Hopefully you’ll be shooting as good as before soon

Best wishes on a full recovery

Scout aka Ray

Totally cool !!!!!

There’s something about eagles. They just have ‘presence’ for want of a better description.

Aeronut

I have a friend with a similar neck repair. His I think was on the back side. Glad it’s working out.

I see more Goldens than bald Eagles here… not enuff water I imagine…

Scout aka Ray

Pretty good weather here. Supposed to rain tomorrow.  I sure hope so , we need the moisture here in NM.

Hey aeronut – how many bee swarm traps do you put out and how much honey do you get per ” season”…

Scout aka Ray

Very interesting. We need more bees out there…

I know different areas cause different taste in honey. Can that also have effect on the texture of the honey?  The reason for that question; a friend of mine used some beeswax from a local friend who makes his own . The bullet lube he made from this was thicker, than that made from commercial. Which was preferred….

Scout aka Ray

I don’t know much about boolit lube but I’ve been known to use toilet bowl wax ring seal (new) for bowstring wax.

Richard

Sounds definitely like a ” field expedient ” available everywhere … 😄 if one runs out of ” regular” bowstring wax..

Scout aka Ray

Actually, that idea came from a long forgotten post or conversation with a string maker.  There was a formula, also forgotten, that involved the ring wax, rosin and perhaps something else.  We made a batch and kept it at the archery range for all to use. It lasted a long long time even with club use.

We have a tip on our site called Bowstring Wax. In the comments, one gentleman suggests 75% beeswax and 25% toilet bowl ring wax. Another suggests pouring into a bathroom Dixie cup for easy application.

I lost three of my four hives over winter. I’ll split the surviving hive and I’ve ordered more bees. Wish I lived closer, Dennis. I’d buy them from you!

Robin

I’ve been working, slowly, at getting the veggie garden ready for planting.  12 – 13 years ago I made 8, 3′ x 12′ raised beds, and year before last the wood was so rotten it was time to replace it.  I had made the original beds too close together to get the lawn mower between them so I decided to move the beds over on wider spacing.  I got 5 done year before last but ran out of oomph to do the other three.  The problem is that I have to remove the old wood, shovel the soil over so there is room to put the new frame, then once the frame is in place the soil has to be shoveled back into it.  And being on a wider spacing means that I have to shovel the soil further away to make room for each new frame.

Last year I only planted the 5 beds I had completed.  I finally made the 6th one day before yesterday.  Had to mow the lawn and do some other stuff today.  I wanted to get another bed made tomorrow but the weather is calling for 90% chance of rain starting at 2:00 tonight, running through Saturday and it doesn’t look good until Sunday.  The old time gardeners here have told me that it’s best to wait with planting until May 15 because of the chance of frost, so I have a little leeway with completing the new beds, if the weather holds off.  I will plant peas tonight yet as they can withstand a light frost.

Flung some arrows at the hay bale targets in the back yard.  I’m getting ready to build a shelter for them to keep the rain off.  Walked the dog & went to the doctor this morning; my iron level is back to where it’s supposed to be.  It had crashed after I gave my 5th pint of blood for 2021.

So what are the rest of you doing?

~Kees~

I’m in the process of adding another shot to my modest backyard range;

I want to get about 5′ of that expandable a/c ductwork and set it up with a kneeling, shoot-thru  shooting position at one end and a small game target out past the other end.

Hi All – I was an active member here more than a few years ago and drifted off. So to anyone left that remembers, a big HELLO! I just retired after 32 yrs in the electric utility biz. No more watching the weather for the next disaster:) I had one day “free” after my last day of work and found myself in surgery for a big a-s couple kidney stones! Planning to camp, fish, shoot and yeah, fix up around the house.

Hi Paleoman!  Not many of the old crew left on this forum.  Some do stop by from time to time.

Glad to hear you have retired.  Enjoy this first season.  Nothiong like the first hunting season after retirement.

Hi paleoman

Glad to see you hadn’t ” gone under”. Good to have you back .

Congrats on your retirement….. now you will have less time to get things accomplished than when you were working- seems that way any how…

Scout aka Ray

Thank you guys for the welcome backs! I will try to contribute and chime in from time to time.

Hey Paleoman….Glad you’re back  I know the feeling of worrying on the storm break stuff and for sure on the kidney stones. Last one I had hung up just before entering the bladder.. Those thing are definitely the s******.

I’ve not been very active of late myself. I had a pinched nerve between L4 and L5. That not only messes with the hip but also all the muscle group down the front of the leg, the quads.. I couldn’t put my britches on without the help of a grabber and as for tying my shoes, forget it.

But all good now.. My wife is an RMT that specialized in deep tissue and she got me going. Massage, finding every pain point in my body to mash on with her tools of the trade and teaching me stretches and such. And some pretty blunt comment about should and should not do at 77 years old. Of course we men can have selective hearing too.. :-)).

Glad you’re back and over the stones.. Hydration….way good preventative….

Hay Ralph, Glad to hear your wife is setting you straight.  Didn’t know it could be done 🤣

Say goodbye, soon you will run again as before 🙂

I would say that I’m gonna be sore in the morning but I’m already sore.

Made some changes to my day-pack and went out to hike around the desert for a while with a bunch of blunts and a couple of broadheads. Did quite a bit of roving shooting,  and jumped a few jackrabbits. Got a running shot on one that came close and when it stopped out about 60 yds, almost hit it again.  I call that a win all of the way around.  Made a stalk just for yucks & giggles on a couple of Javelina that I spotted and got close enough to satisfy honor.  Made a 20 minute coyote calling stand just for an excuse to sit in the shade for a bit. Nothing came in but as I was packing up had one in the brush do the bark – howl at me.  Long hike back to the truck.

So ……….. a couple of  tweaks to the day – pack, more practice roving shots and more hiking to get in shape & deer season, here I come !!!

Email sent ……………….. but with my ‘puter skills …………………… ?????

Richard

I get up tired (sore) and get more so as the day wears on …..a well,   almost in the ” golden years “… haha

Sounds like you had a good morning adventure! I need to suit up and do the same. I got out for the end of spring turkey,  but, I think it went a bit late in my area. Saw some Tom’s but never managed to close with them. They seemed very spooky this year. At least where I was hunting…

I have not seen much javelina last ( or this) year. Glad you got into some. Always fun to stalk. Keeps the skills sharp..

Scout aka Ray

Yeah, the local drought has been hard on everything. Then some kind of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Fever came thru and knocked down the jacks & cottontails. They seem to have recovered this year.  Which is good ’cause I can’t make my secret recipe ‘Elk Burgers’  without jackrabbits.

Deer season’s coming up fast ………………….

I don’t know why they call it “the golden years”? I seem to be silver.  Actually maybe that’s gray and white????

Richard

Roger all your last … I hope you are getting some of this rain from Mexico, that just showed up here. Looks like some of it has headed over to R2s neck o the plains…

R2

Haven’t found anything ” golden ” about it so far.

Starting to ramp up my archery practice to start getting ready for the fall. Like Richard says – it will be on us quick…

Scout aka Ray

More thunder & lightening than rain but every little bit helps.

Been spending time on the bales. Major emphasis on the mental aspects of form. Seems to be helping; ……….  cow patties out in the dry wash fear me.

RAIN??? That seems to be some kind of a four letter word around here.. :-))

Off today with the Mrs. to the Safari Club Museum in Tucson.

Neat place to spend some time & get psyched up for hunting season.

R2

Does that mean you are getting too much or too little! Not enuff here so far….

Richard

Did not realize Safari club had a museum In Tucson ! I’ll have to check it out next time i’am thru…

Scout aka Ray

Not enough. Drier than the proverbial popcorn ****……

Raymond (or anybody else )

Let me know if you’re going to visit. Mayhap we can get together and fling a few arrows. Safari Club International, not to be confused with the Dallas Safari Club, is just down the road from Tucson Mountain Park.  Desert Archers is based out of there with  an Outstanding archery range.  Just down the road the other way is the Sonoran Desert Museum.  Kind of a cross between a museum and an open air wildlife zoo.  Also well worth the visit, just not in the heat of the summer.  And, as long as I’m making shameless plugs, the nearby Coyote Pause Cafe has good food and it’s right across the street from the Tucson Mineral & Gem World if you’re into rocks & fossils & such.  Makes for a pretty full day or two.

My little Ford Ranger has had rust issues since I bought it 12+ years ago.  Most of those on the body I have repaired, but the frame has had rust-through behind the cab.  I took the bed off and brought it to a welding shop where  they patched it up.  I spent the most of last week chipping, scraping and sanding rust.  Then a couple of coats of Rustoleum rusty metal primer followed by another couple of top coats of black and it looks pretty good.  If it lasts another 20 years I’ll be happy, since by then I probably won’t be driving anymore.  Since the bed is off I’ve prepped it and the back of the cab to put another coat of paint on.  It’s about time; the last time I painted the truck was 10 years ago.  I need to repair the rust under the bottoms of the doors  and sand the whole thing down again, then roll another layer or two of fresh paint on.

Hope all of you folks with physical problems (Raymond and  Aeronut come to mind) are doing better.  I wish you well!

I suspect that the guy who coined the phrase “Rust never sleeps”  lived back east where they salt the roads in the winter.

Vile stuff; Bad for your truck, bad for your blood pressure, …….good for Margaritas.

The “joy” of keeping a vehicle long term is rarely enjoyed by folks anymore…

I bought my jeep in ’96 before I was married or had kids.  It had 1 mile on it.  Now the kids are out of college and it is pushing 400,000 miles.  Never washed it and there is still no rust.  That thing has taken a licking and keeps on and on and on…  Can’t imagine how many deer I’ve tossed in the back of that thing.  Chrysler made the perfect vehicle, and as soon as they realized they had, they discontinued it.

Now I await my next truck…  the Tesla Cybertruck.  It will be only the 3rd vehicle I have owned and likely the last.  But I hope to toss a Newfoundland Moose in the back of it, and a Colorado Elk, and a few Saskatchewan bear, and many many deer, and…

We will need a full report on that Tesla after you have wrung it out for a couple of road trips!

~Kees~

I will, if it ever gets here…  But the anticipation is half the fun, right?

We got a Chevy Bolt in ’18 and my wife promptly put 60K on it before we gave it to my daughter.  Then she got a Model Y last year.  Both these cars are fun to drive, zippy, and reliable.  They are the main reason my jeep hasn’t crossed the 400K mark yet.  I take the tesla whenever I can.

My wife won’t let me toss a deer in the back though…

I’ve been converting the farm equipment over to electric for some time now too, Landmaster Electric UTV, chainsaws, weed eaters, trimmers, etc.  All good and reliable.  Been eyeballing an electric tractor, but its gonna be a while on that one.

I had a jeep Cherokee back in the 80s that was a great hunting vehicle.. just strapped elk racks on the top…

With people buying more electric vehicles. We should have a lot less traffic noise, which I heartily welcome

I understand the replacement of their batteries is quite expensive though…

Scout aka Ray

We will have to see how long the batteries last.  Tesla has tested their batteries to 3,000,000 miles with less than 20% degradation.  I’m sure their newer batteries are even better.  I expect the car’s suspension and bearings will give out before the batteries do.

Our 2018 Bolt has almost 70,000 miles and the battery is still 100%.

The best part is not having to buy gas, and no oil changes.  I’m getting too old to keep crawling under the car.  I have to save my back for dragging deer 😁

Steve

As usual can’t rely on any of the news orgs anymore. I guess we are just hearing the sensational oddities or the cheaper poorly designed brands, having battery issues . I thought I would wait a bit before getting into the EV mkt – till they got more of the bugs worked out..

The old hunting truck 2011 Toyota Tacoma is getting a little tired, but at 170, 000 miles still has another 100 thousand to go….might even be able to pick up a good used EV by then…. haha

Let us know how you like the new Tesla after you have hunted with it a bit. It’s one of the models that interests me..

Scout aka Ray

• This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by Raymond Coffman.

Aeronut;  I just went to ebay & searched ‘carbon paper’. 1400 hits came back. Prices seemed pretty reasonable, too.

Sorry to hear about problems with ebay. I guess that maybe I’ve been lucky, so far.

My latest too much time on my hands project is my tribute to Ben Pearson.

A Pearson Mercury Hunter with a Pearson bow quiver filled with Pearson DeadHeads mounted on replica Pearson Tracer arrows. Matching target arrows in a Pearson hip quiver w/ Pearson Pro-Staff belt buckle.

It makes a pretty nice package & I’m going to use it at an upcoming shoot to honor  Ben Pearson.

If WE don’t remember, then who ????

My first bow was a Ben Pearson archery set my folks gave me for my 16th birthday. Looking at a 1960 catalog copy I found on-line, it was probably the 349 Strato Jet Hunting Set. Solid fiberglass, 45 lb. pull and came with finger tab, arm guard, string, three target arrows and three broadhead arrows. I spent many hours in the back yard shooting that thing.  Probably why I can’t get a decent group now that i am older.  Kind of wish I still had the bow; I don’t remember what happened to it.