Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967
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Posts posted by Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967
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3 hours ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:
Is this a distraction to the economy disaster?? It is headed by Adam Schiff!
With that jerk running it I have immediately lost interest.
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Almost as easy but more fun....
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41 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:
All I saw was a serious thunder storm with LOTS of lightning.
A good ol' Texas thunderstorm can trump an eclipse ANY day~!
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"Son... yo' mama riiiides tonight~!"
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Well, a very good friend for the last twenty-five years is retiring. And not only retiring, but gettin' the hell outta Dodge next month. Just can't take it any more!
Mark and his bride have sold their house, and are headed to a new home near Jackson, Tennessee. I'm gonna miss the guy ~ and he WILL be an asset to his new state.
Anyway, thinking about a parting gift for the lad. His fun passions have been dove shooting and especially fishing. To that end, I'd welcome any suggestions on tackle, lures, books on fishing specific to the area, or heck, just about any ideas.
Thankee!
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I've heard of it since I was a kid, and have watched countless sunsets. Never seen it, but have been told by others that they have....
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56 minutes ago, Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 said:
My current phone is a ruggedized Samsung flip phone, i can slip into my jeans watch pocket.
"They" keep wanting me to up-grade it, but the ones today are going back up in size with 1000 features on them I will never use or want to use.
And they keep breaking them. Or losing them.
Pard lost one inside the fuselage of an aircraft he was inspecting for it's C of A.
Had a heck of a time finding and getting it out.
For years I carried a Samsung Rugby II, until the danged thing was worn smooth. Then I "upgraded" to a Samsung Rugby IV - big mistake. I thought it was identical to the II, but no... just looked identical. Slightly larger (wouldn't fit the II's holsters), but worse, in a nod to Microsoft's example, they significantly changed the command function sequences. Major PITA.
But I adapted, and used it. Danged things were nigh unto indestructible. Then one evening about a year and a half ago, I got a call from a very nice young lady with AT&T:
"Mister C, I'm sooo sorry to tell you this, but in a few weeks we're no longer going be able to support your old Samsung phone," she said with the sweetest Texas accent.
"Miss, I'm sooo sorry to tell YOU this, but I have absolutely no desire to spend a bunch of money on some danged 'smart phone' with a bunch of stuff I don't need!" I replied.
"But, Mister C, we really don't want to lose you; we see that you like Samsung models, so we'll be more than happy to send you a brand-new Samsung 'smart phone' for FREE if you'll just stop using the old one!"
She did and I did and life is good. At least in the area of phones.
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Sad news, Tom... you and yours are in my prayers and thoughts.
And absolutely, everyone - get the shots!
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I don't find 'em to be much work at all. Fill the feeder and flush out the automatic waterer every few days, clean up once in a while, and collect eggs. Now, that last part is an adventure!
When one or more hens decided to be "broody," egg collection can be a challenge. Well... in my case, anyway: a feral hen* moved in a few years ago. She's a good layer in the springtime, but always decided to get "broody," and she's convinced that she's gonna be a momma. She will set on a nest and takes unkindly to having her "future babies" stolen from her. And when disturbed, she becomes MEAN!!
So, during "brooding season," I'll do my egg collecting at night - if I do it during the daylight, she will positively come unglued and attack; she's a one-hen tornado of sharp beak, flogging wings, and small but effective spurs. But at night, with hands encased in welding gauntlets, I wear a headlamp; shine it in her eyes, then use the small, metal (garbage can) lid from my coal bucket. I call it my "Captain America" shield, and use it to shove her out of the way and recover the day's deposits that she's claimed as her own. And during this exercise, she's whanging away on my "shield" with her beak - "Clang! Bang! Bangbangbang!"
Actually, kind of funny... she can't give chase in the dark, so she settles down when I withdraw. Oh... and I leave a porcelain egg (Sharpie labeled "phony!") for her - she can't count, and it calms her down.
*At one time I had more than two dozen feral chickens move into my back yard. Eventually, most moved on or were killed by critters - one morning I found six dead under a tree, and single ones at other times. Culprit turned out to be a 'possum.
I researched 'em, and many of those chickens seem to have been some sort of Mexican fighting birds. The hens were pretty plain, but the roo's were downright gorgeous. And surprisingly, the roosters were fairly mellow - not so the hens!
I call her "Betsy." Others simply call her "The Bitch." Moments after I snapped this shot, I donned my Captain America persona and rescued three fresh eggs after shoving her back, as she did a Gene Krupa number on the lid with her beak:
One of the mellow Buff Orpingtons... she's trying, but nothing under her:
Our intrepid egg-collector, Hardpan the Mighty, armored and armed:
My li'l cottage sits on an adequately fenced 1/3 acre lot. I turn the gals out of their 12' x 18' enclosure and let 'em free roam - they do a terrific job of keeping bugs at bay. And they have enough room to not be a bother; I seldom see them during the day. After sundown I close their gate, and have not lost one yet to predators.
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Such a cheery bunch o' folks...!
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17 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:
"Blind Man's Bluff" is a good read. It covers the covert submarine operations during the Cold War.
It's been a bunch of years since I've read the book - an excellent read! And as I recall, it even contains mention of the Horse & Cow.
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One of the boats was Tang....
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On 5/8/2022 at 6:59 PM, Yul Lose said:
Is the reason the roosting portion of the coop is up off the ground to keep snakes and rats and mice out?
Well, it's one good thought. Another is they're gonna poop while roosting - it's a good thing to have it fall away, so they're not roosting in it.
By the way - when constructing a roost, some folks think that a round dowel is good... after all, tree branches are round. Or, if using 2x4's, narrow edge up. Don't do it. Although tree branches are indeed round, if there were flat (squared) branches available, that's where the chickens would be. Believe it or not, there have been studies made that find chickens are much less restless when roosting if they have a flat roost - like a flat-side-up 2x4.
I'll try to post a picture of the "Chick Mahal" when I can find or take one; until then, here's a really informative and fun forum and site worthy of perusing:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/
Oh - my six mature Orpingtons and one stray mongrel hen give me an average of four or five eggs a day... more than I can use. Brown and big (jumbo!) sized. And fresh eggs are SO much better tasting than store-bought - which, incidentally, can be several months old by the time they hit the store's cooler shelf.
Edit:
Interior of the coop when freshly built; note the roosting perches, and three nest box on the left. These open from the outside to facilitate egg collecting. The front of the coop is open; it's hinged at the top to provide access for cleaning. Not visible is a "chicken doorway" to the right, cut into the front "wall" with a long ramp for 'em to get between ground and coop.
It has a corrugated metal roof, is elevated and provides outdoor shelter beneath for the girls on rainy days. It's inside a 6' x 12' x 18' chain link enclosure, with chicken wire stretched over the top to protect 'em from hawks.
I installed a small fluorescent light on a timer for winter months; the gals need at least 14 hours of light per day or they'll stop laying. I have it set to come before dawn; this way they will go to roost during the waning light of dusk... otherwise, they'd be trapped outside in the dark.
Yum~!
View from outside, with the hatch opened to access the nest boxes. I'd had it propped open and this $*&%^ Jay decided he liked eggs. It's now closed....
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10 minutes ago, Sundog said:
My daughter just watched it. I walked by, and told her that Vincent Price was the scary background voice in Michael Jackson's song, Thriller.
When I was a kid, Vincent Price made a movie called, The Tingler... it scared the poop out of me.
OH yeah... I remember!
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Nineteen Fifty Three - Svengoolie is bringing us The House of Wax, with Vincent Price.
One of the creepiest films of all time ~ grab yer popcorn!
Originally filmed in 3-D
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On 5/5/2022 at 6:36 AM, Father Kit Cool Gun Garth said:
Now… shouldn’t that be 78-45-33 1/3?
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1 hour ago, Steel-eye Steve SASS #40674 said:
Actually the builder was out of Wisconsin, http://www.peabodyrifle.com/home.html I don't believe they are making the rifle anymore.
There are usually a smattering of Peabody's on Gunbroker ~ they can be had, in various configurations and calibers, some of which you can actually find or make ammunition for.
The "Peabody Rifle Company" no longer build rifles, but they do make a pretty decent Winchester 95 type sight - which, unfortunately, would not be SASS legal (receiver mount). Equally unfortunate is the fact that the rifle does not have a tang, so traditional target sights would not be easily mounted.
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"He starts the engine, removes the clutch, and then a terrible thing happened - the car lunched and killed my client," said attorney David Femminineo.
I don't think I'd be lettin' Attorney Femminineo drive MY car.
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And remember, the foremost sail is referred to as the heads'l.
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Youngsters listen to some old music
in SASS Wire Saloon
Posted
Driving along one day with the Kid, back when he was still in his teens, I turned on the stereo with a Dean Martin CD inserted.
Suddenly I realized that the Kid was singing along with "Ain't That a Hole In the Head..."
Surprised, I looked at 'im and remarked "Hey! You know this song??"
He looked at ME kinda surprised, and replied "Dad! It's DEAN MARTIN! Of COURSE I know his songs!"
As if I wasn't astonished enough, I pulled up to my office building and dashed in to pick up something I'd left on my desk. It was Saturday, the office was closed, and a workman was installing new flooring. He had his sixteen-year-old son helping him... and that young man had the same Dean Martin CD playing!