60+ year old thread.

I've been retired for 16 years? Wow, time flies... My days pass so quickly that I'm amazed I ever had time for a job.

 

If you want to trap (live) raccoons -they are easy. Big wad of cheap peanut butter in the trap does it. I got 4 in 5 days, and they were mad as heck. Those critters actually bark at you like a "hoarse" dog. Also they hiss and growl. When I let them go I was glad they did not turn around and bite me in the ankle. To come back here they would have to travel about 4 miles and swim the Missouri river.

 

The guys across the river are wondering how they always have so many raccoons since they are trapping theirs and releasing them on your side of the river.

 

I feed a colony of feral cats at my house. Never so much as had a mouse turd in my garage, lol. I've watched them eat mice, last thing you see go in is the back feet and tail, yum! I keep one board out under my front porch so they have a place to get out of the weather in the winter. I feed them and they provide a service to me. Plus I've been watching a litter of 4 kittens growing up, they are entertaining, lol. I have my inside cats that are my pets, they are spayed, neutered, and declawed so they will never go outside again. Outside cats live about 4 to seven years if their lucky. Inside cats can go 14 to 20 plus.

 

I hate conibear traps. They kill and are both inhumane, cruel, can cause slow painful death and indiscriminate in what they trap and kill. Yes I know most of the time the kill quickly but not always. They are also indiscriminate in that what ever wanders into the trap dies and or suffers. Cats, dogs and various unintended wild animals may be killed in the traps. I’m a life long hunter of big game, waterfowl, and upland game so I understand predation, hunting and animal management. But I am an ethical hunter. It’s just my 2 cents worth and my opinion that conibear traps are cruel and unethical. Not trying to start an argument and not telling anyone what to do. Just trying to present a point of view.
When I was in my 20’s I did a little fur trapping. On occasion when I checked my traps I found a couple animals still alive but suffering greatly (I dispatched them quickly with a 22 rifle)and on one occasion I found one had chewed it’s leg off to escape. That was it for me I was done with trapping.
My dad and I use to live trap pesty critters on his property and relocate them . Easy peasy, no hassle or problem.

 

We have a serious over population of coyotes in my area. Some folks actually feed them. It's illegal by the way. But with such large numbers the natural food supply has dwindled. As a result they have moved onto their secondary source, pets. Now you can't shoot them with either a firearm or bow. But the law does allow one to trap nuisance animals on one property. But coyotes have a little caveat. You must either release them where caught or kill them. Relocation is illegal.

The law about relocations was passed because fools were relocating a problem from their area to someone else's. I can usually get two or three a month. Not really enough to make a difference, and my neighbors refuse to trap on their property. Well, I should say they refuse until one of their pets becomes coyote food. It's amazing just how fast a person's position can change.

 

that made my day!!!!!

 

Made me laugh as well after all of todays depressing news. Darn and I thought they would have to swim. Of course if they tried that they would be so far down stream it would be hard for them to get back here -road trip as well as a long swim!

 

Heck the coons use the same bridges you do. Rivers don’t slow them a bit. Oh a few might get hit but most are car savvy.

 

Good morning, everyone!!! I've done some snapping turtle and ground hog relocation in my day.

Be safe out there.

 

Morning all:
Mark, you need to relocate those snapping turtles into your stomach!
Years ago I read an article on how to easily clean them, wish I had kept that article but probably could find the same info. on the internet.
I never ate one that I found, but did have fresh snapper soup at a restaurant on one occasion, not bad. Years ago some of the bars would buy them from people to serve there, don't hear anything about that anymore.

 

good morning Porchies. Just me and the dog this morning, fixing to do as much nothing as we can.
OK, I won't bring up saving a few cents on gas, or troublesome raccoons again! Just want them to go elsewhere, there's plenty around here can't keep trash covered. Can't relocate a family, and city doesn't want them.
Anyway, wish me luck. First time beef finger ribs getting smoked today.

 

So, don't leave me home with dead grass that's just as wide as a row of cobblestone pavers! (Dog did NOT help, he went back inside to the AC!)

 

Well, how did the first time finger ribs go?



I wish I could have kept them on the bone.



Recipe did promise tenderest beef that isn't pulled you ever had. Was every bit of that. I'm told to try again, at least three times, until I get it "righter".

 

Wow! Looks awesome! How do you do all the things you do and cook such great meals too? Next time I come to Texas I’ll bring the wine.

 

Good morning everyone.

More rain for us here in northeast PA. Showers and thunderstorms on tap for pretty much the rest of the week.

Despite the rain yesterday, I was still able to work with our contractor to start dealing with some wood rot issues on our stable. The front part of the building dates back to the late 1800s - the sill beams were laid on stacked stone. The front beam is 32 feet long one solid piece. All the beams are hand hewn and put together with wooden pins. At some point, a larger barn was built and this one became a stable with stones put down inside and then covered with concrete. Over time, the sill plate in the front absorbed moisture and began to rot. We cut the worst section out and replaced it with pressure treated lumber - still have to scab in a few smaller pieces and then repair under the window, replace the lower exterior boards we cut down since they were also starting to rot on the bottom, and the put on new board and batten. I thought I was retired?

 

Morning all:
Looks like they are calling for heavy rain and have flash flood warnings out for our area.
How many times have I warned you guys, when you retire you will need to go back to work to get a rest!

We had a large old barn on the property that used those wooden pins Mark, we always called it the peg barn, it got destroyed when one of the hurricanes went through in the early 50's. Amazing that they could build something using large beams and just use wooden pegs to hold it together.

 

Being retired means you can fix stuff you needed to do years ago.
The jobs don’t disappear, they actually get on the list. Lol

 

Morning people.

Hope all is well.
Wifey made me laugh this morning.
She put a retirement countdown clock on her pad.



I tried not to think about it cause it seemed to go slower.
Whatever makes her happy..