Good Morning! in 2018

[WLLady]

Why am I not authorized to see the September photo contest entries? Prejudice I expect, I may report this to the human writes commissioner.

you can't see them because you aren't a moderator or a forum administrator.....you'll see them next week when we open up the contest and report away....he who squeaks too loudly gets voluntold....

[WLLady]

@JimW sometimes a new start is a good start.....sometimes it takes being there to figure that out too! Just look this year so far as a bit of a shove sideways, not a setback, and look forward and go from here. hope you have a great trip! hope you finally got in touch with Al as well-did what i could to help out. SAFE DRIVE!!!!

as for downsizing-i agree, start with those coons. who needs them anyways?! a seemingly renewable resource.....
i'm in the same dilemma bird wise. but i think i'm growing up a little. she who has not laid by end of summer, will be going. and the breeds that i spend the most energy on because i'm actively trying to improve them stay. don't ask me how far along i am in my plan, i'll start soon. like maybe next month. after my next hatch is done.

[SusanH]

@SusanH , that sounds like a better plan...we went on a road trip holiday some years ago...tenting when possible, motels/hotels when not...on Cape Cod we hit the state park, set up our tent, went to find some eats and while inside, the heavens opened up..it was around 75 F at the time and muggy...it rained for several days and spending it in a soggy tent is not my idea of a good time...treat yourself to something more...lol..have fun

Thanks, Tom! I actually considered going gambling somewhere, since I've never done that, either. I'd have to go with a full gas tank and a set amount of cash, since I don't know how my willpower would fare. But I didn't. I just stayed home and tortured myself by checking the actual weather from time to time. Bleeeping weatherman was wrong as usual. It was bleeping beautiful all day yesterday and all night. Temps in the low 20s. Gentle breezes. Bleeping Ontario Parks charged me $52 to cancel my one night reservation that would have cost $10 if I had actually camped. Call me ready to bite the head off a rattlesnake.

[SusanH]

Dollarama hiking poles? yeah, what about quality? don’t you get what you pay for?

The “warrior monks” of Asia (China, etc) would go on pilgrimage their only defence from muggers (and tigers) was a big stick, 5 or 6 feet long (known as a bo or bokken). It was a walking stick, and and they were proficient fighters and could wield it against any weapon. If made of the right wood (ironwood) they could break a sword. I wonder how strong a Dollarama walking stick is against a coyote or bear?

Yes you could find a nice cabin by a lake and drink wine and eat your belly full....
or you could spend days in the wilderness, clear your head, find yourself (and God?), get some sore muscles, and enjoy the “forest bath”. (a forest bath is a prescription Japanese doctors give to patients to help with physical and mental maladies. the smells, the hormones from the trees, the sounds, the solitude, will all do you good)

http://time.com/5259602/japanese-forest-bathing/

Dem's fightin' words, you knocking my Dollarama. Some things are surprisingly good quality, others not so much. I didn't buy a hiking pole, but I believe I will get one and throw it in my day pack. I do not intend to fight bears with it.

Thanks for the article on shinrin yoku. I am a firm believer, and the overnight hike was for that purpose. The local conservation area offers a forest bathing seminar, but it's on my hiking day...

Do Not watch the Netflix film Backcountry. Do watch the new film Leave No Trace.

[baronrenfrew]

SusanH: Gambling- I understand there’s paddlewheel riverboats on the Mississippi with low stakes poker tables so you can’t lose too much. sounds more relaxing to me than Vegas.
do’h, I think Vegas is cheaper. maybe there’s lake boats on the great lakes?

Aye, so I kept the dog outside to protect the chickens from a fox (whom she eventually took down).

but now after a summer of heat, a common skin bacteria went whacko causing hot spots, now I’m out $700 the last week in vet fees and supplies. I could have built a real fort knox bird yard for half of that! talk about cost ineffective! plus “their” price for meds vs online pet pharmacy, brutal.

[SusanH]

@SusanH might i suggest lugging the bug spray? for some reason the mosquitos here have just decided to do their thing. driving back to the house on the ATV last night was just nasty! Hope you find something fun to do regardless of the weather!

So i found a wonderful use for those invasive reeds that are popping up all over the place. apparently if we cut them now they will resprout and be sensitive to round up by end of sept. so i went to the ravine last night where there's a stand of them.....and i cut a pile of them down and burnt the flower heads and stripped the leaves and chopped them into 1 foot lengths and made a pollen bee house. LOL. just wrapped a pile of the tubes together with string. the stems are hollow...so i figure why not put them to good use. so maybe sometime i'll don the bug spray better and go down with the trailer and cut as much as i can and build a pile of these bee nests. at least it will stop the seeds from spreading off these awful things!!!!

Do you have pictures? I am sure I must have some of these reeds somewhere. I would also love to see your bee nests! Are yours filling up? I am glad I have someone else hosting native bees to talk to. What are these reeds called, so I can look up a picture.
Do you think thistles would work? I have lots of huge thistles, and they are hollow. Maybe too big around.

[SusanH]

Yes you could find a nice cabin by a lake and drink wine and eat your belly full....
or you could spend days in the wilderness, clear your head, find yourself (and God?), get some sore muscles, and enjoy the “forest bath”. (a forest bath is a prescription Japanese doctors give to patients to help with physical and mental maladies. the smells, the hormones from the trees, the sounds, the solitude, will all do you good)

http://time.com/5259602/japanese-forest-bathing/

Forest bathing is wonderful! I used to do it twice a day with my previous Labradors and I really loved it, as did they. The problem was ticks. Sadly, I had to stay out of the woods when the ticks moved north. I really miss those forest walks, and especially seeing all the wild flowers in the spring .

Ok, but there are tick repellents and even Lyme vaccines for dogs, and tick prevention for humans. Hikers carry "tick keys"although, really, it takes the ticks 24 hours to latch on where you need a device to remove them. Even then there is a time window before there is danger of tick-borne disease. Shame to give up the forest.

[SusanH]

I suggest you pick the ring tail breed with the masks if you want to downsize. (And, just wondering, why would anyone have a flock of raccoons anyway? But to each there own.)

But seriously, good to see you back on the forum, @JimW . It's a shame that 2018 hasn't been great for you, but good that you made the choice to transfer and make a clean break and a new start. Change is as good as a rest, they say.

What @Jaye said

[kenya]

Baronrenfrew she looks so fashonably, such a snazzy collar.

[labradors]

Yes you could find a nice cabin by a lake and drink wine and eat your belly full....
or you could spend days in the wilderness, clear your head, find yourself (and God?), get some sore muscles, and enjoy the “forest bath”. (a forest bath is a prescription Japanese doctors give to patients to help with physical and mental maladies. the smells, the hormones from the trees, the sounds, the solitude, will all do you good)

http://time.com/5259602/japanese-forest-bathing/

Forest bathing is wonderful! I used to do it twice a day with my previous Labradors and I really loved it, as did they. The problem was ticks. Sadly, I had to stay out of the woods when the ticks moved north. I really miss those forest walks, and especially seeing all the wild flowers in the spring .

Ok, but there are tick repellents and even Lyme vaccines for dogs, and tick prevention for humans. Hikers carry "tick keys"although, really, it takes the ticks 24 hours to latch on where you need a device to remove them. Even then there is a time window before there is danger of tick-borne disease. Shame to give up the forest.

I use spot-on treatments on the dogs, but they are only 80% reliable. The vaccines come with their own set of problems and those in the know don't use them. I also have numerous tick removers that work very well. That thing about them taking 24 hours to latch on is, apparently, questionable. I am very nervous about tick borne diseases so the only thing is to stay out of the woods. Sorry. I'm sounding more and more like "that" hairdresser {LOL}.