Strutting Your Stuff

This year my turkey hunt was a bit of a bust; and not for a lack of trying or a shortage of turkeys.  No rain and no snow either; so I cannot blame it on the weather.  I was talking about it with my pal, Braumeister, and we both concluded turkey hunting is generally a morning gig with most birds killed before lunchtime.  Furthermore, it either happens quickly or not at all.  Bottom line it like the missus has characterized it - "That's why they call it hunting.  If it was easy it would be called shopping." 

Ain't that right.  That's why she's the brains of the organization.

Anyway, here are some digital trail camera images from the last few weeks... 

 

 

By the way, the big gobbler above (second from the bottom) is one I spent the better part of forty minutes trying to lure within range of my thunder stick.  Yup, one and the same.  He pirouetted, strutted and displayed almost 360 degrees around my blind always just out of gun range.  He was having nothing to do with it.

 

And I had three hens the entire time clucking and purring within thirty feet of me.  Sheesh.

 

Hunting.

 

Definitely not shopping....  

Pitch Perfect

With midterms looming and affordability on voters’ minds, Mr. Trump was asked whether Americans’ financial situation was motivating him to make a deal.  

Not even a little bit. The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran — they can’t have a nuclear weapon.*

- Donald Trump 

*No sarcasm. The President has finally spoken what needs to be said.  The deal, if it comes, must hold every red line; no enrichment, full removal of the existing stockpile, verification with teeth, the Strait open and free, permanently.  Nothing less.

Mixed Messages

I've published on this subject previously and reflecting-upon recent gains in the investment markets, a reasonably robust jobs report, the peace process (or lack-there-of) for the Iran war why are the people seemingly down on their economic situation and possibly even a wee bit grumpy?

Consumer sentiment has dropped again.  According to the University of Michigan, the Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 48.2. from 49.8 in April.  The numbers are preliminary and subject to revision; nevertheless, this is the second consecutive all-time low in a data set that has been collected since the late 1970s.

I look at the economic world through the eyes of a recovering financial advisor and while I'm not wearing rose-colored glasses my sense is that excepting for global economic instability and rising energy costs as a consequence of the Iran war, economically-speaking, things are generally OK.  

What gives?  

Seems like the culprit are those nagging exceptions; namely the war, inflation due to energy costs and tariffs along with generalized economic uncertainty; all of which conspire to create bad vibes that bleeds into weakness in the mood of consumers.  This is important as the lion's share of our domestic economy is driven by consumers and their consumption.

According to the survey's director, Joanne Hsu, the drop is; "Owing to a surge in concerns about high prices both for personal finances as well as buying conditions for major purchases."  One-third of respondents mentioned gas prices as the biggest cause for concern; and another one-third cited tariffs. 

Stock indexes held positive in the wake of this news; and the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that job creation was stronger than expected in April with non farm payrolls rising by a modest 115,000 and unemployment holding steady at 4.3%.  A recession is presently a low-probability event.  Further evidence that things, economically-speaking, are generally OK.  

My sense is the weakness in the Michigan survey numbers reflect public opinion in light of soaring prices for gas and diesel at the start of the summer travel season.  Consequently, there is a political shadow over all of this.  People are pissed-off and tiring of the drama have contracted a case of Trump fatigue.  And I get it; we just purchased airline tickets for a family vacation and with the cost of jet fuel doubling it's not a cheap date.

My preference is for policy that improves your and my prosperity and general lot in life.  Along with making the world a safer place; so, where’re we at?

On one hand the stock market is on an absolute tear, with the NASDAQ up 5% last week and nearly 13% year-to-date.  The proximate causes include a shaky cease-fire with Iran, a 28% surge in S&P corporate profits for the first quarter and some consensus-beating economic reports, like Friday's payroll numbers. 

On the other hand, there is this. 

The Strait remains off-line, inflation is up, Iran holds all of its enriched uranium and President Trump's war has set in motion a cascade of destabilizing events that have all manner of consequences for global stability, security and the world economy.  

Meanwhile there is a billion dollar+ ballroom, a triumphal arch, a glowering visage of Trump on passports and national park passes and a no-bid, resort-blue paint job for the historic Washington Monument Reflecting Pool.  

It's a mixed message for sure.

Good grief.... 

Red Dogs

A week and a half ago doggo and I were out to finish cleaning-out nest boxes and running the trail camera trap line. 

From trail camera central set to capture short, silent, video vignettes there were couple of red dogs.

Same location one day apart.

Local resident red fox and my sidekick, Ruby, The Red Rocket...  

 

Inasmuch as both camera and background are stationary and only the animals are in motion it a terrific way to ballpark and compare relative size between a couple of adult canines.

Redheads too.... 

Bad Hair Day

 

This animal looks a bit raggedy so you might think it has the mange.  It doesn't.  But it's definitely scruffy as the animal is beginning to shed its fur.  Antlers are first; winter coat is next.  As the days grow longer the additional sunlight triggers hormonal changes in whitetail deer that bring-about these changes.  For boy deer testosterone levels gradually rise.  As a consequence antler growth begins and for all deer the gray winter coat, with its thick guard hairs, begins to molt.

Hormonal changes bring about a molting process twice a year and deer alternately grow a faded gray coat consisting of longer guard hairs and replace it with the ruddy red-colored coat of summer.  Better-suited to reflecting the heat of the sun the deer really stand out when they're gathered in a bright green hay field in July.  The summer coat will only last about three months before the critter begins to regrow the extra layer of longer, stiffer, hollow hair over the softer hair closer to the skin.  

Until the transition is complete the local whitetails are going to continue looking a bit raggedy.   

Hair everywhere. 

Death To The Queen!

In another rite of spring I deployed this.

 

 

 

 

It's baited with a pheromone attractant. 

 

If I can trap and drown a queen yellow jacket wasp awakening from her overwinter slumber I eliminate the possibility of an entire colony. 

 

It works most years.

 

Bastard, sociopath members of the insect kingdom. 

Mom's Day

Someone once said that the term "working mother" is redundant. 

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms in the world.

The struggle is real…..