Happy Halloween

Halloween is mix of traditions from Celtic, Catholic and Roman religious rituals. The Celts believed that the boundaries between the living and the dead blurred on Halloween - making it easier for ghosts and spirits to return to make mischief.  As a consequence these ancient Celts would dress in costumes and light bonfires to ward off the spirits.  

Jack-’o-lanterns have been around for hundreds of years and they have their origin in a tale of a man named Jack who invited the devil for a drink.  Not wishing to pay for his drink Jack struck a deal convincing the devil to turn himself into a coin that could be used to settle the tab. Jack skipped out on the bill and kept the devil-coin in his pocket with a silver cross so that the devil couldn’t shift back to his original form.   Jack eventually let the devil loose, but made him promise that he wouldn’t seek revenge on Jack and wouldn’t claim his soul when he died.   When Jack eventually kicked the bucket, God would not allow him into heaven, and the devil, keeping his word, rejected Jack’s soul at the gates of hell.  Instead, the devil gave him a single burning coal to light his way and sent him off into the night to find his final resting place.  Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has supposedly been roaming the earth with it ever since.  In Ireland, the ghost lights seen in the swamps were said to be Jack’s improvised lantern moving about as his restless soul wandered the countryside. He and the lights were dubbed Jack of the Lantern, or Jack O'Lantern.  The original jack-’o-lanterns in Ireland were carved out of turnips or potatoes. 

Pumpkins are actually indigenous to the Western Hemisphere and have been found on the continent for more than 5,000 years.   Pumpkins entered into the Halloween celebration after Irish immigrants came to America and found that pumpkins were easier to carve than potatoes or turnips for the holiday.

Have a festive holiday...

Third Quarter of the Game

GDP numbers are in and there is this:  The US economy grew at a solid 3.5% for the third quarter.  Nonetheless, it was the largest negative contribution to GDP growth for trade in more than three decades.  In the second quarter of 1985, trade subtracted 1.91 points.  Trump trade policy dragged down GDP growth by 1.78 points.  In other words, if trade were a net neutral - neither adding to nor subtracting from GDP growth - third-quarter GDP growth would have been a stunning 5.3%! 

To be fair - the tariffs may have contributed in such a way that the GDP number wasn’t weaker than expected.  Just like the shipping of soybeans - which spiked in the second quarter - inventories swelled in the third quarter as businesses imported goods before they were hit by tariffs.  This may have added a couple of percentage points to the GDP growth figure.  In any event, the stockpiling of inventory about to be taxed is a temporary phenomenon. 

Stay tuned to watch and see if the Trump World trade skirmish erupts into a full-throated trade war.  So far the Republican trade taxes are dampening economic growth.

You can read more on this subject here...... 

Survival of the Fittest

This past weekend I was puttering about the house and assembling a batch of venison chili for dinner.  For reasons unknown I walked to the living room and looking out the back window spied this,

click on images for a closer look

 

Yup.  A boy fawn looking for all the world dazed and confused.

Middle of the day, broad daylight and walking into the yard without an ounce of precaution or a lick of hesitancy.  The thought occurred to me that he might have been orphaned as no proper whitetail mama would countenance such risky and careless behavior.

I observed him for a few moments as he made his way across the yard and eventually within view of the dogs.

The Labs gave him a well-deserved barking and he skedaddled.  Hopefully, having learned a modicum of self-awareness and caution. 



If not - that little deer doesn't stand a chance against nature.  Because nature can be a tough mother...

Notable Quotable

A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money.

 

- Everett Dirksen
 

Once upon a time Republicans were the guardians of fiscal restraint – or at least they paid lip service to such.  In Trump World Republicans can now lay claim to the largest budget deficit in a half-dozen years with billions upon billions of dollars of interest payments that will take generations to pay-off.  If at all.  It rather makes the era of Obama look like an exercise in financial self-discipline. 

That light at the end of the tunnel is a trillion-plus deficit in the next fiscal year. 

A world record – and a gift of conservative government. 

Shocking Blue

Meet Cyanocitta cristata - the Blue Jay. 

A larger bird with a showy blue and white-appearing plumage with black accents.  I use the term 'appear' as the feathers of this bird do not contain blue pigmentation.  It is the refraction of sunlight that casts the blue hue.

This is a year-round resident and will move only if there is a scarcity of food.  To whit - this bird caches food for future use and is not averse to mimic the call of a hawk to frighten other birds from my backyard feeder. 

The blue jay is fun to observe and I have been privileged to observe a flock of them on rare occasion and to be scolded by one while bow hunting.  Even rarer is getting a photo on a trail camera!

 

click on the photo for a closer look

Friday Music

Recorded in 1963 by the American group:  The Exciters it was subsequently covered by the British R&B group:  Manfred Mann.  It was Mann’s version that brought international recognition to the tune.  It eventually rose to the Number One spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 before the end of that year. 

Covered by many artists since then it earned a prominent position in popular culture when it was featured in the 1981 movie Stripes starring Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and John Candy.

Greeting the Sun

From time to time a trail camera will record some rather spectacular stuff.  That's the nature of something that sits outdoors year after year, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  Eventually the law of large numbers and averages along with a bit of random luck works to one's advantage.

A couple of months ago I positioned a camera facing due east on an ash tree about a foot above the turf.  The field of view is a mowed trail that extends the width of the property - a quarter mile.  In this case the camera is sited approximately midway on the trail.

Dense forest extends to either side of the trail so it is natural that anything the runs, crawls, walks or flies is going to possibly make use of the trail.  The wildlife photos have been many and varied.  In this case I even captured an astronomical event - an ordinary sunrise with spectacular results.

The extent of the photos spans eighteen minutes total from the beginning to the denouement.  For brevity I've only chosen a handful of the photos representative of the progression.  It's rather cool - and excepting for cropping the date and time stamp - no retouching...

Scruffy Deer

 click on images for a closer look

 

Mange is a contagious skin disease caused by mites that often results in hair loss and thickening of the skin. Although mange is uncommon it can be fatal to deer - particularly fawns.

This is not mange.

It appears to be a scruffy-looking hair on an otherwise healthy deer

Snapshot Wisconsin

 A new set of SD cards has found its way into my rotation – along with another trail camera.  I am a Citizen Scientist.  Last weekend I deployed a Bushnell trail camera – courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as part of a larger statewide network of trail cameras to monitor wildlife year-round. 

Called Snapshot Wisconsin this project utilizes volunteers to help identify and count the animals recorded on these trail cameras. 

Crowdsourcing the data of where and when each photo was taken will hopefully lend further understanding of wildlife population distributions across Wisconsin and how these distributions change over time. Snapshot Wisconsin is a consistent mechanism to monitor all types of wildlife throughout the year.      






Snapshot Wisconsin is primarily funded through Pittman-Robertson dollars provided by the Federal government to Wisconsin DNR. Other funding is provided by a grant from the NASA Applied Science Program through the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Other partners include UW-Extension, Adler Planetarium, Zooniverse, Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers and the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board. 

The cameras are manufactured specially for the project by Bushnell and the settings are pre-programmed to be uniform across all devices. 

I’ve got a one year commitment and with the grid coordinates and compass bearing logged-in the system the camera will remain in one location for the duration.  The photos are encrypted so they’re of no use to anybody if stolen and once the images are made available on my personal MySnapshot profile page only county-level location information is associated with them.  Any images of humans are automatically removed.  Once I decide to exit the program - the camera and equipment are returned to Wisconsin DNR.  


This is a new project for me and one that I’m looking forward to in retirement.  Stay-tuned for more when there is more and if you want to learn more about this initiative – including how to participate - check out this link: https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/research/projects/snapshot/

Wile E. Coyote

Canis latrans has been making its presence known quite regularly. 

Always after dark.....

New Location

The location of this trail camera has been acceptable as it has been delivering a steady diet of deer and turkey photos.  And occasionally a selfie.  So after discussing the matter with my four-legged ladies we moved it about thirty yards (give or take) west.


It is still situated on the north bank of Silver Creek but facing the opposite direction south by southwest directly in the trodden path of a well-worn game trail.

Stay tuned...

Larch

My favorite tree is looking mighty fine.

The tamaracks are beginning to turn to their striking fall gold before casting their needles.

Mama and the Whoops!

click on images for a closer look

 



At first blush when I uploaded the photos from the SD card on this camera I thought I had another collection of pictures of a doe and her twin fawns.  You know - mama and the twins.

Not at all unusual around here as the excellent cover, moderate climate, abundant food and other whitetail considerations make twins quite common.  Not the rule - but common.

Until I got to this (and others) in the burst series of photographs.

Whoops!  Triplets?

It is entirely possible - although not as probable.

But you never know.....

Sunset

It has been a crazy day of howling winds and the first snow squalls of the season.  The dogs and I ventured forth during a break in the conditions to fetch some trail camera SD cards and deploy a DNR camera for a citizen science project.  It is dark as pitch now yet the run-up to the close of the day featured a fast-moving and evolving sky with cloud action and brilliant colors.

Bracketed some shots of the advancing dark and scudding clouds and a dynamic sunset before the lights went out...

click on images for a closer look

First Snow of Autumn

It had to happen sooner or later.

It's just that sooner always smacks you upside the head with the suddenness of it all...

Sometimes Heard - Rarely Seen

Meet Aegolius acadicus - the Northern Saw-Whet Owl.  This diminutive bird is the smallest owl in eastern North America and among the smallest on the continent measuring 7-8½ inches in length and weighing-in at a whopping 3 ounces – give or take. 

This was a relatively easy ID both as a consequence of the size of the bird, the lack of ear tufts and a proportionately large head and prominent facial disk.  This is an owl of the forest and during daylight hours they prefer to roost in dense conifer stands just above eye level and near the trunk of a tree.  This owl is quite tame and approachable in the daytime – if you can find one.  They prefer to remain motionless and rely-upon concealment amongst dense pine boughs to avoid predators.  A nocturnal hunter its prey is predominantly small rodents such as voles and deer mice. 



This bird generally hasn’t much of anything to say.  However, during the breeding season of March thru May the male vocalizations are a rhythmic tooting song that may go on for hours without missing a beat.  The bird was named for this song - which reminded settlers of the sound of a whetstone sharpening a saw. 

click on images for a closer look

 

 

Problem Solved

The Rage expandable broadheads I am using for my vertical bow use rubber O-rings to hold the blades in their place until they deploy upon impact.  One of them failed last weekend and if I had spares I cannot locate them. 

I could not find replacements at Gander or Fleet Farm.  So I Googled:  rubber O-ring for rage mechanical broadhead and the second hit was for a place in Washington called The O-Ring Store. 

 They stock and sell nothing but O-rings (and associated hydraulic stuff) online.  Two minutes of my time and $4 got me approximately 24 - 3/16^th inch - replacement rubber O-rings.  Sure, there was an additional $6 for shipping – nevertheless, very convenient and from the warming glow of my laptop. 

Wonderful thing the internet is.  Be sure to visit The O-Ring Store here.

Friday Music

Composed in 1968 - Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells spent 16 weeks on the U.S. charts, reaching number one in the United States (in February 1969) and other countries. Selling 5 million copies it was the group’s best-selling song.   

Following the initial release the group remixed a longer five-and-a-half minute long version of the the song for their LP album.  During tape copying a slight speed error was inadvertently introduced which resulted in a drop in pitch during the new guitar solo sections.  That error remained unfixed.  And now I know the explanation for the hiccup in that version of the song.

Confiture de Framboise Rouge

click on the images for a closer look

It has been a good year for raspberries.  When dabbling-about in the yard or the garden it has been a simple pleasure to snack on a handful of fresh berries picked directly from the cane.  Berries on ice cream, berries on yogurt, berries in crepes and raspberry pastries.  At long last we made homemade jam from the homegrown red raspberries Jill has been cultivating.  It started with a bumper crop of berries that she has been hoarding in the beer fridge and I augmented it with frozen ones picked earlier.  
     
Ingredients

6 – Cups of fresh or frozen red raspberries

1 – Package of SURE-JELL Premium Fruit Pectin

7 – Cups of cane sugar

A bunch of sterilized half-pint jars with matching lids and bands

Begin by soaking your berries in cold tap water to rinse-off any debris or bugs.  Drain on a large cookie sheet lined with paper towels in the fridge.  Thaw any frozen berries.  In all we had slightly less than six packed cups of fresh and frozen berries.  Put your berries in a pot and using a potato masher pulverize and smash them into a soupy mixture.

Stir in one package of SURE-JELL Premium Fruit Pectin and bring to a rolling boil (a boil that doesn’t stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly.  Add the sugar to the fruit mixture and return to a rolling boil over high heat.  Boil exactly one minute while stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and skim-off any foam with a spoon.  





Ladle immediately into the prepared jars leaving about a quarter inch of headspace.  Wipe the jar rims and threads and add the lids and bands finger tight.  Process for 10-15 minutes in a boiling water bath in your canner. 

Remove to cool and when the lids ‘pop’ your jars of jam are properly sealed.  If a lid springs-back refrigerate and use immediately.

Properly sealed jars can be stored in a cool dark place for up to a year or more.  Although that would be a low probability event around here.   This jam is pretty darn good stuff.  Remarkably, it is pleasingly tart considering all of the sugar in the recipe.  It’s also easy-enough for a kitchen novice to perform admirably.  Yield is 10 half-pint jars.

*A word about the jars and lids.  Cleanliness is next to Godliness.  Sterilize your jars by immersing them in boiling water or running them through the dishwasher on the 'sanitize' cycle.  Lids are easy - heat a Pyrex measuring cup of water to a boil in the microwave and drop the lids in the hot water to sanitize them.  Fish them out with a tongs.

On The Move

Yesterday I published some photos of a determined raccoon on the move from here to there and there to here.

From a couple of weeks ago my pal - Braumeister - a very determined bow hunter on the move from here to there and there to here...

 

 

On The Move

IR photos of one of the resident masked bandits. 

Coming...

click on images for a closer look

 

And going....

Raccoon on a mission.

The Best Roasted Pumpkin Seeds in the World

After more than six decades walking this third planet from the sun it has occurred to me that I've roasted a lot of pumpkin seeds over the years.  It all started with my parents following the carving of the jack-o'-lanterns.  This continued into adulthood and more jack-o'-lanterns. And it has evolved to serious pumpkin growing specifically for the seeds. 

I've grown pumpkins for carving, roasting on the grill or making pie filling. You can get a can of pie filling just about anywhere.  But where can you get a good roasted pumpkin seed?   If you're a fan of roasted pumpkin seeds you absolutely need to check this out.  Not only are these pumpkins terrific for fall décor they are prolific seed producers.  Furthermore, their seeds lack the tough outer hulls of other more pedestrian pumpkins making them perfect for roasting.  On top of that they're a bush-variety and don't take-up large amounts of space in the garden.  

Behold the Kakai pumpkin....  

click on images for a closer look

A fetching bright orange pumpkin accented by dark green digital camouflage.  A non-GMO, organically-raised gourd of about 3 to 8 pounds.  

And chock-full of hull-less green seeds - pure kernel - without the tough shell.  All you have to do is open them up, insert your hand into the pulp and all of those seeds will slip right out.  And plenty of them too.  

Pour your seeds into a stock pot and add enough cold water so that they float freely.  Add to that as much kosher salt as you can stand (about a half cup - give or take).  Bring your pot to a boil and then turn-down the heat and simmer uncovered for about 20 to 30 minutes. 






Drain your seeds in a colander.  
  

Spread them out on a cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees - stirring every 30 minutes with a spatula for about two hours.  Since ovens vary when your seeds begin to snap, crackle and pop they are telling you they are almost done.  

Finished product!  

A light, nutty, salty, snack that is full of vitamins, minerals and healthy antioxidants.  I am told that they promote prostate health too.  Serve with a frosty beer during the Packer game and at deer camp. But beware - these seeds can be addictive. 

 

If you  want to avoid eating your entire harvest in very short order I recommend that you package most of them with your FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer.  They'll keep for up to a year in the freezer.

Want to try something really decadent?  Mix a bag of M&Ms, dried cranberries and beer nuts in a big bowl along with these.

Cheers!