First Day Of Fall

According to the astronomical definition, in the Northern Hemisphere, fall begins with the autumnal equinox or September equinox on Sunday....

 

Friday Music

Michael David Fuller, better known as Blaze Foley, was an American country music singer-songwriter from Austin, TX.  Close to Townes Van Zandt, his music was closely influenced by this friendship.  The origin of his stage name was influenced by his admiration of musician Red Foley and stripper Blaze Starr.  He also went by the names Deputy Dawg and the Duct Tape Messiah.

February 1, 1998 Foley was at a home in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood of Austin when he was shot and killed by the son of a friend whom he had accused of stealing from his father. 

At his funeral, his casket was covered in duct tape by his friends.  Townes Van Zandt later shared a story about going the Foley's grave site to dig-up his body and recover a pawn ticket that Foley had for Van Zandt's guitar.

Here's a nice cover of Clay Pigeons by John Prine; from Austin.....

Brick Oven

From an old neighborhood friend there is this...

Wile E. Coyote

Never walk your dog around here without a firearm.

VELCRO®

The VELCRO® brand of hook and loop was invented by a man named George de Mestral in the 1940's while hunting in the Jura mountains in Switzerland. 

Mr. de Mestral, a Swiss engineer, realized that the tiny hooks of the cockle-burs were stuck on his pants and in his dog's fur and wondered how they attached themselves.

From our walk this morning there were sticker pickers.

Millions of them.

It took a couple of hours but the FURminator got most of them removed.

 

Red Rocket

Some trail camera selfies of the Red Rocket....

 

Harvest Moon

September astronomy entry for today....

September Astronomy

This year the September full moon is called the Harvest Moon. 

The Harvest moon can occur in either September or October because it coincides with an astronomical event – the autumnal equinox. The full Moon that occurs nearest to the equinox (September 22 or 23 depending-upon your time zone) takes on the name Harvest Moon rather than its traditional name – the Full Corn Moon or Barley Moon.  The name comes from this moon’s ability to shine light when it is needed the most – to bring in the harvest. 

The indigenous Anishinaabe people of the our Great Lakes region call this moon Waatebagaa-giizis or Waabaagbagaa-giizis, the Leaves Turning or Leaves Falling moon.

This full moon also happens to be the second of four super moons for 2024.  It will appear about 6% larger and 16% brighter than the average full moon.

In the Northern Hemisphere and in our time zone the Harvest Moon rises tonight.

You can learn more here.  

 And enjoy the music.....

Pizza! Pizza!

Tossed some pies in the Forno last night with some pals.

After a dalliance with instant dry yeast, 2024 has been witness to the return of sourdough leavening.

An altogether superior bake.

Bonus was tomatoes and sweet peppers from the garden….
 

September Astronomy

With clear viewing conditions tonight there is something you can take-in by naked eye, binoculars or telescope.

After moonrise you should be able to spot Saturn to the left of the waxing gibbous moon.

Catch it early or watch it all night long - You pick.  As the evening lengthens the moon's orbit will take it closer to Saturn.

Full moon on-deck for tomorrow.

Check back for details in the morning.

The Least I Can Do

Turns-out my pal, Braumeister, has a Level Two charger in his garage just like I do.

If I have to travel to the Naked City and stay overnight if he and the missus are in town I might be able to score a spot on the fold out couch and top-off my battery overnight.

If he's reading this he might get a chuckle from the title... 

 

Serengeti

When I first uploaded this photo taken by trail camera #5 I thought - What the heck?  Is that animal a cross between a whitetail and a giraffe?  

If so, it was a monumental continental leap.

It is the result of a perfect combination of sunlight dappled through tree leaves and shadowed on a doe.

It's an interesting photographic result.

You never know what a trail camera will capture.  One day it might be alien spaceship thruster backwash; another day it is something found on the Serengeti.....

Skin In The Game

So here we are; several months since Joe Biden abdicated the throne and Vice President Harris and Governor Walz have turned the election campaign on it's head.  If you watch the polls the democrats have turned the tables in several battle ground states and possibly reversed the trend in others and nationally.  What I would give to be a fly on the wall in Trump or Harris campaign HQ.  But let's not get over our skis -  is this a sugar high, a honeymoon or an implosion?  No way to know for sure.  Besides,  polls have been sketchy the last couple-three national elections; and I happen to believe that the outcome remains a tossup.  So I want to speak to the subject of gambling, or wagering.  

I've touched-upon this subject from time to time; sometimes from the POV of a financial guy and sometimes outright humor.  Back in the first week of June I took a stab at a topic I had been reading-up on and listening about; a subject that I thought was maybe gonna gain some traction - that of actually wagering on US Elections.  With every passing week it seems to be gaining traction now that we have a real competitive campaign.

For some time government regulators with oversight on Wall Street have been trying to clamp down on growing election wagering in the US.  With a completely reconfigured presidential race a tsunami of trading on this fall's election has taken-off.  At the time of the publication of this post, traders (gamblers) favor Harris over Trump.

PredictIt, formerly a largely academic pursuit and now off-shored was witness in July to its busiest wagering volume reaching roughly 120 million contracts - a spike of more than 500% over June.  $1.1 billion has been bet on crypto-based Polymarket since June, according to Dune Analytics, and 88% of that has been political bets on the U.S. election.

Consequently, this has the increased attention of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) who has proposed rule-making that would expressly outlaw wagering of this sort with scattered support in the US Senate.

As a recovering financial guy with almost forty years in the wealth management biz I've seen more than my share of feeding frenzies in the equity, fixed-income, commodities, futures and other derivatives markets; and market bubbles, more often-than not, end badly.  After-which seasoned veterans, put on their boots, roll-up their sleeves, slip-on their autopsy gloves and sift thru the bloody detritus of mostly novice online traders who got themselves slaughtered chasing phantom profits.

Markets always correct.

Nevertheless, none of this is outlawed or banned.  Financial markets are regulated and there is ample opportunity for the unguided to squander their savings on dreams, brass rings or Pumpkins and Mice.  The CFTC needn't ban wagering on election outcomes as much as they might regulate them with reasonable guardrails just like any other market. 

The UK has grappled with their own tempest in a teapot with the revelation that some conservative members of parliament got caught placing bets on the timing of their recent snap election.  Did it impact the July 4th outcome?  Who knows?  Considering the level of outrage when this got found-out it's entirely possible.  Should politicians be barred from betting on elections?  Or allowed to do so at their own political peril?  

A week and a half ago, a federal judge cleared the way for Americans to place bets on the outcome of congressional elections via a prediction-market startup.  A ruling that may potentially expand further legalized wagers on elections in this country.

Wagering requires bettors to put their money where their mouth is.  Betting markets may be useful when politics are chaotic.  With skin in the game facts displace misinformation.  

We got a game-on folks....

Newton's Law

Newton's First Law of Motion, also known as the Law of Inertia, states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

 

Fact Checking

Tariffs are not going to drive prices higher.  It's just going to cause countries that have been ripping us off for years, like China and so many others.  In all fairness to China it's going to just force them to pay us a lot of money.

- Donald Trump

Tuesday's debate raised this issue.  I have opined on this subject more times than I can remember.  All you need to do is type the word "tariff" in the search feature found in the upper left corner of the homepage for this blog. 

Donald Trump seems to be enamored by tariffs.  He wielded his tariff bludgeon frequently during his tenure as president.  And he continues to express his fondness for tariffs on the campaign trail today. 

Economics 101 - When you subject imported goods to tariffs (a form of taxation) the cost of those goods generally increases by the full amount of the tariff.  Translation:  Consumers pay them.  And they contribute to inflation in our economy.

Fact:  In my first year of retirement we purchased a Kawasaki Mule from a local implement dealer.  Trump tariffs added more than $800 dollars to the purchase price.  

Thanks for nothing.

 

September Astronomy

Kinda cloudy with ambient light reflection from the moon behind me to the southwest.

Nevertheless, ISS buzzing the house from overhead.

Time: Fri Sep 13 8:37 PM, Visible: 5 min, Max Height: 66°, Appears: 10° above WSW, Disappears: 30° above NE

Autumn Blooms

Another sure sign of autumn.

New England asters.

Bees are bonus.....

Friday Music

 

Earlier this year when we were on family vacation in the United Kingdom we scored tickets to see Van Morrison at Royal Albert Hall in London.

This was one of the songs in the play list that evening. 

Composed by my favorite Irish singer-songwriter this was the title song of his 1995 album of the same name.  It's one of the most popular tunes of his later material.  

It peaked at number 65 in the UK when release and later reached the number 12 spot on the US Billboard Rock Digital Song Sales Chart.  Who knew there was such a chart?

Days Like This.....

More Brood Flocks

Fresh from the trail camera trapline are mama hens tending to their flock of turkey poults....

 

An Anniversary Of Sorts

On several occasions I have shared that our deer camp is celebrating a 30th anniversary this year.  Yup, thirty pretty terrific years under current management.

When we acquired this property there were already a handful of tree stands to be found.  Fashioned from scrap lumber with rickety ladders it was natural that some of the locals would hunt here.  Because most of the eighty acres were cleared for farming the resident whitetails were confined to traveling in the protection of a handful of wooded corridors.  It was here that the stands were built.  And deer could be ambushed either sneaking thru the cover or more certainly attempting to cross an open field.

In many respects hunting was easier in the early days as a consequence of the cover; or lack thereof.

All  of that changed when fifty-five acres were taken out of production and enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).  A couple of ponds were constructed, 40,000+ Wisconsin hardwoods and conifers planted with an additional seven acres planted into native grasses and forbs.  

First item to note:  The reforestation and permanent cover changed the hunting dynamic completely.  Not only did the property eventually attract and hold more deer; the hunting became more difficult.  Nevertheless, the former offset the latter and because the neighboring landscape remained largely farmed the deer tend to concentrate where there is cover and browse.

The tree stands were also upgraded both in number and in design, construction and durability.  It was mostly the use of green treated lumber that advanced the technology.  Trees were generally available and it seemed like a terrific idea to construct a stand in the crotch of three of four handy green ash trees.  Like this from August 16, 2008.

Second item to note:  Stands such as these, located in trees, require near-constant maintenance and attention.  Trees move, boards break, things loosen and become dangerous.  That is what comes from meatball carpentry.

I would add that a handful of steel stands were purchased, assembled and deployed.  With the exception of the prolific Stand of Death, most hunters preferred the wooden tree stands because the metal stands were cramped and slippery to climb.

With the passage of time several events occurred that near-simultaneously changed everything.  The forest grew into maturity and emerald ash borer appeared on the scene.  The good news was that we had planted a diverse selection of trees and just like managing a diverse stock portfolio there is safety in numbers.  The bad news was that all the ash became dead or dying.  It is heart-breaking to see a forty-acre (or larger) woodlot in my community almost entirely composed of dead ash trees.

With the handwriting on the wall we began building and constructing wooden tower stands.  Constructed of green, treated lumber they were comfortable, roomy enough for two hunters and safer.  From November 16, 2013 there was this - the first generation of Guard Tower deer stand. And, most definitely, a step-above meatball carpentry.  This is in a class of its own - wood shop.

With years of experience we also had a general idea of where to locate them.  More often than not adjacent to a failed tree stand or somewhere along our 3.5 miles of trails.  If you clear a trail, whitetails will travel it.  And they do so at their own peril.

These have evolved as well with the introduction of manufactured metal brackets combined with more green, treated lumber these latest generation stands are nearly indestructible and likely to outlast most of us.

Last weekend four of us sited, assembled, erected and completed this.  The fourth generation Guard Tower.  It is also adjacent to a now long-failed stand that was on the property when we moved-in.

Anyway, I took some photos of some of the early generation stands so I could invite you along a walk down memory lane.

This is my first stand.  

It was adapted from a sketchier build that predated our arrival and upgraded several times.  I killed my first deer from this stand.  It was from I here I made my first bow-kill.  Back in the day, and before the trees grew-up, it had a commanding and unobstructed view.  If this stand could talk - oh, the tales it would tell.

This stand is named after one of the first members of our deer camp - Clayton.  It was constructed of treated lumber salvaged from the demolition of a deck three houses ago. Countless deer have been killed from this location as it overlooks a seven acre meadow that I clear with a bush hog in odd-numbered years.  Thirty years ago Clayton and I could see to wave to one-another from our stands.  Mature forest obscures the view now.

Clayton has passed-away and his stand is no more.  The tree snapped and everything came down a few years ago.  You can see Clayton 2.0 situated adjacent - a second generation Guard Tower.  My business partner's son killed his first deer from there a couple of years ago.

This craziness is something we named the Left Handed Bow Stand. Likely because a lefty could theoretically shoot from it.  

It is trash now and a second generation Guard Tower proudly stands on the opposite side of the trail. 

This is Don's Stand. 

Named after another initial member of the deer camp it is large enough to lay down-upon and take a nap.  Don retired from hunting a number of years ago and his stand has largely been taken over by the encroaching forest.

This stand is named the Arm Pit.  it is featured in the first photo pictured above and now abandoned.  Look at all of that dead ash!

Again, many deer were taken from this stand as it is a swampy, natural wildlife corridor associated with Silver Creek.  Six Deuce killed his first deer here and New Guy killed a trophy buck here.   I took this photo from the foot of a third generation Guard Tower installed in 2023.  Braumeister killed a nice buck from Arm Pit 2.0 last November.

This is the the Creek Stand.  Dead ash trees too.  It is over Silver Creek, has a view of the two trails paralleling the creek, one of the ponds and the seven acre prairie planting between the creek and the house.  This stand shares some notoriety but I'm not at liberty to speak of it.

This was a favorite of mine.  Many years ago I killed two deer on the same sit, within five minutes, with a vertical bow, on my birthday.  My first crossbow kill was from this stand.  I killed a couple of deer from here the first year New Guy hunted with us.  And the month before I had my hip replaced I shot two more deer from this location on a November gun opener.

Officially abandoned in 2023 this stand has not yet been replaced.  Locating a replacement here is going to require some additional figuring.

Last but not least there is the Taj Mahal.

Constructed by a father/son team of hunters it takes its name from the fact that it is the largest stand ever constructed.  Anchored to a couple of posts sunk in concrete it is also attached to a couple of dead ash trees. 

Last year, out of an abundance of caution we removed the ladder from the Taj and erected a replacement third generation Guard Tower; Taj 2.0.  I killed a deer from here last November.

I'm going to stop here as the deer season is nigh-upon us so there will be much to talk about between now and January.  Thanks for joining me on this walk down memory lane.

And eat more deer!

Brood Flocks

For awhile I was genuinely concerned that I hadn't seen any turkey poults on the trail cameras this spring and summer.

Plenty of adults; but no babies.

I figured maybe the torrential monsoons in the spring caused a hatch failure.  And the second laying.  Or maybe the burgeoning population of predators (coyotes, racoon, skunk and fox) got what was left.

Then all of a sudden when I ran the trail camera trapline towards the end of August,  Voila!

There they were.  All sorts of them.

Hens along with some good-sized youngsters to put my mind at ease.

I haven't a clue where they've been hanging-out; but I guess I shouldn't fret so much.

Tough bird the turkey is....

 

The Taco Revolution Redux

 

Of course, yesterday featured venison tacos for dinner.

The bow season opener is this Saturday.

Eat more deer!

The Taco Revolution

 

 

1968 radio ad for a new and emerging force in the fast food world.

Sure, the original taco stand included the Mission-style bell logo or atop their early adobe buildings.  But it was founder Glen Bell who had the brilliant idea to sell tacos out of a walk-up window in 1962.  He wanted the experience to feel authentic to Mexican culture even if the food itself was not.  

Taco Bell not only played a huge role in the fast-food revolution; more importantly it helped to introduce the idea of Mexican food to US diners.  The rest is history.

Incidentally. venison tacos and nachos are a family favorite in our household.

Schlafender Hund

The Red Rocket is spent....

Mr. Buck

There's a pretty good chance that by the time you view these photos the velvet on these antlers will be gone.

Anywho, there are some dandy buckaroos around these parts.

If you're careless you might catch a case of Buck Fever....

Gibberish

Just last week Donald Trump spoke to the Economic Club of New York.

He was asked this question:  If elected, what specific legislation would Donald Trump seek to pass to lower childcare costs in America?

Here is what he had to say...

Well, I would do that.  And we're sitting down - you know, I was - someone we had, Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka was so impactful on that issue.  It's a very important issue.  But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I'm talking about , that - because, look, childcare is childcare, it couldn't - you know, there's something - you have to have it.  In this country you have to have it.

But when you talk about those numbers compared to the kind of numbers that I'm talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they're not used to, but they'll get used to it very quickly.  And it's not going to stop them from doing business with us, but they'll have a very substantial tax when they send product into our country.

Those numbers are so much bigger than any numbers that we're talking about, including childcare, that it's gonna take care.  We're gonna have, I look forward to having no deficits within a fairly short period of time.  Coupled with the reductions that I told you about on waste and fraud and all of the things that are going on in our country, because I have to stay with childcare. I want to stay with childcare.  But those numbers are small, relative to the kind of economic numbers that I'm talking about, including growth - but growth also headed up by what the plan is that I just told you about.

We're gonna be taking in trillions of dollars, and as much as childcare is talked about as being expensive, it's relatively speaking not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers we'll be taking in.  We're going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people, and then we'll worry about the rest of the world.  Let's help other people, but we're going to take care of our country first.  This is about America first.  It's about Make America Great Again.  We have to do it because right now we're a failing nation, so we'll take care of it.  Thank you.

Scapegoat

In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.  Serious fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California.  Why isn't the media reporting on this?  Serious bias, big problem!  I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD.

- Donald Trump

For the very first time, in 2016, a presidential candidate (and winner) made the broad and sweeping claim of widespread illegal voting.  Trump claimed anywhere from three to five million illegal votes were cast to deprive him of a popular vote victory.  Consequently, in 2017 President Trump appointed a blue ribbon commission to find evidence of voting by undocumented immigrants in 2016.  

Without finding any evidence of these illegal votes, on January 3, 2018, President Trump issued an executive order dissolving the the Voter Fraud Commission before it could issue a final report.

A GOP-led audit in Georgia leading-up to the 2022 midterm elections found that while 1,634 non-citizens had attempted to register to vote in the state since 1997, not a single one was able to do so.  Election officials caught and prevented every single attempt.  Further evidence that existing compliance with state elections integrity works. 

Because the false claims of election fraud persist the cost of chasing election fraud falsehoods persists.  It is has already cost American taxpayers more than a half-billion dollars; and it is growing and growing.  

Without any evidence that undocumented immigrants are stealing elections why is MAGA world claiming that this is a clear and present danger to the integrity of our elections?

Occam's Razor suggests that the explanation that requires the fewest assumptions is usually best.  The Trump campaign is setting the table.  If Donald Trump loses the November election it will be illegal migrants who stole it.  Unlike Smartmatic and Dominion voting systems; faceless, undocumented immigrants cannot sue you for making baseless and unproven accusations.

If you think about it, this strategy is sublime.  

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that voter fraud doesn't happen; just not on the scale to invalidate a national election.   

Consider this:

• Non-citizens have been barred from voting in federal elections since 1924.  Additionally, in 1996 Congress made non-citizen voting in federal elections a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment.

• Under federal law a non-citizen who votes illegally can receive a prison term of up to five years and fined up to $250,000 if citizenship status was intentionally misrepresented.  There are also immigration-related consequences.  Casting just one solitary vote gets you deported.  Just being registered to vote can be the basis for denial of a citizenship application.

• Furthermore, there is a paper trail.  There are records of who votes so it is an exceedingly simple task for elections administrators, political parties and activists of all stripes to identify anyone who is ineligible. 

• Detection can also come directly through US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) who can require naturalization applicants to furnish evidence that they have never registered or voted.  Elections administrators are routinely required to produce documentation of compliance for non-citizens going through the process of becoming a naturalized citizen.

• Finally, a non-citizen who votes illegally will add one vote to the final tally.  Considering the penalties, paper trail (including a signature) and consequences of casting that one vote; is an exceedingly inefficient mechanism to steal an election.  Undocumented individuals naturally prefer to fly under the radar of government scrutiny.  This defies logic.
  

Nevertheless, if you lose an election fair and square, the undocumented are your scapegoat.  Your people have already been conditioned to believe it before a single vote has been cast.  

You read it here first.

More of the same old shtick.

____________________________________________________________________ 

Pro Tip:  If you have notice, knowledge or suspicion of election fraud, you have an obligation to report it here.

Fact Checking

The only jobs Biden created are for illegal immigrants and bounce-back jobs - They're bounced back from the COVID.

-Donald Trump

During the Trump presidency the economy generated an average of 182,000 jobs a month, significantly smaller than 277,000 a month during the Biden presidency.  Bill Clinton's average monthly jobs gain happened to be 242,000.

In the interest of fairness to both sides, these figures excluded the impact of the COVID pandemic during the last year of Trump's term of office and the post-pandemic bounce for Biden.

 

Colonel Sanders

Inflation-Busting Grocery Pro-Tip. 

Chef Jacques Pepin spoke on this technique a week ago.   This morning’s NYT foodie/cooking email featured Ali Slagle’s bone-in, skin-on, extra-crispy chicken thighs. Coincidence?  This must’ve been a sign from above. Pushed over the edge this happened. 

Jill picked-up a six pack of thighs for $3.55.  Froze two and pan-seared the remaining four. Brown rice and mixed frozen veggies as sides. Made some delicious pan sauce from deglazing the crunchy bits. 

All-in, I figure just north of four bucks for dinner for two - including bonus lunch leftovers. Two more thighs in the freezer. 

Worth the messy spatter clean-up. 

 

Bam!

 

Colonel Sanders got nothing on me.....

 

Friday Music

Some of you may already know that I'm a fan of John Prine who was sadly lost to COVID.

John was offered a recording contract by Jerry Wexler (Atlantic Records) after he saw the singer perform live with Kris Kristofferson.  

John first album, Paradise, was released in 1971 during my high school years.  With many of the songs on this album covered by multiple artists, it is ranked number 149 on Rolling Stone's listing of the 500 greatest albums of all time.  This song is an anti-war tune that takes a poke at the faux patriotism coinciding with the growing unpopularity of the Vietnam war.

The song was inspired by an edition of Readers Digest featuring a free flag decal suitable for sticking just about anywhere.

Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore...

Cherry On Top

Growing up in Milwaukee there was this.

Found on the interweb.

Milwaukee Police cars were all white and were called “Cherry Tops” or "Gum Balls".....