Waving The White Flag

Haven't any idea what spooked this doe - but this is something most hunters grow accustomed-to.

The backside of a whitetail wagging there tail as the beat it out of Dodge.

 

October Night Skies

Credit: Astronomy: Roen Kelly

Something to look for in the night sky that doesn't require a late night.

As the sun sets tonight cast your gaze to the southwest.  With the naked eye you should be able to spot the crescent moon to a the very bright planet, Venus.

They'll both return to visit tomorrow.

If you use binoculars be sure to wait until the sun has fully set.  You don't want to inadvertently scorch your eyeballs...

Fact Checking

The tax cuts spurred the greatest economy that we've ever seen just prior to COVID.  The country was going like never before.  And we were ready to start paying down debt.

- Donald Trump 

During President Trump's tenure in office the national debt exploded - adding 40 percent to the total outstanding debt.  Nevertheless, if you read the reporting in the link there is nuance to this picture.

The national debt ballooned at a faster clip under Trump.  This was driven by two things:  

• The Trump tax cuts increased the annual operating deficit to $1 trillion in 2019; up from $680 billion in 2017. 

• Pandemic spending under Trump increased the the national debt to $27.7 trillion; up from $19.8 trillion.

At no point during the Trump occupancy of the White House was the government ever in a position to pay down the debt. He's lying.

Deficit spending on this scale by any administration is unsustainable.

 

The Garden Chronicles

If you are a San Marzano tomato snob you likely already know that a purebred San Marzano tomato is grown in the rich, volcanic soil in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius.

This year I’ve sourced my San Marzanos from a mutant plant that has overgrown the composter.  

A very robust volunteer from 2023 garden waste.

I collected enough fruits to can and foolishly imagined a dozen half pints.

Here is my harvest.

Four half pints.

Tomatoes and cracked Spanish sea salt. That’s it.

On a foundation of my sourdough crust this is the foundation of a real Neapolitan pie….
 

Friday Music

David Byrne is a Scottish-American musician, writer, filmmaker and visual artist.  He's probably best known to you as one of the founding members, principal songwriter, lead singer and guitarist for the Talking Heads.

He's performed any number of solo recordings and worked in other media including fiction and non-fiction writing, opera, film and photography.

He's the recipient of Grammy, Motion Picture Academy, Tony and Golden Globe Awards.  He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Talking Heads.

This is a fun rendition of One Fine Day accompanied by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.

Enjoy...

Squeegee

One of my pals purchased this for me.

A new squeegee.

You're probably thinking:  What the hell for?

It's for the electric sports car in the background.  My Ford Mustang Mach E, Premium AWD, Extended Range, Battery Electric Vehicle.  Because I no longer visit a gas station and clean the glass while filling my tank I now perform this task at home.  Yes, I have to fill a bucket with warm soapy water the scrub the bugs off the glass.

Rated at 346 horsepower and 428 pounds-feet of torque, when you stomp on the gas (a figure of speech) on this blue rocket and accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in 3.9 seconds you squash a lot more bugs.  

This will also come in handy during the winter.

 

The Red Rocket

From our walk this morning the Red Rocket cooled her jets long enough to pause and enjoy a whitetail leg bone treat.....

October Night Skies

Several years ago I published a post about light pollution and how it can mess-up your viewing of the celestial bodies on a dark night.  Tonight offers a terrific opportunity to venture outside for what might be the last of the winter stargazing as long as the skies remain clear and cold.  This is because it will be extra dark tonight.  The darkness is a consequence of the new moon.  

With this new moon, the earth, moon and sun will align with one another in a straight line.  The moon will fall between the earth and the sun appearing in front of the sun and hidden by the glare. 

In this alignment the moon is 'disappears' because the side we see not illuminated.  Word to the wise - never observe anything in the direct path of the sun.  Doing so may damage your eyes and cause permanent blindness.

Tariff Man

Last weekend three of the Canadian cousins payed a visit and stayed with us for several days.  Of course they brought with them gifts; with the exception of the maple syrup, various and sundry items not generally available here in the states.

If you've never had ketchup-flavored potato chips add it to your bucket list next time you visit our friendly neighbors to the north.  Same for the Canadian version of what we know as Cheetos.  The chocolates and candies are made by familiar multi-national companies you would recognize; yet manufacture products for distinctive markets in North America and other continents.  And, of-course, there is nothing better than a frosty Canadian beer.  Deer camp benefits from this contribution.

Inasmuch as our largest trading partners happen to be Canada and Mexico I was pondering the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).  Negotiated by former president Trump the USMCA replaced the North America Free Trade Agreement, known as NAFTA.  The intent of this Agreement was to create balanced, reciprocal trade, supporting high-paying jobs for Americans and grow the North American economy.  That is a righteous goal that I wholeheartedly embrace.

I am going to presume/assume that when Donald Trump returns to the White House, because it was his administration that negotiated the USMCA, that these goodies are not going to be slapped with a tariff or singled-out for a special duty when crossing the border. Nobody like more taxes; right?

Of course, you never know.....

 

 

Hunting Tip

Away at deer camp a couple of hunters tagged their biggest buck ever.

As they struggled dragging the monster buck back to their pickup, they were stopped by a game warden.

He asked to see their hunting licenses.

Assured that all was in order, the game warden wished them a good day, but offered some advice...

"If you men would pull from the front legs, instead of the back legs, the buck will glide easier in the leaves instead of going against the grain of fur. "

The hunters thanked the game warden and took his advice.

After about an hour of pulling the deer, the first hunter says to the other, "That game warden was a nice guy, and this deer is easier to pull."

The second hunter replies, "Yeah, but he wasn't all that smart..."
"We're getting further away from the truck."