Pizza, Pizza!

If you were to make a frozen pizza most people would conjure-up an image of a fully-assembled frozen pizza that they could pop in the oven. That’s how it’s done. 

In our household it means thawing-out a frozen ball of pizza dough, a half jar of leftover sauce and a single-serving pack of pizza sausage.  Olives, shrooms, whole-milk mozz and the rest are basically pantry items.  Which is because I’ve likely made (and ruined) more pizzas in my lifetime than any of my acquaintances; combined. 

 

Anyway, dinner tonight started with pre-heating the oven, and stone, to 550F, rolling-out a 300g sourdough really thin, topping it with leftover sauce, fresh cheese, mushrooms, black olives and a sprinkle of Penzey’s Italian seasoning. 

 

 

8-9 minutes later this crispy, cracker-crust-crunchy pizza is served. 

 

Anybody that lives on the peninsula is likely aware there’s a knockdown trademark war escalating between a couple of local pizzerias. Fortunately, I’m self-sufficient and can rise above the fray. 

Forno season is nigh and my pizzas are better anyway….

Friday Music

Last week I posted video of a live performance of The Cranberries featuring the mezzo-soprano vocals, signature yodel and strong Limerick accent of the group's lead singer.

Unsurprisingly, this showed-up as a suggestion courtesy of the YouTube algorithm.

If you close your eyes the emotive vocals are eerily similar to Dolores Riordan's.

Beautiful cover by Erie Pennsylvania band First To Eleven.  Enjoy the spookiness...

Quote Of The Day

"The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing.  They are choking like a stuffed pig.  And it's going to be worse for them."

-Donald Trump

Swamp Collie

It's a good thing that doggo likes water as there's no shortage of it around here.  Even though the the extraordinary high waters of the April 14-15 flooding have largely receded, standing water in the form of large muddy puddles remain in the trails for four-legged friend to splash-through and wallow-in.  Wallow, you say?  Yes, just like a pig.  I'm going to take a picture before too long so nobody accuses me of being a liar. 

Anyway, there are plenty of trail camera captures of our wet and muddy sweetheart; and judging from the smile on her face you get my drift.

Swamp Collie.... 

 

May Astronomy

In May there are two full moons; the one tomorrow on May 1st and the second on Sunday, May 31st.  When you score two full moons in a single month the second is referred-to as a Blue Moon. 

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac - we use full moon names that were used during Native American and Colonial times to help track the seasons.  This practice is traced to the Algonquin tribes who lived in the same areas as the Colonists.    

May’s first full Moon is known as the Flower Moon.  It signifies the wildflowers that bloom in May.  This includes wild iris, sundrops, marsh marigold, violets and more that are found around here. 

The month of May also marked a period of increased fertility and the warming days that made it safer to bear young.  For that reason it is sometimes called the Mother’s Moon.  Other names include the Corn Planting Moon, Leaf Budding Moon, Frog Moon and Milk Moon.  

From our walk only a couple of days ago there was this.

Caltha Palustris - the Marsh Marigold - a member of the buttercup family (not a marigold) and a wild flower found in bottomlands, marshes, fens and wet woodlands  this time of year.  

Fingers-crossed for clear viewing conditions Friday and Saturday evening.

Building A Better Burger

After class at NWTC the other day I picked-up some fresh bakery hard rolls. Following that I stopped at Marchant’s Meats for fresh ground chuck burgers. Where the butcher knows you on a first-name basis.

 

Inasmuch as it is springtime there is this. 

 

 

Flash grilled on the Smokey Joe.

 

From top to bottom - buttered and grill-toasted bun top, lettuce, American cheese, burger (Penzey’s prime rib rub, spritz of EVO flame-seared medium), chopped sweet onion, ketchup, mustard and homemade garden dill slices on a matching toasted bottom.

 

That would be my burger. Dress your own to personalize the culinary experience.

 

Pretty good chow; and easy fast.

 

Damn the carcinogens; full-speed ahead. Raising a toast to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

 

Real men grill on charcoal…..

Fast Facts

Baird Maritime photo

 

Global seaborne crude oil shipments have fallen ~16% since the start of the Iran war. We are currently down ~14 million barrels/day out of a total of ~103 total barrels of oil/day used globally. Empty tankers that previously would have picked up oil in the Persian Gulf are now heading to other destinations to pick up oil - including the U.S. These increased exports may potentially go from 4 million barrels/day to 6 million barrels/day. Robbing Peter (U.S. Citizens) to pay Paul (the rest of the World). It takes 22 days to transport oil from Saudi Arabia to Shanghai by sea; versus 52 days to transport oil from Houston to Shanghai by sea. For a Houston-to-China run, we would need to quadruple crew-hours: over twice as many crews to man over twice as many tankers - over twice as long for each voyage. A Houston-to-China run will require more than twice the fuel and twice the wear-and-tear on the ships.

 

We would need over twice as many tankers to transport oil from the U.S. to China. But those tankers do not exist. Oops.

 

I suppose China is going to have to figure this out. But, there again, the Strait of Hormuz is functionally closed anyway; as a consequence of the blockade by both Iran and the United States.

 

At some point in the future (weeks, months, years, whatever), and after a cessation of hostilities, it will take weeks to reposition most all of these ships back to their normal runs. As a follow-up to Sunday's post on the Iran-Trump negotiating situation; it is my opinion that the longer Iran holds out, the greater the international chaos and the stronger Iran's negotiating position becomes. Does Trump's negotiating position become weaker? Dunno for sure; but the polling is getting worse with the passage of time.  

Of course, Iran is aware we have a midterm election coming-up.

Who knew a war in the Middle East could be so complicated?

 

 

 

 

Data: U.S. Energy Information Administration - https://www.eia.gov/

The Great Flood

We were out of town when this occurred; which is not to say we weren't concerned.  I was.  In fact I found myself nervously expecting an alert on my device notifying me of water in the basement.  Thankfully that alert never arrived and upon our return the basement was dry.  Not so much for some of our neighbors who had up to 2-4 feet of ground water in their cellar.

Anyway, we found ourselves on the receiving-end of roughly 8-10 inches of rain in relatively short order around April 14-15.  Noteworthy, is that we were still drying-out from three feet of snow a month earlier and additional inches of rain in the interim.  Things were rather soggy around here.   

I took this photo on April 21.

The view is east and the trail parallels Silver Creek which is out of sight immediately to the right.  A couple of things to note; The ruts in the trail left behind by the smaller Polaris ATV I was riding and the standing water.  Also, the grass covering the trail and to the left and right is all laid flat.  Clearly by water from the creek overflowing its banks. 

How much water?

From the trail camera positioned immediately in the flood plain are a couple of photos that show the extent.

Under normal circumstances there is never standing water in the viewfinder of the trail camera.  In this case Silver Creek flooded beyond its normal bank by about thirty-five yards, give or take.  And to a depth of about 8-10 inches; not enough to drown the camera, but certainly enough to float a wood duck.  First time photo of that critter.

As of today, the creek continues to run full-bore and we're a long way from drying-out. 

Ramps

Allium tricoccum - wild leek or ramps.  The leaves and bulbs are used in cooking, pickling, seasoning, salads and much more.  Years ago we owned a trailer home in the woods adjacent to Potawatomi State Park and there was a patch of these growing beside our shed; a handy source of wild onion.

They're found in the rich, moist soil of deciduous woodlands ranging from southern Canada to Appalachia.  Commonly fried-up with potatoes in bacon fat or scrambled eggs served with beans and cornbread they are a tasty and renewable wild edible used as a substitute to onions and garlic.

So, the first week of November last year a decided to plant some in our woods as an experiment.  Why I didn't think to do this twenty years ago is beyond me.  I wish I had.  Nevertheless, I figured better late than never.

Anyway, I sourced dormant root stock from a native nursery and planted a dozen bulbs in four locations along with an ounce of seed for good measure.  I figured the location was perfect and I crossed my fingers hoping the critters wouldn't eat the bulbs.  I figured the seeds would scarify over the winter during the freeze-thaw cycle and with a bit of luck some might germinate.  I marked the location with fluorescent flag tape so I could locate it again.

Yesterday we were out in the woods cleaning bird boxes and running the trail camera trapline and wouldn't you know it; they're up!  A whole bunch of them.

 

Who Wants To Make A Deal?

Last week a buddy and I were pondering the Iran war, the nuclear deal (or lack thereof) and was Iran cheating when Donald Trump exited from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018.  And for some strange reason a day later it occurred to me that Mr. Trump's situation is similar to that of the popular game show Let's Make a Deal that aired from 1963 to 1976.

If you're old like me you may recall that costumed audience members had to deal with fast-talking host Monty Hall in choosing what might be lurking behind up to three doors or curtains.  Was it a fabulous prize - like an automobile?  Or a lesser prize - called a Zonk?

Unexpectedly called-off yesterday, if nuclear talks resume in Pakistan sometime soon President Trump will be facing a similar conundrum mostly a consequence of his own making.  The President had previously characterized the JCPOA as "a horrible, one-sided deal."   And now he has the opportunity to make a new deal.  Will it be Door Number One, Two or Three?  But first, let's put to bed anything about cheating back in 2018.

Whether Iran was cheating at the time Trump withdrew from the JCPOA is debatable.  At the time, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was monitoring sites on the ground and had confirmed that Iran was staying within the limits allowed for uranium enrichment and stockpile size.  Senior officials in the Trump administration, including Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, testified to Congress that Iran was in technical compliance with the agreement.  Consequently, the consensus among both international monitors and the US intelligence community was that Iran was not cheating.

That the agreement had flaws and shortcomings is not debatable. Everyone knew that; including the Iranians.  Trump's primary argument for withdrawal wasn't that Iran was breaking any rules but that  the agreement itself was fatally flawed including a sunset provision that would allow Iran to pursue enrichment activities after the passage of fifteen years and that the deal did not address Iran's ballistic missile program.

So Trump tore-up the agreement and walked away.

And in the absence of a replacement agreement Iran set in motion an enrichment spree and expansion of their ballistic missile program leaving them closer to a bomb than ever before.  Today, the IAEA tells us Iran likely has a total of 11 tons of uranium at various enrichment levels.  With further purification that is sufficient to build up to 10 to 11 nuclear warheads.  All of this happened in the open and without an inning of cheating.

It is noteworthy to remember that Iran had previously lived up to its pledge under the JCPOA to ship to Russia 12.5 tons of its overall stockpile of enriched uranium.  After which, Iran's weapons industry didn't have sufficient material to build even a single bomb. 

The actions of president Trump have had all manner of consequences; intended and otherwise.  Going back to 2018, ask yourself, was the original deal an OK deal?  Was abrogating it a better deal?  And who owns the results?  

From 2021 to 2025 the Biden administration was unsuccessful in negotiating new limits.  And throughout the negotiations Iran kept enriching and expanding its cache of enriched uranium.

Then, in June of last year, Trump bombed Iran's enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordo including underground storage tunnels and facilities at Isfahan.  He famously declared to the world that Iran's nuclear program had been "obliterated."   

But probably not.  

In very short order, Operation Epic Fury was launched in late February of this year.  Two months later the Straits of Hormuz are blockaded and effectively closed and presently the US and Iran have entered a period of tentative diplomacy.  President Trump has previously dispatched Vice President JD Vance to Pakistan; and until yesterday planned to send real estate developers and senior envoys Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner to Islamabad to conduct indirect talks presumably to secure a replacement nuclear agreement. 

A fragile ceasefire has been extended.  The president tells us that the military operation has decimated Iran's industrial base, ballistic missile production, drone manufacturing and sunk the navy.

President Trump's decision to unilaterally go to war with Iran without consulting Congress, the American people or (excepting for Israel) any of our global allies; set in motion a cascade of destabilizing events that have dangerous consequences for global stability, security and the world's economy.

Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, has explicitly ruled-out direct talks with Witkoff and Kushner leaving Pakistan serving as an intermediary shuttling messages between the US and Iran. 

The administration is wise to seek an agreement that permanently eliminates any path to nuclear weapons, including restrictions on ballistic missiles and a cessation of support for Hezbollah and Hamas.

Intelligence reports suggest Iran still has its stockpile of highly-enriched uranium.  The president has to come up with a plan for that and Iran has to agree to it.  

Iran has signaled an openness to discussing nuclear concessions contingent-upon sanctions relief, reparations and a formal end to hostilities.  The missile program appears to be a non-starter.  

I'd love to be a fly on the wall of the Oval Office inasmuch as a rushed-deal (to end the war) has a high probability of being a sloppy deal.  I do not think that Trump has the attention to detail or the patience for arduous negotiations that would lead to a real deal.  I have little faith in Trump getting this right.  I think he wants to save face.  He wants to say his deal is better than Obama's.  He wants to get the heck out of this morass as soon as he can; slapdash deal notwithstanding.  Furthermore, with a decapitation of Iranian leadership and wholesale destruction of Iran's economic base what are the implications for a civil war and expansion of unrest in the Middle East?  Would you agree the situation is disordered and chaotic?

And, of course, the Strait remains effectively closed leaving global supply chains seriously messed-up with all sorta unintended consequences.  So, I'm still waiting on President Trump to improve your and my prosperity and general lot in life.  Along with making the world a safer place.

I sure hope he gets this right....

 

Southern Poverty Law Center In The News

 

 

Some days the White House Information Minister, Karoline Leavitt, is beginning to sound more and more like Baghdad Bob, dontcha think?  She's off on maternity leave now so we're gonna score a break from it.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has been indicted.  An indictment is not a conviction it is simply the Department of Justice's (DOJ) allegation that donor disclosures around its informant program were misleading. The organization’s defense is that it used confidential informants in extremist groups as part of legitimate intelligence gathering to prevent violence; a practice that overlaps with standard law-enforcement practices all day long. The legal question is not whether informants were used, but whether donor communications were sufficiently transparent to meet nonprofit fraud standards.

Until trial, claims that this proves intentional wrongdoing or “funding extremism” remain unproven allegations, not established fact.

This is the same DOJ that indicted James Comey and Letitia James, only to have those indictments dismissed once they made it to the legal system. The John Brennan and John Bolton indictments are also stuck in the mud. 

In my view, the odds are better than even that this is just another poorly-conceived retribution indictment. It alleges that the SPLC was supporting the Ku Klux Klan by paying confidential informants who happened to be members of those organizations.  I am not a lawyer but the entire premise seems a stretch.

As for their donor disclosures, since SPLC has used CIs before, I think they'll be able to successfully argue they're not actually "supporting" the Klan, Nazi or White Supremacist organizations.  I think the hypothetical reasonable person would expect that this practice would continue - unless the SPLC explicitly promised in the solicitation that it wouldn't (which also seems unlikely.)   Time will tell.

 

Any good prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. 

- Associate Judge Sol Wachtler 

Vacation Cruiser

Spotted in the wild of a grocery store parking lot:

A 1985 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser complete with fake wood vinyl siding.

Ubiquitous in the 1980s, stumbling across a genuine land yacht in pristine condition is exceedingly rare.  They enjoy something of a cult status as not many of them are left 40 years later.  GM's Oldsmobile Division assembled fewer than 15,000 Custom Cruisers in 1985 and only a few are left on the road.  Driven into the ground hauling kids, dogs and groceries most rusted-away from Midwest winters long ago only to be replaced by more popular minivans and SUVs.

Without peaking under the hood this model is likely equipped with a 5.0L (307 CID) V8.  At 140 HP it wasn't a speed demon but a steady and quiet cruiser.  It sits on a GM B-body frame shared with the Buick Estate and Chevrolet Caprice.  This model has a three-way tailgate.  The body panels are straight, the chrome is perfect and the rear window isn't sagging from the massive tailgate speaks to terrific maintenance.  Even the 'Got Wood' window decal is a tongue-in-cheek nod to the vinyl woodgrain paneling.

A quick check on the interweb reveals this boat retails between $6,000 and $12,000 - compared to an MSRP of $14,500 - $15,000 as new.  Low-mileage exceptional specimens can fetch up to $20,000 at auction.

Sounds like a fair price to me for a genuine National Lampoon Family Vacation ride.

Happy motoring.... 

Friday Music

This Irish rock band came together in 1989 composed of Niall Quin, Noel Hogan, Mike Hogan and Fergal Lawler.  Dolores O'Riordan replaced Quinn in 1990.

Tragically, O'Riordan struggled with depression and bipolar disorder and died in 2018 as a consequence of accidental drowning due to alcohol intoxication.  

Following her death the group released In The End, highlighting her final recordings; after which the group disbanded.

From a 1999 live performance in Paris, O'Riordan and the Cranberries - Dreams 

First Communion

For your Throwback Thursday historical amusement there is this.

That's me - May of 1963.  First Communion.

No, I am not wielding a sword or a pistol.  That is my candle and missal.

For any heathens out there - in the Roman Catholic tradition of the Christian faith a missal contains everything you need (scripture, prayers,  chants, texts, etc.) to attend Mass.

The candle is symbolic. 'He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have light and life' (John 8:12).

Booyah

Some of you reading this may already know that actor Tony Shalhoub has deep, lifelong roots in northeast Wisconsin.  Specifically, Green Bay, where he was raised as the ninth of ten children in a Lebanese-American family.

Tony's mom is a Seroogy and if you're from around here you know all about Seroogy's Chocolates in De Pere.  Tony's father, 'Big Joe' Shalhoub was known as a distributor of meat and sausages to local groceries throughout the region.

Tony, himself, is a graduate of Green Bay East High School and was an extra in the school's production of the King and I which coincidentally led him to the Yale School of Drama and eventually to his acting career and resulting fandom in our northeast Wisconsin household.

This past winter Shalhoub released a documentary series titled: Breaking Bread; an episode of which eventually led to this stop.  

The Booyah Shed.

Returning home at the end of last week following a trip to the Naked City I asked The Missus if she was interested in lunch.

Almost immediately she mentioned the joint introduced in Shalhoub's documentary and the onboard navigation indicated we were only 17 miles outbound.  So we checked it out.

For anyone unacquainted with booyah it is hearty chicken and vegetable stew of Belgian origin and is ubiquitous to northeast Wisconsin and happens to be a signature dish during Belgian Days in my hometown.  Booyah at the Shed is first rate.

They also serve-up an extensive menu of specialty burgers, sandwiches, hand-cut fries, adult beverages and more.  Fast and friendly.

 

Enter the shed, go to the window and squeeze the rubber chicken to summon the cheerful lady to place your order.

With only a couple of four-top tables and six two-tops, in-door seating is limited, but turnover is quick with patrons bussing their own tables.  Carryout business is brisk.

If you find yourself in Green Bay and want some local comfort food; this joint comes highly recommended.

Hat- tip to Tony....    

April Astronomy - Meteors On Tap!

The month of April brings us the Lyrid Meteor Shower which will reach its peak the evening of April 21-22.

This meteor shower is made up of the remains of the Comet Thatcher and could produce up to 10-20 meteors per hour. Your best viewing opportunities begin late night tonight until sunrise on tomorrow when they're expected to peak.  They'll hang around to a lesser extent for the remainder of the week.  

 

 

 

Lyrid meteors radiate from near the brighter star Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp.  The key is knowing that the constellation rises in the northeast sky before midnight.  Look to the northeast for these shooting stars to originate from the radiant from midnight until dawn.  While not as impressive as the Perseids (last August) the Lyrids don't require anything but the naked eye in order to enjoy them.  They're also known to produce fireballs, which are impressively bright meteors characterized by leaving a glowing trail of ionized gas in their wake.    

 

Moonset is around midnight so you can count on dark skies.  Fingers-crossed for good viewing conditions..... 

 

Spring Turkey

Braumeister and I drew permits for spring turkey this week.  With skilled calling we're hopeful to lure a long-beard within range of our place of concealment and hopefully get a couple of turkey birds in the freezer.

The boys have loving on their mind this time of year which makes them vulnerable to a skilled hunter with a steady hand and good aim; and isn't napping.

They're on the move.....

 

 

Gobbler Romance

The resident long beards around these parts have got lovin' on their mind.

And both Braumeister and I have valid permits for second season next week...

 

Hero

Earlier this month, Cambodia unveiled the world's first statue honoring a landmine-detecting rat.  Who knew?

Magawa the rat was trained by the Belgian charity Apopo before moving to Cambodia to begin his bomb-sniffing career.  He lived to eight years of age and identified more than 100 landmines and other explosives from 2017 to 2021.

There are more than 100 African pouched rats deployed in detection operations such as this across the world.  The rats are trained to sniff out explosive compounds like trinitrotoluene (TNT) as the rats are not hefty enough to trigger a detonation.  

Following decades of conflict it is estimated that in Cambodia alone there are as many as six million undiscovered landmines.  Consequently, since 1970 more than 20,000 people have been killed and another 40,000 wounded and maimed by this lurking ordnance.

Magawa cleared more than 1.5 million square feet of land and could search a tennis court-sized area in 20 minutes compared with four days by a human.

In 2020, Magawa was awarded the PDSA Gold Medal - the George Cross for animals - for his 'life saving devotion to duty'.  He was the first rat to receive the award in the charity's 77 year history.

And that's not all.  Learn more about the African pouched rat's ability to detect tuberculosis here.  

Chorale

Further evidence that there is more sign of spring and less of winter there is this chorus in the evening.  

They’ve been singing for almost a couple weeks now unless the overnight temps drop to freezing.  If I step out on the porch, rap on a pillar and in my deepest director voice announce:  ‘AHEM!’  The chorus stops immediately.

It resumes in short order so clearly sway over my subjects is limited; consequently I’ll not let my authority go to my head.

I recorded this last Sunday evening - so turn-up the volume for some chorus frogs. 

(The flashing hazard lights emit from towers on Brussels Hill)

 

Friday Morning Bible Study

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth just prayed over the Iran war; and he used a fictional Bible verse.

From the previously unknown Book of Pulp Fiction.

At the Pentagon's monthly worship service on Wednesday, April 15, the Secretary of Defense stood up, told military leaders what they hear in worship should  'inform' their war decisions and then read a prayer calling for 'great vengeance and furious anger' on Iran. He said the prayer was called  'CSAR 2517,' which stands  for Combat Search And Rescue, and was based on Ezekiel 25:17.

Only it wasn't.

It was from Pulp Fiction. Specifically, it was the speech Samuel L. Jackson's character recites before executing an unarmed man.

The actual Ezekiel 25:17 has one sentence. The rest, including 'the path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men,' was invented for Tarantino's 1994 film.  

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

- Quentin Tarantino 

The Secretary of Defense read a fictional hit man's execution speech to bless an actual war.

And then he said this: 'Fifteen minutes ago I was talking about blockades with Admiral Cooper, and now we're going to study the Lord's word. May what we talk about, how we worship today, inform the remainder of our day and the remainder of our week.'

The man coordinating a naval blockade and potential strikes on Iran is citing Bible verses that don't exist. 

From Hollywood. 

To bless a war that has killed men and women in service to our country, thousands of Iranians and threatens order, security and the entire global economy.  

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Pope Leo responded to Hegseth's earlier violent prayers on Palm Sunday. The Pope quoted actual scripture, Isaiah 1:15:'  Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood.' 

Archbishop Reinhard Marx of Munich called Hegseth's sermons 'shameless blasphemy.

This is the man in charge of American military.  You know; the good guys.

The Crusader-tattooed former Fox News host who prayed for 'overwhelming violence' at his confirmation.  Who has fired Army leadership out of paranoia. Who invoked a movie as scripture to justify killing more civilians.

Too be clear, I have no sympathy for the Iranian Mullahs.  But this mash-up of God, guns and country implies Hegseth belongs back in rehab.  

Why your ask?

Because you can’t make this shit up.

Peanut Eaters

We witnessed a nasty blizzard four weeks ago leaving something on the order of 36 inches of snow on the level.  And we're not in the clear either as we had a couple years where spring now storms basically cancelled my spring turkey hunt which is next week.  Anyway, I learned from that storm that more birds than expected will avail themselves of peanuts for the fat and protein they offer including redwing blackbirds.  Who knew? 

It won't be long before I'll have to remove the peanut and suet bird feeders.  Not because the birds want me to; rather as a consequence of seasonality.  With warming conditions and rain instead of snow leaving peanuts out invites mold and mildew.  And leaving suet out invites rancidity.  Both of which would be bad for my feathered friends.

Nevertheless and coincidentally this will mark the arrival of the orioles so new feeders featuring an oranges and grape jell will be deployed.

Meanwhile here  are some recent photos of some of the peanut eaters... 

Hairy Woodpecker

 

Downy Woodpecker and Chickadee

Couple of Hairys

The Help

Bluejay

Flicker

Red-breasted Nuthatches

Leap of Faith

There is nothing more graceful than a running deer.  Actually, they leap more than run and are capable of vaulting over obstacles up to 8 feet from a standing position.  With a running start, they are capable of soaring over fences as high as 10 to 12 feet; although 8-foot fences are generally an effective deterrence.  They are also capable of horizontal leaps (forward motion) spanning up to 30 feet.  Which is quite remarkable.  

When I uploaded this photo from a trail camera recently a couple of things occurred to me.  If a hunter was in the stand pictured would the deer run towards the hunter?  And would the hunter be able to get-off a shot and knock one down?  The animal furthest away is roughly 40 yards distant and hauling ass.

I have personally been witness to the unpredictability of the direction startled deer will move and as a general rule they do not run towards hunters; unless, the wind in in the hunter's favor.  If upwind it is possible a hunter will remain undetected; the deer will not smell or 'wind' him. 

Although in the image here a deer running head-on at the hunter (likely caught unaware) and and closing the distance rapidly it is a leap of faith and the deer has the advantage. 

For the hunter this is a low probability shot situation and also would be a leap of faith to take a shot with a high probability of wounding.

I would pass; and await for a broadside shot at an unsuspecting whitetail standing or strolling.    

You? 

Is It Real...

...Or Is it AI? 

The first time I saw the imagery I thought to myself 'is that who I think it is?'

Guess I wasn't alone.

Lighten-up people and have a laugh for a change. 

Eating Outside of Football Season

One of our favorite meals happens to be venison tacos.  Naturally, there will be leftovers.

 

 

Which are resurrected in the form of custom nachos.

 

Layer chips in a pan and top in this order: reheated frijoles and venison taco meat. Top with shredded cheddar and bake at 300F until cheese is melted.

 

Remove from oven and top with chopped onion, lettuce, tomato and queso cheese.

 

Serve.

 

Leftovers vamoosed.

 

And it's not even football season.