Where are all the ancient chickens?

With all the beautiful weather I have gotten a good deal done. I still have to mow/mulch the leaves and clean out the gutters but have refurbished my old shed. The shed has a bit of history behind it. I didn’t realize how old it was until my Uncle Tony from California was home a few years back. Uncle Tony remarked to me that he helped my uncle Herman move “that old chicken coop” here when he was in his twenties and it was old then. Uncle Tony is in his eighties! So the shed, AKA chicken coop could very well be about that same age! Wow – I have an antique chicken coop! I wonder what I could get for it on Ebay? It’s in great shape too. I just had to jack it up and hook a come-along to one of the walls to draw it in for reconnection to the end foundation plate. After it was properly jacked up it went together easily. Not too bad for an octogenarian chicken coop. But I must confess that Dad and me refurbished it when I was a teenager. Hey no jokes about that making it about 100 years old! Next time I see Uncle Tony I’ll have to ask him where the “coop” came from.

The great fall weather also provided a great evening of fun the family Fuller (Wes and both Revs), Sled and Hogfish Jim and Val. We sat around the fire out in the yard and drank great German beer for most of the night. Then we went and ate lamb and smelts then off to the club to play pool. It was Hogfish’s birthday so we let him win. Happy Birthday Jim and thanks for coming over!

Well as my Dad used to say, “Election Day is coming, vote early and often!”

The No Child Left Unarmed Bill.

Yess indeedy doody Sam ah got this taarrorist thang licked! The No Child Left Unarmed Bill. Ahhh the ring of it. We’re ganna have all the chirren in amarica pack’n HEAT! After cunsult’n with my aahdvisors – tha ENARAAA – we come up with tha maaster plan. First we ganna git all the amaracan gun manuuufachirs ta make taaany uzis. Yeah you herd ma right, millions ah TAAANY UZIS! Thank of all them amarican jobs, henh, henh, henh. Naw thank abaat all them taany hands wrapped around them thar taany uzis. It’ll be a sight ta behold. henh, henh, henh. Them taarorist git up on a plane and pull aat them thar box cutters and sheeeit evra slobbern baaby in that big ole plain opens faar! henh, henh, henh. Instant tarrorist hamburger – and ya won’t even need no Hienz 57 keship! henh, henh, henh. If’n a burgle tras ta git inta yur haase – his ass is gonna git greased a by a baby pack’n heat! henh, henh, henh. The amaracin manufaction sectir is gonna boom – thank of all them jobs, thank of all those taany uzis, sheeeit thank of all that ammmmo! Crahm will go dawn, the defeesit will go dawn, weell all be hahppa! We’ll lower them taxes and nobaddy’ll give a sheeit. Haw cuud they? They gotta baby pack’n HEAT! Hooowee whata great idee! All them taany chirrin’s gonna be the amaracan army of cawmpassion march’n by tha glare of ah thaaasand points o light. I got that’n from ma daddy henh, henh, henh. As for them taxes, who gives a hoot we got babies with uzis – ain’t this a beeeutyfull cahntry! Vote fur me and ahh’ll set ya’ll freeeee!

Harvey, Bob, and Tom hunted for less that 2 hours on the first day of the Moose Hunt which happened to take place on Canada’s Thanksgiving Day. Tom shot a bull moose with a 52″ paddle spread. They were able to load it whole onto their trailer and drive it back to New York in one piece. Bob was able to weigh it at his slaughterhouse and, gutted, it weighed nearly 1000 pounds. Harvey figures that 250 pounds should be added to get it’s weight when it was alive. Congratulations and I’m looking forward to a taste.

Gray Jays, the Ottoman Empire, and Fall Malaise.

Yes I am back in the bosom of the boreal north. A new land speed record has been set. This time by the Bug AKA the flying panzer. The new record is 9 hours and 35 minutes! That makes for an average speed of 69.6 mph! The trip was without major incident but I did encounter a hairy situation on the 407 around Toronto. I was doing about 85mph (keeping up with traffic) in the center lane, it was dusk, and I was hemmed into the lane by other cars. Two dark shapes loomed ahead of me in my lane. As I approached I saw a couch and hassock on either side of my lane with about 8 feet of space between. Thank goodness the panzer is a small nimble car! The 8-foot gap was at a diagonal between the objects! Zoom and through! The panzer wins the concrete giant slalom! The other interesting incident that occurred on the trip did slow my progress though. I was driving through Latchford (“Best little town by a dam site!”) and saw a hitchhiker along the road ahead. A gray haired granny in a down coat with a suitcase! I pulled over and she got into the bug. The little old lady then told me she was hitching to Kirkland Lake. She had missed a bus connection after visiting friends in Sudbury and had to get back home so she could take care of her “elderly” sister! Its late at night and 45 degrees F with a small breeze and granny is hitching on route 11 to take care of her elderly sister! I told her I could get her to New Liskeard (at warp speed!) and would drop her at the truck stop. She would have no problem getting a ride from there. Then she proceeded to talk my ears off! Incidentally both of her parents came from families of 15 and 16 children, she has 12 other siblings, and her mother just died last year at 98 years of age! If I recorded her monologue I believe I could have written an historical novel! So I was slowed somewhat by that incident but still made the new record.

The weather has been good until yesterday. The weather network was saying that Monday and Tues. would be cold and miserable with nicer weather on wed and Thursday. But I saw gray jays in camp today. Bad, bad, bad, aside from being one of the few birds that Rich Scaglione has never seen they are indeed the harbingers of COLD weather! I checked the weather today and its now a new story – it looks like its going to get somewhat colder than they though previously! Gee who’d a thunk it? The gray jays never lie! I will attempt to avoid my nesting and eating frenzy when it get cold and complete the closing but its gonna be tough!

Erskine, Kenny, and Hank are here. The water temperature was 59 yesterday and the wind was screaming from the south. They still went out fishing though – “those hardy sonsabitches they shit through their leather britches” – as my Dad would say. I didn’t see any of them wearing leather pants but they are still hardy! Kenny got three bites but that was about it. I made some suggestions to Erskine about locations but haven’t talked to them yet today.

Well camp closure continues – so I really must be going – it is such drudgery, so I say to all you readers at WORK, have a nice day! – he he he he!