Busy, busy, busy. Just a few things

Sorry for my absence as I have been busy around here. We have been in the midst of "Leaf-a-geddon" here with all the trees on the property dropping their leaves, between the Red Oaks, Hickory, and other varieties I have here, now I see why my dad cursed every fall about them. It also doesn't help that when I go to work, it's dark, and when I get home, guess what, it's dark also. Of course we have had some rain, so I have to get them piled up when I can. I also have to do this without my Wright Stander Commercial mower as I have had to replace the second spindle for the blades. I ordered a refurbished off eBay for over half the price off, and it arrives 4 days later than expected, thanks USPS.  Here is a sample of the leaves. So far to date, we have dumped 7 trailer loads in the woods, with more to follow piled up around the property.

     Thanksgiving went well as we had no family members here, which it was nice and quiet. I broke from normal, everyday thanksgiving dinner and cooked a Boston Butt on the smoker. I have slowly grown away from turkey on thanksgiving and like changing things up from the norm. Our local meat shop had a deal on Boston butt that I couldn't turn down, .89 cents a pound, so we bought 4 of them.

Going on the smoker

coming off the smoker

Light smoke ring on meat, garden grown collards and Mac and Cheese

       During my busy schedule, I have done some research on the two schools that I have been eyeing to pursue my M.B.A. The two schools I am looking at are the University of South Carolina and Winthrop College. I haven't had a chance to actually go and see the schools yet but one of my co-workers who is retired Army said that USC has a great M.B.A program for working professionals and could finish the program in about 18 months. So the jury is still out on where I will go. Theoretically, I could quit my current position, go back to school with my Post 9/11 GI Bill and focus full time as a college student and not have to deal with all the stress of a job and school and finish faster by doubling up on classes. This can easily be accomplished by using the equity in my property  The appraisal I had to do for the new house showed that after we are in, we will have $60K of equity when the new house is here, so I plan to go debt-free except for the house payment. I do plan to pay it off early too once I re-enter the workforce while making more money with a M.B.A. So here is my advise to everyone, "Don't be a fool, Stay in School". I quoted that from the movie, National Lampoons Van Wilder

      The new house is still underway, many, many inspections from the county, but you are starting to piss me off. I want to get my house finished before I turn 65. Enough said.


     We also had one loud-mouthed Jersey Giant rooster that JUGM and myself had had enough. Well here is his last picture before he was put in the freezer. He was enjoyed on our table on the 29th of November. I am sold on Jersey Giants, he was a very good meal.

     This past weekend, JUGM and her keen ability to find stuff locally found a great deal on some 55 gallon steel drums. Paid $15.00 each for them. They had a dry compound in them that a national pharmaceutical manufacture uses in their product, so I snatched up 3 of them. One for Gas, One for Diesel, and one will be a Faraday cage for electronics, just have to modify the lids for liquids. Also picked up some Barred-Rock hens as well from the son of the seller who is in 4-H. Good addition to the flock and JUGM will post something on them.

clean as a whistle

      To finish up this past weekend, I was up early Sunday morning and climbed up in the tree stand as I have started to pick up on the activity around the property. Had a Doe show up on the edge of the garden on 11/26/15 @ 0023. Then this past Friday night while walking the property, I spooked a Buck and heard him run across the garden into the woods. Then he commenced to grunting and snorting at me.

     So with my view up in the stand, I heard a total of two shots on both sides of me a mile or two away. One just after 0620 and other around 0700. I know that, yeah, you go hunting with a rifle for deer, yes you see it and shoot it, but how will that look in a survival situation? How much noise will you generate by pulling that trigger to a bunch of hungry or hostile people? I mean really, when you read postings on sites that say a hunting buddy found "5 Doe's and a Buck gathered and took a shot at the buck at a distance of 325 yards", of course you are going to miss. What was the winds and the terrain like? Obvious someone needs to do a better job of adjusting for windage and elevation, don't you think or is it a fabricated post? So as I sat there for 3 hours, here was my view. I would rather hunt in a more primitive way that is more secure and quiet than blasting away and telling the world, "Hey, here I am, come take my food from me". Better yet, I can reuse my ammo. I did get a good chance to see some birds land on the branches around me, and playing in the bushes to the right. Red-tailed Hawk flew right past me heading to the the lower woods.

The edge of the plowed garden is 50 yards, I have sights set-up for 60 yards with 70 lbs of pull. BTW, that's a 1948 IH Cub Farm-all that was my Dad's, yes it still run too.

      With this upcoming weekend,  I may take in a gun-show and do some shopping for the family. Haven't been there in awhile so I figure maybe I will treat myself to a gift fir myself and find the right upper to finish the AR build that I haven't finished. Wish me luck.

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