Mrs ERJ reported a R.O.U.S. in the garage.
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| I used a bowl of Wild Cherry Pepsi for bait. The first time I have purchased soda-pop in over a year. I coveted the 1-1/2l bottle. |
R.O.U.S. stands for a Rodent Of Unusual Size.
Rabbits
I am still enjoying the videos (copied from T.V. series) on wartime cooking in U.K. during WWII. The series has an urban focus but they mention that rural people had a harder time getting tobacco and seafood than the city people. In turn, the rural people had more meat and they specifically mentioned "rabbit".
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| Snippets from a collection of essays Life on the Old Farm by Tom Quinn |
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| "...starve half a sheep to the acre..." when the post-myxy virus planning numbers are about five-ewes-per-acre. Myzy entered the U.K. from the continent sometime in the very early 1950s. |
There were literally hundreds of pounds of rabbits per acre living in the hedgerows and in tunnels beneath the stone fences that surrounded the fields.
That sheds a different light on "Watership Down" and Farmer McGregor in "Peter Cottontail".
Yesterday's work-tickets
I split some White Spruce rounds. I won't go out of my way to get any more. Many "pin" knots made the larger, older pieces very difficult to split.
I could not get the motor on the wood-splitter to start, not even with ether.
I had lunch with my siblings. I brought up the topic of caretakers for dementia patients. My sister reminded me that many dementia patients develop intense paranoia ("Hey! Who moved the bathroom?") and anger and anger directed at their caretakers. My sister also reminded me that as doctors retire or are replaced by a new set of specialists, they often look at drug choices and dosing and make changes based on their preference "Hey, we can titer that down to a level that will not require pre-approval from your insurance company" and the resulting train-wreck is blamed on dementia progressing.
Today's work-tickets
Verify the accuracy of my cordless drills.
Post "No Trespassing signs".
Question for my readers
Do you have any opinions on metal detectors? It could be valuable when looking for lost tools and fence wires buried beneath the tall grass. $100 now might be a good investment because of potential, future shortages of replacements.
Random photos
I had to go to town yesterday for a new tire, visited the pawn shops, lots and lots of new paper punchers, and I noticed several Garrett detectors as well.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed a huge increase in inventory around here in the last 6 months.
Hook the splitter to a vehicle and take it for a bumpy ride with a full tank of gasoline. This will clear the gum out of the carburetor
ReplyDeleteBack in the 1950s rabbit was a frequent meal for my parents living on a farm in the UK, but that stopped with the spread of myxomatosis which decimated the wild rabbit population.
ReplyDeleteSomehow, wild rabbit never seemed very appealing after that even though the rabbit population recovered to become pests again.
I bought a pin pointer. It keeps me from losing tools in the spoil pile when plumbing in a hole. I hesitated on getting a for-the- reals detector. I'm afraid I couldn't put it down!!
ReplyDeleteERJ, I might recommend the book T̲h̲e̲ R̲u̲n̲n̲i̲n̲g H̲a̲r̲e̲ by John Lewis-Stempel. It is a story of an Englishman who is working to restore farmland in England, including seeing hares run there again. It is a delightful mix of history and agriculture and and interesting tidbits of English history.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAlso, excellent reference to The Princess Bride.
DeleteLow end ($100-ish) detectors are just that, low end. New, they will, sorta, do what you're asking. Might get a better deal pawnshop/thrift store/yard sale, but you'll have to do some looking.
ReplyDeletePrices waaaayyy north from there. Anything serious (coins, artifacts, plan on starting abt $400-$500, at least.
But the jump up (along with the learning curve!) is amazing.
Went from a low-end green 'n yellow Garrett to an Equinox 600. Wonderful wife thought better retirement toy than another gun. (grin)
Seriously, better discrimination, filtering, modes, and wonderful features. Entirely worth it.
Adding, there's a youtube channel DONNIE LAWS Applachia that one of his things is metal detecting in the Smokies. He's got a thing for finding shotgun shells. I learned a lot from watching him. He also does spooky stuff, trail-cams, old-timer's stories, etc.
Alan E.
The old saw was not to eat rabbit unless the month had an R in it. You do have to cook them at least medium well (165) and need to add fat as they are very lean. And discard any with spots on the liver (tularemia).
ReplyDeleteE-bay or any used place for a metal detector, looking for the lost tool or such. A daughter used one to find her lost ring on a gravel beach.
ReplyDeleteAll of my fencing tools have carabiner attachments. I make it a habit to hang them on fence before beginning work and use one at a time. When done - back into 5 gallon bucket before moving on. Much less incidences of forgotten tools left behind.
ReplyDeleteFor frequent use tool (multi-tool), lanyard w/ biner on belt loop keeps it on person.