Bighanded

Rick Hill SC...just below Charlotte...when there have been afternoon pop-up storms, the rain has been north and south of us and we seem to miss it...so even though the entire area is in drought, my particular area has been even worse...saving on gas not mowing the lawn (grin), but I do worry about the pond turning...smaller ponds have turned several years back when it was this bad and a number of folks reported their wells running dry. We've gone through this before...we switch the paper plates, etc to reduce washing dishes, that sort of thing. one good hurricane bringing rain inland will make all the difference..just seems like a very quiet NOAA season

we drove back from Florida Sunday...got caught in 3 separate really heavy downpours...that plus the 60mph travel speed and sure nuff, water found a way into my camper roof...ceiling over my bathroom area is soaked...long over due for a new roof...but had been keeping it patched...guess it's time to look at some major work, or sell it to a deer hunt club. touring around my property last night...our area hasn't seen any rain.. i've not cut the grass in over 6 weeks and our creek (40feet wide and normally a good 2-4 ft deep is a dry bed. pond is about 7 feet off bank and really starting to worry about well water levels around our area. I'm hoping for a decent tropical system to bring the 4-8 inches of water we badly need....send us some of your rain please!!

gawd that's some beautiful land out there !! thanks for sharing those pics.

always amazed at how I just quickly touch the start on my old 300 Fourtrax and the thing explodes to life. I mean, not even a turn over of the engine...my old cars you turn the key and listen to the engine get turned over a couple cycles before it growls to life. my old carb n points motorbike...somedays, best pack a lunch as you stomp the kickstart over and over....and over and hope that when it does struggle to breath and suck some fuel, that it might actually rev up enough to not stall. but 2 decades later... I turn the key, press start on this old bike and BAM !! it's instantly running...how'd they do that?

yes...it's not a hard test..they eliminated Code years ago...so just some common knowledge stuff that's really helpful anyway. there's a number of web sites that offer practice tests so you can get an idea of the questions Wave Talkers Technician Exam Prep Free Ham Radio Practice Tests – Ham Radio Prep HamExam.org: Free Amateur Radio Practice Tests with Flash Cards my comments were that, unlike FMRS /GMRS General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) | Federal Communications Commission (fcc.gov) I do have this license as we do a lot of camping and my 5 watters really come in handy. anyway...unlike family friendly radios, where you pick it up, dial up a channel and press talk, a HAM needs a bit more training, knowing the frequency and transmit offset, etc..how to program your radios and what to expect from them with and without repeater access. used to be you could touch on a private GMRS repeater around places like Disney World theme park areas to help keep in touch with the family if you split up at the park. But those are few these days and the cell phone has replaced what used to be FMRS insanity at those parks. I still like having my radios as part of my emergency prep - there's a Cobra CB handheld with a mag mount in the truck. We've come up on traffic logjams on the interstate and I'll turn mine on to listen into trucker chatter to get an idea of how bad the issue is and what routing options might be available. We've gone camping with neighbors where cell signal in the mountains was nill, but we could talk RV to RV using the GMRS and have some privacy. that sort of thing.

the woke enjoy force feeding everyone..they scream diversity and tolerance, yet have none themselves. It's all about their feelings. They'll eat the last seed for their own gratification, without a thought as to where the next meal will come from. They are like locusts. But they don't realize that they are simply useful idiots in a much larger scheme. Like the brown shirts of old, they get stirred up, "Triggered" we call it today..ready to pounce like some starving zombie at the slightest provocation. If they can be used to promote civil unrest, then the end game is to clamp down on free society and have the excuse to bring down the hammer of the military and legal system upon the citizenry. Sitting back and laying low, as guys like me do, will only prolong things. It's coming either way.

I'm trying to remember.. I think Wilson here in our group is the radio expert. I've got very little experience but interestingly, have made the same choices in the past years as you have. My Yaesu is clearly a quality radio but being honest, my F8HP has seen 300% more action. It's currently stuffed in my Get Home bag, but for a season there I would listen in to the locals morning chatter on my commute to work...we have two good repeaters in our area that hang with me for the 30 minute commute. The 8watts? I dunno.. I think it comes down to antenna regardless. The Baofeng has lived in the car, blistering south carolina summer heat, freezing cold winters, tossed around on the floor board etc. If I put it on a meter, I'd likely see that it drifts plenty, but bottom line, it is still working after several years of abuse. I've got spare and extended batteries for both radios and that car power adapters, mag mount antennas and whip upgrades in handheld mode. I don't spend time listening cross country etc on them, so going digital really isn't in my plans. I just wanted to get an idea of who we had in our area, how active they were, what my range was like, etc. The "Buy Two-way Radios" internet sales folks are actually 4 miles from my house. I drive past them on my daily commute and have stopped in to spend some money with them a couple times. They tested my Baofeng for me, called locals for radio check etc and the little radio appears to do the job. I was all studied up and ready for my General a couple years ago...and then Covid... I need to brush up and catch up with the area club.. I think they typically get together in October and I can get the test done then. In the meantime, no, I don't press TALK. and honestly 99% of the chatter is what you'd hear sitting around the Bojangles for a morning cup of coffee with us bunch of old codgers. but at least I know how to program my radios, have my repeater codes saved for other areas, etc. These zombie movie prepper guys that see the actors just grab a radio and start talking and think that's how HAM is going to work...yeah...have fun with that. (grin)

"drunken Sailors" was exactly the phrase that came to mind when I opened my mail box the other day. Shiney new school campuses, we have a "language immersion" school...they try to act like it teached more than spanish, but that's really what it's about...and the separate line item for servicing debt? WTH !! tax and spend what you have for a budget, but then they go the extra lengths and spend money they don't have and then we are supposed to pay for debt servicing on top of the horrible tax already?!! Seriously, if I were already on retirement, I'd not be able to afford to renew my tags this month. it was the same with my second home...when I say it was down on the coast, I don't mean waterfront nor resort property...it was a lousy old slab house built in 1957. 980sqft and the neighborhood had almost no updates since the 50s. rental rates at that time (3 yrs ago when I sold it) were lucky to get $750. Taxes on the house were over $3k . So even though I was mortgage free on the property, it would take 4 months rent just to cover the tax debt on the house. Then hope nothing breaks on the house, insurance, etc... I sold the place cause there was very little net income I would get from it. left fart at the city limits sign on my way out and never looked back.

got my vehicle tax/tag renewal bill this weekend in the mail. Seems my 2011 Chevy duramax is still valued at about $27k...ok..fine. but my tax bill was at $980 ?!! It gave me serious pause because it's only been around $300-$350 for the past several years. Looking at the detail, they now want $550 for Schools and another $149 to service school debt There's conflicting info on line about whether my age 65 lets me avoid school taxes, but the less than pleasant gal that answered the phone this morning said "everybody pays school taxes" When I told her that my tax bill had almost tripled, she took my info, put me on hold for a few mins and came back to tell me she would send out the revised bill showing I only owe $282. I'll wait for the new bill to see where they reduced it, but dang !!..slapping almost $700 in taxes for schools on an 11 year old truck? can't wait to see the new bill on my 2020 honda minivan

feel your pain and frustration. sold my 2nd home 2 years ago...the market had finally gotten to a point where it made sense to dump it. but I had watched the surrounding area of small houses under 950sq ft built back in the 50s that had realistic street values of about $65k, being listed on the tax values at $115-$120 and annual taxes in the thousands of dollars when rental on the house couldn't go for more than about $750. So for a landlord, even if the house was mortgage free as mine was, It took 5 months of rent just to pay the tax bill, then you had to hope nothing needed repairs, and that the renters didn't skip on you, etc. the streets hadn't seen updates in over a decade, virtually no investment by the city/county in the area...but just 4 blocks away, beautiful new govt buildings going up..landscaping spends that cost more than an entire block of the houses that pay taxes to support it. I was glad to be done with the area. I know the city where I live now, would love to annex us out here in the countryside...and there's not much we can do to stop them, nor alter the rates they decide to slap on us. that's gonna be one of the consequences of this crazy housing fever...highly overinflated prices will allow for dramatic revaluations..and comps will only support it...so hang on to your wallet AND your butts cause they're coming for it.

ouch...but yeah, I guess if folks do some serious cutting, the good tools are worth the $. Can't tell you how happy I was to upgrade a couple years back...had been getting cheaper units (Poulan pros) etc from Lowes I likely would have gotten a Stihl but we didn't have any local dealers in town for service etc...and my favorite Famers Exchange shop is an Echo dealer and service center... Ford vs Chevy thing anyway...and I've been happy with mine..and they make their own chains..good stuff..and sharpen my old ones for $4... but most important...it's old school mindset/service..not big box franchise ignorant and ignore you employees...our locals are just great..happy to spend my money with them.

sounds familiar... ie Tucker when he tried to introduce a "better" car..the Big 3 automakers and their political power...shut it down.

none of this should be a surprise.... look back across the pond to see how it went in the UK. Look at other nations that experienced this kind of leadership. For America to think that our leaders will do any less is foolish. I've lived a good and full life. a bit successful, based on playing by the rules, loving my family and friends, and doing things that just made sense. not really motivated to change my ways at this point in my life. sure, they force diversity training on us at work - doesn't change my perspective when I see some ridiculous dude want to put on a dress and lipstick...still a dude. same applies to laws being shoved on us... the Green religion (basically Gaia resurfaced) I was fortunate to come up in a small window of time in a nation when firearms, effective tools, have been available. Tools for hunting yes, tools for self defense, yes. Tools to deter unconstitutional actions...you betcha. sorry for my canadian brothers, sorry for my Venezuelan brothers, sorry for my cuban brothers and folks I have worked and drank alongside of in the UK as well. I've seen enough history and witnessed enough of the pattern to know what to expect.

dropped about 40 small pines (30footers) couple weeks ago..reclaiming an old area of garden so that next spring I'll be able to plant more. I had let that area go years back..still has fencing and 2 arbors for beans, etc. (about 80-60ft area). pines grew up in front of it like crazy fast.. nothing big diameter..leg size..so easy to drop em the way I wanted them to fall and cut em up..gonna be a full burn pile. my Echo was just getting warmed up about the time I was getting heat stroked (LOL).

maybe my perspective is skewed...so I just keep my conversations toned down..in fact, I don't even talk guns, even in family settings. The kids know I have some, they enjoy time on the range with me and each of my adult kids households have at least a shotgun and a pistol for home/personal defense. but they much rather have X-box, huge TVs, etc...so that's where their extra money goes...and that's fine. I don't press the issue at all. But I lived through the 1990s AWB, I can see it could come around again and a lot of folks will be clambering for gear just like they did with toilet paper etc. 10 years was a long time on the AWB and we're just lucky that the balance of power at the time helped us get away from it..else we'd still be living under it. Again, through the years I've been blessed to live in a fairly peaceful and safe area. In general, my Dad's era pistol should be enough to keep me safe from bad guys. heck, the one outside of home encounter was resolved with a 5 round capacity pistol, the home defense was solved with an old lever 30/30 while we waited for the cops to arrive. my reason for my purchases of "high capacity", "military style" etc over the past 5-9 or so years have been solely motivated by the mindset of govt and media in power. I'm not bashful about saying that I want to have the best tools I can to deal with the kind of chaos that I see currently happening in other nations and that has happened on some city streets this past 5 or so years. wanna tell me I don't need a weapon of war?..ok...then stop stirring up anarchy in the streets, stop making statements that basically give bad actors the codewords to go out and hurt and loot and burn. Stop releasing the same criminals back onto the streets without monetary fines, etc. Stop allowing thousands of people to cross the river and bring death by drugs, disaster by overwhelming our nation's services,etc. but as long as they are determined to bring all this to my home.. I intend to be ready to push it away from my front door, from my family. it's really that simple.

Kamala can't think for herself without going into a giggle fit... so when I see her speech making off the teleprompter, I know there are bigger minds at work. And this past week they've had her out there pointing her finger and demanding the return to Clinton's AWB. No surprise that they continue to try and anchor to that. "we've already done this in the past ... " she can be heard saying. Back in those days, I didn't have anything to grandfather clause..so for a decade I was stuck like many folks, unable to add much to my tool box. I know many today would still find themselves in the same situation. Young families have a lot of things they need to spend money on and firearms/ammo sits way down on the list. So the next AWB will still catch a large part of the younger generations. Then they just have to wait on old baby boomers to fade into the dust. After that, you simply have to connect the train engine to the box cars.

keeping the thread "less stale"....grin...I have noticed that since this bill first hit the Senate floor, that the usual neighbors that I'd hear shooting guns in their back yards (we live out in the country a bit) have gone quiet. in fact, it was only this past July4th monday that we heard just one person with a handgun caliber rapport shooting somewhere back behind our woods. The rest of the usuals, including myself, have gone quiet. The thinking is, used to be in the noise disturbed a neighbor, they might call the deputy out, who would then just drop by with a smile and make sure we were shooting safely..they'd see my range setup and say I was quite fine to continue...then they'd have to explain to the frustrated neighbor that I was well within my rights...that the neighbors might shoulda stayed in their suburb city hood. these days, I'd be more concerned that a neighbor would call and try to toss a red flag accusation. it's fine...cost of ammo, etc.. I've not been shooting that much anyway..and when I do, I'm fine to make the drive to meet up with some buds at an area outdoor range...good visit time, and no worries about complaints. my only real backyard (mind you it's like 5 acres back on the property) time this past few months was either checking out a new gun, or testing some new brand of ammo that I wanted to make sure the guns were happy eating. the days of serious drill work, and hundreds of rounds on a saturday have long ago ended.

and does a great job dealing with dogs that chase you

I had plans for backyard range time, but never got around to it. had one neighbor far side of the woods running what sounded like a 9mm. Seems like the backyard range stuff had gotten very quiet post Uvalde and the Senate bill being passed. I'll admit that I've held silent since then myself...so, while it wasn't my intent to go quietly this past weekend, the family time was better spent in the pool than out back in the heat tossing lead. Plenty of smaller fireworks making noise all around the area, but none of the big display rockets from years past. Talked to my neighbor yesterday as I saw him over in the horse pasture...he said the same thing...they just skipped it this year and normally he spends some serious $ on it..in fact he used to help put on pro level shows, so he has sources and knows what he's doing..used to enjoy watching him toss some big ones next door.

Late to the post...sorry...didn't really get on the computer...was busy on the grill. decided to pass on putting the boat on the lake...just so hot and crowded and we are just recovering from covid round 2...not a ton of extra energy. so backyard...pool with some of my kids/grands, ...little bit of Honda tooling around the trails and a lot of recliner time in the den. locals been launching fireworks since Thursday as usual..however none of them seemed to have spent the $ on the big stuff this year...so, fireworks was a nothingburger on our street. I think the break away, will make next year all the more enjoyable.

Perfect !!

my brain is banging around like a pinball machine trying to get my head around that image.... very nicely done though...just in time for a Woke remake of Smokey and the Bandit

12 ga autoloader - full 8 shell slug dump fast as I could pull the trigger. then 5 gals of very precious/expensive gas and a bic lighter should finish things off.

strapped on the chain saw and limb saw and headed out back to clear trails...got roughed up a bit the other night...had 5 areas where large limbs came down...one actual tree trunk..the rest, just large limbs (ie from arm to leg thigh size)..the Echos made quick work...harder to pick it all up and move it than it is to cut it. but anything too heavy..that's what the old Fourtrax is for.

actually, we've got two of these in the side yard right now.. momma is many generations of being born here..she's not 15 feet off our our back deck...the wife and I along with two of our life long friends were just sitting out back enjoying the afternoon and she comes up and calls her kid out. We're still a long way from them wanting us to pet them or toss food, but you can bet if they hear me spreading some corn out...they are ready as soon as I step away.