Fox or coon tracks?

That deserves two likes…lol

2 Likes

Yep, I vowed revenge last season, spent two weeks in a blind, out in our pasture, and didn’t get one. Two crossed right in front of me, but they were way too small. I saw a couple bucks, but they were walking away from me at an angle, so no shot.

Rifle season is only a couple weeks in November, but bow season is two months I think. But, I don’t have the time, cash nor inclination to learn another way in which deer will further frustrate me.

2 Likes

Yes, I saw the first season of it (we had a free year of Showtime), but fail to see the connection?

Loved the show, but it wasn’t worth keeping ST for $12 a month just for that series.

1 Like

2nd season

Guy out in the Hamptons, or wherever those billionaires live, got pissed at the deer browsing his costly landscaping and took an assault gun to them

It was the wrong neighborhood for that sort of thing

Consequences ensued

2 Likes

Oh yah, I saw that episode. Was that season two? Anyways, Bobby had to come out and keep (or pay off) the police from hauling his buddy, or co-worker, off to jail for firing his AR at the devil deer.

Heh, I don’t have an AR, but now that you bring up that episode…

1 Like

I think it was season 2 - they all blend together

1 Like

17 raccoons + 3 opossums. The more that end up M.I.A., the better the chance that the muscadines , pears, and persimmons will end up feeding humans.

4 Likes

18 + 3. So THAT’S how a crop of figs or muscadines could disappear in 1-2 weeks in some of the previous years.

2 Likes

19 + 3.

2 Likes

You’re a machine…lol

1 Like

Just discovered the raccoons hit the blackberry patch. They clumsily destroy the bird netting supports and break the canes. Gonna try to set up the electric wire and put the game camera on to see what happens.
I was kinda hoping a raccoon trapper would have moved into the area. Darn. This is the absoulute worst part of growing stuff.

1 Like

Maybe you could hire @fruitility for a coon hit…

I was outside last night before I went to bed, and had my spotlight on, looking for varmits. I shone it down towards the corn/bean patch and I saw eyes shining back at me. It was a rabbit, and I was wondering if it was the varmit that’s been nipping off some of my bean leaves. I mosied down there and it wasn’t in any rush to leave. I still had the light on it, and it was about 30ft from me. So, I picked up a rock and threw it at it, and it went boing! about three feet straight up. I don’t know if I hit it or not, but it finally left.

My garden plots are protected from deer pretty well, but critters like rabbits can still do some damage.

3 Likes

Ya know what? It ain’t worth it.
Surveyed the situation, and there are not many left to save. Repaired structural damage, but after being out 15 min and gathering materials for the hot wire I was soaked to the skin. IF I keep the blackberries, I’ll be better prepared for next year. (g-kids love them, but believe it or not I’m not a fruit fan), I would love to get a video to see how it works, but again, this Yankee transplant cannot take the humidity w/no wind. I’d rather be in the kitchen prepping food than battling critters a n y d a y,…speaking of which, time to make some garlic pickles. Cukes are coming it beautifully. :blush:

If the weather cools I may try setting this hot wire up around the figs.

Would love to, but I’ve done this before myself. I’d just rather not grow fruit. Never had much problems with veggie gardening but then I started growing fruit. May start ripping stuff out this winter. Hmmmm gimme some 40 deg weather to work in and I’m set. :blush:

3 Likes

I hear ya about the heat, even tho yours is probably worse than ours, humidity wise. I was out over five hours on Friday planting strawberries, and yesterday working on the tractor. I had to change shirts after about three hours, I was soaked. Just walking around the farm Sunday and browsing some blackberries, we got pretty sweaty.

Speaking of cukes, my wife made our niece, who will be 31 tomorrow, some salt pickles. Very easy to make, just clean jars, sliced cukes and salt, and that’s it. No processing necessary. I’d never heard of them until I moved here. My niece loved them when her mammaw (my mom in law) made them, and she likes the ones my wife makes.

Our cukes are doing pretty well, we have maybe 45 hills growing. We lost about half a dozen to some deer, but have enough left if there’s no more browsing. But, since we planted so late, we prob won’t have any until next month.

2 Likes

Oh I’d love the recipe proportions. :blush: I have plenty to try it. Does it need to be refrigerated?
DH likes Claussen-style garlic pickles. Recipe is probably similar. No vinegar needed as it is lacto-fermented.

1 Like

I asked my wife to type up her way of making salt pickles. No vinegar required. Her recipe is close to something she got online. Lots of salt involved, she said you may not have to use so much. Here it is:

For salt pickles, trim ends and any blemishes from washed and quarteed cukes. Place cukes in sterilized jars. Make a brine of 10 tablespoons pickling salt per 1 quart of water, bring to a rolling boil and pour into jars with cukes. Place lids on, and “burp” the jars every couple of days. Burping is popping the lids to let out any gases.

Ready to eat in about 10 days. Keep refrigerated for best results. I also added Pickle Crisp for the first time this week, but we’ll see how it goes.

Thanks to the Doodette for her recipe.She said you can use any kind of glass jar and lids. She used some former salsa, and jelly jars. Here are some pics. She put some dill in one of the jars. It is normal for the brine to get cloudy over time.

4 Likes

Double like. Please thank ‘the doodette’ :blush:
I forgot about using CaCl. Have to find mine.

1 Like

She’s iffy on all that salt. She just said her late mom may have said it was maybe a couple tablespoons of salt per quart jar. I guess the aim is to get fermentation going. She also said the picklecrisp is an experiment with this batch, too.

But, like I said, the best part is that there’s no vinegar, no special lids and no processing required.

2 Likes

Update: 26 raccoons + 5 opossums. Figs are all done. Suruga persimmons in 2 trees and several different pear trees are under siege, and many fruit got ruined as they were being partially eaten. Next year I will have multiple traps and start before any fruit ripen. A few days ago I set up 2 foot long sections of slit, galvanized, tubular steel conduit from Lowes on tree trunks previously being climbed to reach the upper fruit. Each tubular baffle had a couple holes punched near the top and wire rings were installed there. A pc. of light cord was looped over the lowest side branch and then tied to the twin rings to pull the conduit above the ground to being just below the first side branch. A thin ring of s/s wire was tied around the top and the bottom to pull the slit conduit to a snugger fit around the 2" to 5" thick trunks. After 3 nights of testing these baffles on the coons, no new fruit or branches are damaged, but the previously partially eaten fruit on the ground are now starting to get eaten night by night. Some baffles are on fruitless adjacent trees that would otherwise serve as ladders to reach nearby fruit-laden branches. Regretfully, the baffles can’t keep jumping squirrels, woodpeckers (fruitpeckers), crows, ET, King Kong, and some of the Marvel characters from continuing the assault, but at least the possums and coons are at a stalemate for now. Neighbors are also having a coon and armadillo issues now, so a few of them are also starting to trap with success. Life in (animal) paradise.

2 Likes

My neighbor is a trapper. He’s gets Coons in the winter months to sell for holiday meals. A lot of the locals have them for thanksgiving and Christmas. They won’t take them from the summer apparently they have some kind of bugs or worms…

1 Like