"Carl's Lounge" (Off-Topic Discussion, Traditional Knife "Tales & Vignettes")

[Trout Hound]

Randy, I started learning to tie in high school on a cheap little kit that Bass Pro sells. There is definitely a steep learning curve to it, but I too have gotten pretty fair at it over the years, and I seldom fish a store-bought fly any more. Speaking of rods, I have a TFO Signature Series 1 that is about 12 years old now. Man that is a great rod for the money. I've fished with Orvis and Sage rods that cost 2-4 times as much, and it's hard to feel much of a difference. Plus, when my clumsy self falls and breaks it, (which is the whole reason I had to buy this one 12 years ago), I don't cry nearly as much.

You might look into guided float trips on the South Holston or Watauga in East TN. A little pricey, but I know of quite a few fisher-people with disabilities who have done it, even amputees. The fishing is very different, with fish that are sometimes highly selective, but there are some bona fide hogs in there. I'd love to try it sometime.

 

[Trout Hound]

I'm a serious fisherman.

I once read an article by John Merwin in Field and Stream where he bought one of those $20 Barbie rods at the Wally World, and went on a mission to see what was the most ridiculous thing he could catch on it before he broke it. He even took it on an offshore trip, and was hauling up 25 and 30 pound striper with it. The thing fished all day, and neither he nor the guide could break it.

 

[Pàdruig]

Got back from a terrific weekend. Despite it being really hot, we enjoyed catching some tasty crab and digging for clams. All in all, I had a blast with my son. Here he is holding what I considered to be the prize catch, one of the biggest Red Rock crabs I have ever seen. My boy was quite proud of this catch and claimed those claws as his almost immediately.

 

[leghog]

Add something to eat with it as it burns more calories eaten the thing than it is worth.

Not in my rabbit stew. It falls off the bones.

 

[leghog]

It was only 87F with 49% humidity yesterday, so my wife and I took in a local Minor League game with my son yesterday afternoon.

 

[jc57]

Not in my rabbit stew. It falls off the bones.

I think Brett was referring to the concept of "rabbit starvation" which is caused by eating only rabbit meat and nothing else over a prolonged period, since rabbit meat contains very little fat. Protein poisoning is the more generic term, and it is a real thing. Unless your only source of food is rabbit or other very lean meat, eaten over a long period of time, I think you are safe.

 

[Jack Black]

It was only 87F with 49% humidity yesterday, so my wife and I took in a local Minor League game with my son yesterday afternoon.

Looks like a great day Leghog, it was 94F with 85% humidity here last week, but we haven't had June temperatures like that here since the 90's! Nice to have a summer for a change!

 

[Bugdoc]

My cats, Nix and Nox, are brothers from the same litter-- we fostered them from sma' before adopting them almost 6 years ago now-- and each still seems to consider each other an extension of himself. This is all the sweeter because we adopted just the one, then retrieved his brother three weeks later after further consideration (and the discovery that he was still 'in jail'). They still also wrassle something fierce now and then, but most tussles end with their cleaning each other.

From babies on up....

The day we brought Nix home to Nox:

(A new foster baby is in the background.)

Always nearby-- they get to the door before the dog when I come home, and stay near thereafter-- and almost always together. Finding them together melts me every single time.

My ridiculous little dog, smaller than either of the cats and yet taking up exponentially more psychic space:

All hold my heart, hard.






BugDoc, I'm so sorry.

~ P.

Quite the to you got there P! We're already discussing options, and both smaller dog breeds and cats are in the mix. Seems like 2 felines work well, eh?

 

[jc57]

Seems like 2 felines work well, eh?

If you are adopting young kittens, definitely get two of the same age, ideally from the same litter. There is a thing called "single kitten syndrome:" http://meowcatrescue.org/resources/articles/12/single-kitten-syndrome/ Kittens need a lot of play and socialization, which they should be getting from other kittens. If you are their only source of play, they will both wear you out with their boundless kitten energy, and may also become biters.

If adopting adults who don't already know each other (littermates or lived together before you adopted them), there is no guarantee that they will get along. Some adult cats prefer to be the only cat, some get along fine with others. Some develop a truce of a sort over time if they didn't like each other from the outset, or end up staking out different territories in your house and interacting with each other rarely. Every cat has a unique personality so you can't know for sure in advance how things are going to work out.

Daisy, the white cat in my current avatar was an old cat who came up to our door meowing on a very cold night about 2 1/2 years ago. We tried to find her prior owners but had no luck, and because she was older and had some health problems, there was no choice to but take her in and try to make the best out of the situation. The other three cats were not especially happy about an intruder in their house, so we actually had to install screen doors inside the house to be able to have separate areas where they couldn't get to each other while we were at work. She mostly hid in a closet where we had set up a nice nest for her with a heated bed and stayed in a single bedroom.

I had originally assumed that all we were doing was making her final days comfortable. But we got all of her health issues resolved (not cheaply) and with good nutrition she has really turned into a happy, healthy older cat. There has been constant progress in her integration with the other cats, even to this day, and now she quite routinely shares the same spaces with them and gets along fine with the boys, and though she still gets into spats with Candy (the other female) they seem to avoid bloodshed and it's more hissing and batting once in a while. But seriously, it has taken years to get to this point.

 

[r8shell]

I recommend adopting a pair of litter mates. I wasn't intending to take in two cats, but I couldn't decide between these two, and they seemed so bonded, I hated to break them up. I think a lot of people don't realize how social cats are, and assume it's OK for a single cat to be alone all day. (especially if it's an indoor cat) That's when you have problems with destroying furniture and biting. Victor and Echo kept each other entertained and even hunted cooperatively.



Victor died a few years ago, and Echo adjusted to his absence faster than I expected (faster than I did). She doesn't seem to like other cats and is happy to be an only cat now, so I don't intend to try to find a 'friend' for her, but adopting a pair worked out very well for us.

 

[Trout Hound]

It's a lot easier for them to adjust to a new environment at the same time, too. Our older cat can be kind of a grumpy old lady, and when we rescued our second cat, she made sounds I'd never heard her make before! She was NOT amused with his kitten antics!

 

[Bugdoc]

Thanks folks for the tips. I've always thought of cats as solitary, not wanting a buddy. I see now where some of my issues many years ago with a cat may have been due to single feline syndrome, to coin a phrase.

Our local humane society features their furry (and sometimes feathery) friends at the mall every Saturday, where I have seen pairs of cats that would not be split up, happy as can be snuggled in their cage. At the time it seemed like a handful, but now I get it. We will be in the look out.

 

[KBA]

Taking the girls camping tonight for the first time. I'm pretty excited as this could mean a whole new world opening up. We'll see how they respond. Adalynn (4) will love it. It is Aubrey (2) who I'm curious about.

 

[Old Engineer]

Got back from a terrific weekend. Despite it being really hot, we enjoyed catching some tasty crab and digging for clams. All in all, I had a blast with my son. Here he is holding what I considered to be the prize catch, one of the biggest Red Rock crabs I have ever seen. My boy was quite proud of this catch and claimed those claws as his almost immediately.

Your wonderful picture certainly made me smile . Thanks for showing it .

Harry

 

[knarfeng]

Shufflin' off to Buffalo today, for a family gathering. Got my Lloyd in my pocket and a "Little David" from Bud Nealy on my belt.

One of my colleagues at work had to travel to Buffalo recently. In front of a couple of other folks, I said to him, "oh, you're shuffling off to Buffalo?".
Blank stares from the room.

Sigh. Bummer about being the old man in the department. Nobody gets my jokes.

 

[Peregrin]

One of my colleagues at work had to travel to Buffalo recently. In front of a couple of other folks, I said to him, "oh, you're shuffling off to Buffalo?".
Blank stares from the room.

Sigh. Bummer about being the old man in the department. Nobody gets my jokes.

I hear you, Frank. I hear you.

 

[btb01]

We took Eleanor to her first baseball game tonight. St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamondbacks.

My first baseball game, 32 years ago, was a St. Louis Cardinals game at the old Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

 

[Jack Black]

Taking the girls camping tonight for the first time. I'm pretty excited as this could mean a whole new world opening up. We'll see how they respond. Adalynn (4) will love it. It is Aubrey (2) who I'm curious about.

Have a great time my friend, in my experience kids love camping

Bummer about being the old man in the department. Nobody gets my jokes.

I don't know what you mean Frank!

We took Eleanor to her first baseball game tonight. St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamondbacks.

Looks like a great night Barrett, cool pics

 

[AShearer]

Nice work I used to tie trout flies as a teenager, had better eyes back then! As well as using them myself, I sold them to a local fishing tackle shop for pocket money - and gave them to girlfriends! Sadly, I don't have a single one

Jack: Not surprised at all that you used to tie flies, but "them to girlfriends! Sadly, I don't have a single one [/QUOTE]" Does this mean, you don't have a single girlfriend, or does it mean you don't have a single, girlfriend

 

[Jack Black]

Jack: Not surprised at all that you used to tie flies, but "them to girlfriends! Sadly, I don't have a single one

" Does this mean, you don't have a single girlfriend, or does it mean you don't have a single, girlfriend[/QUOTE]

LOL! No, I don't have a single one of the flies I tied! They were easier to get rid of than some of the girlfriends!