September E-Postal Scores Are Up...

...at Mr. Completely's blog.  Click Over, and for Heaven's sake, shoot the October target and send in your results.  You need the practice!

Autumn Is Icumen In

Fall colors are off to a slow start, but there is color if you know your species.  Virginia creeper puts out plenty of red before the trees change, but most people miss it amongst all the green.  This one is in a green ash, and it will be yellow in a few more days.  White ash is just beginning to turn purple.

Red maple has started its show.  It will be red, orange, and yellow.  Sweetgum has begun changing, and it also shows several colors, usually on the same tree.  It will be purple, yellow, and red.  Most trees are still green in Southern Illinois, but if you are driving around this weekend, the money shots are sumac bushes, and sassafras trees on timber edges and in fence rows.  Both of those species are showing off now.  Persimmon has not gone yellow yet, but the persimmons have turned orange, and are pretty to look at.  It's still a bit early to pick them.

Some Days You Get Lucky...

Other days you settle for what you can get.  So long as they don't call your name, you are OK!

Look Up, Down, All Around!

You have to keep your wits about you all the time when you are out in the woods, and not just so you don't become lost or disoriented.  Stinging insect colonies are at their peak numbers now right before we have frost, and they are usually in a bad mood as the nectar flows disappear. I saw a couple of these last week on my walks.

Hornets usually build high enough that they are easy to see.  Sometimes they build close to the ground, and I always watch for that.  They are ill-humored, as are yellow jackets, who build in the ground.  Honeybees can knock me out of commission for a couple days, and even though they are generally mild-mannered, I approach them cautiously.

Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Light Foundation

This week Ruger is offering another of the ever popular Government Target Models, but this one is a bit more special.  It was a special order for J.T. Ruger; William B. Ruger's son.  A scope base was installed at the factory for him, and it has been residing in Ruger's safe for many years.  J.T. Ruger passed away at the early age of 48.  You can read all about it and place your bid by Clicking Here, or on the photo.  This fascinating, fine firearm will sell mid-day, Wednesday, October 5, 2016.  100% of the proceeds of this sale will go to benefit the Light Foundation.  $1328

Tuesday Torque: Gilson Hit-And-Miss

Here's a typical gas engine from the early Twentieth Century like you would have found down on the farm. Power was a game changer, and simple designs were the best for most customers, who had probably not dealt with internal combustion engines before. This one has governor weights on the hub of the flywheel. They act on a latch that catches the pushrod for the exhaust valve, which is held open when the engine is up to speed. These things made life easier, and better, long before electrification.


This brief video is leftover from a trip to Old Threshers in 2013. I scrolled through some of the old folders and found some unprocessed video; not much special, but engines worth looking at.

October E-Postal Is Up At Mrs. True Blue Sam!

Susan has drawn another great target this year for your enjoyment at the range.  Click over to Mrs. True Blue Sam to read the rules, and to download the pdf file of the target.  You can enter until the end of October.

Opportunity Knocks

Have you priced chicken feed?  Back To The Old Grind!

Photo credit, Gary Bahre.

Peeling Chestnuts: Why Didn't We Think Of This?

Here is an easy-peezy method to peel your chestnuts.  People have been doing it the hard way for thousands of years.




We have refrigerated all the nuts we picked up yesterday. Today they will get a rinse in bleach water to kill any mold on the shells, then when they are dry they will go back in the fridge for later use.

The Big Drop

Our chestnut trees are giving us great interest this year once more for the small investment we made when we planted them forty years ago.

 You have to use your feet, or a gloved hand to open the husk and pop the nuts out. The spines are like needles.

Susan's nut-picker-upper is a game changer, and a back saver.