Gold Finches have been here all winter. Those tiny birds can sure pack in the thistle seed. I’m almost out of a 20 pound bag I got the first of November and fill only one feeder with it.

No Juncos here so far today or all of yesterday. They’ve been very consistent here all winter.

The crows didn’t make their daily exodus back in town the last couple nights either so maybe they’re begin to pair up and nest now. I see eagles every day along the river behind us but the nest a couple miles north of here that’s had a nesting pair for several years is not showing any activity at all.

Bearcat89 wrote:

I went to stock up on river plastics today.

So what are your go-to’s for plastics?

If pike take a liking to them they’ll be awfully expensive fish food.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=www.rochesterstainedglass.com&form=IPRV10

Beautiful work buschman!

And don’t forget that the listed towing capacity INCLUDES the vehicle’s weight itself, fully loaded.

Long, steep hills might be a problem even with a lighter boat. I’ve heard from a mechanic that head gaskets like to blow on those vehicles when they are working hard pulling on hills and that the trannys can become an issue too. Pulling on flat land or normal ramps would likely be fine, but those long steep hills might bring out issues.

And as gim has mentioned: pulling is one thing, stopping safely is yet another.

lol

I just pulled my wallet out to see what all I had in it that could go to trash. There was a fishing license neatly folded up from 2000 and another from 2020. Then there was my donation card from May Clinic’s blood donor program, last donation was apheresis [platelet donation] in 2007.

In 1995 my then 12 year old daughter was stricken with a weird auto-immune disease. At the time Mayo had seen exactly one other such case in a pre-teen patient as the disease usually a geriatric one. She was hospitalized for a couple months and when release was receiving immune globulin infusions twice a month. I switched from whole blood donations to the apheresis donations to help put back what she was receiving. I could donate the platelets every 8 days. 4 hours each time in to strip the platelets from the blood then return the unused portion of the blood back to me. When I began this, they had a needle in each arm. They adopted a 4 needle in one midway through the span of years I did this type of donation. When my daughter was no longer getting globulin after 4 years, I kept donating since I have a blood type of O-neg, not common, but could be used by anyone with a neg blood type. I’d had all of the usual childhood illnesses and natural immunity to them which was preferred then for cancer patients getting blood component. Basically all of my platelets went to pediatric oncology until a had a slight stroke and was placed on blood thinners.

Finding that old card sure brought back some memories so thanks for this thread. The wallet might need replacing in a couple years but for now its still serviceable, but I did toss a few things.

Reef W wrote:

Maybe he could have just read

Damn! That putz can actually read?

Pailofperch wrote:

Lots of internal findings with the DOGE team showing accounts receiving SS payments past 110-300 years old.

I think DOGE should focus on Musk’s cash cow, aka the US government contracts.

Now, back on topic.

Martin McDonald wrote:

Another unique feature is that the line guides all have nylon or ceramic synthetic inserts except for the tip.

In this picture I’d swear that’s a Herter’s rod.

Al’s Specialty/Marine in Rochester may be able to help you out.

At 110 there’s a pretty large gap between being kept alive and living. My grandmother died at 112. I was holding her hand at her last breath. Her last three years were not the best. I sure as hell don’t want to live to 110.

wkw wrote:

Elon, Don, and J.D.

As the Beach Boys say…. “wouldn’t it be nice”.

Maybe if the US had a policy that whoever instigates or orders our troops into these quagmires has to go lead the charge…. as in first in. That might put the brakes on some of these idiot ideas.

We’re at -9 right now, up from -19 at 5:30 this morning. This cold crap can move along any time now and stay gone.

I’m going to say a re-wrap too. The forward cork and reel seat are give-aways as well as the wraps. Herters had rods that color.

That’s a dandy bronze babe! Nice catch. Congrats!

Mike Schulz wrote:

guy up this in 70’s and he gets paid

I’m sure some are paid positions, especially if the heavy equipment is on site and used.

I think this bunch should go by the way of the wolf where wolf hunting is allowed. In reading that article the author keeps referring to these dolts as she or her…. they’re all men. The proper way to write the article is to refer to them as men. The use of her or she simply supports the wacked out ideology that these idiots hold onto.

Matt Moen wrote:

Most of the inspectors I talk to are volunteers. I wonder what the split is between paid inspectors and volunteers?

I think most of the older guys are the volunteers while the younger are paid and quite likely the kids of DNR employees.

From what I have experienced with the landing lords, its a joke. I’ve come to dock expecting a hold up but found the two dnr guys sleeping in the truck. In general I think that most anglers try to keep things off the boats and trailers without having to be monitored. BUT, there are those who simply could give a rip…. how do you enforce anything with them?

The argument that zeebs may be peaking again is a moot argument: just like the recent thread on crappies having cycles, so too do zeebs. They’ll curb their own kind’s numbers naturally.

I’ve come to believe that all invasives are the ultimate opportunists that have the upper hand in the battle over control simply because man cannot realistically put a roadblock on their movement from one water to the next, just like man cannot stop poisons used on weeds or nitrogen rich fertilizers being used on land immediately next to waterways. The old adage that “you can tell’m, but you can’t tell’m much” seems to apply to the homeowners on waterways.

The invasives issue began with international shipping using the Great Lakes. If someone is going to be held accountable for controlling invasives, the shipping industry should be tapped for resources to do since nobody on this site that’s 70 or more brought then invasives here and that’s about how far back one has to go to see the insertion of the damned things.

Personally I think its simply too late to get all ruffled up about invasives because there is no cure now.

Its in the Rochester Post Bulletin Gim. The paper has gone to crap over the last few years and isn’t even printed in Rochester any more…. Red Wing. Tuesdays and Saturdays. We canceled some time ago so I cannot access the on-line version. Carole’s oldest son posted it on facebook this morning. I’m not sure you can get into the paper’s on-line site without buying into it.

LabDaddy1 wrote:

And what was it doing way down there? That’s more than a little out of their range…

As mentioned, the SE corner of this state has had ever animal common to the far north down here. Including cougars [which the dnr has denied any chance that they’re here]. And now this confirmed wolf kill. As I understand it, these animals can wander well outside of their normal range and most often its a male of the species. This wolf does not surprise me in the least, especially after finding the one along the highway back then. Moose I don’t worry about. Bear I don’t worry about. Cougar are so unusual that I’m not fretting over one of them either. Wolves have no place down here and just one should put people on notice.

I tried to read the article in our local newspaper but of course since we don’t subscribe…..

Maybe ten years ago Ma and I were on our way to Northfield and just north of Pine Island I saw what looked like a dog dead on the shoulder but it was just too big so I found a spot to turn around and went back to check it out. It was a male wolf. Way larger than a coyote and didn’t have the face of a shepherd. I sent a picture to the dnr but heard nothing back from them. I mentioned this to a CO at the state fair a couple years back and he looked at me like I was high on something.

If southern Minnesota can have a vagrant moose every couple years or a bear every couple years, its certainly not outside of my way of thinking that wolves are here way more than the DNR wants us to think they are. Sort of like they want us to believe that wolf numbers are in check.

I think Green Bay should take him back and make amends.

Right back at ya Sharon.

I got my semi-annual round of sinus crap and went in for meds and came out being treated for Pneumonia. Caught it early so that was good. One of the “cylins and prednisone took it out.

Our new VW Cross Sport calls for a 10,000 mile interval. I’m really a die hard old-school guy that changed at 2,000 or less religiously so this ne recommendation has been a tough one to swallow. If I change it on my dime before the 10,000 call for it to be changed, I still need to have that 10,0000 service done to prevent cancellation of the warranty. I’ll do as I’m required until the warranty lapses and then will likely do a 5,000 mile oil change thereafter.

Charles wrote:

No wind so it isn’t horrible lol.

I don’t envy you construction guys and pooping in a jimmy johnny.

No ker-plop, just thud.