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Posts posted by Spaulding Smails
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11 minutes ago, Jiggy-Z said:
Reminds me of XMAS 2004. I was up in Minneapolis with some -40 degree nights and 2" of snow on XMAS day when I read parts of South Padre island got 4" of snow. WTF.
I grew up in Corpus Christi. I'd never been to the mountains and had never seen snow. First time I saw snow was a trip to Colorado when in 2007 when I was 27.
I got married in June of 2003. Spent Christmas that year in Corpus with my family. Spent Christmas 2024 in East Texas with my wife's family. This was pre iPhone, so I was getting call after call from my parents, sister, aunts, uncles and drunk cousins saying how amazing it was to have a White Christmas. In Corpus Christi. Meanwhile, I was sitting in the living room with no snow, no TV, no music, and no entertainment with my wife's teetotaling family. 20 years later, and I'm still pissed about it.
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At first I thought it was just his hock right above the grass line and the leg beneath it. Then, I thought it was two frames merged together or something. But, I zoomed in, and now I truly think that leg is gone just below the joint. Holy crap.
Had a doe like that around the corner from my house a few years ago. Looked totally healthy otherwise, but right leg gone below the joint.
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8 hours ago, fattyflattie said:
Hard not to be frustrated but I'm sure he'll figure it out soon (if not already) - that pic is what it's all about. fwiw, been a VERY rough year for ducks.
We had a LONG conversation on the drive home about exactly that. Enjoying the moment. Appreciating what you're surrounded by. And, the fact that they call it hunting not killing and fishing not catching for a reason. Slow weekends like we had makes it much sweeter when you do have success.
I've been getting my ass kicked at work for the last 18 months. But, that all fades far into the background when you're hip deep in the Lower Laguna Madre carefully steering a redfish into your dip net. I swear I got him on the stringer and just kind of stood there for a few minutes taking it all in. And, I'd trade a limit of trout or reds caught soaking bait from the boat for just one nice fish like that red on artificials while wading.
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Well, my cold streak continues. Did a cast-n-blast with my son and his buddies this weekend in Port Mansfield. Two ducks and three fish between six of us. First duck hunt for my son and he didn't even get to pull the trigger. Bill the bird dog was disappointed and was givin the boys the what for on the ride back. Fished our asses off Saturday afternoon with minimal success as well. If anyone is on a hot streak and wants to be completely disappointed, give me a shout... because I'm your guy.
My son is usually so even-keeled, but he started to show some signs of frustration on the drive home yesterday. He's had zero luck this year. Struck out turkey hunting. Two fishing trips to the coast put up goose eggs. Went all deer season and didn't see a shooter buck. Went last weekend on a doe mission and didn't see a single doe. Seems like every hunting / fishing trip we've had has been a dud. And these aren't speculative areas. Proven spots with history of great results. Our timing just sucks.
Only silver lining was that I did hook a really nice 24" red wade fishing Saturday afternoon. Fun little tussle and good eating last night. And, the weather was awesome.
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12 hours ago, ABZ said:
Nice example 686. My dad bought 132 acres a few years ago in the Concho valley, and we see benefits from shooting does and taking care of the bucks. Wish we could feed more protein given the costs and neighbors. We still should shoot more does. See photo for deer with best potential. I think he is only 3.5 yo.
Speaking of parents, my mom has part of 300 acres down on the coastal bend. Thinking of going down to Refugio County this weekend. Anyone have any recent reports from down there? I normally just watch deer and enjoy the history and solitude while camping out there.
My buddy has a ranch about half way between Goliad and Refugio just east of 183. He said it's been a good but not great year.
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3 hours ago, fattyflattie said:
This seems like it happens every year. I always tell myself to take them earlier in the season, and every year I end up having to put in a bunch of hunts to grab a couple of doe. I got what I needed this weekend but it was more difficult than a month ago for sure. Don't know if it's real or just a perception for me.
Yep. I think I need to change my strategy next year and get the doe out of the way early. It seems like every hunt I had from November 1 through Christmas was in shorts and a t-shirt, though. I loathe cleaning and skinning deer when I'm sweating my ass off.
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Took the kids out this weekend to try to put some meat in the freezer. We had our sights set on knocking down two WT doe. We typically see at least a half dozen doe at every blind at every hunt. Four hunts between Friday PM and Sunday AM. Not a single realistic shot for either my son or my daughter. I sat with my daughter on every hunt. Had a few yearlings come to the feeder a few times. That's it. Saw a whopping total of three mature WT doe. All three were passing through, never stopped and had zero interest in the corn. Had one group of axis doe do the same. My son saw a young WT buck and about a half dozen axis doe that he passed on. He didn't see a single WT doe all weekend.
We did a spot and stalk Sunday after the morning hunt and jumped two groups of doe. The first group was 400+ yds and never stopped. The second group was in the thickest brush on the ranch and we couldn't get a reasonable look. Incredibly frustrating. Not sure if it was the weather, too many acorns or what. Very strange.
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1 hour ago, immamac said:
Started yesterday slow. Only did 5
20245 left to go.
You got this! It's all about consistency. I'm guessing you have a formula to get to that number that has you ramping up as the year progresses. Word of advice... build in a buffer. Give yourself some wriggle room. There's going to be days where you get sick, are traveling, etc and you can't hit your target. Don't fall so far behind that you get defeated and lose traction.
The year I turned 40, I set the goal to do 30,000 push-ups, 10,000 pull ups, 10,000 burpees and run 1,000 miles. I was in pretty good shape going into it, but I made sure that January and February were above my daily averages to give me some fluff. And, I always looked at my schedule a week or two ahead of time to find days / weeks that I knew I'd fall off pace. I'd hit it hard ahead of those times so I didn't lose traction. I was in the best shape of my life that December 31 thanks to the consistency. You can absolutely do the same.
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I'd love to see these guys playing skins, wolf, Ryder Cup style, scramble, whatever..... IF they were playing for their own money. I get that playing for $10M in Crypto is big, but let's see these guys out there wagering for their own money. We know they do it when the cameras are off, but I think it would be incredibly entertaining to watch them establish the bets before the first tee, grinding it out for $100K/hole, hammering, side wagers, etc. Cameras on and mics hot 100% of the time. Go ahead and throw in some inappropriate comments for good measure. I'm sure they'd never go for it, and wouldn't want to tarnish their reputations in front of the camera, but damn that would make for some good TV.
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So, this sounds unpossible, but I've never dug into this thread. Love it!
Meet Murphy. Murphy's 8 years old now. I'm obviously biased, but he's special. Best dog I've ever had by a long shot. Certifiably badass bird dog. But also the most chill lab around. He's an absolute sweetheart and loves his family (except the cat who steals his bed). He's also my jobsite / shop buddy. Even when he walks through a fresh concrete pour. We leave him out during nice days, and he never wanders far. Always keeps an eye on the chickens and has fended off more than his share of foxes and coyotes. And, the minute I get my shotgun out, he's in full-on business mode. He's an absolute retrieving machine in the field. He's starting to get a little long in the tooth and all the time in the field is starting to take it's toll on the old hips. So, we're thinking about getting him a running buddy next summer in the form of a yellow lab puppy to have a little youth around the house. Maybe ol Murph can teach him or her a thing or two.
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4 hours ago, Ragde said:
That's a REALLY cool buck. What part of the state are you in? His ears are back just a tad, but I'm still guessing that's a 24" inside spread. You gonna try to let the air out of him?
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On 11/11/2024 at 4:25 PM, davidg said:
Remembered this thread over Thanksgiving. Here's what we installed on our Polaris. Basically just a tension bar between the vertical ROPS supports with the gun holder mounted to that. I love it. Very secure and super easy access and pretty cheap. I've killed two pigs that I can think of off the top of my head solely because I had a rifle so easily accessible.
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48 minutes ago, Hank Scorpio said:A fun United story: had a client a few years ago with some kind of rare leukemia (which had nothing to do with the case we were handling). He finds out that there’s a new treatment that is about to be approved but is available and his doctors got him on the list. It also costs like $500,000 and of course United denies the claim. Since we were already representing him we agreed to handle the denial appeal which we had to do in arbitration. 3 arbitrators, we pick one, United picks one, and one we agree upon. We’re told that United picked the same hack arbitrator they always pick so we assume we’re already in the hole. Arbitration lasts a couple of days, United has no defense other than “fuck this guy he’s dead already and we don’t wanna pay.” Arbitrators deliberate for maybe 15 minutes, come back in, and United’s chosen arbitrator proceeds to chew out United (or rather their lawyers) for denying the claim and that every person who touched this claim at United should be ashamed and gave United 48 hours to approve the claim. Client got the treatment and is doing just fine now. Hooray insurance companies!
12 years ago, my son was taken by air ambulance (Life Flight) to Dell Children's Hospital. I got the bill a few months later. IIRC, it was about $8,500. UHC denied my claim. I got with my then employer, and we ran it up the flagpole. I distinctly remember a call with their adjustor who informed me that I had "chosen an out of network provider" and that I "should have leveraged their website or called their 800 number to find an in-network resource". Silly me! My wife should have stopped keeping him alive during a 60 minute seizure episode to sit on hold for who knows how long to figure out the best way to proceed or at least told the attending EMTs that we needed to shop that around.
Though I'd never condone violence, that almost drove me to seek retribution. Luckily, my employer stepped up and covered it, so crisis averted.
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Passed on this fella this morning. Pic is from a few weeks ago, but this was the first time I laid eyes on him in person. Had my son in a blind on the other side of the ranch chasing a cull whitetail that he saw last night running a doe and couldn't get him to stop broadside long enough to get a shot. Texted him and he high tailed it over to where I was hunting. He stalked his way in and got there about 90 seconds after this guy walked back into the brush.
Unfortunately, he had to head back home to get to work, so I'm here solo tonight and tomorrow. Gonna be hard to let him walk again if he shows up tonight, but I'd sure rather my son or my dad take him. I have zero experience aging axis on the hoof, but he looks pretty old.
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Agree with @Brisketexan. 100% a house cat. Looks just like our big fat house cat named Willie.
My BIL sent me this pic from his lease in Lampasas County. He was thoroughly convinced it was a juvenile mountain lion. He said it was "obviously way too big to be a house cat". They next weekend he saw it in person. At least he ate crow and fessed up that he was wrong. With no perspective on size, it's easy to think they're something else. But, it seems like if there's ever a doubt, it's most likely just a regular old house cat.
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21 hours ago, Dignan said:
Maybe a really dumb question, but I’ll ask anyway.
Where should I setup my ground blind? Granted, I put mine up back in September where the yellow X is. The feeder has been at that blue circle for longer than that. That location is obviously small, but the deer do come there. Haven’t gotten one yet this year, but will. My blind is only about 35-40 yards away and the shooting lane is fairly tight.
With that being said, should I move the blind next year (now?) to the larger field to the south with the pink X? I could setup the blind along the tree line and have a much larger area to shoot/scan. I could even move the feeder if I get permission from the owner, which wouldn’t be a problem.
I was originally thinking that where I have the setup now is best, just because of the natural cover, but it does feel very cramped. Any input would be great.
Little more info: this is about 110 acres and the lady who owns it has a small horse farm. Literally, the bastards are tiny. So there is traffic through the place which again, is why I chose to put the setup wheee it is. It isn’t bothered as much.
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Played Bluejack yesterday. Weather was perfect. Course was immaculate as usual. Hit 13 of 14 fairways (not saying much since the course is so wide open) and 8 of 18 GIR. And carded an 89. 38 putts. 38. Some of the pin locations were ridiculous. I had a 15' birdie putt on 9 that resulted in a triple bogey after a 5 putt. Had a quad on the par 5 5th hole despite being pin high in two. Chipped three times to the pin only to have the ball roll 40 yards back to me.
Love the course, love the experience, but the greens make or break the score. And, it's like eating an A5 Wagyu ribeye. Fantastic, but so gluttonous that you can only do it every few months, IMO.
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7 hours ago, nolongerU2horn said:
Ha! As luck would have it, work got in the way, so I had to cancel. Had a round at Great Hills shortly thereafter and needed a driver, so I found a used Callaway Mavrik that was the exact same as the one I broke at Golf Galaxy, but with a slightly better shaft for $150. Been hitting it great, so I'm holding off until the spring.
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15 hours ago, davidg said:
That thing looks awesome. Are you wanting vertical gun rack or horizontal across the hood? I went back-and-forth on my Polaris. Ended up going with a single horizontal rack on the hood right in front of the steering wheel. Added a double ceiling rack as well. My thought was to have one at the ready then two up top for overflow. We cram six into the Polaris occasionally, so I didn't want the vertical rack on the floorboard.
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On 11/4/2024 at 9:52 AM, Al Czervik said:
The Sunday afternoon sweat in Blanco County lead to this guy showing up at 5:00pm. Thankful to have a friends with ranches that don’t hunt and just need someone to check on the place once in a while. Solid mass and healthy body.
Property is low fenced but backs up to the river and another several thousand acre ranch that wasn’t hunted the pass few years until this weekend. Several shots were heard in that direction Saturday.
Going to give Klein’s Smokehouse a try at their new location in Johnson City.Dude. That's a fantastic Hill Country buck. What part of Blanco county?
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Took my son out for youth opener this weekend. The last year that he's eligible. He didn't see much of anything moving. Just a few young bucks running together. So, we knocked out some chores, ran into town, ate fajitas and enjoyed the time together.
Meanwhile from back home Saturday night, my wife sends me this pic. She said this guy was sitting in our front pasture as she pulled in from picking my daughter up from a halloween party. Crappy picture zoomed in and through the windshield, but he's a tank. We might need to scrap the 2 hour drive to the ranch and hunt from the front porch this weekend.
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On 10/15/2024 at 3:19 PM, Texzilla58 said:
Any news on the Valentina’s situation.
Screw those scumbags. They owe a lot of people a lot of money (including me).
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5 hours ago, capnamerca said:
Let's take a quick poll, and see who grew up in the midwest vs. the south. What's that thing in the top-middle (cell A2) called? Just post your answer, don't comment on other people's answers ...
Drinking fountain (south Texas).
And C-1 was referred to as a "casita".
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10 hours ago, harpercollins said:
I had planned on getting my framer to frame out the frame since I’m building the wall from scratch. Will that work?If the wall is being built from scratch, then it should definitely work. Is this a new partition wall or are you modifying an existing load-bearing wall? If load bearing, just make sure your header is adequately sized and doesn't affect the height of the rough opening.
Winter Weather 2025 - Arctic Blasts or Sweaty Ass?
in Daily Texan
Posted
Man, I had to sneak booze at 24 that Christmas! My wife's aunt has a great house on a cool farm, so they always hosted Christmas. But she strictly forebode drinking because her husband was a recovering alcoholic. At least my wife warned me before we got married. She said "just keep a bottle in your truck and bring a styrofoam cup so they can't see it." Of course, I was the only one drinking so it was way less fun.
Found out about a decade later that the same husband had a nice little grove of the devil's lettuce in the back 40. He was (and still is) California sober.