lew

Had the 1st deer of the season show up in my yard this morning and you can see his new antlers just starting to grow.

Your probably referring to HMCS Haida...a Tribal Class destroyer

My Dad said the convoys travelled as fast as the slowest ship.

Very dangerous infact as the vast majority of merchant ships were totally unarmed with almost no defense against enemy subs, ships and planes at all. Alot of them were loaded with gasoline and ammunition and when they got hit with a torpedo they were often blown to bits before they knew what hit them. My Dad spent 5 years in the Navy and for the most part his job was escorting the merchant ship convoys across the ocean to Great Britain and North Africa and doing their best to keep the Germans away from them. Sonar was very basic back in those days and it was often difficult for them to locate submarines until it was too late. Dad saw many ships & crews blown up close by and he often talked about what a horrible feeling it was seeing so many men killed and not being able to do alot to help them. One night Dad saw 3 ships go up within a few minutes of each other very close to his ship. As soon as a ship was hit they'd try to figure where the subs were and start dropping depth charges (underwater bombs) and firing hedgehogs (a type of rocket) but they'd never really know if they got the subs or not and they'd usually just sink to the bottom when the hulls were fractured. They figured they got a few of them as they'd see oil slicks and debris come up but that was also a ploy of the Germans, to release oil and shoot debris out torpedo tubes to make it look like they'd been hit. It was a terrible time for everyone during the war, Navy, Army, Air Force and Merchant Marine but they did what they were asked to do and they won the fight and allowed those of us that followed to live the lives we do today and we owe them more than we can ever imagine. And lets never forget Canada's military was totally volunteer and nobody was forced to go to war as in some other countries. My Dad's brother served 5 years in the Army, my Mom's brother was a bomber pilot and was killed along with his crew when their plane went down, an uncle served in the British Army and spent 3 years in a Japanese prison camp in Burma and the stories he told of the constant torture would make you nearly puke. My Dads father was in the British Army in WWI and fought as a sniper in the trenches of France and in his own words said he killed "far too many men but it was what had to be done". He survived even after being hit with shrapnel and was awarded the Military Medal for heroism. I was lucky and most of those men survived to live long and wonderful lives and even my Grandfather didn't die until I was 35 years old. I tell these same stories every year at this time as I am VERY VERY proud of what the men in my family did when they were needed. That's my Dad on your right covered in coal dust as he just finished stoking the engine room boilers and had just come up for some fresh air. Dad's ship....HMCS Kitchener

That Abu C-3 makes a pretty good basic no-frills musky reel and you can use it for both casting & trolling.

Congrats on a very nice fish, PB's always make an excellent day even better.

I stored my boats, both aluminum & glass, in an old barn for 10 years that was full of mice & rats but I put a couple bowls full of mothballs in the boats and never had a problem with the critters. Don't know if that would work outside though with raccoons and the like when they're looking for a winter home. Forgot to add that it's not necessary to put the batteries on wood.

Any of you folks who don't like trolling need to try trolling for muskies with your rod mounted near the stern of the boat with only 4'- 5' of line out. Not much gets the heart pounding better than a big ole musky hammering your bait within arms reach of where your sitting LOL Only other thing better is a musky coming from under your boat and slamming you lure on a figure 8 right under your nose.

Outstanding day on the water !!

I know the spot as well, couple real nice chunky fish there...well done !

Luck was definitely on our side for sure Roger, doesn't always turn out as well.

The restaurant is Swiss Chalet north in Peterboro and is a place we go quite often, nice place and good staff. Great story Steve and good to hear it all worked out well for you too.

2 years ago for our 50th wedding anniversary I bought my wife a beautiful $1000 diamond anniversary ring that she wears all the time with her wedding rings. Because of some recent weight loss the rings are a bit looser than they used to be. Last night we went out for dinner like we do every Friday night but when we got home she realized the ring was missing from her finger. Looked everywhere and couldn't find it and thought maybe when she removed her coat in the restaurant it may have caught on the sleeve and got pulled off. She called the restaurant and they remembered us and went to check our seats and sure enough they found the ring where it had come off & slipped behind the seat cushion. Chalk that one up to a very lucky evening

Another outstanding picture, I'm always impressed by your photography skills.

Thanks boyz, I'm lookin forward to many enjoyable evenings at the table.

Thanks bud, extremely generous offer and much appreciated but the area is already well lit from above now. Goodonya to make the offer though.

Thanks Dan and your right, it really is a nice piece of furniture entirely made with hardwood throughout.

I've always enjoyed playing pool and have a large 27' x 17' family room down stairs so finally decided to buy a table. It was delivered and installed on Friday and we had friends and family over for the weekend and had a blast breaking it in. Gonna be a great way to spend those long cold winter evenings.

If you want an automatic Generac for your cottage Peter, call The Generator Center in Peterboro and ask for Diana...705 931 0938. She'll come out to your place and go thru everything you want to run and then suggest the best option and then set up a date for the install. Excellent folks to deal with and the service is 2nd to none.

Just think of the winds as "musky chop" LOL

Same with me, no sensors in the winter rims either. Usually 10 - 15 minutes after I start driving there's one little "ding" sound then the small light comes on and that's it, I don't even notice it. Been driving since 1961 and never needed a sensor to tell me I was low on air pressure before.

Memquisit &the West Arm are both great places Matt, lotsa big fish in there but as you say, they don't always come easy. You've got a nice one there.

I think this was the 1st time Phil

It'd be great to see Ben & Cory again, hard to believe how they've grown now.

Here's the day it became official Jim, really has been a long time.