ch312

FYI...the law states when live trapping and relocating an animal in Ontario it must be released within 1 km of where it was trapped. Just a heads up as a CO or SPCA officer will likely question someone they see releasing an animal. Airgun regulations have been changed in recent years. In the past anything over 500 fps was considered a firearm for the Firearms Act and Criminal code while the new regulations state in order for them to be considered a firearm it needs to shoot over 500 fps and have a muzzle energy of 4.2 ft/lbs or higher. This means an air gun shooting the relatively new and much lighter plastic/alloy pellets at say 575 fps with a muzzle energy of 4 ft/lbs (just a guess) would not be considered a firearm or require a PAL to buy and shoot. Municipal bylaws often define anything that shoots a projectile as a firearm no matter how fast the projectile is traveling or what is being shot. Pellet guns, bows, sling shots, paintball guns, potato guns, etc all fall under this category.

Tis baby season for many critters. If you're going to shoot or trap the squirrel, make sure you check for babies in the attic as they'll starve and rot/stink if you eliminate the mother. Squirrels are relatively tough critters to kill with tough hides so it's best to make head shots with air guns, especially with a lighter .177 pellet traveling under 500 fps.

Grandpa used to make a batch every year. I'm not exactly a fan of wine, but the dandelion wine he made tasted better than many store bought wines. The best ways to get revenge: -make wine with the flowers -use the leaves in salads (very high vitamin A and K, decent dose of vitamin C, calcium, iron) -pull out the roots and make a very healthy tea

Hmmm...if that's the going rate I might just have to pick a bunch more and put a sign at the end of the driveway. 5-6 lbs per hour x $7 lb = $35 - $42 an hour to be out in the bush picking fiddleheads seems like a fair deal to me.

That's exactly how I do it too.

That sucks...my broccoli, beans, onions, tomatoes, and cabbage out in the garden are already 5-8" tall. I'd go loony if we had snow that late in the year.

And it'll last forever...when the job is done properly from start to finish. Like I said, 99% of the time you can blame human error for various products failing prematurely. This could be from applying something to concrete that is delaminated, previously sealed/coated, or holding too much moisture. Or it could be from not following proper procedure to prepare the surface, apply the coating or topping, or curing and sealing the new coating or topping.

Jeez...so many misinformed people against the idea of improving the aesthetics of concrete simply because the new coating or topping will fail if done incorrectly. I guess nobody should upgrade or renovate their homes as the new stuff might fail if the job isn't done properly? Better not paint the oil coated walls or trim as the new paint won't adhere if the job isn't done properly. Replacing nasty old flooring with new tile? Nope, can't do that as the new tiles might crack or pop loose if it isn't done properly. Applying a topping to make a spalled or delaminated concrete sidewalk look new again? Heck no, the topping will debond if it isn't done properly. Notice a trend? Do it right the first time and there will be no worries. Lew, I wish you weren't so far away as I would love to do the job for you simply to prove everyone wrong

Whatever trimmer you choose, make sure you buy a better head for it like a Grass Gator pre cut line head so you never have to mess around with winding spools that often have feeding problems. I'm not sure if that's the brand I have, but mine takes two pre cut lengths of trimmer line and to install new line you just push a button and insert the lengths of line and to adjust the length you just push the button and move the line. You can run 4 full length lines, but my girly gas trimmer isn't powerful enough to spin the 4 lines so I stick with two. As for line, stay away from the old school round lines and opt for heavy duty square, star, or pentagon shaped line as it cuts much better requiring much lower RPMs to do the job and lasts a very long time. The two lengths of square line I use cuts so easily that I increased the idle speed a touch to keep the trimmer spinning so I don't even need to touch the throttle 3/4 of the time. Cruise control if you will.

Well, I put just over 12 lbs in the freezer last night and there are still tons of fiddleheads that haven't even sprouted yet. Spotted a ton of dryads, but left those in the bush as i'm mushroomed out. I wonder if they can be dried and stored to be used later on?

The huge difference between all seasons and all terrain/all weather tires is the latter offers tires that are snowflake rated meaning they're suitable for freezing temperatures and winter driving. All seasons are only meant for spring, summer, and fall as they use a different rubber that gets too hard in cold temps resulting in much less traction. When it comes to winter driving the average stopping distance for all terrain/all weather tires is much shorter than any all season tire will offer. I think it's 25-30% shorter stopping distance IIRC... The BFG TA/KO's maybe cost a bit more than some other options, but many people report up to 100,000 kms before needing to change the tires. They're quiet, offer excellent traction all year, and wear like iron which is why they're so popular.

99% of the jobs that fail are due to human error by not preparing the surface properly, not applying the coating/topping exactly how the manufacturer says it must be done, or trying to coat concrete that is not sound. If you're willing to do the job properly it will definitely last a long time no matter what you choose to coat or top it with.

Exterior concrete on grade should not be painted/coated as it'll trap the moisture resulting in the coating flaking off. Coating concrete is much like painting in that properly preparing the surface is the most important and labor intensive part of the job. You'll need to pressure wash every inch of the surface, use a floor brush to scrub with a strong mix of TSP and water, and pressure wash again to remove any residue. While etching isn't really required on broom finish, it'll make the paint adhere better as etching actually takes off a thin layer of the surface exposing a fresh surface for the paint. Finish off with a couple coats of premium concrete paint. Painting is not a good idea on rough broom finishes (like the majority of crappy city sidewalks) as there will be too many ridges where the paint will be worn off before the rest. If it's a rough broom job you'd be far better off using an acid wash to color the concrete as it won't wear off the ridges like paint will. Tile or stone is also an option and will last forever if done properly. As with coating, surface prep is very important to ensure the mud bonds to the concrete. It's too bad i'm not doing the highrise restoration anymore. I could have given you some Vulkem 350/351 waterproofing membrane to coat your porch. It's a two coat system with silica sand for traction that they use on balconies and parking garages. I'm not sure if they well it in gallon cans or not. It's worth looking into if you want to do the job once and never have to worry about it again...

All terrain tires are better all around than tires listed as all seasons... Firestone Destination AT and BFG All Terrain TA/KO are very popular truck/SUV tires for many reasons.

Was out yesterday and filled a 2 gallon bucket with fiddleheads in about 75 minutes with another 7 or 8 dryads on the side. I think i'll head out again today to grab a couple more gallons worth to make sure we have enough in the freezer. I've been watching for the leeks but haven't seen a single plant. I think i'm looking in the wrong spots?

Fiddlehead patches are like fishing holes and I doubt anyone will just name off locations. They're relatively easy to find near marshy and swampy area's, especially around the Grand. The easiest time to find new patches is in the summer when the plants are fully grown and easily seen Return in the spring and harvest. Had another large serving of the Dryads again last night...fried with bacon.

Guys, Alberta has had a spring black bear hunt for many years. While spring hunts can definitely help keep the population in check, it definitely does not mean attacks will stop. It's sad to hear when anyone is killed by a wild animal, but it's to be expected when we invade their territory. It's unfortunate that most Canadians aren't allowed to carry handguns for self defense while in bear country and only a select few are issued ATC's to carry in the wilderness. Sure, you could carry a short pump shotgun with an 8.5" or 12.5" barrel loaded with slugs, but they're still large enough to be annoying when bushwacking. Apparently Suncor does not allow their workers to carry any bear defense tools such as a firearm, knife, spray, or bangers. Seems rather silly considering they're in the heart of bear country?

Yeah...unregulated poison sure is the way to go. http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/smoking-cessation/10-facts-about-e-cigarettes.htm#page=3 Liquid nicotine is extracted from tobacco, but unlike tobacco leaves, liquid nicotine can be lethal. It can cause harm when it's inhaled, but it can also be harmful when ingested or absorbed through your skin. Only a small dose is dangerous -- less than one tablespoon of many of the e-liquids on the market is enough to kill an adult, and as little as a teaspoon could kill a child) [source: Richtel]. The number of calls to poison control centers regarding e-cigarette nicotine-infused liquids rose sharply every month between September 2010 and February 2014, from just one call per month to as many as 215 -- that's a rise from 0.3 percent to 41.7 percent of all emergency calls. As many as 51.1 percent of those calls involved accidental poisoning of kids under the age of 5 (roughly 42 percent involved adults age 20 or older) [source: CDC]. Some testing suggests it's not only the nicotine that may be dangerous. Certain e-cigarette devices may also release metals during use -- including tin in some cases -- as well as other impurities known to be toxic and/or carcinogenic. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/business/selling-a-poison-by-the-barrel-liquid-nicotine-for-e-cigarettes.html?_r=0 But, like e-cigarettes, e-liquids are not regulated by federal authorities. They are mixed on factory floors and in the back rooms of shops, and sold legally in stores and online in small bottles that are kept casually around the house for regular refilling of e-cigarettes. Here's to hoping the government will one day ban the sale of cigarettes of any kind.

They grow that quickly eh? I've honestly never taken the time to actually gauge how fast they grow. I guess I'll be back at er tomorrow as all the rain we got last night may have resulted in a growth spurt....

I just re-read your post and can't see how I missed that part Anyways, you need to wait 7-8 years at least and then go back and look at the contractors work to see if it will in fact stand up to the test of time. You have no idea how many hacks there are out there who claim to do quality work, yet their two year old work is heaving, discoloring, spalling (chips popping off the surface), or cracking like crazy.

***flame suit on*** I agree with this for 5 reasons: 1) Time and money is spent to investigate and enforce regulations of all ages. Therefore, seniors should be expected to ante up. 2) If money is so tight that you can't afford such a small amount, you shouldn't be going fishing in the first place. 3) Knowing exactly how many seniors are fishing in what area's makes it easier for the MNR to adjust regulations. 4) Seniors don't get a free pass for any other license (that i'm aware of), so why the special treatment for fishing? 5) Every adult who fishes should be contributing to the special purpose account that funds management of our resources.

The Willis knot is very easy to tie and is perfectly suited for the job, hence people referring to it as the leadcore knot. There are two main reasons for having difficulty inserting the leader into the sheath. First, it could be that you're leader material is too heavy and the diameter is too large to fit into the sheath. You'll want to use a leader with a lower strength than the core so you can snap the leader, instead of losing your core, if you snag bottom. Second, you must use snips or clippers on the end of the leader that you'll be inserting into the core as biting the line to cut it results in the end being slightly larger than the rest of the line making it hard to push into the sheath. Cutting the end on a 45 makes life far easier. As for leader length, the general consensus is long leads (over 30') are not necessary and actually lower catch rates, even in crystal clear water. Leadcore is unique in that it tracks through the water following more of the same path that the boat takes (think slithering snake or zig zag trolling) much better than normal fishing line. Using long leads decreases this action by allowing the lure to cut the corner rather than following the slithering trail. I use a 10' length of 12 lb flourocarbon on Erie and Ontario and the pike, walleye, trout, and salmon are definitely not spooked at all by the core. Coincidentally, I didn't catch anything during my first 3 trips using core on Erie and 1 trip on Ontario when I was using a 60' leader. After doing some reading online I switched to short leads and started putting fish in the box.

I have such bad luck I doubt it could get any worse.

It's pretty hard to mistake them for something else. The underside and inner flesh is white, they can be easily broken/snapped, and they smell exactly like watermelon rinds. Stick to the smaller and more tender dryads as they tend to get tougher as the size increases. Like other mushrooms, simply fry in butter at med-high heat and season with salt and pepper.

Well, give the fiddleheads another couple weeks in the Brantford area. I just got home and every single fiddlehead hump I saw had zero heads sprouting. I dug into one and the heads are still small. But, I did manage to scoop up a few small dryad's saddles that will hit the frying pan tonight with some pike.