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Maple Tree
Barb loves Halloween
Safety chain for the propane man
UPDATE: November 5, 2024
Our propane tank sits at the bottom of a small –but steep– hill near our driveway. In hopes of reducing erosion, back in 2015 I covered the hill with rocks.
When the propane company comes to fill our tank, the driver has to drag his hose down this hill which is usually covered with weeds and brush. A perfect place to twist a knee or break an ankle. To make this task a little safer I’m running a safety chain from the tank up to the driveway. Something to hold on to while going down and coming back up.
I needed something at the upper end heavy enough to support the driver’s weight. I was stymied until I spotted some concrete blocks at a nearby cement company. Two feet square and eight inches high, with a handy rebar attachment. I bought two so I can stack them and get the chain off the ground a bit.
A guy driving a front-loader dropped them (gently) into the bed of my pickup truck but getting them out proved something of a challenge. Too heavy for me to budge so I used a winch to get them off the bed of the truck and lowered to my rock sled. I’ll use the Jeep to tow them into place.
UPDATE: Getting the blocks out of the truck was almost as difficult as getting them in. Used the come-along to ease it down the ramps.
The final step would have been nearly impossible without my friend Andrew and his skid loader. Yes, he put that monster on a trailer and hauled it up our hill for this silly little project.
The propane truck driver will weep with joy this winter as he safely (?) tugs his hose (sorry) down this ice-covered slope.
One less possum. One less groundhog. One less armadillo.
Trapped or killed to date: (1) armadillo, (1) possum, (1) groundhog. Forget that cuddly woodchuck in the Bill Murray movie. This thing was nasty.
Update 9/10/24: Riley got antsy last night so Barb took her out on a leash where they flushed a BFA (big fucking armadillo). She called me and I grabbed the .12 gauge. Boom.
One less armadillo
If you live near the woods you’re gonna have critters. Deer, turkeys, rabbits, squirrels. But for the last few months armadillos and possums have been roaming around in the wee hours. I think I hit an armadillo last week based on the dead animal smell that lingered for a few days. The armadillos can do a lot of damage to a yard, flower bed… even the foundation of your house. And they can give you leprosy. Kelly Wildlife Control trapped one a couple of nights ago (photo above).
And we have a big groundhog terrorizing the neighborhood (Groundhog burrows can undermine building foundations). He’s got a burrow under the deck of the Annex but has so far avoided the traps.
More target practice
Blowing up milk jugs filled with water is very satisfying. Who knew? Using birdshot from about 30 feet. Popped off twenty rounds with the little .22 pistol (same distance) and hit the target three times. I’m improving, believe it or not.
Sunrise over Missouri River
Night Critters
For weeks (months?) we’ve been plagued by a possum and an armadillo. Feels like it’s one of each but all possums and armadillos look alike to me. Both critters play hell with the yard and flower beds so I’ve been trying to shoot them with my Remington 870 .12 gauge.
The motion sensor on my critter-cams alert me in the middle of the night (usually between two and four a.m.). By the time I get my pants on and get downstairs, they are gone. So I decided to try shoot them from my upstairs windows. Last night, after putting some apple slices out for bait, I got a clear shot at the armadillo and thought I might have hit him. But could find no trace when I went down to check. I suspects the #6 birdshot couldn’t penetrate his armor so I’ve switched to 00 buckshot.
The pest removal guys tell me they can trap these guys and that would be fine but I’m gonna stay locked and loaded until they do. I am not a hunter and have very little experience with firearms but I’ve been practicing with the .12 gauge. Today I alternated between the #6 birdshot and 00 buckshot from a distance of 25-to-30 feet.
I really don’t see how I can miss but it’s a more difficult shot at 3 a.m. Watch this space.
Target practice
Five years ago I purchased a Ruger .22 revolver with the idea I’d use it for critters. Possums, armadillos, copperheads. I quickly discovered it’s a lot harder to hit a moving target than I realized. The gun has been on a shelf until the last couple of days. I’ve decided to practice until I can hit a soft drink can at ~30 feet. Again, harder than it looks on TV and in the movies.
In the video above the best I was able to do was hit two of the five cans. Although the cans are light as a feather, the .22’s pass right through them without moving the can. Next session I’ll fill the cans with water to see if that makes a difference. The goal is to be able to hit all five cans on one load.
UPDATE: Shooting cans looks great in the movies but this will be a more satisfying –and ecologically friendly– target.
