Our version of retirement: Living a childhood dream

Good shot Gary, we only see coyotes by my house....so far. :D
 

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Gray Wolf Facts

• A wolf’s jaw has the crushing power of 1,500 (lbs/sq inch), compared to 740 (lbs/sq inch) for a German Shepherd, giving the wolf more power to shred into the tough hide of their prey, sawing through bone and fat.


• The wolf’s sense of smell is about 100 times better than a human's. It has the ability to smell prey before it can see it, more than a mile away if the wind is right

A wolfs nose can smell things that your nose can't. Like your nose, the inside of a wolf’s nose contains moist surfaces that "catch" smells in the air, however the area receptive to smell in a wolf nose is 14 times greater than that of a human.

The wolves usually travel until they encounter the scent of some prey species ahead of them. They then move directly toward their prey in an effort to capture it.

The wolfs nose has about five times more surface area than yours does, so it can catch more smells from the air than you can. It can even sense the presence of an animal three days after it's gone!


• Wolves have long, fluffy ears that can pick up sounds from six miles in the forest and ten miles in the open.


• Wolves have a keen sense of sight, to depict certain movements. Wolves have a 180 degree focus of sight, where their prey can have up to 300 degree sight.


• Wolves do not run at full speed until they get close to their prey as possible. At that point, they make a high-speed chase to test the animal.

Wolves can keep up this pace for hours on end and have been known to cover 60 miles (96 kilometers) in a single night. They have been clocked at speeds of over 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour for a distance of several miles.
 
Gray Wolf Facts

• A wolf’s jaw has the crushing power of 1,500 (lbs/sq inch), compared to 740 (lbs/sq inch) for a German Shepherd, giving the wolf more power to shred into the tough hide of their prey, sawing through bone and fat.
Ouchie


• The wolf’s sense of smell is about 100 times better than a human's. It has the ability to smell prey before it can see it, more than a mile away if the wind is right

A wolfs nose can smell things that your nose can't. Like your nose, the inside of a wolf’s nose contains moist surfaces that "catch" smells in the air, however the area receptive to smell in a wolf nose is 14 times greater than that of a human.

The wolves usually travel until they encounter the scent of some prey species ahead of them. They then move directly toward their prey in an effort to capture it.
Looked to be what he was doin'

The wolfs nose has about five times more surface area than yours does, so it can catch more smells from the air than you can. It can even sense the presence of an animal three days after it's gone!
wunner if he smelled that rabbit that zoomed by the cabin shortly after

• Wolves have long, fluffy ears that can pick up sounds from six miles in the forest and ten miles in the open.
sounds right, he started loping as soon as I opened the cabin door (so did I)


• Wolves have a keen sense of sight, to depict certain movements. Wolves have a 180 degree focus of sight, where their prey can have up to 300 degree sight.


• Wolves do not run at full speed until they get close to their prey as possible. At that point, they make a high-speed chase to test the animal.

Wolves can keep up this pace for hours on end and have been known to cover 60 miles (96 kilometers) in a single night. They have been clocked at speeds of over 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour for a distance of several miles.
yep, he just loped...beautiful fluid movement...heading directly t'ward our neighbor's goat shed, about a mile and a half north (where he was seen a few weeks ago)

Thanks, Meanie
 
That's one big elk your neighbor shot Gary. I had elk at a restaurant in Pittsburg, NH called the Rainbow Grille about 10 years ago, it was very flavorful.

That also looks like a good size wolf you got running round.

Thanks for the kind words regarding my foot op.
 
That's one big elk your neighbor shot Gary. I had elk at a restaurant in Pittsburg, NH called the Rainbow Grille about 10 years ago, it was very flavorful.

Sir Jim, that beast weighed in at 900 lbs
Yes, tasty


That also looks like a good size wolf you got running round.

Yeah, knew what it was right away
Too big, way too big, for a ‘yote
And has that easy gait

I imagine it’s the same one that left tracks in the snow winter before last

Thanks for the kind words regarding my foot op.

Hey, you got this
Been a soldier with it
Makes kind words come easy
 
Still lookin’ for the first snow
Zero wind
Zero precip

Its 5am and 8°F

The moon is a sliver, but the heavens are aglow with a thousand glistening beings


Rays of the morning sun will be most welcome
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Keepin’ a fire
 
Are you ready for that first snow, Gary?


Aside from turning the yard tools (leaning against the shop) business end up (to avoid getting stuck in the ice),

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and tarping the wheelbarrows, and mothballing the truck, pretty much ready.

That's the truck, winter before last;
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It’s always a bit of a mystery, but after a couple winters with 5 foot accumulation, one gets to know what needs done to have a good chance of getting thru unscathed.

There’s always winds, trees falling, and ice.

Snows (since last winter we didn’t get more than 6 or 8 inches accumed) are part of the unknown.

Whatever happens, we should have heat, food, water, and shelter.

I didn’t fire up the little propane heater in the well house night before last, and got caught.

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It doesn’t take much heat to keep things unfrozen, but get lax and thawing out a pump is fodder for great anxiety, and cursing….much much cursing.
Took the morning to get water flowing.

A prayer of thanks, and one for forgiveness ensued.

This little heater just plain rocks.
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It doesn't blow the place out, but provides just enough warmth to keep things thawed, and is quite stingy on the propane.
Very worth the extra bucks. The savings on fuel paid for itself last winter
 
When living on the left side of the Cascade Range, snuggled deep into the Willamette (well-I’m-wet) valley, I used to scoff at the term ‘wind chill’.
Thought anybody considering a little wind was a pansy.

Heh, after a few winters here, my tack has changed a bit.
Anything under 20° F, a slight breeze will cut yer face off.

It got down to -37° F one winter.
Then the winds came.

Life…and keeping it, became interesting.

The valley gets more than its share of rain.

We get more than our share of sun…and snow.

It’s a bit of a tradeoff.
So far, I think I have the better deal.

out the cabin window where I sit (winter before last);
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Woke up to our first "snow". After all the horror-deep-snow pics, I feel funny even mentioning it. Looked out the winder, and gazed upon a "powdered sugared waffle" landscape.......maybe it was the frightful Grizleey Bear waffles we had the day before??? 30 degrees, just enough glaze, all compounded by a strong wind! I'm with you, Gary, on the "Wind-Kill Factor"! Gotta put the hose away and go buy "Ice-melt" at Low-down Lowes.....Brrrr
 
Woke up to our first "snow". After all the horror-deep-snow pics, I feel funny even mentioning it. Looked out the winder, and gazed upon a "powdered sugared waffle" landscape.......maybe it was the frightful Grizleey Bear waffles we had the day before??? 30 degrees, just enough glaze, all compounded by a strong wind! I'm with you, Gary, on the "Wind-Kill Factor"! Gotta put the hose away and go buy "Ice-melt" at Low-down Lowes.....Brrrr

You got this
Best to stay on top of it


Covering the locks is my finishing touch to the inevitable, whenever it finally gets here;

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nothing more aggravating than fiddly farting around with an iced over lock in below zero weather...and wind
 


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