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Writer's picturethand141homestead

Excited for the Season! 9/19/23

Well, it's another rainy Tuesday morning in upstate New York. The last few days have been cloudy so I can hear the generator running in the wood shed as I type.

When I woke up this morning I was at 12.97 volts, so I decided to make some power the expensive way for a bit. It pays big dividends to keep on top of both your power consumption and production when you are off the grid.

I pulled the bow out and shot it a few days ago leaving much to be desired. ( See Video ) But when I shot the muzzleloader and the 30-06 yesterday I was quite pleased.

My groups fit largely within the size of my bladed hand which honestly isn't that great. But the extenuating circumstance of the expensive and now legally laden process of buying ammo keeps me from shooting like I used to.

My bladed hand is much smaller than the kill zone of a whitetail deer, so if I can keep my rounds that close to where I am aiming, clean, efficient, kills with minimum suffering for the animal will be the norm.

Just as a side note, I couldn't find my round targets so I had to use one of my FBI pistol qualification targets to sight in. Back in the day when Ammo was cheap and plentiful, I would take myself through the FBI qualification every six or eight months with my everyday carry pistol. It was fun and very prudent as in a self-defence situation you own every round you send down range.

Now with the background checks to buy Ammo in NYS ( which doesn't work I am told by two separate retailers), it's a back door to keeping a list of who owns what guns. I hope the challenges to the unconstitutional law are successful.

Since it is raining today I guess I will prep the woodshed to receive this year's firewood, If there are any breaks in the rain maybe I will be able to put some in and get some more split.

The nights have become cooler, which means two things to this old fat man: 1. good night's sleep wrapped up in the blankets, and 2. It's time to get the wood in.

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With the rain, my hunting clothes are on the line (washed in scent-free detergent) getting rewashed with pure rainwater. Now I just need to head out to my chosen spot, clear some shooting lanes and see if it has changed in the last 4 or 5 years.

I downloaded Onyx Hunt to my cell phone to find state land to hunt that might be closer to me, and productive. I really liked it when I used it to define the homestead's boundaries. It will show you exactly where you are standing in relation to property lines. That has to be a good thing with my sense of direction!

The chickens seem to be doing okay, I put the silkies and Bantams in with the main flock last week. I haven't seen any real fighting but when the flock is in for the night the newbies are all bunched up in the corner.

I have noticed that one of the Bantam roosters will go outside for a bit, but for the most part, the rest stay in the coop. Here's praying they fully integrate sooner rather than later.

At some point after hunting season, I will be sending several roosters to freezer camp. Not a fun idea for me, but I want to have one rooster to service the full-size hens, a Bantam roo to service the Bantam hen, and a silkie rooster for the silkie hen. Hopefully, at some point, they will intermingle to bring out the best traits of them all.

Well, That's what I have for this morning. I guess it's time to finish my coffee and head out to the woodshed. It will get really cold in here this winter if I don't! As always y'all have a great day, and God Bless!



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