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Everything posted by Spaulding Smails
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@Reagan1k that's really well said. One advantage we have is that the property is almost perfectly square. So, it "feels" bigger than it is. I like the suggestion about creative feeding times. Any thoughts / suggestions on encouraging bedding areas?
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Yep. And I agree with everything you said. The silver lining is that we've already seen at least some improvement. And, if we can snag the 200 acres, then we eliminate some of that pressure and insulate ourselves even more. Just takes time and money, I suppose!
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Great thread. Great insight. And great pics of great bucks! All of this is so encouraging for my place. We purchased it three years ago. 250 acres in far western Kimble County. Low fence. It had been pretty heavily hunted without much though on conservation from the previous owner. From a property management standpoint, we have not done a deer survey, but we did add two cisterns plumbed from the well. We feed protein spring / summer along with alfalfa here and there in the summer. This summer we added a turkey feeder. We have whitetail, axis and turkey. Hogs are sporadic. From a hunting standpoint, we saw a few smallish bucks in year 1. And a decent amount of doe. We harvested two whitetail that season. My son shot a cull buck (4.5 year old 4-pt, his first buck) in year 1, and my BIL shot a doe. Year 2, we started seeing better deer and more of them. I shot a decent 30" axis buck that summer, and my wife shot a doe. That was it. This year, my BIL shot an axis doe, and I shot a doe. We may take one more doe next weekend. As a whole, the deer herd seems to be plentiful. The last hunt we were on, we counted 22 whitetail and 7 axis. Honestly, we probably need to shoot more doe. We were seeing some much improved bucks before the season, and started to see some irregular points here and there which was fun. Based on game cams and what we saw from the stand, I would guess that our buck to doe ratio was probably 30/70 this summer. So, not ideal. And, once the season started, we see probably 90% doe. Which leads me to my question... What's the thought on impact of adjacent properties for a smaller place like ours? We have three neighbors total. Mostly decent sized (600+ acre) ranches, with some hunting pressure from what we can see. The smaller place (200 acres) next to us is pretty heavily hunted. And the guy's a dick. We've talked to him and the two other landowners sparingly. One leases it to hunters, the other doesn't but said he and his family hunt quite a bit. No conversations about conservation, but my guess is, based on the disappearance of bucks (both on cameras and from the stand), that they're probably shooting immature bucks without any regard for longterm herd improvement. Also, any idea what the target deer population per 100 acres is in that area? Ultimately, we're seeing wildlife improvements, and I'm optimistic that we'll continue that trend in coming years. I'm going to upgrade our protein feeder situation this spring. We're early in the process. And, we're going to talk to the neighbor this spring about potentially purchasing his property. We bought the 250 acres from him, and he indicated when we bought that he'd be willing to sell. That would mitigate some of the conservation issues if we can pull it off.
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I didn't get all of the details, but a buddy of mine was looking at similar property sizes (20-50 acres) near Telluride a few years ago. Property was relatively affordable, but according to him, there's some funky stuff that you have to look out for with regards to water rights. Between that and construction costs, it was a deal-breaker for him. But, yeah. Telluride is at the top of the list for us. We have a beach house on the docket within the next year or so, but once we get that under our belt, Telluride may be next.
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You are correct. I didn't do a good job of explaining about "landing on top". I meant bearing on the post via the notch with through-bolts. You are correct about joist hangers. Not sure what I was thinking there. Should only be the joists attaching to the beams.
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i mentioned it up thread, but we arrived to Telluride the day they shut down the resort in March. Luckily, the first night was at a hotel, and we hadn't yet checked into our VRBO. I was able to push our reservation back to the same dates in 2021. So, unless the mountain shuts down again, we're going. With our close friends. Five kids between the two families. Both driving. It's about as good as we could ask for a family vacation during Covid. Since we're driving, we'll be loaded up with groceries. We weren't planning on going out to eat much last year, but this year, every meal will be at the house. Ski-in / ski-out setup. I've been very impressed by Telluride's communication and proactive measures to minimize headcount on the mountain. Steps like one family to a lift, etc may lengthen lift lines, but should improve social distancing. Take out the restaurants and apres ski activities, and I'm of the opinion that this situation is about as minimal of an exposure risk as we could ask for.
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Eat What You Kill - Game Recipes, Food Prons
Spaulding Smails replied to Anastasis's topic in Food and Travel
I'm late to the game here, but what did you end up doing? What cuts did you have? I've only ever had it in stew, and it was good. Also had fried beaver tail which was interesting. -
I would think 4x6 should be fine especially if you're using PT. Joist size and spacing is going to be more critical than post size. I wouldn't go less than 2x8 at 16" OC. Also, try to land your joists on top of the post so they are bearing weight down on the post. If you can't do that, make sure you use joist hangers. The big advantage to the 6x6 posts is that you can notch on both sides so your joists sit flush with the edge of the post. You don't end up with much meat when notching a 4x6 for joists to sit on top. I did a treehouse for my kids four years ago. It's 6' x 8'. I did 6x6 Cedar posts with 2x8 Cedar joists and double 3/4" galvanized through-bolts. It's a brick shit house. I'll send pics if you want them for reference. This website is a good reference for joist size and spacing. https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/floor-joists-span-d_1479.html
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Last winter, we did a work weekend in our neighborhood. Clearing brush, fixing fences, etc. A different neighbor of mine wouldn't even let me put a chainsaw in the back of his truck. He didn't want it to mess up his bedliner. Evidently, I live in a neighborhood full of pussies.
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You serious, Clark? Because according to your criteria, this is a "truck".
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Lulz.... I hope you backed that 32' gooseneck into the driveway like a champ while he was outside changing his blinker fluid in his Audi. Yeah, that neighbor of mine drives a Toyota Sequoia that he refers to as his "truck". I tend to lean towards a Swiss approach to neighborhood conflict, so I just grin and nod. He also refers to his riding lawnmower as his "tractor". So, there's that.
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My neighbor ragged me when I got my F350 two years ago, insinuating that it was overkill. I reminded him that I own a construction company. He rebutted that I was an "office guy". Truth is, I use the piss out of it hauling our tractors, the occasional dump trailer, etc. He just never sees that when I pull in the driveway. A few months ago while doing our backyard pool project, I rolled up to the house with a pallet of tile in the bed of the truck, and three pallets of stone on the trailer. My truck didn't squat at all. Needless to say, he hasn't criticized my choice since.
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Previous two tips plus get a long spatula so you can scoop everything up at once. Also make sure you get good bread. Bread makes all the difference IMO.
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Grape jelly and eggs. I used to love it as a kid. Started when some grape jelly spilled off a biscuit. I also love Sriracha on chicken salad. Not sure if that counts, but it's the perfect mix for some reason.
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You're the third person that's mentioned the grilled cheese + mayo thing within the last month to me. Sounds like I need to give it a shot.
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What are some of the best meals you've ever had?
Spaulding Smails replied to fakebusiness's topic in Food and Travel
Love this topic. K Paul's in New Orleans. Took my wife along with a client and his wife. Everything was amazing. Steak. Redfish. Bread pudding. Wine. Went back a few months later and it was meh. Not sure what it was about that first trip. Apis in Spicewood. Did the pre-fixe tasting. Blew me out of the water. Chef brought us into the back for a special dessert since it was my wife's birthday. Same thing, though. Went back a few months later, and it was just decent. I cooked BBQ at the deer lease several years ago. We had an old pit, and I did brisket and pork spare ribs and a big pot of pinto beans. Something about it was just over the top good. I also grilled a whole beef tenderloin with mushrooms and asparagus over an open fire on the banks of the Devlis River during a three day kayak trip. Bag wine and tenderloin under the stars was glorious. There's also been a hand full of meals we've cooked at home that have been off the charts. There's so many variables there which gives me that much more respect for a great chef and a well run restaurant. -
2020 Little League Thread of Dominance
Spaulding Smails replied to pepper brooks's topic in Baseball
The previous one he had been on was sponsored by the little league, so it was very affordable. $500 all in. This one has paid coaches, etc. $1800 for the spring. But, I don't think that includes uniforms, so tack on a few hundred more. -
Has anyone heard any verifiable information from the IRS regarding taxes on PPP funds? I had a call with my CPA last week about the PPP and tax implications. Seems like that is still up in the air. No news. He said that he didn't think there would be clarification until after the inauguration as there would probably be some better language in a second round of PPP funds (even if we don't qualify for those) that would set the precedent from a tax perspective. Worst case scenario, we rat-holed 30% of our PPP into a separate account (out of sight... out of mind) in the event that taxes are due on those funds. If not, we pay off several financed vehicles and invest at a much faster rate on some of our pending 2021 capital purchases. FYI, we're 99.99% confident that our PPP is going to be 100% forgivable. '
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2020 Little League Thread of Dominance
Spaulding Smails replied to pepper brooks's topic in Baseball
Just made the deposit for first year of club ball for my son. 13U. He did a quasi-select team sponsored by the LL the last two years. The team kind of fell apart after the fall season, so we're making the leap. I had always been averse to true club teams for younger kids and he's typically been middle-of-the pack, so clubs team weren't really justified given his skill level either. But at 13, it's probably time. It'll be nice for him to get a new set of eyes and better coaching. -
Years ago, I had a nice little Tejas offset pit. I was smoking some pork spare ribs and a few chickens. We had about a dozen people coming over. The meat looked great, and both my wife and I were actually ahead of schedule on food prep. We were building out house at the time and in the middle of frame stage, so my wife and I decided to take a quick trip out there before our guests arrived to check things out. We were back at the house within an hour. I went out to check on the pit, and the thermostat was PEGGED. I hadn't cleaned out the main chamber in a while, and grease spilled into the firebox. Massive grease fire. Chicken and ribs were essentially charcoal. We ended up eating sausage wraps instead. The fire got so hot, that it actually ruined that thermostat.
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We were in Telluride last March when it closed, and if the mountain closes, the whole town will shut down. We caught the tail end of restaurants being open, but everyone basically said, "if you don't live here, then you need to leave". Granted, that was right when shit started hitting the fan, and nobody had any clue with regards to contagiousness or how COVID spread. We're going back there for a re-do in March over spring break. Based on the limited capacity on lift ticket sales, I'm anticipating the mountain to be open, but bars / restaurants to be at a minimum of severely reduced capacity and maybe even closed completely. As previously posted, I think trips to ski resorts this winter will be fine if you're in a VRBO and prefer to be low-key, then you may have an awesome trip if the snow is good. Lift lines should be short and the mountains should be wide open. But, if you're looking at a hotel-style room and enjoy the apres ski experience and milling around with lots of friends, this may not be the year for you.
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I get the point, and I read the title. But, my point is confrontation is valid when somebody completely drops the ball. Like if the service tech would have no-showed on those two days you took off. In this case, I don't think confrontation is valid... yet. You're obviously a successful business owner in a professional environment, and we're talking less than $1,000 here for expenses that should be part of your budget for a discrepancy over hours billed. And you had to come in on your day off. That sucks. But, it's part of owning a business. I get that it's frustrating, but not worth a confrontation and calling somebody's boss's boss at this point. Write em a check, find somebody else to do the work next time, and move on.
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2020 Fishing: Get out there and wet some hooks
Spaulding Smails replied to Dances with Dachshunds's topic in Hobbies
Nothing better than a good bite on a spoon. Probably my favorite lure to chunk because it's so stinkin simple and is a tried and true money maker.
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