Smartie's Bar & Grill #73

Yes and spring is so welcome.

 

It must be more sinister than that.

 

I dunno.I'll have to tink about.

 

We've only got one really noxious spider in Oregon, the Hobo spider, a relative of the Brown Recluse spider. Left untreated, its bite can be serious. I know because I've been bit by one.

One time on a hog hunt in Texas I almost walked right into a gigantic banana spider who had cast a web across a narrow ranch road that reminded me of dang tennis net. Scared the crap out of me. It was dark, and I was using a flashlight to look at the ground ahead of me as per our guide's instructions because of your frickin moccasins. He saw the web and yelled "STOP!" I froze, looked up, and my face was about 12 inches from that spider that was as big as this one ...



Cuss words!

He had actually built that web like a tennis net, and I ended up crawling underneath it.

 

Spring is sinister enough.

 

Yeah, those deer flies are killers.

 

Ditto pollen.

 

You have to let them do what they do and their webs are magnificent. It is a real shame to mess up something that took so much energy and time to make. We have the golden orb spider which is similar to the banana...I think.

 

Especially when you mess it up with your face - at night - in the dark.

 

Been there and done that, we have several spiders here that are poisonous the widow family (black, brown and red) and the brown recluse.

 

I was wrong.It was a Brazilian Wandering spider.
But there was some kind of spider from Costa Rica.

 

I just went and watched a Red Widow which is rare and only
found in parts of Florida.
Brown Recluse are in many states.I think they are fast when
stalking prey.They supposed to be slow,however when taking
naps in leftover laundry piles.
I once caught Red Velvet ant { Cow ant }.
I have caught many Black Widows.If you don't make a
point of bothering a Black Widow they aren't gonna attack.
They just as soon be left alone.You leave them alone and they
leave you alone.Unlike some pests.Like an untrained and
mean pit bull.Or Rottweiler.Or Doberman.

 

The reaction to the web can be worse than the bite.



Talk about fear and loathing!

 

Which is more a shock to one's internal scare factor.
But then look what happened to daredevil Steve Irwin.
He was askin' for it.I used to watch him bait and even torment
animals and what have you.
Finally got unlucky and took a jab right in the heart by a stingray barb.
Irwin was just a cocky A-wipe.Once held his one month old son
in his arms while hand feeding a crocodile.

 

Something I learned as a young police officer ...

So if people hear something or see a shadow move at night, they often call the police to report a possible prowler. We respond and check all around the outside of the house and back yard. On a typical residential lot, there is a narrow strip of land on either side of the house. People often plant shrubs along the sides of their houses and more shrubs along the fence line that separates their property from the neighbor's property. These shrubs make the perfect anchors for spiders to spin their webs at night, and they spin them all the way across that narrow strip from the shrubs on the side of the house to the shrubs along the fence. After walking into those a couple of times on prowler calls - trying to be stealthy and not using the flashlight - I learned to give up stealth and use the friggin flashlight.

 

His wife apparently thought he was a lovable lug, and they usually know.
Most men have the idiot gene lurking inside waiting to take them down.
Overconfidence is a dead giveaway.

 

You may be on to something. I had a brown one on the wall of my shower yesterday. I worry about the brown recluse spider. Daddy long legs get a pass here as they are friendly.

 

For all those who wondered "Do a chicken have lips".

 

Was watching a young group of Christian lads and lasses getting ready to meditate watching a sunset by the Ocean. I told my wife "Hey let's go watch the sunset". We walked down to towards the beach and I found a palm street to sit under. Wasn't a matter of seconds I came out from under that tree screaming as I had sat in a pile of red ants. True story. Just ask those people in Puerto Vallarta Mexico about the crazy white guy running naked into the ocean while those poor Christian kids received a first hand lesson in indecent exposer. You might say they got to see a early moon.

 

They can quarantine me in Lubbock for two weeks if they wish. As long as they have a fiddle playing in the band.

 

LOL - No problem. My wife is actually quite fond of my lewd behavior.

If you don't mind sharing your recipe that would be great. Aside from the jugs I should have all the equipment I'll need...

 

This Summer, head to Canyon TX. The Palo Duro Canyon State Park hosts a Texas play nightly in their outdoor amphitheater inside the canyon. It has music, dancing, and even fireworks at the end. It's set in the time of the Texas Revolution.

 

Find quality cider, it’s seasonal and getting a bit late but you might still find some. If not martinelli’s makes a pretty good hooch, even treetop will work. It must say refrigerate after opening or no preservatives or both, or at least not have preservatives listed. For each gallon of cider you need one pound of light brown sugar (woot woot). Mix cider and sugar in fermenter and aerate . Pitch a cider yeast. I’ve used the yellow, green, and red packets of red star with good results, but if you are thinking of 5 gallons, spring for WLP 775. Once your gravity is down to the 022 range, have a little nip. If it’s too sweet give it a couple more days and have another nip, refrigerate when you get the dryness you prefer. You can force carb, but there is plenty of sugar left to bottle carb. I got a new dry yeast that I’m using now, it’s pretty good. I like dry yeast for small batches.

 

YIKES!

I didn't know. My sister is responsible for 18 separate locations. She's going to set up another hospital with new terminals tomorrow.

I don't like hearing that she's going into pits of infection.

She's a year older than I am and has had health issues for most of her life.