The North American Model of Wildlife Management has set the standard for maintaining healthy wildlife populations upon the landscape by providing public access to public resources, and providing engaging recreational opportunities to connect folks with the landscape. A few years ago I was asked how I thought we could get more people interested in conserving land and water, and my answer was simple.
Teach them to hunt, fish, and trap. Give people an activity which intimately connects them to these resources, and then give them a place to do it.
Hiking, bird-watching, and photography are great, and I enjoy them all, but hunting is immersive to a degree which simply cannot be replicated by less demanding interactions. This very fact has driven the success of the North American Model. Hunters, trappers, and anglers, have worked hand-in-hand with state and federal wildlife agencies to restore and maintain healthy wildlife populations for over a century.
President Trumpβs proclivity for spouting exaggerated numbers, unwarranted boasts and outright falsehoods has continued at a remarkable pace. As of Aug. 5, his 928th day in office, he had made 12,019 false or misleading claims, according toΒ the Fact Checkerβs databaseΒ that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement the president has uttered.
I’m already missing the weekend π but it will come around on the guitar πΈ. Or the calendar π . Just wait. The work weeks are the brief intermission for the money π΅ to buy beer, gasoline and ammunition. I also need to get my hunting license. I should just order it online.
Today will be mostly sunny π, with a high of 83 degrees at 4pm. Two degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around July 26th. Maximum dew point of 64 at 6pm. Summer returns today. π Southwest wind 5 to 8 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. It was sticky. The high last year was 79 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1944. I bet Bud Shuster would approve, he had a thing for all things ninety nine.
Looking forward to the Sweet Corn π½ I got from Shauls this weekend. It should be good for dinner tonight. Later on I’ll probably run to Walmart and do some shopping and maybe some fishing π£ on the Hudson River. Might be a nice evening π for that.
IΒ fixed my wallet again. πΒ I like have a wire to tie it to my belt in case it falls out, but I keep ripping the wallet where I run the wire from it. This time I put a whole through the leather with my pocket knife, so hopefully this won’t rip out so quickly. I am trying to get more time out of it, because I hate to throw away something that is still at least marginally useful.
Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 5am. Mostly cloudy π§, with a low of 66 degrees at 4am. Five degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 65 at 7pm. West wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was sticky. It got down to 68 degrees. The record low of 43 occurred back in 1957.
Another picture perfect weekend on tap? π Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 81. Maximum dew point of 63 at 2pm. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Maximum dew point of 65 at 1pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 81 degrees. π» I’m really surprised that we are going to have another extraordinary weekend. This nice weather is tough on the bank account but summer is rapidly fading away. Maybe back to the Potholers? I do like they have outhouses there, much easier than setting up the shitter bucket. π½
I do still need to look at getting a better camp shovel. π₯Β Dick’s would be a good place to get that but depise that place as they always screwed up things when I’d buy guns there and I don’t like that business’ politics. I’d rather support a business that supports our rights. I wish Albany had a Gander Mountain but we have many whinners in our community. Maybe the hardware store or Walmart. At least some businesses have courage. π
We’ve long been obsessed with the super-elderly. How do some people make it to 100 or even 110 years old? Why do some regions — say, Sardinia, Italy, or Okinawa, Japan —produce dozens of these “supercentenarians” while other regions produce none? Is it genetics? Diet? Environmental factors? Long walks at dawn?
A new working paper released on bioRxiv, the open access site for prepublication biology papers, appears to have cleared up the mystery once and for all: It’s none of the above.