Well...

"...I've had all that I wanted of a lot of things I've had and a lot more than I needed of some things that turned out bad."

Thank you Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash for that line, it says a lot about a life and the man who lived it and how he looked at life. I've kind of enjoyed a life like that myself; perhaps I have been blessed.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Great Fishing Trip - And Not Just Another Fish Tale...

Too fat, too dumb, but quite happy
to be out fishing with my son Brendan.

...because this one comes with pictures. Today, Brendan and I went fishing on the Super Hawk out of Point Lookout. I tried to wake him up at 5AM but as usual, on a Friday night, he was out late last night or should I say until early this AM. He was up and at em though by about 10AM so, I asked if he wanted to go out on a half day boat (actually a 4 to 5 hour trip). He said sure and I had him make the sandwiches while I did some other things - like have breakfast and some coffee. Sooner than later, we were off to Point Lookout and we had the poles, reels, tackle box, sun block, caps, bait (they give out bait on the boat but I usually take a long a box of frozen squid too) and everything we needed for a fun day.

Brendan looking cool and ready to fish.

In past years, we try to get out to fish a few times during the spring, summer and early fall but last year we never got out on a boat, and today's trip was the first fishing trip for us at all this year. I don't know if it was because it was our first fishing trip together in too long awhile, or if it was because it was a really nice day with calm seas, or if it was that each of us had a great fishing partner in the other, or that we met some nice folks on the boat, or that we actually caught a good number of fish but we had one heck of a great father and son day. I really am lucky to have a son who still likes to hang out with me at the age of 21. We shoot together, hunt together, fish together and get some other stuff dome together in there too. Now if only I could get my wife and daughter to come on one of our fishing trips with us, I would be in heaven.

When Brendan and I go to the range, I am always proud to see how well he shoots since I taught him to shoot. When we go fishing or hunting it is the same feeling for me because I taught him how to hunt and fish. With shooting, well - he cannot out shoot me yet even though he is a darned good shot. When it comes to fishing though, I guess I have to take second place. While I caught the first fish today, he caught a lot more of them than did I and bigger ones too. He guessed he caught about 20 to 25 of them, I think he caught closer to 25 or 30 though neither of us was keeping an accurate count. As for me, I caught about 12 or maybe 15 at most. We were fishing for sea bass and porgies (aka: Scup) and they were most of what we caught. They were mixed in with a skate, some bergalls, and a fluke. Others, on the boat, brought in an American eel and a couple of blackfish along with the same types of fish we caught. As for our fish, Brendan caught the fluke (only a couple of inches short of the 20.5" size requirement) and I caught the skate; both were throw backs. We both caught sea bass and porgies too, in fact they were most of what we pulled up over the rail. Most of the bass and scup (aka: porgies) we caught were not keepers. We were lucky enough though to have caught 5 or 6 keeper sea bass and 3 or 4 keeper porgies. While not a lot and not very big, they will add to tomorrows dinner nicely.

Besides fishing we had some fun looking at other boats, trying to figure out where we were, trying to guess what ships were hauling, and feeding the seagulls. Watching the gulls twist and turn in flight then dive into the water while trying to grab a tasty morsel (piece of clam or squid), that we threw to them, out of the water was neat. Neater than that was watching them catch some of those tidbits in midair. Yep, it was a good day.

Brendan showing off a nice sized porgy.

In all, when it came to fish we caught, we wound up with probably only 3 or 4 pounds of fish fillets. The cost of our trip was $40 each for the party boat fee, $6 for two pool entries, about $7 for the frozen squid, about $5 for gas, about $12 for our sandwich fixins and snacks, about $6 for the drinks in our cooler, and a $10 tip for the mates. All in all, a total of $126 and that divided by 4 pounds (at best) of fish. That works out to about $31.50 per pound. Wow - fish are sure getting expensive, but as they would say in those credit card commercials - so much for this, so much for that - SPENDING A DAY FISHING WITH YOUR SON - AND KNOWING HE HAD A GREAT TIME - ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS!

All the best,
Glenn B

My Next To Last or Possibly My Last Firearms Qualification...

...as a federal agent took place today. I shot a 250/250 with the issued Sig 229 and then shot a 249/250 with the Glock 19. At the 25 yard line, I jerked the trigger on the very last shot and it flew a bit high and to the left, enough so to cause it to be inside the four ring. If this winds up being my last qualification it sure would have been nice to be going out with double distinguished expert scores. Hopefully I will get a chance to shoot next quarter but as things are turning out I may not have the opportunity - but I digress.

The shoot today was a lot of fun. Out of about one dozen shooters, I knew 3 of them. Man oh man there are a lot of newer and younger agents on the job these days; makes me feel like a dinosaur. It was nice for me that I also knew two of the three range officers there today. My cousin John being one of them. He is a good guy, an excellent firearms instructor/range officer and fun to BS with - and I am not saying that because he is family but because it is true.

After shooting today, I did something I do not usually do, I left before the guys firing long guns shot. The pistols quals and tactical shoots were completed but I usually stay until the end, I just felt like I needed to get home and get some things done but for the life of me I cannot remember of what  was thinking when I thought that. I did get to go to a Greek grocery store where I picked up some feta cheese, pita bread, a couple of varieties of olives and some almonds and also stopped at a pet shop where I picked up some black worms and 6 Cardinal Tetras (hard to find healthy looking ones over the past year or so and these looked almost excellent so I took the chance). Now before it gets really dark, I had best go out and collect my tortoises before it becomes a chore to find them. Again, I am digressing from writing about my last o next to last range day, but then again that is how it was, just another day with qualifications thrown in there.

I will miss range days a lot once I am retired.

All the best,
Glenn B

Double Indemnity, of a Sort, for Survival of the Species

As I posted before, my Hermann's Tortoise laid two clutches of eggs awhile back. They were laid about two weeks apart and consisted of 4 eggs each for a total of 8 eggs. I imagine that laying more than one clutch really is a sort of double indemnity for the species. Multiple clutches probably help the species survive not only because there are more eggs and thus more chances for new tortoises but because the clutches can be laid in different places and thus not all eggs would be detected at once by any predator.

As for the eggs my female laid, as it turned out, only 1 egg in each clutch wound up being fertile (this was the first time for her and the male, and while he is a bit young for a breeder, he is obviously endowed). One of the eggs, the one that was fertile from the first clutch, hatched on July 29th and I expected the one from the second clutch to hatch about 2 weeks after the other one. Over this past weekend, I was somewhat disappointed to see the egg had cracked and some of the inner membrane was sticking out somewhat precariously. I left it in the incubator anyway, hoping this was done by the tortoise moving around inside because it was ready to hatch even though I did not expect that for more than a week. On Tuesday, I took another look and the egg had hatched, half of the shell demolished and kicked away and the other half complete and still laying atop the tortoise hatchling. When I looked again last night, the baby tortoise had crawled away from the shell and buried itself in the substrate within the hatching chamber of the incubator. So there had been nothing to worry about after all.

It is nice to see these hatchlings made it from me caring for the adults properly, to fertilization, through egg laying, through my digging them up and putting them into the incubator, all the way to hatching. They can now live a long time, probably up to 40-50 years if not more. It is doubtful I will be around that long to care for them so, I am hopeful my son and daughter will learn how to care for them properly and that they will keep them. My daughter helps with their care now, as does my wife, feeding them often and y sons takes somewhat of an interest in them. They are very easy to care for if you take care to reliably supply them with a few specific requirements for their well being and if you make certain, while  mowing the backyard grass, to keep an eye open for them. (No the babies will not be allowed to roam the backyard as they would be able to escape though just about any crack or hole in the fences or get picked off by just about any bird; only our larger juvenile and adult torts get that outdoors roaming privilege during the nicer weather.)

All the best,
Glenn B

Double Indemnity...

...you know, when a life insurance policy pays double because someone died due to an accident. Double Indemnity also has a double meaning, well sort of, because it is also the name of one of the best thriller/suspense movies ever. The plot of the movie revolves around a murder committed and made to look like an accident so the wife (Barbara Stanwyck) of the deceased can collect double the insurance payout. This is all helped along by her insurance agent (Fred MacMurray). It looks like all is going well for the evil duo even though the insurance company manager thinks the husband committed suicide, for whatever reason, trying to make it look like an accident to leave double the money to his wife. The insurance company investigator (Edward G. Robinson) gives the manager the low down on why it could never have been suicide and it looks like the wife and the agent are going to be in the money. That is until the insurance company investigator feels like there is s chunk of concrete in his gut. It is probably acid reflux due to the cigars he smokes but he thinks it is a hunch that is eating away at him, a hunch that there was no way it was suicide, no way it was an accident, but more likely that it was murder. 

In my opinion, this is one of Edward G. Robinson's best roles and maybe the top for both Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck too.  A great movie, even if in B&W and and released in 1944, what a classic!

All the best,
Glenn B

What A Happy Day - Nothing Could Make It Less Than That

This afternoon, my wife, daughter, son, daughter's boyfriend, his parents, my wife's mother and brothers, and my brother's wife all came to our place for a BBQ. Little did my daughter know she had been set up. After we ate, she and her boyfriend took our 4 dogs for a walk. During the walk, he said something to the effect of "Hey wait a minute, what does Lucy have?" (Lucy is one of our Chihuahuas), he dropped to his knee, pulled out the ring and started to propose. He told us later, that Celina just said "I don't care what she has, let's get going". He mumbled this and  stuttered that and then just spit it out, that is the big question, and finally she was paying attention. All the while, 2 of his friends were nearby taking pictures of all of this. She said yes, and suddenly people from a nearby house were applauding. It seems the two young lady photographers had to ask some folks, nicely, to get off of their own lawn so as not to be in the pics and they obliged. They also stood watching through their window for the big moment and wund up being the cheer leading section. Very nice of them indeed!

Well, when the love birds got back to our house, we had the decorations and Champagne ready. Celina showed off her new rock. Everyone was happy. It was a good day all in all, what could make it stink - nothing at all no matter how bad. After all, it was her and his day. It was really nice for them and for the rest of us.

All the best,
GB

Our Appleseed Shoot Last Saturday

Brendan and I were pretty hyped up, last week, thinking about the then upcoming Appleseed Shoot on this past Saturday and Sunday. I was pretty amazed when he was up and at em at the prescribed time, one at which the sun itself was still looking pretty sleepy. Yes it was early for us, we planned on leaving by 6:30 at the latest and were up close to 5. Since we had gotten all our gear ready to go the night before, we were running right on time, even a little early. It gave us enough time to hit a local deli to get some breakfast and coffee and to pick up some sandwiches for lunch. I had been planning on making all that myself, but was really zonked the night before (I have been really run down lately and did not get a lot of sleep for the last 3 nights) so, I did not get to go to the supermarket to pick up cold cuts and such. That cost me dearly at the deli, live and learn I prepped well for day 2 on Saturday night but I am getting way ahead of myself.


Sooner than later, we were on the road headed to the range at Calverton, NY. That is about a 53 mile drive for us, one that during the normal course of our day would be a drag but that was not bad at all so early on a Saturday morning. There was no rush hour traffic as there would have been on a weekday, no beach goers (too early), hardly any speed traps set up, and not even just the normal amount of traffic of midday on any day. That made for a drive of just about an hour or a bit less.


When we got there, the gates were open (I won't talk about Brendan driving past the entrance, turning around, then missing it again before getting it right) and we drove right in. There were some cars parked to our left, all in a row, with a lady wearing a RWVA cap and we pulled in behind them. She greeted us with a big friendly smile. We had a nice chat while we waited for everyone else to show up. Soon after that, we were all headed toward the range. Once at the range, Brendan parked next to the guy who pulled into a space before us. As it turned out, the sand in that spot was loose and our front wheels dug in! Not a good sign but I got it out later on after a little effort. For now (for then?) we ignored it and got our gear, minus rifles, out and set up on the line. The rifles had to wait for safety reasons. The set up was a typical range, this one had an orange firing line and another orange line behind it which was a safety line we had to be behind whenever not on the firing line or forward of it such as when changing targets. I was surprised and somewhat , no not somewhat but very dismayed to see it was only a 25 yard line (though I believe the distance to have been debatable at a more likely 30 to 35 yards, so did Brendan and a few other seasoned shooters to who I spoke about it). I had believed we would be shooting out to at least 100 yards, maybe further, on an actual range of that distance. Instead, I discovered, again to my disappointment, that we would shoot at reduced sized targets at only 25 yards. Those tiny targets are all well and good for games and fun but they do not replicate what it is like to shoot at targets over real distance in my opinion. The real disappointment here was that we both had truly hoped to learn how to shot at distances greater than 50 yards (which is the farthest we usually shoot) while considering ballistics, wind and so forth. No big deal though, just a personal disappointment and  we would live with it and shoot at make believe distance using scaled targets.


The Calverton Range is what I would call fairly primitive along the lines of what is called a primitive campsite for comparison. Yes there are some developed aspects of it, it does have a backstop -basically the range was dug out of a hillside, target hangers consisting of poles with wire stretched between them and very flimsy cardboard backers strung along the target line, a firing line and a safety line but that was about it for our range. There were no benches, no tables, no overhang for protection from the sun, no restrooms (although there was a single port-a-potty about 50-75 yards from us). At another range we passed in the same complex there were benches for individual shooters (an addition since I was last at this range years ago). There is a reason this place is referred to as The Sand Pits, other than being on a gravel company's property from what I can tell, and it pretty much lives up to its name.  While we set up though, I got a lesson in what an Appleseed Junkie brings to a shoot. Many  seasoned shooters had pop up canopies. A great idea for a range like this one. They provided needed protection from what turned out to be a pretty hot and glaring sun. Brendan and I were invited to share the shade with a bunch of folks I would guess were of Chinese descent. A young lady named Ivy, among that group, and also one of the RWVA volunteers was nice enough to offer. Most folks also had those nylon fold-up chairs (sport's chairs?) and most had coolers full of icy cold goodness. We had lunch and water aplenty but no cooler. My forgetfulness on that one. Some folks also brought folding tables on which to set up their spotting scopes and other accessories and supplies. For the line, almost everyone had a shooting mat. We only had a single campers mat that sufficed and the RWVA guys lent us another. Just about everyone had other necessary items too, like sunscreen, hats, sunglasses and the like. I also brought along some bug spray for ticks. The east end of Long Island is notorious as a hot spot for Lyme Disease and having had it twice I did not want to get it again nor did I want Brendan to ever get it.


I can say this, it pays to be well prepared for such a shoot. Of course, Brendan and I had our guns & ammo, food, water (though I had to buy more water at lunchtime), sunscreen, hats, shooting glasses and muffs, and so on. We were ready and prepared to shoot but not prepared for the shoot as well as we could have been. So, on Saturday, I figured I had best correct that for Sunday and on Sunday I was better prepared.


Well, once everyone was set-up, the RWVA volunteer instructors, they are all volunteers, got the show underway with some range rules and safety training. They also brought up some history and would interject history into the firearms training at various points of the day. Most, if not all, of the history centered on April 19, 1775, the day the American Revolution commenced as a shooting war. (April 19 is also my wedding anniversary, the day a war of another type was commenced.) The safety training was fairly decent to pretty good, the history was just fun. I am always amazed at how few people have a clue as to our Nation's history; not that I am a historian but I do know some of the facts. Some people at this shoot did not know any of it from what I could tell. They know now though, and that is a good thing. Maybe, if it sank in a bit, or if they attend an Appleseed Shoot again when they will hear it all again, they will be ready to take up arms in defense of our Nation and the Constitution if ever needed here within our own borders or on foreign soil.


After the safety training and some history lessons came the shooting. We began with a volley of 13 rounds apiece at a redcoat target. Then we got serious and we fired at targets that were representative of a human torso at distances of 100 yards out to 400 yards. It was a single piece of paper with various sized target torsos on them, if I remember right they were scaled for 100, 200, 300 and 400 yards. I am guessing we shot at least 240 rounds at that target on Saturday. Almost all of the shooting was done from the prone position though some was also from the standing position. For the life of me I cannot recall if we got to the seated position on Saturday or if they was only on Sunday. All of the shooting was to be done with the shooters utilizing GI type adjustable slings and they showed us a few ways to use slings for support.  I was happy that Brendan got his first taste of using a sling for support and that I was reintroduced to it. They did not only teach use of the sling, they taught the basics such as sight alignment, sight picture, breathing, natural point of aim, trigger control, follow through and so on. They also included info on misfires, hangfires, sqibs, etc. and what to do if you encountered one. Safety was always the number one concern The instructors took turns in giving range commands or acting as range safety officers. It was all done very well.


If a shooter qualifies with a score of 210 or higher, then he or she gets a patch. neither Brendan or I achieved that score. Either one or both of us may actually have gotten that score but we did not realize that our early targets were being scored and tossed em out.Realistically though neither one of us probably qualified. I was shooting my SKS (which malfunctioned on Sunday and needs repairs for a problem I will not describe until it is fixed) and Brendan was shooting an AR. His batteries, in the red dot scope, failed and he had to switch to his other AR. He did well with both but better with the one with the red dot scope. I did okay, surprisingly good on some rounds and not as well on others, not keeping up any consistency. I was having some difficulty getting used to the scope and a lot more dealing with the sun and the temps in the low 90s (I am pretty sure it hut 93). All day in the sun just got to me and as the day wore on so did my eyesight wear down. By the time we were almost finished  I could barely see the front sight let alone focus on it. Getting older sucks. I think next time I go, I will bring a scoped 22 as quite a few folks had with them. Maybe my Marlin in 22 magnum. Yep, it is a bolt action. While it would be hard to shoot this course with a centerfire bolt action because it is timed, and the time is fairly brief, it could probably be done with a bolt action rimfire. Now there is something I forgot to mention earlier - while RWVA says you can bring any rifle, you probably are better off if you bring a semi-automatic and that uses removable box magazines that are at least of 10 round capacity (where legal). They give the shooter no consideration for loading time if you are loading individual rounds into something like an SKS or a Mosin-Nagant. I know already, that I can operate the Marlin bolt action fast but am not sure it would be fast enough for this course. I will practice with it between now and the next Appleseed I attend to get my speed up.  If I can get is fast enough, I figure I'll give it a try and save a lot on ammo costs - otherwise I may just throw a scope on my Ruger 10/22 and bring that along.
Lots of folks do pass the course with a qualifying score but I don't know if anyone got it on Saturday. They make a big deal about every accomplishment so I would have thought they would have made a big deal of it if they had awarded patches but I did not notice them doing it. So, I have to guess no one qualified. I will go again. Heck, I did go again on Sunday, because I liked it on Saturday.


On Sunday, as I said, my rifle failed and I switched to my SKS. I quit about 2/3 of the way through the day because trying to keep up while loading individual rounds into the SKS was futile. Besides that I was totally worn out. Day two would have been much more fun had Brendan come along. On the way home on day one, he had to pull over and had me drive the rest of the way home because he was passing out. The long day, the blazing sun, the heat had all gotten to him. When we got home I complained I was stiff and achy and he laughed at me. A couple of hours later he had the same complaint for himself. Oh the youth of today. I just smiled at him. He also had one heck of a sunburn regardless of the fact that he applied sunblock several times over the course of the day and I do mean several like about 8 to 10 times in about the 6 hours that this shoot lasted. The event day should have been longer but classes on both days were cut short, which I think was pure bullshit for the reasons given such as they had the range reserved for someone else on Sunday after 2:30, yet all of us had paid for full days - but I digress. As it turned out, probably mostly because of the sunburn, Brendan opted out for day two. I do not blame him, I have seen how badly he can burn and it is just as bad as I can burn or worse. Me, I also got some color, but I spent more time in the shade under canopies of other shooters than did he. I guess that made the difference because I was not badly burned.


As for Sunday overall, it was more of Saturday with a bit more advancement thrown in. As I said, I cut my day short for a few reasons but I still had fun. I am pretty sure I will go again but in cooler weather. Regardless of the minor annoyances I mentioned, it was truly a nice experience and the people running it made it that way. They were serious about safety and training but also made sure to throw in a few fun shoots each day, like shooting at an instructors old hat (he was just promoted from orange to red hat) and shooting at watermelons. As I mentioned above, all the folks from RWVA were volunteers. They had red hat instructors (veterans), orange hat instructors (new instructors), and blue hats (non-instructor volunteers). They were all great at getting their tasks done and doing it safely. They were also very personable. The shooters who attended also seemed to be mostly very nice folks. I am pretty sure if we keep going to these shoots we will be sure to make plenty of new friends among the instructors and the shooters.


If you are serious about improving your shooting skills, or about doing something patriotic regardless of your political stance) or if you just want to have a nice day shooting, I strongly recommend an Appleseed Shoot,


All the best,
Glenn B

Great Gun Movie Line

Mother speaking to her son, the assassin:

"A Beretta! A Beretta for your seventh birthday - the pistol of princes. No boy could have asked for more."

What a mom!

Music to my ears, from the movie Wild Target. Better than Shakespeare (well close to better anyway).

All the best,
GB

Today, August 2, 2011, Just Plain Sucked!

Today was not a good day for me. I am not going to go into why, nor will I complain about this little thing or that little thing even though there was a lot of that little pain in the arse stuff, for me, today. I have done that all too much throughout my life, that is complain about little things. In fact I have done it way too much. When a couple or a few little things build up, I often break down or rant and rave and make stuff worse by not helping make them better, then still have to try to fix things up. It does not help that I alienate folks (mostly family) by getting angry over small stuff to nothing. I can tell you, when they say "don't sweat the small stuff", they are right. It's just been really hard for me not to be bothered by all the minutiae at home. I guess my upbringing had a lot to do with it, I never learned any other way. No excuses, just reasoning as to why it happens. Anyway, I have improved much over the past few years. Still far from perfect in that regard but I have been getting better.


Then there is the big stuff; when it comes to the big stuff, well, I am usually much better able to handle it. For some reason it usually does not get me all bent out of shape or send me into a yelling and blaming tantrum when things go really bad. I just usually do what needs to be done when faced with bigger problems. I think today was a pretty good indication of that for myself but as I said, other than to say that today really sucked, I will not go into it in more detail. The only other thing I can say is that I hope I keep improving with the way I handle the little things and hope I keep on handling the big stuff, the same way I handled my day today. It's just better for everyone involved.

By the way, even though today sucked for me, I have to admit that I was lucky in a couple of ways because some things really fell into place for me. Not enough to counterbalance the crappy stuff but enough to put a smile on my face a couple of times today and one of those things was very important for me and my family. Just because you have a bad day is no reason to disregard the good that came along on that same day; heck, maybe it is more reason to look for the good or for ways to make things better. Despite having a bad day, I did manage to make something better for my family today and I guess that was the most important aspect of the day for me. Maybe, after all, today did not suck as bad as I was thinking it did - nah really it did but I was lucky there was something good about it too.


All the best,
Glenn B

Shotgun Shooter - Tacticool or Fool

Each time I think I have seen the dumbest, I see someone who, in my opinion, does something dumber. The video you are about to view is just over 4 years old but today was maybe the first time I saw it (I don't remember seeing it before for sure but it does seem vaguely familiar). If you have not seen it, it is worth watching. If you have seen it before, it is worth watching again. It is a fast one but one that should impart a good deal of wisdom to you relative to shooting a shotgun without a stock. It also goes to show that looking tacticool does not mean you know anything about firearms or shooting them. I think the guy was pretty much a jerk to have tried shooting that gun like he did, but he may be smarter now; I figure he learned something.



All the best,
GB

The Storm A Couple of Villages Over, Bigger Hail Was Falling - On Our Car

Speaking of hail (in my prior post), when my wife got home, she showed me our Toyota Corolla. She had it parked in an outside parking lot during the hail storm while in nearby New Hyde Park. She was inside watching the storm while pea to snowball sized hailstones bombarded that area. Yes, some hit our car. There are now many small dents all over the car, one large one the size of a baseball, the rear windshield was totally smashed, front windshield badly cracked, car interior covered with glass and soaking wet (including rear speakers). Luckily the car was parked and she was inside when this happened and Linda is okay just shaken up from the drive home with the car in such shape and while it was still raining somewhat. 

I have already made an insurance claim online. Hopefully they will respond quickly and get us a rental car until ours is repaired.  I wonder if I have that rental car coverage, I hope so. Well, I know the damage is covered.

All the best,
GB

Very Heavy Rain and Thunder and Lightning...

...and as if that was not enough you can add flooding and hail to it now. Those have been the local conditions in Central and Western XXXXX County and I live pretty much in the middle of the county. I was driving back to my office from XXXXXXX, XX when I decided to turn off of the highway because of the weather. Soon after, I decided it would be best to call it quites for the day and just head home because it was coming down so hard as to male driving very unsafe. Even with the wipers on full blast it was hard to see because of the rain. Then the thunder and lightning started and soon the rain was falling even harder. I pulled over in the parking lot of a drug store and waited it out and waited and waited. I sat there for over one hour and it did not abate. Then I figured, oh well, I'll head home but the road was flooded where an underpass went under rail tracks and I had to go another way. The street I drove down looked like a river, no exaggeration. The traffic on that other way was at a dead standstill. I tried another route and got through. Curbside on my block had a stream about 4 feet wide running down the block, the intersection at the corner was totally flooded. Just before I parked my car, the really hard stuff started to fall - hail stones. At first they were about the size of peas then within a couple of minutes they were the size of large marbles, like large cherries. I ran from the car into the house and got soaked in the course of about 15 seconds. I was greeted at the side door by the dog, they were pretty skittish, I guess the weather had gotten our doorbell to keep going off and that with the thunder, hail banging on the house and the heavy rain probably had them just about bonkers. I took the bell down and pulled out the batteries. Then I calmed the dogs and gave them a snack. Pepe, our male Chihuahua, would not take one and I had to calm him for over 10 minutes before he ate one. He must have been really bothered by all the din.

That kept up about 15-20 minutes after I got into the house. Then, almost as suddenly as it started I stopped hearing the hail ricocheting off of our windows. The dogs are calm now. I checked www.localweather.com and saw that 2-3 inches of rain had fallen in the hour before 4:46. My guess would be more than 2 1/2 inches all told around where I live after measuring the depth of water in 2 large basins in my yard. One had 2 1/2" the other had 2 3/4 inches. Luckily for us, no flooding that I have seen though I am sure some neighbors are not that lucky. I do not care where you live in the USA, 2-3 inches of rain in an hour is an overabundance of the wet stuff for sure.

That is it for now. I am going to see if the dogs will go out now that it has slowed down.

All the best,
Glenn B

Appleseed Shoot Day One...

Let me just say, it was a lot of fun, but there was some pain too. It was hot, about 93 degrees. There was no shade unless you brought your own as some folks did in the form of patio canopies or beach umbrellas. Live and learn, we brought neither. I sort of had hoped for an overhang at the range but should have known better having been to this one years ago and seeing it was little more than its nickname - the sandpits - implies. So, both Brendan and I got some sunburn. Him worse than me despite him using more sunscreen than me.

As if sunburn was not enough in the burn department, I took about 5 of Brendan's very hot shell casings against my skin. Those 5 were the ones that left blisters. The other 5 or 6, I was able to get off of me before they burned me. One of really hot ones that went down my shirt at the shoulder left a blister, then left a nice colorful red trail where it rolled down the front of my shoulder area once I managed to get it off of the area around my collarbone/lower neck. I also suffered additional pain in my back, hips, knees and shoulders and neck. I have arthritis and bursitis and it is to be expected.

Brendan is young but yet tonight he is now complaining of being stiff and achy too. He just told me, he is not going back for day 2 of this Appleseed Shoot. He says it is not because of his aches but because of his sunburn. That is understandable but is also a big downer for my psyche. I will miss him there tomorrow as I still intend to attend. The youth of today, I cannot explain it. Actually, I do not blame him what with his sunburn; another day like today would probably roast him but it is a disappointment to me that he will not be there with me.

I will talk more about the actual shoot in a later post. That’s it for now, I am going to enjoy a St. Pauli Girl bier, then hit the hay. I still have not cleaned my rifle and have to get up early to make sure I get it done in the morning before the shoot.

All the best,
Glenn B

Hatching Hermann's Tortoise

I only have two eggs left, out of 8 laid by my female Hermann's Tortoise in two clutches of 4 eggs each. The clutches were laid about 2 weeks apart and I expected the egg from the first clutch to hatch next week or the week after. Surprisingly, the only one that was actually fertile from the first clutch hatched this evening. I am pretty happy to see it made it all the way to hatching since that particular egg had a crack running around it for about 3/4 of its widest circumference. Luckily the inner membrane was apparently never torn and the baby seems to have developed okay.

Hermann's Tortoise,
hatching on July 29, 2011.
Click image to enlarge it.

The new tortoise hatchling is still partly in the shell and probably will not be all the way out for a day or two since it still has a good sized egg yolk attached. The big piece of egg shell, near the upper left of the photo, was already completely separated from the rest of the shell, so I put it to the side to be able to get the shot. I will leave it be for at least a couple of days before checking again, although I suppose I'll have to show my wife and kids sooner than later. With that written Brendan just came home and I showed it to him for a few moments. As for Linda & Celina, they may have to wait until Sunday.

With the tortoise back in the incubator, it is time to make sure we have everything ready for the Appleseed Shoot tomorrow.

All the best,
Glenn B

Visited My Mom Today...

...and have to say it was one heck of a visit if only just over an hour long. She is in a rehab center, after a fall, trying to get to the point where she can walk well enough to get her back to her assisted living apartment. When I got there, she was in the physical therapy room, sound asleep, sitting in a wheel chair. I woke her and she immediately put her head back down and was again out like a light. So, I woke her again and the second time she woke I got a big happy smile. She knew me by name, only forgot that once - she has pretty bad dementia. We got to talking a bit and the therapist came over, got her up, and had her walk to her room with her walker - unassisted. I guess that was a walk of about 40 yards. She made it all the way, though I think she was hoping to go back to sleep or just relax after the first few feet. Then she got to showing off for me and that gave her the impetus to carry on.


Once we got to her room, she was sat back into the wheelchair and I gave her a ride to the beach, about 1/4 to 1/3 of a mile from her place, maybe even 1/2 mile. Not far and an easy walk for me, easy for her too since she was riding in the chair. We chatted about this that and everything along the way. Once we got there, we sat and talked a bit more. She asked me, several times, who was I, not by name, but meaning who was I in relation to her. She was surprised each time to hear I was her son. She called me her brother when the therapist had her walk down the hall, called me her husband when I was walking her along, and as I said kept asking me what I was to her. A couple of times she asked me how was Linda (my wife) and did so by name, then said, "That is your wife, right". Then she asked if I had children and if they were well behaved. My kids are 26 and 21. She asked if my daughter was going to get married soon - pretty good she remembered she was not married and also asked how my son was doing and if he had a girlfriend yet. As far as I know he is between girlfriends so she got that right too. Then she said too bad she had never married meaning herself. When I told her she had been married twice she was really surprised. She asked me to whom and I told her.


After a few minutes at the beach, I called my sister on my cell phone and put my mom on, reminding her to say happy birthday to my sister. She then sang the whole Happy Birthday To You song to her. She did not miss a word. After that she went into some things in my sister's and brother-in-law's personal lives that I will not go into here. Pretty sharp. We headed back to the rehab center after only about 20 minutes at the beach, a small town beach with a bath house, and we were under the overhang of that, on a concrete walkway only a few feet from the sand and maybe 50 feet from the water's edge. As we walked back she started to talk about her second husband, saying it was too bad he did not listen to her and that he went off to war. I asked what that was about and she said he was killed in combat. When I told her he passed away about 29 years ago or so, she was again surprised. She was also surprised o find out again, that they had been married. Then she remembered how nice he had been to her. They were sweethearts. Her memory is strong on some points and no there on others, then sharp as a razor's edge, then just about blank.


Once inside, we went to the cafe and each enjoyed a candy bar. We talked some more and she asked who had been my father and if he had been nice. I did not go it o it much except to tell her he had been her first husband and that he was...well I don't need to say much more than I did to her, that he had been useless and he had died about a year and a half ago. I surely did not need to stir up any memories of him for her because none of them would be good for her, I am sure of that. So I changed the subject. Not long after that I had to say goodbye. I told her I would try to see her again tomorrow evening or Sunday. I am figuring that if Brendan and I get out of the Appleseed Shoot early enough, we can both stop by for awhile to visit with her.

Sometimes I have a hard time and mixed emotions about visiting her. That too is based on personal issues but I go anyway whenever I can get the time. Sometimes I have to make the time. Lately she has been pretty easy going, she is in a less angry state than she had been for the first stages of the dementia when she was paranoid about this, that and everything so it has been easier for me.  When she does get into a tizzy of misbehaving (for want of a better way to describe it) on her part, I just try to put up with it. If it is really bad, I may have to leave and come back another day. As I said though, she has been on her best behavior lately and it has made for some very nice visits. It is hard to see her like this at all, so any little thing that helps is good. I can tell you she certainly appreciates my visits, in the here and now mode, even if she does not remember them almost as soon as I leave. It is nice to see her happy and smiling.

Not much point in me writing about all of this except to talk about my mom and our time together. Oh, maybe there is one other thing: to say to those of you, with relatives in like circumstances, that they sure could use a visit as often as you can get to them. No matter how they act, they probably appreciate it in some corner of their minds. Even when my mom was in angry stages of her dementia, I know she was happy to have visitors and it saddened her when it was time to part.

All the best,
GB

His Wit - Just One Thing To Miss About Ronald Reagan

He truly was a great man and it was my honor to serve our nation under him. Nowadays, I almost cannot wait to retire. While it is still an honor to serve my country, I sometimes find it difficult because of the direction in which we have been steered. Thus, even though I am going to go out this December, there have been quite a few times, especially this year but also over the whole period since January 2009, that I have been so embarrassed to be a federal employee that I have almost gone out earlier than I had planned.

All the best,
Glenn B

John McCain RINO and Leftist Extraordinaire

How it is that the people of Arizona, one of my favorite states, keep voting John McCain into office, as a Republican, is beyond me. At best he is a RINO. At worst a shill for the left. At almost every turn, he shows again and again his truly leftist colors. His statements today about the Tea Party, the national debt, and the debt ceiling all go to show such. It appears he has become little more than an arsekisser of President Obama.


All the best,
Glenn B

Yikes - Its Midway Through The Summer - Check Your Guns For Rust...

...and check your gun and ammo lockers to make sure your desiccant is up to snuff or that your electric drying rods are working properly. It has been a hit summer up my way with the recent heat wave and has been hotter out in the Midwest for longer than up here. The difference is that while in my area it has not rained much and humidity has not been too bad. Still though, it is summer and the humidity is higher than in winter around here but out in the Midwest the humidity has been at killer levels. That is at least at metal finish killer levels, what with all the flooding they had in the spring. he left over water combined with the recent heat wave must have been like a sauna. I imagine it is normally like that in many places down south too and out in the NW (maybe not as hot but the humidity is up in the warmer weather there too - isn't it). What I am getting at is that now is a good time to make sure the desiccant has been doing its job and that none of your firearms have been rusting, not even a little bit. It is also a good time to take out all of your guns and wipe them down and give them a protective coating of oil, a very fine and light coating.

All the best,
Glenn B

I Am Considering Picking Up The Gun Digest Book Of Concealed Carry

I have been considering picking up and reading a copy of The Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry by Massad Ayoob. I have never been a major fan or major detractor of Massad Ayoob and have never read one of his books in is entirety, though I have read magazine articles and excerpts from books by him. I have thought of him mostly as a part time time book writer, a part time firearms instructor, part time expert witness, and part time police officer. I am not saying there is anything wrong with what he does or his methods, then again I am not saying they are all right. As to the methods he teaches some probably are excellent some probably run of the mill and others probably controversial. I just never fell in as one of his many acolytes much the same as I am not a disciple of Col. Jeff Cooper.

I have gotten most of my training from instructors on my job or through other LE agencies and the NRA, from other civilian instructors, from hunter safety instructors, from trainers of unarmed defensive tactics, from other shooters, from hunters, or even at summer camp may, many, many moons ago. Much of what I have learned were the products of shootists, the names some of whom you may know and some others probably not, like Corbett, Sykes, Fairbairn, Applegate, Jordan, Weaver, Capstick, Cirillo, Hampton and Milla -  some of it taught to me in person, some second hand, some from books. I also have learned a lot about shooting out of the innovation of street officers and even some good part of it from summer-camp counselors (and rifle instructors) such as Brother Louis Richard (RIP). Sure, some of the things I have learned were thought up by Ayoob or Cooper, others were thought up long before either was born and others after they were born but independent of them. Regardless of who thinks it up or who distributes it to us, I can always utilize useful information about safe sport and safe tactical shooting. I have a lot of room in the data base among my little gray cells and yes that could include information supplied by Ayoob. So, yes, I may get this book since it has been recommended by someone I trust.

That said though, I feel almost obliged to make comment on book’s cover photograph. In doing so, I am not judging the book by its cover as much as I am judging the author, or at least the person responsible for using that picture. I am guessing Mr. Ayoob may have had some say in the cover photo. If he actually did have some say then, allow me to comment, I am not really as amazed as most folks probably should be - that if only because I am the penultimate cynic and skeptic. Think about this: How is it, except to sell books with a cool looking front cover, that anyone who knew about firearms and firearms safety, would depict a photo of what appears to be a cross draw from a shoulder holster or jacket holster and the person drawing the weapon is seemingly covering his off hand or arm with the muzzle? I think that is maybe not the best picture to have on the front cover but that is just my opinion. That pic is just one example of a reason I do not usually just buy into everything these guys say. It is also an example of why I do not drop down on my knees and bow to praise them and all their methods. I am just way too skeptical to buy into their methods as being the best, or the ultimate, or as infallible, or as the next best set of rules since the 10 Commandments, when I see them presenting their stuff accompanied by things like that photo when I think it is being used for cool factor to sell a book. There is a reason that cross draw holsters are forbidden at most ranges and during most LEO qualifications and training and it is not just that during the draw you often cover yourself. Whomever wanted to put out a book on concealed carry should also have known it and then should have used, in my opinion, another picture.

As I said above though, regardless of the front cover pic, I may have to pick up that book, at least if I can find it at a considerable discount at Borders (and I had best wait until they get down around 40% off since B&N has it at 36% off right now). I have heard it is supposed to be a decent book with good content and that it is an enjoyable read. Who knows, I may just read something that may save my life. As long as I do not shoot myself on the draw in a gunfight - when I quite possibly may not remember to keep my finger off the trigger while drawing due to nerves, or anxiety caused by overwhelmed things like bullets whizzing by my head, a bad guy shouting he is gunna kill me, the shit coming my way out of the fan, and the pucker factor failing me - I may turn out the winner.

All the best,
Glenn B

RANGE DAY :) in Anticipation of Appleseed Shoot

Went to the indoor range today to try to pick my rifle for the Appleseed shoot next weekend. I brought along my Romania WASR AK-47, the Yugoslavian M24/47 Mauser and a Mosin Nagant 91/30. I have to say that I shot best, by far, with the AK-47. I think I may have to go with it and use my supply of Silver Bear 7.62x39 SP ammo with it. I would like to have taken along my Yugoslavian M24/47 Mauser but I am shot on ammo for it and don't have the cash right now to buy the required 400 rounds. So it looks like it will be the AK. I may bring along a Mosin Nagant 91/30 as an alternate. Now to find a sling for the AK before next weekend.

All the best,
Glenn B

Norway - Christian Extremist Arrested & Confesses

Does not surprise me that it evidently was another extremist kook who went on a killing spree yesterday in Norway. It does not matter if it was a Christian or Muslim or Hindu or Jewish religious extremist or an extremist atheist maybe such as some of those assholes from Greenpeace or those scumbags from Alf or Elf. Extremists are friggin crazy no matter how you look at it. They, by far, cause more trouble in the world than moderates and I believe they will continue to be the troublemakers as long as we endure them.

I have to wonder though how he was able to kill 85 people at the camp, that is without anyone realizing that they needed to try to stop him instead of just trying to flee him, but then it was in Norway where they thought they were living in Paradise. Welcome to the real world; such is the world in which we live. You need to realize you are not immune to violence and you should be ready to defend against it. I am sorry it happened and I offer my condolences to those who lost loved ones. Hopefully Norway is going to take steps to prevent it happening again, steps to assure the guilty, in these horrific killings, are executed.

All the best,
GB

Today's BBQ - It Was Hot and I Was One Hot & Svetee BBQ Chef

The family just gone done eating about 30 minutes ago. As I expected, we had a barbecue. My wife made a cucumber salad, out of cukes I picked this morning, and she also made curry spiced cooscoos (I know that is not how it is spelled) and asparagus and some really good baked appetizer out of sliced Japanese Eggplant  with cheese, tomato and basil atop it (the eggplant, tomato and basil from our garden - picked today). I grilled the lamb chops on the BBQ. Now, despite it being about 97 or more degrees when I fired up the grill, I did not mind the heat much. I did not even much mind the hair on my knuckles burning off regardless of the fact I was using a very long BBQ fork to turn the chops. Nor did I mind my face broiling. I was happy to anticipate such a good meal and was more than willing to cook it. I was even looking forward to the single Habanero and 3 Jalapeno peppers I placed on the upper grill shelf. No, it was not at all cool and I was ever mindful of the heat but not bothered by any of it as I blissfully grilled away. Even the fact that a large bottle of Ommegang Abbey Style Ale (Dubel Ale) was not keeping me all that cool did not matter. Even though it was icy cold, and I do mean icy, when I popped the cork on it and still was not doing the job - I did not care. The fact that it is 9 or 9.5% alcohol yet had almost no effect on the rate at which I was perspiring was okay; in fact maybe it had an effect on my attitude and made me not mind the sweltering furnace in which I was standing while BBQing. As it was, I figured that quickly enough, I soon would be in the dining room, with my wife, daughter and son, right in the swoosh of the flow of the air conditioner - chilling and enjoying a fine meal.

Then my son came outside with paper towels and Windex and said he was going to clean the table top, on the patio set, so we could eat outside. I asked why we were not going to eat inside and he said 'mom wants to eat outside'. She who must be obeyed adored had spoken! I grumbled, cursed under my breath and said someone was crazy but I cleaned off the table and had him bring some things into the house that I wound up not needing. About 5 minutes after the table was clean, most of the chops were done, and for once everything and everyone was already set up at the table ready to go. The 3 others were seated minutes before me. They were already staring on the chops, the ones that were done by the time as I sweltered at the grill. After a few more minutes of getting seared, I sat down. I said to my wife that I would not have believed, in a million years, that we would eat outside today. She said something like, 'oh it's pretty cold inside from the AC'!

Well, darn it, isn't that why I pay the summertime electric bills - for some chillin' inside when it is hot as hell outside. I said okay, we can eat out here; I had pretty much figured that was what I had to say before saying it but still I had to say something about not eating inside in the coolness of the AC.

A little while later my daughter said something about how hot it was. I think that was right after I bit into about 1/3 of a Habanero Pepper and started to verbally howl because it was a might bit hotter than the first one I had gotten out of the garden 2 weeks ago. Wow was it hot! My son ragged me for eating it after I had just finished complaining about the heat. Right about then, my wife just said she figured it was about 85 degrees or so.  I was hot and it wasn't just from the pepper. So, I said I figured it had to be about 95 to 99 degrees at that moment and also mentioned I was pretty svetee. I showed her the front of my shirt, it was pretty damp. She agreed that the next time we had a BBQ on such a hot day, maybe we would eat inside. I just gave each of the dogs a lamb bone. That was over an hour or more ago.

When dinner was over, and we were cleaning up, about 30 minutes ago, I happened to notice the seat back of the chair in which I had been sitting. It was soaked where my back had leaned on it. Not one of the 3 other chairs even showed a hit of moisture on them. I showed it too my wife and kids who had ribbed me for saying it was so hot. They always think I exaggerate, but saw it was not so this time. The wife agreed, no maybes, next time it is this hot, we eat inside, where it is cold!

Now, when I just sat down and went online, I checked the weather. The temperature, here where we live, was shown as 95.9 degree Fahrenheit at 1815 (6:15PM). It was probably a degree or two hotter than that when I had complained about being hot and when my wife figured it was 85! We really do have a good AC. I guess she still had not thawed out when she thought that the temp was 85, no wonder she thought it was fairly cool out. Next time I decide to BBQ in heat like that, I will need to have at least a very tall and icy cold Vodka and lemonade (on the medium to weak side) inside of me before I even start and another at hand for while I cook. The beer just did not cut it today, maybe because an Ommegang Ale is almost a meal onto itself and is a beer  much prefer in the fall or wintertime than on a really hot day in the summer. Still though, it had to have helped, I probably would have quit half way through grilling the chops if I had not had an icy cold alcoholic beverage (not really by I like acting a bit like Dean Martin in that respect although I really do drink when I say I do, he just acted.

Well, anyway, we had a nice meal and a really nice time together. We don't do family things often, maybe we eat together once or twice per week, and when it is nice all I can say it is hard to beat. Another thing that is hard to beat is this recent heatwave here in the greater NYC area. Yeah, I know, plenty of places get hotter and it lasts longer, heck I lived in Calexico, CA for 4 years believe me I know, but it is just radical up here for it to be as hot as it has been the last few days, especially as hot as it was yesterday at 106 degrees, only 2 degrees off of the area's all time high, and Newark, NJ had its all time high of 108. Hotter than Hades and it is not a dry heat at that. The heat index had it at 115 yesterday! That is all okay, I am in the man-cave now, with the AC set at an almost sultry 72 degrees and I am almost chilly. All in all, it has been a good day, it does not get much better than this and now I am going to have that lemonade with just a wee bit of vodka in it; I need to chill.

All the best,
GB

Appleseed Shoot + Which Rifle To Bring = Decisions, Decisions Decisions..................

I am stumped. I do not know which rifle to bring to the Appleseed shoot next weekend. I am really stumped.I could bring either of my Russian Mosin Nagant 91/30's, or my Hungarian Mosin Nagant M44, or my Yugoslavian M24/47 8mm Mauser, or my Yugoslavian SKS, or, I suppose, even my Romanian WASR AK-47. I have ammo for the Nagants, and for the SKS or the AK but not for the M24/47 (not enough since I need 400 rounds). I need to adjust the sights on all of them but think my best shooter is either one of the Nagant 91/30s or the Yugo M24/47 Mauser. Having to make up my mind is becoming a real pain in the ass headache. Maybe I should order some 8mm ammo and if it gets here on time, I can just do a coin toss to select which weapon I will bring along. Of course, on the first day, I may bring my Remington 513T-Matchmaster in 22LR (they say that is a good way to save on more expensive larger caliber ammo, then bring the larger caliber rifle on day two). Decisions, decisions, decisions.......

All the best,
Glenn B

Two Disparate Cases of Police Stopping Folks Legally Carrying A Firearm

Watch the videos below. The first is a long one but well worth watching all of it so you see most of what went on during the stop of a person who was apparently legally carrying a concealed firearm. Whether or not the suspect actually was or was not soliciting a prostitute does not give the officers, in my opinion, any reason, right or excuse to act as they acted. It would have given them the right to arrest him and to seize the weapon in a professional manner but that is probably a mute point as the person they believed was a prostitute was run off by the officers and not arrested or charged.

That I believe the officers did not have a right to act as they did especially applies to the officer who rages on and on and on but it definitely applies to both. In my almost 32 years as an LEO, that has to rank, in my opinion, among the top 10  3 worst stops I have ever witnessed as far as suspect control or lack of it went, as far as officer mindset went, as far as the officers placing themselves in jeopardy went, and as far as an officer being unprofessional went. All that, let alone, possible crimes, torts and right violations committed by the officers and it was one big mess.

After you have watched the first video, click on the second and watch it. It is much shorter in length. The officer in it is of a very different mindset that the officers in the first video. The disparity is significant and the officer in the first video would have done himself well had he learned to be a bit more like the one in the second video, or so is my opinion, and that goes regardless of the either officers' personal feelings about civilians carrying firearms.







So, what do you think? I think that the officer(s) in the first video will soon be fired (at least one may even wind up being charged criminally), the suspect will be exonerated of any and all charges, and that he will wind up fairly rich after a successful lawsuit against Canton, OH or at least against its police department. That, of course, is just my guess. I also think the officer in the second video will have a long and great career in his police department and that he will be a credit to that department. Since it is a crazy world in which we live, I will not be betting my house on any of my predictions for either the first two officers or the one in the second video. I will wish that officer, the one in the second video, a long, safe, and prosperous career; he seems a true professional.

In closing let me ask you to do one more thing: Just imagine how the cop in the first video would have reacted had he found out his armed citizen had been making a video tape of the stop! I shudder to think of the consequences.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Corn Snake Eggs Are Hatching

When was it, May 27th I think, that my newly acquired Okeetee Female Corn (bred to a reverse Okeetee male corn snake) Snake decided to lay a clutch of eggs rather unexpectedly. I knew she was gravid but figured her for at least another week or two before laying. Luckily, my son, Brendan saw she had laid eggs and we set up an incubator and got the eggs in there quickly. More on all that here.

Tonight, when I got home from work, I checked the incubator, and there were a couple of baby corn snakes atop the medium in the incubation chamber. A little bit of looking inside the container revealed another 4 of them in there. Two are one phase or another of albino and the other 4 are more normal looking. Only time will tell (well a corn snake expert might also be able to tell) how they will turn out as adults. The colors of baby corn snakes can change markedly from when they hatch until they grow into older juvenile snakes by which point they usually have acquired their adult coloration. For now, and until they have their first sloughing (shed), I will keep the baby corn snakes in the incubator where it remains warm and slightly damp. That dampness will help them with the shed. After the shed, I will offer them their first meal of pinkie mice. Hopefully each one will feed right away, again, time will tell. Pics of the baby snakes will be put up in a later post.

You may remember I also had 2 clutches of Hermann's Tortoise eggs in the incubator. I had been doubtful that any would be fertile and I was partially correct. Out of two clutches of 4 eggs each,  only 1 egg from each clutch was fertile. I now have 2 eggs that are fertile. One has a hairline crack about 3/4 the way around the longer part of the oblong egg shape. It is still alive and hopefully doing well. I took a thing strip pf duct tape and put it over the crack, hopefully that will prevent it from cracking any further and will keep out any nasty germs or other things like mould or fungus that would destroy the embryo. The other egg looks good all around. Come mid or late August I should know if the 1 from the first clutch will hatch and the other is due to hatch about 2 weeks after the first one. If I am really lucky, then the female tort will have also laid another clutch somewhere in my backyard and I ill find babies crawling around before they escape the yard. I kind of doubt though that she laid a third clutch.

All the best,
GB