peejman

My wife volunteered and then worked at the Bays Mtn Park Raptor center for a number of years.  Since we've moved she volunteered at the American Eagle Foundation in Pigeon Forge for a while and now she's volunteering with the birds at the Knoxville Zoo.  It's a lot of work, but she really enjoys it.

  Looks darn good for a first timer and especially with a pocket knife.  :up:

    I got one for my Dad and he's never used it.  A friend at work has one with alarm settings for set point temp and if it starts dropping, he loves it. 

      I've done several turkeys in mine.  It's not hard, just slow.  Here's a few things I've learned...   Find the smallest turkey you can, which will be about 12-13 lbs.   Leave the 18 lb turkeys for the oven.  Be sure you give it plenty of time to thaw... it'll take 4 days for a frozen turkey to thaw in the fridge.    Some folks like to brine a turkey, I never have.  I'm on a low sodium diet anyway.  Let it sit out for an hour or so before you start cooking.  I usually brush a thin coat of olive oil on the outside and stuff it with a cut up apple, onion, and whatever herbs and spices suit my fancy.  I've tried herb butters, rubs, and injections, but I like just plain ole smoked turkey best.  Perhaps I'm just boring.    It'll take about 10 hours cooking time, plus however long it takes to get your smoker going.  In the water pan, I typically use a mixture of water, apple juice (if we have any) and cheap beer (the good beer is for drinking).  I check the temp in few places with a meat thermometer and pull it off when it's 160-170 deg.  Let it rest for about an hour before carving, though the cook is permitted to sample it and verify it's suitable for consumption.  ;)   While I'll admit that it's best "hot off the smoker"... cooking it the day before works just fine and avoids that 3am wake-up call.  It also gives you an option in the event something goes horribly wrong. 

    Send them another bill they have no obligation to pay?  What would that accomplish?         I like this idea.  It would appear the kids are in need of some adult guidance.  Clearly they're not getting it from the parents. 

    Negative.  Here's why...    

    Ding!  He made one for me too, really like it.

Whatever it is, looks like its had a good meal recently.

Nice.  I've got the cheap-o smoker grill and it works quite well, after a few mods.  The expanded metal coal basket helps a bunch.  Check the temp at several points over the length (height) and see how much variation you get... I'm curious. 

Until the penalty for stealing stuff gets so severe as to be a legitimate deterrent, people are gonna steal stuff. 

I know nearly zip about tank warfare, but it sure seems like driving up an alley where you can't traverse the turret 360 deg is just a bad idea.    What kind of rounds are they shooting?  Maybe I've watched too many movies, but it seems like they're having little effect.  Just blasting holes in stuff. 

Welcome.  We've got several resident AR experts.  And there will be a bunch of us building AR's in the (hopefully) near term.

Welcome!

My wife is the same way and we're both animal people. Your wife did the right thing. Much as we love critters, the kids are more important.

I don't carry real often at home. If I've been out, sometimes I'll leave it on. But I don't strap one on first thing in the morning.

    I've heard of crap like that happening, but I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it.  Its just beyond my comprehension.   Can you imagine turning that kid loose, alone, in Vegas?  "The Hangover" would pale in comparison. 

Well said.    It's like nipping a few runners off the kudzu vine.  It may make you feel better, but you didn't really accomplish anything.

My oldest started kindergarten this year and while my wife takes him to school, I've heard of no such thing.  Sure wasn't that way when I was a kid either.  I pass 2 schools and several bus stops on my way to work.  The only time I see parents at the bus stop is when it's really cold and the kids sit in the car while waiting.    A quick search of TCA (49-6-2118) only shows some regulation about dropping a kid off at a stop other than their normal stop.  Nothing I can find regarding a parent having to be there.  It does state that the "Local Education Agency" (LEA) can adopt policy that is more stringent than the letter of the law, so perhaps it's a local thing.  A call to your local school board might resolve that.    Regardless, tell the helicopter moms to back it down a notch or two.        edit... some further googling tells me that most areas have a statement that says something like "parents are responsible for the supervision of their children until the bus picks them up and after it drops them off".  But it doesn't specifically say a parent must be present.  Meaning... if some crap goes down at the bus stop before/after the bus, it ain't our problem.    I did find this for Atlanta area schools that does state a parent must be there....  http://www.atlanta.k12.ga.us/Page/28916  

    I'd only shoot at a bear 200 yds away with a .30-30 if I knew for certain that I could hit the vitals.  Google tells me that bullet energy is 30% less at 200 yds compared to 100 yds and 50% less than muzzle.  If you can get inside 100 yds... sure. 

I'm interested but can't commit one way or another at this point.  While I have gear for it, if it's gonna be real cold and/or wet, I'm not going.  Current forecast shows it warming back up but with a chance for rain. 

Here's a weather forecast that will give you an idea of the temps at various elevations in the mtns...  http://www.srh.noaa.gov/data/MRX/RTPMRX

He won't have to worry about being a better gardener.... that much gasoline will certainly kill all the nearby plants.    This past sunday we were walking down a nice trail around a lake when I happened to see a little boy yellow jacket getting busy with a great big girl yellow jacket.  While their union was ultimately unsuccessful, they enjoyed their last moments.  :)

The .30-30 and/or .44 Mag rifle are adequate for deer if you're close (<75 yds), but marginal at best for bear.   I'd get something like a .308, .30-06, 7mm, etc. to do a better job on the bears. 

    7am?  It's only 50 miles from one end to the other.  You could ride to Robbinsville and get back to Tellico while they're still serving breakfast.  And it'll be really cold up high.            Meh.  It's a road.... there's left turns and right turns, some uphill and some downhill.... ride a comfortable pace, keep it between the lines and you'll be fine.  It might take you 30 minutes to get from one end to other, but that's better than a helicopter ride.    Relentless is a good description.  The more difficult turns are typically marked with a big dot painted in the road and/or "SLO".    The skid marks that lead off in unfortunate directions are also a hint. 

Welcome!