Last Chance Cleaning
It seems my last chance buck is staying true to its name. After two years of alternating between the barn in winter and an ant hill in summer, it appeared I needed a more drastic solution to cleaning it. Given that I plan on putting my possessions in storage and leaving the country next year, it appears this summer is my last chance to turn this skull into the european mount that I intended.
I had already taken the first step and cleaned off as much of the hair, meat, etc. that I could from the skull. The problem is that I did that last year, so by now it was very dry and slightly rotten, I opted not to post a picture of this, but trust me, it was bad. I then assembled my cooker, and installed the head, all while holding my breath.
The Setup
I used a propane tiger torch propped on a rock as a burner, which then heated an old wash basin sitting atop two cinder blocks. Any large pot and burner will do, as long as it will fit the skull and heat the water to near boiling. After much research I have found that actually boiling the water is bad for the skull. Finally I wired the antlers to the edges, some people tie them to lumber, the key is to keep them out of the water to avoid discoloration. I opted to put the skull in before the water started to get hot so as to avoid burning my hands while wiring the skull to the right depth.
Initially I had just used plain water but once it was hot I decided that a grease cutting dish soap might be a good plan, it seemed to work well for me. While the water heated I gathered up some tools to help scrape and clean off what I could. I used a long set of pliers, a putty knife, and a heavy bristled dish scrubber. The dish scrubber can no longer be used on dishes.
Essential Tools
This was my first attempt at cleaning a skull so I wasn’t sure what would work, in the end I found that the putty knife worked best, while the dish scrubber was just shy of useless. The technique I used was simple but time consuming. I heated the large basin to a simmer and every few hours I would pull the head out and scrape, brush, and grab at it with the pliers… in no particular order.
Elbow Grease Turned Out To Be A Key Ingredient
In total it took somewhere in the neighborhood of nine hours and five beers to complete. That said it didn’t require constant attention so I was able to do some yard work and visit with a friend while I cleaned it.
All Cleaned Up
All said and done, I think it looks pretty good cleaned up. It has a bit of a natural yellow colour to it and I am told that many people opt bleach or paint it for that bright white finish. I may in the future paint it, but for now I do believe I’ll leave it.
Posted in How-To, Huntingwith 13 comments.
My First Mountain Bike
If you don’t feel like getting the full story, click here to jump straight to the video on youtube.
Erin and I are slowly starting to plan a trip that will take us across (or maybe around?) South America. So currently this means me reading through the guide book trying to get a vague overview of where I would like to go. I’ve noticed a pattern, its seems that most South American towns offer; ruins, churches, mountain biking, and depending on proximity to water, surfing. I intend to see a lot of the ruins, some of the churches, and attempt to surf. Trust me, you’ll hear all about it on the blog. I also want to try mountain biking. I figure, since I live in a great part of the world for mountain biking, I may as well try my hand at learning it here so as to make it more fun when I go there. Also I Just wanted to start mountain biking, so I’m going to use the trip as an excuse to take it up. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, there are no surfing opportunities in Alberta, so that’ll have to wait until I get there.
So I set off looking at various mountain bikes, their styles, and types of riding. I also watched a lot of youtube. When it was all said and done I walked into the local bike shop and asked for the cheapest model I could get away with. I had the option of grey or orange. I went with orange, and for about $600 I was out the door with a new bike and a helmet… always wear a helmet!
The first day I had it, a friend and I went for a ride in the Edmonton River Valley me on my new fancy bike and him on the old mountain bike I received as a birthday gift almost a decade ago. I was quickly made aware that this bike was superior to any other bikes I had owned, of course for that price it better be. I was also reminded that I am rather out of shape. After a few hours we decided to call it a day and head home. A few hours rest later, I decided to go out for another ride, this time to my dads shop for a visit, about half hour each way. Erin accompanied me since I am hesitant to ride on the roads.
First Day Out
For nearly a week I have been riding my bike every day, for about two hours a day. Often just to visit my dad but also a time or two to the river valley again, I was quite surprised at how many trails are actually down there.
End Of This Trail
Almost Looks Like We’re Not In The Middle Of A City
A few days ago my brother and I decided to go to my dad’s house for some fishing. I decided to bring my new mountain bike because there are a lot of quad trails around his house and I know at least one of them would be a lot of excitement on a mountain bike, especially for an amateur. So we loaded our fishing gear and my bike and headed off.
Only Way I Could Think Of That Wouldn’t Scratch It
The first day we were there I talked my dad and brother into giving me a ride to the top of the trail I had in mind, its just barely out of my riding distance. They had some audible doubts about how much fun it would be for me to ride it, and naturally had some suggestions “Buddy, you want us to build a jump at the bottom?” I wish they were kidding. I eventually got there, got the camera rolling, and hurled myself down the trail as best I could. I quickly learned that mountain biking is more fun than I had thought and also that mud is way harder to deal with than I had expected. If you watch you can see me almost crash on a few of the wet spots. You can see the video HERE on my youtube channel. I look forward to honing my skills and seeing more trails, then maybe once I’ve gotten better at it I can do another video of the run and see how much of a difference skill and experience make, my guess is a lot.
The next day was filled with fishing. My brother was on fire, catching more walleye than I had seen in the past year. I on the other hand was having an off day, and only wrangled in two small pike. I did however witness, the biggest pike I’ve seen in that lake, follow my hook through the crystal clear water. Unfortunately for me, he didn’t bite that floating hook and everyone else was on the other side of the boat. No catch and no witnesses means only one thing… I have to go back and catch it. No, I will not tell you where on the lake I spotted it, but dont worry I’ll post a lot of pictures when I get it. The only photo I managed to take on the second day of our trip to the lake was of my dad determining whether or not his cat likes the kayak.
I Guess The Cat Doesn’t Like The Kayak
Shortly after this photo was taken the cat jumped off the kayak and swam the 10 feet to shore. This also adds to my theory that: the shortest distance between two points is a swimming cat.
Posted in Fishing, Mountain Biking, Videowith 2 comments.
Fishing Tales
Spring has sprung, and my fishing fever is in full swing. A few weeks ago Erin and I went out to the lake for some dock fishing. Dock fishing is one of my favorite things because its so simple, inexpensive, and hard to corrupt with money or technology. Unfortunately for us it seems it was a little to early in the season.
The weeds hadn’t grown in yet, so the fish had nowhere to hide out and wait for prey. I know, typical fisherman, making excuses. The whole day the only fish I saw was a little pike that followed my hook to the dock but never actually bit… I promise I’m not making this up.
Shortly after my fish sighting Erin’s rod had some bobbing, dragging, and resistance. It looked like weeds, or maybe a lazy fish. She reeled it in, and as it approached the surface it looked like she had caught some kind of snake.. After I was done having a mild heart attack I realized it was actually a bungee cord. Erin made the only catch of the day WHILE cleaning up the environment.
We later went out in the boat to try our luck on the open water, only to get caught in the rain and remain fish-less.
Only catch of the day
About a week later my brothers friend and I were fishing off of the same dock. Throughout the day, I had caught a few small pike, one resembled a pair of needle nose pliers and another a hammer handle – nothing I thought to take a photo of but it still feels good to catch fish no matter the size. Suddenly my fishing buddy felt something on the end of her rod and began an excited reel. The drag on that old rod was making a lot of noise, but there didn’t seem to be much action along the line. She got the hook to surface and I immediately began laughing hysterically. She had managed to catch a heavy-rubber tarp strap. What the heck is going on with this lake?!
Yvonnes big catch
These two bizarre catches got me thinking. I haven’t caught a lot of strange stuff. I once brought up a heavy branch that had a hook stuck in it. I still have that hook actually – not that it’s been much help.
I also once witnessed a woman have a yellow fan tail jig break off during a fight with a walleye. While my dad tied a new hook onto the line for her she used my dads rod with a similar hook. She managed to catch that same walleye again and get her hook back. I will never forget the sight of that fish coming toward the boat with a yellow fantail hanging out both sides of its mouth.
Years ago I watched my dad hook on a heavy spoon and drag it around under the boat to retrieve our fishing net that someone dropped (it may have been me but I dont fully recall).
Finally, Erin likes to tell of the time she caught an entire fishing rod and reel while out with her dad. He, being the handyman that he his, was able to take it apart, clean it, and still occasionally uses it.
I know its kind of dangerous, because this is the internet, and fishing stories already have a tendency to be embellished (also because I have about 6 readers… HI MOM!), but I’d like to hear your weird fishing tales.
So, what’s the strangest thing you’ve caught?
Posted in Fishingwith 2 comments.
Tyson Buys a Dirt Bike
When I was younger I, like many boys, thought dirt bikes were the coolest thing in the world. Living in a small town, a few of my friends had them, which meant that I occasionally got to drive them. I always wanted my own, yet somehow I wasn’t able to convince my parents to buy me an expensive, dangerous piece of machinery that I would likely outgrow within a few years. Once I was old enough to get a job and theoretically buy my own stuff I was too busy spending money on my car and then on University.
A few years ago my dad, on a whim, bought a 90CC mini bike because….. “buddy it was on sale!” Naturally me being the runt of my family at a mere 6’3″; my dad, brother, and I all had some comedic fun with that little bike, there’s really something just inherently fun about a dirt bike that’s way too small. Of course the novelty wore off and the bike sat for a few years getting the occasional ride… for comic value. One day I just kinda woke up and realized that I just dont have enough danger in my life. Sadly I fear I have inherited my dad impulsive behavior, much to Erin’s dismay. The search began with realizing I couldn’t afford or justify a brand new bike. So I combed the classified adds and asked around. Turns out that my dad, in his business deals, had become friends with a man who ran an ATV dealership. He had, with my name on it, a Suzuki 200 cc two stroke, with a brand new carburetor, for $500, at the time we did not know the year but it was old. we loaded up the mini bike to see about trading it in and headed over to have a look at the Suzuki. My dad of course couldn’t pass up the chance to take the ol’ mini for one last ride. I of course the whole time was yelling at him to put on a helmet.
In my family growing up is optional (this is the most “liked” photo on my facebook)
My dad being involved always means a complicated deal, in the end I bought the mini bike off my dad and traded it for my Suzuki and my dad bought a brand new, Chinese made 250cc four stroke. We brought my bike home that day and picked up the 250 the next day.
All loaded up and ready to take home.
Later that week my dad and I went out to his lake lot to test out the “new” machines.
Enjoying their new home in the garage
We gave my old bike a once over for obvious safety reasons and discovered on the vin plate that it was made in 1985, which makes it a 1986 model. Then the riding commenced, I am pretty familiar with off road vehicles but I’ve gotta say, using a hand clutch is not something I can do intuitively. There were stalls… lots of them… a lot of laughter from my dad who was quite familiar with being on two wheels. Over the next two days I did a lot of riding and had two crashes, both a result of me stalling which causes the bike to stop immediately… essentially I fell over sideways at comically low speeds, I opted to jazz up this falling with a sweet somersault. I was also surprised to find that despite my bike being nearly 30 years older than my dads, it was substantially faster. When my dads bike was in 5th gear I could pull ahead of him in 3rd gear. I guess that’s the advantage that a two stroke has over a four stroke, or maybe there’s something to be said for name brand bikes, I dont know enough about bikes to say.
After nearly 30 years, they still look a lot alike
A few days later Erin and I came back out to the lake for some fishing (It was awesome, I’ll tell you about it next week) and so that she could try her hand a dirt biking. I figured she would be good at it because she has the kind of balance that could make a mountain goat jealous, and I’ve never really seen her afraid of anything, so I keep trying to find stuff that she’s not brave enough for and I am yet to have success.
We started our day with my dad and I on the bikes, while Erin drove the side by side with my stepmother Unice, and Rose the pug. Once we found a nice open field Erin hopped on and for probably about 45 minutes my dad and I explained what everything was, how it worked, and what all the dangers were. It was at this point I noticed the look on Erin’s face and decided maybe I should just give her the basic 2 minute run down. We fired it up and she eased the clutch out and… stalled. We fired it back up and second try… she had it! She was off and running.
Shes a natural
I know I’m going to be an over protective parent, for many reasons. The most recent indication was the amount of concern I had when Erin, on her first run, went to the far side of the field where I could barely see her.
DON’T GO TOO FAR! NOT SO FAST!
At the end of the week, after multiple days of riding and a few spills, the worst crash I had was walking up the stairs to get into my house… Seriously… I scraped skin off my hand, broke my wrist watch, and dropped a water melon.
All in all I’ve got to say that riding dirt bikes is certainly an exciting hobby and deep down I hope that its something I am able to integrate into a keep a part of Erin and I’s lives, and I’m sure many times my dad will also be involved.
Posted in Dirt Bikeswith no comments yet.