Entertainment

[owl]

Last week's coolest wildlife "encounter" was a dragonfly (probably a "Common Whitetail") who decided he liked resting on the top of my spare tire, about one arm length from where I sit & work all day.
I had prolonged close up views of him, most afternoons for a couple of hours. Fascinating creatures... and they eat mosquitoes.

That's one of the things I was hoping for in this lifestyle:
wildlife that comes to me, and doesn't bother me.

I also regularly see truly wild hummingbirds. There's no sugar feeders nearby, and they're exclusively sipping wildflowers.

Wildlife viewing is completely free, with zero commercials, so a partial substitute for TV.


P.S. Though to be balanced... also had my first night time (~2am) large mammal rocking the van.
He/she moved along after I rocked back and sternly told him/her to go.
Pretty sure it was just a deer, but it definitely "bothered" me.

  I'm sure you know hummingbirds are carnivorous, they eat insects and ants as well as populate flowers. Interesting creatures. The rocking animal at night may well have been a cow, they love to rub against things.

 

[eDJ_]

I'm an avid short wave radio listener in the evening hours.   Bicycling during the day to sight see and take photos.
I have a nice $30 dollar receiver that I can plug a cord between the audio out of it into the AUX IN of my boombox to get really clear enjoyable sound.

If you aren't familiar with this kind of radio,  I would recommend this book.  

"Short Wave Listening for Beginners" by A L McCormick

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0830641351/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Dollar Tree Stores often have those 1/8 inch audio patch cords like I use.

 

[Homeless in Canada]

I like to watch YouTube videos especially anything to do with history and documentaries. When I'm at a Walmart or some place that has good Wi-Fi I will download several different shows so I have stuff to watch when I am off the grid. Elsa spend a lot of time riding my bike and exploring different neighborhoods

 

[owl]

I'm an avid short wave radio listener in the evening hours..

I do the same and I'm looking for a new radio. I have used a crane for years, thanks for the tip.

 

[highdesertranger]

I have a Radio Shack made by Sangean the ATS-803. I used to listen a lot but with Armed Forces Radio no longer on short wave and VOA highly curtailed the cold war over and all my favorite pirate stations gone I find what's left ain't much worth listening too.

what are y'all listening to?

highdesertranger

 

[owl]

HDR, you're right radio used to be so much more interesting. I guess it's the digital age leaving it behind. I remember as a kid listening to radio at night under the covers till all hours. I enjoyed Art Bell.

 

[Matlock]

I do the same and I'm looking for a new radio. I have used a crane for years, thanks for the tip.

A few years ago found an ebay Panasonic RF-1150 AM FM Shortwave portable with the top mounted ferrite antenna. It pulled in AM sports easily. Recently was gifted a new Crane and I am very impressed with its performance to include battery life.

 

[SLB_SA]

I do the same and I'm looking for a new radio. I have used a crane for years, thanks for the tip.

I like visiting the C. Crane store in Fortuna, California.  (It has been several years since I visited that store, although I visit Fortuna at least once a year; the bookstore on Main Street was up for sale a year ago.)  From the C. Crane website:
"In August 2015, Humboldt County was picked as the second most beautiful county in the U.S. by the Washington Post. Of course – we disagree with these findings. We love our location and think we should be number one.
We have hiking maps and a local hotel discount coupon available but you must visit our Showroom to pick them up. Our address is 172 Main St. Fortuna, CA. 95540-1816
Fortuna is known as "The Friendly City" and it's a great place to live. We are located in Northern California and our surrounding areas are a natural paradise. We have miles of uncrowded beaches, the world's tallest trees, six nearby rivers and 680,000 acres of Parks. In our area alone there are Victorians to inspect and micro-breweries to sample.
Fishing can be really great in Humboldt, but complex fishing regulations and the natural variability of fish makes it a challenge. You can usually get a limit of ocean rockfish if you go out on a charter boat. Salmon are normally caught, too, but not always. That is why they call it "fishing". You can fish from shore all year, so if you find the right spot at the right time with the right setup, you can land a full load of fish. Perch are abundant. The hardy can travel 100 miles off shore when the tuna are in. Fishing regulations seemed to have made our fisheries much more healthy in this part of the world. You can fish the rivers for steelhead and salmon from shore or drift boat. You will probably need a guide for the first trip out. It is always an adventure!"
Anyway, a visit to the C. Crane store is well worth your time.

 

[SLB_SA]

PS I have absolutely no connection with the C. Crane company or any of its employees or owners (to the best of my knowledge). I just like their products.

 

[owl]

I like visiting the C. Crane store in Fortuna, California.  (It has been several years since I visited that store, although I visit Fortuna at least once a year; the bookstore on Main Street was up  for sale a year ago.)  From the C. Crane website:
"In August 2015, Humboldt County was picked as the second most beautiful county in the U.S. by the Washington Post. Of course – we disagree with these findings. We love our location and think we should be number one.
We have hiking maps and a local hotel discount coupon available but you must visit our Showroom to pick them up. Our address is 172 Main St. Fortuna, CA. 95540-1816
Fortuna is known as "The Friendly City" and it's a great place to live. We are located in Northern California and our surrounding areas are a natural paradise. We have miles of uncrowded beaches, the world's tallest trees, six nearby rivers and 680,000 acres of Parks. In our area alone there are Victorians to inspect and micro-breweries to sample.
Fishing can be really great in Humboldt, but complex fishing regulations and the natural variability of fish makes it a challenge. You can usually get a limit of ocean rockfish if you go out on a charter boat. Salmon are normally caught, too, but not always. That is why they call it "fishing". You can fish from shore all year, so if you find the right spot at the right time with the right setup, you can land a full load of fish. Perch are abundant. The hardy can travel 100 miles off shore when the tuna are in. Fishing regulations seemed to have made our fisheries much more healthy in this part of the world. You can fish the rivers for steelhead and salmon from shore or drift boat. You will probably need a guide for the first trip out. It is always an adventure!"
Anyway, a visit to the C. Crane store is well worth your time.

Having been there many times he is right on all counts, great post.

 

[Kaylee]

This week's wildlife highlight: two American Woodcocks, sitting right on a gravel NFS road, convinced they were invisible.
I was driving slowly, so braked hard as soon as I saw them. They stared at me for a bit, perhaps wondering why I'd stopped (cuz they're invisible), then suddenly flew off, straight down the road in my direction of travel, then they hunched down again. Next time, they flew off to the side.
Got great views, both times.

They're a very cool, very Geeky bird species.
Their eyes are on the sides of their head, and they can not see directly in front of them. Think about that... they fly semi "blind".

The Spring mating display of the males is an auditory treat (occurs at dusk), and worth seeking out a bird club to go on an outing.

I'm sure you know hummingbirds are carnivorous, they eat insects and ants as well as populate flowers. Interesting creatures. The rocking animal at night may well have been a cow, they love to rub against things.

I like all birds who eat bugs.

Ah, good point about cows... except this was about 10 miles into the Ottawa NF in northern MI.
I have lived in ag areas, and experienced cool cow neighbors.

Tell me what you're looking for and how.  It's such a wide world.

Thanks Ding for your helpful post!

I did some research, and it sounds like lentils are a good beginner sprout, so I bought a bag last shopping trip.
I'm tentatively planning to use one of the smallest sized DollarTree cereal canister (semi-opaque).

Haven't had the time/opportunity to do so, but my tentative plan is to start one while in town, overnight in town, then thoroughly wash in the morning at either the Library or gas station. Allegedly the most intense (smelly/messy) rinse/wash must be done after the first night, then the next ones are fairly light/simple.

I'm just going to do a small quantity (~handful), to start with.
Apparently a key is to inspect each seed and choose just the non-broken ones.

Does that make sense?