“As men, we are all equal in the presence of death.” – Publilius Syrus, Moral Sayings, First Century B.C.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Good News, Bad News, Good News, Bad News
Last Saturday I walked down to Green Turtle Pond with my fishing gear to try my hand (once again) at catching an edible fish. When I got home I told Lynne I had “good news, bad news, good news and bad news”. Clearly confused she asked for the story.
The good news is that I saw lots of wildlife. On my way there and back I saw several groups of turkeys and a red fox.
The bad news is that I didn’t see or catch any fish.
The good news is that along the east side of the lake, where I was fishing, it is very wooded and lots of mushrooms were growing. (We like searching out wild mushrooms).
The bad news is that if you are walking along the trail with your head down looking at mushrooms, you might just walk up on a bear!
That is what I did. I was walking along a not-so-well-worn path with my head on a swivel looking down and side to side when I heard a “hummmffff” sound. I looked up and about 20 feet in front of me, coming toward me on the path was a fairly large black bear. My heart sunk into my stomach and I said some foul words. I stepped behind a tree to keep something between me and the bear. He just stood there hummmfffing at me for a couple of minutes and decided to pass me by going up the hill a ways. He took his time though, and I just kept sidestepping around the tree as he moved by. When the coast was clear, I came home to tell Lynne the news.
Posted under: New Jersey • Mushroom Articles • by Rick on 09/11/2007 at 04:08 PM
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Monday, September 03, 2007
My First NJ Fish
I know I don’t post much. Most of what I have to say shows up on Lynne’s blog. Maybe I’ll beat her to this one. (But, she has the photo…)
I caught my first fish in New Jersey today. I got tired of trying every lure in the shop, hoping to snag a bass. About sunset we went to Green Turtle Pond and I tried a new lure some…actually hooked a medium sized fish—but lost it. Finally I went to the trusty worm-on-a-hook-with-a-bobber. Not really my favorite fishing technique, but I finally caught something! It was a sunfish, about 5” in length.
Now that I’ve lost my virginity, I’m on the hunt for bigger prey (and edible, too!)
Posted under: Stuff You Gotta Know! • by Rick on 09/03/2007 at 06:54 PM
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Saturday, August 25, 2007
Question of the Week
Can anyone tell me why the Nasonex bee speaks with a Spanish accent?
Posted under: Stuff You Gotta Know! • by Rick on 08/25/2007 at 05:48 AM
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Sunday, June 10, 2007
Fireworks
I heard the strangest story on the radio yesterday. It seems that it is illegal to sell or possess personal fireworks in New Jersey. So, the radio was reporting on the beginning of the Pennsylvania fireworks season where vendors located just across the border sell to New Jersians who buy personal fireworks there and then bring them back across the border. We had a similar situation in Colorado where many people went to Wyoming to buy fireworks that were illegal in Colorado. The difference is, it is actually illegal to sell personal fireworks to a Pennsylvanian resident in Pennsylvania! However, it is not illegal to sell fireworks to someone from out-of-state, thus the thriving business.
Posted under: Stuff You Gotta Know! • by Rick on 06/10/2007 at 05:26 AM
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Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Grocery Line Awareness
Maybe I need to start a new category of posts called “pet peeves”. I could go on for a long time about grocery lines. Like when there are none when you enter the store, but every line is backed up 5 deep when you are ready to leave. Or, how no matter which line I get in, it will be the slowest—even if I change.
But my biggest pet peeve about grocery store lines is when I have 2 or 3 items, I go to the express checkout, and the person in front of me has completely forgotten they need to pay. YOU HAVE TO PAY BEFORE LEAVING, FOLKS! Inevitably, I get behind someone who decides to write a check. Their balance is $2.40, but they want to write a check. And, do they start writing their check while their groceries are being checked out? No. The checker runs all their groceries over the scanner—which might take 15 seconds on an express lane—and then announces the total. THEN the lady in front of me decides to open her purse, scratch around for a while, recover her check book, scratch around some more to find a pen, then meticulously fills in the check (which can be done while standing in line, folks), finally signs it, and hands it over. Then, she has to go searching for ID…
Today, the lady was paying with cash, but she had forgotten her glasses. Again, she waits until the total is announced before opening and scratching around in her purse, finally finds her wallet, then has to hold each bill within 1/2-inch of her face to determine its size. IT IS $2.40, LADY! Just hand the checker a bill and hope for the best.
Posted under: Stuff You Gotta Know! • by Rick on 05/09/2007 at 03:25 PM
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