What did you do today?

[Flyonline]

A few things going on.

Made up another chopping board from an old barrel head. I've made a few in the past for ourselves and family, but the bigger ones have always warped badly when drying, so after I glued this one up I put it back into the back into the barrel to dry. It kinda worked, not hugely warped like the others (ended up like a pringle), but still more than I'd like. It's still very usable, I made this one up as a butchers board - big enough to hold a deer leg and not move around because it's quite heavy. Still have to do a couple more coats of oil, but ready to use otherwise. I deliberately left the ends off so I could a) get it back into the barrel and b) so I can have it close to the edge of a table/bench/whatever when cutting up a leg as a full round moves it further away.

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Have been playing around with a few ideas for a pair of shooting sticks that I can pack down and take with me and ended up with a set of spare arrow shafts I had, these have a pair of point inserts back to back with a threaded rod so I can screw them together when needed. They're 34" long, so should be good for most times I'm likely to need it, but I can easily add another pair of sections to get a longer length. Just need to paint/cover the brass sleeve and it's good to go. They weigh SFA, maybe 150gr all up??

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Also bought myself an Aldi rangefinder so hopefully get out for a quick walk this w/e to try the sticks and rangefinder out at the same time. Looks like the first nice few days for a while!!

[bigpete]

Very nice Flyonline.

Today I knapped my very first arrow point out of SA flint using all primitive tools. I plan to haft it to a bamboo shaft with sinew and hopefully hunt something with it soon very pleased with myself

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[Oldbloke]

I love my shooting sticks. Never leave home without them. Mine come apart too for easy storage in bag.

You will be happy with the Aldi range finder.

Nice flint too

[Oldbloke]

Fish aren't biting and I was sitting under the awning yesterday. Captured this fella.
Spotted him mounting the Mrs today. Lucky bugger. LOL

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[Wm.Traynor]

That's an interesting bird OB but what is that red spot on its throat?

[Oldbloke]

Its a Wattle Bird.

Wattle Birds are very common down southern AU.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_wattlebird

[bigpete]

They taste good too

[bigpete]

That's an interesting bird OB but what is that red spot on its throat?

Thats the wattle. Similar to a chickens wattle

[bigpete]

Oops double post

[Oldbloke]

That's an interesting bird OB but what is that red spot on its throat?

Thats the wattle. Similar to a chickens wattle

That's my understanding too. For years I thought it was because they like wattle flowers. Lol

[Wm.Traynor]

That's an interesting bird OB but what is that red spot on its throat?

Thats the wattle. Similar to a chickens wattle

I'll be blowed Thank you bigpete

[Wm.Traynor]

Its a Wattle Bird.

Wattle Birds are very common down southern AU.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_wattlebird

Thank you Oldbloke

[bigpete]

They're one of my main target species when doing bird control in the vineyard

[Oldbloke]

They're one of my main target species when doing bird control in the vineyard

You allowed to shoot them in SA?
Protected in Vic.

[deye243]

Local name here is a thrush for obvious reasons.

[bigpete]

Local name here is a thrush for obvious reasons.

Why obvious ? They look nothing like a thrush

[bigpete]

They're one of my main target species when doing bird control in the vineyard

You allowed to shoot them in SA?
Protected in Vic.

Yes,they're an unprotected native species here like ravens,galahs,short billed corellas,and silvereyes

[Oldbloke]

They're one of my main target species when doing bird control in the vineyard

You allowed to shoot them in SA?
Protected in Vic.

Yes,they're an unprotected native species here like ravens,galahs,short billed corellas,and silvereyes

What is it the silver eyes & wattle Birds do the farmers don't like?

[bigpete]

They wreck fruit crops big time. In the vineyards they'll peck 1 grape in a bunch which then causes the rest of the bunch to rot,so in short time they can wreck several tonnes of fruit without even actually eating it

[bigpete]

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Got ourselves a dog today. So hello to Mr Scruffalupagus, or Scruffy for short lol

[Billo]

Dragged the 218 Bee out the safe yesterday for the first time in more than a decade.

Deprimed some fired brass and 90 pieces got an ultrasonic clean, trigger got a polishing lightening it down to around 2lbs, thou I would like to get it lighter.

I put some old rings on and a newish scope got install, might even do some reloading this week and go harvest some Crow for a pie

[bigpete]

Dragged the 218 Bee out the safe yesterday for the first time in more than a decade.

Deprimed some fired brass and 90 pieces got an ultrasonic clean, trigger got a polishing lightening it down to around 2lbs, thou I would like to get it lighter.

I put some old rings on and a newish scope got install, might even do some reloading this week and go harvest some Crow for a pie

They do cook up well

[ClaytonT88]

Got the inherited rotary hoe up and going yesterday and turned over some of the garden beds that didn't take too well last year, did a ripper job after some elbow grease cleaning the carbie, flushing out the fuel tank and tinkering a bit. Keen to see how this years crop goes! Up next to get running in the chipper chopper and a trash pump set up, trash pump is surplus to needs but keen to get it running and donate to the local mens shed to raise some funds or the like.

[Oldbloke]

Bloody windy where I am today so no fishing for me. LoL

I got swooped a couple of days ago. Anyway four of these hatched yesterday. Little buggers won't stand still for long but I did get a few shots including one of this little cuetie.

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[bigpete]

Bloody windy where I am today so no fishing for me. LoL

I got swooped a couple of days ago. Anyway four of these hatched yesterday. Little buggers won't stand still for long but I did get a few shots including one of this little cuetie.

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They're bloody cute little buggers

[wanneroo]

Summer is reaching it's peak here. It's funny I saw these articles in Australia saying the Northern Hemisphere is on fire and we have global boiling but overall it hasn't been anything unusual at all. In fact I'd say milder than usual with a few hot days and looks like a big cold front this weekend cooling everything down.

The Kubota RTV broke down with cooling issues so it has restricted me getting around to do things. However got some range maintenance done and repairs done to some of the carpenter bee damage before the Kubota broke. Did some shooting with my Sig Sauer P6 and sorting out my custom Glock build.

I started work on a video series on rural property & homestead security for Youtube. When finished I will be interested to hear the Australian perspective on what I put out. The format I decided on was to do some 8-15 minute foundational videos and then about a dozen practical application videos of 5-10 minutes in length. My goal is to launch it in September/October if all goes well.

[Die Judicii]

Me ,, ?
Yet another day of seemingly endless full trailer (large) and Ute loads of Furniture, Workshop machinery , and associated gear transported to our new home on the outskirts of town.
Time is marching on relentlessly,, only got 19 days left now before becoming a townie.
Ever since I started packing up and transporting stuff,, the dogs have gone berserk and I currently have five other landowners chasing me to fix their woes.
I feel bad cos I just can't do it at the moment.

[Flyonline]

Saturday I took the rifle for a walk and a sit'n'wait over the scrape I put my game camera up on a month or so ago. Winds weren't quite perfect, but good enough and I passed a heap of sign on the walk in. Found the first of the spring wildflowers in a patch of greenhood orchids that have poked up, so the rest should be following on soon.

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Tried out my new sticks in anger and they worked excellently other than a little time consuming to assemble - but they were rock solid and didn't flex at all so I was pretty happy with that. Didn't see anything other than a couple of chough gangs arguing the toss and a few cockies. Picked up the camera and headed back after dark in the thick fog, slightly disconcerting while I was trying to dodge mud patches in the 2wd. Nothing exciting on the camera, the deer seemed to come in first thing on their way back from the farm fringe, or in the dark. A few spikes, some hinds and one decent stag but there were a few groups that came through and a couple of inquisitive faces. There was a lot less traffic than I expected, and no scraping or any other activity, just a quick visit and a sniff and they were gone so I guess I'm looking elsewhere. Still, was nice to get out into familiar territory after a week in Cairns on holiday.

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[Tassiebloke]

shot a rabbit, cooked it up for dinner.
mmm...rabbit burgers...

[bigpete]

Last couple of days I've been doing primitive crafts....

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Note,I didn't knap these blades. My skill level isn't that high