The Bug House

Or should I say "Why I love the fact that my Wife loves Pinterest"...lol!

Still Here!!! Got out yesterday to do some scouting, and try to shoot a bird. Saw TONS of deer sign and flushed 3 Grouse. Got 1 shot off but I missed. May head to a friends field this evening to find some Turkey.

Hey Bobby! I like to hunt Turkey also, still fairly new to it but learning more and more every season!

Wood is the way to go IMO, especially if can cut it yourself. Thats how I get the majority of my wood. Also, I saw the photos of your house, a woodstove would fit in there just great! A ceiling fan on the high ceiling will solve that problem. A good friend heats his 2500+ sqft house exclusively with wood using an outdoor furnace. He has 150 acres or so, and has an essentially unlimited supply of wood.

We are transitioning to Smart Meters here as well, there will supposedly be access to all sorts of rate and usage info once it's installed, we'll see. We do the same by leaving the oven open Shaun, lol! The prevailing wind here is from the NE, the previous owner had additional insulation put on that side of the house when he resided, helps quite a bit. Funny you mention the grill Adjam5, use it quite a bit here as well. Once during an extended power outage, we cooked anything we needed on the grill. The wife was sold after that, especially for things that really stink up the house.

That makes 2 of us! If thats the case, count me in. I'd be happy to volunteer to organize the list as well. Either way, MatthewsTXMan is getting a gift from me, hope he likes smoked maple cheddar!

HI! Welcome, lots of good stuff here.

Although energy conservation is a year round effort in our home, heating season always seems to really drive it home. Figured I'd share some of the things I do and perhaps pick up a few tips.. 1st thing is the size of our house, only being around 1100 sqft it's not terribly difficult to heat/cool the place. I burn #2 fuel in a forced hot air system and wood in a typical woodstove. The stove is in the basement and I can easily get the entire living space over 70° if its not to cold. We keep the thermostat set at 63° and I usually burn well under 300 gallons a year (Heat only) and I split around 2 cord of wood and can burn about that in a typical Winter. In this climate, thats not a lot. ALso have a wall mount AC, 6900 BTU, that will cool the entire living space. Only really have to use it on the hottest days of the year here, can't imagine why previous owner installed it? Also use plastic window shrinkwrap when it gets cold, that makes a HUGE difference. General common sense attention to electricity use is always good. I have an electric water heater, we never use hot water for laundry, and use a clothesline during the Summer. I've also been known to use a drying rack near the woodstove to dry laundry in the Wintertime.....don't seem to be able to convince the wife to use that method. lol! I've been using the same CFL bulbs for around 5 years, some people don't like them for a variety of reasons but they suit us just fine. Not entirely convinced of their cost savings, I'd like to convert to LED bulbs down the road. Another fairly large utility expense here is water, We're on town water & sewer and it costs us around $1200 a year. When I run the dehumidifier, I dump it into the washing machine. Also have a sump pump in the basement, I use that water to irrigate the garden in the and also in the washing machine. I also collect rain water off the metal roof to water the garden. I have an incredibly complicated system......consisting of several 5 gallon pails I got off of Craigslist for free. lol! I just put them out when I need water and away when I don't. Anyone have any tips that they use? I'll post more when I think of them. ETA: We also use our dishwasher ONLY when it's properly loaded to full capacity.

Is this open to everyone, or only those who celebrate Christmas exclusively?

Strong work! You've every right to brag, be proud to have contributed to that ranking!

....be "God Fearing" or "Warm-Hearted"? By "Warm-Hearted" I mean just generally be nice to people, or just treat people how you'd like to be treated, regardless of your personal beliefs. By "God Fearing" I mean suscribe to specific set of religious beliefs. I'm asking in a respectful manner.

Yes, really cool to see them! I'm close to the CT River valley and we have a fairly strong breeding population in the area. I've seen them a number of times in the past few years. Last Fall I was loading wood into the basement and a HUGE adult circled overhead for about 30 minutes. I estimated a wingspan over 6', I watched it for about a 1/2 hour like I mentioned, I don't think it beat its wings once the whole time.

If that is true, its pretty disgusting.

Type of music? When I first heard that Johnny Cash was going to cover NIN I didn't know what to expect. But his version is better than the original! This song is absolutely haunting.

North East Earthquake! Coincidently heard a local program on the radio this AM about the quake. Seems the layers of earth above the fault line here are denser and more compact, thus transferring energy more efficiently. It would take a less powerful quake in the East to cause major damage than it would in California.

No..I doubt that will happen bug..frankly i never heard of the band Nor Breaking benjamin till yesterday I know, was just kidding. You may be surprised but I never heard of those other bands either.

ROFL..y'all know where I stand I thought you started the WI charter of the Staind fan club!!

One has to be extremely slow to be trampled by turtles. Ironically they play pretty fast! Whaling on the banjo & fiddle! http://vimeo.com/m/10874311

Moose freed by Game Warden Thanks, got it now. Great vid MTXMan, different than the one I saw.

Music....staind Lol!

Type of music? Been listening to Trampled by Turtles recently.

Health Update... Great news!

The USGS link I posted indicates that's not the case.

What does hunting mean to you? Hunting to me is the best way to foster a deeper understanding of land stewardship. I didn't grow up hunting, but I always wanted to, hopefully I'll keep learning and be able to teach my children.

any person with half a brain would deduct from my original response to the question would be no never heard of "Staned" so I just plainly stated what I do listen to.. just an innocent statement of what I listen to..but NOOOO...the next guy is the one who got his panties in a knot and took everything to the extreme and then the rant began carry on if you wish, I thought I was done with this thread the first post When you responded to a thread about a specific band, which by your own admission isn't worth wasting your time on, you initiated a rant. In doing so, you condemned the OP's choice of music and implied that your own choices are superior. Which, quite frankly, seems to be a common occurrence. To be honest, I find this to nothing more than harmless, sarcastic , entertaining banter.