Search results

We got back last night from a three day pack trip into the Wind River Range. Covered around 18 miles in three days, over some very rough country. That's the price of admission for some world-class scenery (think Yosemite without the crowds and highways) and wildlife watching: Pikas (the...

I almost always prefer the natural-type fish to the weird ones. I'm sitting here looking at my hillstream loaches, padamya barbs, choprae danios, and Himalayan sand loaches, and I can't imagine trying to improve on them. For me, this is especially true of form. My angelfish have been bred to...

Looks like you have some maggots and pupae. The orange stuff is probably just their droppings. You should have a frightening number of flies in a week or two.

Probably my most unusual terrestrial plant is the Himalayan maidenhair fern in my Paludarium. I also have LOTS of different mosses growing above water, natives of Wyoming and Michigan. And a few mystery plants that found their way in with the mosses and started growing like crazy. I also have...

I enjoy the international flavor of the forum, too, and I often click on people's "Location" when I have no idea where it is. Most of those end up being in the UK. It's really dry here, so the fires are coming. They just haven't started yet. We didn't get the May/June rain and snow like we...

Hasn't been too bad here yet. A few hazy days, but haven't been able to smell it yet. Hopefully it will stay that way.

About to put some trout in the smoker. 😁

Went on a four mile hike in the canyon with the girls and the pup, with heavy pack. Training for a planned backpacking trip to begin next weekend. Found some good-looking bow wood, too. Just need to contact the Forest Service to find out how to harvest it legally. Now, to start moving...

Glad you decided to go for it. You've received some good advice here. A few other tips: --Josh's Frogs sells a fruit fly medium that is easy to use, grows a ton of flies, is nourishing to your critters, and contains a natural (non toxic to fish and other critters) mold inhibitors so it doesn't...

@Rocky998 You might be interested to know about these fish. I caught most of them in a big hole where a tiny creek emptied into a big lake. The water was moving, which makes presentation a lot easier, but it was really easy to see the fish rise to the fly. Best of both worlds! But here's the...

It's a shame. I've always wanted to keep this species, but I love planted tanks. Same problem with tinfoil barbs.

It's true what the bumper stickers say: A bad day fishing is [usually] better than a good day working. But a great day fishing? Man, that's about as good as it gets. Smoked trout for supper, anyone?

I've heard those are really tough on plants. True?

Yeah, I'm not talking about non-native English speakers. I actually really respect them and appreciate their efforts, just as people in countries I've traveled in seem to appreciate my feeble efforts to communicate in the local language. I'm talking about people who are obviously typing on...

For me, it's long posts with terrible spelling and punctuation. It's a form of selfishness, in my opinion. It shows that, if the poster is thinking at all about anyone else, they're thinking, "What I have to say is so important that I expect people to decipher my cryptic spelling, wade through...

I once worked in a restaurant that had these huge convection ovens in the kitchen. Each oven had little sign on the door that said, "Caution: Hot."

Putting the first layer of fiber backing on what I hope will be my hunting bow this fall. I'm backing this one with dogbane fiber. This is a "new" thing: I'm sure others before me have used dogbane to back a bow, but I don't actually know of anyone who has, including written sources. So, I'm...

That's the safe move. If the aquarium sand is too expensive (it is for me!) you can also use "play sand" from your local hardware or home store. Lots of people on here use that and it works fine.

Here you go. You can see the wave effect on the backdrop. It looks rather nice. It's subtle, and I doubt most people will even notice the change, but after around seven years of caring for this tank, it was time for something better than the black table cloth duct taped to the back. :lol:

I've used soil under Black Diamond sand before. I've never had great luck with cories, for some reason, despite trying various different substrates. The tank with Black Diamond was the only time I've ever kept a whole population of cories (pandas, in that case) alive and healthy, with long...

Thank you! It was the first song I wrote after my mom died. These stories were kind of sacred to her, because she fought chronic pain for so many years and identified with them so strongly.

We were goofing around down town today and wandered into a custom cabinet shop. We had a great conversation with the lady running it, I think the wife of the wood worker, who was fascinated with my bow-making and my wife's flute playing, and had interesting answers to my questions about the...

Sweet ride, man. Needs some flame decals and a skull handlebar ornament.

I recorded this song about four years ago. On the surface, it's about Frodo and Sam, but it's really about my mom. I have a friend who is struggling, so I decided to make a video of it. It's pretty dark, but hopeful...kind of like life sometimes. Enjoy.

Yeah, I've never had any interest in compounds. I don't really have anything against other people shooting them. To me, the whole fun of archery is that it's low-tech and traditional. Why mess with a design that fed our ancestors for thousands of years? 😁🏹

I think the heaviest one I've made is my current hunting bow, which pulls 57 pounds at 27 inches.

Well, I finally got paid for all my work on this bow, but not with money. That smile. 😊 That's his dad helping him get the hang of it.

Yep

The LFS has a couple of anole lizards on sale, and I'm considering it. They don't fit the biotope, but there are lizards of similar size that do (several smaller agama lizards are common in the Himalayas) which are very hard to find around here. It sure would be cool to have some critters on...

Added a springtail culture to address some minor mold issues, and added a pipe from the waterfall to get moisture to some mosses on the far end that are drying out. I don't like the way it looks so will probably come up with something better at some point, but for now it seems to work. That's...

Replaced the old fabric backing with black window film. Looks nicer and more elegant. Wow, putting one of those on an already-setup 150g is WORK! Glad that's done. 😜 Was away for three weeks, traveling then a case of covid. But water parameters and fish health all optimal. When...

Lovely!