Fresh made daily. Take 3

Friction folding knife

Fresh made daily. Take two

He made a really neat trailer today to use with my 4 wheeler.

I can think of all kinds of things to haul with this.

Just another day in paradise and he had it made!

Fresh made daily

Bearded ax

Tomhawk

Making deer sausage 2010

Well the grumpy old men (the blacksmith and Terry) made deer sausage this week.

The process actually started Friday when the venison and pork was ground and seasoned.

Here you see the son and oldest grandson helping in the stuffing process. This was done on Sunday afternoon.

Yes that is a gun on the counter! You never know when someone might come to steal your sausages.


Monday morning . . . 7 AM and darn foggy the smoking starts.

Bentley is inspecting the ash pan.

To smoke a 100 pounds as they were doing took about 10 hours.

I had to work so there aren't many "during" pictures.






As you can see the skies cleared up some time during the afternoon. BT is checking the temperatures of the sausages here.








This was pretty close to the end. The sausages need to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Sorry I have no pictures of the finished products. However if you go here you can see the finished one from last year.

Grumpy old men

One grumpy old man is holding a 21 inch bass. Quite a chore out of a 6 inch ice hole.

Just another day in retirement

Here is brother Pat, maybe this should be titled "What not to wear"













But on to more important things. Fish were biting as fast as you could pull them in.







Grumpy old men, some older than others.












This is the oldest old guy, Terry.









The blacksmith pulling in a bluegill.







The final total 175!







Going back tomorrow for more. One can never have enough fish.

Retirement is . . .

When the thermometer says it's cold. It's cold.

No forging in this kind of weather. The shop can be warmed up, but a 200 pound anvil takes a long time to warm.

Next best thing to do? Tie flies.

Ice fishing is calling. Check back later.