These mini Nutella muffins make for a quick breakfast on the go that still feels indulgent, or an afternoon snack that everyone in the family will adore. So grab a spatula, because this easy recipe is so worth your time!
The post 3-ingredient Nutella muffins may be your new food obsession appeared first on The Manual.
The name was always spoken with reverence, but I had no idea who he was. Then an Army Ranger I’ll call Leroy (because that’s his name) told me he couldn’t go on my T1F Taliban Pheasant Hunt in South Dakota last year because he had a chance to meet Bob Howard, who was on his deathbed in Waco. Leroy’s decision really piqued my interest. Nobody turns down the Taliban Pheasant Hunt—and, perhaps more telling, nobody goes to Waco without a really good reason. It was then that I decided I had to find out who Howard was.
A-googling I went. And it turned out that Robert Lewis Howard was a Green Beret and a TCU grad. He had appeared in two John Wayne movies, making a parachute jump in The Longest Day and playing an airborne instructor in The Green Berets—not exactly a stretch for him. Howard was the only soldier in the history of the United States to be nominated three times for the Medal of Honor, our country’s highest military decoration, which is awarded to members of the armed forces who distinguish themselves “conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States.” The men who fought with Howard all agreed that he should have received a Medal of Honor for each one of his three citations—which explains why he was awarded two Distinguished Service Crosses (the second-highest honor, given in the Army). No matter. He had plenty of other gongs and ribbons. He had a Silver Star, several Bronze Stars, and eight Purple Hearts (though he was wounded 14 times). Then there was all the stuff awarded to him by the armed forces of other grateful nations.
For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why neither I nor anyone else outside of the Army had heard of this extraordinary American. I had theories. First, many of Howard’s actions in theater were still classified. We know he was in Laos and Cambodia before we knew we were in Laos and Cambodia, but we just don’t know what he was up to, apart from getting nominated for the Medal of Honor every few months or so. This was back in the days when a clandestine operation could be run without having to broadcast it on C-SPAN first.
Then there was the rest of the Vietnam war, the part we knew about. Howard received his Medal of Honor from Nixon in 1971, with his sweet little first-grade daughter Missy looking on from the front row. None of the TV networks covered the event. Though Audie Murphy and Alvin York both received a Medal of Honor for their actions in World War II and the Great War respectively, and got the ticker-tape parades, fame, and fortune they both deserved, Howard got nothing, because he fought in the war that the Flower Power generation, led by Jane Fonda and her ilk, who exercised the very rights that the men and women who served in Vietnam fought to protect, demonstrated against by (among other things) spitting in the faces of returning soldiers. You can probably guess how I feel about this issue.
So after reading up on Howard, I decided to follow my friend Leroy’s lead and head down to Waco to meet the man myself. But before I could get down there, on Wednesday, December 23, 2009, Col. Robert Howard died at the age of 70. The next day, the Associated Press ran a 10-sentence obituary. The New York Times and Washington Post followed with slightly longer obits. I couldn’t believe the man’s passing had generated so little notice.
I went to Waco anyway.
Driving down I-35 toward Waco to visit Missy, the second daughter of Col. Robert Howard, I noticed for the first time that this stretch of the interstate is known as The Purple Heart Trail. I was still thinking about the coincidence when I sat down in Missy’s living room to watch a video that few people have ever seen. The video was given to Howard by the Medal of Honor Foundation.
It is Missy’s daddy at 64 years old, with a short, pale blue ribbon and small gold medal covering the knot in his tie, his jaw square and strong, his face still scarred, angular, and violently handsome. He is talking about the day he received his Medal of Honor from President Nixon, of whom he says, “He had nice hands. They were, you know, decent.”
Missy tells me that when her daddy came home to San Antonio, which wasn’t that often, he was a gardener, a gentle man with massive hands and a velvet voice who worked on his roses and never once spoke of what he did in the war. “He could make anything grow,” Missy says.
Now the Colonel’s ocean-blue eyes are focused on some far-away hellhole jungle clearing. Howard says the Hueys took ground fire on the way down to the landing zone, and his platoon suffered casualties even before it landed. But there was no peeling off for this group. Silver wings upon their chests, these are men, America’s best. (No longer do these words remind me of Bill Murray in a greenskeeper’s shed.)
“We finally got in on the ground, and I got with [the] lieutenant,” Howard says. “He says, ‘Bob, we need to secure this LZ [landing zone], and I want you to get a couple of men and secure the exterior of the LZ.’ And I got three men behind me, and I can remember being fired at. I fell backward and they killed three men behind me, and I’m firing and killing the North Vietnamese that’s trying to kill us. So I made my way back to the lieutenant and told him that the LZ was completely surrounded. By that time, one of the helicopters had been shot down.”
This is the only personal account on record of the events for which he received the Medal of Honor. To begin with, Howard seems uncomfortable talking about it. But this is not the most difficult thing he has done. He pauses and draws a breath, then begins to explain dispassionately what happened when the men resumed their operation and a grenade explosion knocked him unconscious.
“When I come to, I was blown up in a crump on the ground, and my weapon was blown out of my hand. I can remember seeing red and saying a prayer, hoping I wasn’t blind. I couldn’t see. And I knew I was in a lot of pain and my hands were hurting. I couldn’t get up, and I really didn’t want to get up anyway because I couldn’t see. And then I finally starting getting the vision back and it was like blood was in my eyes, and I started feeling, but my hands were all blown up.
“And then it was like there was a big flame and there was smoke and there were people screaming and hollering. It in fact was an enemy soldier that was burning the people that would have been ambushed with a flamethrower. And the guy walked up to me and was getting ready to burn me, and he looked at me and he didn’t burn the lieutenant. The lieutenant was about 5 feet away from me, and he’s laying face forward, and he was hollering and he was screaming. I knew he was hurt. And the guy looked at me with the flamethrower, and then I looked at him. I guess I looked so bad and pitiful, he decided not to burn me up. He just turned and walked off.”
Now Howard was unarmed, and his hands had been blown apart. He was peppered with shrapnel. He couldn’t walk. So he grabbed the lieutenant’s shirt and starting dragging him—a big man, maybe 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds—toward safety as an estimated two enemy companies fired on them.
The great man’s face changes as he talks. His jaw stiffens, and his eyes, though narrowing, seem to take on an even more penetrating blueness. I am mesmerized as he relives these moments.
“So I’m pulling him back down the hill, and there was a sergeant that was laying down behind a log with a weapon that hadn’t been wounded that had seen this. But he was crying and not using his weapon. Here I am, begging him to help me because I can’t walk and drag the lieutenant back down.
“I said, ‘Well, give me your weapon,’ and he wouldn’t give me his weapon, but he did give me a .45. Just as he gave me the .45, and I’m trying to tell him to give me a couple more magazines of rounds for it, a bunch of enemy soldiers come running toward us. So here I am trying to fire the handgun, and I can remember shooting this enemy soldier that was fixing to stick me with a bayonet. He was running toward me. In fact, he fell across the lieutenant that I was dragging, and so just as he fell across there was another one behind him. They were trying to get us alive is what they were trying to do.”
The sergeant finally began to fire his weapon, and Howard got hit again. A bullet smashed into a magazine in his ammo belt for his rifle, setting off the rounds he was carrying. Howard estimates he was hit with 15 or 20 rounds of exploding ammunition.
“Here I am thinking, I’m blowing up again,” he says. “And there were other soldiers back behind him that hadn’t been hurt at all that had been watching us being almost executed by the enemy and not doing anything, not even firing their weapons.”
Howard eventually got the lieutenant to a medic. His platoon was trapped under heavy fire and had now suffered too many casualties to fight the enemy on their terms. The medic propped Howard up, and he told his brothers, “We are going to establish a perimeter right here, and you’re going to fight or die.” Then Howard did the unthinkable. He got a radio and called in an air strike on his own position. He ordered the men to make a triangle with three strobe lights around their position to keep from getting hit.
“They brought the fire into our position,” Howard says. “In fact, I remember fire landing right between my feet and, you know, ricochet hitting me in the face. You know, that’s how intense it was.”
Eventually, helicopters were able to extract the men. Out of 37 soldiers who were ambushed that day, six survived, largely due to Howard’s heroics and quick thinking. He acted in a similarly heroic manner and endured similar injuries, saving the lives of many others on two other separate occasions for which he was nominated for the Medal of Honor.
Ten lines. That’s what the Associated Press gave Col. Robert Howard.
Back among the living in Waco, I notice that Missy has inherited her father’s looks. She is slender and beautiful. Her husband Frank Gentsch is athletic and carries his badge and handgun in the comfortable, easy manner one might expect of Waco’s chief of detectives. Frank says that before his first date with Missy, the colonel showed him how he’d kill a man with his bare hands. That must have been a little unsettling, but Frank still has a bullet in his back, so you know the old man was proud of him. On Missy’s lap sits their adopted 3-year-old daughter, Isabella, with a snubby little nose and the cutest fuzzy fro held back with a pink headband. Howard adored her—as he did his other children and grandchildren.
The life of a soldier, especially a Special Forces one, is complicated. There are top-secret stories that can’t be told and endless questions. “When is Daddy coming home?” Or worse: “Will Daddy come home?” Howard was married three times and remained close only to those who “got him.” Like so many of our fighting men and women, he felt tremendous guilt over the many times he was forced to choose between his country and his family.
After his discharge when he was 53 years old, Howard spent 13 years processing claims for the Department of Veterans Affairs and spent most of the last three years of his life in Iraq and Afghanistan, visiting troops, giving talks, and boosting morale. For a soldier, meeting Bob Howard was like a religious experience. Shaking his hand was an honor never to be forgotten. You see, they knew who he was. They got him.
We American civilians can say what we like about the morality of any war, but we should support the American soldiers and their allies whom we have sent to wage it. I’ve visited military hospitals, psych wards, and VAs in Dallas and around this country, and I’ve seen them. Mostly from Korea and Vietnam. Old, unkempt men, the military bearing and pride they once had now gone. Sometimes the only evidence it ever existed is on a battered regimental or naval ball cap. They rock back and forth, mumbling into full jungle beards, with rheumy, blast-zone-empty eyes. Or they sit in pairs, often holding hands, together and alone with horror-story memories that play over and over in their heads. Some sit with their imaginary long-dead friends, whose body parts still lie in the killing fields upon which they once so bravely fought. To America’s eternal shame, for many of them home is a sterile corner of the Cuckoo’s Nest, freezing and drunk under a highway bridge, or, if they are lucky, a spare room in the house of a worn-out son or daughter.
At least Bob Howard was spared that fate. Pancreatic cancer finally stopped him. As the disease spread to his lungs and lymph nodes, his expiry date drew closer, and he was visited by more and more soldiers, most of them old friends. But there were a few lucky youngsters, too, of whom Leroy was one of the last.
And there was always Missy, there with him every day with Isabella. Sometimes his granddaughter Holley, the starting catcher for the Texas Tech softball team, would visit. Or Tori, whom the colonel always called “Victoria.” Tori was always heartbroken when she had to leave her grandpa’s bedside and was a constant comfort to both the colonel and Missy at the end. Howard’s eldest son, Robert, is at Fort Bragg, going through Special Forces school.
As a soldier, Robert had already seen how his father acted around other military men. But for Missy and the other children, their father’s illness, and the parade of visitors it occasioned, showed them something new about their father. When Missy and the grandchildren were around, Howard was the gentle old gardener, the same man they had always known. But when a soldier entered his hospice room, he would stiffen. His voice changed to gravel, and any sign of vulnerability evaporated. He would laugh and bellow orders until the soldier was gone, and then there he’d be again: the gardener with the sparkling blue eyes, smothered in children whom he’d caress with rough, scarred hands.
By all accounts, Howard was a spectacularly bad patient. He was a nightmare for his nurses, refusing to take the painkillers, often swilling them around, then spitting them out after the nurse had left. He was going to be clearheaded until the end.
After yet another astonishing fight, during which the family was told on several occasions that Howard had only hours left, the head of the world’s most dangerous gardener finally fell sideways onto his beloved Missy’s shoulder, and America lost what was arguably her greatest warrior ever.
The name Robert Lewis Howard belongs beside George Washington, John Paul Jones, Chesty Puller, Alvin York, and Audie Murphy, to name a few of the greatest. By the time anyone reads this, Howard will have been lain to rest at Arlington the day before I became an American citizen. I would have given anything to have been with Missy, Frank, and the rest of the family on that day, but I know the colonel would have barked at me to get my worthless foreign ass to my swearing-in ceremony.
Col. Robert Howard’s funeral cortege should have started at the foot of the Jefferson Memorial. His flag-draped casket should have passed through streets lined with thousands of grateful, flag-waving Americans to Arlington, where, in preparation for his final resting place, some politician had been dug up and tossed into the Potomac. But that didn’t happen.
Ten lines. A couple of longer obits here and there. That’s all he got.
On the drive back to Dallas from Waco, I got to thinking. We should rename that stretch of I-35 after him. The Col. Robert Howard Highway. People would shorten it, of course: the Howard.
His life deserves more. But it’s a start.
David Feherty is a golf analyst for CBS Sports.
The post The Greatest Hero America Never Knew The true story of Waco’s Col. Robert Howard. By David Feherty appeared first on You Will Shoot Your Eye Out.
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The first thing you need to know about the Triumph Rocket 3 R is that its inline-Triple displaces 2,458cc (150ci), making it the largest motorcycle production engine by far. Nothing else even comes close.
The Rocket 3 R’s cylinders are like a hippopotamus’ teeth: It doesn’t have many, but the ones it does have are impressive. They have a bore of 4.33 inches – wider than the cylinders in a 707-hp Dodge Hellcat – and a stroke of 3.4 inches. Each one displaces 819.3cc, exceeding the engine capacity of Triumph’s Street Triple 765 sportbike.
Related: 2024 Triumph Street Triple 765 Range | First Look Review
Claimed output at the crank is 165 hp and 163 lb-ft of torque. You can buy a sportbike tuned to make more horsepower, but no production motorcycle churns out as much grunt. Again, nothing else comes close.
The second thing you need to know is that, despite having such an enormous engine, the Rocket 3 R is not an overweight, bloated machine. With a claimed dry weight of 641 lb and an estimated curb weight approaching 700 lb, it’s as light or lighter than many cruisers and open-class sport-tourers.
Even taking its engine size and output into account, the Rocket 3 R remains a rare breed: a muscle cruiser that handles well and has sportbike-caliber components and electronics. And its design, from its mix of brushed, matte, and gloss finishes to its single-sided swingarm, exhibits incredible attention to detail and top-notch fit and finish.
In the late ’90s and early 2000s, there was a displacement war going on among cruisers, with engine sizes growing from 1,449cc on the Harley-Davidson Twin Cam 88 to 1,510cc on the Victory 92C. Then the Japanese OEMs joined the fray, starting with 1,670cc on the Yamaha Road Star, then 1,795cc on the Honda VTX1800, and finally, breaking the two-liter barrier, 2,053cc on the Kawasaki Vulcan 2000, which debuted for 2004.
The following year, Triumph came along and topped them all with the Rocket III, which got its thrust from a massive 2,294cc inline-Triple, albeit with an extra cylinder compared to the V-Twins listed above. The Rocket III was under development in the early 2000s, and with each new displacement benchmark, Triumph’s engineers ratcheted up the engine’s capacity because the company’s primary goal was to be the biggest.
Related: 2014 Triumph Rocket III Touring | Road Test Review
The three-cylinder configuration made sense because the modern incarnation of Triumph, under the direction of John Bloor, had built its reputation and brand image around Triples in bikes like the Trophy, Sprint, and Speed Triple. But the origins of the Triple and the model name came from even further back in Triumph’s history: The 1968 Triumph Trident / BSA Rocket III (the same bike with different badging during a time when both brands were under the same umbrella) was the first three-cylinder motorcycle produced by the British manufacturer. Since the modern Rocket III’s engine would be so large, Triumph arranged its cylinders longitudinally rather than transverse to the direction of travel, as on its other Triples.
It’s been nearly a decade since we tested the Rocket III Touring, which was a conventionally styled cruiser with a single round headlight, driving lights, a buckhorn handlebar, top-loading saddlebags, a passenger backrest, and lots of chrome. At 105 hp and 150 lb-ft of torque, it also had a milder state of tune than the Rocket III Roadster, which made 146 hp and 163 lb-ft of torque at the crank. Both bikes were enormous, scaling in at 906 lb for the Touring and 806 lb for the Roadster.
For the 2020 model year, Triumph hit the reset button. It changed the platform’s name to Rocket 3, favoring the more common and contemporary Arabic numeral to its antiquated Roman counterpart. While that may seem like a quibbling distinction, it represented Triumph’s commitment to building a more modern machine. The engine not only grew from 2,294cc to 2,458cc, it was updated with a new crankcase assembly, balancer shafts, and lubrication system. The Rocket 3 was also equipped with throttle-by-wire, an IMU, ride modes, cornering-optimized ABS and traction control, cruise control, hill-hold control, and keyless ignition.
Compared to the previous platform, the Rocket 3 had gone on a crash diet, shaving off roughly 90 lb. Even though the new engine has more displacement, it is 40 lb lighter than its predecessor. More weight was saved by replacing the steel frame and swingarm with cast-aluminum units, lightening the exhaust system and wheels, and reducing fuel capacity from 6.3 gallons on the RIII Roadster and 5.9 gallons on the RIII Touring to 5 gallons on the Rocket 3.
There are two versions of the Rocket 3: the R roadster tested here, which starts at $23,895, and the GT tourer with a small windscreen, more handlebar pullback, forward foot controls, and a passenger backrest, which starts at $24,595. Triumph also produces some limited-edition versions with special paint, finishes, and details, including the Rocket 3 R 221 Special Edition (which celebrates its 221 Newton-meters of torque), the Rocket 3 R Chrome Edition, and the Rocket 3 GT Chrome Edition.
See all of Rider‘s Triumph coverage here.
Even though the old Rocket III made boatloads of torque, its styling was bland. Its mondo engine, enormous radiator, and 240mm rear tire gave it big-boy presence, but little about the Rocket III said, “Hey, look at me!” A cruiser should not only make generous low-end torque, it should also make a statement, and the Rocket 3 R certainly does that.
It’s a muscle bike with a muscular stance, sitting on fat tires – 150/80-17 up front, 240/50-16 out back – and covered in a wide array of metallic surfaces, as if the entire bike were carved from one big block of metal. The effect is even more pronounced with the Matte Silver Ice paint on our test bike (other color options are Sapphire Black, Phantom Black, Korosi Red, or Silver Ice/Cranberry Red). On the right side is a stunning hydroformed triple-exhaust header that ends in short, matte-black silencers with slash-cut chrome end caps – two on the right side and one on the left.
There is nothing clunky or out of place – no unsightly hoses or wires, no half-baked compromises. The “Rocket 3 R” and “2500 cc” badges are engraved; the matching fuel, radiator, and oil filler caps are brushed aluminum; and even the bar-ends have custom detailing. The coolest styling element, and the one I bragged about to everyone that asked about the bike (it’s a lookie-loo magnet), are the double-hinged, fold-away passenger pegs.
If there’s one thing that looks a little off to me, it’s the dual round headlights. They’ve been a signature Triumph styling element since the ’90s, most notably on the Speed Triple, and they were on the Rocket III Roadster. But with the more modern look of the Rocket 3 R, just as Triumph did with the Speed Triple about a decade ago, evolving the headlights into a more aggressive shape would make the bike’s overall appearance more cohesive.
Hitting the starter button on the Rocket 3 R elicits an authoritative growl, and blipping the throttle at idle causes the entire bike to twist to the right due to its big, longitudinal crankshaft. Perhaps to make the bike more livable, throttle response is a tad dull below 2,000 rpm, but once the big pistons spin up more, the well of grunt feels bottomless. On Jett Tuning’s dyno, the 2.5-liter beast spun the drum to a peak of 148 lb-ft of rear-wheel torque at 3,900 rpm, with more than 140 lb-ft on tap between 2,500 rpm and 5,300 rpm (redline is 6,500). There’s hardly a ripple in either the torque or horsepower curves, with the latter climbing steadily from 47 hp at 2,000 rpm to a peak of 145 at 6,100 rpm. Power is sent to the rear wheel through an enormous driveshaft.
While the 6-speed transmission with torque-assist clutch shifts cleanly without any big cruiser clunkiness, this is not a bike that requires much rowing through the gearbox. Short shift your way up to top gear, and the big mill spins only about 3,200 rpm at 75 mph. On a twisty backroad, just put it in 3rd and forget about it – there’s always enough grunt to pull you out of corner and catapult you toward the next one. And when a long straight stretch opens up, grab a handful and hang on – it’s an experience you won’t soon forget and will be eager to repeat.
The Rocket 3 R is the physical embodiment of badassery. Until you beep the horn. Then it sounds like a Vespa. Even by motorcycle standards, the horn is wimpy.
Motorcycles with ultra-wide 240mm rear tires aren’t typically known for their cornering prowess because it takes effort to get the bike over onto the side of the tire. But Triumph worked with Avon to develop the profile of the Rocket 3 R’s Cobra Chrome tires to ensure their profiles resulted in fairly neutral handling. For a big, long bike, the R3R goes around corners remarkably well, requiring less steering effort than one might expect.
Helpful in this respect is adjustable Showa suspension with damping that’s more sporting firm than touring soft. There’s enough suspension travel to absorb the worst of big hits, but ride quality generally favors smooth roads over bumpy ones. Slowing things down is a trio of top-shelf Brembo Stylema 4-piston radial monoblock calipers – two in front pinching 320mm discs and one out back pinching a 300mm disc – with hydraulic fluid pumped through steel-braided lines. They’re serious anchors that offer outstanding stopping power with precise feel at the lever.
When the Rocket 3 R is keyed on, its color TFT display shows the Triumph logo and a message that says, “Welcome Rider.” Always puts a smile on my face.
I parked the Triumph in the garage at LAX airport during a short trip, and when I returned, I pulled the keyless fob out of my backpack and pressed the bike’s power button. A small red light came on, which means the fob isn’t within range or isn’t working. It was 11 p.m. and raining, and I still had an hour’s ride ahead of me. I held the fob close to the bike and pressed the power button again and again, but no luck.
As panic started to set in, I imagined the Rocket 3 R as HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey: “I’m sorry, Greg, but I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
Turns out I’m a moron. What I didn’t know is that, to save its battery, the fob goes to sleep. And to wake it up, you must press a button on the fob. But there’s not an obvious button, just an embossed Triumph logo.
During my Uber ride home, I sent a grumpy email to Adam VanderVeen, Triumph America’s marketing director, asking for help. I’m sure he laughed to himself as he composed a diplomatic reply informing me that, in fact, the logo is the button, and when you press it, a green light comes on to let you know the fob is sending signals to the bike.
After bumming a ride back to LAX the next day, I pressed the logo-button-thingy, and the Rocket 3 R powered right up. I was relieved that the start-up message did not say, “Welcome Dum Dum.”
Like other Triumphs we’ve tested in recent years, the Rocket 3 R’s electronics package is comprehensive and easy to use, aided by a TFT display with intuitive graphics. Select from one of the three standard ride modes (Sport, Road, Rain) or customize your own (Rider – there it is again, if only they used the Rider logo!), and rest assured that the ABS and TC are lean-angle sensitive, just in case.
As the saying goes, we buy on emotion and justify with logic. The Triumph Rocket 3 R is all about heart-pumping stimulation. It’s the sort of bike you lie awake at night and think about, triangulating a plan to get one into your garage. Just as Sméagol was corrupted by the Ring, the Rocket 3 will take over your thoughts and make you do naughty things. If you want to be King of the Road, there’s nothing else like it.
One early truth we all learn as anglers is that nearly every aspect of our fishing approach can be improved. I’ve been at this over five decades now, and I still learn something different or come up with a new idea to try on most trips. In the long run, that’s the true allure of the sport, I think, the opportunity not only to catch big fish or fill the cooler but to figure out the quarry daily, to connect with your target more efficiently, more smoothly, or in an increasingly enjoyable fashion. All of this, of course, is heightened even more when shared with friends and family.
Still, no matter how many stripes you earn in piscatorial pursuit, both overall success and ultimate fun tend to flow from realizing little things mean a lot. From that point of view, every angler from novice to expert can improve their game by focusing on a few select but vital details that are the building blocks of all that matters when it comes to putting the point to your quarry. Count among these the need for sharp hooks, good line, strong knots, fresh bait, and a properly set drag.
Understanding the interrelationship between time and tides is another such stepping stone, for when you fish is just as important as where you fish. Consider the time of day you tend to hit the water, for example. Most anglers have heard early morning and evening hours are generally the peak periods for connecting with game fish species, especially the wary ones, yet I can’t tell you how often I’ve seen anglers arrive late to the early bite or head home an hour or two before dusk. Departing just before the sun goes down or arriving on the scene at the crack of noon are surefire ways to miss the blitz.
Tidal stages matter too. In hot weather, fish tend to favor the flood, especially in bay areas, as it ushers in a cool, refreshing flow of ocean, sound, or gulf water that seems to perk up the bite. The opposite is also true. In cool weather, ebbing tides tend to be more productive as warmer water is pulled from the shallows and flats, often accompanied by baitfish caught in the current around inlets, passes, outflows, or pinch points like bridge crossings. In these instances, not only does the warmer water put predators in a feisty mood, but the helpless baitfish also serve as a natural chum slick to spark the action.
The key, then, is to figure out when the appropriate tide, either rising or falling, matches up with early morning or evening hours. Plan ahead to fish these occurrences and you’ll maximize your odds of success. It’s not rocket science, but it does take more effort to stay on schedule than you might think.
Digging a little deeper into the tide equation, many anglers believe the first two and last two hours of any tidal movement to be the most productive, and with good reason. Slack tide, that hour or so between tidal changes, usually sees lackluster action and is the best time to grab a sandwich. Mid-tide stages, by comparison, see the hardest-running currents, requiring predator fish to exert extra effort to catch their prey while anglers need heavier weights and lures to hold bottom or get their offerings to run deep.
Ah, but the start and end of each tide is the “Goldilocks” factor, being just right to overpower baitfish and make their escape unlikely from strong-swimming predators ranging from tarpon, snook, sea trout, and redfish in southern waters to stripers, weakfish, false albacore, fluke, and blues farther north. There is a delicate balance at play here requiring a little effort to time correctly but take this basic equation to heart and it quickly becomes ingrained in the psyche—resulting in better scores and more fun on the water.
More Fishing Articles coming soon from Southern Boating
-by Tom Schlichter
The post When and Where to Fish appeared first on Southern Boating.
The most popular New Year’s resolution is to live healthier. Below are some healthy recipes and tried and true tips that may help you start eating and drinking better for good health throughout the year. Each recipe serves 4.
2 Tbsp. onion, finely minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup vinegar or lemon juice (or a mixture)
½ cup oil
1 tsp. mustard
½ tsp. each salt and pepper
½ tsp. sugar or equivalent sweeteners
Add all ingredients to a jar or container with a tight-fitting lid. Seal the jar and shake vigorously. Toss salad with 1-2 tablespoons of dressing per person, just enough to coat the veggies. Delicious on any salad with half the oil of most dressings. We just love these healthy recipes.
Lettuce Wrap Filling:
1 Tbsp. oil
1 cup onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 scallions, chopped
1½ cups mushrooms, chopped
1 lb. ground meat or poultry (or chopped seafood, steak, pork, lamb, chicken)
1 Tbsp. Sriracha or hot sauce
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
In a skillet, heat oil on medium-high. Add onion, garlic, scallions, and mushrooms. Cook 4 to 5 minutes. Add ground or chopped protein and sauté 4 to 5 minutes more. Add Sriracha or soy sauce and rice vinegar and simmer 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat place in a bowl.
Pickled Cucumbers:
1 cucumber, diced
4 scallions, chopped
¼ cup rice vinegar
Pinch of salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. each chopped mint, cilantro, and basil leaves
Mix all ingredients and set aside to marinate.
Dipping Sauce:
½ cup bottled Thai peanut sauce
or
Thai Peanut Sauce:
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. honey or other sweetener
2 tsp. chili garlic sauce
3 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. vinegar
3 Tbsp. water to thin out sauce
Mix all sauce ingredients well.
To Serve Lettuce Wraps:
2 heads iceberg or romaine lettuce, whole leaves separated
¼ cup each chopped scallions, mint, cilantro, and basil
1 hot pepper, sliced thin
1 lime, quartered
½ cup nuts, chopped
To serve this healthy recipes, place lettuce leaves on a platter surrounded by bowls of filling, veggies, herbs, limes, nuts, and sauce. Let guests make their own wraps.
6 cups water
½ cup each of 2 sliced fruits
4-5 herb leaves or flavoring
Place the fruit and herbs in water for 1 hour.
Delicious Infused Water Ideas: Strawberry, Lemon, Basil, Melon, Cucumber, Mint
Orange, Blackberry, Sliced Ginger, Berry, Lemon, and Rosemary, Pineapple, Lime, Mint
Filling:
2½ cups fruit cut into bite-size pieces
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. cornstarch or flour
2 Tbsp. sugar or sweetener
Topping:
½ cup quick oats
1½ Tbsp. brown sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
1½ Tbsp. butter, melted
Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine filling ingredients and place in an ungreased pie plate. Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle over fruit. Bake 40 minutes or until topping is browned.
We hope you enjoy these other healthy recipes.
-by Lori Ross
The post Healthy Recipes for the New Year appeared first on Southern Boating.
In 1968, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell grooved their way across the American airwaves with the lyrics, “Ain’t nothing like the real thing, baby!” And when it comes to the guns serious collectors will pay real money for, they couldn’t have been more correct. Clones, near copies and models that borrow the features of popular guns sell well enough. But for some folks, only the genuine article will do.
Just look at all of the enthusiasm surrounding the re-release of the Colt Python. Like many others, I spent years pining for an authentic Python to join my personal collection. But the two times I came across them in the wild, the price tags were far out of my reach. So I struggled on without a Colt to call my own until about a decade ago. That was when I found a Colt revolver that nobody really wants.
The revolver in question is a Police Positive, one of Colt’s small-frame double-action revolvers manufactured from 1907 to 1947. “Now hold up there, Gil!” you might say. “The Police Positive is a highly desirable collector’s item, with some models selling for as much as $1,200 these days. How can you say nobody wants it?”
Well, not all of them command a high price from collectors. With a 40-year production history under its belt, the Police Positive was made in several variants. They were made with barrel lengths ranging from 2.5″ to 6″, with a polished blued or nickel finish along with wood or hard rubber grips. Caliber options included .22 LR, .32 Long Colt, .32-20 Winchester and .38 Special.
There are two additional caliber options you may bump into that are a bit confusing if you don’t know the history of these guns. Namely, the .32 Colt New Police and the .38 Colt New Police. The truth is they don’t exist. Colt executives didn’t want to provide any advertising for one of their top competitors. So they invented new names for the .32 S&W Long and .38 S&W cartridges so as to avoid stamping the Smith & Wesson logo on the barrels of their guns.
When I found the Police Positive you see here, it was one of two 4″ barrel blued models with rubber grips laying side-by-side in a pawn shop display case. It’s interesting just how much the caliber a vintage firearm is chambered in can be a determining factor in its value. The other one was chambered in .38 Special, it was in fair condition, and it had a price tag of $600, despite some pitting on the cylinder.
This one was in very good condition. It exhibited a buttery smooth, hand-tuned action that revolver enthusiasts long for. The grips were in great shape, the bore and chambers were clean and most of the bluing was intact with some visible holster wear at the muzzle and along the sides of the cylinder. The price tag was a whopping $129. Why? Because the barrel is stamped .32 Colt New Police, meaning that it shoots the now-obsolete .32 S&W Long.
I fell in love with it on the spot. What was not to love? Here was a piece of shooting history that I could take home for less than a used .22-cal. rifle. It has such sleek, clean, classic lines and such intriguing little details like the checkering on the pull-back cylinder release, the small pony logo stamped on the left side of the receiver and all of the detail worked into the rubber of the grip. This particular model weighs in at 18.1 ozs. unloaded, making it feel feathery-light when pointed down.
I was perfectly happy to contact Colt’s archives and pay the fee for a letter of authenticity. I learned that this particular wheel gun was made in 1924 as part of the first issue of the series, introduced in 1907, that ran until 1927. I carefully stripped down the revolver and found it to be mechanically sound inside and out.
There was a good deal of dusty, greasy build-up and oxidation under the grip panels, which may not have ever been removed since they were installed at the factory (remember, folks, to clean under your grips once in a while). I took it to a local gunsmith who knows his way around vintage firearms, and he also gave it the once-over and declared it safe to shoot.
I rooted around a few different shops until I found a single box of .32 S&W Long cartridges that had to be rescued from a nest of dusty bunnies. I shot this for the first time with my dad at one of our family’s annual Thanksgiving morning shooting sessions out behind my brother’s property. Its vintage looks, slim grip and mild recoil brought a smile to our faces. It was one of those wonderful days together that I’ll always treasure.
Finding .32 S&W Long ammunition is not any easier than it used to be. But I was able to wrangle up a couple of boxes of PPU (Prvi Partizan) Ammunition’s 98-gr. lead round nose loads from a local Cabela’s ahead of the latest nationwide ammunition shortage.
So what kind of performance can one expect from a .32-cal. Colt? The Police Positive was able to tap out a best group of 2.39″ with a five-group average of 2.77″ at 15 yards from a benchrest. According to a LabRadar chronograph, the average velocity for 10 rounds of the soft lead slugs was 683 f.p.s. for 102-ft-lbs. of energy at the muzzle.
The day I was at the range with this gun, I had a few Clear Ballistics gel blocks on hand for some shotgun testing. I had an undamaged section in one block that had been used for a shotshell test and figured I should go ahead and see what this little gun could do. The round-nose bullet penetrated 14.75″ when fired from 10′ into the bare gelatin. It stopped facing backwards with no noticeable deformation. So is this gun and ammunition combination a defensive power house? Not exactly, especially when compared to today’s handgun standards. But it performed better than I expected it to.
I have to admit that I’m a bit in awe of this little Colt Police Positive revolver. Not because of what it can do, or the brand stamped on the grip, though I still take pride in owning an authentic vintage Colt. No, my respect for this piece is based on what it represents. When I look it over, I feel like I’m holding a little piece of history.
It was made without the aid of CNC machines, long before industrial computers aided drafting and without many of the manufacturing systems gun makers rely on today. This gun was built by skilled hands dedicated to hard work in factory conditions that would at the least be considered uncomfortable by today’s standards.
With its 100th birthday just around the corner, this Colt revolver not only still works, it has a smoother action than several of the modern guns I’ve shot. I’ll never know the story of this revolver’s history before it became a part of my collection.
Was it carried by a beat cop on his rounds, or was it kept close at hand for home defense? Did it help to preserve someone’s life, or did it just come out of the safe once in a while for a few pot shots at some tin cans? What I do know is that it’s now a part of my family’s history, and it didn’t cost a small fortune to enjoy it.
Specifications:
Manufacturer: Colt’s Manufacturing Co, LLC
Model: Police Positive
Action: Double-Action Revolver
Date of Manufacture: 1924
Chambering Stamp: .32 Police CTG.
Chambering: .32 S&W
Finish: Blued Carbon Steel
Grips: Checkered Hard Rubber
Sights: Fixed
Single–Action Trigger Pull: 5-lbs. 7-oz.
Barrel Length: 4″
Overall Length: 8″
Cylinder Width: 1.25″
Weight: 18.1-oz.
Capacity: 6 Rounds
Twist: 1:16 RH
Rifle Grooves: 6
The post A Little Piece Of History: My 1924 Colt Police Positive by B. GIL HORMAN appeared first on You Will Shoot Your Eye Out.
Meet the DBS 770 Ultimate, Aston Martin's most powerful production car ever.
Sometimes you can’t find Buffalo Trace. Sometimes you want something different, but not too different.
One of the most iconic craft brews ever is going to taste different from now on.
You don't need a full rack of weights to build your best physique ever.
LAMB TOUGH: Ram is developing a new small pickup and we have the first pics. Continue reading here
SHOE-TILITY VEHICLE: Nissan and New Balance designed an SUV that Old Mother Hubbard would love. Continue reading here
POPULAR PONY: Ford can't keep up with demand for the Bronco so its paying people to buy something else. Continue reading here
TRIVIA TIME: Do you know in which states these popular cars and trucks are built? Continue reading here
ONE-OF-A-KIND: Here's why a 1969 Chevrolet Corvette was auctioned for $3.14 million. Continue reading here
PLUGGED-IN: The Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron is a stylish Tesla Model Y competitor and we drove it. Continue reading here
LESS IS MORE: ‘New’ 1969 Chevrolet Camaros are being sold with a modern twist. Continue reading here
NEW UNIFORMS: The NYPD is redesigning its iconic cop cars for the first time in a quarter-century. Continue reading here
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There’s no vacation like a boat vacation, so if you want to spread your wings and explore new territory, consider chartering. Powercats have made great inroads into crewed and bareboat charter in the past few years, so there are lots of options these days both in terms of the vessel and the destination. Let’s look to help you pull off a perfect power charter in enticing ports around the world.
First, we’ll discuss some crewed yachts, but mostly bareboat charters where you take the wheel and the responsibility. Second, you can charter independent monohull boats for fishing or cruising just about anywhere via a peer-to-peer service like Boatsetter, but we’re going to focus on large charter companies that offer multiple models and destinations. Almost exclusively, these organizations work with powercats for their room, stability, shallow draft, and fuel economy.
Start by asking yourself some questions.
Decide what kind of vacation you want. If navigating, anchoring, cooking, and managing all systems aboard sounds like work when you’d rather relax, go with a crewed charter. Hire a captain who will relieve you of the burden of command like running the boat, or hire a team that includes a chef and have a posh experience with nothing to do but enjoy.
Alternately, you can charter a bareboat where, for better or worse, you’ll oversee everything. A bareboat is less expensive than a crewed charter, but you’ll need some basic boating experience and since most powerboats in charter are catamarans, you should know how to drive one so you can dock.
If you’re not sure which to choose, go with a hybrid approach. The chartering company will provide a captain for a day or two to show you the ropes and then you take it from there. This is easier in small cruising grounds where the captain can disembark and get back to base easily—like the British Virgin Islands.
Most power options can be found in the Caribbean and some parts of Europe. If this is your first charter, pick a location like the BVIs to start—the navigation is easy, the winds are steady, and there’s a lot to do ashore (restaurants, bars, shopping).
Chartering Itinerary planning is critical. First, you need to choose a place that will work for your crew. Are you looking for the tropical bar scene, history, shopping, seclusion? Does your crowd want to snorkel in the Exumas in the Bahamas or walk the city of Dubrovnik in Croatia? Some areas are more challenging for a skipper than others. The tiny Sea of Abaco can be crisscrossed in two days, but island hopping in the Greek Cyclades means long distances, lots of Med mooring, and possibly choppy seas. Kids, older folks, and the those prone to seasickness will appreciate a charter with small hops, shorter airplane rides to get to the destination, and fewer COVID restrictions.
No matter where you go, don’t overplan the itinerary. On a crewed charter, the captain will most likely already have a route, but you can ask to offer input. If you want to go diving on the wreck of RMS Rhone in the BVIs, for example, make sure to request extra time in the area.
If you’re creating the float plan yourself, remember that less is more. A packed itinerary isn’t a vacation, it’s a chore, so don’t try to exceed 20-30 miles of distance or 2-3 stops per day. Stay flexible and take each day as it comes which makes room for spontaneity that can be the highlight of the trip.
Most charter companies will post typical itineraries online, and you can add your own flair. Do the loop backward or offset it by a day because every other charter boat will be headed to the same destination on the same day. By backtracking or skipping one place, you may be able to get away from the crowds and have a better experience.
Shoulder season offers more boat options at lower prices, smaller crowds in restaurants and anchorages, and an easier pace to enjoy the destination and its people. Shoulder season in the Caribbean is late May to July and early November. August to October are no-go times because it’s hurricane season. Shoulder season in Europe is May and October, and the no-go time is August when everyone is on vacation, harbors are packed, and the locals get understandably surly.
Ask the charter company about shoulder season specials like 10 days for the price of seven. When you’re not chartering during the peak, you also have a better chance of being upgraded to a bigger or newer boat.
Want more info on chartering? Check out our Beginners Guide to Chartering a Yacht
The first day of a charter can be frustrating with lots of bureaucratic details and waiting. Crewed charters will usually give you a time to board, but you still must check in with the office, complete last-minute paperwork, and meet with the captain to set expectations (both yours and theirs).
When bareboating, you’ll need to provide passport and arrival/departure information and complete any health visas, insurance waivers, and COVID testing. You’ll also have to provide your boating resume (some companies have an online form to complete), and give the crew a list with the names, ages, and passport information of all guests.
On a bareboat, you must attend the chart and technical briefings although some charter companies offer them pre-recorded with online videos that make things somewhat faster. Even if you try to learn everything via video, make a list of questions to ask in person at the base before untying the dock lines.
During the chart briefing, you’ll find out about local tourist highlights, how and where to catch (or reserve) moorings, how much they cost, and if you pay with credit or cash. You need to learn about shoal areas and where to get weather information. Listen for special warnings about unmarked hazards, underwater cables that could snag an anchor, temporary closures, and the location of fuel docks. Base personnel also often have the best tips on where to go, what to avoid, and where to eat.
The technical briefing teaches you about the boat. Even after watching a video, lean on the base staff to show you all the systems and how they work because as captain, you’ll be responsible for managing water, power, and waste aboard for the duration of your vacation. Make sure you understand how to start the generator, monitor batteries, change water tanks via the manifolds, run the dinghy, and operate the electronics. Use your phone to record the information of a live briefing or bring a friend for a second set of ears because the details come fast.
Examples of where you should focus include: 1) Checking that the chartplotter information is in English and in units you’re comfortable with like feet. 2) Asking about any offset in the depth reading so you know whether the instruments calculate from the waterline or from below the keel. 3) Turning on the VHF and making a call to another boat. 4) Learning the size of fuel and water tanks and knowing where the fills are.
In the galley, ask personnel to show you how to start the stove, and see if there is a breaker on the panel as well as a solenoid switch. Lift your propane tank to see how full it is, and make sure you have tools to switch propane bottles if needed. Is the barbecue gas or charcoal and do the fridges work?
On a crewed charter, the chef will contact you ahead of time with questions about preferences and allergies. Don’t ignore this request for information. Also, stipulate how many meals you’d like to eat ashore to help them plan.
Provisioning a bareboat charter means you’ll be stocking the boat. Most charter companies will provide a list from which to choose and will deliver the food on the first day or you can shop on your own for better prices and more options. Beware, however, that stocking a week’s worth of groceries isn’t something that one person can manage, and it takes a lot of time.
If you’re working with the charter company, choose “partial provisioning” that allows you the flexibility to eat off the boat at restaurants. A rule of thumb is to provision 3-4 dinners on the boat if you have people who like to cook. If the group is all about dining out, provision just breakfast and lunch groceries for the week.
If you’ll be cruising in hot climates, provision about a gallon of bottled water per person per day. Most people don’t drink the boat water because they have no idea where it came from or how long it’s been in the tank. Choose one-gallon bottles that are easier to store and pour into individual reusable water bottles.
Always provision less than you think you’ll need because most boats come back with lots of food. Plan to eat on board on the last night to use up what’s left.
If you’re new to chartering or your own boat is smaller or less complex, don’t opt for a giant powercat that may be intimidating to drive and have loads of advanced systems. If you’ll have kids aboard, plan for their safety and entertainment. Bring games and rent water toys like kayaks, SUPs, and snorkel gear on-site. Take a day before or after the charter to explore beyond the boat.
Whether you’re seeking treasures on the islands of ancient Greece or tucking into a lobster dinner in the BVIs, a boat vacation opens new worlds that you just can’t experience when you stay in hotels. Best of all, once you get this power chartering thing down, you’ll have lots of options without ever needing to learn to sail. Enjoy!
Read More:
Beginners Guide to Chartering a Yacht
-by Zuzana Prochazka
The post Tips for Chartering a Yacht appeared first on Southern Boating.
The Roman Empire is renowned for many things. For the cities it has conquered, the art and culture it has cultivated greatly, and even the structures it built that still leave people in awe today.
We look at the Colosseum and marvel at the possible fights and events held there, sure, but there’s something we can also say about the fact that it’s still standing today. These people used some good foundations to build that massive structure.
Roman concrete is a subject of research in recent years, and one YouTuber has taken the task of recreating it himself. Shawn Kelly, host of the Youtube channel Corporal’s Corner posted a video on how to make some.
Using volcanic ash, pumice, and limestone, he was able to make a brick that can go up against modern concrete. To learn more about this building material, Open Culture has got you covered.
Check the video above to see the process!
Since the end of World War II, Americans have been fascinated with French cuisine and desired to incorporate it into the American diet. French cuisine has come to epitomize the refined palate--even for something as simple as a sandwich.
Food & Wine magazine brings us eight French sandwiches that we must try soon. Among them is the pan bagnat, which is from the Provence region in the south of France. It uses a particular type of sourdough bread. Inside are anchovies, capers, black olives (specifically niçoise olives from the Nice area), tuna, hard boiled eggs, and roasted red peppers. I want to make one, but perhaps I should go to France to get an authentic pan bagnat.
-via Glenn Reynolds | Photo: Arnaud 25
A collective refusal to do business with someone is an ancient tactic, but it finally got a name in 1880. Charles Cunningham Boycott owned some land himself in Ireland but also worked as the land agent to the 3rd Earl of Erne, who owned a large amount of land, on which tenant farmers made their living. Boycott was a ruthless landlord, levying fines against the farmers and raising their rent even in years of crop failures. The farmers formed a league for collective action in 1879. In 1880, their pleas for rent relief went unheeded, and several families were evicted from their farms.
The league then organized a personal shunning of Boycott. No one would deliver goods to his home, no one would provide services like laundry, and no one would harvest his crops. People even stopped greeting him on the street. Read how the scheme played out and how Boycott's name became a verb we use to this day at Amusing Planet.
Humans, and many other animals, evolved to seek out and enjoy anything sweet, because the sugars those foods contain provided us with much-needed calories and energy. That's a useful adaptation because in the natural world, sugar is relatively rare and comes in fruits and other plants that also provide us with other nutrients. But humans found a way to process sugar into its purest form, and we went wild for it. That's not healthy, but it is lucrative. The money to be made in sugar production led to some shady, deceptive, and downright cruel episodes in history. Even today, when we know that sugar is bad for us, it's hard to get away from it, even by giving up candy, soda, and sweet treats. Food products that aren't even supposed to be sweet contain sugar, and it's difficult to find alternatives without it. That's because those who profit from those products know we are evolutionarily wired to prefer anything with sugar in it.
Stephen Kennedy is an independent American photographer. He began his freelance career at age 15 in 1980. Since then he has completed more than 2500 commissioned and self-generated projects in 26 countries and all 50 US states. His current project, Cross Country Camera, is a documentary series capturing artists in their studios and places of inspiration. To date, he has completed sessions in 35 states with 76 artists. He expects to have visited more than 100 artists in all 50 states by late 2023. Stephen resides in St. Louis, Missouri. His website is www.crosscountrycamera.com.
TOOLS:
0:00 – Intro
1:14 – The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
5:32 – Fujifilm X100V
13:16 – Photo Mechanic
18:44 – Magcloud publishing service
26:19 – Cross Country Camera
Once a week we’ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, but the possibilities they inspire are new. Sign up here to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.
Intelligently designed bird feeder
The Effort-Less birdfeeder is a gravity-fed dispenser that is easy to fill and clean, holds a lot of seed, provides a second lower tray for spillage for birds that typically feed on the ground. It is elegant, durable, and allows large numbers of birds to feed peacefully for long periods of time. It has an effective squirrel guard and is free-standing on a hefty base.
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The quality and design of this simple birdfeeder stand out. The design is a total rethink of many traditional styles that obviates all of the problems with other feeders. The quality is in the myriad thoughtful details of materials, construction and presentation that make it perform perfectly.
All of the parts fit together exquisitely when one follows the extremely clear instructions. Assembly was actually fun and without stress.
We have numerous feeders and fountains for the birds. After introducing the Effort-Less, we have seen a sudden influx of numerous kinds of rare birds, sometimes in large flocks. Not sure if this is coincidence or an overlapping of factors. Nonetheless, the birds are surely making good use of the feeder. We have owned this from spring to the beginning of autumn and it has madenbirdwatching a great pleasure in our lives. – Erica Heftmann
Perfect hummingbird feeder
There exist a seemingly endless variety of hummingbird feeder designs, and over the years we’ve tried many only to encounter a variety of annoying shortcomings. However, we have finally discovered the perfect feeder: the Aspects HummZinger Hummingbird Feeder. We have been using 4 of these feeders for about 5 years, and are completely satisfied with their design.
Where we live, mold growing inside a hummingbird feeder is a constant problem. Most feeders are extremely difficult to clean due to their vacuum feeding system that requires a narrownecked food reservoir. The HummZinger feeder solves this problem by using a simple bowl reservoir, not a gravity feed. Thus, when you pop off the top you have a completely open container that couldn’t be easier to clean. Another problem is that ants would occasionally find one of our feeders. Once this happens the only solution is to move the feeder and hope they don’t find it in the new location, or add an ant trap, which are hard to find. The HummZinger feeder solves this problem by having an integrated ant trap. Just fill it with water, or let rain do it, and you’ll be ant free. A final problem we’ve experienced with some feeders is that rain water can easily run into the feeding holes, diluting the solution to the point where it no longer attracts the hummingbirds. The HummZinger feeders address this problem by having a raised flowerdesign around each feeding port that diverts much of the rain water. While this isn’t a complete solution, this feature definitely reduces the problem.
The feeders come in 8, 12, and 16 oz sizes, with 3, 4, and 6 feeding ports respectively. The feeders are constructed of an “unbreakable” polycarbonate and come with a lifetime guarantee. We use multiple feeders in the “Mini” 8 oz. size because we find that the eastern Ruby Throated hummingbirds don’t “play well with others”, and too many ports on a single feeder lead to excessive squabbling. However, in the western US, where I have seen swarms of hummers happily sharing a feeder, the 16 oz model may be a better choice.
The only potential fault I can see with these feeders is that even the 16 oz model has much less capacity than many gravity-feed brands, which means that they must be refilled more often. We don’t find this a problem because by the time one of our feeders is empty it is also in need of a cleaning to avoid mold. – Dave King
Best bird attractions
The Backyard Birdfeeder’s Bible
Of the many backyard birdfeeding books on my shelf, this one is my favorite. Serious birders treat it as the best too. It introduced me to some neat tricks – using dried dog food as substitute feed, making suet holders from slab wood, planting small patches of grain as attractors. – KK
Feeds birds, not squirrels
Brome Squirrel Buster Bird Feeder
During the summer, the yard may have held flowers and been bathed in bright sunshine, but the winter can be cold, dark and barren without birds to fly around and liven things up. Wild birds are lively and colorful, and the seed you supply will keep them around and help sustain them through the winter. They are endlessly fascinating to watch and hear, and they really don’t eat very much.
Squirrels, on the other hand eat quite a bit. You don’t need to feed them, but if they can get to your bird feeder, they’ll empty it in no time at all.
Here’s where the Brome Squirrel Buster Plus comes in. The endless battle of wits between Bird Feeding Man and Squirrel is won most of the time by Squirrel. You will start off grossly underestimating the squirrel’s athleticism and sheer persistence. They can jump, and hang, and climb better than you can ever imagine. Happily, the human’s superior intelligence is manifested by many models of “squirrel-proof” bird feeders.
The best of which, especially for the price, is the Brome, made by a company in Canada. Birds, having evolved to be light for ease of flying, perch on the bottom and eat at will. Squirrels, being larger and heavier, weigh the bottom down and close off the openings (thus keeping them from just trying to shake the food out). The quality is high, the pressure is adjustable (to keep out starlings, grackles and other possibly large, unwanted birds) and all the parts are replaceable. It also has a lifetime warranty against squirrel damage. Your bird seed supply will take a long time to run out – the feeder has a large, 3 quart capacity and there will be no thievery. – Matthew Perks
Automatic bird bath filler
I sent one of these to a friend who lives in Tasmania. She has a wonderful assortment of southern hemispherical birds that she likes to feed and provide water for, but she travels on a regular basis, and the birds empty the bath in a day. She tried various home-brew ideas for automatically filling the bird bath, but none really did the trick for her. Also, this one’s the most aesthetically pleasing I could find, as the reservoir sits separate from the bird bath.
I sent her the KozyFill, she set it all up, fine-tuned the height of the various tubes, and voila! She’s got a yard full of happy Eastern rosellas, wattle birds, the occasional cockatoo, and other sundry birds of the Antipodes. Watching the birds beats TV any morning: you’ve got drama, conflict and humor in dazzling color right outside the bedroom window. – Rick Turner
Plans for a homemade automatic bird bath purger-filler by James M. Clark here. –Elon Schoenholz
With the goal of democratizing satellite images, SkyFi has launched a new app for iOS, Android, and web browsers that lets anyone access high-resolution photos of Earth quickly, easily, and affordably.
St. Peter Stiftskulinarium in Salzburg, Austria was originally founded as a monastery, not an eatery, during the Seventh Century A.D. In 803, Bishop Arno of Salzburg reported dining there. So we can say that this establishment has been serving food to visitors for over 1,200 years.
Now, though, unlike Bishop Arno, you have to pay for your food. Moss and Fog describes and provides photos of this beautiful mixture of medieval architecture and modern fine dining.
Christopher Columbus himself might have eaten here. In 1783, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ate here with his family. You can have a similar experience and enjoy classical and modern Austrian cuisine at the restaurant. There’s also a Mozart-themed banquet that features live music while you eat.
-via Nag on the Lake | Photo: St. Peter Stiftskulinarium
Making good pancakes is one of the easiest processes; however, you need just the right ingredients. Consider this recipe next time: 2 large eggs 1 1/4 cups whole milk 4 tablespoons melted butter 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 3/4 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon sugar . UPDATE: Here’s what I know: ♦ I […]
The post Recipe for Perfect Pancakes appeared first on The Last Refuge.
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