Saturday, September 19, 2009

Twi-lite Musings

This evening, we had clear skies and a rosy sunset, my absolute favorite. It was just fabulous to be outside, tinkering around, watching the sunset, the cat, my daughter run around with her balloon, and the transplantation of our zebra tomatoe plants. Wow, life is truly sweet today.

So much to talk about. This morning, I woke early, did some bokken work and stretched before my children came to join me in the living room. Once I was able to escape outside, I tackled the relatively simple project of stapling two new screens up on our porch where the other screens had been ripped. My main concern is my adventurous daughter climbing and then spilling off the porch, scathed or unscathed. It had been on my mind for months to do this, but I never seemed to be able to get around to it. Now that it's done, it frees up energy for other things and I can breathe easier.

We hit the farmers market, which had been picked pretty clean. That's what happens when you go late in the day, I suppose, but I was really just tagging along. When it comes to the pantry, my lovely wife has all of our bases covered, pretty much.

We then ventured over to the Front Royal flea market, one of the better all-around flea markets out there. I mean, you can still find sweet deals there. Over the years I have found all sorts of wonderful, neat items, such as Spanish swords and block prints of the surrender of Granada.

Today, I came across a scoped Marlin 336W lever-action in 30-30. As mentioned previously, this gun in the SC version is one that I want, I'm just not paying $375 for it. There's lots of these guns out there, so supply is not an issue. I will bide my time and save, as much as I would just love to have one "today."

From there, we soon ended up at the Ole Time Festival of Edinburg, VA. We visited some llamas, toured the old mill/musuem, and checked out crafts and shops. I also discovered Murray's Fly Shop!

Earlier this year, I experienced what could only be called the "call of the fish." Without even knowing "why" exactly, I wanted to be fly-fishing for trout on rivers and creeks. It was like waking up one day, and boom, you just know you need to be fishing. No rhyme or reason. Just boom. That said, I actually want to have a clue about what the hell I'm doing, so I have been wanting to take fly fishing classes locally at a reasonable price. Well, now it seems like I have found the right place to begin!

I have also discovered another amazing place, this one online, called the Wood Whisperer. Notwithstanding the cheezy-ass name, this is an awesome resource for serious wood work for both the advanced and beginners. I want to take my knowledge of carpentry to the next level, and this seems like a great location to do that. It's what got me back outside today in the shed, making it a more organized space where my tools are actually accessible. They used to be, but you know how it is....

Over & Out,

--Nick-Dog

7 comments:

Martin Schap said...

Just the other day I was reading an article on the Marlin 336 in Backwoods Home Magazine. Massad Ayoob has a lot good to say about the lever action .30-30 as the primary rifle for a homesteader. Unfortunately it is pointless for me to own one until Indiana changes the law regarding what we can hunt deer with or I move to a different state. I am assuming yours would be in .30-30? Or would you choose .35 Remington? Between that, your .22, the 12 gauge and the Glock you will have all the basics covered.

Nick-dog said...

Definitely the 30-30. I read that same article and Mad Ogre's discussion of the gun at Madogre.com. Both got me juiced and interested in Marlins.

Yeah, there's several guns on the list, but the money well is limited. Summitgunbroker.com has used 3rd Gen g17s for $369 a pop. I've been waiting for this deal to come around, just so I have a back up (you never know) because he gets a lot of police trade ins, but the cash has to go to other stuff right now.

Damn shame, you know?

--Nick-Dog

PS--That sounds like a really lame IN law. Virginia is looking better and better all the time....:)

Martin Schap said...

Yeah, the law here is a mystery to me, but we did just get permission a couple years ago to hunt deer with pistol caliber carbines. Center fire rifles are the logical next step.

Martin Schap said...

I was checking out summitgunbroker.com last night and I am amazed. $330 for a G22!? Remington 870 for what, $270? I will be keeping them in mind for future firearms needs. An old 870 with a folding stock would make a near ideal car gun for me.

Nick-dog said...

I know! That guy has sick deals! I will be buying from him in the future, methinks.

--Nick-Dog

Ben Hatke said...

I can imagine you as a master fly fisherman.

Nick-dog said...

Yah, that would be pretty cool!

--Nick-Dog