Aside from golf, what other hobbies do you enjoy?

[limpalong]

The 2nd to last sentence made me sad

Had my reasons. Growing up, walked our land and the land of our neighbors hunting rabbits, quail, pheasant, squirrel, etc. All for food. Would take it home and dress it. We needed the food. Fished neighbors farm ponds. Would take whatever fish I caught to their homes since we did not like fish. It was all just part of growing up neighbors.
By the time I headed off to college, "hunters" from Wichita and Kansas City were on our roads opening day of most bird seasons. Mailboxes shot full of holes. Farm implements had tires shot out. Livestock shot. We has one of our dogs shot from the road while she was in our front yard. Totally ruined hunting for me. We did not need the meat any longer and I developed a bad attitude towards the sport. Kansas had just started a deer season in the early 70's. I got a tag and killed one nice buck. Butchered it. Ate it. Never went after another because I had satisfied that want. Continued doing some coyote hunting, simply to assist in control of numbers. Mostly went to target shooting along with quite a bit of trap/skeet.
Began working on the road when the girls were young. Left on Monday morning, returned on Friday night and told the wife I was going hunting for the weekend... she probably would have told me to "hunt" for another place to live! I wanted to spend weekend with the family. Also began working two weekend shifts as a dispatcher for our local police/fire. Just never had time to hunt or reload or shoot. Firearms sat idle season after season. Just lost their appeal.
Back then, I could quote mussel velocity for most any centerfire you named. Memorized Hornady, Sierra, etc. reloading handbooks. Everything went untouched and just seemed a waste to have sitting around. Began selling off piece by piece. Sorta like golf clubs. Made money on some and lost money on others.
I've never missed it. One of the son-in-laws has a safe full of shotguns and rifles. I've never had the urge to even ask him to fire on.
Golf has been good to/for me. It has worked with the love of my life and I. I play golf. She doesn't! When on the road, we always had the first tee time on weekends. Would be on the course shortly after 6 a.m. Home by 9. Wife likes to sleep in. She would just be ready to face the day by the time I got home. Had the rest of the day with family.
I do not resent anyone who owns and loves their firearms, hunting, fishing, etc. For some, it is a fantastic means of father/son, father/daughter companionship. Hunting can teach so much in the way of safety, food procurement, honesty, etc. I won't go into the political side, here, for the ban hammer is cocked and loaded! :>)

Sorry about the long "limp-type" story.

 

[PaPaD]

I retired from 25 years of off-road motorcycling back in 2000. I raced motocross, enduros, hare scrambles and competed in Observed Trials. I still play lead guitar in a classic rock band, and have been since high school.

 

[MCDavis]

Hobbies...trying craft beers and breweries, cigars, reading, Glark's wife...

 

[eclark53520]

I'm losing my touch...I didn't slide a 'MCD's daughter' in there anywhere....

You win this round....Jerk.

 

[eclark53520]

Here's what my latest hobby had me doing most of today

 

[MCDavis]

Here's what my latest hobby had me doing most of today

Just one of the reasons I think you've lost your mind. Be careful doing that, buddy.

 

[eclark53520]

Just one of the reasons I think you've lost your mind. Be careful doing that, buddy.

Always careful. I take every precaution I can. It's obviously not 'safe', but being doubly tied off and overly cautious helps. I'm in no hurry to get hurt or killed. I love a good thrill though. Motorcycles and climbing are my adrenaline fixes.

I rationalize it like this, I'm not a production guy, so I have all the time in the world to assess and make 100% sure I'm confident in what I'm doing. I take advantage of that. On this tree, my original plan changed numerous times and I aborted several plans once I got to the cut because i didn't like the way it looked once I got there. Looks way different from 70 feet in the air...

A professional crew would have had this done in 3 hours max. It took me 8 with my buddy helping me as ground crew(he's also the tree owner). He did very well running the rigging lines and sending me what I needed.

 

[limpalong]

Here's what my latest hobby had me doing most of today

I always suspected something was "off" about this guy!!

You wouldn't catch me 10 feet up in that tree, let along out on one of those spindly branches. I'll work as deep in the ground as you want to excavate, but will not work in the air. Been in holes 60 feet deep and scared to death 8 feet off the ground. Lots more people killed in trench cave-ins than from falling off a ladder. And... lots of people hurt who spend their time cutting down innocent old trees!!!

Be careful!!!!

 

[anonymous golfaholic]

Tree looks dead af too.

I went bow hunting one time. Went in the woods way before daylight. Found a nice straight slender tree for my climbing deer stand in the spot I wanted to hunt. Climbed said tree and wind started blowing as the sun started coming up. I heard a crack as I'm perched in this swaying tree and I realized it was dead. I couldn't get my safety harness untethered quick enough! F that! Made for a short hunt.

 

[warbirdlover]

Here's what my latest hobby had me doing most of today

So you''re on that limb and your weight has "cocked" it. You cut off the tip and now the limb "shoots" you through the sky over to the next tree? Man, I'd be shitting my pants up there.

 

[MCDavis]

Always careful. I take every precaution I can. It's obviously not 'safe', but being doubly tied off and overly cautious helps. I'm in no hurry to get hurt or killed. I love a good thrill though. Motorcycles and climbing are my adrenaline fixes.

I rationalize it like this, I'm not a production guy, so I have all the time in the world to assess and make 100% sure I'm confident in what I'm doing. I take advantage of that. On this tree, my original plan changed numerous times and I aborted several plans once I got to the cut because i didn't like the way it looked once I got there. Looks way different from 70 feet in the air...

A professional crew would have had this done in 3 hours max. It took me 8 with my buddy helping me as ground crew(he's also the tree owner). He did very well running the rigging lines and sending me what I needed.

You're still nucking futts, but I love you like the brother I never wanted.

 

[eclark53520]

Tree looks dead af too.

I went bow hunting one time. Went in the woods way before daylight. Found a nice straight slender tree for my climbing deer stand in the spot I wanted to hunt. Climbed said tree and wind started blowing as the sun started coming up. I heard a crack as I'm perched in this swaying tree and I realized it was dead. I couldn't get my safety harness untethered quick enough! F that! Made for a short hunt.

Tree was a dead Ash from Ash Borer. Fairly recently dead though, still had all the bark and the wood was solid. I wasn't worried about the tree breaking off, this stem was 12-20" where I was climbing. The only real issue with the tree that had me worried was that it was a twin. So two Ash tree's had grown close together and after about 10 years, they fused together and grew the next 60-70 years as one base tree. So it had basically what amounted to a crack running all the way through the base of the tree until they split apart into the two stems. Both tree's were dead. I was worried about the stems coming apart at the base and dumping the entire stem I was in to the ground. Good thing there is that generally, it doesn't just bam fall to the ground like a tree that breaks off, the roots let it go slowly down and the trees under me probably would have propped me up if that happened. Unlikely to have caused death or great bodily harm...hopefully just bumps/bruises/scratches.


Real dangerous trees and tree's close to power lines, I leave to the professionals. Like I said, I'm not interested in dying anytime soon.

 

[eclark53520]

So you''re on that limb and your weight has "cocked" it. You cut off the tip and now the limb "shoots" you through the sky over to the next tree? Man, I'd be shitting my pants up there.

haha, nah, my weight isn't enough to load that tree. I rigged both of the tops to the stem I was on and it wasn't much of a rodeo at all. Pretty tame removal all things considered.

The top on the other stem was much heavier and had to be negative rigged further, but the stem was much shorter so it didn't throw me around much either.

 

[MCDavis]

Tree was a dead Ash from Ash Borer. Fairly recently dead though, still had all the bark and the wood was solid. I wasn't worried about the tree breaking off, this stem was 12-20" where I was climbing. The only real issue with the tree that had me worried was that it was a twin. So two Ash tree's had grown close together and after about 10 years, they fused together and grew the next 60-70 years as one base tree. So it had basically what amounted to a crack running all the way through the base of the tree until they split apart into the two stems. Both tree's were dead. I was worried about the stems coming apart at the base and dumping the entire stem I was in to the ground. Good thing there is that generally, it doesn't just bam fall to the ground like a tree that breaks off, the roots let it go slowly down and the trees under me probably would have propped me up if that happened. Unlikely to have caused death or great bodily harm...hopefully just bumps/bruises/scratches.


Real dangerous trees and tree's close to power lines, I leave to the professionals. Like I said, I'm not interested in dying anytime soon.

Check out Glark with all the technical tree mumbo jumbo language...I almost think he knows what he's doing!

 

[anonymous golfaholic]

.....generally, it doesn't just bam fall to the ground like a tree that breaks off, the roots let it go slowly down and the trees under me probably would have propped me up if that happened. Unlikely to have caused death or great bodily harm.

"Generally" isn't a term that is very reassuring when death is imminent if the roulette ball lands on green.

My tree had bark and I'm a lightweight but when I heard that crack after the wind picked up, I took my ass down at a record setting pace.