Benjamin air rifle head shots but the neighbors did a better

[oldsparkey]

I guess that we can be just as injured - or dead - from a simple mistake as from serious intent, ehh? I keep my windows closed, locked, and the alarm system activated. But, then, having been in combat zones does that kind of thing to some people.

A person should try to not live in the past since it is the past and move on to the future since that is where the hope and life is. I spent my tour in the service ( Marines & Navy ) and that is ancient history , times gone forever , never to return. Then spent 27 years at war here in the states with the Sheriff's Office , that is also ancient history and water over the dam.

If I had something from my past that would be worrying me so bad as to lock myself up every night then life would be wasted. I will go with the open windows ( Not in the Summer ...to dam hot) no security system except for myself and YES , Locked doors since the Wife insists on them , for the little they are worth. ( A lock and the rest only keeps the honest person out )

You have to move forward looking forward one day at a time or always remain a slave to the past and looking over your shoulder.

Chuck......

[gbinga]

We'll open a second story window at night at the right time of year, but doors stay locked, and the locks are well installed.

Chuck is probably right about the people getting invaded being logical targets, it makes sense and I'm sure he knows more about it than the average person considering his career.

But the criminals are a darn sight dumber than the police, and here in the USA we do occasionally hear about the police kicking the wrong door. Wrong address on the warrant, warrant for no good reason, or just simply screwed up and went to the wrong house. Police are just human, after all. We had a case in Atlanta where they kicked the door of an elderly woman in a wheelchair, on a warrant that was based on bogus intelligence and never should have been issued at all. It was a "no knock" warrant - they just kicked the door and came in with no warning.

The old lady did the logical thing under the circumstances. Picked up a .38 revolver and popped off a couple of rounds. Hit the bastards, too. At that point they shot her repeatedly, and she died.

There are several Atlanta policemen in jail for that deal. When the warrant was investigated it turned out that it was based on what amounted to a bucket of hogwash.

Point being - if the police can make mistakes like that, who knows what sort of dingbat decisions some doped up gang banger might come to.

Over the years I have had several patio door repair jobs where a burglar would come up on the back porch, pick up a heavy object like a potted plant or a propane bottle, and hurl it through the patio door glass. Dash inside and take stuff like purses, wallets, etc, and leave. Didn't care if anyone was home or not, and fortunately didn't bother the folks sleeping upstairs.

I consider house dogs to be the ultimate security system for when I am home asleep. If they hear something interesting going on in the middle of the night, they are awake and making racket RIGHT NOW - which is more than I can say for myself.

George

[oldsparkey]

A dog is one of the best alarm systems you can have , they keep on working when the power fails. They are also a real good deterrent for anyone prowling around.

We had a husband and wife living in there house surrounded by a orange grove which was back off the beaten path. It seamed that someone liked to peep in the wife's bedroom window and her husband called us to report it.
We patrolled the area but never caught the guy. Can't get real sneaky when there is only one road in and the same one out.

Well the husband got fed up with this joker and told us he was going to fill the guy's backside with bird shot. I mentioned that it was not the best thing to do and there has to be something better. He got a smile on his face and said he knows what to do and for us not to patrol there till he calls us.

As the husband explain things later .... He brought 4 of his catch dogs in the house with him and his wife. ( Catch dogs are pit bulls used to catch wild hogs , they love to bite and hold on when told to Catch .)

Seamed like the prowler showed up later that night. The husband eased over to the front door , quietly opened it and then told his dogs to ....CATCH.
Off go the dogs and the prowler. After a short chase and a little while later the dogs returned with some shreds of slacks and a few pieces of a shirt but no prowler.
Checking the grove and following foot prints the prowler did get away ( No Body in the sand ) and for some reason he never reported getting dog bit or returning to peep and prowl around there again.

[catfish]

chuck your mask friend in your back yard must thought he was on a camping safari in the okee with you.

[oldsparkey]

chuck your mask friend in your back yard must thought he was on a camping safari in the okee with you.

He is about like Coonzillla that was at Cravens Hammock when we camped there in the swamp. He was a camper educated coon and could find the food all the time , ours not his. Till we put all of it in the outhouse at the end of the dock plus he did not know how to open the door to it.
Judging from the log book at the hammock , with everyone doing that to save there food he might of figured out how to open that door by now.

This one is not civilized or he would of found my pack ( food box) of camping food that I keep on the back porch so it is ready to go on a minutes notice. Plus if I am out there with a beer and don't want to get up and walk a few steps into the kitchen I can just reach over , open the pack ( food box ) and have a snack.

[oldsparkey]

Talking about camper educated coons........ I was reading a trip report on a different web site and the folks were at the Collier Seminole State Park down by Marco , Fl.

Here is what they had to say...........
My wife and i camp at the Florida state parks once a month, we decided to camp out at this one this past weekend and boy do we regret it. Not only were we the only ones there, but it was infested with mosquitoes, biting flies, and a handful of other flying bugs. The raccoons were aggressive. We set up 2 tents, one to sleep and one with supplies. BIG MISTAKE!! THEY CAN OPEN YOUR TENTS!!! The little buggers walk right up to you, they tried opening our tent while we were in it, you could see their little paws trying to grip the zipper (ITS CRAZY)!!!! Then we had a campfire going, with food on a skillet and there was 9 raccoons surround us in attack mode. We ended up having to pack all of our things and hit the road. We wouldn't camp here ever again! We recommend Highlands Hammock, Hills-borough, Rainbow, and Blue Springs to name a few. Good Luck!

*********************************************************************************************************************************************************
Campsites 1 to 19 are the best but there are bug's there. It's a good campground to spend a night at and then put a boat in and go down the Blackwater River past Mud Bay to Grocery Place and camp or on out to one of the out islands for camping.

A little history about this area.....................
http://coastalbreezenews.com/2010/09/23 ... -goodland/

[islandpiper]

Chuck wrote: We had a husband and wife living in there house surrounded by a orange grove which was back off the beaten path. It seamed that someone liked to peep in the wife's bedroom window and her husband called us to report it.

************

There was a fellow like that up near Negaunee, Michigan. They finally caught him, a middle age Finnlander named Ole B. Peekininn .

piper

[Kayak Jack]

There was a fellow like that up near Negaunee, Michigan. They finally caught him, a middle age Finlander named Ole B. Peekininn .

I hope that isn't scheduled for your next book.

[oldsparkey]

Felt like I was camping last night. The weather is a little better ( 50's at night ) so I had the bedroom window partially open. Around 3:30 A.M. I really felt like I was camping , two coons got into a discussion in the woods behind the house. That is something I expect to hear off and on during the night when camping in the woods down here , not here at the house.

Turned over and laying there something said to look out the window a little after 4 A.M. There is was , going over the yard , sniffing here and there then he would dig down a little and get a grub for a snack.

I guess that discussion in the woods a Little earlier was about who has the right to jump the chain link fence and come into the yard to check for snacks. Pretty soon he might be after the navel oranges when the sweeten up just a little more. "O" Well there are a lot of them and after the two hard freezes he is welcome to them. He can have the lower ones , I will turn the higher ones into fresh orange juice. Since he is getting rid of the bugs in the yard he deserves the desert of fresh orange's.

The more of those bugs he gets the less for the armadillo and the possibility of me having to get up and go out to dispatch a armadillo in the early morning hours. Who knows he might be after that Texas Turtle , don't think so but I can hope so.

[Kayak Jack]

Sounds like a time for raccoon soup!

[oldsparkey]

Sounds like a time for raccoon soup!

Heck No....

I enjoy knowing he is around here and that there are more then just him in this area.
It's nice to see some critters in this mess of so called humanity and civilization referred to as a community. Besides he is doing me a favor and exterminating the grubs in the yard that will never hatch out. The way I see it he is beneficial and not hurting anything.

Chuck.........

[Kayak Jack]

You are then, the only human I've ever met who could find anything good about a raccoon.

[a Bald Cypress]

According to the noted Mr. Boone, they make a good hat.

[oldsparkey]

You are then, the only human I've ever met who could find anything good about a raccoon.

He is not bothering me like the ones that invade a campsite so why should I bother him. He is just doing his Coon thing and having a meal while helping me , Live and let live.

Besides it takes me back to the stories my Uncle would tell about when he and dad were growing up in Wisconsin. He and Dad had some unusual pets , one had a Coon and the other had a Skunk.

I will not bore you with the details of those two pets and no they were not domesticated ones but gotten when they were very young from the wild. By the way the skunk was not descended but had the complete weapon system much to the coons dislike with rough housing with it after it thought that was enough.

[Kayak Jack]

A good raccoon is a dead one.