Actual letter from someone who farms, writes well and tried this:

I had this idea that I could rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up
On corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first step
In this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they
Congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me
When we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at
The bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away),
It should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over
Its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home.

I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The
Cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were
Not having any of it. After about 20
Minutes, my deer showed up– 3 of them. I picked out a likely looking
One, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer
Just stood there and stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist
And twisted the end so I would have a good hold.

The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was
Mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step towards
It, it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope .., and then
Received an education. The first thing that I learned is that, while a
Deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they
Are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope.

That deer EXPLODED. The second thing I learned is that pound for pound,
A deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that
Weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity. A
Deer — no chance.

That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no
Controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off
My feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me
That having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had
Originally imagined. The only upside is that they do not have as much
Stamina as many other animals.

A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk
Me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few
Minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing
Out of the big gash in my head. At that point, I had lost my taste for
Corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end
Of that rope.

I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it
Would likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no
Love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the thing,
And I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual.
Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had
Cleverly arrested the deer’s momentum by bracing my head against various
Large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think
Clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared
Some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in. I
Didn’t want the deer to have to suffer a slow death, so I managed to get
It lined back up in between my truck and the feeder – a little trap I
Had set before hand…kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back in
There and I started moving up so I could get my rope back.

Did you know that deer bite?

They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would
Bite somebody, so I was very surprised when … I reached up there to
Grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer
Bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you
And then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its head–almost like a pit
Bull. They bite HARD and it hurts.

The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and
Draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was
Ineffective.

It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but
It was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer (though
You may be questioning that claim by now), tricked it. While I kept it
busy tearing the tendons out of my right arm, I reached up with my left
hand and pulled that rope loose.

That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day.

Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on
their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and
their hooves are surprisingly sharp. I learned a long time ago that,
when an animal –like a horse –strikes at you with their hooves and you
can’t get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise
and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause
them to back down a bit so you can escape.

This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would
not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different
strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run. The reason
I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws
at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back
of the head. Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides
being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned
to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.

Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not
immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has
passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on
you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering
your head.

I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away. So
now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a
scope to sort of even the odds.

All these events are true so help me God…

An Educated Rancher

(Thanks to Keith Farley for sending this to me)

Click below:

hugeURL.com It’s kind of like TinyURL but different.. .DUH!

No?

Me either.. Just had to find a reason to post this photo

-Mike

This morning, my wife is dropping me off at the barn and I get to ride my 1983 V65 Magna home. It’s a red letter day!

Normally, by now, I would have the motorcycles home from storage out at the farm. This year, we have been blessed with cold weather most of the spring and we have been very busy with other things.

A little history: When I was in High School in 1983 the Honda V65 Magna was introduced to the world and it was every motorcycle loving 17 year old’s dream bike. I was no exception. Although at the time, I had now way of affording a brand new motorcycle. I was still riding my 1973 Yamaha RD 200 Electric and my Dad’s Honda CB450. Over the years I have had a few other bikes such as a Yamaha 400 Special, Yamaha 650 Special and a couple of dirt bikes. Flash forward to 2004. A friend of mine was buying a Honda VTX 1800C and needed to get rid of his “old bike”. I asked him what kind of bike was it ( I never saw him ride a motorcycle before that ). He said it was an Old Honda Magna and he wanted $xxxx for it. I said I would take a look at it. When I pulled into his driveway I about S*** my pants! It was my dream bike. At that point it was 21 years old and had 25,000 miles on it. It had been layed down but was repaired and ran good. I bought it on the spot.

Since then, I have put about 6000 miles on it and added a few things. A windsheild, an old fart’s backrest and GPS. This year I’m going to add a camera mount so I can do some videos using my flip camera.

Here is a 1983 TV AD for this bike:

The V65 Magna was the fastest production motorcycle from 1983-1986 when they quit making them. It has 120hp and only weighs like 450lbs. They say the top speed is somewhere in the 150mph range. I’ve never had the guts to go that fast.. Maybe someday on a track, but I doubt it. The acceleration is incredible. 0-55 can be done in about 35 feet and 3 seconds. It’s CRAZY fast.. All while getting 45mpg! I’m kind of a slow rider so I never get crazy on it, but it’s nice to know the power is there when needed (or wanted)

This is my motorcycle last fall.

So, I look forward to putting a few miles on it today and then get it cleaned up and ready for the motorcycle season here in Michigan (however short it is)

When I was 15 years old, I bought a 1968 Solex 3800 moped. The Solex was a french made motor bike that was unique. It has a small 2 stroke engine that sits on top of the front wheel and drives with a small friction wheel right on the front tire. It was a TRUE moped. It had a real bicycle rear end and pedals. With the engine lifted off from the front wheel, you pedaled just like any bicycle. With such a small engine (38 – 50cc depnding on the model and year) you would sometimes have to “help” it up a big hill. The top speed on mine was around 20mph. To start it, you would put the engine down and hold the decompression valve in. Start pedaling and it would fire up. Away you go at a blistering pace

It was first made in 1946 and the design hasn’t changed much over the years. They were made by Velo Solex in France until 1978 and then the license to build them was sold over and over again. Today they are still made by Velosolex America, LLC and they still look the same as they did in 1968 or 1981 in my case.

Here is a video I found on Youtube showing a good example of a 1978 Solex 4800 being started and driven around.

I miss my old Solex. I spent many hours riding around the northwoods around here until I got my drivers license and my Yamaha RD200 motorcycle (which I miss also).

Hope you enjoyed my slow trip down memory lane with the Solex.

Here is a link to the DTV Coverage after all the analog TV stations are off the air. Find your market on this list and see what you will be able to get off an antenna with a Digital Tuner or converter box.

http://www.fcc.gov/dtv/markets/

I’m impressed with some of the projected gains in my DMA (designated market area)

Happy TV watching!

-Mike

I’m planning on attending my second podcamp in June. It’s Podcamp Ohio 2. I went last year and it was a very informative event and if you are interested in podcasting I would suggest you go too.

PodCamp Ohio 2 will be held at The Ohio State University Mendenhall Laboratory on Saturday, June 20, 2009 from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM. It’s free to attend but donations are welcome. Visit www.podcampohio.com for more information.

See you there!

I’ve decided to sell my Honda V65 Magna which I didn’t even get 200 miles on last summer and buy one of these:

It’s a 2009 Honda Ruckus scooter. The thing will go 45mph and is only has a 49cc engine. It gets 110mpg (which is about 65mpg better then a Prius). In Michigan it requires no Motorcycle license (which isn’t a problem for me). It requires no insurance to be road legal and you don’t HAVE to wear a helmet to ride it. The registration only costs $20 for 3 years instead of $36 per year. I think it will be perfect for my travels around Traverse City and will be a lot of fun on Sugar Island.

We will see if I really get one.

Have fun!
-Mike