Good day

Today was a good day! After all the work on the drywall, sanding, more joint compound, etc; of the previous days, it was time to let things dry. Even better, for the second straight day, we were expecting the high to be above freezing. It was even in the mid-thirties at 6:00 am. Perhaps spring will arrive.

The wife had to go off to work early, so we got up at 5:00 am. After she got out the door, I made a quick run to the coyote traps. Nothing got caught, but I used this opportunity to retrieve the trail-cam. When I reviewed the pictures, I discovered I had collected several pictures of a Barn Owl. That was unexpected, but certainly welcome. As an added bonus, one was a decent picture of the animal in flight.

Next I got down to the real business for the day; skinning the raccoon. I had managed to collect several of them this year in my traps. It has been many years since I did any serious trapping, so I am happy with the success. This raccoon was thawed out for skinning. Since I am a taxidermist, I planned to make at least one into a full body mount. Another one will be a “coon skin” hat for the wife’s grandchild. It has been quite some time since I prepared an animal for a full body mount. I am glad to say it went well, but took a lot of time. The basic skinning went fast, but all the little detail work needs to be done and done right (carefully). Finally, I completed the task, washed off the skin, and let it dry a while before starting with the preservative.

I even finished in plenty of time to attend the on-line webinar about preserving data for lawsuits. Interesting to me since I am a lawyer, but a bit esoteric for others. Anyhow, it was a free Continuing Education Unit, so I was there for it. Good price.

Then I went over to the pond and drowned a few wax worms for an hour. Sadly, the fish were not cooperating. However, I did hear some Canadian Geese honking away. We had the one here earlier in the week in the pond, so it was good to hear more. The pond is thawing out and almost half clear (or is it half frozen; I never could figure which way I must look at these things).