Worked outside all day. Got the doors straightened out on the shed, cleaned up in the yard and took up old landscape timbers. Gonna go with the plastic click together rocks when weather straightens out for good.

Gotta get ball joints, u-joints, and tires for my 78 Bronco when money allows.

 

Raining some here in Salyersville...

On a serious note, I'd like to have a meet soon; But how would everyone feel about it being up in my neck of the woods this time?

We can cook out, or just go to a local place and eat...Doesn't matter.

 

The ground was almost dry here. Now its pouring rain and high winds.

 

I would be fine meeting in your area. Keep in mind though, with me, weekends are becoming more and more busy with kids and sports. Not to mention that work comes my way too on weekends.

 

Well, today I saw something behind my house I would never guess in a million years I would see, a Mountain Lion! I watched him for a couple minutes. At first I thought it was a big red fox. I grabbed a rifle scope I had sitting on my safe and I got a real good look at him. After looking at pictures on the internet I determined he was a young one because his fur was quite red, and he had a couple rings on his tail like a coon. There have been reports for a few years about people seeing them around here, but I actually saw one. Wow!!!

 

Got em around here to and panthers. They make a alful noise at night sometimes. Seen them quite a few times in the late afternoon.

 

Actually mountain lions, panthers, and cougars (the cat) and considered the same animal. Is it legal to shoot them?

 

Around here we have light brown ones and some are solid black.
As far as I know they are illegal to shoot. Even though the authoritys preach that they don't even exist here.

Boy can they tear up a deer. I've came across one mutilated by a cat.

 

I don't think we have them around here. At least I've never heard of them.

We do have bobcats though. It's wild when you hear them cry out. Everything, even barking dogs, get quiet.

 

I called the Fish and Wildlife folks in Frankfort today and was told they don't exist in Ky. He said they get calls all the time about people seeing animals that don't exist. I told him that if/when I get the chance to shoot one, I will bring it to him. He advised that I not do that since it's likely somebody's pet. I told him that anybody that has a 100 pound cat needs to have it shot.

 

Lol those people are full of it. It wouldn't take much to find one in my backyard.

 

You have to look at it from the DFW point of view. People claim to see things all the time. (Even Bigfoot has it's own TV shows) It's not that they think people are lying to them, they simply can't take the word of someone not trained or educated in animal identification. And, of course, some people will lie as well.

Species don't "exist" in Kentucky unless a wildlife biologist identifies it. Tracks, scat, and photos don't count. They have to see the animal or it's carcass. Also, animals can wander into Kentucky from surrounding states. One or two of a species would not be counted as a "population."

I know, for example, there was at least one bear in the Montgomery and Powell county area at least four years before DFW acknowledged them. They did document the "sighting" but it didn't count.

 

There have been bear sightings in Lewis County. We'll see if that cat shows up again. Hopefully I will be able to get it.

I was in your general area yesterday Ken. I had a truck to work on at the Pilot at Exit 113.

 

You're right. But I think they need to put a little more effort into explaining the biological (and apparently legal) definition of a species occupying the state. There's almost a degree of arrogance in how they told John that mountain lions do not exist in this state, but it's quite obvious he did indeed see one. They should say something like this instead "I'm sure you did indeed see a mountain lion, but we cannot officially state that mountain lions exist in this state until one of our biologists sees one in person or they recover a carcass." Instead, they just kind of arrogantly say "they don't exist in this state". On another note, we've had a big elk repopulation here. Back when that first started, a few of them wandered over into Virginia. Virginia refused to acknowledge their existence or manage them. They allowed their deer hunters to blast away at them and literally allowed them to check them in as "deer". I remember pictures of guys with big 6x6 bulls that had been tagged as deer. It really made a lot of Kentuckians very mad. I'm not sure Virginia even acknowledges them now.

Ultimately, I think it boils down to a matter of money and laziness. Let's face it, mountain lions are here. When the DFW finally acknowledges it, they'll have to do studies, pass regulations, investigate sightings, investigate poachers, plan a hunting season, re-locate animals, and ultimately get off their *** and do something to manage the animals. The longer they can put off the inevitable, the easier it is for them.

I had an old man ask me a question once--he said "How many crows have you seen in your lifetime." I kind of looked at him funny and said "I guess millions." Then he asked, "Have you ever seen a baby crow?" I just kind of scratched my head and he laughed. We all know they exist, but we just don't see them.

 

Glad to see Doc in these parts!

you're hitting the nail 110% on the head. The DFW does as little as possible, until they HAVE to.

Then **** and moan when you "Screw up"..

Frankly, I don't feel that as a KY Permenant resident, that I should have to pay the DFW to hunt in KY....Maybe yes for tags to actually take a deer, etc..But not to simply carry my gun in the woods.

On another note, my taxes have came in and I'll be replacing my worn out waterpump tomorrow, given it doesn't flood me out.

Will be ordering the Cab Mount Bushings, so I can replace my Radiator Core Support very soon.

Keep watch on my youtube channel if you wanna follow along.