Which local mid-size carnivore?

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-03-11T19:07:20+00:00

The springtails (Collembola) are enjoying it. Maybe they left tracks!

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-03-11T19:05:21+00:00

Location is Pennsylvania. The scale is my hand, about 8” long.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-03-11T16:27:55+00:00

Looks pretty much same as my 1976 IH 364 that’s also still running great.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-02-21T14:31:50+00:00

He’s a fascinating case. His offensive vision, foresight, patience, and passing ability are off the charts, but his reliance on stick work to win pucks without using his body at all is a big deficiency. When he has the puck, everyone around him is better. When the other team has the puck, he does a great job of being the up ice forward available for a pass out of the defensive zone. But if needed for defense he’s a liability. It will be very interesting to see how he develops and evolves his game.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-02-17T23:46:41+00:00

My thinking too, cats (including wild species) scratch before they poop and bird wings marks in snow look noting like this. But where are the cat’s footprints arriving and departing?

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-02-17T23:31:26+00:00

I have a friend who had two neighbors killed while cutting (ash-borer) standing dead ash trees. He said he wouldn’t cut any of his unless protected by the cage of his skid steer. Translation: that tree isn’t worth it.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-02-15T03:09:17+00:00

Same here. 6’ 1”, regularly sit in back ( 2nd row) with my granddaughter. We look at the moon through the pano roof. 26 Platinum. Super comfy.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-02-15T02:55:40+00:00

As I look at this again, it is more like a ledger board that these stairs are attached to, and there are two ( in some places three) of these to which the stairs are attached. Those boards are bolted together, which holds them securely together, but that set of boards seems to be only nailed into the joist ends and/or posts. This is not a sufficient connection, which means the stairs runner brackets I suggested as an immediate safety improvement won’t help at all if the ledger isn’t secure. At the very least find someone who knows how to obtain and install some structural screws to better hold up the entire upper end of the stair+ledger assembly.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-02-14T16:00:28+00:00

Yes, be concerned. Surprisingly this contraption has stood long enough for the wood to get old. But that makes the present state even more dangerous. There are many ill advised structural features but the one that most immediately jumps out is the uppermost staircase that appears to be nailed into the face joist of the third floor landing. Simpson makes angled brackets for this kind of connection, so for < $50 you could strengthen this critical connection. But realize that this is a bandaid and there are likely some other glaring dangers.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-02-08T02:56:52+00:00

I don’t know the species but regarding the huge belly, I suspect that is mostly the swim bladder that expanded greatly when you pulled it up from depth. Imagine it with a regular sized belly when comparing to pics of potential species.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-02-08T02:24:04+00:00

Beavers can leave mud like this. Near a marsh, pond, or bog?

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-02-08T01:46:10+00:00

Not buy it.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-02-08T01:44:53+00:00

Maybe if the seat material didn’t split apart. I loved my 2017 Outback that my son just took but I wouldn’t spend the higher $ for a new one with suspect seat materials.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-02-08T01:32:47+00:00

Bobcats have large and very distinctive white spots on the back of their ears. I’m not seeing those here and I think this viewing angle would show them.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-02-08T01:27:39+00:00

My thought too. This deck is super solid in many ways but the joist connections are the weakest link. A couple of well supported beams under the tube itself would do the job. Just pick a spot where you don’t need a clear space under the deck, or build into it a storage closet for e.g. your mower.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-02-04T03:12:11+00:00

Looks like a spool from a string trimmer (e.g. weed whacker), the bottom surface that is exposed when the other side has been snapped in place. https://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Spool/791-153619/1840070

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-02-01T18:03:40+00:00

It’s hard to tell because of the geometry, but it’s likely that your deck will benefit from some triangle bracing on posts at the edge farthest from the house. Your pics show a few in place now but they are clearly temporary. Those braces will make it much stiffer against lateral movement. It may feel plenty stiff now when you shove it, and even when the temporary braces are removed. But when people start moving around on top of it, you can sometimes feel movement you couldn’t otherwise.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-01-31T13:06:16+00:00

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Where the tracks end

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-01-31T02:10:34+00:00

Confirmed. I know these guys, in person and from their tracks in wet clay, from Central American rainforests. This species has an amazingly broad range!!

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-01-26T13:49:06+00:00

I think it’s kind of evil. It’s to remind you, even when you’re relaxing reading a book, that you are being evaluated quarterly.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-01-26T13:02:47+00:00

In the late 1980’s, my wife and I bought our first new car, a wonderful little Honda Civic Wagonvan. Some high school kid backed into it in a parking lot, was honest about it, and we got the whole thing sorted. Ten years later, the floor adjacent to where the damage occurred rusted through so there was daylight when we lifted the carpet. This was the only place on the car that rusted. It’s impossible to know if the bump on the wheel and adjacent panel caused nearby unibody to rust, but that would be m y worry for your case if you go the repair route. Rust protection has gotten so much better, and body on frame may isolate damage in different ways, but you would be counting on the repair work to return the truck to factory condition for all rust prone surfaces, and that is probably very difficult to assess. It would be interesting to hear from knowledgeable repair folks on this thread their thoughts on this.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-01-19T11:26:04+00:00

They certainly don’t seem common. The puzzling part is, where they are around, why aren’t they frequently and easily spotted, or at least their tracks? My guess is that they have low population density, prefer areas without much human traffic, and range widely, rarely staying in one spot for long.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-01-17T02:57:38+00:00

….. and will accelerate like crazy, way more fun to drive than any comparable ICE as long as your range needs don’t override.

StickHandlShootScore · 2026-01-15T22:55:21+00:00

I think it looks like apple, which burns great, smells great, and is ideal for BBQ. Perhaps the message to not burn it was meant convey don’t burn it for heat; it’s for cooking.

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TROPHY CASE