Amazing Nature

[Outdoor Writer]

31 minutes ago, PRDATR said:

There are a lot of types of puffers from ones sold in the tropical fish trade that only get a little bigger than an inch to giant ones in the wild that get to over three feet. We caught a lot of them in the summer on the east coast using sand worms and squid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_puffer

We would clean them and remove the skin then flour them and fry in a pan with bacon grease. They taste a bit like Walleye, the meat is very firm and white. I have seen a few turn up in shrimp nets as bycatch and in the early 2000's while in Rocky Point, they were selling them in the fish market calling them "chicken fish".

We called them blowfish. Caught them in LI Sound when fishing for porgies and flounders. We tossed the blowfish back, tho. Never ate any.

[PRDATR]

5 minutes ago, Outdoor Writer said:

We called them blowfish. Caught them in LI Sound when fishing for porgies and flounders. We tossed the blowfish back, tho. Never ate any.

So did we. I grew up on the South Shore of LI and caught quite a few growing up there. I spent most of my time after school, weekends and nearly every day in the summer either fishing, clamming or at the beach. We had five kids and Mom didn't work or drive when I grew up. Dad worked at Grumman during the week and worked at the Deli or the Paint Store on Saturday and everything was closed on Sunday except bakeries. There were no size restrictions or limits back then except for Fluke and Stripers so I kept most everything and my grandmother would show me how to clean and cook the fish, eels, crabs and shellfish. We rarely had to buy bait and always brought home some fish for dinner.

My earliest recollection of fishing was out of a rowboat with my father and grandfather catching flounder in the Sound where my grandfathers brother had an old house right on the water. I was three or maybe four and could barely crank the reel.

https://www.edibleeastend.com/2018/04/17/blowfish-long-island/#

[Outdoor Writer]

21 minutes ago, PRDATR said:

My earliest recollection of fishing was out of a rowboat with my father and grandfather catching flounder in the Sound where my grandfathers brother had an old house right on the water. I was three or maybe four and could barely crank the reel.

https://www.edibleeastend.com/2018/04/17/blowfish-long-island/#

My aunt had a house on Pulaski Rd. in E. Northport. I lived in northern NJ but spent many weekends at my aunt's in my early teen years. We also fished from a 14' rowboat with a small kicker on it. We often hung out at Crab Meadow Beach and did some crabbing and eeling off a bridge somewhere near Huntington. I learned to drive out there on her large semi-circular driveway when I was about 12. There was a huge potato farm directly across the road. After they did the mechanical harvest, we could still gather bushels of them. 

[PRDATR]

3 hours ago, Outdoor Writer said:

My aunt had a house on Pulaski Rd. in E. Northport. I lived in northern NJ but spent many weekends at my aunt's in my early teen years. We also fished from a 14' rowboat with a small kicker on it. We often hung out at Crab Meadow Beach and did some crabbing and eeling off a bridge somewhere near Huntington. I learned to drive out there on her large semi-circular driveway when I was about 12. There was a huge potato farm directly across the road. After they did the mechanical harvest, we could still gather bushels of them. 

Yeah when most people hear New York they think of subways and skyscrapers. Long Island was largely agriculture and you would be hard pressed to find better soil conditions and with close to 40" of rain it stands to reason why there were so many potato farms. In 1947 a guy named William Levitt carved out 20 square miles and changed home building forever when he built Levittown. Those first houses were basically built in an assembly line onsite complete with radiant floor heating, many of those homes still have it in them today. They also came furnished with washers and dryers, not bad for $8,000. Today just the taxes on an original home are more than that a year with many people adding extensions and such in todays market many of those homes are sold for 40 times that amount with yearly property taxes of $12K or more. Newly married GI's eager to have a house would stand in line over night to get one. Not only were there homes built but also areas known as "Greens" where a row of stores were built along with a public pool open only to Levittown residents. Each spring pool tags were, and still are, mailed out and you have to wear it to get in. Basically a round metal ID Tag on a small bungee that you wear around the wrist or ankle. Crime rates were and still are some of the lowest in the nation but the cost of living now is high much due to high taxes but teachers are paid very well. I grew up in a neighboring town without access to a public pool but most people had above ground pools since back then most familes had from three to ten kids. If you drove down my street there would be 50 kids outside playing as our parents always told us to go out and play, just be home at 5 for dinner and after dinner when the street lights came on we had to be home too. Houses were never locked up and some people left the keys in the ignition. For 25 cents I could ride the public buss to Jones Beach which was about six miles away. We didn't have mountains on LI but the Catskills were just a couple hour car ride.

[Outdoor Writer]

56 minutes ago, PRDATR said:

Yeah when most people hear New York they think of subways and skyscrapers. Long Island was largely agriculture and you would be hard pressed to find better soil conditions and with close to 40" of rain it stands to reason why there were so many potato farms. In 1947 a guy named William Levitt carved out 20 square miles and changed home building forever when he built Levittown. 

Levitt was the eastern version of John F. Long. He started Maryvale in 1955. We live in Maryvale Terrace, built by him in 1959. We purchased our house in 1980 when we returned from our 3-yr. stint in Colorado. 

[PRDATR]

1 hour ago, Outdoor Writer said:

Levitt was the eastern version of John F. Long. He started Maryvale in 1955. We live in Maryvale Terrace, built by him in 1959. We purchased our house in 1980 when we returned from our 3-yr. stint in Colorado. 

I installed the electrical for pools when I moved here in the 70's on a lot of his homes. I think they went for $30K new. 100 amp Cutler Hammer panels. The breakers would just fall out when I removed he dead front.

Still, he made a lot of people homeowners. By the time I got here Maryvale was a very rough place to live.

[Outdoor Writer]

5 minutes ago, PRDATR said:

I installed the electrical for pools when I moved here in the 70's on a lot of his homes. I think they went for $30K new. 100 amp Cutler Hammer panels. The breakers would just fall out when I removed he dead front.

Still, he made a lot of people homeowners. By the time I got here Maryvale was a very rough place to live.

They were half that price initially. He built the models right near what was Maryvale Golf Course.  My house has an old 100-amp Federal Pacific Stabloc setup.

[PRDATR]

1 hour ago, Outdoor Writer said:

They were half that price initially. He built the models right near what was Maryvale Golf Course.  My house has an old 100-amp Federal Pacific Stabloc setup.

They were good panels. Still a bunch in Mesa near Bass Pro.

[Outdoor Writer]

12 hours ago, PRDATR said:

They were good panels. Still a bunch in Mesa near Bass Pro.

Hmmm. Actually not. Supposedly very dangerous. Do a google search.

 

[HorseHunter]

Maybe it’s the solitude that spurs creativity in nature. Seems to help these guys too.

https://youtu.be/IYVcjFhpsHc

Tibetan Monks Create Sand Mandala at Clark College in Vancouver, WA

[AZbowhntr]

On 8/6/2020 at 7:58 AM, Outdoor Writer said:

Hmmm. Actually not. Supposedly very dangerous. Do a google search.

 

True, the breakers fail to trip when there is an overload and end up causing fires.  I am a home inspector and hate it when I find a Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel.  I recommend having them changed as soon as possible.

[Outdoor Writer]

2 minutes ago, AZbowhntr said:

True, the breakers fail to trip when there is an overload and end up causing fires.  I am a home inspector and hate it when I find a Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel.  I recommend having them changed as soon as possible.

Yup, that's what they say. Mine was installed in 1959, and I have changed out several breakers over the years since 1980 because they WOULD trip for no reason. I have 15-1amp one now for a bedroom and a 30-amp dual for the dryer that needs to be changed. I already have the new breakers but not the physical energy to get out there and change them. In the meantime, my spouse has to use the laundromat to dry her wash.

[Edge]

8 minutes ago, Outdoor Writer said:

Yup, that's what they say. Mine was installed in 1959, and I have changed out several breakers over the years since 1980 because they WOULD trip for no reason. I have 15-1amp one now for a bedroom and a 30-amp dual for the dryer that needs to be changed. I already have the new breakers but not the physical energy to get out there and change them. In the meantime, my spouse has to use the laundromat to dry her wash.

I bought my wife her very own tub and washboard.

[Outdoor Writer]

Just now, Edge said:

Why not buy her her very own tub and washboard, how unthoughtful, sir.

Because the wash machine works fine!!!