Watch out for Spiders!

[hardrockminer]

From the Globe and Mail

Tarantula crossing the road blamed for crash that sent a Canadian motorcyclist to the hospital
DEATH VALLEY, CALIF.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED 40 MINUTES AGO
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A tarantula crossing the road in Death Valley National Park caused a traffic crash that sent a Canadian motorcyclist to the hospital, the National Park Service said.

Swiss travelers, driving a rented camper van, braked suddenly to avoid hitting the tarantula as it crossed State Route 190 on Saturday, the park service said. The 24-year-old motorcyclist then struck the back of the camper van. The motorcyclist’s condition was not immediately available Monday.

Death Valley’s desert landscape runs along part of central California’s border with Nevada and is known as the hottest place on Earth. Much of the national park’s roads remain closed following flash floods that occurred when the remnants of Tropical Storm Hilary swept through the region in August.

“The spider walked away unscathed,” the park service wrote in a statement.

While tarantulas spend most of their lives in underground burrows, 8- to 10-year-old males go above ground in the fall to search for a mate, the park service said.

A bite from the non-aggressive arachnids is reportedly similar to a bee sting, officials said, and is not deadly to humans.

[Steve G.]

  It’s not the spiders we have to worry about, it’s the low capability humanoids driving motorhomes, and low capability humanoids incapable of out braking a class 3 motorhome while on a motorcycle.

  I’ve spent weeks riding through Death Valley. It’s an outstanding experience riding through the area. I cannot however, see how a motorhome driver could observe a spider on those vast highways there???

[Twisted_Twin]

1) F- the tarantula.

2) Don't follow so damn close.

3) It's called DEATH VALLEY for crying out loud.

[rz5mark]

Similar accident in Toronto are a few back. Girl stopped on a busy freeway for some ducks crossing the road, Father and daughter piled into her and both died. Correct me if I'm out ton the details.

And Twisted. How about a summary of your 1st year out in Sask, you are close to Lloydminster ? The pace and the farming are going well ?

[hardrockminer]

A few years ago traffic on Georgia was backed up as a mother goose and her brood crossed into Stanley Park.  I was second in the waiting line.

I think Twisted is close to Saskatoon.

[Twisted_Twin]

We're an hour southeast of Saskatoon.

To be honest, we're not doing as well as I would have liked our first year.

The garden went well with a few hiccups. I can't grow brassicas (cabbage, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, broccoli, cauliflower, radish) to save my life. The bugs out here just eat the hell out of them. They're related to Canola and when the farmers spray their canola, all the bugs head here.

Potatoes, squash, carrots, corn, lettuce, etc all did very well.

People here are weird in their food choices.

I couldn't sell fresh lettuce at all.

Purple skinned potatoes don't sell no matter how good they taste. Even yellow potatoes are a hard sell. Everyone wants red potatoes which don't taste good and stay hard as rocks when you cook them.

My corn sold out in two days so we're planting another half acre of it next year.

Peas, beans and carrots sell really well. People are confused by purple beans even though they turn green when cooked and taste the same as the yellow and green ones.

Beets sell well, even the beet tops.

Small, tender zucchini don't sell but the giant torpedoes sell all day long.

Our eggs taste amazing and are selling well, we'll probably add more chickens next year.

Our bees did well, the colony was really strong by mid-summer so I split them into two hives. No honey this year because of the split but I've doubled my chances of them making it through winter.

Our raspberries established very well and we should get a good crop of fruit next year. The Saskatoons didn't do as well but we're hoping for better luck next year.

It's craft market season but people aren't spending money. We get lots of lookers but no buyers for glass art and woodworking. It's not just us, crafters and artists we know all over the country are saying the same thing. Sales are down 50 to 70% this year. I guess this is "not caring about monetary policy" hard at work. Everyone is watching their pennies.

Because of that, I've finished off the 25 x 25 shop that was built inside our quonset. It's insulated, heated and wired for 120/240 and I'm going back to work. I'm in the middle of a welding job, building ramps for an equipment trailer and when that's done I have a Jeep Patriot coming in for some suspension work. There's no mechanic around here for 50 miles except for the dealer who is a lying sack of S#*t.

I took my truck in for a tire that was covered by warranty and a regular maintenance / oil change. They don't know I'm a mechanic. They tried to upsell me a new tire for the other side because "it would wear out the differential" When I asked them to explain how that would happen, they told me "the gears wont be in mesh" I said pardon? More excuses after that. Then, when I busted their tech for not rotating my tires, not checking the brakes, not changing the air filter, not replacing the wiper blades and leaving a wheel nut finger tight, the service manager backed up the lying service tech instead of owning the screw up and fixing it.

If I had tried that bullS#*t with my customers, I'd have been out of a job.

So, I'm going to take their lunch money instead. There's plenty of work out here for an honest tech. The dealers can have the ugly jobs.

I've got accounts with NAPA, Air Liquide and Varsteel so I get good guy pricing on all of that. My neighbor manages the co-op ag store here so I do some odd jobs for them as well.

Once these two jobs are out of the way, a lift is going in the shop. Screw those guys.

The weather is good, it's hovering around 0c out here right now, we've got a bit of snow but not much.

Over the summer I used our backhoe to dig a 9' deep trench, 300 feet to the barn to put in a water line. Has to be 9' to not freeze in winter. I've had a bit of work for the backhoe too. Had to dig a hole to bury a farmer's horse last month.

I'm certified to run a skid-steer as well, my neighbor has a Bobcat and between the two of us we do a bit of side work with our machines.

I don't think we're going to starve and not having a mortgage payment means our bills are fairly small.

Anyone want some yellow potatoes? I have lots and they taste great!

[Runningdog]

Sounds like you're doing everything right.......grow what sells, bees are number one, do a side hustle, and it's ok to say no to a job, work with other people.    Work hard, sounds like happiness.

[Twisted_Twin]

Almost forgot.

I'm on the local fire department now too. That makes 4 generations in my family.

The local newspaper did a story on us last month and we have our work in a local art gallery. Going to hit up a few more galleries in the surrounding area after January.

[hardrockminer]

I was through Saskatchewan in September and completely forgot that you live there.  Mostly I was between Rosetown and Biggar but I spent two days over at Ramore/Semans looking for my great grandfather's grave.  Then up in Narrow Hills Park for a few days of fishing for walleye.

Strawberries will sell well.  I remember a place near Saskatoon that grew several acres of you pick em and had a lot of customers.

[rz5mark]

You sound very ambitious and resourceful, I'm sure you will figure it out. I have found small towns a bit standoffish until you have been there 5 years or so, similar there ?

[rz5mark]

I "get" the lack of dietary experimentation. My dad's from Indian Head east of Regina. His mom's spice rack had salt and pepper... Meat and potato people ALL the way.

You have likely tried this, can you hand out some of the "weird" stuff as free samples and see what response you get ?

[Twisted_Twin]

The town here has been great. I think mostly because we came here to start a business and be part of the community rather than move here for the cheap realestate and sit on our asses waiting for the government cheque.

We also helped the town collect on an outstanding $40,000 water bill that the previous owners, through their own stupidity had managed to accrue.

We've been handing out samples of the "weird food" and have had positive feedback so it's getting there.

Yes, this is the land of starchy root vegetables, meat and pierogi.

[hardrockminer]

I think the purple taters are Peruvian.  my wife's son grows them near Edmonton and I've had a few samples. 

Not sure if it's still there but there used to be a Ukranian drive in take out on 20th st in Saskatoon.  Back in my day they were 25cents for a Pirogi or six for a buck.  That's about as basic as it gets.