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Bobcat vs Lynx

  Photos from https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/whats-the-difference-bobcat-vs-lynx   Americans tend to equate a mink coat with the epitome of luxury.   However, the most expensive fur coats in the world are defined by the rarity and density of the pelts, with Russian Sable leading the market at prices often exceeding $150,000 due to its silky, silver-tipped texture. Lynx follows closely, commanding high prices because designers use only the white, spotted belly fur, requiring a massive number of pelts for a single garment. Chinchilla is prized for having the softest and densest fur on Earth, while Vicuña, though technically a wool, rivals these furs in cost due to the extreme scarcity of the South American camelid fiber. Together, these materials represent the pinnacle of luxury outerwear, combining intense warmth with storied status. My daughter became interest in bobcat fur, as she attends college where the mascot is a bobcat.   A bobcat fur coat retailing on a specialist fur site might start around $2,000 for a basic sectioned bobcat coat, but most go for a lot more than that if well made from the prized spotted belly fur of well selected pelts.  Bobcat is often confused with lynx, as the pelts look similar, even more so than the animals.   Lynx coats generally cost more than straight bobcat because the fur is rarer and thicker/softer: about $5,000 – $25,000 or more for new high-end pieces. Some luxury pieces with prime lynx belly fur can be much higher ($30K-100K), depending on styling and heritage.  Hunting, trapping, loss of habitat: All of these factors essentially exterminated Colorado’s Canadian lynx by the 1970s. Two decades later, CPW reintroduced 96 of the state- and federally endangered big cats around Creede and Durango, and the

By |February 9th, 2026|Categories: Uncategorized|Comments Off on Bobcat vs Lynx

Saddle Holster for Whipper-In

Ron had a .38 colt detective special, blued 3rd generation with pachmayer grips, and buckshot loads for snakes, but .45 ACP we got in the SW Governor may be even better as it also shoots .410 shells in addition to .45 ACP.   Ammo for Governor recommended at Cabela's was Herter's .25acp 230gr FMJ, Herter's select .45 long colt, 250 gr, LFN, and Winchester Super X .410 2 ½ in., ½ ox shot, #4 shot.   

By |February 3rd, 2026|Categories: Uncategorized|Comments Off on Saddle Holster for Whipper-In

Decline of Insect Life in Trout Streams is a Serious Problem

In 2026, Colorado has followed the global trend of declining insect populations, including in protected high-elevation areas — like a meadow outside Crested Butte, which had recorded a 47% decline in insect biomass since 1986, according to a 2024 state report on pollinators commissioned by the state legislature. But we, as anglers, knew this was happening a long time ago.   Thirty years ago, Nick Sawyer wrote about this on chalk streams of the UK. https://ezinearticles.com/?Improving-Rivers-For-Fly-Fishing&id=4219154 The Fario Club talks of it repeated occurring throughout France in the last three decades.   This is an issue that affects us all, not only fisherman, as pollinators are necessary for nearly all of our food grown on planet earth.

By |February 3rd, 2026|Categories: Uncategorized|Comments Off on Decline of Insect Life in Trout Streams is a Serious Problem

When I Used to Fish Dry Flies

The author, Nick Sawyer, is the grandson of the great fly fisherman Frank Sawyer MBE. Black Gnat. The Black Gnat is deadly all year round but is at its best early in the season when there are few flies hatching. Grey Wulff. An all time classic that represents a large number of species. Can be used in larger sizes as a Mayfly pattern or as an olive pattern in smaller sizes. This dry fly is a must for all anglers and should be the fly of first choice if you are unsure on what pattern to use. Para Adams. The best pattern by some margin according to my catch returns. The Para Adams is generic and comes in the full range of hook sizes. The parachute pattern allows even the most heavy handed caster to present the fly in a delicate manner. I sometimes use a size 10 to represent a Mayfly but most often use sizes 14-18 in the summer to imitate olive flies. If you don't have this pattern in your fly box you are, in my opinion, lowering your chances of success. Fly Fishing With a Buzzer Nymph By Nick Sawyer  |   Submitted On May 03, 2010 There are a great many representations of buzzer nymphs available on the market. Some of them are very good and no doubt most of them will have caught fish at some time. As far as I know, there is only one bow-tie buzzer and that is the pattern designed by Frank Sawyer. Any others are simply copies of the original in just the same way as all weighted nymphs are developments of the Sawyer Pheasant Tail Nymph. Frank Sawyer spent a lot of his life teaching others

By |February 3rd, 2026|Categories: Uncategorized|Comments Off on When I Used to Fish Dry Flies

Anchovies and Capers

Anchovies are best when they are cured in salt, compared to oil (which often turns rancid quite easily and they are often packed in so tight that they are broken).  I find the Spanish ones to be of the highest quality.  You have to soak them in water to get rid of the excess salt, then take out the bones, and pat dry.  Then you can either marinate in a good olive oil, a little vinegar, and some chopped herbs, serving as a part of a antipasto or whatever dish you have at hand. Capers add a unique and pungent flavor to dishes.  We use them in the traditional pastas and antipasti, but also meat and fish.  The best capers hail from the islands of Salina and Pantelleria off Sicilia, with volcanic soil and a hot climate.  Capers are tiny tight flower buds of a shrub, Capparis spinosa, and they grow in trenches dug to hold them firm and protect them from the strong winds.  Like saffron, capers are harvested by hand in the late spring, before they begin to open.  Like olives, they must be cured, as they are too bitter to eat as they are.  They are usually sun dried a few days and then layered in salt or oil.  Again, the salt cured ones are best.  Look for them in specialty markets.

By |February 3rd, 2026|Categories: Cuisine, Recipes, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Anchovies and Capers

Seven Fires

Seven Fires recipes to try: Skirt Steak and Fry Bread http://books.google.com/books?id=7pVMEdjh_ZcC&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=skirt+steak+and+fry+bread+seven+fires&source=bl&ots=SGDB6jbjmx&sig=iWI0dqRjWuBGfbEMpCoRMYydH4U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Doi_T-35Ao-62gXAh4ScCg&ved=0CEcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Beef and Potato Pie http://books.google.com/books?id=7pVMEdjh_ZcC&pg=PA94&dq=beef+and+potato+pie+seven+fires&hl=en&sa=X&ei=a4y_T7_5JuPW2gWOzLmOCg&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false My new favorite cookbook is Seven Fires, which has gorgeous photos and great techniques. The author is a famous US/Argentinian chef named Francis Mallmann and he writes, “I believe that the ability to cook meat over a wood fire is inborn in all of us.” Another favorite is Canal House Cooking, written by Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton, who own a food studio called Canal House, in Lambertville, New Jersey. This is as unassuming as Seven Fires is overreaching.  I loved this book and recommend you add it to your collection.  It is filled with great Argentine recipes and photographs.  I liked it even more after watching a cooking show, which featured Mallmann in his rustic home/restaurant in Argentina, cooking these recipes for friends, neighbors and a very few paying guests, from the likes of the extremely small town he lives in.  This book is the real deal and is endorsed by our Argentine friends who even commented that it is the "only true book on the Argentine asado style of cooking" and it features it is a very simple, yet romantic and tasty way.  We love it! Mallmann describes la parrilla, the cast iron barbecue grate, and the la chapa which is a flat piece of cast iron over a fire, but a cast iron skillet will also do in a pinch.  Asador is a method for cooking whole animals, pig, lamb or goat, which are butterflied and hooked to an iron cross.  Every estancia has a caldero, a big iron pot, for feeding large groups on the ranch, including the gauchos out on the vast pampas. Mallmann

By |February 3rd, 2026|Categories: Uncategorized|Comments Off on Seven Fires

Bonefishing Maui

Equipped with a 9' 8-weight Sage Motive fly rod, a WF8F Rio Bonefish fly line, 10' 16-lb Rio Saltwater Leaders, Rio Fluroflex Saltwater Tippet 25Y16 lb. and the usual assortment of bone fishing flies, I have fished the Maui flats. More to come...

By |February 3rd, 2026|Categories: Uncategorized|Comments Off on Bonefishing Maui

Sterling Silver, Coin Silver and Otherwise

The Difference between Pure Silver, Sterling Silver, Coin Silver, Junk Silver, and Silver Plating Technically, silver is a metallic chemical element whose chemical symbol is Ag (Argentum) and whose atomic number is 47.  It is a precious metal that is used to make jewelry, tableware (silverware), and coins, among other things.  It also has many other uses which we will discuss in future posts. The millesimal fineness system is used to show the purity of silver, gold, and platinum alloys by parts per thousand of pure metal by mass in the alloy.  For example, if an alloy contains 92.5% silver, it is referred to as “925.” [NOTE: An alloy is a mixture of two or more metals to obtain desirable qualities such as hardness, lightness, and strength.] Fine silver (99.9% pure) is too soft to use in jewelry or almost anything else because it bends, breaks, and stretches too much. For this reason, manufacturing jewelers and silversmiths mix copper with it to give it some strength without discoloring it.  Copper is the industry standard.  However, some countries use other alloys as well. When you see “.999 fine silver” or “999” stamped on an item, it is considered pure silver.  It is softer and more malleable than sterling silver.  It is used in bullion bars, and is also known as three nines fine. Sterling silver (also known as standard silver) is what jewelry and silverware are traditionally made from, which is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper.  That is why you sometimes see .925 stamped on your jewelry.  In the U.S., only a minimum of 92.5% fine silver can be marketed as “silver.” Sterling silver jewelry is often plated with a thin coat of .999 fine silver to give

By |February 3rd, 2026|Categories: Uncategorized|Comments Off on Sterling Silver, Coin Silver and Otherwise