No new critters roaming around my back yard, at least not yet, only because I have yet to inspect the camera. It's not quite as much fun trying to wade through 900-1000 images. I have no clue why it's doing that, but I hit the erase-everything button and set it up again to my specifications. We shall see what happens.
Yesterday's 628 images resulted in nothing, although I have to admit, looking at a 1/2" square first frame is a little tough to see. If it looks like something, I click on it to enlarge. Nothing is a good thing in this case.
About an hour later it dawned on me I hadn't seen my kids running around the house. It's like when you have REAL kids and all of a sudden you notice it's just too quiet. Here's what I found in my bedroom.
Here's the culprit, caught in the act!!! Next time I'll put the clothes IN the basket instead of on the table. Cooper will do anything to "hide" his ball. What can I say ..... he's weird!!
Here's the NEW DISCOVERY!! I love smoking meat for meals, although I achieve perfection maybe every third try. What I DON'T like is the cleanup. Oh my goodness the scrubbing, rinsing, scrubbing mess you end up with. It takes an hour to clean up the racks alone.
Why did I not discover this before??? I had two chickens not even close in weight. I googled how long to cook them. The directions said to place them in foil pans. DING DING DING!! The lightbulb went on. If I smoke them THIS way, I won't have the cleanup. Will wonders never cease.
I have to admit it takes a little longer. Four hours was the target when it was time to stick them with my handy dandy thermometer. Wait ..... what is THIS? I found in my overflowing kitchen drawer, the timer/thermometer I purchased some time ago and have never used.
I thought to just take it's temperature, but suddenly it dawned on me it had an oven-proof cord so I could poke it in the chicken and check the temp from outside! Oh my goodness I did a little happy dance. Not one but TWO big discoveries on the SAME DAY!!
It took another hour to reach temperature, but doesn't this baby look delicious with a capital D?? I let it rest foil covered while I cut up the smaller of the two. This was the most tender, delicious, moist smoky chicken I've ever had. Forget that expensive steak, I'm cooking THIS from now on!!
Cleanup was tough. I threw the pans in the garbage. Woohoo!! One went in the freezer and the other will be meals for today!!
And so it's time to again check the game camera to see what roameth my back yard. Today I'm dragging a bag of it-got-wet and is now hard as a rock bag-o-cement to the big hole in the hopes of discouraging my nighttime visitors.
Copper looks like he's having fun.
ReplyDeleteIf you drop the bag of cement a few times it will loosen up. If chunky, put a chunk in each hole then spread the rest.
Remember when the adjuster said there was little damage to the fence. Could it be he spotted one of the Black and White kitties out there and Hightailed it?
Chicken looks perfect.
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
Good idea with the cement. The kitties only come out at night when it's very dark. They don't like the daytime at all.
DeleteTwo time saving discoveries. Will wonders ever cease. Love the tin pan idea. What are you going to do with all that extra time?
ReplyDeleteNot much Doug! Too bad I'm not closer to some mountains. It's a two hour drive to Yosemite or a two hour drive to the ocean.
DeleteThe chicken looks so yummy and mess free! Even better. Cooper is just too cute!
ReplyDeleteThanks Shirley .... I think that was one of the best chickens I've cooked. Boy was it tasty!!
DeleteKind of like when I told you about the Crock Pot Bags...it sure makes cleanup so much easier.
ReplyDeleteExactly!!! Which I used to cook that chili verde!! So much easier when you don't have all that cleanup!!
DeleteYou might want to check your sensitivity... no not you... your cameras
ReplyDeletePIR Angle
"PIR" stands for passive infrared and PIR Angle refers to the degree that the camera can sense movement. Cameras that have a large PIR Angle can detect movement faster and have a better chance of capturing the subject in the center of the frame as opposed to the edges like some lower quality cameras do. If you’ve ever seen half of a deer in one of your trail cam pics then you understand the effects of a PIR Angle that is low; say 10 degrees.
High quality cameras usually carry a PIR Angle of 48 degrees. As a result, theses cameras can capture images of almost everything that passes within their field of view, not to mention animals that are moving quickly through the frame.
Sensitivity Adjustment
This refers to how sensitive the camera is to objects that pass in front of it. To put it simply, a camera with a HIGH sensitivity rating will capture everything from whitetails to chipmunks. Cameras with a LOW sensitivity rating will forget about the small stuff and focus on larger animals. Some cameras will allow users to change this setting; some will not.
The advantage to having the ability to change the sensitivity of the camera is that occasionally the sensitivity rating will reach farther than the flash range. As a result, users can alter the two in order to better match one to the other’s ability.
You probably had a moth or a bug Fly in front of your trail cam
DeleteThere are usually attracted by the infrared
True, it is very sensitive to movement, but I put it on the lowest setting. That would be 900 moths! LOL. Apparently there are some sensitivity defect issues with this model which will render it unusable.
DeleteAhhh. Looks like you've nailed the chicken smoking. Wish you lived next door.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely share!! It also helps pass the time on a slow day.
DeleteOh my, those chickens look wonderful.....capital W!!
ReplyDeleteWe are never too old to learn new things. ;)
The best part of the post for me was - you guessed it. Cooper!
I laughed, knowing who made the mess before you told me. Thank you for the cute video. He's such a sweetie.
Cooper is weird, to say the least. He does that a LOT ... which is why I try not to leave anything laying around on the floor. If no shoes, he's roll it under the bed, then bark at me to go get it.
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