New England Met Autumn 2023 Banter

[Typhoon Tip]

On 11/3/2023 at 3:23 PM, tunafish said:

My town announced it's banning gas-powered lawn mowers in 2025.  People are losing their shit and it's hilarious.

There was a barn sale up the street last weekend and I picked up one of these for $5.  Gonna clean it up/sharpen it.  I've been gradually shrinking my lawn footprint and replacing with native species and food-bearing plants, so this will work just great for what I have left.

Barn sale had a scythe, too, but the wife said no, unfortunately.

 

you have the right idea. I mean grass is one of the worst things for the ecology - there’s been a wave of citizens for global vision type rethink on how people manage their property in the past 10 to 15 years. Lol I’ve come to find people in here are the last to know about this wave of thinking.  “Green” lawns should have rock gardens, and non-treated mulch and perennial plant beds and garden boxes - all of which can be done in aesthetically pleasing ways to the point of even art  

Re the gas powered mowers. Tough shit. Wahaah.

Jesus there’s nothing wrong with electric mowers, though… Couple neighbors have rechargeable bat powered ones and they work just fine. Granted you’re just moving the carbon footprint to a different location - for now. But with more and more renewable energies feeding back into the grid eventually that will offset that “hypocrisy” 

[SJonesWX]

you can peel the gas powered lawn equipment from my cold, dead hands. battery powered anything ain’t going to get the job done in my 5 acre yard. 

[HoarfrostHubb]

15 minutes ago, SJonesWX said:

you can peel the gas powered lawn equipment from my cold, dead hands. battery powered anything ain’t going to get the job done in my 5 acre yard. 

Yeah.  For big projects gas is def the way to go.   But is your lawn itself 5 acres?   That’s huge.   My property is around 3 but a lot of it is woods. 

[DavisStraight]

24 minutes ago, SJonesWX said:

you can peel the gas powered lawn equipment from my cold, dead hands. battery powered anything ain’t going to get the job done in my 5 acre yard. 

Mine's too big to go all electric too but I have an electric for the trim and nooks and crannies, works well. How long does it take you to mow?

[MJO812]

Comic con was great

I paid alot of money but it was worth it.

[MJO812]

[MJO812]

[SJonesWX]

15 hours ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

Yeah.  For big projects gas is def the way to go.   But is your lawn itself 5 acres?   That’s huge.   My property is around 3 but a lot of it is woods. 

main lawn is just about 1 acre. most of the other 4 acres is woods, but there is a field of about 1/2 acre, with grass trails leading to it that I have to mow (to keep the ticks down).

14 hours ago, DavisStraight said:

Mine's too big to go all electric too but I have an electric for the trim and nooks and crannies, works well. How long does it take you to mow?

mowing the main lawn takes about an hour and a half. doing the whole thing, trimming, mowing main lawn, and mowing out back takes about 3 hours. I also have to trim parts of the out back that is thickly weeded. Goldenrod, ferns, woody ferns, blueberries, etc. I trim the parts adjacent to the field, as i have a fire pit back there.

[dendrite]

Does anyone have some recommendations for trail cams with good images/video that aren't overly expensive? I'm considering two. I swear I saw a mountain lion exit the yard Friday night and my neighbor told me she thought she saw one go through her yard 2 months ago (I laughed at her at the time).

[STILL N OF PIKE]

Weather is fairly boring for next week ++
so i just wanted to chime in on something related more to “economics “

 

In particular the recent rapid rise in credit card and auto loan delinquencies and how it should not be a surprise and why this should continue to increase and why uses car Prices will be coming down significantly (large supply of repos ) although if your not a cash buyer the very high auto loan rates (Even for prime borrowers will keep affordability on the low side )

The Fed Reserve of NY posts credit card and auto loan delinquencies as one the metrics they follow to measure the health of the “American consumer”.

The recent data (as of Q2 2023 shows a delinquency rate In auto loans of 7.3%) up from 5.2% same time last year . The Delinquency rate is up for Both subprime and prime borrowers . *One of the reason This data is also Anticipated to stay high and rise is not just the persistence of high prices (High inflation from 2022 and 2023) But also the moratorium on student loans that just ended after 3 years . 
 

Generally people will pay their shelter costs first followed by phone and thirdly their auto loan and or credit cards , they also tend to go out to eat less as they are forced to cut spending . As the velocity of money slows (people buy and shop / go out less ) the economy tends to slow down (usually unemployment increases *follow* a rise in loan delinquencies with a little lag . Unemployment currently is historically very low . Adding to the pressure on auto loan Payments were the extremely rapid rise in new car monthly payments during the pandemic as supply was restricted and credit was cheap , tons of people bought cars they could not afford at extremely elevated prices . The average Payment is 729$ a month and 17.9% pay over 1000$/month . There is a certain segment of US population that continue to due exceptionally well , but the lower to middle classes who had moratoriums on student loans for 3 years , stimulant payments, juiced up unemployment levels and generally felt financially more secure prior to 2022 and 2023 elevated prices from a high period of inflation is now coming to terms and walking away from their car Payments and defaulting on credit cards (as interest rates on those have risen to > 20%!!) 

I guess the bright side I would say is if you are patient and have cash there  are going to be falling prices for used cars over the next year (and potentially rapidly ) As repos climb very high (based on historic comparisons) and their is the chance they really go “wild”. If you are a car savvy person there may be some very good opportunities and also The loan delinquencies data also can be a canary in the coal mine for slowing consumer spending and the subsequent slowing of monetary velocity and a lagged rise in unemployment.

[CoastalWx]

23 minutes ago, STILL N OF PIKE said:

Weather is fairly boring for next week ++
so i just wanted to chime in on something related more to “economics “

 

In particular the recent rapid rise in credit card and auto loan delinquencies and how it should not be a surprise and why this should continue to increase and why uses car Prices will be coming down significantly (large supply of repos ) although if your not a cash buyer the very high auto loan rates (Even for prime borrowers will keep affordability on the low side )

The Fed Reserve of NY posts credit card and auto loan delinquencies as one the metrics they follow to measure the health of the “American consumer”.

The recent data (as of Q2 2023 shows a delinquency rate In auto loans of 7.3%) up from 5.2% same time last year . The Delinquency rate is up for Both subprime and prime borrowers . *One of the reason This data is also Anticipated to stay high and rise is not just the persistence of high prices (High inflation from 2022 and 2023) But also the moratorium on student loans that just ended after 3 years . 
 

Generally people will pay their shelter costs first followed by phone and thirdly their auto loan and or credit cards , they also tend to go out to eat less as they are forced to cut spending . As the velocity of money slows (people buy and shop / go out less ) the economy tends to slow down (usually unemployment increases *follow* a rise in loan delinquencies with a little lag . Unemployment currently is historically very low . Adding to the pressure on auto loan Payments were the extremely rapid rise in new car monthly payments during the pandemic as supply was restricted and credit was cheap , tons of people bought cars they could not afford at extremely elevated prices . The average Payment is 729$ a month and 17.9% pay over 1000$/month . There is a certain segment of US population that continue to due exceptionally well , but the lower to middle classes who had moratoriums on student loans for 3 years , stimulant payments, juiced up unemployment levels and generally felt financially more secure prior to 2022 and 2023 elevated prices from a high period of inflation is now coming to terms and walking away from their car Payments and defaulting on credit cards (as interest rates on those have risen to > 20%!!) 

I guess the bright side I would say is if you are patient and have cash there  are going to be falling prices for used cars over the next year (and potentially rapidly ) As repos climb very high (based on historic comparisons) and their is the chance they really go “wild”. If you are a car savvy person there may be some very good opportunities and also The loan delinquencies data also can be a canary in the coal mine for slowing consumer spending and the subsequent slowing of monetary velocity and a lagged rise in unemployment.

Maybe because I'm not someone who shows off, but that is mind boggling. What a waste of money on something that immediately depreciates when you drive off the lot. Unless of course you can afford it and it's not an issue.

[STILL N OF PIKE]

8 minutes ago, CoastalWx said:

Maybe because I'm not someone who shows off, but that is mind boggling. What a waste of money on something that immediately depreciates when you drive off the lot. Unless of course you can afford it and it's not an issue.

The 700$ *average monthly car Payment for last 2 years of all new cars sold is asinine. We are not talking high end market , we are talking average . There are many people who spend money they don’t have like drunken sailors . If you got the money this doesn’t apply .

[dryslot]

1 hour ago, dendrite said:

Does anyone have some recommendations for trail cams with good images/video that aren't overly expensive? I'm considering two. I swear I saw a mountain lion exit the yard Friday night and my neighbor told me she thought she saw one go through her yard 2 months ago (I laughed at her at the time).

I use Moultrie trail cams, I have 4 of them that are good.

https://www.moultriefeeders.com/

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

1 hour ago, dendrite said:

Does anyone have some recommendations for trail cams with good images/video that aren't overly expensive? I'm considering two. I swear I saw a mountain lion exit the yard Friday night and my neighbor told me she thought she saw one go through her yard 2 months ago (I laughed at her at the time).

Where is there closest range?

[ORH_wxman]

3 minutes ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Where is there closest range?

Mountain lions don't have any breeding populations east of the Mississippi river other than the panther sub-species in Florida.

But stray males can wander very far....the 2011 male that was killed in CT by a car had come from all the way in South Dakota. It had traveled through Wisconsin and Michigan before likely going into Canada before being spotted again in NY State and then it went SE into CT. You'll also get an occasional captive (legal or illegal) Mountain Lion escape that produces sightings in New England.

[dendrite]

5 minutes ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Where is there closest range?

Not here. Although there have been some legit sightings in New England over the last half century. One was hit by a car in CT in the last decade.

But I definitely saw a large feline with a long tail with tan/light brown short fur casually walk down the end of my driveway and cross the road Fri night around sunset. It was way larger than a domestic cat and the tail was definitely waving side to side in typical feline fashion. Maybe it was just a bobcat and an illusion of a longer tail, but if they were officially around here I'd say I was 99% sure it was a ML.

My neighbor gave me the same exact description of what she saw a couple months ago. I figured it was the coyote that was eating my fallen pears, but she said it was definitely feline and had a long tail. Weird.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

4 minutes ago, ORH_wxman said:

Mountain lions don't have any breeding populations east of the Mississippi river other than the panther sub-species in Florida.

But stray males can wander very far....the 2011 male that was killed in CT by a car had come from all the way in South Dakota. It had traveled through Wisconsin and Michigan before likely going into Canada before being spotted again in NY State and then it went SE into CT. You'll also get an occasional captive (legal or illegal) Mountain Lion escape that produces sightings in New England.

Interesting, how long would it take to discover and record a breeding population? Curious if they could be moving this way.

[ORH_wxman]

14 minutes ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Interesting, how long would it take to discover and record a breeding population? Curious if they could be moving this way.

It wouldn't take that long to confirm breeding population...maybe a couple years max. I supposed it could be slightly longer if there was no active search for them and they remained in extremely low population areas....but typically breeding population will produce a LOT of sightings because the females stay in their established ranges and any adult offspring will then branch out into their own territories. You'll also start seeing evidence of kills by cougars....deer carcasses and stuff like that will start to be discovered relatively quickly if there's an established breeding population and they'd quickly be tested to see if it was a Mt lion kill or not.

 

The breeding range is definitely moving east, but it would likely take decades to reach here without a reintroduction project. New England and upstate NY is probably the best cougar habitat in the country east of the Mississippi that could support a healthy population. It would likely be a huge benefit as a whole to get them back here (reduced car fatalities with deer, reduced disease amongst the deer population, etc), but a lot of public education would have to happen first.

[dendrite]

The settlers wiped out a lot of mammals up here...mountain lions, elk, wolves, lynx, martens, etc. Wolverines were probably around here as well.

[Typhoon Tip]

could it have been a Bobcat ?  they're not exactly tiny.  Although their tails tend to be smaller.

Just sayin'

 

[dendrite]

1 minute ago, Typhoon Tip said:

could it have been a Bobcat ?  they're not exactly tiny.  Although their tails tend to be smaller.

Just sayin'

 

Yeah I said that was a possibility, but the tail appeared to be over a foot long to my deteriorating eyes.

[tamarack]

I've read (and seen on the tube) that mountain lions try to cover their kills after a meal, something that no other North American predator does often, if at all.  Also, lions will rake off some of the hair from a deer, another unique practice on this continent.
With probably 10s of thousand game cams out there in NNE, a significant lion population would not long be a secret.

The last lion shot in Maine was just prior to WW2, near Lac Frontiere, PQ.  The only* confirmed non-captive lion in Maine since then, AFAIK, was ID'ed by hair DNA in Cape Elizabeth, not the place one might expect.  Obviously a released pet.

*DEW wild animal sanctuary in Mt. Vernon has a couple, or did when we visited the place 3 years ago.

[Typhoon Tip]

6 minutes ago, dendrite said:

Yeah I said that was a possibility, but the tail appeared to be over a foot long to my deteriorating eyes.

Not sure this is believable but,

[dendrite]

Yeah it definitely appeared larger than a bobcat. I really wouldn't have believed it until I saw it with my own eyes and it's strange that my neighbor saw the same thing a couple of months ago. The people that own the 45 acres of forested land behind me are from India so maybe they released something exotic.

[CoastalWx]

Bengal Tigers eating Brian's pawpaws

[powderfreak]

5 minutes ago, CoastalWx said:

Bengal Tigers eating Brian's pawpaws

Standing on hind legs, licking the bird feeder.

[tamarack]

12 minutes ago, dendrite said:

The settlers wiped out a lot of mammals up here...mountain lions, elk, wolves, lynx, martens, etc. Wolverines were probably around here as well.

I don't know if Maine ever held elk, but it never fully extirpated lynx or marten, as peak forest-to-farm clearing was much less than elsewhere in New England.  Currently the state has a large marten population and the greatest lower-48 population of lynx, by far.  The much less dramatic population swings of snowshoe hare compared to those in true Boreal forests has helped.  The biologists here are pondering whether they should petition to have lynx removed from its current Threatened listing. 
(If they do, they would be called every name but their own by preservationists.)

[radarman]

I've seen a Marten, all white, from the chairlift at Sugarbush. Moving right across the trail in full view.  I didn't even realize the rarity of such til just now.

[DavisStraight]

1 hour ago, tamarack said:

I've read (and seen on the tube) that mountain lions try to cover their kills after a meal, something that no other North American predator does often, if at all.  Also, lions will rake off some of the hair from a deer, another unique practice on this continent.
With probably 10s of thousand game cams out there in NNE, a significant lion population would not long be a secret.

The last lion shot in Maine was just prior to WW2, near Lac Frontiere, PQ.  The only* confirmed non-captive lion in Maine since then, AFAIK, was ID'ed by hair DNA in Cape Elizabeth, not the place one might expect.  Obviously a released pet.

*DEW wild animal sanctuary in Mt. Vernon has a couple, or did when we visited the place 3 years ago.

I learned that watching Mountain Men on the history channel, they're a real nuisance out west to cattle farmers, they hire guys with hound dogs to chase them 10-12 miles back up the mountain.

[wx2fish]

2 hours ago, dendrite said:

Yeah I said that was a possibility, but the tail appeared to be over a foot long to my deteriorating eyes.

My grandfather claimed he saw one in Andover like 20 years ago