July Banter 2025

[H2O]

1 hour ago, CAPE said:

After getting chiggers on my ankles and multiple seed ticks in a place no man wants them, I always immediately shower or at least take a damp towel and brush down my legs and feet. Worse than normal this Summer. This morning I put knee boots on to pull some weeds lol. Skeeters aren't bad but the Asian Tigers usually show up for the last third of Summer and into early Fall(second summer).

Being a surveyor for 30 years I know all too well how bad ticks can be for where they like to hide. I could tell horror stories about ticks. 
 

I used to be more afraid of poison ivy than chiggers early on in my career. But as time went on and I got into places with chiggers frequently, I can say now that I would run thru fields of PI happily than get eat up by chiggers. 
 

Those damn bugs are the single most useless creature on earth

[ravensrule]

4 hours ago, nw baltimore wx said:

I just walked through my garden with a cup of coffee for about five minutes, came back in, and now my lower legs are itchy af. 

Summer here has a lot of annoyances.

You sure it's not because of something you did late last night?.  

[toolsheds]

My aunt said to use Johnson's & Johnson's creamy baby oil with Aloe----the green bottle.  Have used it this summer before i go to work outside and it seems to keep the bugs away. 

 

[Bob Chill]

11 hours ago, CAPE said:

All that digging and playing in the dirt you do, have you managed to avoid chiggers? I do a lot of the same stuff here(to a lesser degree now) and every time I have been lazy and not sprayed myself, I have paid for it lol. I try to do my 'playing in the dirt projects' in early Spring and later in the Fall for the most part.

 

8 hours ago, H2O said:

Being a surveyor for 30 years I know all too well how bad ticks can be for where they like to hide. I could tell horror stories about ticks. 
 

I used to be more afraid of poison ivy than chiggers early on in my career. But as time went on and I got into places with chiggers frequently, I can say now that I would run thru fields of PI happily than get eat up by chiggers. 
 

Those damn bugs are the single most useless creature on earth

Chiggers are straight devil spawn. Got me good 3 years ago. I didn't know much about them. An army got into my socks and it was 2-3 weeks of hell before it was finally over. A big bag of WTF. Hit me a few other times since and in areas that no man wants to get chiggered... pure evil...

Ticks are off the chain everywhere and alpha gal is no joke. Our neighbor got alpha gal and hasn't eaten red meat in 4 years. Apparently it eventually goes away but F that ish. I'm taking no chances anymore. Premethrim on my shoes, socks, and work pants on the regular. Picardin or however you spell it on my skin twice a day. I like that stuff a lot. I hate deet. Picardin is the way. Works great and no stinky slime on your skin. 

Honestly, i have no fear of anything except insects in the woods. Friends ask about snakes and bears and stuff like that and I always say the only thing to worry about is insects. Take em seriously 

[CAPE]

33 minutes ago, Bob Chill said:

 

Chiggers are straight devil spawn. Got me good 3 years ago. I didn't know much about them. An army got into my socks and it was 2-3 weeks of hell before it was finally over. A big bag of WTF. Hit me a few other times since and in areas that no man wants to get chiggered... pure evil...

Ticks are off the chain everywhere and alpha gal is no joke. Our neighbor got alpha gal and hasn't eaten red meat in 4 years. Apparently it eventually goes away but F that ish. I'm taking no chances anymore. Premethrim on my shoes, socks, and work pants on the regular. Picardin or however you spell it on my skin twice a day. I like that stuff a lot. I hate deet. Picardin is the way. Works great and no stinky slime on your skin. 

Honestly, i have no fear of anything except insects in the woods. Friends ask about snakes and bears and stuff like that and I always say the only thing to worry about is insects. Take em seriously 

What brand do you use? I buy Sawyer on Amazon. Good Stuff but crappy pump spray dispenser. Super annoying.

[mappy]

Friends, there is a Doppler on wheels at my conference and when I say I squealed when I saw it, I mean I SQUEALED, handed my phone to a coworker and the jumped in for a photo. 

 

[Jebman]

Congrats Dale City! You guys have just eclipsed 32 inches of rain this year!

[Jebman]

2 hours ago, Bob Chill said:

 

Chiggers are straight devil spawn. Got me good 3 years ago. I didn't know much about them. An army got into my socks and it was 2-3 weeks of hell before it was finally over. A big bag of WTF. Hit me a few other times since and in areas that no man wants to get chiggered... pure evil...

Ticks are off the chain everywhere and alpha gal is no joke. Our neighbor got alpha gal and hasn't eaten red meat in 4 years. Apparently it eventually goes away but F that ish. I'm taking no chances anymore. Premethrim on my shoes, socks, and work pants on the regular. Picardin or however you spell it on my skin twice a day. I like that stuff a lot. I hate deet. Picardin is the way. Works great and no stinky slime on your skin. 

Honestly, i have no fear of anything except insects in the woods. Friends ask about snakes and bears and stuff like that and I always say the only thing to worry about is insects. Take em seriously 

My left knee is getting better. Soon I will have to get on my knees and pull weeds for months and horrific Texas chiggers will eat me alive. I will have hundreds of bites all over. This will not be fun. I will wish I had been at Kerrville in Camp Mystic the night of July 3 asleep.

I love that Guadalupe River so much, it hurts. Even more than I miss my friend A.B. I am DYING to undertake an truly EPIC walk up the entire Guadalupe just to get a damn good look at all the damage!!!!

[Bob Chill]

12 hours ago, CAPE said:

What brand do you use? I buy Sawyer on Amazon. Good Stuff but crappy pump spray dispenser. Super annoying.

 Sawyer bottles are awful. We buy the biggest sawyers on amazon and transfer into a good pump bottle that actually has a nice wide spray lol

[GramaxRefugee]

48 minutes ago, Bob Chill said:

 Sawyer bottles are awful. We buy the biggest sawyers on amazon and transfer into a good pump bottle that actually has a nice wide spray lol

Most of the mix-ur-own are petroleum based, (lasts better and stronger), but you can get water based, which we use for clothing:

Martins Permethrin 10%  (hope that's the right one)

Unfortunately, it's a chore to mix a batch and do all the clothing, hang it in the barn to dry, etc. But, if you're the organized type, (I'm not), it's good. Also have a Sawyer aerosol can so I can quickly spray my boots and hat anytime. Lazy but convenient.

Part of our aggressive tick management plan, started after wife caught Lyme disease some years ago.

[mappy]

Coolest end of conference party ever. On the outfield at Petco Park 

[pazzo83]

Petco Park is def on the bucket list.

[mappy]

9 minutes ago, pazzo83 said:

Petco Park is def on the bucket list.

They have the infield blocked off but was able to get to about a few hundred feet behind second base. So cool. 

[mappy]

Beautiful evening 

[katabatic]

Best. Ad. Ever.

[PrinceFrederickWx]

My 8-year-old had to draw a comic in his summer art class- it could be anything he wanted. He drew a story of a family getting their house struck by lightning, flooded and blown up by a tornado and hurricane, so they have to escape by rocket ship. Weenieism is genetic lol

[GramaxRefugee]

1 hour ago, PrinceFrederickWx said:

My 8-year-old had to draw a comic in his summer art class- it could be anything he wanted. He drew a story of a family getting their house struck by lightning, flooded and blown up by a tornado and hurricane, so they have to escape by rocket ship. Weenieism is genetic lol

The rocket ship adds a nice touch. 

[nw baltimore wx]

3 hours ago, katabatic said:

Best. Ad. Ever.

This is my favorite so far.

[mappy]

One more flight and will be back in MD. Been up since 4am, awful layover in Austin. Hoping weather doesn’t delay my landing. 

[Jebman]

Congrats Dale City! You are leading the Nation in rain for the year so far!!!!!!! You passed 33 inches! I am jealous as all hell!!!

All I have so far this year, is 26.3 measly inches of rain. I got 6.5 inches in a week but I wanted that 12 inch lolli SO DAMN BAD, I could taste it!

[nw baltimore wx]

6 hours ago, mappy said:

One more flight and will be back in MD. Been up since 4am, awful layover in Austin. Hoping weather doesn’t delay my landing. 

It’s suppose to be be better early next week. You’ll be here on Monday bitching and all of us will be saying how nice it is.

[Jebman]

On 7/15/2025 at 4:47 PM, Bob Chill said:

Grabbed a couple garden pics this AM. Veggies consist of squash and zukes in the closest bed with the trellis and the other trellis bed in the distance is beans like scarlet runners and some cukes. Empty bed kinda hidden is potatoes in grow bags. We just harvested most of them and replanted. Smallish yields but bags are really easy to deal with when growing potatoes. 

Big long bed is killing it. It's actually 2 rows of plants with a string of peppers in front (jalapeno, Tabasco, shishito, nardello, poblano, Italian cherry) and a WALL of tomatoes behindlol. All kinds of tomatoes that I can't remember most of. Coyotes are my faves. I just eat them whenever lol. The rest are various heirlooms and nearly every plant is stacking up with fruits. 

We've had some pest problems but pretty minor so far. We had shit luck with tomatoes in Rockville. Always something like fungus, mildew, and blossom end rot.  Down here is much more forgiving. Pretty sure it's cooler nights and low pollution. It's rare to have lows above 70 in the forest. Still gets hot AF during the day but the natural air conditioning of the forest is pretty amazing.  Next year we'll have a 12'x24' greenhouse built along with at least triple the amount of beds. This year is experimental and it's far exceeded our expectations already. Incredibly satisfying 

Wow man I wish I could spend a week with you putting me to work learning everything you know. Forget meteorology. This stuff is far better!

[mappy]

44 minutes ago, nw baltimore wx said:

It’s suppose to be be better early next week. You’ll be here on Monday bitching and all of us will be saying how nice it is.

I was bitching the minute I stepped foot outside at BWI. Home sweet home! 

[CAPE]

The Orioles have been outscored 28-2 in their last 3 games. Football season can't come fast enough.

[WxUSAF]

2 hours ago, CAPE said:

The Orioles have been outscored 28-2 in their last 3 games. Football season can't come fast enough.

Stoked for another ravens regular season romp followed by playoff fiasco!

[Maestrobjwa]

3 hours ago, WxUSAF said:

Stoked for another ravens regular season romp followed by playoff fiasco!

My way out there take on the Ravens this season? I do think something dumb will happen in the playoffs again. Why? Because Lamar Jackson has been following Peyton Manning's playoff record almost to a T--and they are both 3-5 going into their 8th year. What happened with Manning that year? He went one and done in the playoffs and dropped to 3-6...but then the NEXT year he finally won it all...at age 30. Lamar will also be 30 by the time the 2026 playoffs next year. AND...it'll be the Raven's 30th season. 

So all that to say...I think we could be a year too early, lol Now if we win at least one playoff game THIS season? That would break the cycle and maybe it is this year. But given the trend over the first 7 seasons? I doubt it, lol

[winter_warlock]

On 7/16/2025 at 3:57 PM, toolsheds said:

My aunt said to use Johnson's & Johnson's creamy baby oil with Aloe----the green bottle.  Have used it this summer before i go to work outside and it seems to keep the bugs away. 

 

  I'm sure Diddy uses it too but probably for other reasons lol

[winter_warlock]

6 hours ago, Maestrobjwa said:

My way out there take on the Ravens this season? I do think something dumb will happen in the playoffs again. Why? Because Lamar Jackson has been following Peyton Manning's playoff record almost to a T--and they are both 3-5 going into their 8th year. What happened with Manning that year? He went one and done in the playoffs and dropped to 3-6...but then the NEXT year he finally won it all...at age 30. Lamar will also be 30 by the time the 2026 playoffs next year. AND...it'll be the Raven's 30th season. 

So all that to say...I think we could be a year too early, lol Now if we win at least one playoff game THIS season? That would break the cycle and maybe it is this year. But given the trend over the first 7 seasons? I doubt it, lol

 Well at least the Ravens should make the playoffs which is more then I can say about the Orioles

[Stormchaserchuck1]

I'm actually stoked for the Ravens defense this season. And Derrick Henry is still in his prime.. age starts becoming a bigger factor next year.. the time might realistically be weighted toward now. I still think our WR corps are a little weak, but that and maybe kicker are the only soft spots on the team. At least we don't have the Bills WR's, they are currently tied with Ravens for #1 betting Super bowl odds: 1:6.5. 

Edit: I see the Eagles are back tied with the Ravens and Bills for #1.. they had fallen to #3 a few weeks ago. 

[Stormchaserchuck1]

Another note: Someone other than the Chiefs is expected to win the AFC West in current betting odds.

Cleveland is least likely off all teams to win their division, although the NO Saints have the worst SB odds at 400:1

An all-New York super bowl is 250:1, although New York has the most championships in sports of all cities by a pretty good amount

Other than that, I'm always surprised how uniform it is year-to-year. Defenses vary more than the betting odds suggest.