wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 16:32:33 -0700, Califbill billnews wrote:


Our Dungeness crabs have lots of meat, so worth banging. Couple times I
had soft shell crabs, did not impress me.

I picked one out down in the market in San Francisco once. It is OK
but not as much flavor as a real Chesapeake blue crab.
The crabs down here are not as good. It probably has to do with the
fact that then never hibernate. The best crabs are right before the
first molt of the early summer.

On soft shells, freshness is a big deal. Frozen ones will not be as
good. Usually they are lightly sauteed in butter with a tiny pinch of
old bay. Don't over cook them. On your coast they may have been
steamed before they were shipped.


Rarely see them out here. I had them on the east coast. With their little
claws hanging out the side of the sandwich.

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 10/27/2015 7:36 PM, Califbill wrote:
wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 16:57:11 -0400,
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 13:19:14 -0700, Califbill billnews wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 10:02:56 -0700 (PDT), Tim wrote:

My summer jobs were stacking mostly 80 lb alphalfa hay bales on a wagon
and into a barn from sun up to sundown. Start at 6:30am to about 9pm. 6 days a week.

Usually 80-90 degrees in the direct sun and 120+ in the barn while
breathing straw and hay dust all day.

Baling and stacking hay was often a multi-family job. I really enjoyed the dinners
with two or three families, usually a huge mess of fried chichen with the goodies.
Then back to work 'til the sun went down.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


I was pretty young when I helped my uncle hay. I drug the bales in to
position on the trailer. Could not toss them up high enough. Hard work.

===

Apparently technology has changed hay bailing a lot. When we drive
through farm country these days I see large round bundles that are
moved around with fork lifts. I'm not sure if they are still tied up
with bailing twine or not. Apparently they don't get stored in barns
either. Most often we see them in the fields with tarps over them.

They have a little square machine that bales these up. I may have a
picture somewhere but they were all over the Dakotas. They are tied
with twine (maybe poly). The farmers have a feeder station that will
take a whole roll at a time. I have seen then in pole barns or, like
you say, more often just out in the field under a tarp.
We did watch one "big old boy" roll one of these up to a feeder and
muscle it in himself when we were in Montana. He was a cowboy on a 4
wheeler.



We still see the small bales at times, but not as common as old days.
Either the big rolls, and they keep better food value if stored covered,
and the large rolls.


Problem with hay is that it can rot quickly, even if covered and kept
dry. It depends on how much of it you go through. A large farm
probably goes through as many of those big rolls as my wife's
two horses go through the smaller, rectangular bales in the same
time period. I think she goes through about a full bale a day.



We have huge hay stacks out here. 20' high, 300' long. But also low
humidity.

On 10/27/2015 8:15 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 16:32:33 -0700, Califbill billnews wrote:


Our Dungeness crabs have lots of meat, so worth banging. Couple times I
had soft shell crabs, did not impress me.

I picked one out down in the market in San Francisco once. It is OK
but not as much flavor as a real Chesapeake blue crab.
The crabs down here are not as good. It probably has to do with the
fact that then never hibernate. The best crabs are right before the
first molt of the early summer.

On soft shells, freshness is a big deal. Frozen ones will not be as
good. Usually they are lightly sauteed in butter with a tiny pinch of
old bay. Don't over cook them. On your coast they may have been
steamed before they were shipped.


During my last two years in the Navy, stationed in Annapolis, MD, we'd
go get chicken backs and necks, tie them to the lines of our fishing
poles, cast out, let the chicken sink to the bottom and pull up two or
three soft shells at a time. Problem was the sea gulls we attracted.

On 10/27/2015 8:23 PM, Califbill wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 10/27/2015 7:36 PM, Califbill wrote:
wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 16:57:11 -0400,
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 13:19:14 -0700, Califbill billnews wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 10:02:56 -0700 (PDT), Tim wrote:

My summer jobs were stacking mostly 80 lb alphalfa hay bales on a wagon
and into a barn from sun up to sundown. Start at 6:30am to about 9pm. 6 days a week.

Usually 80-90 degrees in the direct sun and 120+ in the barn while
breathing straw and hay dust all day.

Baling and stacking hay was often a multi-family job. I really enjoyed the dinners
with two or three families, usually a huge mess of fried chichen with the goodies.
Then back to work 'til the sun went down.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


I was pretty young when I helped my uncle hay. I drug the bales in to
position on the trailer. Could not toss them up high enough. Hard work.

===

Apparently technology has changed hay bailing a lot. When we drive
through farm country these days I see large round bundles that are
moved around with fork lifts. I'm not sure if they are still tied up
with bailing twine or not. Apparently they don't get stored in barns
either. Most often we see them in the fields with tarps over them.

They have a little square machine that bales these up. I may have a
picture somewhere but they were all over the Dakotas. They are tied
with twine (maybe poly). The farmers have a feeder station that will
take a whole roll at a time. I have seen then in pole barns or, like
you say, more often just out in the field under a tarp.
We did watch one "big old boy" roll one of these up to a feeder and
muscle it in himself when we were in Montana. He was a cowboy on a 4
wheeler.



We still see the small bales at times, but not as common as old days.
Either the big rolls, and they keep better food value if stored covered,
and the large rolls.


Problem with hay is that it can rot quickly, even if covered and kept
dry. It depends on how much of it you go through. A large farm
probably goes through as many of those big rolls as my wife's
two horses go through the smaller, rectangular bales in the same
time period. I think she goes through about a full bale a day.



We have huge hay stacks out here. 20' high, 300' long. But also low
humidity.



During the course of a summer my wife has to return several bales a
month because they've gone bad. Hay dealer takes them back and gives
her fresh replacements with no problem.

On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 20:11:56 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/27/2015 7:30 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 16:57:11 -0400,
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 13:19:14 -0700, Califbill billnews wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 10:02:56 -0700 (PDT), Tim wrote:

My summer jobs were stacking mostly 80 lb alphalfa hay bales on a wagon
and into a barn from sun up to sundown. Start at 6:30am to about 9pm. 6 days a week.

Usually 80-90 degrees in the direct sun and 120+ in the barn while
breathing straw and hay dust all day.

Baling and stacking hay was often a multi-family job. I really enjoyed the dinners
with two or three families, usually a huge mess of fried chichen with the goodies.
Then back to work 'til the sun went down.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


I was pretty young when I helped my uncle hay. I drug the bales in to
position on the trailer. Could not toss them up high enough. Hard work.

===

Apparently technology has changed hay bailing a lot. When we drive
through farm country these days I see large round bundles that are
moved around with fork lifts. I'm not sure if they are still tied up
with bailing twine or not. Apparently they don't get stored in barns
either. Most often we see them in the fields with tarps over them.

They have a little square machine that bales these up. I may have a
picture somewhere but they were all over the Dakotas. They are tied
with twine (maybe poly). The farmers have a feeder station that will
take a whole roll at a time. I have seen then in pole barns or, like
you say, more often just out in the field under a tarp.
We did watch one "big old boy" roll one of these up to a feeder and
muscle it in himself when we were in Montana. He was a cowboy on a 4
wheeler.



The hay bales Mrs.E gets are about 3-4 feet long by about 2 feet high
and 2 feet wide. They are basically a series of "flakes", compressed
and held together as a bale with twine. Each flake is about 6 inches wide.

They are easily managed by one person but tossing a hundred of them
up into the hay storage loft could be a bitch. When she orders a
bunch of it to be delivered, they show up with a trailer full of bales
and use a motorized belt conveyor device that goes up to the barn loft
doors.

That's the bale I grew up with.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 20:18:36 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/27/2015 7:36 PM, Califbill wrote:
wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 16:57:11 -0400,
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 13:19:14 -0700, Califbill billnews wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 10:02:56 -0700 (PDT), Tim wrote:

My summer jobs were stacking mostly 80 lb alphalfa hay bales on a wagon
and into a barn from sun up to sundown. Start at 6:30am to about 9pm. 6 days a week.

Usually 80-90 degrees in the direct sun and 120+ in the barn while
breathing straw and hay dust all day.

Baling and stacking hay was often a multi-family job. I really enjoyed the dinners
with two or three families, usually a huge mess of fried chichen with the goodies.
Then back to work 'til the sun went down.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


I was pretty young when I helped my uncle hay. I drug the bales in to
position on the trailer. Could not toss them up high enough. Hard work.

===

Apparently technology has changed hay bailing a lot. When we drive
through farm country these days I see large round bundles that are
moved around with fork lifts. I'm not sure if they are still tied up
with bailing twine or not. Apparently they don't get stored in barns
either. Most often we see them in the fields with tarps over them.

They have a little square machine that bales these up. I may have a
picture somewhere but they were all over the Dakotas. They are tied
with twine (maybe poly). The farmers have a feeder station that will
take a whole roll at a time. I have seen then in pole barns or, like
you say, more often just out in the field under a tarp.
We did watch one "big old boy" roll one of these up to a feeder and
muscle it in himself when we were in Montana. He was a cowboy on a 4
wheeler.



We still see the small bales at times, but not as common as old days.
Either the big rolls, and they keep better food value if stored covered,
and the large rolls.


Problem with hay is that it can rot quickly, even if covered and kept
dry. It depends on how much of it you go through. A large farm
probably goes through as many of those big rolls as my wife's
two horses go through the smaller, rectangular bales in the same
time period. I think she goes through about a full bale a day.

It should be able to last all winter, unless it was too wet when baled. Hay can
ignite spontaneously if stored when too wet.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 20:31:55 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 10/27/2015 8:15 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 16:32:33 -0700, Califbill billnews wrote:


Our Dungeness crabs have lots of meat, so worth banging. Couple times I
had soft shell crabs, did not impress me.

I picked one out down in the market in San Francisco once. It is OK
but not as much flavor as a real Chesapeake blue crab.
The crabs down here are not as good. It probably has to do with the
fact that then never hibernate. The best crabs are right before the
first molt of the early summer.

On soft shells, freshness is a big deal. Frozen ones will not be as
good. Usually they are lightly sauteed in butter with a tiny pinch of
old bay. Don't over cook them. On your coast they may have been
steamed before they were shipped.


During my last two years in the Navy, stationed in Annapolis, MD, we'd
go get chicken backs and necks, tie them to the lines of our fishing
poles, cast out, let the chicken sink to the bottom and pull up two or
three soft shells at a time. Problem was the sea gulls we attracted.


"Soft shells"?

That is unusual. I have netted up a few but usually they keep a pretty
low profile until the shell hardens because everyone eats soft crabs,
including other crabs.
You must have had a sweet spot where they go to hide,

I think the warm water here hardens them up pretty fast because none
of our local crab guys ever seems to get a soft shell in their traps.
I did show them how to spot a peeler because that is prime bait for
just about anything but they are here rare too.

On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 21:26:47 -0400, John H.
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 20:18:36 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

Problem with hay is that it can rot quickly, even if covered and kept
dry. It depends on how much of it you go through. A large farm
probably goes through as many of those big rolls as my wife's
two horses go through the smaller, rectangular bales in the same
time period. I think she goes through about a full bale a day.

It should be able to last all winter, unless it was too wet when baled. Hay can
ignite spontaneously if stored when too wet.

I think horses are more sensitive to moldy hay than cattle. (wet feet
too) The places we were had mostly cattle ranches. The cows are just
burgers on the hoof.
I am sure their horses lived more like Mrs Luddite's horses.
My niece down by Harry is a "horsey person". She has big ones and
little ones (a little bigger than our Mr Ed).

On 10/28/2015 2:16 AM, wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 20:31:55 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 10/27/2015 8:15 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 16:32:33 -0700, Califbill billnews wrote:


Our Dungeness crabs have lots of meat, so worth banging. Couple times I
had soft shell crabs, did not impress me.

I picked one out down in the market in San Francisco once. It is OK
but not as much flavor as a real Chesapeake blue crab.
The crabs down here are not as good. It probably has to do with the
fact that then never hibernate. The best crabs are right before the
first molt of the early summer.

On soft shells, freshness is a big deal. Frozen ones will not be as
good. Usually they are lightly sauteed in butter with a tiny pinch of
old bay. Don't over cook them. On your coast they may have been
steamed before they were shipped.


During my last two years in the Navy, stationed in Annapolis, MD, we'd
go get chicken backs and necks, tie them to the lines of our fishing
poles, cast out, let the chicken sink to the bottom and pull up two or
three soft shells at a time. Problem was the sea gulls we attracted.


"Soft shells"?

That is unusual. I have netted up a few but usually they keep a pretty
low profile until the shell hardens because everyone eats soft crabs,
including other crabs.
You must have had a sweet spot where they go to hide,

I think the warm water here hardens them up pretty fast because none
of our local crab guys ever seems to get a soft shell in their traps.
I did show them how to spot a peeler because that is prime bait for
just about anything but they are here rare too.


I don't recall it being unusual back then (late 70's). My understanding
is that "soft shell" crabs are simply Blue Crabs that have shed their
shell and the new one hasn't hardened yet. We used to catch a lot of them.

One guy I knew then used to get oysters from a boat (near the shore),
crack them open and eat them on the spot. I didn't, although I've done
my share at the Union Oyster House in Boston. At least the ones
served there have been processed and cleaned. It was a favorite dining
spot for some of my company's customers from other parts of the country
and I used to take them there for some wineing and dining.

On Wed, 28 Oct 2015 05:39:32 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/28/2015 2:16 AM, wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 20:31:55 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 10/27/2015 8:15 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 16:32:33 -0700, Califbill billnews wrote:


Our Dungeness crabs have lots of meat, so worth banging. Couple times I
had soft shell crabs, did not impress me.

I picked one out down in the market in San Francisco once. It is OK
but not as much flavor as a real Chesapeake blue crab.
The crabs down here are not as good. It probably has to do with the
fact that then never hibernate. The best crabs are right before the
first molt of the early summer.

On soft shells, freshness is a big deal. Frozen ones will not be as
good. Usually they are lightly sauteed in butter with a tiny pinch of
old bay. Don't over cook them. On your coast they may have been
steamed before they were shipped.


During my last two years in the Navy, stationed in Annapolis, MD, we'd
go get chicken backs and necks, tie them to the lines of our fishing
poles, cast out, let the chicken sink to the bottom and pull up two or
three soft shells at a time. Problem was the sea gulls we attracted.


"Soft shells"?

That is unusual. I have netted up a few but usually they keep a pretty
low profile until the shell hardens because everyone eats soft crabs,
including other crabs.
You must have had a sweet spot where they go to hide,

I think the warm water here hardens them up pretty fast because none
of our local crab guys ever seems to get a soft shell in their traps.
I did show them how to spot a peeler because that is prime bait for
just about anything but they are here rare too.


I don't recall it being unusual back then (late 70's). My understanding
is that "soft shell" crabs are simply Blue Crabs that have shed their
shell and the new one hasn't hardened yet. We used to catch a lot of them.

One guy I knew then used to get oysters from a boat (near the shore),
crack them open and eat them on the spot. I didn't, although I've done
my share at the Union Oyster House in Boston. At least the ones
served there have been processed and cleaned. It was a favorite dining
spot for some of my company's customers from other parts of the country
and I used to take them there for some wineing and dining.


What processing and cleaning would be done. I used to get them by the bushel, open
them, and eat them. Maybe throw some on a grill to steam.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!