And just exactly what would you expect

when you start calling the day after Thanksgiving "Black Friday?"

via Drudge which (who?) I know deals in hyperbole, but still.

By the way, the man who was punched in the face by a rabid line-cutting shopper had a Texas concealed carry permit and will not be charged.

"So you want to own a gun (Part Two)"

The Ruger Bearcat

The second installment of Bob Owens' series is up over at PJMedia. This one focuses on taking a non-shooting beginners class to learn basic gun safety and so on. He then goes on to extoll the many virtues of the .22 caliber long gun and handgun. 

If your eventual goal is to obtain a concealed carry permit or to obtain a handgun for personal protection or sport, the course of action I’d suggest is to first look at a handgun chambered in .22 Long Rifle (.22 LR). The .22 LR is an inexpensive, low recoil, and relatively quiet cartridge that allows shooters of every skill level to focus on the fundamental skills of shooting without being distracted by the kick or noise of larger-caliber weapons. I’d advise trying out both revolvers and semi-automatic pistols to decide which appeals to you, which feels more comfortable in your hand, and which has controls that you can manipulate.


At this point, you may notice a very loud wailing and gnashing of teeth around you. In all likelihood, that is the multitude of handgun shooters crying out in anguish at the mention of “.22 LR” in any proximity to a discussion of concealed carry and defensive handguns. Their complaints are not without merit — the conventional wisdom is that the smallest acceptable cartridge for self-defense is a .380 ACP in a pistol or a .38 Special in a revolver. I’m not disagreeing with that sentiment at all.


I’m suggesting you’ll learn faster, and often without imparting many bad habits you have to overcome later, if you learn your fundamentals with a .22 handgun. It’s all about the fundamentals.

I completely agree about the class and the .22.  I didn't like the fact that we had to take the class in order to get our carry permits in Ohio, but I was glad we took the class. Both .22 guns and ammunition are significantly less expensive that other calibers. If you are learning by shooting a lot of rounds, why waste money?

It's a beautiful day. I wonder if Mr. Big Food would like to do some shooting?

Everyone should have one

His or her very own shooting range, that is.

It's quite the setup. Between the two cedars is strung some chicken wire. Attach by clothespins are some paper plates. On and near the blue plastic thing are coffee cans-- for shotgun practice.

They spent over two hours out there on a gloomy afternoon.

One of these guys is a first-time gun owner! Yippee!! The four of them came out a few hours earlier than the rest of those who attended yesterday's gathering. Isn't that considerate? Mr. Big Food and I put our loaded handguns away because there were kids. Isn't that considerate? 

The only one who wasn't considerate yesterday was poor Missy. She had a tummy ache, so her inconsideration was understandable. 

I still have to post the recipe for the latest Fall/Winter Soup Contest entrant. I have a post in the works about our house guest and his thoughts on rural Mississippi, which he liked very much. But first there's furniture rearranging and floor scrubbing and laundry. I'll be back. 

~~

The camera wasn't the only thing I was shooting. I did well enough, so did Mr. Big Food. But we should practice more. I mean, it's not like we don't have our own shooting range, now is it?

Today's harvest (UPDATED: We did it!)

No photos. Sorry. Maybe I'll update after we have supper. It's some chicken casserole dish that's already baking.

We had a very busy week. I wasn't able to spend nearly as much time in the garden as I usually do, especially since I knew we wouldn't be around much late in the week and so I spent one day cleaning the house. And Mr. Big Food wasn't able to do his chores, either. So we were outside today. Nice day. Also, Daughter C is here today to take care of Rocky. (I spend too much time with Rocky.)

Today I picked 

• two three watermelons (one is rotten so we're going to shoot it)
• a few beets and 
• baby lima beans 

(I don't know what he's going to do with the beats, but the limas are going in a crock pot Tuesday morning. Limas are not called for, but we have too few to freeze so we might as well eat them.)

• a little French melon (not sure it's going to make the cut; we'll look at it tonight
• jalapeno peppers

That's right. We are pickling tonight. Pickling jalapeno peppers.

• and a nice batch of cherry tomatoes.

And I almost forgot the white winter radishes. I pulled a handful of white carrots on Thursday.  We actually have a lot of radishes on hand right now. I should announce this.

That was satisfying. And now, while supper is in the oven, we will clean the kitchen. This will be satisfying in it's own sort of drudgery way.

I cannot put it off any longer. 

UPDATE

Preparing to freeze some French melon

We did it! We got just about everything done. The only thing that remains for this evening is stewing the tomatoes. But the melons (there were two, not one, aas I reported earlier) and tomatillos-- which I think I forgot to mention yesterday-- are in the freezer. The jalapeno are pickled, as are the two quarts of green cherry tomatoes that I picked just as it was getting dark. 

The melon are 

Melon Charentais Heirloom Seed

Cucumis melo (Reticulatus group)

90 days. Charentais melons aren’t found in your grocery store — they’re too fragile to ship. A true cantaloupe, the fruits have smooth skin with light green stripes, maturing to creamy yellow. The delightfully scented, creamy orange flesh is filled with unsurpassed flavor. One of the sweetest rewards of home gardening!

 from Botanical Interests and they going to taste sooo good in January!


Good day. Big life.