my username

[trapperhoney]

I figured some of you might be wondering about my username.  Growing up my husband didn't have a father (he passed away when hubby was 4 years old) and his Mom had to work to support the family.  They grew a large garden, she made their own bread, and when hubby got older he would hunt and then he and his best friend got into trapping.  In the 70s there was good money to be made in selling fur.  Well, after graduation hubby went into the Marines and left his rural life behind.  He has lived in cities every since, and is a frustrated and misplaced mountain man.  Every fall he would talk about how the change in the air gave him the itch to start preparing his traps.  When our son turned 8 years old, he expressed an interest in trapping.  That was all the motivation hubby needed.  He started talking about putting out some traps that fall (never mind there really isn't any place around here to do that....)  I started hunting traps on ebay.  We made plans to go to the state trappers convention.  We drove two hours away to get there.  I was the one who drove, because despite the excellent woodsman that he is, and that he has taught land navigation, he can't get from point A to point B on roads.  He has to be in the middle of the woods to find his way anywhere.  So, I was there simply because I was the driver.  I had no real interest in what was going on.  We pitched our tent then went to check out all the booths.  We picked up catalogs, looked around a bit, went out to eat then settled into the tent and hubby started checking out catalogs and making lists.  Meanwhile, I had seen an ermine pelt at one of the booths.  So I started asking questions.  I became interested in trying to catch some.  Basically you need a rat trap, in a box.  So the next day we started making our way through and I started asking about ermine (weasels) and bait, lure, traps, etc.  At which point hubby turned to me and asked, "Are you going to be my trapper honey?"  He was excited I was finally showing interest.  So that is how I got that nickname, and it is special, so I use it as a username.

And in case you are wondering, despite buying a dozen rat traps, getting excellent bait and hubby making me some excellent weasel boxes, I have not caught any   i seriously doubt we have any in WV.  I caught plenty of mice and voles, though.  The second year when I caught a garter snake I gave it up.

[Ronda]

Lol..After catching a snake, I can see why you gave it up!  I do wonder about some usernames,  I'm just not creative enough to come up with a good one, so I'm just plain 'ol me. 

[trapperhoney]

yeah, it took forever to die, because the trap caught it about 1/3 way down from it's head.  hubby tried drowning it in a puddle, but it was rough because he didn't really want to handle it.  I think the trap is still out in the swamp....

[Covenanter]

Last time I set a rat trap - under a box - I caught a robin  

Now we have a cat. She prefers rodents to birds  

 

[Ronda]

Haha, covenanter, I think if a mouse or rat got into the house my cats would just sit by and watch it while they yawned, lol.  But if they hear or see a bird in the windows they are running all throughout the house to try to follow it. They are indoor cats so I don't know if they really would go after a bird outside or not.  Sadly, I can't let them outside because a neighbor killed all the stray area cats/kittens with antifreeze and then bragged about it. The world is in such sad shape today! 

Trapperhoney, I know those traps aren't cheap! But I would have let that one rot in a swamp too rather than pick apart dead snake goo, lol.  

[Jim_Alaska]

yeah, it took forever to die, because the trap caught it about 1/3 way down from it's head.  hubby tried drowning it in a puddle, but it was rough because he didn't really want to handle it.  I think the trap is still out in the swamp....

Thanks for the story about hubby. Trapping was a major part of my life for the 37 years I was in Alaska. I ran long lines by snowmobile, sometimes at 40 below zero.

 

Here is a link to my trapping page on my website, hubby might just like to browse it too:  http://www.marciesalaskaweb.com/webdesign/alaska_trapping1.htm

[trapperhoney]

Thanks for the story about hubby. Trapping was a major part of my life for the 37 years I was in Alaska. I ran long lines by snowmobile, sometimes at 40 below zero.

 

Here is a link to my trapping page on my website, hubby might just like to browse it too:  http://www.marciesalaskaweb.com/webdesign/alaska_trapping1.htm

THANK YOU! Hubby and I will check that out.  He did a pretty good job of it when he was in high school.  He was able to go to New York City with his band director and have a custom made trumpet on what he made trapping.  other than that splurge he was very careful with his money.  but, he was really involved in band, they competed nationally, etc. so it was an investment.  Hubby didn't finally break down and get his driver's license until he realized that if he had a car he could run a longer trapline   

[Invicta]

Haha, covenanter, I think if a mouse or rat got into the house my cats would just sit by and watch it while they yawned, lol.  But if they hear or see a bird in the windows they are running all throughout the house to try to follow it. They are indoor cats so I don't know if they really would go after a bird outside or not.  Sadly, I can't let them outside because a neighbor killed all the stray area cats/kittens with antifreeze and then bragged about it. The world is in such sad shape today! 

Trapperhoney, I know those traps aren't cheap! But I would have let that one rot in a swamp too rather than pick apart dead snake goo, lol.  

I once came in from the garden and there was a mouse sitting the the cat's dish, eating her food,  She was sitting next to it patting it with her paw.

[Ronda]

That's funny! I think my cats would likely do the same... they are entirely too spoiled! They expect the food dish to be full on a continuous basis... one of my cats even picks out the "select morsels" of the flavor she likes best first before the other cats get to it, they end up with her leftovers, haha.