The Mallard, or Wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos), probably the best-known and most recognizable of all 
ducks, is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and sub-tropical areas of North America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand (where it is currently the most common duck species), and Australia. It is strongly migratory in the northern parts of its breeding range, and winters farther south. For example, in North America it winters south to Mexico, but also regularly strays into Central America and the Caribbean between September and May.
The male birds have bright green head, while the female is light brown. The Mallard lives in wetlands, eats water plants, and is gregarious. The Mallard is the ancestor of all domestic ducks, and can interbreed with other species of genus Anas. This interbreeding is causing rarer species of ducks to become genetically diluted.
This welcome to our refuge tin sign makes a great gift for anyone.
Well, there just ain’t no talkin’ about the Old West, without mentioning the dozens, no hundreds – er, thousands of saloons of the American West. The very term “saloon” itself, conjures up a picture within our minds of an Old West icon, complete with a wooden false front, a wide boardwalk flanking the dusty street, a couple of hitchin’ posts, and the always present swinging doors brushing against the cowboy as he made his way to the long polished bar in search of a whiskey to wet his parched throat.
When America began its movement into the vast West, the saloon was right behind, or more likely, ever present. Though places like Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico already held a few Mexican cantinas, they were far and few between until the many saloons of the West began to sprout up wherever the pioneers established a settlement or where trails crossed.
The first place that was actually called a “saloon” was at Brown’s Hole near the Wyoming -Colorado- Utah border. Established in 1822, Brown’s Saloon catered to the many trappers during the heavy fur trading days.
Saloons were ever popular in a place filled with soldiers, which included one of the West’s first saloons at Bent’s Fort, Colorado in the late 1820s; or with cowboys, such as Dodge City, Kansas; and wherever miners scrabbled along rocks or canyons in search of their fortunes. When gold was discovered near Santa Barbara, California in 1848, the settlement had but one cantina. However, just a few short years later, the town boasted more than thirty saloons. In 1883, Livingston, Montana, though it had only 3,000 residents had 33 saloons.
The first western saloons really didn’t fit our classic idea of what a saloon looks like, but rather, were hastily thrown together tents or lean-to’s where a lonesome traveler might strike up a conversation, where a cowman might make a deal, or a miner or a soldier might while away their off hours. However, as the settlement became more populated, the saloon would inevitably prosper, taking on the traditional trimmings of the Old West.
In those hard scrabble days, the whiskey served in many of the saloons was some pretty wicked stuff made with raw alcohol, burnt sugar and a little chewing tobacco. No wonder it took on such names as Tanglefoot, Forty-Rod, Tarantula Juice, Taos Lightning, Red Eye, and Coffin Varnish.
Also popular was Cactus Wine, made from a mix of tequila and peyote tea, and Mule Skinner, made with whiskey and blackberry liquor. The house rotgot was often 100 proof, though it was sometimes cut by the barkeep with turpentine, ammonia, gun powder or cayenne.
The most popular term for the libation served in saloons was Firewater, which originated when early traders were selling whiskey to the Indians. To convince the Indians of the high alcohol content, the peddlers would pour some of the liquor on the fire, as the Indians watched the fire begin to blaze.
But the majority of western saloon regulars drank straight liquor — rye or bourbon. If a man ordered a “fancy” cocktail or “sipped” at his drink, he was often ridiculed unless he was “known” or already had a proven reputation as a “tough guy.” Unknowns, especially foreigners who often nursed their drinks, were sometimes forced to swallow a fifth of 100 proof at gunpoint “for his own good.”
This saloon tin sign would great over any bar or in any man cave.
FALL AND EARLY WINTER BASSIN’
by Jim Porter
I’m not sure there is a better time of year for fishing than Fall. And, so long as Old Man Winter doesn’t 
come on too strong too early, early Winter is pretty good angling. It is also a beautiful time of year to be outside in Mother Nature’s domain.
Actually, the fish will cooperate, even in the cold weather. It is the fishermen who get all stoved up with numb fingers and toes, ice in the rod guides, and sleet all over the boat that make the Winter fishing tough.
Over these many years and seasons of trying to catch those green fish, we have managed to come up with some theories and approaches to the Fall and Winter seasons.
Below are some selected readings that may be of help as we move into the cool and cold seasons. Within in these articles, there are three very important topics that are stressed and repeated:
A BIG factor is that the angler must retain a positive mindset, especially when it gets cold and uncomfortable out there on the water.
The fish CAN be caught. But, like all other seasons, you must FIND him first. That can be the hardest part. So ‘seasonal location’ and the proper ‘seasonal structure’ become important topics.
The metabolism of a cold-blooded fish slows considerably as the waters get cold, reducing his need to eat as much. So, we have to tempt or goad him to strike a lure. Smaller lures start to come into their own. Lure selection, then, becomes a major issue.
And, for those who may come south for some of our Florida trophy bass, I have included a piece on shiner fishing. It sure works great when the waters get cold, Brian Walker demonstrates here.
Click on the links, take a look through the material and get a jump on fishing success for Fall and Winter.
Good luck!
Jim P.
This bass fishing tin sign makes a great gift for any fisherman.
An Interview With Coca-Cola Historian and Archivist Phil Mooney
On Coca-Cola collectibles:
Coca-Cola 1943
In late 1960s, early 1970s, we started to see a boom in collectibles. Maybe it was because during the 1960s there had been a lot of social upheaval in the United States, so perhaps these images of a simpler time appealed to people in a special way. That was also the period when we started to see the emergence of clubs that were formed just to collect Coca-Cola memorabilia.
There are two categories: vintage Coca-Cola collectibles and more recent items. The vintage pieces are difficult for young collectors and new collectors on a budget because they tend to be pricey. It’s a lot easier to get into collecting bottles or cans or pins because they tend not to be expensive. You can develop a pretty nice collection without spending a lot of money.
The vintage stuff is out there, but it’s not cheap. We see pieces every time we go to one of these collectibles meetings. There’s always an auction, and it’s almost always vintage stuff that’s being sold.
People are comfortable with Coca-Cola memorabilia. It brings back memories. It may remind them of a simpler time in our history. There are all-American girls on the trays and calendars, suggesting a more innocent age, if you will. That’s kind of the appeal of the product: Coke is a brand that people associate with happy times—a birthday, a football game, the prom, graduation. It’s a product that people have around when they are with friends and family.
I think that that’s what makes Coke so comfortable for people. It’s like an old friend. So if you collect this stuff and you put it in your rec room or you put it in your living room, every time you walk into that room, you probably smile a little bit because it seems like you’re rekindling something that you once had as a part of your life.
On the scope of Coke memorabilia:The thing I’ve learned is nobody can collect it all. There’s just way too much of it. The company produced these things in such quantity for such a long period of time… it really is staggering. I am totally convinced that there will never be anybody who’ll have the definitive collection of Coca-Cola memorabilia. I don’t think it can be done. And I think that that’s one of the things that impresses me the most.
We’re a company that sells our products in 200 countries around the world. Wherever you go, if you’re on vacation or on a business trip, Coca-Cola is there. That adds a whole other collectible element. It might be a bottle, can, pin, or cool sign rendered in a Cyrillic alphabet or an Arabic script—maybe you can’t read the words but you know it says Coca-Cola because of the way it appears on the object.
This Coca-Cola tin sign makes a great gift.