Hey Swamp, way to hang in there! How is your sugar intake? I cut quite a bit of sugar out and my joints are feeling tons better(as in able to get out of a chair without using my arms, legs only)

Love that bare ground.Tired of winter.

I had been cutting way back on carbs and sugar intake (and not eating anything after 8pm). Have lost nearly 30 lbs since mid-October 2024.

I have historically ate too much sugar and carbs. Odd thing is I have had the worse pain in my knees since I started limiting carbs and losing weight.

Now, with the gout diagnosis, red meat (and even venison) is supposed to be a no-go. I'm at a point now where I really don't know WTH to eat.

At 78 I found this to be true for me and my arthritic joints this year! I’d had an arthritic flair-up of my left knee which scared me enough to go get it looked at because I’m not going to get another knee replaced! Found out my knee was good to go for years but it needed strengthening and stave off the arthritic pain. This was in the end of summer so I did weeks of assisted PT and weeks of assisted stretching and all felt good to go into the beaver swamps this winter.

I should have paid attention to the rest of my body and joints because after a month of not being able to bend over on the dams without tipping over because your back won’t let me and crawling up steep banks on my hands & knees, having to use a come-along to pull the beaver up the banks, and falling on my face in the tangle-foot swamp grass & willows, I quit! Yup, I was pulling a 55# beaver on a sled the last day only a 1/4 mile in a beaver bog and had to stop and lean against a tree to catch my breath and said to myself, that’s it, I’m done, I’m retired! After 70 years of “fun” trapping it had quit being fun and when trapping quits being fun, I’m frigin retired! I always wondered how it would end for me and I found out!
My last over the shoulder look at my last beaver bog-

Dang Seldom!

Reading this post did absolutely NOTHING to lift my spirits.....lol

At that age perhaps you should try mink trapping, lol.

You line sucks nearly as bad as Savell's but your crippled swampthang and he's still a whipper snapper.

Well J, I put that to my surgeon as he knew my history of mink trapping farmland ditches. He told me that if I continued trapping mink climbing up & down those steep ditch banks like I had been, he’d be glad to replace my other knee and maybe a hip if I continued. Screw that!!!

Nice catch old man I know the feeling

It just plain sux to get old!

Work all your life to retire and do what you want to do....then your body says NO!

Swamp, you may need to be a mentor. Pass on the knowledge. What you need is time my friend. I'm dealing with sciatica and neuropathy and vertigo. Oh what fun it is. I do what I can and the rest just has to wait.
Sucks getting old. Pain is a reminder your not dead yet.

Sarge

I’ve got to tell you the conversation I had with the Wellness Dr. He said look Mike, your legs aren’t very strong anymore. I said what? I’d just spent 3 tough months trapping beaver in the tanglefoot swamps and it was only 3 months ago, my legs should still be in good shape! He said no, you’re getting OLD and your body doesn’t make the Testosterone it once did which means as soon as you quit using muscles, you start to regressing, loosing muscle strength, and don’t maintain the strength anymore! Heck, I was 10’ tall just 20 years ago!!!!!!!

Not anyone to mentor down here...especially any young folks.

There are a couple that are dabbling in nuisance beaver work that would take my clients in a minute....if given the chance.

I might need a testosterone boost then!

Well J, I put that to my surgeon as he knew my history of mink trapping farmland ditches. He told me that if I continued trapping mink climbing up & down those steep ditch banks like I had been, he’d be glad to replace my other knee and maybe a hip if I continued. Screw that!!!

I was 14 my mentor was in his early 70's, old moonshiner that looking back knew less than i did about trapping BUT he was the only trapper i knew. He got side lined a few years later with pneumonia, doc told him if he kept being out in the cold air in winter he would die. He said if he couldn't do what he wanted to he may as well be dead so the next fall sure enough he was back out trapping. Got it again and passed away.

I feel your pain. I just had my left knee done last week. Right one last spring. I wish I could say surgery is 100% cure but it’s not. Going is still slow just hurts less.

Weird how they force you to do PT to qualify for MRI. Meniscus does not heal itself. I was approved for MRI w/o PT. Approved for surgery after MRI results. If you are required for PT, I’d ask them to focus on strength building to help post surgery. Might help speed up recovery time.

…. You always have such inspiring stories Jtrap

Or pay someone to do the heavy lifting and hauling. Not to mention the safety side of it. I have a helper I use at times. Sure does help lighten the load. Just food for thought.

Sarge

Next site. Can get SxS about 50 yds from this dam.

Those dams look like they have been around awhile?

You can mentor me Swamp!