PH Dark Strong from an Alexander Hasty, paired with some St. James Parish snuff. 
***What Are You Smoking, August 2025?***
- Thread starter JimInks
- Start date
- Status
Relaxing after a wonderful salad, chicken legs and sugar snap peas dinner with strawberries for dessert. I'm a third of the way through this bowl of first production Seattle Pipe Club Hogshead in a well appreciated medium bend, smooth brown 1950s Peterson 999 Dublin chubby Rhodesian with a tapered black vulcanite p-lip stem. Community Coffee, neat, is my drink.
Gord said = "Guys I know in the hinterland get out to the lakes and wait for the wolves to cross the ice. Then they take out the lead female, the rest panic, and the whole pack is then picked off. The carcasses get covered with snow, and when the ice melts, they're fertilizer for water plants. Northern reality."
Very interesting, Gord (!!!). I'd guess that as the snow & ice melt, sun warmth starts decomposition until those carcasses sink down, the water plants have some competition as the turtles move in on the buffet.
Last couple weeks, I've "saved" both a Painted Turtle & a Snapping Turtle from getting run over on our main road. Both times, I was able to get them to crawl into a double brown paper grocery bag while several cars politely stopped. With a good-sized pond nearby, I flipped each one into it. NOTE: Extreme care is mandatory when handing a Snapping Turtle. With their long neck & nasty disposition, it would be devastating to have them bite your thigh. Best to pick them up by the base of the tail.
Several memories of my Dad bringing one home (years before they were protected by the MN DNR) & making excellent turtle soup. One memory from when I was just 5 or 6 = he put one in the basement laundry sink, gave it the end of a broom handle to clomp onto, then stretched it out to cut off the head. He said for over an hour, that decapitated head would still snap at anything nearby. When in Cub Scouts, my brother & I had a baby Snapping Turtle we kept in a small aquarium. We'd get worms from our garden to feed it ... and it was definitely not a picky eater!
Very interesting, Gord (!!!). I'd guess that as the snow & ice melt, sun warmth starts decomposition until those carcasses sink down, the water plants have some competition as the turtles move in on the buffet.
Last couple weeks, I've "saved" both a Painted Turtle & a Snapping Turtle from getting run over on our main road. Both times, I was able to get them to crawl into a double brown paper grocery bag while several cars politely stopped. With a good-sized pond nearby, I flipped each one into it. NOTE: Extreme care is mandatory when handing a Snapping Turtle. With their long neck & nasty disposition, it would be devastating to have them bite your thigh. Best to pick them up by the base of the tail.
Several memories of my Dad bringing one home (years before they were protected by the MN DNR) & making excellent turtle soup. One memory from when I was just 5 or 6 = he put one in the basement laundry sink, gave it the end of a broom handle to clomp onto, then stretched it out to cut off the head. He said for over an hour, that decapitated head would still snap at anything nearby. When in Cub Scouts, my brother & I had a baby Snapping Turtle we kept in a small aquarium. We'd get worms from our garden to feed it ... and it was definitely not a picky eater!
Last edited:
7/18 F&T Cut Blended Plug in an Altinay..
Started a new project today. It’s demanding, as I started the day at 7am on site and ended at 9pm with paperwork at home. But weekends off. First time smoking HU Dockworker. Enjoying it in a Savinelli 677 Tiger. 
I had the best bowl of Windsail Silver today so far... I packed it tighter so the draw was limited and I was only getting a wisp of smoke but Wow did it pop the flavors. It really is quite delicious and tastier in some ways than the 507-C. I am going to try it in a larger Cellini Hungarian tomorrow which tends to smoke drier and see how it fairs. I'm really liking it. I do however have to fully clean the Vauen after I smoke it though ... it seems to clog and build up cake much faster but its a small price to pay for that flavor.
2017 Viprati in my Castello 4 square.
HU Nebari in a Willmer billiard.
Now smoking year 2019 Ascanian No. 1 in a straight smooth dark brown 1930s (Comoy’s) The Exmoor Pipe 283 chubby Rhodesian with a tapered black vulcanite stem. Just let Harry the Hairy out after he had a long snooze. Daisy the Feral princess ate, and is snoozin' near my feet.
I'm happy that it worked out for you. D&R blends are virtually the only ones that I pack tight, not just because of why you did it, but to make the experience last a little longer as well. I have wondered about this, but it's possible that blends with little water weight will cake faster because there's less water to evaporate when you smoke so the burnt tobacco sticks to the bowl more. It's just a theory, but I may start testing it to see if there's anything to that idea.
I know that several H&H blends build very soft cakes fast, and those blends (Virginia Spice, Rolando's Own, Anni Kake, and Louisiana Red) aren't dry so chances are that the difference wouldn't be much.
Big N Burley in a Savinelli Pot. Nail biter of a ball game but my Guardians pulled through in the absolute end. That was a ball game to watch!
I would think you are correct but I don't have your experience ... yet !
The ash is much finer as well.What are the differences between Windsail, Windsail Silver, and Windsail Platinum? The descriptions on SP are the same for all three blends. I have the regular Windsail, which I like, but I am wondering if I should try the others.
Low Country Waccamaw in a Savinelli Roma tonight. I just counted 7 ziplock bags of samplers I have in my hutch and need to get through before they dry to dust. It will be a while before I get back to my Waccamaw but I will say that drying out that vinegar topping has made today’s smokes so much better.
Not far from finishing this bowl of Rivertown Tobacco Works Sunrise Select in a straight smooth brown 1950s-mid ‘60s (GBD) Rozier San Francisco 9240 squat bulldog with a black vulcanite saddle stem. Watching the Orioles-Phillies game.
In order of overall strength from mild to near medium: Windsail Silver, Windsail Platinum, and Windsail. Mark Ryan told me that each of them were three different grades of the same Virginias. Same goes for the three Penhooker blends. The Silver versions are a little sweeter, lighter Va.s. The Platinum ones are the highest Va. grades.
- Status