u/Outdoors_E

If you’re not familiar with this flag you’re not the only one!

The Dodson Flag was designed and sewn together by Sarah Bradley Dodson for her husband to have a banner to fly with his militia unit in the Texas Revolution. Archelsus Dodson, Sarah’s husband, was the Lieutenant of the Harrisburg Volunteer Militia.

The flag was made in great haste and without standard silk or bunting materials, instead using calico and dyed cotton. From the Harrisburg to Gonzales, where it flew next to the “Come And Take It” flag, through the Siege of Béxar, to flying over Independence Hall in Washington-on-the-Brazos as the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed, to finally being lost in The Runaway Scrape; this banner was the original Lone Star.

This one is made from 100% cotton fabric and threading, and will be present at The Frontier Days at George Ranch next month.

The Great White Bat!
Well let’s see what Espinosa did with this one.

Y’all think Jim Carrey smokes cigars?

Found this male specimen near fresh brooding tunnels, intact but dry. Never knew we had dung beetles like this in southeast Texas. Will try my hand at preserving it.

Any good tutorials for a first time?

My tobacconist pulled these out while getting me set up to try out a handful of Espinosa’s offerings. Been sitting in their backstock humidor for 5 years.

Only a few months into this world.

Top of the humidor for quickly grabbing a smoke. Factory Smokes for yard work and a bunch of short smokes, the rest are on the “Short List” for first time smoking. The ones below the top tray are either smokes I know I enjoy or are also on the “to be there” list.

Anyone else set up their humidor in a “staged” manner?

All new sticks to me.

San Cristobal Revelation.

La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor

Black Label Trading Co. Macabre

RoMa Craft Intemperance

Aladino Carojo

RoMa Craft Baka

My wife ordered Charlotte’s Web from Amazon so our daughter can watch it without being on a smart device. This is what we received. From Amazon. In 2026.

I didn’t know Amazon had a piracy department.

Customer states that no one has worked on the unit since installed. Heavy dose of doubt.

As the title suggests I’d love to find out what non-alcoholic drinks you find yourself reaching for when smoking? I tend to find myself reaching for “craft” root beers and the like, but just had a Jarritos Fresa and was an enjoyable change of pace.

Pictured: My 4th of July breakfast.

Finally got around to trying a barber pole today, was a pleasant smoke with an enjoyable twist in flavors. A wonderful hot afternoon smoke.

Also my first H. Upmann stick, the 1844 Special Edition Barbier is definitely worth keeping around.

Was helping another Redditor locate an IR source in western Colorado and stumbled across this sight. Any clues as to what it is?

39.28554° N, 108.50061° W

Sat in my car and watched with the family. Had a great time. I can only imagine how much they spent

I did a small show for my daughter’s birthday over the weekend, in the clip is the finale. All consumer fireworks from a decently priced and locally owned stand.

Afterwards I was approached by the pastor of my church and he asked how much the show cost and if I could do a show at our church next 4th of July. Would it be worth it to get a 1.4G certificate to save money and stretch the budget or should I stick to commercial stand purchases?

This is not something that I am looking to get fully licensed and set up for doing main shows, it would be for private functions with friends and family.

…for the occasion.

All jokes aside, I firmly believe there’s a cigar for every occasion.

Today’s occasion: Mowing the yard as a decent thunderstorm rolled in.

Cigar: Arturo Fuente Curlyhead Natural.

Humidified from 67% to 100%.

I fully expected this stick to fall apart in the rain, instead it held up like a champ. Never went out, wrapper held strong as my teeth clamped down for some 15mph/26kmh gusts, and produced smoke as 0.25”/6.23mm dropped in ~30 minutes.

If you’ve ever had a Curlyhead you know it’s one purpose in life is to be a cheap stick to smoke, for me it’s a great yardstick for mowing and doing various other things in the Texas heat, but today it shined through as a reliably hardy stick. Its mild bodied tobacco allowed me to smoke it hard and heavy to keep the wrapper hot and relatively dry without going bitter or acrid.

Glad to have variety in the humidor.

Fitting for this week in America.

My tobacconist recommended these little LFD El Carajon cigars to me a while back and I really enjoy them. Not the cheapest little stick out there, but man they make a short smoke feel satisfying.

Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Dominican fillers and binders. Medium to Medium+ body, plenty of earthiness and touches of pepper in the notes, with some toasted nuts thrown in around the peripherals. The lack of extreme complexity makes a very easy smoke, perfect for a walk or little decompression after work.

Supposedly machine made but they have all smoked wonderfully.

Petit Corona 4x34

Local B&M price is $3.95.

Non-alcoholic pairing today was Sprecher Fire Brewed Root Beer. The honey used in the Sprecher seems to pull the toasted nuttiness notes out of the shadows a bit.

This is the Joseph’s 10th Anniversary Rothschild, also comes as a Toro. One of my absolute favorite cigars.

Great people, a truly huge selection, their main lounge (Houston) has a good write up on Aficionado, and they have a good amount of manufacturer events that they host.

Anyone else have any house brand cigars that they love?

Two customers tipped me today, first time getting one like this! Made me wonder what other HVAC techs have received as a tip after fixing up a unit.

I’ve seen a lot of things in attics. I’ve seen dead opossums, I’ve seen live raccoons, stray cats and untold number of dead rodents, lots of wasps. Never have I ever seen a duck in the attic.

Until today.