(no subject)
Jun. 28th, 2007 10:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellyssianLooked out my window this morning, and lo, there they were!
Two horned hooved Hoovers making eyes towards the heaths and heathers. Several red maples and a handful of raspberries had already felt their wrath. Beautiful animals really, but the reverie ended when the aimed for the young plants on the bank. Snapped my fingers a couple of times to get their attention, and then a quick hiss and a click of my tongue and they were off to wreak havoc in other places. Most likely other parts of my yard.
A couple weeks ago I saw a fawn - knee high to a grasshopper, all spotted, and on wobbly but workable legs. I was glad they were at the side of the road, because I imagine the conniptions I saw doe and fawn go through would have been worse if one or the other had been implanted in my grill.
I think my biggest issue with Rodentia clovenoofus is that their population is reaching a flashpoint. Although I would prefer they didn't stop at certain plants - I know I choose tasty varieties, but there's plenty of yummy red maples to go around, and, even though I've never seen a bite taken from a single oak leaf, you're allegedly supposed to prefer them over all other forms of food - but I really don't mind seeing them. Seeing whole herds go through, and endangering all foliage within six or so feet of the ground is a bit much. I don't know if increased hunting quotas is the solution - for some reason the deer seem to outsmart the hunters anyway, as the hunters report them as scarce when I see twenty animals on the same rounds for weeks at a time. It would take a drunk moron not to be able to... well, I suppose that's part of the problem.
This morning, I saw yet another temporary hood ornament, the carcass stashed headfirst (possibly headless) at the side of the road. I find at least three major problems with this.
First off, the animal is killed, but it serves no purpose. I rather prefer the idea that, when an animal's life is taken, it should serve a need - food, shelter, comfort - as it did Once Upon a Time. Thanks are then given for what has been provided. Not once a year, schedule-it-on-your-calendar thanks, but everyday, everytime, every bite, every bit of warmth or utility given thanks. Otherwise, like sport hunting and trophy claiming, it's just senseless murder to prove your better than something else because, really, you're not even close.
Second, how cool are we that we just stumble around, flattening things in our wake. Lumbering behemoths with no grasp of the harm we do. Ka-thunk. Of course, deer aren't small little defenseless animals, they're larger animals that may or may not do some additional damage beyond the initial impact as they flail in panic and cause hundreds or thousands of dollars of damage before they limp off into the woods and, likely, die of the injuries inflicted. Sure, it's an accident. And sure, some of the problem is that we made life safe by killing off the top predators, or, as with the bear, neutralizing them by training them to eat birdseed instead of prey that's faster on the hoof. Some of the problem is that there are just too many of us, and we're squeezing them out of the forests in our rush to pave the world.
And last, and steadily diminishing - if not least, this once majestic animal, this Eater of Things I Plant, is laid low and left to rot on the roadside, where predators who sneak a bite might be the next to be flattened if they exit on the wrong side of the table; where, through vegetation stripped bare, and unnatural surfaces that funnel too much rainwater, it can be swept quickly into our water supply, a vector of disease.
Two horned hooved Hoovers making eyes towards the heaths and heathers. Several red maples and a handful of raspberries had already felt their wrath. Beautiful animals really, but the reverie ended when the aimed for the young plants on the bank. Snapped my fingers a couple of times to get their attention, and then a quick hiss and a click of my tongue and they were off to wreak havoc in other places. Most likely other parts of my yard.
A couple weeks ago I saw a fawn - knee high to a grasshopper, all spotted, and on wobbly but workable legs. I was glad they were at the side of the road, because I imagine the conniptions I saw doe and fawn go through would have been worse if one or the other had been implanted in my grill.
I think my biggest issue with Rodentia clovenoofus is that their population is reaching a flashpoint. Although I would prefer they didn't stop at certain plants - I know I choose tasty varieties, but there's plenty of yummy red maples to go around, and, even though I've never seen a bite taken from a single oak leaf, you're allegedly supposed to prefer them over all other forms of food - but I really don't mind seeing them. Seeing whole herds go through, and endangering all foliage within six or so feet of the ground is a bit much. I don't know if increased hunting quotas is the solution - for some reason the deer seem to outsmart the hunters anyway, as the hunters report them as scarce when I see twenty animals on the same rounds for weeks at a time. It would take a drunk moron not to be able to... well, I suppose that's part of the problem.
This morning, I saw yet another temporary hood ornament, the carcass stashed headfirst (possibly headless) at the side of the road. I find at least three major problems with this.
First off, the animal is killed, but it serves no purpose. I rather prefer the idea that, when an animal's life is taken, it should serve a need - food, shelter, comfort - as it did Once Upon a Time. Thanks are then given for what has been provided. Not once a year, schedule-it-on-your-calendar thanks, but everyday, everytime, every bite, every bit of warmth or utility given thanks. Otherwise, like sport hunting and trophy claiming, it's just senseless murder to prove your better than something else because, really, you're not even close.
Second, how cool are we that we just stumble around, flattening things in our wake. Lumbering behemoths with no grasp of the harm we do. Ka-thunk. Of course, deer aren't small little defenseless animals, they're larger animals that may or may not do some additional damage beyond the initial impact as they flail in panic and cause hundreds or thousands of dollars of damage before they limp off into the woods and, likely, die of the injuries inflicted. Sure, it's an accident. And sure, some of the problem is that we made life safe by killing off the top predators, or, as with the bear, neutralizing them by training them to eat birdseed instead of prey that's faster on the hoof. Some of the problem is that there are just too many of us, and we're squeezing them out of the forests in our rush to pave the world.
And last, and steadily diminishing - if not least, this once majestic animal, this Eater of Things I Plant, is laid low and left to rot on the roadside, where predators who sneak a bite might be the next to be flattened if they exit on the wrong side of the table; where, through vegetation stripped bare, and unnatural surfaces that funnel too much rainwater, it can be swept quickly into our water supply, a vector of disease.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-28 05:03 pm (UTC)books that are quiet, contemplative, descriptive, humourous.
My mind is totally fried by the heat so i'm not coming up with the authors
i'm thinking of.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-28 05:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-28 07:23 pm (UTC)It's nice to read someone else's comments in synch with my thoughts...I just could not resist a response!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-28 07:30 pm (UTC)Besides, you're my mom, so you're supposed to say stuff like that. Part of the job description and all. =)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-28 11:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-28 07:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-28 11:40 pm (UTC)I've wanted ALL your good stuff published. Lots of the fables and sci-fi-horror stuff is timeless.
Maybe, as the company grows, (or to help it grow) you could do a weekly column in a local paper -- humorous but also helpful with groundskeeping -- oops, I meant enviroscaping!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-28 09:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-28 11:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-29 07:41 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-29 07:44 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-29 11:58 am (UTC)I like the idea of the tribes getting it - do you know if they're using it for things other than food?
Wildlife
Date: 2007-06-29 12:16 am (UTC)As soon as we move into our house, one of my goals is to re-landscape the property. We dont, unfortunately, have that much property. However, with what we do have, I want to plant those butterfly bushes under the windows and add some trees that attract songbirds. Maybe put out a few bird feeders and a birdbath. I know I'll regret it when they start pooping all over my car =) but it will be worth it when they are hanging out doing little birdie stuff.
I was talking to a guy once at a bar in Vermont. He said, EXTREMELY CASUALLY AND OFFHANDEDLY, how he just got back from skinning a deer that his girlfriend had hit. I blinked because that is just so foreign to me. Thats roadkill innit? But to them its good free eatin'. I admired that about him because I know I couldnt do it. I'd hit a deer and flip out - probably cry my eyes out but it would NEVER occur to me to skin it and eat it (not to mention the fact that I heard hitting one is like hitting a tree).
Re: Wildlife
Date: 2007-06-29 11:48 am (UTC)Whatever you do, however, don't plant butterfly bushes! They are invasive, and, if given a choice of native plants or butterfly bushes, only 1 out of 10 butterflies will choose the butterfly bush. =)
Some good suggestions for plants that can provide food for all stages of butterflies can be found here. They've also got a link of invasive plants (all of which can be found at nurseries and Home Despots even if they cause major problems in a given region) and good suggestions for natives (which are often harder to find, but worth looking for).
You'll have to come to one of the cookouts, where the wildlife is notorious for hiding away all shy-like when people come over. The folks at our Lawn Guylan office don't complain *too* much when they have to come in to the main office. =)