I'm with you on that, I just have a hard time killing unless it was a menace or maybe for food. I've never shot a real gun, did have access to a BB gun when I was 13 I was a pretty good shot. I was a lover of animals and never would hurt any, I have to admit when I had the BB gun in my hand I did want to target Birds, frogs, etc. I kept my target at tin cans and twigs.
I've shot lots of guns. I used to go to the NRA Range in Fairfax Virginia sometimes 3x a week. And I'm with you...I would kill in self-defense or for food. But I never have. And isn't it funny how you put a gun in a kid's hands for the first time, and they immediately seek out live targets?
I grew up on a farm around plenty of guns. My father had one rule, other than the safe handling lectures... "if you kill it, you eat it." He did not believe in any animal being killed for sport. My brother learned that dad meant business when he had to clean a robin and cook it. Just took one time.
Absolutely gorgeous. Makes me miss those pond frogs we had all those years ago. And I can imagine the butterflies and hummingbirds you must see, Tony. I did a vacation years ago on the island of Martinique. We went through a rain forest. It was fascinating to be in the native habitat among plants and flowers I only see in greenhouses. Bromeliads are beautiful in the wild. That was before the days of digital cameras. I got no idea where the pics might be.
I know what you mean 2 find photos, these were on prior computers that I downloaded on disc before I got rid of the computers. My wife was the one that took care of the flowers, I did the vegetables.
I used to love houseplants. When I got my first apartment, I used to write their binomials on popsicle sticks and put them with the plants so I could learn a little botany. I had a green thumb for those that were supposedly hard to care for, while the "hardy" ones didn't survive long in my household. I've never been an outdoor gardener.
QUOTE="John Brunner, post: 519800, member: 1730"]I used to love houseplants. When I got my first apartment, I used to write their binomials on popsicle sticks and put them with the plants so I could learn a little botany. I had a green thumb for those that were supposedly hard to care for, while the "hardy" ones didn't survive long in my household. I've never been an outdoor gardener.[/QUOTE] I think it's in my blood my first experience with gardening came from my grandmother when I lived in Brooklyn she had a beautiful flower and vegetable garden. My first photo ever taken I must have been about ten was of and Iris flower in her garden which at the time I thought was most unusual flower I had ever seen. When we move to Long Island I did a lot of the landscape plants for my parents house. Didn't start vegetable gardening till after I was married. I found a picture of one of my Harvest for onions.
So many thoughts in this thread. I love the ebbs and flows of critters at my farm (some more than others). Muskrats rip up my pond bank and I worry about a break through to the creeks next to it. So I get a trapper out occassionally. This year an old guy wanted to trap as he used to. I called him to see if he forgot. He said he had been out and saw a lot of old sign but none that was new. I was surprised and he said there was a track from a creek to the pond and he figured it was either an otter or mink that visited regularily through the winter and cleared my pond of muskrats. I am good with that.
I know a guy who will come trap & remove the beaver on my property. He sells the pelts to someone in Canada. I forget why there's more of a market there than in the states. I don't know if I have muskrats as well.
Perhaps the market is for beaver gloves. We used beaver gloves when out for long periods in the clod--mittens actually. Keeps the hands warm and dry in the coldest weather. The fur side is on the inside and usually used over gloves. The beaver mitts are put on an "idiot string" and the gloved hands are used for more delicate tasks, then put back into the mittens.
I find that fascinating. I wonder how far back making Beaver gloves goes. I wonder how many things that were made In the 1800s are still made today using the same processes?
That's interesting. I never thought of having "second tier mittens," but it makes sense. My confusion was that you always hear about the legendary "Canadian fur trappers." Are they a thing of the past? Why would they not be supplying Canada's need for beaver instead of the states?