Doc

I guess it all depends on your perspective, but back in the 50's when I was a kid, cows were already being fed a fairly substantial diet of grain and actually were doing quite well on it. We had a trough for sheep that was used for feeding them bags of minerals. That's not exactly an evolutionary part of their diet, but it was done for their health and was quite effective in keeping a healthy bunch of sheep. So it all depends on how far back you want to go. If you go far enough back, you will eventually find a time where grazing farm animals were fed only hay in the winter and grass in the summer. Were products from those animals any healthier? I haven't seen anything that says so. The fact is that our life expectancy continues to extend as the modern marvels of food production advance. Some of those years added onto the average life expectancy, I suspect is due to our improved diet in spite of our fears and suspicions. So all the theorizing that farmers are forcing us to eat contaminated and poisoned food doesn't really get support from life expectancy data over the years. There may come a time when that all changes, but the evidence that I see today suggests that we have never ate better or more healthy in all of history. In terms of farm animal living conditions, I again have to refer back to my observations years ago. Filthy stinking pig pens and crap-crusted dairy cows was not really all that rare. It never was any picnic being a farm animal. Now as far as the cow with the hole in its side, I must tell you that back in 1958, our class went on one of the very, very rare field-trips to Cornell University. And guess what was the one thing that still sticks in my mind today ..... it is that cow with a hole in it's side and the light dangling inside so we could each walk up and see the mounds of green crap inside (no, none of us stuck our hand inside .... lol). Nothing new about that, and it really had nothing to do with any evil big food producer. By the way, the cow really didn't seem to mind. She just stood there munching her hay and having a great time.

Lol ..... I've been waiting for someone to jump onto the "premature release" thing. Seriously though, I have in the past experienced a different kind of target panic. This is a case where I really don't punch the release, but instead, just as I am about to start squeezing on the trigger I would get this involuntary, super exaggerated flinch. And I'm talking about a very wild uncontrollable release hand movement. It has not been related to the trigger finger, but the whole hand. There is some real wacky things that can occur in archery..... Things I have never experienced with a gun. I theorize that it has something to do with not being as steady on the bull as I really want, and there is some kind of signal for the trigger hand to react, or just plain do something. It used to happen particularly when I was having a hard time settling down the pin and the shot was taking way too long to get off. It has appeared and then disappeared over the years but always when a bullseye is involved ...... never when shooting a deer. I think the increased demand of tight precision causes some sort of anxiety or something. Anyway, I never know when it will reappear. It is not something that lasts a long time or happens all that frequently but when it does, it is one frustrating thing. I know some guys that were good tournament archers who actually quit because they could not shake some of these wacky physical reactions to aiming. In fact that was the first time it showed up with me was when I was deep into tournament shooting.

Just looked at the thermometer this morning and it currently is at 19 degrees.

Yeah, if you want a real warm and fuzzy feeling about your food, just think that more and more our food is being grown by people who may very well have a powerful dislike of Americans. Isn't that a pleasant thought?

Every year, it gets harder and harder to get kids involved in outdoor activities. It's just the way society is evolving, and today it is the video world and the tech hook-ups and such that hold the "cool factor", not tramping around in the woods or hanging out in a swamp or similar things. So the challenge is to inspire that cool-factor in a strong way in kids that are constantly being pulled in other directions. And I know some young parents who get a bit frustrated with the failure to be able to influence their own kids toward hunting. The natural reaction is to try to apply some level of force (just like the example given by Eddie). Bad idea ...... that is a great way to turn the kid off for a lifetime. You're right ..... it doesn't work with football, and it has an even lesser likelihood of working with hunting. I'm sure that it requires a lot more finesse than that .... lol. My take is that there has to be a lifestyle approach to all of this that begins at a very young age, and indoctrinates kids into all of this as a family activity that the parents are truly interested and active in. Young kids can be sold on nature and human participation in it. It just takes involvement. The natural progression to hunting will come if the proper groundwork has been laid. There may come a day when nothing outdoors will be able to compete with the techno-trinkets and video stimulants, but I still believe that caught early enough, a lifetime appreciation of nature (and the activities that go along with that) can still be successfully taught. At least it's worth a try.

Isn't it wonderful? .... lol. You have just exposed the myth of home ownership. We don't own our property, we simply rent it from the government. And anytime we ever have any doubts about that, try holding back on your taxes. Oh and by the way, you also have to seek permision from the "landlord" (the government) anytime you want to make additions or modifications to the property. They call it zoning and/or state building codes. Even the land use is regulated by the government landlords. I could tell you a bit about our state's wetlands act in terms of how much say I have about "my property". So when we say we own property, that is simply a little dilusion that we all engage in. We really rent it from the government.

I have seen a few cases of a parent determined to make their kids into hunters that resulted in exactly the opposite happening. Usually it was a case of inadequate preparation through other outdoor activities and an over-all general positive portrayal and interest building in nature. Big mistake not to present the whole package. Hunting presented and practiced as an isolated activity seldom has the staying power to last a lifetime.

Yeah, I don't have Netflix, so I guess I won't be seeing it. But I guess I am really wondering how much of our food is actually U.S. grown anymore. I have heard that a lot of the produce and even some of the meat comes from South America and other foriegn ports. If that is true, then I would suspect that there may be quite a bit to worry about in terms of health practices in the growing, harvest and transport of what we eat. As far as the practices of agri-business in the U.S., I'm afraid that even that is pretty well out of our hands. I couldn't even tell you where some of the stuff that we buy in small local markets comes from. Even some of the stuff in the local farmers market turns out to be mass-marketed product. Last year we went to a small farmer's market in town, and there was all kinds of exotic and foriegn fruits and vegetables that aren't even grown within our borders. There was all kinds of stuff supposedly being sold by local farmers that weren't even close to being locally in season. So who knows where any of that stuff really comes from. And these were little business guys (supposedly local farmers) that were selling it all. I'm afraid that dealing with Mom & Pop stores is not a very reliable answer either. Of course, who can say that food grown locally that we consumed years ago was being grown and handled in the most healthy ways either .... lol. About the only way that you can have absolute confidence in the quality of your food is to grow it yourself.

I know we all worry about getting the kids out there before other distractions set in, but I believe that creating a life-long sportsperson (you like that politically correct term? .....lol) involves more than just getting them out hunting. I think too much emphasis is put on slamming a gun in a kid's hands and sending him/her on their way with the impression that the only thing of value in the outdoors is hunting. That creates a far too shallow view of what hunting really is or can be. I believe that the emphasis has to be put on the whole package. That being, camping, hiking, fishing, woods-lore, maybe even some trapping and all other kinds of learning and understanding of what is out there in the natural world. If you can indoctrinate a kid into the appreciation of all activities involving the outdoors and things of nature, there will be no problem having them become a dedicated, life-long hunter regardless of the age. It then becomes a natural follow-on activity as they continue to pursue their appreciation of what a nature-based lifestyle can provide. Hopefully that is something that the parent can have input and a direct effect on. So getting back to the idea of the original post, I would say to bring him along (if he wants to) even if he's not able to hunt. The experiences and the exposure to a different kind of adventure in a different kind of outdoor place, sure won't do him any harm and it will help cultivate some more of that over-all outdoor experience and appreciation that I mentioned.

And it's a convertible no less ..... lol. That's a pretty funny picture.

I'm not familiar with the program you are talking about. Can you explain a bit if what it was about?

There are a lot of fruit growers that are super nervous tonight. They run the risk of losing everything, or at least having their crop harvest severely slashed. In fact some of the farmers that I have seen interviewed on the TV are already resigned to the fact that they are going to have a losing year. That includes fruit trees and grapes and I don't know what all. The health of the trees and plants/vines should be uneffected, but the fruit production will be screwed with this situation. My question is: is the acorn crop effected by frosts at this stage? Anybody know?

I've got an idea ......... have them wear rubber gloves. That way they don't have to touch the pork.

Lol .... it never hurts to leave a proper impression.

Ha-ha .... like I once heard someone ask, "When is the last time you were hired by a poor person?"

There is just plain nuthin better than rabbit!!!! Wine? ..... well, not so much. By the way that's a heck of a nice present he's giving you. Wait til he tells you that the cost you have to pay is to mow his lawn with it ..... lol.

It sure has been nice to be able to get out in short-sleeves and get work done early this year. I even was able to get that man-killer tiller out on the garden and get dragged around for a couple hours. I never realized just how bad a person's body can get beat up by such a small machine .... lol. Also, I noted that the weather guys around Rochester had a low temperature prediction of 22 degrees for next week. Isn't that nice? Now that the weird hot weather finally tempted the buds and blossoms out on the fruit trees, they're going to get slammed with a super-killing frost. Well, maybe the weather guys will be as screwed up on that prediction as they usually are on others.

I'm still waiting for the fire-storm of protest from the mainstream media on this distruction of the 1st amendment. Basically this is the only place where I have heard mention of it.

Not wanting to stray too far off topic, but I have to say, what bothers me the most is that I wonder if the DEC even has the resources to do a proper study. And if they do, do they have the resources to do anything about what they find? I know the department has been heavily stripped of their budget. Has the state government finally gone to the point where the DEC couldn't respond to a species emergency if they had to? It's these little situations that hide in the background while everyone focuses on the deer herd that makes you wonder if they have been stripped beyond the point of performing their full mandates.

The best quote from the article was the questions asked at the end of it. I wonder how each of us would answer that. My wife is from the old-school and still puts up food every year from the garden and other sources. We do have a pantry, and it is stuffed with all kinds of things. She keeps the freezer filled. So I guess my answer to the author's questions would be measured more in months than days or weeks. If we had to be very careful about consumption, I am confident that we could go at least a half a year without going to a store. Let's hope that we never have to put that to a test, but it is an interesting question.

When we were first married, my wife used to run the trapline for me during the week. I was working some heavy overtime back then, and couldn't handle a line that size during the week. This involved about a 2 mile walk some of which was a pretty steep climb, and then some mucking around over in the swamp. Rather than seeing me shut down the line, she volunteered to help during the week. To me that was going way above the call of duty.

Sometimes these people are the best advocates for gun ownership when they continue to spout ridiculous things as this lady does. Is there any way that anyone could confuse this congresswoman with a rational, thinking, person? I never heard such ridiculous, disjointed, babbling in all my life ..... lol.

Actually, you never will know that the deer died of the wound from your shot. I'm sure that in the weeks that followed, he came in front of a lot of other hunters and maybe even a car or two. Last year, I finished off a buck that I know would not have made it through the winter, and I don't believe that his misery had anything to do with hunting. His hind quarters were chewed up and missing a lot of meat. There are a lot of nasty ways for a deer (or any critter) to meet his end and they are not always the result of things that we do. I wouldn't be too quick to accept blame for this guy's end. Your assumption may very well be correct, but you will never know for sure.

And yet I have watched some bucks with rather impressive racks, flat-out run crosswise to the rows of a vinyard and never once get snagged up in the wires or the vines. How the heck do they do that, and then pull some of these bonehead stunts with "spikey" fences and american wire fences and forked branches in trees?

As far as me being a psychologist or a psychiatrist, I never have claimed to be one and your whole discussion of those careers makes absolutely no sense and has no relevancy other than just a random pointless attack. But, I will point out that at least I do know how to spell those terms as opposed to some that claim to be loosely related to those fields ..... lol. My reaction to the use of a shotgun, is because I have seen the mess that is made with a shotgun. It is extreme! As far as how deficient the pistol permitting system is in terms of keeping guns out of the hands of the insane, this case points that out very nicely. In fact it would appear that the insane get a free pass from any kind of special attention in terms of gun control legislation. And yet let a post office worker go berserk or some deranged person camp out in a university tower sniping at people, or let someone step into a McDonalds and start spraying bullets around, and yes ..... let a mentally disturbed mother blow away her child and a house-guest with multiple shots from a shotgun, and you can expect another round of renewed calls for more gun ownership restrictions, generally aimed at the average Joe Gunowner. Now, whether you like it or not, when these things happen, these are the natural kinds of thoughts that come to mind with anybody that has any kind of inquisitive mind. I simply stated what I was thinking. So if you feel that posting those opinions is reason enough to go on the attack mode ..... knock your socks off. Maybe you have a reason for taking those kinds of thoughts so personally....lol.