A few "serious" ones first, and then some funny and/or insane...
I really like this recycled column from Terrierman Patrick Burns, which I missed the first time around. It is called "Hunting and Fishing Like Adults" and was prompted by a note from regular reader Matt Miller about "canned hunts". It is a long and thoughtful post and you should read it all, but these lines might be a quick summary:
"A lot of people will find some of these questions easy to answer, but will pause at others.
"The brain dead Vegan and the knuckle-dragging slob-hunter will find all of these questions easy to answer.
"So too will the older, thoughtful, skilled hunter who hunts only wild lands and who only fishes wild waters. He knows what he chooses and why."
Is the city bad for your brain? Apparently! Some of the data here are fascinating.
"Although Olmsted took pains to design parks with a variety of habitats and botanical settings, most urban greenspaces are much less diverse. This is due in part to the "savannah hypothesis," which argues that people prefer wide-open landscapes that resemble the African landscape in which we evolved. Over time, this hypothesis has led to a proliferation of expansive civic lawns, punctuated by a few trees and playing fields.
"However, these savannah-like parks are actually the least beneficial for the brain. In a recent paper, Richard Fuller, an ecologist at the University of Queensland, demonstrated that the psychological benefits of green space are closely linked to the diversity of its plant life. When a city park has a larger variety of trees, subjects that spend time in the park score higher on various measures of psychological well-being, at least when compared with less biodiverse parks."
(HT Steve Armstrong).
Two coyotes, apparently healthy, attack a woman in Colorado. As Valerius Geist has been saying for years, acclimated predators are dangerous. And if coyotes can be, how much more so for lions and wolves? Keep them shy! (By reasonable hunting).
Gail Goodman sends this excellent article by John Yates of the American Sporting Dog Alliance on how to fight local AR groups on dog (and other animal) legislation. A must- read.
Walter Hingley sent this nice essay on the French Darne shotgun, still one of my favorites-- and I own a London Best. A sample:
"Now that I'm standing next to it, I realize that the shotgun is in-the-white -- the stainless-steel appearance forward-looking yet faithful to the side-by-side pedigree.
"The breech is slid open, the lever that operates it raised like a Crucifix displayed in a jeweler's case.
"Mesmerized by the design, it dawns on me that the barrels don't swing down. You load the shotgun by sliding back the breech with a lift of the lever, then push down the lever to close it.
"The streamline action flows into a straight stock void of the heavy figuring that could detract from the elegant silhouette.
"The shotgun could easily stand on its own in the Museum of Modern Art in homage to industrial design along side a 1937 Bugatti Drop Head Coupe, an Eames-Saarinen potato-chip chair or a Caran d'Ache "1010" fountain pen."
Next, some sillier stuff...
6 comments:
The Yates article is interesting, and partly true.
The flip side of the "animal rights nuts want to divide and conquer" strategy is the "systematic animal abusers convince animal owners that 'we must all hang together' fallacy."
Sorry. ConAgra's "right" to slap a CAFO in my watershed is not linked to my right to own a dog. A puppymiller or hoarder is not my ally. Humane laws are not, by definition, a commie plot; every proposal needs to be evaluated on its merits, in its community. In some places, the existing laws and practices are woefully inadequate. (And yes, in others, adequate laws are left unenforced.)
One of the people held up as a paragon in Mr. Yates' article is, in fact, a crackpot. He'll find out soon enough, but he'll damage his reputation in the process. If he was a little more skeptical of "the enemy of my enemy," he'd have avoided that problem.
Re; Otherwise excellent article about Darne shotguns,
It included a reference to
"After Paul Bruchet passed on, his son Herve continued the family businesses and makes the guns that Geoffrey imports"
I am pleased to report that Paul Bruchet is still thriving , living and supporting his son, Herve, who has indeed taken over the business, since his father retired. Paul is often seen in the workshop , still offering advice !
I hope that following the glowing references to Mr Geoffroy Gournet, and the new shotguns in the article, he may be able to market some in the US for my friends , Paul & Herve Bruchet , who are true artisan gunmakers, in the Traditional French style.
Herve also makes a new , remarkably handy, 20G O/U, under his Damon Petrick brand, an example of which has been my personal ,"Sole use shotgun ". since I purchased it 5 yrs ago.
A phone call to Herve in St Etienne would confirm his father's situation !( Herve speaks good English )
JohnnyUK
Loved the dog/coyote story. Heroic dog tales make me tear up every time.
I think Rina might be a bit underweight to tackle a coyote, but if I'm ever attacked by sparrow, rabbit or cotton rat, I know I can count on her.
Here's an article about Yates' ally,
Ami Moore:
http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/dogtraining/
Follow-up article:
http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/amimoore/
The How the city hurts your brain article just convinced me of a suspicion I've had for a very long time - that living in cities can cause emotional and mental distress! I've lived in cities/dense suburbs for all 23 years of my life (not by my choice, might I add), and I truly believe that a high level of 'lack of happiness' comes from not being able to simply go for a walk in the woods now and then.
I may be stepping out of my boundaries by suggesting this, but I think there may be a link to many of the childhood disorders that seem to have exploded amongst the population in the past few decades. I remember as a kid, I was always happiest when I was able to play on the tiny patch of woodland that hadn't been developed yet in my town. Now, sadly, it's been mowed down so they can put a couple of houses there.
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