I Am Not Ashamed To Be Called A Hunter!

I just read an article about record Alligators being killed in Mississippi. The comments following the article made me want to scream. So many people are either just plain stupid or they are complete hypocrites. They whine and cry about big, bad hunters who enjoy killing for the sport of killing. "Why do these animals have to be killed?" "Why don't we just leave these animals alone?" "Why don't we kill fat people and eat them instead?"

I have a hard time understanding why humans hate humans so much. There seems to be an element of people who hate their own species but love all other species. I hope these people aren't prejudice and love only certain species more than their own. I mean, if you love Alligators then you also have to love snakes, lizards, scorpions, mice, rats, wasps and flies, right?

Maybe it's just hunting that they hate or hunters. These alligator hunters don't just kill gators for sport, it's how they feed their families, it's how they earn a living. I am a hunter myself although I have never killed with a gun. I am a trapper type of hunter. I set traps in just the right locations to have the best chance of catching my prey. I do not skin or eat my catch, so I guess you could call me more of a sport hunter. I do not, however, waist my prey. I donate my catches to feed the hungry. Both of my cats enjoy my hunting hobby. It is worth all my efforts of scouting, baiting and checking my traps, when I see how much my cats love to eat those mice.

I am also a vicious hunter and killer when it comes to flies, mosquitoes, fleas, ants, roaches, wasps, wood bees, bumble bees, hornets and spiders. I use many different methods to eliminate these prey, I smash, squash, swat, poison and burn alive.

It is not that I would be opposed to killing with a gun if I had to, the sad truth is that I tried several times to shoot a fox who was quickly ridding me of all of my chickens but never could hit him. If times and resources required it, I could hunt for my food without any guilt. I could shoot an animal that was causing me continued problems, like the fox did. I could also shoot a pet, livestock or wildlife animal if I thought it was suffering and there was no one else to do it.

The truth is that the same people who whine about hunting are the same people who would be whining about all the deer in their gardens and in the roads. They would want some kind of protection for their kids from the over-population of alligators in their neighborhoods. They wouldn't like it if 15 bears were in their backyard going through their trash cans.

Let's just talk about life and the circle of life. I could use scripture here and talk about God, creation, stewardship, husbandry and dominion. But that would offend the non-believers, so we will talk about nature, conservation and common sense.

The DNR monitors and sets up rules and regulations about hunting. They know that without hunting seasons, animal populations will explode and natural resources will be depleted and everything will suffer. They keep an eye on all areas and animal numbers and adjust hunting seasons and limits accordingly.

Why, you might ask, do humans think that they know more than nature about how to handle these things? Why don't we just let nature balance its own self. The answer is so simple that I am surprised that you didn't think of it yourself. We humans are a part of nature!!! Amazingly, we are part of the food chain, we have canine teeth and are omnivores. It is up to us to play a role in the circle of life.

Actually, if you think about loving the environment and being all natural, that would include eating meat with your canine teeth. Whether you like it or not, man is the dominate species. Nature (or God), whichever you prefer, designed us this way. We have the abilities that we need to manage the earth's resources and that includes managing animal populations.

One more thing that always disturbs me is when some supposed expert out there says, "Humans are the only animal that kills for sport or for the fun of it.". That is not true. Neighborhood dogs are the best sport killers of all time. They will kill a whole herd of goats or flock of chickens and not take one with them when they go. My cat tortures and kills for the fun of it too, not for food, out of fear or because he is teaching his young. Horses will even kill small animals like cats, kittens, rabbits and even chickens, not by accident, not for fear, not for food and not to teach their young. Just because they are feeling frisky and want to stomp something.

One commenter said that he hated humans and wished they would all become extinct. That's a pretty intelligent way of thinking. I was surprised at the number of people who called for the killing of the hunters who killed the alligators. That in itself seems a little hypocritical since they despise killing living creatures. They must hate this earth and nature in general since they would like to see the balance of all things upset. Humans are a natural being, we are what we are.

As to the comments about hunting making these rednecks feel like real "men", one of the alligator hunters who broke a record and got a trophy gator that same day was a woman. Someone also mentioned that he hoped that the people complaining about the kills didn't eat hamburger, to which someone actually replied that it was different eating beef because those animals are raised for food. I wonder how all those beef calves feel about this distinction? Probably about the same way all of those young deer, fish, racoons, birds, turtles, cats and dogs feel when they get eaten by an alligator

Morel Season

Let me just begin by saying that it is not my intention to provoke any feelings of jealousy here, I am only trying to once more offer my services for the betterment of my reader's lives.

On Sunday afternoon I took less than 30 minutes of my valuable time to run down the hill to the old sink hole to find some mushrooms for my breakfast on Monday morning. This sink hole is not located on our farm, so don't get any ideas! As a matter of fact, we have never found even one mushroom here. This is the first farm that I have ever lived on that doesn't have mushrooms.

I have been a avid mushroom hunter all of my life. I spent hours everyday during the season when I was young and I am talking about from Elementary to High School and beyond. I went alone, no one shared my desire to bag the big ones.


Somehow my life has gotten to complicated to have time to hunt for mushrooms. My priorities are really messed up. For the last several years I have promised myself that I will make the time to go but when the next season arrives, there are too many other commitments that demand my attention. Foaling, kidding, Spring halters sales, tomato plants, shoveling manure, fixing fences, laundry, dishes, new websites, etc...

I am sure that I am not alone in this dilemma. So in order to inspire you to forget all of the other demands on your time and hit the woods, I offer you these pictures and the memories of my Monday morning breakfast. I only found 9 but they were of decent size and extremely flavorable. I find it impossible to eat mushrooms without eggs of course.
Please get out of the house, rearrange your busy schedule and go find some Morels. We have always called our edible shrooms; Black, Gray or Yellow Sponge Mushrooms, also we are never disappointed in finding Snake Heads and Elephant Ears, they are just as tasty. The word "Morel" was just a little to sophisticated for us Hill people.

If you don't take the time to go this year, you may not get another chance next year. Things can change, you may be living in the Antarctic, you could be sick or injured next season. It is important to put the best things in life first. Forget about fixing meals, going shopping, doing laundry, mowing the grass or taking a nap.

**Remember to use a very large mesh bag to bring your bushels of Mushrooms home in, so that the little spores will happily fall all over the ground as you walk about to ensure Mushrooms for future generations.

First Day

Today is the first day of gun season and I am usually awakened by the sounds of a military invasion in our valley. There are woods all around us on the hillsides and even shots from the tops of neighboring hills reverberate through our valley.

I have often wondered if there are really that many deer that are shot at on opening day and if the people shooting are really that bad or if they get buck fever and are shaking so bad that they just can't hit anything. Because it is never just a shot or two from one direction but a volley of shots coming from first one location then a volley of shots from another location.

This morning was different, I only heard a couple of shots and they were far away. Either no one chose to hunt around here this morning or the deer have all moved away. It was raining and cold but I have never known a true deer hunter that was scared off a first day hunt by a little cold and rain. I guess it could be that hunters are getting soft. I don't know what this world is coming to.

Coyote Visit

Early yesterday morning my DH went outside and saw a deer jump over the fence from the wooded side of our property into our pasture. Then he saw a coyote come over the brink of the hill in our pasture, the deer turned around and ran back towards the woods, the coyote pursued her.

I had just been commenting on where the fox had gone. We were seeing the fox just about every day, then all of the sudden he just disappeared. We haven't seen him for several days. I have heard that foxes won't stay were coyotes spend time. I don't know if that is true or not but it seems to always be the case here. This is the first coyote that we have seen in a long time. We haven't even been hearing them at night.

I am happy that I don't have to deal with the fox anymore but I might have a worse problem now. We have never lost any livestock to a coyote but they do make me nervous.

We have been seeing a very large buck in our lower pasture. He doesn't just have a large rack but is just massive all over. He must be older than what we usually see because he has a very large neck and shoulders. He looks like the big bucks that you see on the covers of hunter's magazines. We think that he is probably staying on our island. Indian Creek crosses our property and it splits in one place to form a fairly large island. We have had the bigger and more experienced bucks live on that island before, but not for the last couple of years.

I know that my brother-in-law and my cousin both read my blog, so they will probably want to come down for a visit during deer season after they read this. I also told a couple of deer hunters at Church about him, so his days may be numbered, as long as I get a few good steaks out of the deal, I won't cry over him. They just came out with a new study that meat-eaters don't have the brain shrinkage that vegetarians have. I believe that I could have told you that, but that certainly explains a lot.