it's not a 'sport'

I found myself leaving a comment on someone's blog recently and realized, once again that I have a very strong opinion about this subject of guns, in general, and hunting specifically. As I rambled on and on with my comment (you can see it at: http://callmenurse.blogspot.ca/) I decided that it should be a blog topic for me and hence...you.

Okay, here goes. HUNTING IS NOT A SPORT.

Can we just be honest about it? It is about killing living things. For no good reason. That really is the long and the short story.

Please do not try to convince me otherwise. I have heard all the arguments especially the one about it being okay as long as the animal is eaten. Is that because most sport hunters are starving and can't get to the store? I have also been subjected to the lecture about connecting with nature and bonding with your elders or your kids (nice example to the next generation) living off the land, etc., and blah, blah, blah. Oh come on. Most hunters are just guys & gals who enjoy killing and can easily obtain food and too much of it almost any where or grow it, like the rest of us do. People...it is simply not the right thing to do in this day and age in our modern world. Yes, I do realize that in some remote parts of the world some people do hunt to eat but I am not talking about them. Wildlife have enough obstacles to their daily survival, as it is. Do they really need to deal with human beings and all their ridiculous hunting gear/equipment/vehicles/dogs, in order to provide sport ? This is of course after being terrorized first. Think about this reality combined with a little alcohol and you get the picture. (Can you say hunting accident?) Just the thought of how the odds are so stacked against wildlife is quite distressing. It is so not a man against nature challenge. As if we need that concept anyway. Then there is the belief that there is the hunter out there that is ethical, responsible & humane (aka killer-of-living- things-for-sport). Uh huh. I know that guy too and I really like him a lot but I find it hard to wrap my head around this activity that he participates in. I do know that we won't ever discuss this issue. Please do not tell me about population control unless you are taking about human population control. The fact is that there really are too many people, not too many animals in the world. People alone have created the situations in which there are too many animals in too small an area (loss of habitat, perhaps, due to rampant human development and just plain old destruction). Killing living things for sport (aka hunting) is wrong.

I'm pretty sure about that. Kindness to all living things is much better.

What A Difference A DOOR Makes

Before....

Voila!

Before again.....

...and voila again!

How can you not love new doors on an old MO-bile?

So on one of the worst days of the winter our door guys show up and perform miracles. Simply put, there is now light where before there was darkness. That dreary hallway has become a welcoming passageway.

And don't get me started on that sliding-glass-door-that-wouldn't...Oh, and it also would freeze up on the inside! Yes, sheets of ice would form on the inside. Now there is warmth and dryness.

Indeed, it quite possibly could not have been a lovelier day for such a project.

Hey, its Canada.

'gumpygrampa' straight jacket

I apologize in advance but dogs look so funny when we put clothes on them, but the urge to do so is sometimes irresistible. Here, being the good sport that she is, PonyG models my thrift store 'garden sweater' with her expression revealing all. I know the sweater is a 'gumpygrampa-style' cardigan and colour is quite BLUE but, it is oh so warm and for working in the garden, it is going to be perfect. Turns out is also has a paralyzing effect on the dog. She can't move with it on. You can only imagine the jump for joy when the offending garment was removed.

***

PonyGirl says...

Today we are trying something new. Apparently, 'someone' (can you say 'Ingrid'?) thinks that my answers to the following random questions might be interesting....I have my doubts so I am going to follow her lead and answer the questions according to PonyGirl and her quirky worldview. ...therefore, PonyGirl says:

• Describe yourself in seven words....well, that would be... SIT, WAIT, LEAVE IT, GOOD GIRL, NOooooooooooo! (truth be told, I know a couple more like, 'ride', 'dinner', 'cookie', 'bone', 'what's that?').
• What keeps you up at night? Nothing. Absolutely, nothing keeps me up at night. I sleep like a puppy. I keep others up at night though in my search for the warmest part of the bed and the need to stretch out my legs straight in order to have enough room. Perhaps a king-sized bed is in order, people!
• Who would you like to be? Somebody called "Cowgirl" because I very often get called that...by accident they say.
• What are you wearing now? I am still in bed so I guess that would be the down comforter with the flannel duvet cover....hey, its my day off.
• What scares you? Oh boy, that would be a couple of things. Mostly, it is things that do not scare other dogs (they just don't know) like the broom....I hate it! I also hate when something falls on the floor and makes a loud noise. It also scares me if there is something 'new' in the yard like when the pile of sand got dumped in the driveway and covered with a tarp -- I had to bark at that for quite a while before I figured out it was dead.
• The best and worst of blogging? That best would have to be our e-pals who we would love to meet someday and play outside with and maybe run in the woods and bark at stuff. The worst is we should be outside playing not writing stuff and wondering if anyone cares....comments?...yes please.
• What was the last web-site you visited? I do not know that word but 'she' says it was 'Ingrid & Indiana's' blog....who btw I have kind of known since day one.
• What is the one thing you change about yourself? Nothing. I am content and happy. Life in the country is so much fun!
• Slankets, yes or no? Definitely a word I do not know.
• Tell us something about the person/people who tagged you. Well we must really like them a lot because we never do these kinds of things because like I said before....we should be outside playing in the snow!

• Choose eight (two) bloggers to tag next. Well, I will try but my guess is they are all going to be too lazy or tell me that they 'work for a living' and don't have time like I do for all this foolishness, but maybe they will surprise me 'cause they all have dogs too and could let them answer the questions! We'll see.

1. Joey in SoDak
2. K-grrl in Sac