I generally remove, rather than kill, snakes in the yard, even rattlers. But this gopher snake that got itself stuck– braided– into the plastic anti- bird mesh in the garden yesterday tested my patience. Cutting a hot writhing largish snake which is trying to bite you out of plastic mesh with a nail scissors, using …
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Sense on guns
I don’t post on political issues too much, because I have strong beliefs but no partisan litmus tests for friends and ideas. I would rather discuss other things (i.e. almost anything else). But this is a good summing- up on guns, one that people I know who differ on other issues agree with, so I …
Morocco Part Two
More from Sir Terence Clark: this time, muzzleloaders, used in a horse “Fantasia” show. He writes: “For lovers of antique guns, Morocco has some amazing weapons still in common use. These muzzle-loading rifles with their silver chased barrels are used in the Fantasia, when a group of horsemen charge full tilt at the audience and …
Moroccan Hawk ID
Terence Clark has been in Morocco for the Festival of Traditional Hunting, where he photographed some hawks. Most were Peregrines of the migrant race that they call Shahin Bari, “Bari” meaning “of the sea”– probably the far- northern Falco peregrinus calidus, which may have flown from as far as Siberia. But the young man on …
Of Livestock, Predators, & Guardians
This summer, our sheep have been grazing a series of private pastures in the foothills of the southern Wind River Mountains – pastures that have been used by domestic sheep herds for more than 100 years. This small herd is protected by the three burros that are always present, and by livestock guardian dogs. The …
Hunt & Doggish News
Not a dove on the plateau here— though major elk season is started. But Daniel Riviera is coming down through Montana after training in ND… With Bailey & ancient hammer Purdey, a happy man… (Last photo by Katherine) And though it is still hot in Alpaugh, it is almost time to run. John Burchard still …
Situationist Graffiti
The Situationists were a sectarian bunch of heretical commie hippies who came to the world’s notice in Paris in ’68. They were led in part by Guy Debord, a philosopher so contentious that he “excommunicated ” everyone in his group, and finally himself. But, unlike their counterparts here, they had a gift for slogans that …
Two Quotes
Another Marcus Aurelius, quoted by Philip Caputo in Ghosts of Tsavo: “When Thou risest reluctantly in the morning, let this thought be present: I am rising to do the work of a human being.” And one from Federico Calboli: “… Stuff is eaten by dogs, broken by family and friends, sanded down by the wind, …
More on Closed Registries
Population geneticist Federico Calboli is a frequent and outspoken commenter at Q. I sent him the material below even before I blogged it. Here, with his permission, are his thoughts. As he is not affiliated with any breeding organization his freedom from bias is clear. If you believe that simply picking from two healthy parents …
Clear Thinking on Genetic Diversity
Every breeder of domestic animals with a closed studbook should read this, all of it. Most important is the section the writer, Jeffrey Bragg, calls Principles for the Breeder. (MANY thanks to Daniela Imre). “The great majority of dog breeds have been bred within a completely closed studbook for sixty to a hundred years or …