Arcata-Velo: November 2010

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Chanterelle Hunting On the Hammond...

Not quite Chanterelle season anymore but they are still out there...

Here is the secret spot... shh...

This guy was gaurding a little Smurf villa of Chanterelles... He had the right idea catching the last few rays of the sun...

Death on the North Coast...

My dog killed one of my favorite chickens last week and yesterday i murdered an adorable little gopher. Gophers have really been doing a number on the garden this fall so we experimented with traps. Traps are surprisingly effective. I dug and inserted the traps then sat there waiting. Much to my surprise within minutes i caught my first gopher. When i pulled the trap and gopher from the hole i couldn't help but notice the inhumane way the trap works, I know... What did I think was going to happen? Puncturing the gopher releasing blood and breaking its leg. I freaked out got the gopher out of the trap and into a bucket. I was beside myself staring into the bloody bucket with this cute little creature staring up at me with a look of " what did you do that for"? It was horrible. I immediately realized the hypocrisy of my life when i can smack my dog around with the chicken he killed in an attempt at punishing and correcting his behavior while i just impaled and broke the leg of a defenseless little creature. Life is complex. Every action and decision effects so much. Too much thinking can really pose problems in life. The guy at the hardware store that sold us the traps doesn't think too much about it. He kills these cute little creatures all day long. I wonder what he thinks about life. Was it ever a problem for him to snuff the eternal candle out from these "pests.". Im not sure i can kill another one. Do i deserve to make that life and death decision for another creature just cause i have thumbs? Today i am going to attempt to get the gophers out alive and transport them down to the park. Killing them didn't work for me so ill try to pass my problem off to the Mckinelyville Parks and Rec. dept. I can live with that for now...