Tag Archives: nature

time poor

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When Spore and I started our lives together, we decided that we wanted to live simply. We found out pretty quickly that our vision of simple was quite different. Spore was thinking cave man homesteader, pull away from society, live off the land, tree bark for toilet paper kind of simple. I was thinking no TV and walk to work simple.

Compromise. We had to learn it in spades. Small house we both agreed on. I said no to tree bark essentials, he said no to a washer and dryer. I said no to a wash board and ringer. He said OK, no dryer. We were making progress. He said composting toilet, I said no way no how. He said no extras just the minimum, I said OK.

Simple is not simple to plan, but it’s also not terribly complicated. Chop wood, carry water.

We were learning that living simply could be a monstrous time suck, and some days physically and mentally exhausting, and frustrating. Loosing your entire market garden to one random hail storm is not an easy pill to swallow. Busy from sun up to sunset on most days. There is a reason that some homesteaders killed each other, ate their young, and went crazy. I was choosing to not go down that path, just yet.

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But, surprisingly enough, I was loving our simple life. I’ve never been opposed to hard work, but I learned that I function much better without material clutter. I started to love going to bed each night, (yes a bed, after I talked Spore out of the tent in the yard), exhausted mentally and physically in a deep satisfying way. Things felt real, rich, tangible, and known.

We were young, we didn’t have children or dogs yet, simple was totally doable.

And then one day we looked at each other, maybe it was a blank stare. We now had a dog and two babies, and jobs in town. Laundry sat on the clothes line for days, I considered rain an extra rinse cycle. Wood needed to be chopped, the garden harvested, and goodies to be canned. Our dog and two babies took up all of the time I use to have to take care of our basic needs. I felt completely time poor, and exhausted in a not so good way.

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So we hit the compromise table again. My new focus was our babies and my dog. Somethings around the house had to give, be made a bit easier. My declaration to not being super human stuck. I held up my simple white flag, to our simple little life, in our simple little home. And I was gifted a lovely dryer. Woop… I think it might still be the best gift I ever received.

Over the years we have added more dogs, birds, fish, and bunnies. Our children are growing up and are getting pretty involved and busy in their activities. My dogs are all hitting their senior years at one level or another and it is ripping at my heart. And I have some modern conveniences in our home that I am so grateful for.

Most days I have ample time for my kids and dogs. I mean hours worth, and I planned it this way. I also work full time, and still grow a market garden. But the ‘keep it simple’ is always at the forefront of everything I do.

I would consider myself to be time poor. There are very few days, if any, where I am at a loss for something to do. Even though my scientist friends remind me that time is a constant and does not change, if you are a mother you know for a fact that it does. Time goes by way to quickly with my dogs and they go from puppy to senior in no time at all. I have learned to stop and cherish each day with them, not that they are all good or productive, but that we are here and doing this journey together. My kids are growing way to quickly and I would like the clock to slow a bit, enjoy the time I have with them for just a little longer.

On days were I am feeling really time poor, I stop and take a deep breath. There is always 20 minutes someplace in the day to sit down with my kids and listen to them. There is always 20 minutes to go into the yard and play with my dogs and work with them.

Cutting out the extras and knowing what is most important is the simplest way to live, and love, and be grateful. Time poor doesn’t have to mean ‘no time’, it simply means there is no time for extras, only what matters most.

Nancy

 

 

 

it’s the 99% of the time that kindness counts

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When we first moved into our Montana neighborhood, on a cul de sac, I was so excited. Families, children, dogs, close to schools, neighbors to chat with at the mail box, all of the good stuff.

You see, we moved to Montana from Wyoming. You might say, yeah, big deal, it’s pretty much the same. Oh no it’s not. Wyoming is a bit rough around the edges and a bit lawless. We were 75 miles from an interstate, and had lots of sage brush in pretty much every direction.

Everything there is extreme. The summers are roasting hot, the winters are freaking cold and frozen, the wind lifts roofs, and the perfect days are just so perfect that it’s hard for the mind to comprehend. But our neighbors were good people, to the bone good. They may not have been chatty, or super social, but they were kind and hard working. If I ever needed help, real help, they were there for me every time, and visa versa. We all looked out for each other, and not in a nosy neighborhood way. There was a sincere kindness, and realness to our life there, rough but very real.

When we arrived on our cul de sac, there were 19 children and 13 dogs. I thought that for sure this was going to be it! We were told that the dogs could be off leash and the children could play safely, everyone looked out for everyone else. Wow! Happy Valley.

Well it was a nightmare with dogs off leash everywhere, so we built a fence, planted a hedge, and built a garden. So did a few of the other homes. Things became a bit more peaceful and a bit kinder. Not so many neighborly conflicts. Our dogs were happier, and I was happier having them safe from some of the other dogs in the neighborhood.

Then we found that kindness was subjective. We were only one of two homes on our circle that didn’t go to the same church. Kindness was reserved for church friends, cold shoulders for the rest. This was actually OK with me, I was learning that things weren’t very ‘real’ after all, so doing my own thing was not a loss really. I had my kids, dogs and garden, life was good.

But this is also when the ‘sand box’ wars started. That oh so precious moment when a parents point of view slips out of a four year olds mouth, and you learn that kindness is really masked contempt and judgement. These little people spewing their parents hatred at my children because they didn’t go to the same church.

At one point I was told that ‘cleanliness was next to godliness’ by one of these charming four year olds. She didn’t even know what it meant, other than she was pointing to my laundry on the couch. So I told her to fold it if it bothered her so much. Funny, she never came down again.

Then years went by, everyone kind of fell into their own groove, and only minor neighborhood conflicts. There have been births, deaths, marriages, and two new families. Our dogs and children live a good life, my garden has continued to grow.

And it only took one trigger, just one the other night, to bring me back to that feeling I had when we first moved here.

We have four dogs, two are seniors. They are never off leash in our neighborhood, and we respect others properties. We still have to look out our driveway each time we take them for a walk to make sure our neighbors dogs aren’t cruising around.

Our one neighbor four houses down stood in the middle of the street and was throwing a tennis ball for his dog, right at our home and onto our property. You see we are the home at the back of the circle, it was a direct throw. So his dog came running down the street and right at our home. You can imagine four herding dogs watching another dog charge their home, it didn’t go well.

I went outside and started walking into the street and put my arms up in that universal questioning gesture. Any person from anyplace in the world, except my neighbor apparently, understands this gesture, everyone! He looked right at me, and thru the ball in my direction, and his dog came running at me to get to the ball. Again my dogs were going nuts watching this all go down. His action was intentional, disrespectful, and adolescent, and he is a grown man, my senior.

We exchanged words.

Everyday for the past four days his dog has been cruising around the neighborhood, he has been walking his dog off leash, and throwing the ball in the street, oh but only half way down now. He is actually making a concerted effort to be disrespectful and unkind. And he continues.

I know that some of the kids in our neighborhood read my blog. Thank you, I appreciate you checking in, truly.

So here are my thoughts.

It is important for every family to be kind and loving to their children and animals. It is also important to be respectful and kind to your neighbors. This doesn’t mean you need to be buddy buddy, but rather to honor their existence on this planet and be kind, be real. Going to church and learning about kindness is not necessarily ‘living’ that same kindness.

When you are out in the world, and amongst people and animals of all walks of life, this is truly where kindness counts the most, this is the 99% part of your life, the part that truly counts. Doing it, not just talking about it.

My friend has talked about home re model ideas like moats, turrets, and draw bridges. I think I might take him up on his offer sometime soon!

Be kind, be respectful, and most of all be real … Nancy

up north in Alaska!

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It’s workshop season! And what a great start. A trip up north to Anchorage and Wasilla for a variety of topics, freestyle, cross training, team success and treibball. Ask anyone who wants to book me, it takes a lot to get me to leave home. But in this process of prying me away from my comfort, I seem to almost always love every minute, and meet some of the nicest people, from literally all over the world.

I love giving workshops, I love teaching, and sharing, and learning from those I am teaching. It is truly a full circle experience. The bonus to working with such a group of talented folks is that the level at which you can teach is that much higher, and the conversations that much better. Working with talent is always a gift in my opinion.

The groups I worked with in Alaska were so deeply involved in the dog world in one way or another, or another, or another! Mushing, dock diving, obedience, tracking, agility, SAR, hunting. Talented and committed.

The Alyeska Canine Trainers club in Anchorage have an amazing facility. Karen gave me the early morning tour, lucky me! And we tried to use it all, but it is huge. I would be lying if I didn’t say I had facility envy on some level. Folks came from all over Alaska, even Juno. When I asked Martha how she got to Anchorage, she looked at me quizzically and said, “you either fly or swim really hard” and then she had a great laugh!

I was fortunate to get some time watching the Alaska Dogs Gone Wild Fly Ball Team, and to visit the Alaska K9 Aquatics center.

Dinners, driving up the Cooke Inlet to the Alyeska ski resort, which by the way was the only 1 hour of sun I saw while I was there, and then off to Wasilla for a Monday Treibball workshop!

The photos can do the rest of the talking. Awesome all the way around! Just click on the photo to enlarge and follow the arrows.

Thank you Karen and Claudia for arranging everything and taking such good care of me! Nancy

East or North?

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Easter is our time to get out into this beautiful world, and see it for it’s true simple beauty. We usually head North or East, there really isn’t an explanation or a reason behind this, it just seems to happen that way. This has pretty much been our norm for 18 years or so. No matter were we are living, Mother Nature never disappoints.

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We start at home with an early Easter morning romp in the yard, breakfast, and packing.

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If we somehow don’t leave until the crack of 10am or so, we stop at Mark’s in Livingston. Hands down my kids favorite!

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We like to travel on back roads as much as possible. We find that we see more, experience newness,  and it’s truly an intimate way to see an area. And you are guaranteed to run into something bizarre at some point.  It’s simple, we open a map, find an interesting name of an area, and head there. We have never been disappointed in the adventure department, and always, absolutely always have a great time. We leave our day open to new options and detours. Nothing is set in stone.

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This year we decided to explore the area around the Big Snowy and Judith Mountain ranges, and a little beyond. We’ve driven through on the highway for sheep herding clinics and things like that, but have never really explored the area. The Crazy Mountains were first, incredibly gorgeous.

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We had some rain, lots of wind, gorgeous sun, and a bit of everything in between. We almost depend on this variability to be honest. Spore found a county road he wanted to explore, the dogs needed to get out, and the kids were ready to blast.

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These are my 3 Musketeers! $eeker is always with the kids, and the kids with him.

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We went through the Invenergy Wind Farm by Judith Gap. I wish we had more wind harvesting in this world. Montana has wind to spare, and it just makes sense all the way around. And personally, there is something about wind farms, when they are in motion, that I like.

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Sunset in Judith Gap

Roadside lunch for the crew. Olive oil and rosemary roasted gizzards and organ meat. And then off for another walk in a new area.

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Some of the places we wanted to go were up too high and it was still too snowy, so we pulled out the map and noticed that there was a State Park in the middle of this area, Ackley Lake State Park, who knew? Spore is a State Park junkie by the way, he feels that since we pay for them, we should visit them, appreciate them, and explore them. So off we went. What a treasure is all I can say. There was one, just one other car in the State Park while we were there. It was freedom, airing out, running, and playing at it’s best. This was a true find! And for about one hour the sun came out. Smiles all the way around. I can only imagine that this lake is packed in the summer time!

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Beach parking, this was so cool in and of itself!

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Franny ran and ran and ran. She enjoyed herself more than any of us I think. The soft ground, the openness, no stress, just running. I couldn’t stop smiling. Her joy was palpable.

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$eeker won’t go swimming unless Ocean goes in first. If alligators don’t get Ocean, and no giant octopus tentacles reach up and suck her under, well then he considers the adventure all good and will take the plunge!

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First swim of the season. This is Ocean’s true love, well really anything that puts her in motion is, but she LOVES to swim above all else. The windier and wavier the better! She will be 11 years old in just three months, and this girl still has such amazing drive and power.

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Story. He is so true, honest, powerful, and present. And I think these photos capture HIM as I feel him.

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Playing. We all needed it!

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And then, we try to find some place that’s open for dinner. Harder said than done in super small back roads towns on Easter evening.

Spore and I have eaten in a lot of crappy little dives, on four different continents. We consider it part of the adventure and truly have very low expectations, and a pretty good tolerance for crappy little dives. There always seems to be some redeeming quality, even if it’s super small, and that is what creates that great memory. Maybe a great view, maybe a cardboard shack of a place but awesome food, maybe the food was inedible but the coffee was amazing, maybe a great fun server or eccentric cook, there is always something small that is great. Out of the way is fun, in the middle of nowhere you can sometimes find the best pancakes, food adventure is part of traveling in my book.

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Spore and I agreed on the final stretch of our drive home, that the diner we stopped at in Harlowton, now tops our list of the crappiest of diners we have ever been too, during all of our travels, spanning 18 years together. That is saying something. There was nothing that was redeeming. Not the service, not the view, not the decor, and least of all the food. Again, we are not hard to please, it’s an adventure after all. You have to work at making us not like a place.

Was it a great Easter? Yes. Everything I love more than anything else in this world was packed into our car. A big mosh pit, my mosh pit. And we were out exploring little places in a big world together.

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Nancy

 

 

 

1994, a good year to be in Antarctica

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I had just returned from Mexico and graduated from University. I had my ceramic studio and art festivals going on in Park City. I worked in a restaurant at night, and during the day I was hiking, skiing, mountain biking, and loving my life. Then one day I woke up, opened my eyes and stared at that dot on the ceiling, and decided I needed a change, a big life change. I wasn’t looking to move to another city or anything like that, I just wanted to experience something totally and completely different from anything that I knew. Deep sea scuba diving on oil rigs was out, that fell into the scary category, so I applied for a job in Antarctica. Why not?

I flew to Denver just four months later and deployed with a group of twenty seven others. I met Spore on that flight! My first impression of him? Well I actually thought he was about twelve years old and one of those computer child geniuses. Quiet, short hair, Dennis the Menace shirt, and Van’s shoes. Turns out he was my age, a carpenter, and he had his eye on me from the first moment he saw me. :-) (I actually didn’t know that until years later … did I mention he is kind of quiet?)

We were layed over in New Zealand for a week or more because of bad weather in Antarctica. Christchurch on the other hand was gorgeous and in bloom. We all explored Christchurch and the surrounding areas together. We met at different pubs, restaurants, art centers, movies, botanical gardens, and it started my love affair with New Zealand and my friendship with Spore.

Here are just some of the photos that remind me how good change can be. These slides have been sitting in various closets for over 18 years, I just had them copied to disk!

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Hut Point – Ross Island – Robert Falcon Scott used 19 sled dogs to attempt reaching the South Pole on the HMS Discovery Expedition 1901-1903. They were unsuccessful, as the men got sick from scurvy. These are the original dog houses, preserved quite well I might add! 1994 was the last year the continent saw sled dogs, April I believe. There was a feeling that the Antarctic dogs could possibly spread distemper to the marine life.

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First Day in McMurdo, first hike on the Antarctic continent. We were out for about four hours, it was awesome! Spore, Dave, Howie, Me. I spent a week in McMurdo before flying to the South Pole.

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Spore had an awesome job his first year in Antarctica. He was known as AGO BOY. He was flown to remote areas on the continent by a twin otter plane. Dropped off with a few weeks worth of supplies, and his job was to groom a remote run way for a Herc C-130 to land with the scientist to check on their data that the AGO sites were collecting all winter long. He was able to see and experience the beauty of the entire continent!

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and to go out to the edge of the continent and see the ice breaking up… so beautiful!

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One of his remote runways, look to the left.

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Working on the snowmobiles was a huge part of his job. I think he told me he would be out grooming 6-9 hours a day. That’s kind of like farming if you ask me!

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Going on a traverse with Spore, we were lucky enough to see these little guys! It’s kind of like magic really.

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Gorgeous adelie penguins!

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This one captures my heart… It was the only weddell seal pup we saw.

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The Dry Valleys. This lake ice was frozen 12 feet deep, and it doesn’t thaw. Spore worked for a bit, for the scientists from MSU who were studying the ice, the lakes, and the Dry Valley eco system.gang

The gang! The day before we flew out to the South Pole for our season there. Spore, Dave, Katharine, Sally, and … ? dang it I forgot his name!

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Me at the South Pole. It was kind of cold!

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This picture just cracks me up! I think we were walking back from the Old Pole, why else would we be on an expedition in Antarctica with a broom?! This is the view, for 360 degrees, from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Flat with sastrugi’s (the little snow waves from the wind), white ground, blue sky with sun. 24/7 for the six month summer. No animals, no planes unless one is scheduled, no night. It is the same everyday all summer long. And this landscape is what captured me the moment we landed.

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I’m the one with the camera in front of my face. Me and my friends at the Ceremonial South Pole!

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Geographic Pole. This is the ‘Pole’ that moves each year and the USGS comes down to measure and put int he new marker. That would be a fun boondogal job!

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The only wind storm I remember my first year.

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The end of my first summer season, and the day I flew out. The sun is getting lower and would disappear completely for 6 months. This is the Geodesic Dome I lived under the following year. There was an entire little city that operated in there. I heard that it was taken down a  few years ago, disassembled and flown away. The new station is above ground…. for now ;-)

My next post will be about the Expeditions, Explorers, and Cool People I met along the way!

Nancy

snowball treibball

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Well, it was a treibball afternoon in the yard. My husband and kids love this game with the dogs. While they were playing away, I decided to try some ‘moving action shots’. The light was kind of funky, it was snowing pretty good, and the wind was strong, but I love the motion…

my B & W’s … $eeker makes using a camera fun!

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Spore and Story – they are a great TEAM. And the crappier, windier, and snowier the weather, the happier they both are…?!!!!

 

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Spore and his TREIBBALL SAFETY GLASSES. On snowy days they are kind of handy!

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I love this dog! Story is so powerful. I want to work, on a better light day, capturing his power, how it feels when you are out with him.

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love this collection. $eeker loves this game!

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And now for Mr. Happy Pants!

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Loving our new snow, but now I am off to warm up … Nancy

bits and pieces of my dogs …

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OK, I’m still getting use to this fabulous camera my friend gave me.

I’m not use to so many options, but the cool thing is that it is giving me the opportunity to, (1) learn more about photography, (2) take the photos I see in my head but have never been able to capture, (3) spend more time with my super models in the great outdoors!

I haven’t touched up any of the photos, these are as i saw them, and how the camera interpreted what I saw…

Check out the detail on Story’s ear hair, that was so exciting when I came home and downloaded that one from the camera… I finally got the focus I was looking for, and I love true B & W, border collie black and white that is!

And on the final photo, I was down hill a bit, and the sun must have been right in Story’s eyes because i finally was able to capture is honey colored eyes.

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Nancy

my special kind of nurses

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Bugger …

I don’t get sick often, but when I do I go down fast and hard. I must have picked up some kind of special messed up virus on my recent travels.

Yesterday I woke up, normal but a bit on the wonky side, and after an hour on my feet I realized things were not OK in my world.

The kids went off the school with their Valentines goodies, Spore to work, and the border collies and I at home. We all looked at each other for a brief moment, not quite the day we had planned.

My eyes were having trouble focusing, and because my head felt like someone was repeatedly beating it with a 2 X 4, and my stomach was on the high seas some where, I crawled into bed. But even that didn’t feel so good. Then the fever set in, yipee!

I don’t do sick well. I want my Mom and my Grandma to take care of me, even if only in thought. Comfort, caring, make me better. Wait, I kind of take that back. My Mom didn’t do ‘me being sick’ very well come to think of it. My sick days were something like “how are you feeling?”, “Mom I feel awful”, “well when you get a bit of energy here’s the bucket of cleaning supplies, the bathroom needs cleaning and the kitchen cabinets need washing and polishing”. Anyhoo, I want comfort, I hate being sick alone.

Thank goodness for my nursing crew yesterday! While they can’t get me tea, or make chicken soup, they offer comfort that goes much deeper, healing at the very core.

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Ocean has a hard time giving comfort to anyone, she is so concerned for her own safety that me being sick can nearly throw her over the edge. ‘Dear God who is going to take care of me now’ was kind of the expression on her face when I crawled into bed. But she did give me comfort every time she came in to check on me, she gave me one kiss, whined a bit, and then went back to the couch. That effort is huge for her.

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Franny has always been the one to stick by me when I am not feeling well. She either lays in her crate next to my bed, or is on my bed with me. Her presence is not lost on me. Even when the room is spinning at 100 miles an hour with a skull crushing head ache, she is my anchor.

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Story my Sentry. So honest, so true. Mr. Integrity. He hops onto the bed and presses all 60 border collie pounds of muscle into my back. The weight and pressure is soothing. Better than a heating pad, hot water bottle, or warm rice & bean packs. And the added bonus is his luscious fur to bury my fingers in. When he gets to warm he will hop off and lay on the cool hardwood floor next to my bed. He did this back and forth all day yesterday.

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$eeker, dear sweet $eeker. So intelligent, beyond words, so quirky, and so funny. He was my lightness of being to be sure. He would rest his chin on the bed and put his nose into my right ear. He has a noise making repertoire that he does very softly, from low growl to chirping, to clattering, to humming.  Not sure what he was trying to tell me but it made me giggle, until my head split open with raging pain. So $eekers way of reminding me that pain is all relative, and there certainly is worse pain to feel, would jump onto the bed and slowly and purposefully walk across my chest and abdomen, each foot deliberately placed, and each foot supporting most of his 50 pounds of border collie weight. He would work his way to my left ear and then start his special language with me again. It was hard not to giggle, but the thought of him repeatedly walking across me was good incentive to remain silent and listen to what he had to say.

Did my dogs ‘want’ to take care of me, maybe, but I doubt it. I just happened to be the only game in town yesterday. As soon as Spore and the kids came home, I was alone again, and they were off playing.

It was the first day in a very long time where I literally could not get out of bed, oh I think I did once, but I crawled.

This morning I woke to four dogs, bouncing around, kissing me, howling, barking, and excited for a new day. Maybe they could sense I was feeling better? They make me smile, a smile that reaches the eyes…

I love them so very much… Nancy

wolf hunt, is it a witch hunt?

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I wrote a post a while back, simply titled The Wolf – my thoughts. It drew such passionate responses, and some very long responses, that some of them I had to move into the body of another blog post. Many by professionals in the field of wildlife biology. Educated discussions are awesome, we all learn something. People have something to say when it comes to the wolf.

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We are, like it or not, very connected to the wolf. We may not share exact DNA, but throughout the written history of the world, we have, the wolf and human, been very much a part of each others lives and livelihood.

Think about it, when someone starts talking about the wolf, or a wolf, we listen carefully. Besides being raised on a diet of cautionary ‘big bad wolf tales’, the wolf, in and of themselves, are sexy, fascinating, wild, and powerful predators. A lot to stand in awe of. People from all over the world come to the Yellowstone area to hopefully catch a glimpse of a wolf, or if luck is in their favor, an entire pack. And while I believe the raven is a beautiful and cunning creature on this planet,  it’s not quite the same draw. I have yet to see people flock to Yellowstone to ‘hopefully’ catch site of a raven! The wolf garners attention, demands it really, simply by their presence on this earth.

Wolf hunting, and now trapping, are alive and well in the inter mountain area of the US. Fish, Wildlife, and Parks states, at every turn, that this is based on scientific evidence, and there are a certain number of wolves that need to be killed in order to maintain ecological balance. I believe the balance they are speaking about is based solely on the elk population in regards to elk numbers for hunting, by humans. The ‘certain number’ of wolves to be killed this year is in the several hundreds by the way. And this certain number is not limited to wolves or wolf packs that have been causing problems on ranches. The wolf hunt is indiscriminate, it simply means if you are a wolf you are a target.

This wolf hunt is more of a witch hunt, and that is undeniable. If you choose to deny that you are living in ignorance, plain and simple. The culling of wolves from our area is not based purely on science, if that were so than the wolf biologists in the Greater Yellowstone area would be supporting this cull, and they are not. The Predator Extinction Act in the early 1900′s was met with ecologists and biologists warning how this was not the way to increase deer and elk populations for human hunting, and they didn’t support it or recommend it. Let me be clear, it has never been supported or recommended by people/professionals that are actually in the field studying these animals, ever! And if anything in American History we should all learn from so it doesn’t repeat itself, it should be the very real cautionary tale from the witch hunts of the late 1600′s. People lost their lives, most in horrific, painful, and torturous ways, simply due to lapses in due process, mass hysteria, isolationism, and false accusations. Hmmmm, sounds like what is happening to the wolf today.

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Every ounce of what you hear in the news today about the ‘science based’ approach to this new wolf hunting season is simply shrouded in politics. Anyone interested in the wolf, how they were reintroduced, the science and politics behind the reintroduction, and how hands were accidentally tied after the fact by bargains and agreements and the Endangered Species Act should sit down and read WOLF WARS. Many of the players during that whole process are still in our inter mountain area by the way.

I do believe if an animal is threatening your life or your stock, you should have the right to protect yourself. I do not believe in indiscriminate killing, killing for sport, or gloating about killing in any way. Taking a picture with an animal you just killed in any fashion, and smiling big, borders psychotic behavior in my book. Who smiles at death, especially if you made it happen? Taking an animal’s life for food and being grateful, I get that. Taking an animal’s life because you want to kill something, that doesn’t register as even semi healthy to me, on any level.

And then a friend sent me some disturbing information about wolves and the disrespectful way in which they were being killed and handled, and I came upon this gem of a facebook page Montana Wolf Hunting. It’s graphic, disturbing, disrespectful to life in any form, and it is simply about killing. Is this ALL of the wolf hunters in our area? I would seriously hope not, I would hope that some are ranchers that simply are trying to protect their stock, and purchased a wolf hunt license so they could do it legally. But this group is overt, and would like you to believe this is how all wolf hunters are, sad and scary. The ignorance, hate, and misguided judgment from some of the comments and photos is deeply disturbing. And to be very clear, these are some of the people who hold wolf trapping and hunting licenses sold by Fish, Wildlife, and Parks!

Wolves are predators, so are we. Nature has a way of taking care of itself, yet we seem to keep thinking we need to intervene and do it for her. Humans pollute, spread disease, we consume more than we need, destroy eco systems, kill, and hunt. I think we are more of a threat to this planet than the wolves.

Once again, I look forward to educated and passionate responses and discussions on this topic.

Nancy

hiking is my drug

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I have been working a great deal lately.

Neglecting the thing I love most, hiking with my dogs.

There is nothing quite like the sound of the high Montana desert in the winter. Silent. Crisp cool air, and total silence.

It allows me to hear each and every paw touching the earth. Their breathing. It’s soothing, stress relieving, and my drug of choice. I think I could be a junky actually.

I love to watch my dogs be dogs as they walk in front of me. We move as a unit that is filled with love, trust, and is conflict free.

I needed today as much as my dogs …

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Nancy