Bearly There

Drinking coffee, staring out the living room window at the first giant snowflakes of the season. They soon turned to raindrops, but there is no denying winter's arrival is imminent. While perusing Percival Press I found this unusual comment from Viggo Mortensen.

Open letter to Patrick Barkham, in reaction to his report about bears in the Selkirk mountain range of British Columbia in the Saturday Guardian of 22 November, 2008 ("Bear Thrills"):

Dear Patrick,

First of all, congratulations on your recent trip to British Columbia. That province contains some of the world's most beautiful alpine scenery and abundant wildlife, including grizzly and black bears. You described the Selkirk Mountains area well. Since I am quite familiar with the region (I live near the Selkirks, south of the Canadian border), and am accustomed to seeing bears in the wild, I hope you will allow me to correct a misconception in your 22 November article.You talked of the grizzly bear's ability to "scale trees". They, unlike the more common and wide-spread black bear, are not in the habit of doing so.

VM

When I was a child someone told me a grizzly bear could peer into a second story window, standing on his hind legs. I tormented my younger sister many a night by asking her if she saw the grizzly bear peek into our bedroom and stare at us. Such a mean streak.

I recently had a discussion with one of my patients about, of all things, bear hunting. Black bear are common in upstate New York where he hunts deer and bear in season. My coworker asked him what he does with the bear after he kills it.

"Do you eat the meat?"

"No, you don't eat bear meat. We hunt for the skin."

Now, I'm not a hunter. People who know me would be terrified at the thought of me shooting a gun. My depth perception is negligible and I am, for want of a better word, a klutz. The only nature trophies I have are ones I shot with a camera.

My Uncle Manny, who owned a farm up in Elmira, New York, explained deer hunting to me. He said the deer were overpopulated and some would starve to death in the winter if they weren't culled. My Aunt Emma cooked the venison and my uncle and cousins used most of the rest of the deer.

I still felt as though they were eating Bambi's mom, but it made some sense to me.

Just hunting an animal for the thrill of the kill doesn't make sense to me.

Sagittarius Horoscopes
Next Week
For the Week of Dec 1st, 2008 -- Rest up on Friday while the Moon in your 4th House of Roots keeps you close to the nest. A little cuddling with a comfortable person is more likely than a blazing romance then. On Saturday night, though, the Moon fires into your dramatic 5th House of Romance to put you in the spotlight and bring more pleasure into your life.

Poor Kanye! I really like his video, though :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVZX-W3vo9I

Maybe I'll rest up with him Friday night. We can watch The Dark Knight and sip some cervezas.

Saturday I'll be heading back to Woodstock with Ms. Helen, the Bee Lady. She just had the best jewelry show ever. And...I got my birthday present early. See how gorgeous it is. Helen is an amazing artist. She has a unique style and exquisite taste. She also does commissions.

I have succeeded in coercing, er...convincing another friend to get Beautiful Mutants (thanks for the inspiration mr. d :) for me for my birthday, too. This is going to be another awesome birthday celebration.

http://www.mutatovisual.com/beautifulmutants/gallery.html

Turquoise and silver necklace, I coveted the pearls and the earrings ~ Helen bastbeads@hotmail.com Happy Birthday to me!

Love Lockdown ~ sad Kanye West, very sad :(