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#Post#: 436--------------------------------------------------
Death on the farm
By: Cam Date: June 3, 2021, 11:45 am
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In the past couple days I've witnessed death a couple times, in
all its messiness. There was some sort of creature raiding the
barn. At first it was stealing eggs. We'd find eggshells
completely licked clean, and all the chickens would be huddled
on the other side of the barn. The only hen able to keep her
eggs was a particularly fiesty one. I actually put a glove on
one hand to take all her pecks while I search with my other hand
for eggs she might be sitting on. So she isn't fun when we're
collecting eggs, but she sure stands her ground well.
We were already on the alert from the stolen eggs, but then one
night there was a big ruckus in the barn as we were heading down
for chores. I was busy getting the goats back in the barn and
locking the big gates up for the night while the two other folks
here investigated. I missed most of the action as I was working
with the goats, but upon entering the barn I witnessed a
chicken's throat being slit - she had been gravely injured by
the mystery creature and she was being relieved of her
suffering. I think it tried to drag the hen out of the barn but
was interrupted by our arrival. After that night plans about
trapping were put into action. We put the dead hen in a live
trap, hoping the creature would come back for it. Whatever it
was, it was nasty. We suspected some sort of weasel. We also set
up a more long term thing in case it didn't fall for the live
trap. We had some cooked chicken underneath an overturned bin.
If it was eaten, we would continue to replenish it until we
gained the creature's trust. Then one night the chicken would be
there, but inside a live trap. It was a good plan, but we didn't
need to put it into action.
Last night there was another ruckus in the barn, and we all went
down to check things out. The other guy, I'll call him Chris,
spotted something in the live trap. I shone my light into it and
a raccoon's face came into view. So we were wrong about it being
a weasel! I remember thinking it actually looked kind of sweet,
looking up at us with its striped face. Then the old farm dog
came over to check it out (after plenty of coaxing from us) and
I heard a rather vicious snarl come from the raccoon. So much
for being a sweetie pie. The raccoon was clearly a juvenile. It
was shot this morning. I think the other folks were very much
aware of the other options, and shooting seemed to be the best.
Driving it somewhere and dropping it off could result in its
death if it ended up in another raccoon's territory. Or if it
couldn't find any good food sources in its new environment. Or,
now that it knew about how great barns were, it could end up
being a problem for someone else.
So this morning I brought the trap down to the bottom of a hill,
heavy with the two animals inside it. I dug a good 4 or 5 feet
down into the soil, then opened up the trap into the hole,
letting both the chicken and raccoon fall in. The chicken was
mangled from being eaten by the raccoon, and the raccoon's head
was a bloody mess. It was a reminder of many things to me. One
is how fragile life is, and how it can end so suddenly. Both the
raccoon and chicken were alive and going about their business a
couple days ago, now they are in the ground. Another thing is
how messy death is, and maybe life too. We can philosophize and
do a great many beautiful things, but in the end we are very
complex bags of blood and organs and poop and all sorts of other
messy stuff. The last reminder is in contrast to the first. Life
in its single forms can be fragile, but life itself seems to be
extremely resilient. The raccoon and chicken are dead, but they
will be brought back to life. Not in the woo woo sense, but in
the sense that they will be returned to the soil. From there who
knows what the dissolved forms will become. I've never buried an
animal before, but when I did I felt obligated to pay some sort
of respect. So I said "may you both return to the soil and begin
again" as the chicken and raccoon fell into the pit. It felt
weird to be talking to the dead creatures, but it felt right in
a way too.
#Post#: 437--------------------------------------------------
Re: Death on the farm
By: K-Dog Date: June 3, 2021, 12:03 pm
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We are here and then we are gone.
#Post#: 440--------------------------------------------------
Re: Death on the farm
By: Cam Date: June 3, 2021, 1:54 pm
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[quote author=BuddyJ link=topic=34.msg438#msg438
date=1622744747]
Coon pelts aren't worth anything where you live?
[/quote]
I'm sure they are, but the other folks don't have the time to
skin it, and I simply have no idea how to. I looked it up last
night, and all I could picture was me making an absolute mess of
the poor thing and it ending up in the ground after that. I
didn't want to question their decision either, because they've
been doing this stuff far longer than I have.
[quote author=K-Dog link=topic=34.msg437#msg437 date=1622739826]
We are here and then we are gone.
[/quote]
You got it, it's all pretty simple.
#Post#: 441--------------------------------------------------
Re: Death on the farm
By: Phil Potts Date: June 3, 2021, 2:02 pm
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So much for being a sweetie pie. The raccoon was clearly a
juvenile.
some would say tender and tasty, I'm sure RE has a recipe.
It was shot this morning. I think the other folks were very
much aware of the other options, and shooting seemed to be the
best.
Other than this one maybe:
HTML https://www.vulture.com/2014/04/history-ushers-the-voice-raccoon-hat.html
#Post#: 442--------------------------------------------------
Re: Death on the farm
By: Cam Date: June 3, 2021, 2:18 pm
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[quote author=Phil Potts link=topic=34.msg441#msg441
date=1622746928]
So much for being a sweetie pie. The raccoon was clearly a
juvenile.
some would say tender and tasty, I'm sure RE has a recipe.
It was shot this morning. I think the other folks were very
much aware of the other options, and shooting seemed to be the
best.
Other than this one maybe:
HTML https://www.vulture.com/2014/04/history-ushers-the-voice-raccoon-hat.html
[/quote]
Yeah my best guess as to why it was buried was time constraints.
We've got a lot of projects on the go right now from fence
repairs to planting out seedlings and whatnot. The best decision
from the perspective of reuse and all that would have been to
cook up the meat, make a hat from the fur, dry the bones and put
them in the garden etc. This is not a wasteful place so lack of
time is the only thing I can think of in terms of reasons for
why all of that wasn't done. Lack of cash too, to pay someone
else to do the work. Things work with the limited cash flow, but
there is very little room for extra expenses.
#Post#: 444--------------------------------------------------
Re: Death on the farm
By: Eddie Date: June 3, 2021, 3:40 pm
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I bury them too. Raccoon pelts are greasy as hell, btw, and
coonskin caps have gone out of style.
I ate coon as a kid. My father was a coon hunter. I also had one
for a pet once, one my dad took out of a nest when it was a
baby. It was easy to tame, but we let it go at puberty...they
really are wild animals. My grandfather kept one in a cage for
years....I have no idea why.
My dad’s favorite little joke was to have my mother prepare a
coon for dinner (as I recall she used BBQ sauce and a pressure
cooker) and invite someone over and not tell them what they
they’d eaten until after they enjoyed I, which they always did.
#Post#: 445--------------------------------------------------
Re: Death on the farm
By: Eddie Date: June 3, 2021, 3:48 pm
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I’m glad you’re experiencing death on the farm. I think one of
THE biggest things wrong with a lot of people today is that they
missed out on that little part of reality. Death is an everyday
occurrence in nature. Animals are not Disney characters, and
they neither talk nor act like characters in a Disney movie.
Much of our food involves some animal dying so we can eat.....a
steak, some chicken, some fish.....it always involves a death so
we can live. Instead of hiding that and denying it happens, we
need to see it and come to terms with the way the world really
works. It isn’t wrong to kill for food, if you’re hungry. It’s
nature, and we happen to be just sophisticated animals....not
Gods.
Good lesson Cam. Thanks for sharing that. it is sad to see the
light go out in the eyes of a living being. But properly
understood, I think it can be food of a different sort, the kind
that results in spiritual growth. Becoming a vegan because you
don’t want to kill for food.....is a cop-out, in my book. People
who grow up on farms and live lives close to nature don’t
usually don’t go that route, because they have a deeper
understanding that comes from direct experience with life and
death.
#Post#: 446--------------------------------------------------
Re: Death on the farm
By: Cam Date: June 3, 2021, 5:59 pm
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[quote author=Eddie link=topic=34.msg445#msg445 date=1622753337]
I’m glad you’re experiencing death on the farm. I think one of
THE biggest things wrong with a lot of people today is that they
missed out on that little part of reality. Death is an everyday
occurrence in nature. Animals are not Disney characters, and
they neither talk nor act like characters in a Disney movie.
Much of our food involves some animal dying so we can eat.....a
steak, some chicken, some fish.....it always involves a death so
we can live. Instead of hiding that and denying it happens, we
need to see it and come to terms with the way the world really
works. It isn’t wrong to kill for food, if you’re hungry. It’s
nature, and we happen to be just sophisticated animals....not
Gods.
Good lesson Cam. Thanks for sharing that. it is sad to see the
light go out in the eyes of a living being. But properly
understood, I think it can be food of a different sort, the kind
that results in spiritual growth. Becoming a vegan because you
don’t want to kill for food.....is a cop-out, in my book. People
who grow up on farms and live lives close to nature don’t
usually don’t go that route, because they have a deeper
understanding that comes from direct experience with life and
death.
[/quote]
When I learned about stoicism as a philosophy I learned a whole
lot about death. Mostly just got a new perspective on things,
which helps a lot. I don't think the fear of death can ever be
completely gotten rid of, but having a healthy perspective on
things certainly helps. The first time I experienced death was
our family dog getting put down a year ago. She had kidney
failure, she was slow moving and stiff, and all the rest. The
quality of life just wasn't there anymore. She was already
sleepy when we brought her in to be put down, but it was still
clear when the stuff in the needle took effect. We were all
teary of course. It's quite an experience to see the life leave
another animal, especially one you care deeply about. It
comforts me to think that she is still out there in the world -
again not in a woo sort of way, but in the fact that her ashes
are still here. We still need to spread her ashes at the
cottage, which was by far her favourite place. Then she can
return to the soil and begin again.
It's interesting you mention vegans. The ones I know avoid it
because of the suffering involved in factory farming, which I
completely understand. Where I am now on the homestead the lady
here sells eggs and meat to former vegans - they have visited
here before and seen just how spoiled the animals are and have
actually changed their minds. The animals may die, but they lead
a life of peace. As I write this the goats are all laying in the
shade under a big maple tree, and they just finished a feast in
marsh grass that's as tall as they are. They've got it good!
I'm taking a PDC by Geoff Lawton on DVD right now, and I'm
flipping through the permaculture design book as I work my
through the course. I found a quote about gardening that I
really like. I can't find it right now, but it's something along
the lines of "gardeners do not fear death because they see it
all the time. Seeds sprout, plants grow, and plants die, and the
cycle begins again". Just seeing the cyclical nature of life and
death does wonders I think. Death is not THE END where
everything stops. It's a new beginning!
[quote author=Eddie link=topic=34.msg444#msg444 date=1622752807]
I bury them too. Raccoon pelts are greasy as hell, btw, and
coonskin caps have gone out of style.
I ate coon as a kid. My father was a coon hunter. I also had one
for a pet once, one my dad took out of a nest when it was a
baby. It was easy to tame, but we let it go at puberty...they
really are wild animals. My grandfather kept one in a cage for
years....I have no idea why.
My dad’s favorite little joke was to have my mother prepare a
coon for dinner (as I recall she used BBQ sauce and a pressure
cooker) and invite someone over and not tell them what they
they’d eaten until after they enjoyed I, which they always did.
[/quote]
Lol that is cute. I think most meats would be relatively similar
so you could trick a lot of folks. It certainly teaches how
culture makes a difference with what we equate as good meat and
what is considered "dirty" or "wrong" to eat.
#Post#: 447--------------------------------------------------
Re: Death on the farm
By: Nearings fault Date: June 4, 2021, 9:07 am
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My grandfather used to cook up ground hog from time to time,
mostly to mess with people's heads I believe. Oily, gamey and
tough. I've eaten raccoon as well but only twice. Time
management in the country is crucial. Planting, weeding,
critical repairs cannot wait other desirables must take a
backseat sometimes. At the old house racoons would poach
chickens and eggs when they could. Vicious creatures when
cornered as it seems you discovered. I had to "dispatch" 3 of
them over the years. The fishers were worse they seemed to kill
and drain the birds but leave them there. Seeing first hand the
interwoven circles of life is philosophically challenging. Man's
domestic circle fits imperfectly into natures many webs. The
areas of conflict teach humility.
Sounds like the experience is proving to be enriching cam.
Cheers,. NF
#Post#: 453--------------------------------------------------
Re: Death on the farm
By: Cam Date: June 5, 2021, 4:07 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Nearings fault link=topic=34.msg447#msg447
date=1622815651]
My grandfather used to cook up ground hog from time to time,
mostly to mess with people's heads I believe. Oily, gamey and
tough. I've eaten raccoon as well but only twice. Time
management in the country is crucial. Planting, weeding,
critical repairs cannot wait other desirables must take a
backseat sometimes. At the old house racoons would poach
chickens and eggs when they could. Vicious creatures when
cornered as it seems you discovered. I had to "dispatch" 3 of
them over the years. The fishers were worse they seemed to kill
and drain the birds but leave them there. Seeing first hand the
interwoven circles of life is philosophically challenging. Man's
domestic circle fits imperfectly into natures many webs. The
areas of conflict teach humility.
Sounds like the experience is proving to be enriching cam.
Cheers,. NF
[/quote]
Yeah they'll defend themselves that's for sure. As for time
management yes I am learning that! Lots of little projects were
put on hold until the fence was done, but now that it is I've
got freedom to do some smaller metalworking and woodworking
projects. My hugelkultur beds are done too so things are very
freed up.
The experience sure did teach me. And something else happened
today. While we were doing chores, one of the guys here heard a
squeaky crying noise coming from around the truck. When we
looked out we saw a little raccoon moseying around. A very small
raccoon. We think it was the kid of the raccoon we shot
recently. From what we've learned little raccoons like that
don't leave the den except when things get desperate. While I
was holding the new puppy in place (another story) they got her
into a blanket and gave her some goat milk. She's on the way to
a sanctuary now where she should live a good life. I got a
little teary when I first saw her this morning - seeing a little
animal like that without a parent just hurts the heart.
Hopefully she does well at the sanctuary.
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