Large Fierce Mammal

Being married to an avid wildlife photographer means few moments are lost only to be recalled from memory. A few years ago we were driving the shore road near Corkum’s Island, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia when we spotted a Blue Heron that had just scored itself an eel. What follows is a sequence from that spectacle. Note that, at one point, the Heron takes a swig of seawater in attempt to wash down its prey, and in the last shot the eel is still visibly holding on. Its body can clearly be seen where it presses outward against the skin of the bird’s neck.

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“Nature pours life into death and death into life without a drop being spilled.” ~  Unknown

Not to be outdone by the mammals in my 17 March 2011 post titled Reality Check, the arthropod world has some surprises of its own. Thanks to Ahmet Ozkan who created and posted the original video viewable by clicking here.

My birthday fell on this past Saturday and, as is traditional, Mrs. LFM and I went hiking. This year’s stomping grounds was Kejimkujik National Park, an incredible expanse of lakes, rivers, and forests that is of special significance to Mrs. LFM and me, and was the place in which the ceremonies spoken of in my 27 March 2011 article Blessed By Birch and Eagle unfolded.

In the company of Peter “Bear Bait” Thompson and Robbie, our Australian Cattle Dog, the Saturday route took us along the Snake Lake and Peter Point trails, through pristine mature forest and marsh land that showed clear evidence of an active beaver population. Intending to explore their habitat more closely, we returned Monday, just Mrs. LFM and me, and retraced the same route. What follows is a pictorial presentation of some high points. Click the pictures to expand them to full size.

Unlike most of our hikes this is not a hard core trek. Each trail we took (Snake Lake AND Peter point) is listed as a 3 kilometer return trip. To follow our route, keep taking the leftmost trail at every intersection.

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Image courtesy psychologytoday.com.

If you missed my earlier articles inspired by the radioactive bag of shit we’re all holding courtesy of the nuclear power industry in general and Japan in particular, check out Mental Fallout From a Nuclear Clusterfuck, Bullshit Alert – Since 11 March 2011, If You’ve Ever Even Heard of Japan, You’ve Been Exposed, Radiation – Let’s Get It Straight, Build Your Own Nuclear Reactor – Well, Not Really, and Of Apples and Oranges.

I’ve always argued that knowledge is power, and the Truth will actually set you free, but only if you find it on your own terms. Anything released by officialdom under the banner of ‘truth” that is absent independent confirmation must be treated as self-serving bullshit intended purely to maintain government control of the citizenry, and protect industry, all at the expense of public safety.

Today I’m posting two interviews that you should find interesting, both courtesy of the Jeff Rense Official YouTube Channel. The first is with journalist Yoichi Shimatsu, and the second is with Dr. Russel L. Blaylock.

If you spend any time here, you’ll know that Mrs. LFM and I enjoy good food and drink, and for us, cooking is a passion. Speaking for myself though, I enjoy cooking most when it involves knife work.

It’s said that a much handled tool takes on the soul of its master. There’s a truth in this that, as a blade guy, I discovered a long time ago and practice to this day – when a knife first comes into my possession, I use it exclusively for every cutting task it can possibly be applied to. It may be instantaneous, or it may take weeks, but eventually there will come a day when that knife suddenly seems sharper than before. Its use becomes effortless and all conscious thought is removed from any task it’s called upon to do so that it seems to know of its own accord what needs to be done. That’s the day when I know it has become a part of me.

I’ve celebrated the art of kitchen bladecraft before in my articles Kitchen Knife Technique and More Kitchen Knife Technique, but today found an article in the highly recommended blog, The Art of Manliness that was too good not to share.  One of the vital components of The Art is a grasp of basic knife skills, and our man’s 20 April 2011 article titled Kitchen Fundamentals: Basic Knife Skills is a must read. Just click the title and then practice what he preaches, for only through dedication may you achieve enlightenment!

Wherever in the world you may be as you read this, please make your thoughts known to the people listed in this notice.

In the wake of a recent, heavily publicized case involving a woman who was mauled by an alleged “Pit Bull Type Dog”; publicity I might add that fails to adequately explain why the woman entered the residence containing the dog, in the owner’s absence, in the first place; the cry has once again been raised for the banning of specific dog breeds on the grounds that they are innately “dangerous”. The Town of Yarmouth is considering adopting a new bylaw that, according to a 15 April 2011 article in the Yarmouth County Vanguard,

“… immediately sets out to define a “fierce and dangerous” dog, saying it is any dog that “is a Pit Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier; Pit Bull, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Rottweiler or any dog of mixed breeding, which includes any of the aforementioned breeds.”

The draft of the proposed, misguided bylaw is here. The breed specific portion that defines a dog as “fierce and dangerous” purely based on its breed represents ignorance of the worst kind, and has been proven not to work elsewhere, yet banning things remains the go-to plan for people hell bent on turning the world into a child proof daycare center where no one is accountable for their actions. As of this date, only Calgary has gotten it right, and they are to be applauded for it. (more…)

Editor’s Note: Not unlike my own self, my esteemed friend Eric Noeldechen takes an old school approach to the basics of life. At the end of the day, while new tools may come along, the basics never change, which is why they are called “basics”. Eric is a husband, father, Scout Leader, craftsman of fine carrying systems for knives and tools, and most of all, a realist. He can walk the walk.

I don’t personally cotton to trophy hunting, preferring to limit my killing to things I either intend to eat or that have demonstrated an intention to eat me, and I can’t speak for Eric, but he makes some valid and thought provoking arguments here with respect to African big game hunting.

Eric submitted this article to me a few days ago and I found it more than worthy of being published here under the LFM masthead. Please welcome LFM contributor Eric E. Noeldechen, a Large Fierce Mammal in his own right.

"Longhunter" by Marian Anderson

Let’s face facts. Human Beings are omnivores – hunters and gatherers. At least we used to be.

For man to hunt is natural, innate and simply part of what makes us human beings. As far as I’m concerned, anyone who doesn’t have the urge to hunt has mutated DNA and is the weaker of the species, ripe for the picking of Natural Selection. (more…)

Almost a year ago, the petroleum seeking arm of the voracious energy monster that is human society handed the planet its own bag of shit to hold, proving through months of ineffectual flummoxing that they were completely unprepared for the inevitable. The nuclear power industry has proven itself no different, but far more deadly. Much of what is unfolding now will never be put right.

“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.”
~ William Shakespeare, Macbeth, 2.2

“Never believe anything until it has been officially denied.” ~ Francis Claud Cockburn

Yesterday, the clusterfuck at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactor site was elevated to 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES). For further elaboration on the INES, you should read the pamphlet on the subject published by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEC), and if you’re really voracious you may also wish to tackle the 218 page INES User’s Manual, 2008 Edition.

According to the IAEC website:

The primary purpose of the INES Scale is to facilitate communication and understanding between the technical community, the media and the public on the safety significance of events. The aim is to keep the public, as well as nuclear authorities, accurately informed on the occurrence and potential consequences of reported events.

It’s important to grasp something here – just because an incident has gotten so bad that it hits the top of the International Nuclear Event Scale does not mean it has gotten as bad as it can get. (more…)

Yes, I know an apple isn't a citrus fruit, but this is a bushcrafty article and the picture has a couple of items in it that might come in handy on a camping trip.

YouTube is a cornucopaea of tutorials, and just as a picture speaks a thousand words, watching somebody do a thing beats reading about it pretty much every time.

My interest in bushcraft combined with my propensity for serendipity led me the subject of today’s post and, while it’s not about a skill exactly, it presents a novel use for something I’ve never even considered as a fire lighting material – citrus rind.

Much LFM gratitude to Sean, The Silver Fox!

One of the things I find most disturbing about federal elections is how willing the general population is to swallow the meaningless bullshit that gets served. It’s almost like none of this has ever happened before, or at least nobody in the voting public remembers it. Politicians trot out promises for things they claim to understand are near and dear to the hearts of Canadians, but that they somehow never get around to providing before an election is called and while the government is still in business. Not ever.

Some mental illnesses are characterized by repetitions of a failed behaviour, always in hope of a different outcome, and today I think I’ve found a medical explanation for this relentless appetite for bullshit. I mean, isn’t everything definable as a syndrome these days? It’s called Pica (pronounced “PY-ca”), and it presents as an appetite for substances that are not normally considered food … like dirt for example. Or, in the case of Election Induced Pica (EIP), bullshit, and lots of it.

If you think you, or someone that matters to you, is suffering from this terrible election induced disorder, see your medical professional immediately. Before you do though, check his or her diet first. Browning of the nose and teeth are the first warning signs.