News

We’re home. Yea! We had to spend one extra night in a hotel here in St. Louis because of possible adverse reactions to the spider spraying in the house that happened while we were at Comicon. So far, so good. Hopefully, I will not have some weird reaction to the minute residue, and the brown recluse spiders will be gone for good.
It was almost cruel and unusual punishment to be so close to home and not be able to sleep in our own bed last night. But we’re home now. Jimmy and Phouka greeted us and we sorely missed our puppies. Pip and Sasquatch are still at the puppy hotel, we’ll have to rescue them later today. After a throuagh greeting to the two dogs that are home, I went upstairs and changed. Changed out of the nice black jeans into a pair of blue that are not so nice, but they are comfy. Dropped the black t-shirt down the shute and put on one of my animal shirts. Badger today. It’s from a site I get a lot of stuff from including the mug I’m holding in the new photo on the back of THE HARELQUIN, and the postcard. (www.badger.org.uk) They are trying to help save the badgers from a massive cull that the British goverment is talking about. The idea is that badgers give TB to cattle. More likely the badgers get it from the cattle, and carry it to the next herd. But in Ireland where they did a massive cull years back, the rate of tb among cattle is higher. The badger is now the largest carnivore in the British isles, sad to say. Are we going to loose him, too? Makes me sad just thinking about it.
I keep thinking about THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS. You know Badger, Ratty, and Mole. Ratty is endangered, but making a small come back. Mole is hanging in there, but Badger, smart, capbable, practicle, solid, depednable, Badger is in danger now. Now because he’s not doing well, but because he’s getting blamed for a problem with the British beef industry that might be solved better by more extensive testing of cattle. There are reports going back and forth on line on both sides of the questions. I am sympathetic to the farmers, they don’t seem to say rancher over in England, but as with the wolves here in America being blamed for cattle deaths, my sympathies are with the wolves and the badgers. I love beef. I do. I really, really do, but it is one of the most destructive types of animal farming to the enviroment. Sigh. I’m beginning to think we may have to eat less beef in a sort of protest. Damnit. Can’t we find a way to eat beef and not have people killing off our large carnivores? I stuck with the beef industry through the mad cow thing. I stuck with the beef industry through a lot of problems, but I cannot support the killing of my beloved badgers and our wolves. I just can’t. I’m sorry. No steaks on our grocery list this week. Double, damn, sigh.
Frankly, I think wolves should be the national mammal of our country. They seem to personify what is best and wildest about America, and our struggle to have people and animals side by side.