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There is a small group that's feeding up behind the barn. With the moon getting pretty small, they're feeding in the early evening. 178 yards from the back porch.

Just a couple more pix from the cams for the day.  The bucks seem to have disappeared, but I’ve been doing a ton of work out there with the tractor and chainsaw, so I expect they’re keeping their distance until I get out of their dining room. The rest of the deer are getting pretty bold.

I watched a group of three feeding out along the edge of the woods on Sunday evening.  I have to admit I found myself wishing that they were axis deer, because they’d have been a chip shot with the 30-06 from the driveway and I could really stand to have a little axis steak for dinner before I head back to CA.

There seems to be plenty for everybody.

Back where the second camera is set up, the coons and deer are Hoover-ing every grain of corn I can toss back there.

I tossed about 15 lbs. out there last night, and it was practically clean when I walked in this morning to check the cam.   At least they appear to be sharing!

I first saw the photo show up on my Facebook page on Friday night or Saturday.  It was attached to a message from the Humane Society of the US, condemning the hunter and “trophy hunting” as well.  I started to reply, but simply couldn’t get motivated enough to respond.

So the story, as I’ve got it from Tom Stienstra’s column (San Francisco Chronicle) is like this.  Dan Richards, recently named President of the CA Fish and Game Commission went to Idaho to hunt mountain lions.  In itself, this shouldn’t be a big deal.  Many states recognize the value in allowing hunters to shoot large predators under controlled conditions (seasons, limits, etc.).  That’s no different than the way any other game species is managed.

Of course, there’s a lot of discussion about hunting predators, particularly by people who feel that hunters should only kill what they’re going to eat (well, more particularly by people who think all hunting is an atrocity… but I’m not really interested in them right now).  Since “everyone knows” that you can’t eat mountain lion, then this hunt falls right in there with the coyote and ground squirrel hunters.  Right?

Except, in point of fact, many people do eat mountain lion and proclaim the quality of the meat.  “Similar to pork,” is the most common description.  I’ve been looking forward to an opportunity to try it myself, although in CA, that opportunity will never legally present itself.  Mountain lion hunting is banned in CA, based on a heavy propaganda campaign and misinformation that led people to believe the lion population was endangered.  I don’t want to go down that road here, because it’s a discussion in itself… and a futile one at that.  The only way mountain lion hunting will ever happen in CA is if the voters approve it.  That’s not likely in this state.  Instead, the state and federal trappers, as well as landowners and ranchers, are killing lions to protect livestock, pets, and humans on a pace that has far outstripped the number killed by hunters prior to the ban.  Most of these lions are killed and discarded, of no use to anyone but a couple of biologists.  But hey, as long as those “trophy hunters” aren’t killing them for their hides and heads!

So back to Mr. Richards and the crap-storm of reaction to his photo… and his hunt.

Everything he did was legal (although under CA law, I don’t believe he’s permitted to bring any parts of that cat back into the state… what’s his plan there?).  I’m not sure if he planned to eat the lion or not, and honestly, I’m not sure it’s wholly relevant.  Oh, of course the HSUS would like people to believe that nobody eats lions, and that hunting things we’re not going to eat is immoral and inhumane.  And truthfully, they’ll probably get a handful of self-righteous (and short-sighted) hunters to jump on the bandwagon to condemn the practice.  I can practically hear their voices now.  “That’s not hunting!” they’ll shout.  “I only kill what I’m going to eat!”

And then they’ll go on about how this is the reason hunting has such a bad reputation, and stuff like this is going to be the end of hunting as we know it… how this is a black eye for the sport, and fuel for the antis, and all the other trite and cliched arguments.  The thing is, there’s some truth there.  When people who are ignorant about hunting see this sort of thing and hear this uproar, they definitely form opinions.  If the uproar is negative, the opinions are negative.  And why not?

Let’s think about it.

It’s a given that most people recognize that we have to kill in order to eat meat.  Eating a steak while the cow is still alive is a bit more challenge than the average guy can stomach, and could you imagine the noise a pig would make if you started grinding sausage while he’s still alive?    You’ve got to kill them first.  With this in mind, it’s really not a huge leap for the average person to grok the idea of killing a deer or an elk for meat.  Even the folks who can’t imagine doing the deed themselves accept the meat hunter.

It’s also not a big stretch for people to accept the need to kill certain pests.   Almost anyone who’s ever had an attic destroyed by racoons, or had their wiring gnawed by squirrels can relate to the concept of judicious extermination.  Even though these animals may not be eaten (although squirrel and ‘coon are both quite tasty, properly prepared), they’ve got to go.  Simply waving your arms and yelling at them isn’t going to do the trick.

But when it comes to pest control and extermination, the common perception is that this is the realm of the professional.  You pay someone to come and do an unpleasant job.  Some faceless guy in coveralls shows up, sprays some stuff or drops some pellets in out-of-the-way nooks and crannies, and the bad critters just disappear.

It’s difficult for non-hunters to fathom the idea of going out and killing pest species “for fun”.  Yet there’s a huge segment of the hunting community that basically does just that, whether they’re out to shoot ground squirrels, prairie dogs, coyotes, or ground hogs (or even feral hogs for that matter).  I remember as a kid, growing up in rural North Carolina, the summer evening “rat shoots” along the irrigation ditches to keep them out of the grain bins.  A bunch of the neighbors would park at “Buck” Seymour’s barn and line the ditch banks with .22s, .410s, and anything else that was handy.  I was always there with my Red Ryder.  At the same time, many of my friends and I learned to shoot by popping rats with .22s at the local dump (a pastime so pervasive in parts of the rural culture that it became part of Luke Skywalker’s backstory in Star Wars!).

And I’ll say it right here and right now.  It was a lot of fun!

Was this wrong?  Perverse?  Did all of these people go on to become sociopathic killers, animal abusers, or rapists?  I’m pretty sure they didn’t.  Research, by the way, actually suggests that hunters are no more likely to exhibit sociopathic or violent behavior than any other segment of the population.  We’re just guided by a slightly different moral compass, and every individual takes his or her own heading.

How many people have swatted a relatively harmless insect while outside?  I’m not talking about a mosquito or biting fly… just an annoying bug that happened to pass too close and too slow.  Does this make you a stone-cold killer?  Did you suffer a moral quandary after taking that tiny, buzzing life?  Do you shed a tear or mouth a silent prayer everytime a bug splatters on your windshield, or a frog splatters under your tires?  Probably not.

Point is, there’s a lot of indiscriminate killing out there and most people don’t give it a second thought.  But when the killing is discriminate, such as the hunting of a mountain lion or coyote, it’s suddenly of utmost importance to the future of the human collective psyche?  Why is this, and does it really matter if the intent is to provide food or to collect a “trophy”?

I can no more explain the thrill of a lion hunt than I can explain the thrill of reading a good autobiography.  Some people get it, and some don’t.  Personally, I’m not really excited by either prospect, but I can’t see a good reason to condemn the people who are.

It’s an interesting coincidence, by the way, that even as this discussion is circling the Web, the folks over at the Orion Institute are announcing their second “Hunting Think Tank”.  The stated objective of the sessions is to take a look at the body of literature that attempts to define “hunting”, and then to try to come up with their own definition that will make hunting (or the idea of hunting) more appealing to the general public.  How they will deal with issues like this one (predator hunting) remains to be seen.  I’m interested and curious, but a little skeptical too.  Defining such a personal and experiential concept in any meaningful way is sure to be a challenge.

Well, this year, it looks like that may finally change.  The Wild Hog Festival will take place on March 24-25, and it looks like a great weekend to be in southwestern Texas!

While I’m not relocated down here just yet, I do think I’ll be here on that weekend.  Still not sure how fully I’ll participate, but check this out!  Looks like fun, doesn’t it?

Anyway, we’ve been seeing plenty of whitetail on the cams, and some racoons have decided to take advantage of the free feast as well.  Unfortunately, they only come out after dark, and they won’t stop and pose like the deer will.

During the day, there’s a squirrel or two that will pop down also.  I was lucky enough to get one to sit still for a few seconds while he picked the corn kernels out of his teeth.

There also appears to be a small group of bucks hitting the far end of my property, where there’s a really nice little thicket of oaks and juniper to shield them from the road.  They’ve mostly come in at night so far, but at least they’re definitely showing up!

Here’s a pretty little six-point.

He's got great conformation and shows some promise as a good, natural, hill-country buck.

This little four-point has shown up a few times too.

There may be brow tines, so he may be the same one you just saw. But I think this is just a four-point right now.

This is “Funk Horn”.  If he looks like this come October, he’s probably going to be one of the first deer to go in my freezer.

We are calling this one Funk Horn. He's been showing up very regularly. Check out that right side. Funky, huh?

And finally, there’s this guy!  I know he’s got a little more maturing to do, but I don’t know if anyone around here would be willing to hold off on him.

This is Tall Boy. He could stand a couple more years of maturity, but he'll be tempting for anyone in a stand this coming fall.

Finally, here’s someone I haven’t seen before.  This is a Texas Grey Fox, a local native omnivore.  I know a lot of the varmint and predator guys shoot these things, but personally, I’m happy to see him.  He would be most welcome to thin the local, feral cat population for us.

Cool new visitor.

Anyway, I left this place in ice and snow, and returned to 80 degrees and sunshine.  Ahhh, Texas.  I don’t know what the next months hold in the way of weather, but it’s sure been hard to nail down a norm so far!  The flora appears to be having the same problem as well, as the greenery is bursting out with all this moisture and warmth.  I just hope a sudden cold snap doesn’t knock it all down!

Work is going on apace, even in my absence.  The fence guys have almost completely wrapped the “yard”, and it looks like they’ll be done by the weekend (weather pending).  The lumber for the deck has also arrived, and they’ve already started setting posts.  I’ve seen some of this guy’s work, and this deck promises to be a really nice addition.  Hopefully this weather will continue and we’ll actually be able to sit out and enjoy it on some of these beautiful evenings.

At any rate, I’m exhausted.  I was up late last night working over some things with my boss in Spokane, and then had to roll out at 0400 to get to the airport.  I know.  Wah, wah!  I’ll quit whining and go to bed now.

Even as the number of hunters across the country continues to wane, a small group of new hunters are taking to the woods.  These aren’t the products of generations of family tradition.  They’re not youngsters picking up in the footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers.  These are adults.  They’re thoughtful, conscientious, and by-and-large introspective individuals who are taking to the woods out of a desire to take responsibility for the food they eat.

A little while back, I did a review of my friend, Hank Shaw’s excellent book, Hunt, Gather, Cook.   While Hank came from a background of fishing and foraging, he didn’t start hunting until later in life.  His book focused on making use of all the food around us and provided recipes for doing so.

Just before Christmas last year, I reviewed a book from Georgia Pelligrini, Girl Hunter.  Georgia also comes to hunting later in life with a focus on her work as a chef and food writer.  The book follows Pellegrini around the country (and to Great Britain) for a look at different styles of hunting, and a set of recipes to highlight each area.

Hank and Georgia definitely take a closer look at where our food comes from, and how it gets onto our plates.  And both are late-in-life hunters, brought to the sport in part because they were looking for better, healthier, and more sustainable sources of animal protein (aka meat).    While there’s certainly more depth to it, the food aspect is the most visible motivation for these writers’ foray into the hunting world.

Tovar Cerulli’s new book, The Mindful Carnivore, A Vegetarian’s Hunt for Sustenance takes that deeper dive.

I received my review copy a couple of weeks ago, but only had time to sit down and give it a thorough read this weekend.    The fact that I read the entire 280 pages (including comments and acknowledgements) over the course of an eight-hour airplane flight is testimony to the quality of the writing.  I sort of expected the book to knock me out after a couple of hours of reading, but I got so wrapped in the storytelling that the time just sort of melted away.

Tovar’s tale, like most great stories, charts the path of a journey.  Instead of crossing continents or oceans, though, this journey takes place within his own psyche as he flows from thoughtless omnivore, to conscientious vegetarian, to self-righteous vegan, and then to mindful carnivore (actually a thoughtful omnivore, but I wanted to work in the book title here).   It’s not your run of the mill trip.

It’s not your run of the mill storytelling either.  Ordinarily, I wouldn’t go out of my way to read this sort of thing.  If it weren’t for the fact that I have spent so much time on Tovar’s blog, I never would have paid a second thought to a book about a vegetarian’s decision to hunt for his own meat.  And I’d have missed out.  There’s a lot to learn from this story, not just about Tovar, but about how many non-hunters see our sport.  And, as I’ve mentioned, the writing is just superb.

A good bit of the book is built around his decision to become a vegetarian, and how that shaped his thinking about our relationship with animals… particularly the animals we eat… until his vegetarianism evolved into veganism.  I found it interesting that he didn’t preach his philosophy to friends and family (or to the reader).  It was a personal decision, and he pretty much kept it that way until, after years without animal products, a doctor told him that this diet was harming his health.  His body needed the nutrients that can only be obtained through animal protein.

As he re-examined his relationship to animals and food, he came to the realization that simply eating vegetables did not absolve him from the deaths of many creatures.  Farming practices kill huge numbers of animals, whether it’s simply killing the bugs that nibble on leaves, to displacing wildlife from habitat, and even to the depredation killing of larger animals.  Eating tofu still meant getting  blood on his hands.

Tovar’s decision to hunt evolved slowly, and from the story, it was never certain.  In fact, if I didn’t already know the outcome of the decision, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see the story end with a decision not to hunt after all.  There’s intensive introspection, and he turns to the literature of hunting in his efforts to understand his own thinking about the act of intentionally killing a fellow animal.  He eases into it, beginning with fish (and a wonderful examination of why so many people have no problem with fishing, but have so much trepidation about hunting), and then to protecting his garden from mammalian raiders.  When he finally takes to the field for big game (deer), he experiences a couple of set backs that almost derail the entire experiment.

Like many of the late-in-life hunters I’ve known, Tovar displays a fairly intense concern about hunting safety.  He is haunted by thoughts of some of the hunting tragedies he’d read or heard about, and terrified that it could happen to him.  In the chapter titled, Double Vision, he describes his experience in a “hunter education” class.  It’s an enlightening experience for him, although he writes that the class seems to miss the mark in some places, as it is very light on discussions of ethics and there is no real test of proficiency with firearms, wildlife biology, or field craft.  After only two days, the students are deemed “ready” to take deadly weapons into the field.

The other recurrent theme among newer, adult hunters is the fear of wounding an animal.  Tovar is no different, and after missing his first shot at a deer with a traditional bow, he considers whether the risk of wounding is justifiable and decides to hang up the traditional bow.  I could relate to this, as I did the same thing with my own traditional archery tackle for the same reasons.  I simply couldn’t guarantee the consistent accuracy to make a clean kill.

In fact, I was a little surprised at how much of Tovar’s philosophical discoveries matched my own.  For example, he challenges the way his hunter education text positions safe, ethical hunting as a public relations issue.  Safety isn’t about presenting a good public image, it’s about not harming ourselves or other people.  Likewise, maintaining high ethical standards isn’t about convincing other people that hunting is OK.  It’s about having respect for the game, the habitat, other citizens, and on many levels, for ourselves.  A positive public image is simply a by-product of safe and ethical behavior.

I also really appreciated the way he tipped the sacred cow of Jose Ortega y Gassett.  Ortega y Gassett is probably one of the most widely quoted philosophers in the hunting community.  His statement, “One does not hunt in order to kill.  On the contrary, one kills in order to have hunted,” has been passed along like a mantra among hunters striving to explain that hunting is about more than the kill.  In itself, it’s a nice little quote with just enough profundity to give it some heft.  And in the way it’s usually used, it’s a slick little argument.

Unfortunately, few hunters have actually read the entirety of Ortega y Gassett’s text, Meditations on Hunting.  It was originally written as a preface to a wealthy friend’s book on sport hunting.  The philosopher himself was not a hunter and drew on his own biases and some of the common perceptions of the sport to craft the piece.  In it, while he does make a pretty nice effort to understand and explain blood sport, he also takes the utilitarian meat hunter to task as a “brute”… painting the hunt as an aristocratic pursuit and ennobling the hunter who participates solely for the experience of the hunt.

When I read Ortega y Gassett, I was challenged by the convoluted logic and quite put off by the elitist attitude that came across from the whole work.  I was offended by his portrayal of the meat hunter, although I tried to temper this with the thought that Ortega y Gassett was largely ignorant about hunting and hunters.  Tovar reacted pretty much the same way, and the way he addresses this in the book was probably one of my favorite sections.  Unlike me, he doesn’t let Ortega y Gassett off the hook for his ignorance.

Then again, I found so many “favorite sections” in Tovar’s book that it’s unfair to single out any one of them.  Unfortunately, if I tried to address them all here, I’d have to write my own book.  There’s so much to say about this book, and about Tovar’s experiences that led to it.

I’ve tried to come up with some criticisms, but truly, I can’t do it.  The book was entertaining and educational (without being didactic).  I was afraid that Tovar, like some other late-in-life hunters, would come across as somewhat elitist, preaching from a holier-than-thou, ethical podium.  Many new hunters eagerly embrace the highest ethical ideals and seem to believe that unless we all adopt those standards, we are lesser hunters.  Experience in the field often tempers that zeal with the reality that ethics are, sometimes, situational.  In real life, we sometimes take the imperfect shot or act without fully thinking.  Tovar gets this, I think, and is honest about his own little errors in judgement.  While I believe he does have a strong, personal ethic, he doesn’t promote himself as some sort of paragon.  There is never a sense that he is saying, “My way is the only way.”  I appreciated that a lot.

Maybe the reader who is not comfortable with a deeply philosophical and introspective look at hunting and hunters will find Tovar’s words off-putting, because the writing is honest and often blunt.  He probes and asks the hard questions, and sometimes comes up with tough answers.  But every challenge or criticism is carried through a full examination, and I found the arguments pretty sound.  He comes to the hunt, to killing and eating meat, from a very different perspective than those of us who grew up hunting.  If you recognize that, his take on hunters and hunting makes a whole lot of sense.

So if you haven’t gathered by now… I definitely recommend this book.

Woke up to this yesterday morning.  Yeah, that’s snow (and sleet)!  I know it’s not completely unheard of in this part of the country, but I sure wasn’t expecting it!  With a flight out of San Antonio, I was a little concerned about getting out (and concerned about Kat getting back in), but it went OK… or it didn’t, in which case I’ll have to edit this post.

So what’s going on down here?  Lots of work.  That’s what.

I know I can’t do it all at once, but I’ve got a pretty extensive laundry list of work to do on the new place and I’m trying to crank it out.  Spent the weekend replacing the pumphouse on the well, along with trying to get a little clearing done.  The fence guys can’t start on my pasture fencing until someone cuts down the juniper along the fenceline.  They offered to do it, but for $2500 I think I’d rather handle this myself.  It’ll just be me and my Poulan, cranking away.

Of course I did run out and pick up a little something to help out.  I got a new Kubota L4400 HST tractor for the ranch work, and on Saturday I finally got a chance to see what she’ll do.  It’s no D9 Caterpillar, but this tractor is going to be a godsend for clearing juniper (called “cedar” in these parts).  Should eliminate a lot of chainsaw work.  It’ll also be handy for moving some of this caliche, and for grading around the barn.

The initial plan is to clear juniper from the pasture area and start getting ready for the horses.  Of course, it doesn’t hurt that clearing the pasture should open up some good turkey habitat too.  There are a ton of turkeys in this canyon, but I’m seeing them all on the cleared pastures.

Worn out after "helping" me with a good day's work.

I’ll also be trying to improve things for the deer.  The game cam is telling me there are plenty of whitetails using the area.  When I hiked up to the top of my ridge, there were deer moving all over the place up there as well.  I think that getting some of this juniper out and giving some other native plants a chance to come back will definitely make a difference.  Putting in a couple of water troughs and a feeder or two isn’t going to hurt either.  And while I’m happy to have the whitetails, I’m also really hoping I can pull in some axis deer.  And if the hogs show up… well, that’s a problem I can deal with.

This morning, I’m back up in Spokane with work, and will be here for the next couple of days.  Kat and the pup are keeping an eye on things at Hillside Manor until I get back.  The fence guys should be hard at work around the house, which will be great.  The morning ritual of chasing away the neighbor’s goats is getting a little stale.

And to those who are looking for some hunting tales and pictures, all I can say is, “they’re coming.”  I just need to get some of this work done first, and then I can see about getting out to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Let’s just push the day job aside for a moment, even though I’ve logged a bunch of hours for one week.  That would be the same here or in CA, so it’s no excuse.

But then there’s the Hill Country work, here at Hillside Manor.  I’ve got juniper growing through my fenceline, and the fence crew is coming next week to put in my new fences.  I’ve got a dozen brush piles to burn, and most of them need to be cleared before I light them up.  Good thing I got a new Kubota tractor!  And then there’s the pumphouse that I absolutely have to build before we get a hard freeze… or I’ll be real sorry (and out several hundred dollars).

But what’s really occupied my mind and my time this week?  It’s keeping up with this guy right here!

Anyway, back on track next week.  I just put new batteries in the game cams, and spread out a little more golden enticement to see what comes out of the woods.  I should have some more general pictures of the Hill Country too.  Awful pretty here in the Nueces Canyon!

While I was gone, I left my cameras running over what was left of my corn piles.  There’s a pretty good bit of whitetail activity over here.  On the last trip, all I captured were some does.  It looks like the guys came out of the woodwork after I pulled out, though.  Here are a few bucks that have come down off the ridge to feed.

Just a youngster, but I was glad to see antlers.

Another youngster... or maybe the same one.

Now we're getting somewhere. Still young and spindly, but promising for the near future.

This may be the same one from the daytime picture, but he's looking healthy.

This isn't a great picture, but check out the tine length on this guy!