On or about: 02-06-08  10:08, Ardith Hinton did engage James Bradley
regarding, but not limited to: YooHoo to You... 1.

 AH> [re what may edible]
 AH>  Pigeons, or seagulls???  :-)
 
 JB>  They eat the snails that are almost dead from poison.


 AH> I imagine seagulls might, yes... they do eat shellfish.  They
 AH> also  eat hamburgers, French fries, etc. (typically from the
 AH> discarded remains of a human meal, but occasionally from a 
 AH> meal still in use by an unsuspecting individual). In other 

I've seen footage of people eating an ice cream cone too slowly, and they
become the subject of an air born attack. That would pale, compared to
setting out a picnic amidst the well fed Japanese monkey population. Those
can be outright kenniving.

 AH> words they evidently don't care whether their "prey" is
 AH> dead or alive. Whatever Mother Nature had in mind 
 AH> originally, birds who live in & around major cities often 
 AH> become scavengers.  We can't rely on our distant ancestors 

I believe a scavenger has a better chance to thrive in a city, no two ways
about that. I imagine they would develop cholesterol problems too,
considering their diets parallel our Super Size Me society.

 AH> to tell us which species are edible in this day & age
 AH> because things have changed.  :-)
 
If a whale washed up on a beach in the day, it would likely be seen as
"delivery" to a cave man. Today, one would be more wise to
suspect toxic waste. )-:
 
 JB>  sure I mentioned the Sawheat owl I saw the year before, but
 JB>  he wanted none of that action. A 70yo doesn't have that
 JB>  kinda patience? ;)

 AH> Maybe, maybe not.  Some folks become more patient as they
 AH> grow older  & are thus better able to see things in context.  My 
 AH> parents were into "reducing, re-using, and recycling" long 
 AH> before the terms were invented... and it wasn't a big leap 
 AH> for me to see the wisdom of *not* poisoning whatever 
 AH> doesn't happen to suit my convenience.  Others may want 
 AH> simple, concrete answers & expect instant results.  That's 
 AH> probably more a matter of reasoning style than of age....  
 AH> :-)
 
A clever slip there! "Reasoning style" indeed. 

My parents were products of their age - as we all are - but not in a
windswept dust bowl. Neither experienced famine like we have heard of in
the thirties. They were surrounded by mixed farms, and in the "Land of
a Thousand Lakes" none of those farms wanted for moisture. I do
believe anhydrous ammonia as a fertilizer was a new science at the time,
and as modern herbicides and pesticides were released, one farmer would
have to "keep up with the Jones'" or be starved into finding
another occupation. At that time, science was the saviour, and organic
practices had either coexisted or had such a robust legacy that the damage
was not evident. Everyone believed, or wanted to believe in this new age
that was emerging.

I find it funny, that the hippies had to raise a red flag, and reintroduce
organic processes.

 
 JB>  Oh, and I have a bunch of frogs (No idea what to call
 JB>  a "bunch".)

 AH> Something else for me to look up.  Later....  ;-)

L!!! "Lunch on the hoof?"
 
 
 JB>  wintering (hopefully) in my front yard. I didn't put
 JB>  them there, but imagine my surprise to hear them calling
 JB>  all over the place during mating season. I then put out
 JB>  a source of water for them, but I did nothing else
 JB>  specifically to encourage them. They somehow found this
 JB>  nut, with an overgrown wildflower collection, so I feel
 JB>  compelled to put a water feature out for them next year.

 AH> I love it... stay as sweet as you are!  In the 
 AH> short term, the geese & frogs may help get rid of whatever 
 AH> insects you don't want in your yard.  In the long term, 
 AH> however, you'd probably think twice about eating frogs' 
 AH> legs & roast goose because you couldn't be sure about the 
 AH> safety of whatever they had eaten. Maybe you could kill a 
 AH> Canada goose & hope you'll be well fed in jail....  :-))

A Canada Goose is a protected species? Cripes... They're as plentiful as
flush toilets, and perhaps most of the non-flush toilets as well.

 AH> [re reasoning styles]
 JB>  but I expect to get to it this time.


 AH> PLEASE UNDERSTAND ME, by David Keirsey & Marilyn Bates.

Cheers! I've been connecting to the new wireless I-net server at the
library, so it's become my second haunt. They almost locked me in
yesterday. I forgot they close earlier on Fri-Sun, and they forgot to check
the back room.


... James

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