With the news out of Japan going from bad to worse, I'm thankful to see the sun rising this morning. I'm thankful for my cup of coffee and the electricity with which to brew it.
It seems no one is really in charge anymore as they frantically dump water from helicopters, of which four out of five completely miss the target. Now the U.S. government is offering the use of water cannons but five days and precious time has been lost and still a private company with a reputation for deception is in charge of the reactors. This reminds me of the oil spill last year in the Gulf of Mexico. Over and over again, around the world, we let the weasal guard the henhouse. It doesn't lend itself to good results here on the farm, and it doesn't lead to good results in the energy industry or in the world at large.
If there is a meltdown at this nuclear facility, scientists say a third of Japan could end up as a dead zone. I've never been there but I've heard it is a beautiful country. What does this mean for the rest of us? I fear for the future with weasels in charge. I fear for the earth. I wish somebody in charge was looking out for the common good.
"Two wrongs may not make a right but a thousand wrongs make a writer.”
Showing posts with label Weasels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weasels. Show all posts
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Thursday, December 9, 2010
What A Weasel Does
A weasel got in one of our chicken pens and killed 14 birds two nights ago. The havoc wrought by a weasel is that of a teenage vampire movie. They bite off the heads and drink the blood. But this isn’t a movie; this is life on the farm. It looks idyllic from afar. Many think we have it made. They haven’t gone outside on a blustery winter morning (when will this wind abate?) to find a slaughter.
Three more were killed last night in similar beheading fashion. The surviving chickens were very happy to see my husband this morning. Chickens are skittish (wouldn’t you be?) but once they got over the initial startle, they hung around his feet like a child under her mother’s skirt. After the cleanup he needed to go to the pharmacy and refill a blood pressure prescription he’d let lapse. This work will kill you in more ways than one.
He buried the beheaded in the compost piles—manure recently hauled out of the barnyard and spread in heaps along the field beyond the chicken area. It serves a dual purpose. One must get rid of the carcasses lest more vermin be attracted to the area, and digging in this frozen ground would probably put him in it.
It’s a devastating loss, and I’m sure it’s as crushing to my husband as agent rejection of my writing is to me, (though he shouldn't take it personally). Our fear is the weasel will be back, him and his buddies. It’s winter and food is scarce. He’ll be back. We have traps but weasels can weasel out of them, just as they can circumvent chicken wire. A friend suggested we put a radio out there. Play a little AC-DC or Alice In Chains. How about a little Marilyn Manson music for the weasel? I’m afraid he'd like it.
Three more were killed last night in similar beheading fashion. The surviving chickens were very happy to see my husband this morning. Chickens are skittish (wouldn’t you be?) but once they got over the initial startle, they hung around his feet like a child under her mother’s skirt. After the cleanup he needed to go to the pharmacy and refill a blood pressure prescription he’d let lapse. This work will kill you in more ways than one.
He buried the beheaded in the compost piles—manure recently hauled out of the barnyard and spread in heaps along the field beyond the chicken area. It serves a dual purpose. One must get rid of the carcasses lest more vermin be attracted to the area, and digging in this frozen ground would probably put him in it.
It’s a devastating loss, and I’m sure it’s as crushing to my husband as agent rejection of my writing is to me, (though he shouldn't take it personally). Our fear is the weasel will be back, him and his buddies. It’s winter and food is scarce. He’ll be back. We have traps but weasels can weasel out of them, just as they can circumvent chicken wire. A friend suggested we put a radio out there. Play a little AC-DC or Alice In Chains. How about a little Marilyn Manson music for the weasel? I’m afraid he'd like it.
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