Good grief....what does that mean? I have shed my bullet proof heart vest? I have twisted and turned my life into a zwizzle stick and become more human? Or....I'm depressed.
I have come to the conclusion that I'm depressed. I get emails daily....asking the question...Could you be depressed? I used to read them to prove that they must be wrong. I wouldn't succumb to that....no not me that used to find humor in just about everything. It kept me at my computer signing off on one blog or another on just how funny life really was.
Now....I look at my own home page on facebook and weep openly on subjects that a dear to me. What's this all about? I watch a television commercial and tear up. I cry when things are sad, or I'm glad, or when someone says something nice, or not.
What did I do in the past? It just used to roll off my back and went on with my day. Oh sure, I gave it some thought but I didn't become emotional. I fixed it if I could, or went on to the next thing. Finis....end of thought process.
What happened to my smile? It's gone. I often wonder when I see something on the boob tube and the announcer is smiling up a storm and just can't imagine how that is done. Do they give smile lessons? I must look to others like a cranky old person.
Yup, when I used to visit my parents in Sun City.Arizona I would often mention that I was curious why most of the people there looked grumpy. Did they know they appeared this unfriendly? Now I do and haven't a clue as to what it is that is making me this way.
I sure have enough reasons....like the rest of the world, but they manage to put on a happy face and get over it. No one would know that they are suffering from illness, poverty, hunger. That is not to say we should band together and have a smile-in.
The news in Japan has been more than unsettling. These people appear so brave and stoic that I can't imagine myself in their shoes. Or have they given up....accepting the inevitable, dealing what life has tossed their way? Of course we identify with their misery more than the usual natural disaster....why because they are an enlightened society, they seemed to have it all. Technology, education, wealth were the hallmarks of Japan...now they must rebuild to achieve that standard again.
Now I must rebuild....to achieve some semblance of balance. That is the key word...balance. Yes, you cry , when things call for tears....but not at television commercials. I should be able to view my home page without weeping for all the wrongs in this world, but how to help alleviate them in some small measure.
It is a solitary task in front of me. Finding balance is never easy, not in a painting, recipe, or life. I need a little time to reach this goal....perhaps I will smile again in the very near future. .
I"m going to make lemonade....share my experiences and become who or what I was with additions like kindness, and caring.
Take care my friends....you never know what lurks behind that bush.rd
Friday, March 25, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
On the Shore
1. Shot a dog with my pellet gun and...................
Was working midnight shift this week. Got to bed around 8 A.M. About 9:30 A.M. I was woken by the sound of my Chickens freaking out and a barking dog. Went to the back door saw the Chickens milling about in a pile on the yonder side of the run and saw an unknown dog shoot past from direction of the chicken run. Went back inside and rather than grab a 30.06 M1 Garand, shotgun, or .22 rifle I grabbed my pellet rifle. I'd rather not kill any animals. As I walked out back I spotted the dog in my neighbors yard come out from behind her shed. I cranked off a shot from about 100 feet. Didn't know if I hit it or not. I then saw a couple of other dogs run out. Just then I saw the fellow who lives behind me walking in the woods shout to the dogs. I yelled to him to get them out of the area. He yelled back that they were hunting rabbits. I went back into the house to try to get back to sleep.
Before I could get back to sleep a State Trooper came by the take a report. He said that the neighbor was at the vet with his dog. I gave him the report.
About a couple of hours later my supervisor,(I'm a Deputy Sheriff), called and told me that the dog had been euthanized.
The Trooper says he will be talking to the Commonwealth Attorney about bringing charges against me. Looks like a Class 6 Felony of Animal Cruelty.
Just being charged will mean the loss of my job. What a drag.
And I'm really bummed out about the poor dog on top of everything else.
Normally I don't write about animal stuff on this site. But my point isn't about the dog...surprised? Its about a deputy shooting off his weapon in such close proximity to homes and people.
From this article and the one that is similar in our twice weekly rag it sounds to me that this was a populated area, maybe dense, I don't know. I do know I have no neighbors within shouting distance, nor do I haul out my weapons when I see a dog.
The matter that just ruffles my feathers is the constant gripe I have with these neophytes shlepping their dogs on hunts. To further annoy me....when hunting season is over....like now...they just abandon them.
They run wild across the fields in packs, hungry, angry and dangerous. I know, I've met up with a couple of them while walking my dogs. Not a pretty sight. Me running...or being dragged behind my three dogs to flee the mob.
This is a problem that remains undefined. Oh sure, it comes up in front of the legislature every now and again, but the hunters reign supreme in Virginia. So nothing gets done....go home with what you came with, don't let them run wild and chase livestock and poultry, and for goodness sake round em up before you leave.
My property is surrounded by about 50 ac of woods and streams and of course agricultural land. The owner, whom I detest for other reasons, rents it out to hunters. Ok, this is an option for him, but I really,really get my undies in a bunch when a stray bullet whacks my house. No argument there I hope. The south side of my house is riddled with holes. Since it is vinyl sided it is never a clean hole, but a large cracked like affair that is never easy to repair. We've tried over the years...now we leave em.
You think its the holes that bug me? Sure...but we are in the structure that is being used as target practice. We've mentioned this to our local police....uh hum..the reply....do not disturb the hunter....a missed shot could cost us a fine! This is the way of rural Virginia and no 'come here' is going to change that.
No hunting after dusk....really? Tell that to the avid neophytes. Hunting is next to super bowl here....party time..We are left with the remains of these campouts. One year...as an example...the abandoned dogs drug a deer carcass onto my front yard flowerbeds. That's nature...you say I beg you to attempt to fetch your mail walking past this meal. No way.
So what is a person to do. After all hunting season doesn't last all year. (it can here if you plead hardship). I pity the dogs left behind, I pity the deer that get shot, and I pity the hunter who has nothing better to do than make a fool out of himself.
Be careful out there...you never know what is behind that bush. RD
Was working midnight shift this week. Got to bed around 8 A.M. About 9:30 A.M. I was woken by the sound of my Chickens freaking out and a barking dog. Went to the back door saw the Chickens milling about in a pile on the yonder side of the run and saw an unknown dog shoot past from direction of the chicken run. Went back inside and rather than grab a 30.06 M1 Garand, shotgun, or .22 rifle I grabbed my pellet rifle. I'd rather not kill any animals. As I walked out back I spotted the dog in my neighbors yard come out from behind her shed. I cranked off a shot from about 100 feet. Didn't know if I hit it or not. I then saw a couple of other dogs run out. Just then I saw the fellow who lives behind me walking in the woods shout to the dogs. I yelled to him to get them out of the area. He yelled back that they were hunting rabbits. I went back into the house to try to get back to sleep.
Before I could get back to sleep a State Trooper came by the take a report. He said that the neighbor was at the vet with his dog. I gave him the report.
About a couple of hours later my supervisor,(I'm a Deputy Sheriff), called and told me that the dog had been euthanized.
The Trooper says he will be talking to the Commonwealth Attorney about bringing charges against me. Looks like a Class 6 Felony of Animal Cruelty.
Just being charged will mean the loss of my job. What a drag.
And I'm really bummed out about the poor dog on top of everything else.
Normally I don't write about animal stuff on this site. But my point isn't about the dog...surprised? Its about a deputy shooting off his weapon in such close proximity to homes and people.
From this article and the one that is similar in our twice weekly rag it sounds to me that this was a populated area, maybe dense, I don't know. I do know I have no neighbors within shouting distance, nor do I haul out my weapons when I see a dog.
The matter that just ruffles my feathers is the constant gripe I have with these neophytes shlepping their dogs on hunts. To further annoy me....when hunting season is over....like now...they just abandon them.
They run wild across the fields in packs, hungry, angry and dangerous. I know, I've met up with a couple of them while walking my dogs. Not a pretty sight. Me running...or being dragged behind my three dogs to flee the mob.
This is a problem that remains undefined. Oh sure, it comes up in front of the legislature every now and again, but the hunters reign supreme in Virginia. So nothing gets done....go home with what you came with, don't let them run wild and chase livestock and poultry, and for goodness sake round em up before you leave.
My property is surrounded by about 50 ac of woods and streams and of course agricultural land. The owner, whom I detest for other reasons, rents it out to hunters. Ok, this is an option for him, but I really,really get my undies in a bunch when a stray bullet whacks my house. No argument there I hope. The south side of my house is riddled with holes. Since it is vinyl sided it is never a clean hole, but a large cracked like affair that is never easy to repair. We've tried over the years...now we leave em.
You think its the holes that bug me? Sure...but we are in the structure that is being used as target practice. We've mentioned this to our local police....uh hum..the reply....do not disturb the hunter....a missed shot could cost us a fine! This is the way of rural Virginia and no 'come here' is going to change that.
No hunting after dusk....really? Tell that to the avid neophytes. Hunting is next to super bowl here....party time..We are left with the remains of these campouts. One year...as an example...the abandoned dogs drug a deer carcass onto my front yard flowerbeds. That's nature...you say I beg you to attempt to fetch your mail walking past this meal. No way.
So what is a person to do. After all hunting season doesn't last all year. (it can here if you plead hardship). I pity the dogs left behind, I pity the deer that get shot, and I pity the hunter who has nothing better to do than make a fool out of himself.
Be careful out there...you never know what is behind that bush. RD
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