I want to say thank you so much to all of you who post here on WSS.
There is an amazing amount of knowledge, wisdom, tolerance and open-mindedness here and so very little strife even on contentious subjects.
This is one reason why I love this forum so much and why it is my very favorite.
My thoughts are prompted by the recent "Thoughts on Coyotes" thread but relate to our WSS posts in general.
I see both sides of the coyote argument and I especially respect those sage members who speak the nuances of this topic.
Foremost, I understand the concerns of human safety and incomes, pets and livestock.
And I understand those who live in an urban environment who feel that wildlife should be allowed to do what it "naturally" does. I have lived there.
In 1985, one night at about 1 AM I was driving down a main street in "the Valley" in LA and was amazed to see a half dozen coyotes casually trotting down the sidewalk on Ventura Boulevard, loping along past all the shops and businesses.
And I hear philwar speaking from a European land where there is virtually nothing "natural" left where he lives. I hear perhaps a yearning for being able to walk out his door like so many of the lucky WSS guys here who actually have "the wild" at our back doors or pretty close by. I hear philwar's sadness and dismay about this.
I have spent time with adults from Europe on extended camping trips in America's designated wilderness areas who were like kids in a candy shop when they found natural objects like a feather, shed antler or animal skull. It is amazing and rewarding to see their excitement, joy and sense of wonder at the simple things of nature that so many of us here often take for granted.
I think that we Americans tend to think that everyone is like us and is as lucky as us. But most are not.
On my back porch I have watched a bleating whitetail fawn run by me, followed by two adult does and one very patient and determined coyote.
My point is that I try to see all of our threads and posts here as being "relative." It all depends on who and where and what we are.
Like the wonderful discussions about blades, gear, techniques and ideas, it depends a lot on our locations, open-mindedness and our creativity. And egos are sometimes in there, too.
For instance - Mors does not care at all for plastic signal mirrors and made that very clear when I took his course up there years ago. Mors lives in and is a master of his environment - the Boreal Forest. It rained for like 5 of the 7 days I was there with him.
But a month after Mor's course when I used that exact same little plastic signal mirror in the sunny, dry, clear, low humidity, wide-open desert of the Inyo Mountains in Southern California - to signal my trip partner who was pretty darn far away and below me - that plastic mirror worked like a charm.
For clarification please know that I love Mors and hold him in the highest respect. The ego comment above does not pertain to him at all!
So, my wilderness and WSS loving friends around the globe - I think that it's all relative. For what it's worth.
Thank you all for being here. Please keep up the fantastic friendly discussions here in this wonderful forum for what we love!
You guys really are THE BEST! Merry Christmas to you ALL!
sawgrass7
There is an amazing amount of knowledge, wisdom, tolerance and open-mindedness here and so very little strife even on contentious subjects.
This is one reason why I love this forum so much and why it is my very favorite.
My thoughts are prompted by the recent "Thoughts on Coyotes" thread but relate to our WSS posts in general.
I see both sides of the coyote argument and I especially respect those sage members who speak the nuances of this topic.
Foremost, I understand the concerns of human safety and incomes, pets and livestock.
And I understand those who live in an urban environment who feel that wildlife should be allowed to do what it "naturally" does. I have lived there.
In 1985, one night at about 1 AM I was driving down a main street in "the Valley" in LA and was amazed to see a half dozen coyotes casually trotting down the sidewalk on Ventura Boulevard, loping along past all the shops and businesses.
And I hear philwar speaking from a European land where there is virtually nothing "natural" left where he lives. I hear perhaps a yearning for being able to walk out his door like so many of the lucky WSS guys here who actually have "the wild" at our back doors or pretty close by. I hear philwar's sadness and dismay about this.
I have spent time with adults from Europe on extended camping trips in America's designated wilderness areas who were like kids in a candy shop when they found natural objects like a feather, shed antler or animal skull. It is amazing and rewarding to see their excitement, joy and sense of wonder at the simple things of nature that so many of us here often take for granted.
I think that we Americans tend to think that everyone is like us and is as lucky as us. But most are not.
On my back porch I have watched a bleating whitetail fawn run by me, followed by two adult does and one very patient and determined coyote.
My point is that I try to see all of our threads and posts here as being "relative." It all depends on who and where and what we are.
Like the wonderful discussions about blades, gear, techniques and ideas, it depends a lot on our locations, open-mindedness and our creativity. And egos are sometimes in there, too.
For instance - Mors does not care at all for plastic signal mirrors and made that very clear when I took his course up there years ago. Mors lives in and is a master of his environment - the Boreal Forest. It rained for like 5 of the 7 days I was there with him.
But a month after Mor's course when I used that exact same little plastic signal mirror in the sunny, dry, clear, low humidity, wide-open desert of the Inyo Mountains in Southern California - to signal my trip partner who was pretty darn far away and below me - that plastic mirror worked like a charm.
For clarification please know that I love Mors and hold him in the highest respect. The ego comment above does not pertain to him at all!
So, my wilderness and WSS loving friends around the globe - I think that it's all relative. For what it's worth.
Thank you all for being here. Please keep up the fantastic friendly discussions here in this wonderful forum for what we love!
You guys really are THE BEST! Merry Christmas to you ALL!
sawgrass7
