The Omnivore’s Dilemma
how do you feel about hunting? is it ethical or not? my personal belief is that if you eat the animal you are hunting*, then it is perhaps a more ethical way of eating meat than our industrially farmed animals. anyway, my brother is a grouse is hunter. and he recently gifted me the feathers and feet of a ruffed grouse he shot. ruffed grouse is the most widely distributed game bird in north america. it manages to be both understated and exquisite at the same time. today i start with these fascinating feet. tomorrow i will share with you the magnificent feathers.
ruffed grouse feet (Bonasa umbellus)
* this of course assumes all legal regulations are followed
on collecting
here are the things i routinely pick up on my daily walks: pine cones, feathers, bones, seeds and seed pods, and if i am on a beach, shells and drift wood, sea glass and beach rocks. obviously, i pick up a whole lot more than that. but those are this things i pick up with the intention of adding to my collections. all the rest get photographed, and then returned to the woods. recently, i was asked to do a series of photos of pine cones for a restaurant commission. i was ready for it.
assorted pine cone collection (minnesota, california, southern france)
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Same subject as a few days ago, but such a different presentation. Both beautiful, I’d even say exceptional!
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before and after
this is the dried after photo of the barberry branches i posted eleven days ago. it has its own charm. not quite as much as the fresh-cut branches, but still it works. often, actually usually, i like the dried “after” photos better than the originals. this time…well, you tell me?
dried autumn barberry branches
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With this particular subject I prefer the fresh composition, although this version also has its appeal…
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prevailing winds
i was on the freeway the other day and saw a patch of roadsidia that looked like mid-september–sunflowers, aster, and thistle–all still in bloom. funny how this one tiny patch of roadside flora, among all the miles i drove that day, was the only spot to not get the memo that the party was over. i guess, someone has to be the last to leave.
dried october daisy
autumn confetti
capturing the last bits of autumn color before frost turns it all brown.
autumn leaves
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Delightful!!
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Didn’t know a bird could have both hair and feathers. At least it sure looks like hair! And such interesting details on its “toes”. Thanks for this close up look.
Without the claws, the toes look like centipedes.
In my much younger (naive) days, I was utterly against any hunting. Over the decades I began to understand things differently, and feel that hunting for food is at least as honest as buying a package of meat at the grocery store. I have also come to appreciate the beauty in things both alive and dead. This photograph is striking. Prehistoric looking, yet fresh.