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
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.