On 04/12/2024 09:35, D wrote:
>
>
> On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, rbowman wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 21:16:57 +0100, D wrote:
>>
>>> I wonder how the herbs differ? If the lamb in wales run around freely on
>>> the mountain sides, I can imagine that there could be similarities!
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uCDw30wCe0
>>
>> https://www.wildfoodie.co.uk/post/wild-thyme-fragrant-treasure
>>
>> "Wild thyme is indigenous to the UK, and its natural distribution spans
>> across the country. It is particularly abundant in England and Wales,
>> though it can also be found in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.
>> Due
>> to its adaptability to various habitats, you can encounter wild thyme
>> in a
>> diverse range of landscapes"
>
> Thyme and rosemary are both excellent with lamb!

Rosemary especially but I am not sure it grows wild much in the UK

It is hardy when planted.

--
The lifetime of any political organisation is about three years before
its been subverted by the people it tried to warn you about.

Anon.

On 04/12/2024 10:10, D wrote:
>
>
> On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, Robert Riches wrote:
>

>> About 45 years ago, while eating in the college dorm cafeteria, I
>> noticed the piece of "chicken" on my plate was a little tougher
>> and drier than most chicken, and the arrangement of the bones did
>> not appear to be consistent with any piece of chicken I had ever
>> seen.  I had eaten rabbit a few years earlier, when my uncle was
>> raising them, so I started to suspect the "chicken" was really
>> rabbit.  My suspicion was confirmed when I heard a girl shriek
>> rather unhappily from a couple of tables away, "We're eating
>> BUNNIES!"
>
> How strange! How come they didn't just say that todays special was
> rabbit? Or maybe there was an error somewhere with the delivery and some
> boxed got mixed up?

People have childhood memories of Peter rabbit and Bambi.

--
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign,
that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."

Jonathan Swift.

On 04/12/2024 09:24, D wrote:
> Now, due to the Ukraine situation, I've twice seen fighter jets above my
> house.

I live within nuclear blast range of *two* RAF/USAAF airbases. When I
hear the rumble of jets and no corresponding ADSB transponders I know
the middle east is in for a strike.

Or if the tankers show up, and the SIGINT planes, that someone is
peeping into Russia on behalf of Ukraine...

And of course the Imperial war museums Spitfires and Hurricanes do test
flights here all summer.

Nothing to crash into or upon. Just farmland

--
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign,
that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."

Jonathan Swift.

On 04/12/2024 09:25, D wrote:
>>
>> I shot one with a .22 air rifle.
>>
>> It didn't die. I tried to wring its neck.
>
> Too little energy I assume? Did you hit it dead center?
>
I shot it in the head actually., It got stuck in a fence.

>> The head came off, and it still didn't die.
>
> Surely it must have been only reflexes?
>
*shrug*

My late mother used to tell of her childhood experience when her mother
cut the head of a chicken and it ran around in circles for a long time

'headless chicken' syndrome....

>> Eventually it died and I plucked it and emptied its insides and ate
>> it. Quite good really.
>
> I can imagine!
>
>> Mostly they use 12 gauge on them. That seems to kill them ouright
>
> I think you can buy small mines made specifically for birds! 😉
>
Dunno about that.

--
“People believe certain stories because everyone important tells them,
and people tell those stories because everyone important believes them.
Indeed, when a conventional wisdom is at its fullest strength, one’s
agreement with that conventional wisdom becomes almost a litmus test of
one’s suitability to be taken seriously.”

Paul Krugman

On 04/12/2024 09:27, D wrote:
> They are very cute, but can be annoying!

I can hear then running all over my roof as I write, Trees are too
close, Need cutting down.

--
If I had all the money I've spent on drink...
...I'd spend it on drink.

Sir Henry (at Rawlinson's End)

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> On 04/12/2024 00:42, rbowman wrote:
>> On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 21:16:57 +0100, D wrote:
>>
>>> I wonder how the herbs differ? If the lamb in wales run around freely on
>>> the mountain sides, I can imagine that there could be similarities!
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uCDw30wCe0
>>
> Ah. Celtic melodies - the basis for much of the USAs country music.
>
>
>> https://www.wildfoodie.co.uk/post/wild-thyme-fragrant-treasure
>>
>> "Wild thyme is indigenous to the UK, and its natural distribution spans
>> across the country. It is particularly abundant in England and Wales,
>> though it can also be found in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Due
>> to its adaptability to various habitats, you can encounter wild thyme in a
>> diverse range of landscapes"
>>
> Oh That stuff. Seen it a lot in wales. I wonder if the sheep eat it?
>

I would imagine that plenty of herbs and stuff gets consumed together with
the grass. I don't think they are too picky about their greens.

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> On 04/12/2024 09:35, D wrote:
>>
>>
>> On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, rbowman wrote:
>>
>>> On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 21:16:57 +0100, D wrote:
>>>
>>>> I wonder how the herbs differ? If the lamb in wales run around freely on
>>>> the mountain sides, I can imagine that there could be similarities!
>>>
>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uCDw30wCe0
>>>
>>> https://www.wildfoodie.co.uk/post/wild-thyme-fragrant-treasure
>>>
>>> "Wild thyme is indigenous to the UK, and its natural distribution spans
>>> across the country. It is particularly abundant in England and Wales,
>>> though it can also be found in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Due
>>> to its adaptability to various habitats, you can encounter wild thyme in a
>>> diverse range of landscapes"
>>
>> Thyme and rosemary are both excellent with lamb!
>
> Rosemary especially but I am not sure it grows wild much in the UK
>
> It is hardy when planted.
>

Brings back memories. Lamb steak with crispy skin, then a nice layer of
fat, and then tender and very tasty lamb meat. Add to that, gravy, peas,
red cabbage and glazed potatoes.

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> On 04/12/2024 10:10, D wrote:
>>
>>
>> On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, Robert Riches wrote:
>>
>
>>> About 45 years ago, while eating in the college dorm cafeteria, I
>>> noticed the piece of "chicken" on my plate was a little tougher
>>> and drier than most chicken, and the arrangement of the bones did
>>> not appear to be consistent with any piece of chicken I had ever
>>> seen.  I had eaten rabbit a few years earlier, when my uncle was
>>> raising them, so I started to suspect the "chicken" was really
>>> rabbit.  My suspicion was confirmed when I heard a girl shriek
>>> rather unhappily from a couple of tables away, "We're eating
>>> BUNNIES!"
>>
>> How strange! How come they didn't just say that todays special was rabbit?
>> Or maybe there was an error somewhere with the delivery and some boxed got
>> mixed up?
>
> People have childhood memories of Peter rabbit and Bambi.

So do I, but I still enjoy eating them. People are strange! Sometimes I do
not understand them at all.

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> On 04/12/2024 09:24, D wrote:
>> Now, due to the Ukraine situation, I've twice seen fighter jets above my
>> house.
>
> I live within nuclear blast range of *two* RAF/USAAF airbases. When I hear
> the rumble of jets and no corresponding ADSB transponders I know the middle
> east is in for a strike.
>
> Or if the tankers show up, and the SIGINT planes, that someone is peeping
> into Russia on behalf of Ukraine...
>
> And of course the Imperial war museums Spitfires and Hurricanes do test
> flights here all summer.
>
> Nothing to crash into or upon. Just farmland

Sounds like you have the basis of a nice little intelligence-business
there! ;)

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> On 04/12/2024 09:27, D wrote:
>> They are very cute, but can be annoying!
>
> I can hear then running all over my roof as I write, Trees are too close,
> Need cutting down.
>

Do you live in a small house in the middle of nowhere, right next to a
lake and/or river with plenty of salmon? Maybe I could buy your house? ;)

On 04/12/2024 13:07, D wrote:
>
>
> On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>
>> On 04/12/2024 09:35, D wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, rbowman wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 21:16:57 +0100, D wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I wonder how the herbs differ? If the lamb in wales run around
>>>>> freely on
>>>>> the mountain sides, I can imagine that there could be similarities!
>>>>
>>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uCDw30wCe0
>>>>
>>>> https://www.wildfoodie.co.uk/post/wild-thyme-fragrant-treasure
>>>>
>>>> "Wild thyme is indigenous to the UK, and its natural distribution spans
>>>> across the country. It is particularly abundant in England and Wales,
>>>> though it can also be found in parts of Scotland and Northern
>>>> Ireland. Due
>>>> to its adaptability to various habitats, you can encounter wild
>>>> thyme in a
>>>> diverse range of landscapes"
>>>
>>> Thyme and rosemary are both excellent with lamb!
>>
>> Rosemary especially but I am not sure it grows wild much in the UK
>>
>> It is hardy when planted.
>>
>
> Brings back memories. Lamb steak with crispy skin, then a nice layer of
> fat, and then tender and very tasty lamb meat. Add to that, gravy, peas,
> red cabbage and glazed potatoes.

I only do spiced red cabbage and apple for pork, or turkey.
And for lamb, garlicky potatoes au gratin dauphinoise. Mmm.

Otherwise, I'll be round later :-)

--
Karl Marx said religion is the opium of the people.
But Marxism is the crack cocaine.

On 04/12/2024 13:07, D wrote:
>
>
> On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>
>> On 04/12/2024 10:10, D wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, Robert Riches wrote:
>>>
>>
>>>> About 45 years ago, while eating in the college dorm cafeteria, I
>>>> noticed the piece of "chicken" on my plate was a little tougher
>>>> and drier than most chicken, and the arrangement of the bones did
>>>> not appear to be consistent with any piece of chicken I had ever
>>>> seen.  I had eaten rabbit a few years earlier, when my uncle was
>>>> raising them, so I started to suspect the "chicken" was really
>>>> rabbit.  My suspicion was confirmed when I heard a girl shriek
>>>> rather unhappily from a couple of tables away, "We're eating
>>>> BUNNIES!"
>>>
>>> How strange! How come they didn't just say that todays special was
>>> rabbit? Or maybe there was an error somewhere with the delivery and
>>> some boxed got mixed up?
>>
>> People have childhood memories of Peter rabbit and Bambi.
>
> So do I, but I still enjoy eating them. People are strange! Sometimes I
> do not understand them at all.

People as children get to associate words, images ideas with emotions.

So 'all snakes BAD!! RUN. Bambi CUTE - cuddle - don't eat.'

Then when - or if - they grow up, they replace them with more
sophisticated and rational judgements.

--
Karl Marx said religion is the opium of the people.
But Marxism is the crack cocaine.

On 04/12/2024 13:08, D wrote:
>
>
> On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>
>> On 04/12/2024 09:24, D wrote:
>>> Now, due to the Ukraine situation, I've twice seen fighter jets above
>>> my house.
>>
>> I live within nuclear blast range of *two* RAF/USAAF airbases. When I
>> hear the rumble of jets and no corresponding ADSB transponders I know
>> the middle east is in for a strike.
>>
>> Or if the tankers show up, and the SIGINT planes, that someone is
>> peeping into Russia on behalf of Ukraine...
>>
>> And of course the Imperial war museums Spitfires and Hurricanes do
>> test flights here all summer.
>>
>> Nothing to crash into or upon. Just farmland
>
> Sounds like you have the basis of a nice little intelligence-business
> there! ;)

Damned if I am going to do Putin's work for him. Someone is flying
drones over them already and then it all went quite.

The USAAF, like God, likes to move in mysterious ways.

Meet nice people off the bases sometimes.

--
“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the
other is to refuse to believe what is true.”

—Soren Kierkegaard

On 04/12/2024 13:09, D wrote:
>
>
> On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>
>> On 04/12/2024 09:27, D wrote:
>>> They are very cute, but can be annoying!
>>
>> I can hear then running all over my roof as I write, Trees are too
>> close, Need cutting down.
>>
>
> Do you live in a small house in the middle of nowhere, right next to a
> lake and/or river with plenty of salmon? Maybe I could buy your house? ;)

http://www.larksrise.com

--
“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the
other is to refuse to believe what is true.”

—Soren Kierkegaard

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024 11:12:25 +0100
D <nospam@example.net> wrote:

> > Bear ... it's really kinda yuk.
>
> I never had bear myself, but my father once had it in Helsinki in a
> russian restaurant. Apparently he thought it was quite alright,
> although not something he was dreaming about afterwards.

I've heard it's greatly dependent on what the bear in question has been
living off of - wild fruit and game, great, camper trash cans, not so
much. The one time I've had it, it was like very rich beef.

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024 14:05:13 +0100, D wrote:

> I would imagine that plenty of herbs and stuff gets consumed together
> with the grass. I don't think they are too picky about their greens.

They can be. Leafy spurge is an invasive species and the land managers
decided sheep grazing on the hillsides would be more ecologically friendly
than herbicides. It was all very bucolic and even included a traditional
sheep wagon. The sheep ate everything except leafy spurge. The area where
they were penned for the night was eaten down to mineral soil and still
hasn't recovered after 10 years.

After the photo ops the sheep were removed and Tordon herbicide was
applied. I don't know why but the sheep farmer switched to goats.

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024 12:21:42 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> On 04/12/2024 09:27, D wrote:
>> They are very cute, but can be annoying!
>
> I can hear then running all over my roof as I write, Trees are too
> close, Need cutting down.

You're lucky. The magpues do a war dance on my roof mornings and cutting
down trees is no defense against airborne forces. They also help
themselves to the cat's food. Gotta get a bigger, meaner cat.

On 2024-12-04, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> On 04/12/2024 09:25, D wrote:
>
>>> The head came off, and it still didn't die.
>>
>> Surely it must have been only reflexes?
>
> *shrug*
>
> My late mother used to tell of her childhood experience when her mother
> cut the head of a chicken and it ran around in circles for a long time

We raised chickens on a hobby farm when I was young, and I eventually
grew to the point of doing the chopping myself. They do flail around
for a while.

> 'headless chicken' syndrome....

I sometimes refer to management going into "decapitated fowl" mode.

--
/~\ Charlie Gibbs | Growth for the sake of
\ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | growth is the ideology
X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | of the cancer cell.
/ \ if you read it the right way. | -- Edward Abbey

On 2024-12-04, D <nospam@example.net> wrote:

> On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, rbowman wrote:
>
>> When I was a kid there was a squirrel that came around at breakfast time
>> looking for a handout. He would hang on the kitchen window screen and look
>> in until he got his treat. It wasn't really animal abuse but I would give
>> him bread with peanut butter. He enjoyed the peanut butter but it was
>> amusing watching him trying to get it off the roof of his mouth.
>
> In todays youtube world, you could have been a millionaire with a video of
> that!

We used to do that with our dog (the peanut butter, not the millions).

Frisbeetarianism: the belief that when you die, your soul goes
up on the roof and gets stuck.

Peanut-Butter Frisbeetarianism: the belief that when you die,
your soul goes up on the roof of your mouth and gets stuck.

--
/~\ Charlie Gibbs | Growth for the sake of
\ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | growth is the ideology
X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | of the cancer cell.
/ \ if you read it the right way. | -- Edward Abbey

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024 00:44:28 -0500, 186282@ud0s4.net wrote:

> Alas, the way 'conservationists' tend to move-around species .......

There was an attempt to reestablish the elk population in upstate New York
which inadvertently introduced chronic wasting disease into the whitetail
population. The jury is out on whether it's transmissible to humans.

The bison in Yellowstone National Park are another source of controversy.
The herds are infected with brucellosis and being wild tend to wander out
of the park.

https://thecounter.org/slaughtering-yellowstone-buffalo-brucellosis/

Wolves, which are reintroducing themselves, are a source of controversy
too. Lucky for the US wolves they don't have von der Leyden on their case.

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024 10:37:37 +0100, D wrote:

> Surely looks like good fishing on the web site! =) But maybe it is
> fishing only, and not eating them?
>
> Regardless positive that they decided to make a state park out of it!

https://vp-mi.com/news/2020/dec/23/advisory-issued-avoid-eating-fish-
section-clark-fo/

It's complex. The park is at the confluence of the Blackfoot and Clark
Fork. The Bitterroot confluence is about 5 miles downstream. Previously
the guidance downstream of Missoula was to not eat pike and limit
consumption of other species. The shutdown paper mill has settling ponds
adjacent to the river and they're a new concern.

Before the dam was removed there was an annual pickerel derby but even
then the prevailing wisdom was to not eat the fish. Before the dam was
removed the area was poisoned since they didn't want pickerel downstream.

For context, the Blackfoot was the setting for the film 'A River Runs
Through It', sort of. Like many movies the real Blackfoot isn't very
accessible and it was filmed elsewhere and the trout were radio
controlled. There are other geographic impossibilities but the movie was
well received. Luckily the Blackfoot never had any mining or industry to
pollute it.

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024 11:09:48 +0100, D wrote:

> I have a neighbour who does some kind of black currant wine and
> apparently, according to my father, it was awful.

I made a batch of dandelion wine when I was a kid. It was pretty rough. We
got cider from a local farmer who had rigged up a tractor driven chopper
and had a old jackscrew press. Bring your own jugs. Unfiltered and
unpasteurized it tended to self ferment into sparkling cider.

During prohibition some of my family took a more professional approach
although the final product was applejack rather than cider.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applejack_(drink)

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024 14:07:42 +0100, D wrote:

> So do I, but I still enjoy eating them. People are strange! Sometimes I
> do not understand them at all.

I was able to compartmentalize as a kid. There was the friendly squirrel
we fed and then there was his cousins out in the woods that fed us.

Before my time but my parents raised a pig. Pig farming is one thing but
raising one pig is something else since pigs are quite intelligent. The
pig got butchered in the fall and eaten but the experiment wasn't
repeated. They stuck to chickens.

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024 10:35:14 +0100, D wrote:

> On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, rbowman wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 21:18:55 +0100, D wrote:
>>
>>> This is the truth! They were bred in captivity close to my country
>>> side house, and one day either the farm closed, the birds escaped, or
>>> both. So now there are "wild" pheasants running around there from time
>>> to time. I have thought about getting out the old longbow, since they
>>> are not shy at all. Maybe a project for next summer!
>>
>> That could be interesting. My father and I were rabbit hunting when a
>> pheasant provided a target of opportunity. My father managed to knock
>> the bird down and it landed in some brush about 50 yards away. The
>> beagle ran over but after a brief scuffle the pheasant flew off and the
>> beagle decided he wasn't a bird dog.
>>
>>
> Really?? Was that a very small beagle, or a very big bird? ;)

Well, he was a 13" beagle which is the US designation for the smaller end
of the scale and a pissed off ring neck wasn't quite what he expected to
find in the brush. Rabbits run away and don't fight back.

On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> On 04/12/2024 13:07, D wrote:
>>
>>
>> On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>
>>> On 04/12/2024 09:35, D wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, 4 Dec 2024, rbowman wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 21:16:57 +0100, D wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I wonder how the herbs differ? If the lamb in wales run around freely
>>>>>> on
>>>>>> the mountain sides, I can imagine that there could be similarities!
>>>>>
>>>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uCDw30wCe0
>>>>>
>>>>> https://www.wildfoodie.co.uk/post/wild-thyme-fragrant-treasure
>>>>>
>>>>> "Wild thyme is indigenous to the UK, and its natural distribution spans
>>>>> across the country. It is particularly abundant in England and Wales,
>>>>> though it can also be found in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.
>>>>> Due
>>>>> to its adaptability to various habitats, you can encounter wild thyme in
>>>>> a
>>>>> diverse range of landscapes"
>>>>
>>>> Thyme and rosemary are both excellent with lamb!
>>>
>>> Rosemary especially but I am not sure it grows wild much in the UK
>>>
>>> It is hardy when planted.
>>>
>>
>> Brings back memories. Lamb steak with crispy skin, then a nice layer of
>> fat, and then tender and very tasty lamb meat. Add to that, gravy, peas,
>> red cabbage and glazed potatoes.
>
> I only do spiced red cabbage and apple for pork, or turkey.
> And for lamb, garlicky potatoes au gratin dauphinoise. Mmm.
>
>
> Otherwise, I'll be round later :-)

Sounds lovely! As for roundness, the wife forces me to train, and I have a
very high metabolism as well, so very small risk.