I got myself an unlikely new disciple for my cause...

Well I've had a couple of my traps in the house the past week or two, for pictures and whatnot. Last night my baby sister, who is now 6, saw me firing a #1 on my hand without flinching or anything, and she came in to watch me do it some more. Then I told her to try it because I knew it wouldn't hurt her, but she was pretty nervous. I told her she could put her hand in her sleeve to fire the trap if she wanted, so she tried it and she didn't feel any pain, so I told her to try it with bare hands.

She was kinda nervous, she wanted me to give her all my money if it hurt her, so I said I would. She fired it on her hand and started laughing.

I hope that she tells all her friends, especially if she meets any people who are animal rights folks, because if a 6 year old feels no pain in a trap, which, by the way, I used for mink and muskrat earlier this year, then is there any reason that an animal would feel pain?

Well the temperature has warmed up nicely, and we were blessed with a fresh dusting of yard grace last night. The sun is shining and snow is drifting. The trees are filled with the usual birds: chickadees, nuthatches, redpolls, and goldfinches.

We're spending a cozy weekend at home, working on skill development and getting to know ourselves and each other better.

I think I can see February from here.

Winter Activities

As you know, there are a lot of different activities that people do in the Winter. These range from snowmobiling to ice fishing. We all have certain favorites, often based on our varying lifestyles, that tell others a lot about ourselves. For instance, there could be someone that enjoys going north from the cities to go skiing, while someone else prefers to stay in their home watching the birds.

Our family has seven people that all enjoy certain things.

• Grace loves making little snowmen, and going skating on our little pond.
• Michael likes having snowball fights and sledding.
  
• Jonathan likes duking random stuff out with Mike and having snowball fights.
  
• I find pleasure in shoveling and sledding(what a nerd!).
  
• Toby likes building giant snow forts (yes, I will show some pictures) and walking across town to check traps.
• The parents prefer to stay inside watching the birds and the football games.

Just by looking at a group of activities, and picking out the ones that different people enjoy, we can gather quite a bit of insight about their personalities. These things all reflect who we are. Grace is a child at heart, Mike and Jon are boys who love having someone else their own size to play/wrestle with. Toby likes doing big important things, and I prefer simple tasks and traditional play, and the parents enjoy being inside enjoying the wonderfulness of Winter.

Not bad, considering my sheltered life

I've seen this around, but it was reading it on Esther's blog that made me decide to actually do it here. The ones I've done (that I remember) are in bold. (Just because I don't remember it doesn't mean it didn't happen.) Which have you done? I'd love to know.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given generously to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - it seems likely that I did, but I don't know for sure
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - I don't even know what this means, really
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - though it wasn't the money that did it
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Been deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt - I'm workin' on it
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone - my poor toe!
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car - it's not all it's cracked up to be
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - I may have and just don't remember. I'm like that.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Goodnight Moon

This evening I drove Toby around to pull the rest of his traps, since he's pretty much done for the season. I saw a gorgeous view of the moon rising over a farm and came back home to get the camera and the recycling. The view was slightly less gorgeous by the time I was able to get a picture, but I did snap this one while Toby dropped off the recycling.

Just a reminder

When your children use the toilet consistently, appreciate it.

When they understand the relationship of numbers to objects, appreciate it.

When they do something because it would please you, appreciate it.

When they sleep more than six hours a day, appreciate it.

When they make a connection between the name of an emotion and their own feeling, appreciate it.

When they have dreams and aspirations and show thoughtfulness and kindness, by all means, appreciate it.

Whether or not you CHOOSE to parent a child who is challenged in these areas has no bearing on its difficulty. And don't believe for a second that any amount of money is what makes it all worthwhile. If you think I'm wrong on these points, please enlighten me.

Snowforts

Winter is a wonderful, enjoyable season, full of snow, sledding, fights and forts, and school. I generally do not participate in the snow fort building festivities, as I prefer shoveling off our tiny pond so that we can go skating.

Toby is usually the one in charge of doling out sections of our biggest snowbank, and building a snow fort which he then is happy to share with me(he's so sweet!). This year he built a huge snow fort, which is really more like a mansion without a roof. He even made seats for himself and I, dug out of the sides of the thick walls, which were given an appropriate but redundant name a few years ago by Grace which stuck: buttseats.
This year Toby outdid himself by building a snow fort with a moat, a courtyard, a watch tower, a keep, and all connected by a three way tunnel. He also decided that the old fashioned open doorway was too difficult to defend from strangers and little siblings, so he filled it in and dug another tunnel for the main doorway. Thankfully, he respects the fact that I'm scared of going into small tunnels, lest I get stuck, so he made the two in this fort nice and roomy. Pictures of this amazing structure will be forthcoming.

2008 is almost done

I think I have a new New Years tradition figured out... see, I have 10 rabbits waiting to be skinned at this moment, and each of them takes about 30 minutes to skin, and 15 to 20 minutes to butcher. What if we got everyone involved and saw who could do the most work with the fewest mistakes. That would be fun! (?)

The MN Trapper's Association midwinter meeting is this weekend. I will let you guys know how that goes. Due to the lack of demand for fur at this time by fur buyers and countries that are our primary consumers of wild fur, mainly Russia and China, and the global economy at this time, I am not going to sell my fur. There are plenty of people selling more than enough fur to cover the current demand, and the more extra unused fur there is, the lower prices will be. I think I would do better to wait to sell fur until things start improving so that the prices will go up again. Until then, I am donating my fur to the Tanned Fur Project in MN to help educate people about trapping and go to scholarships that the MTA gives.

I saw something interesting the other day in a trapping book I got for Christmas. It had fur prices back in 1925 and they look very similar to what most people are getting today. The dollar now has 1/12 of the value it had in 1925. This means that most of the fur has dropped in value to 1/12 or even a smaller fraction of what it was worth back when we had a local market, when we had more people in the United States who were willing to make garments out of American fur, and when there weren't a bunch of bunny huggers crying about the animals as if they were little people in furry little jumpsuits.
Muskrat: $1.50 for large
Skunk: $3.00 for large
Possum: $1.25
Large mink: $10.00
Small mink: $6.00
Raccoon: $7.00
Otter: $30.00
Northern beaver blanket: $20.00
Red Fox: $8 to $12
Gray Fox: $2
Fisher: $75
Marten: $25
Weasel: $1.50
Coyote: $7

Here are fur prices as they were expected for this fall/winter. It turns out most of these prices were wishful thinking as nobody is willing to pay these prices the way the economy is looking.
BEAVER: Best at $45
MUSKRAT: $4 or slightly better.
WILD MINK: $16 to $18
RED FOX: $22 to $24
RACCOON: $22 to $24;
COYOTE: $20 to $24.

Here is what I have observed people getting for the furs not mentioned above.
Skunk: $4
Possum: $1 (although I have heard rumors of them getting up to $60, I don't believe them.)
Otter: $30
Gray fox: $10
Fisher: $35
Marten: $40-$45
Weasel: $3

A lot of those 1925 prices are looking really appealing right about now. I was born a century too late.

I will apply for the MN Conservation Corps this year, and applications are coming out in the next few days so I'm really excited about that. If I go, then I will be busy for 8 weeks of the summer fixing up state parks and things like that. I will be pretty busy when I am finished, but I think I will be able to go to the MN Trapper's Association Rendezvous next summer since it will be around August 14th and hopefully MCC will be out by then.

I'm looking forward to getting my driver's license this year. Unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to get my license while I am in MCC, so if I want to drive myself to the Rendezvous this summer, I will need to take my tests for that on the first Thursday that I am out of MCC before I go to the Rendezvous, so I will be in a hurry!