So, We Were At The Lake

At a friend's house on Lake Gaston down in southern VA.  And a fox lives there, too.  So I take pup out for our morning walk and the fox had just been there and Copper hit that scent and Lost His Mind.  Total berserk fox hound.  I had to drop the leash and just follow him because he was 75 pounds of uncontrollable hound.  Which was OK, since the woods are open pine and it was easy going.  I had seen the fox several times while we were there and knew it stayed close to the house so I wasn't worried.  Figured pup would eventually burn himself out the way he was yelling and tracking.  But because I was following some yards back I saw what Copper didn't:  he passed within inches of the fox.  Which then scampered off in the other direction.  While Copper continued on, totally oblivious, until he wore himself out.  My tracking hound never knew that he had actually flushed what he was tracking.

But at least he's cute.

Time To Praise The Lord

And hope we don't have to pass the ammunition.

There are 3 things about the pro-abortionists that are very true:  1) They are exactly the same as the nice Germans who let 6 million Jews go to their deaths. Nice people.  Next door neighbor people.  Who "othered" a whole group of human beings because the campaign to do so was so well done.  And that othering led to an unbelievable slaughter.   2)  They think women are sluts lacking in self control.  Yes, they do.  They'll scream about rape and incest and the mother's life all the while knowing that those situations are a very, very tiny percentage of abortions.  In reality, they just think women are sluts who can't keep their legs closed.  And 3)  the biggest beneficiary of abortion has been men.  By far.  Play all you want, then crush the heads, pull the legs and arms off, suck it into a bucket, and voila!  Free to play again with no ties to bind. No responsibility involved.

Happy Birthday West Virginia!

Before John Denver.

Sigh

40 years ago I used to do my own oil changes. And spark plugs. And tire changes.  And we had to be able to identify parts of an engine to pass Driver's Ed.

Today I was 60 miles from home at a doc appt.  Note to self - pay more attention to the addresses of referrals next time.  Just before I got there the oil pressure light on my Subaru came on.  I had to use the 2 inch thick car manual to find the hood latch.  And then I realized that I didn't even remember where the oily stuff is supposed to be on the dip stick.  

It's nice to have a little bit of money so you can pay other people to do grunge jobs like car repairs for you.  But I couldn't remember what the dip stick was supposed to tell me.  Feeling facepalmy now. 

Smarter Folks Than You, Bippy, Have Addressed This

A lot of people seem to think that posting various permutations of "since we have a militia nobody else needs guns" and "they didn't have AR-15s when the Constitution was written so they aren't covered by it" is original thought.  As if nobody seriously contemplated the 2nd Amendment until they came up with THIS.  Whatever the latest not-well-thought-out THIS is.

And we won't even get into how obvious it is that many people have no idea what type government we have -"It's a democracy so let's just vote to get rid of it!"- or what the president's powers are -"Biden should just sign an executive order banning guns!".  Or how screamingly lacking in critical thinking many people are.

I suppose they'd be a bit shocked that, yes, yes, all this 2 A stuff has been thought of before.  In detail.  And to all the folks from disarmed countries who are telling us how much better and more peaceful their society is, I say, fine.  You stay THERE and I'll stay HERE. 

"This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty... The right to self-defence is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine the right within the narrowest limits possible.  Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any colour or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction."   St. George Tucker (1752-1827) Blackstone's Commentaries: with Notes of Reference, to the Constitution and Laws, of the Federal Government of the United States; and of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  As quoted in the majority opinion of the Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008.

 

After 3 Years

 ...and a whole bunch of mistakes, maybe this first time dog parent is getting it right.

From what I've read, a big hound is absolutely not the dog for a first time dog owner.  And to tell the truth, occasionally I'd happily trade 70 lbs of young hound for a chihuahua.  Which is not the same as giving up Copper - aka Knucklehead, Bozo, Bubby, and NoNoNoLeaveIt!  

I understand that when dogs sleep on their backs it indicates that they are happy and feel safe.  But I have to confess that I'm thinking "That's...undignified." And "I wish he'd stop snoring." And "Oh gawd he's farting!"

Well, Damn. Just Damn Damn Damn.

 Even though he's been leaving for a long time.

I'm not much for mega-stars in the music world.  I kinda stopped paying attention after the 80s.  But I'm a festival goer and one of the great things about the modern music world is that people who don't play to mega-stadiums can still get their music out there.  And years ago I fell in love with one particular performer, Alex Beaton. So many wonderful Celtic musicians out there, but Beaton, ah, Beaton made my heart soar.  I knew it wasn't any use to sit down in whatever tent he was performing in.  I always stood to one side.  I can't dance.  I can't sing.  But I would be so lost in his music that I would sway and move and sing and just...be...gone. 

In 2011, Alex and his step-son were sitting on their patio.  His step-son went inside and when he came back Alex was on the ground with a spinal injury that left him a quadriplegic.  I don't know if they ever figured out exactly what happened.  He and his wife still attended festivals, still kept up his newsletters after, but it was a struggle.

I learned today that Alex passed away on May 27.  And I cried.  His Scottish heart spoke to my West Virginia hillbilly heart in a way no other musician ever has and probably never will again.  And years ago he gave me what I want on my gravestone when I'm laid to rest in our little family graveyard in the back of beyond in Preston County, in the farming settlement where the happiest times of my life were spent.

Oh, Stop

If you are too lazy to ask why, when 50 years ago guns were common, kids learned to shoot, and schools had shooting clubs, but kids weren't walking into places and opening fire, then just shut up.  If you are too lazy to ask why you ignore the weekend slaughter in our big cities, then just shut up.  If you are too lazy to ask why certain shootings (including Chicago and Baltimore weekend tallies) are ignored, then just shut up.

And if you are pro-abortion, you definately just need to shut up.  Because you are a part of the problem.

Does Anybody Really Still Believe...

 ...that this - gas prices, shortages, etc. - was an accident?