Nature Notes

[poliphilo]

A small bird (sparrow or blue tit- the procedure is the same) perches on the railing, flicks its head left-right, left-right as if crossing the road, then launches across the brief open space to the feeder.

We had snow last night- great clumpy dobs of it- but the ground was too wet for it to settle. This morning is cloudless and there's a frost. Tonight I'm putting an extra cover on the bed.

Last night- after a complicated, tactical fight- parliament finally banned hunting with hounds. The ban comes into force- earlier than the Government wanted- in February.

I have stayed neutral on this one. The class warrior in me wanted a ban and the libertarian opposed it. Besides, I have never lived in any place where hunting was an issue. This ain't my fight.

I don't really see it as being about animal cruelty. The ban won't stop foxes being shot or poisoned. All it gets rid of is the ritual- the red coats and the stirrup cups and the tearing to bits and the arrogance.

It's been a while since I last saw a fox. A few years back one came trotting down our street at night. I followed it and found it nosing round the dustbin in a neighbour's yard and we eyeballed one another over the garden wall. I was almost close enough to reach out and touch. The orange streetlights made its eyes shine blue.

Comments

[archyena.livejournal.com]

I was reading an article about British country v. town issues in the Guardian and I can't help but be reminded of all the fuss that happens over here. All the undeserved pride of people who haven't touched a plow in over 50 years, the dying communities that bemoan their own powerlessness, and the old men in a state of constant anger over the nastiness of the cities that provide the subsidies that allow them to sit at the bar of the little restaurant in some tiny village and complain about the people coming in from the cities.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The difference is (I think) that the British population is massively urbanized. The rural population is a remnant and possesses little political power.