2009-06-14
How I became Swamp thing,and other stories
Labels: attack bird, craig busch, declawing, farm, royal white tiger, stream, swoops, the lion man, tigers, winter, zion wildlife gardens 7 comments
THIS IS A VERY VERY LONG POST BE PREPARED TO YAWN ..A LOT
STORY 1: How I became Swamp thing
Blogging I think is a good way to get yourself into the firing line - more on than later. So much has been going on lately I haven't had time to stop. It's back to the same old winter routine. Mud mud mud, waking up in the dark, feeding out, digging yet more drains as an over kill of water turns my farm into Shrek the Ogre's favourite holiday destination..yet again. Yes I took a photo of my gumboots and that was just from stepping out the door to feed Sasha
Sasha as you can see was covered in mud and giving me a look that says yes? And where's my hard feed you silly hooman you. We had a heavy rain warning in place the other day, so yours truly trudged down the long driveway to where the stream was. The electric fence wires had be lifted up out the flood zone, in I went lifted out the wires and the standards holding them in place. Found both culverts on our crossing were blocked up - so it was wade in there and pull it all out. Old tree branches, grass and weeds soon were removed. Yes, I figured that my work was all done there. With that thought still hanging on the end of my tiny brain stem, I started to climb out of the stream bed and hit a snag - literally. My gumboot got caught up in a tree root and over backwards did I tumble - straight into the water. It was freezing. After swallowing silt, and heck knows what else, I hauled my drenched carcass out of the water and found I had a new hairstyle. Wandering jew dreadlocks somehow, I don't think will make any photo shoot near you. After stomping with gumboots sloshing and full of water I had to hose myself off. The gumboots are still wet. Unfortunately there was no camera to catch me on tape otherwise I would have posted that as well. And that's how I became Swamp Thing of the week.
STORY 2: SHOCK THERAPY & TREED OFF
There are lessons to be learned from these two incidences that both occurred in August of 2006. These are how not to do things around a farm at my expense please feel free to roll over with hysterical laughter. Rachel,Lisa and Amy know about these two incidences ....
Incident 1: Shock Therapy
When River was still a small calf I had decided I needed to put up a low electric wire to keep the little jersey from going into my garden. It worked wonderfully. River stayed out and the plants grew nicely. Trouble was the fence also kept me out. Usually if the weeding needed to be done I would disconnect it from the mains, then get the task done before reconnecting the fence once more, and all would be well. This particular fine early spring morning, I decided to step outside and take in the fresh morning air, beholding the farm in all its wonderful greenery..including the rather large weed that seemed to have reared its evil weedy head in under a week. Annoyed. Very annoyed, so much for being the perfect gardener said I to myself as I leant forward with the grubber in hand....and promptly stuck my head on the electric fence. Hadn't turned it off had I. The headache lasted for several days. Take some advice if you need therapy then avoid that type of treatment. Sticking one's head on one's mains electric fence does nothing to enhance the well being of ones mind..or body come to think of it. I'll stick to fresh air from now on...
Incident 2: Treed off
During the winter storms of July 2006 and a digger giving it the final death sentence I had a dead cabbage tree fall onto the lean to of my studio carport. There it lent waiting for someone to come and remove it from its precarious forlorn lean and end up as firewood. In spring there it still was..waiting and waiting. It became annoying so annoying that finally I got off my duff and decided there was only one way to move it. A tow rope and my four wheel drive were the ideal solution so it seemed. With the rope tied around the dead tree and Fourwheel Drive engaged I pulled the tree off the studio and was about to go and take the rope off. My mother turned up. Loving my mother as much as I do I got out of the 4WD and made her a cup of tea and spent the next three hours gasbagging about life the universe and everything. (I love my MUM!). Full of several cups of tea both of us decided it was time to get on with things and stop talking the day away. I had to go to Maungaturoto so in the truck we got. It was stuck in 4WD for some reason. Who knew why that was. Off we go. I stop open the gate drive through stop again, get out close the gate, then off we go complete with a tree and gate dragging behind. Lesson from this..don't gasbag to your mother when you've still got a tree attached to your 4WD.
Story 3: Guess the animal answered
We had an interesting mix of answers as to what the animal above in the picture is. In fact this is a White Tiger named Kenny Rogers. Kenny was the unfortunate result of severe inbreeding. Kenny found a new home at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge along with his brother Willie Nelson. People believe wrongly that White tigers are in fact an endangered separate sub-species when they are not. Many are inbred - although there also seems to be other evidence that not all are inbred as such. They are however, a genetic mutation, rather than a distinctive 'endangered' species. 97% of the world's White Tiger population are privately owned. They are bred for their desirable colouring rather than for conservation. Pretty though doesn't mean genetically perfect - just the opposite. Natural selection comes through both the influence of the animals environment and the passing on of genetic traits that ensure the survival of the next generation. The tiger in the wild is normally orange. The colouring along with the distinctive striped markings help this apex predator blend in with his natural surroundings. Millions of years of evolution have developed this outstanding big cat into what we know him as today. White tigers have ocurred naturally in the wild, but few were ever recorded. Would they survive long the wild? Nature would dictate the answer would be no. Without the advantage of camouflage from their normal orange colouring a white coloured tiger would not be able to use the element of surprise to obtain his prey as well as his orange cousins..
The Subspecies of tigers are listed as follows:
Sasha as you can see was covered in mud and giving me a look that says yes? And where's my hard feed you silly hooman you. We had a heavy rain warning in place the other day, so yours truly trudged down the long driveway to where the stream was. The electric fence wires had be lifted up out the flood zone, in I went lifted out the wires and the standards holding them in place. Found both culverts on our crossing were blocked up - so it was wade in there and pull it all out. Old tree branches, grass and weeds soon were removed. Yes, I figured that my work was all done there. With that thought still hanging on the end of my tiny brain stem, I started to climb out of the stream bed and hit a snag - literally. My gumboot got caught up in a tree root and over backwards did I tumble - straight into the water. It was freezing. After swallowing silt, and heck knows what else, I hauled my drenched carcass out of the water and found I had a new hairstyle. Wandering jew dreadlocks somehow, I don't think will make any photo shoot near you. After stomping with gumboots sloshing and full of water I had to hose myself off. The gumboots are still wet. Unfortunately there was no camera to catch me on tape otherwise I would have posted that as well. And that's how I became Swamp Thing of the week.
STORY 2: SHOCK THERAPY & TREED OFFThere are lessons to be learned from these two incidences that both occurred in August of 2006. These are how not to do things around a farm at my expense please feel free to roll over with hysterical laughter. Rachel,Lisa and Amy know about these two incidences ....
Incident 1: Shock Therapy
When River was still a small calf I had decided I needed to put up a low electric wire to keep the little jersey from going into my garden. It worked wonderfully. River stayed out and the plants grew nicely. Trouble was the fence also kept me out. Usually if the weeding needed to be done I would disconnect it from the mains, then get the task done before reconnecting the fence once more, and all would be well. This particular fine early spring morning, I decided to step outside and take in the fresh morning air, beholding the farm in all its wonderful greenery..including the rather large weed that seemed to have reared its evil weedy head in under a week. Annoyed. Very annoyed, so much for being the perfect gardener said I to myself as I leant forward with the grubber in hand....and promptly stuck my head on the electric fence. Hadn't turned it off had I. The headache lasted for several days. Take some advice if you need therapy then avoid that type of treatment. Sticking one's head on one's mains electric fence does nothing to enhance the well being of ones mind..or body come to think of it. I'll stick to fresh air from now on...
Incident 2: Treed off
During the winter storms of July 2006 and a digger giving it the final death sentence I had a dead cabbage tree fall onto the lean to of my studio carport. There it lent waiting for someone to come and remove it from its precarious forlorn lean and end up as firewood. In spring there it still was..waiting and waiting. It became annoying so annoying that finally I got off my duff and decided there was only one way to move it. A tow rope and my four wheel drive were the ideal solution so it seemed. With the rope tied around the dead tree and Fourwheel Drive engaged I pulled the tree off the studio and was about to go and take the rope off. My mother turned up. Loving my mother as much as I do I got out of the 4WD and made her a cup of tea and spent the next three hours gasbagging about life the universe and everything. (I love my MUM!). Full of several cups of tea both of us decided it was time to get on with things and stop talking the day away. I had to go to Maungaturoto so in the truck we got. It was stuck in 4WD for some reason. Who knew why that was. Off we go. I stop open the gate drive through stop again, get out close the gate, then off we go complete with a tree and gate dragging behind. Lesson from this..don't gasbag to your mother when you've still got a tree attached to your 4WD.
Story 3: Guess the animal answered
We had an interesting mix of answers as to what the animal above in the picture is. In fact this is a White Tiger named Kenny Rogers. Kenny was the unfortunate result of severe inbreeding. Kenny found a new home at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge along with his brother Willie Nelson. People believe wrongly that White tigers are in fact an endangered separate sub-species when they are not. Many are inbred - although there also seems to be other evidence that not all are inbred as such. They are however, a genetic mutation, rather than a distinctive 'endangered' species. 97% of the world's White Tiger population are privately owned. They are bred for their desirable colouring rather than for conservation. Pretty though doesn't mean genetically perfect - just the opposite. Natural selection comes through both the influence of the animals environment and the passing on of genetic traits that ensure the survival of the next generation. The tiger in the wild is normally orange. The colouring along with the distinctive striped markings help this apex predator blend in with his natural surroundings. Millions of years of evolution have developed this outstanding big cat into what we know him as today. White tigers have ocurred naturally in the wild, but few were ever recorded. Would they survive long the wild? Nature would dictate the answer would be no. Without the advantage of camouflage from their normal orange colouring a white coloured tiger would not be able to use the element of surprise to obtain his prey as well as his orange cousins..
The Subspecies of tigers are listed as follows:
- Bengal
- Indochinese
- Sumatran
- Amur/Siberian
- South Chinese
- Javan
- Caspian
- Bali
Story 5: People who take exception
As everyone knows who regularly visits this blog I have been blogging the news updates from the issue between Craig Busch the Lion Man and Zion Wildlife Gardens. I've been doing this since last year. The Lion Man Series has a fairly good sized following and has his own Facebook Fan page. Not so long ago someone from this page had linked to my blog, next thing I know I have my blog over run by people from that page reading the article the person had linked to in my blog. That's fine. Out of curiosity a little later I had a look and was horrifed at some of the behaviour that was going on at the time. Most of the folk there were good caring people who only wanted to help their favourite star get his park back. The ones that weren't so goo were in the minority. So I wrote an editorial and included my concerns in the post. It had been noted, so I found out by the board administrator, who had then taken steps to ensure this minority were no longer allowed to continue with their less than acceptable behaviour at the time I had written the editorial. Credit to her and her hard work. No fault of her own what happens? Someone decides to take exception to what I had written and decides to make a huge issue out of it on their discussion board. This person took one paragraph out of the editorial while failing to include the rest of the post that also acknowledged that there were responsible people on that site. Taking things out of context and copyright work at that makes for dangerous allegations. What I said at the time was absolutely true - then. Now who knows I don't go there - I'm not a Lion Man fan. Why? Declawing big cats is not my idea of humane treatment other than that I don't really care. I have better things to do than worry about someone elses private life that has been scrutinised in the media through out the last few years. Yes he's done some good but on the declawings - no.
The admin of the board told those concerned not to visit my blog and not to comment. What did they do? They came onto my blog anyway and one just had to comment. Interesting comment at that -
Are you filtering out support for C Busch? It seems you have atracted no supporters to comment at all?
Oh, and FYI? I am neither a hooligan, immature, low levelled, nor do I swear. I agree that it is EXTREMELY distasteful to do that in any public forum actually. I will not let my son on Facebook because of the language all over the site, not just on the NZ Lionman board unfortunately.
That said, I refute your points, commenting on the entire fan base. I am an intelligent, articulate woman that has chosen to support him. I am certainly no savage, I can have a reasonable conversation, I am smart enough to be able to play devils advocate, but there is none of this available to do, as the people (Trolls as you call them)that have gone to the site that do not support Craig Busch HAVE posted inflammatory comments, been abusive and derogatory to members, bleating on about how Craig hit a woman (and not much else to warrant a civil conversation with those of us that can be objective of course - I concur that there are some undesirables), and that we are disgusting to support him? I found that VERY offensive.The board have retaliated. Equilibrium remember?
Your comments here leave you no better than the angry fans (we have certainly seen some really nasty ones) As you are inflicting the same insults.
I would LOVE to have both sides of the story, unfortunately, Patricia has not come forward. Its obvious that the story would hit the public domain, and to be frank, the attitiude of the media toward Craig tends to be mainly due to the "altercation" in his past, the past is really no ones business but his. The situation seems to have built up over many years - with blame on both sides.
I am no idiot regarding Media Hype. But Please spare us the opinion that, tarred with the same brush, we are a group of ignorant, childish, Neanderthals. I am sure there are some, but you will get that in large groups.
I wonder will you post this, or whether it will be "censored" or will I now be called a "Troll" for disagreeing with you?
I assure you there is NO sarcasm in this post, I just wish everyone would get along, the truth would be there for all to see, or that this whole sorry mess had never happened in the first place. Frankly it is none of my business whats happened, either now, or in the past, but I do believe Craig is the best person to be with the cats.
I also firmly believe that whatever has happened, and however large the issue, that family need to forgive and forget.
NO sarcasm? Interesting isn't it and to be quite blunt pointless. Just someone with a big problem and a bad attitude. Do I care? No.
My stand is this. Don't link to my blog in the first place and don't come here looking to witch hunt. I'm not interested and besides my writing is copyright and that copyright has been breached. What business is it of theirs? Quite frankly none. My advice to these people who are in that frame of mind is to stay on their own site and not annoy me by coming onto mine. If they have an issue - send me an email.
STORY 6 - Swoops the Attack Bird on Attack Bird Chronicles
This Bird is pissedAnd after that little tirade in Story 5 just to make the day and smile. Above is Swoops the attack bird. His story is so funny he has his own blog. This one mean little birdie with a huge chip on his grumpy little wing. Lisa sent me the link for Swoops thanks a lot Lisa I have fallen in love with the bird from hell. This you just have to read. I'm still laughing.
Posts
June 14, 2009 8:36 PM
hey Liz, great post! I'm amazing that the person in question who has remained nameless *ahem* accuses you and I of being trolls when she has done the exact same thing, sort of reminds me of my quote "practice what you preach" right?
Moving on...my gumboots will look like yours in a few days as I have to get stuck into my vege patch and check out what's remained and what's died due to all the rain we've had. Yes and I guess that our town is well known for all the wet boggy conditions.
June 15, 2009 3:35 AM
Whew..I'm worn out from reading! LOL kidding....great post....and great to catch up finally, been busy as a bee around here, anyway, lets see if I can remember all my comments...I miss your mad farm posts....so I love it when you post pics and give us updates around the farm. It seems that winter wetness spares no one...gum boots...a life saver! LOL Sure wish the camera was around to capture the swamp creature...I hear its very rare and not many get to behold the sight of this elusive creature! Always have camera so you can share this with us1 hee hee
I loved reading your two DUH Moment stories again...your writing is so creative, and usually leaves me laughing - a lot.
You sure are able to put a reader right there!
Lion man - ugh, I think that people for get the idea of freedom of speech and opinions. I like you are disgusted for the same reasons you are about the lion man....no I'm not a zealous warrior like some out there, but whats good animal husbandry is important, and I think that a lot of people out there just dont realize how much that entails...why fight for the human than the animals with no voice who are sufferers of the lack of correct care? And why are you being bashed for your opinions. As said "non-troll" commented on why cant we all get a long and be able to voice our opinions with out the bashing? why did she feel the need to continue childish behavior herself by leaving another comment? This is a blog....your so do and say what you want with...so get over it already! Whether someone supports your writings or not, read, and move on if you dont like it...posting continually trying to argue your point to someone who speaks what they think and really doesnt give a bleep about whether someone likes it or not is futile and a waste of time on their point. Good journalism often comes with controversy, it tells you your doing a good job, and had they taken the time to read on more in past articles you've posted they would have seen that you have presented every angle of this story and given the reader the full story, the good the bad and the ugly. Yes Amy great quote to use in this instance...definitely people need to practice what they preach...had she done this and the other trolls out there as well, this comment would have never been posted on your blog, and they would have not sunken back into the level they claim to not come from! nuff said, love you and your lion man updates....people get over it already...
June 15, 2009 8:12 AM
Glad you like Swoops, Liz. Been wonderin' just how you are -- glad to see you've resurfaced here in blogland!
Never mind those who seem keen to wage board wars. Folks are different and with different POV, everywhere you go.
June 15, 2009 11:55 AM
That was a good read, Liz, loved the gum boots!
Trolls just don't realise that they're trolls...they think they're lambs that have been reared by the sheep dog out the back.
June 16, 2009 1:33 AM
Great Farm stories. I wish you had a swamp thing photo. :-)
Jennifer
June 20, 2009 12:28 PM
This post has been removed by the author.
June 20, 2009 12:30 PM
Great post indeed Liz. I think most of Craig Busch's fans mean well for animals but perhaps they don't realize or appreciate some of the negative stuff that was associated with him in his treatment of animals - including declawings, inhumane treatment of animals, cubs. There will always be trolls on the internet and people who leave negative or abrasive comments on our blogs, for a variety of reasons. I've felt that the best response is to ignore them. I hope you don't let them upset you too much.
I really liked this candid post. Sorry to learn about that white tiger. You are absolutely right about them being a genetic aberration and not a separate tiger subspecies. You might wanna include the Malayan Tiger in your subspecies list though. It's quite endangered too, in Malaysia.
Thanks for introducing Swoops' bloggie. It's hilarious. Loved that picture of Sasquatch. Hope all has been going well at work, and that you continue to find time to blog with such a hectic routine. Take care and all the best to everybody at the farm :)