Deer shot

Rise up this morning
Smile with the rising sun
One big deer
Hanging from the woodshed
After waking up, the first thing I witnessed was a skinned deer hanging from the woodshed. I think it was shot at 3am, by Doug (he doesn't consume meat). From what I have heard the deer here have few to no predators and are over populated. They also damage the fruit trees, nursery, and the gardens.

I am not sure how I feel about the whole situation but I guess its a great opportunity to look deeply into how we interact with our environment. For instance, what about volunteers (aka weeds)? Or fungus and bug pests? In Japan monkeys are a vector. Is it necessary and justified to kill monkeys that take from your garden? I remember someone talking about how a natural farmer said he will kill monkeys for the same reasons the deer was killed here. And I have heard of some stories about permaculture bunkers to defend against potentially armed hungry people, when the serious effects of peak oil begin and people do not have enough food. That sounds like an intense way to live.

It can be an uncomfortable topic but its important to look deeply into life and death, and what we need in relation to what we want. A nice opportunity for some introspection. Will I kill for the same reasons if it were my site? Why am I vegetarian? Why not eat meat that is harvested on the land? My answer for now is my sprouts of compassion are still small and I want to grow them stronger before I can even consider taking life compassionately. I do know that I have a pungent desire to kill less and grow more, and that's what I am learning about here.


This picture is after the guts and skin was removed at the woodshed, site 2 of the dressing process. I love the irony that the processing of the animal migrated next to the lone vegetarian having his breakfast.

I will put this in the unique meals memory-box with the time I was having dinner while naked people came out of the sauna, passed in front of the "dinner table" to the shower, and back into the sauna.

今日の朝３時頃に撃たれた鹿です。