Good Morning

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There is not a lot to say about this morning’s weather except that it is snowing and really snowing. Not just that it has been and gone, but it is still here. I waded out in it to feed the birds and although they remained silent I am sure they were pleased as they afterwards made the most of the feast. I suppose it is a typical Swiss Winter this year, but we have not had such a typical one since a few years. Again I am glad that I am at home sitting in my nice comfortable kitchen with my breakfast.

I am so glad that I do not have to go out in this weather on a hunt for food. My weekly rations will be delivered today some time in the afternoon. It seems the afternoon is a better choice for Monday as the deliveries to the supermarket have been completed and I have a better chance of getting everything I ordered. At the moment, due to my careful logistical planning, I am very well equipped with everything: meat and veg and all the necessary accompaniments. I have enough freshly frozen bread, although today I will probably bake a loaf to have with the evening meal.

Talking about food, I listen to quite a lot of radio, watch TV in the evening and notice that most of the adverts for food are now including the best vegan choices. Are we no longer eating meat? Is it now bad to eat meat. Admittedly I also love the chickens and the cows, even pigs, but since mankind began to exist we were carnivores. We ate would we could find, whether animal or vegetable. We had to survive. Today food has become perhaps more luxury, We can choose what we want to eat. and I choose to eat meat. I was watching one of those David Attenborough films yesterday and one of the scenes was showing a colony of birds living from fish in the sea. They were nesting and then the sea eagles arrived looking for food for their chicks and the smaller birds were the ideal victims. It showed how nature works. It is a vicious circle for survival, but they do not decide to pick and choose, they eat what they find and the balance of nature is maintained, something that we humans seem to have forgotten, I respect anyone that deicides to live vegan, but it does not impress me. I am now in a position where we would have nothing to eat if I was living without assistance from my online food deliveries. I could not go out with my scooter or wheelchair in the ice and snow and cold. I count myself lucky to be able to order my food to no extra cost, but I am certainly not being fussy about it. I am glad for anything that arrives on my table. I am sure many would not agree, but I am now too old and fixed in my ways to change my way of life.

Yesterday I noticed a bigger bird was hanging around. At first I saw him in a tree and then he joined the sparrows on the ground for a feed, I was not so sure what it was, so took a few photos. I then realised that it was a starling. Now and again, about once a year, they arrive in our area, often in large flocks. I remember one year there were about 20 of them in my garden. Now we have a few, but perhaps they are the reconnaissance for the rest. They are indeed an attrractive bird.

I am now off to do some housework. There is a cool breeze coming through the open window, so about time I warmed up. Have a good day, and may the weather be with you. It is not really with me at the moment, but I am not going anywhere and my lunch is slowly thawing.

In the meanwhile the sun arrived in my front garden.

17 thoughts on “Good Morning”

    • WE have a million cows in Switzerland so there is no problem with having meat, although a lot is milk production. There is also a fair share of pigs and crops grow everywhere in the country and chickens are somewhere on every farm and we do not do battery hens, not allowed. I feed the family on a bit of everything, but there is usually meat on the table.

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  3. Good morning .. such a wonderful photo of the clearing sky … we are going to get snow and ice later tonight … although I don’t think as much as you have .. .I hope it melts for you soon … have a great day .. .SLP …

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    • The snow began to melt in the afternoon at last, but it is still laying thick on the ground. There were problems getting my online delivery today as the lorries were stuck in the snow this morning.

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  4. Good Morning!
    Veganism is very popular here. It does not appeal to me though. I do not eat much meat only because I can not produce it in the garden. There was plenty of space to produce a bit of meat at home, but I lacked the time for it. There are crawdads in the creek, but they are more shell than meat. The trout at home were too small to bother with. They are bigger here, but take a bit of time to catch. (Besides, for now, the ecosystem needs them more than I do.) What annoys me is that some of the vegans do not want us to hunt meat products that come wandering onto our own properties and damage our gardens. Deer and turkey have more rights to the landscapes and my home gardens than I do! I would not hunt deer or turkey at work because I do not want to offend anyone; but I should be able to do it at home. Turkey were not native here, and they are becoming a detriment to the ecosystem.

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    • Vegan seems to be becoming a fad at the moment. We have a population of abut one million cows in Switzerland andt they regularly produce calves. My dad was very basic in his words and found there are enough cows walking around, so they must have a purpose, although I would not necessarily agree. However, I don’t mind a bit of meat on my plate, although I can also make myself comfortable without. Crawdad is not something that most people have heard of here and Switzerland is not a country where fish is so important. We have lakes, but no ocean.

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      • Crawdad is only popular where it is available from creeks or swamps. It is not available in stores, and does not live everywhere. I never got it when I was a kid because the crawdad in the particular part of the Santa Clara Valley, as well as the trout, are toxic. The second largest deposit of Mercury in the World is in Almaden (which is now a district of San Jose). It is named after the largest deposit of Mercury in the World, which is in Almaden in Spain. Anyway, even though San Jose is near the San Francisco Bay, and not too far from the Pacific Ocean, fresh water fish were not part of the local culture.

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  6. Good afternoon, Your first and last pictures would make a lovely puzzle. I have no problem eating meat, my diet is already restive because I can’t eat gluten. I broke out in hives Saturday. Today, I learn that my lovely muffins have wheat in them. I now know why I had hives. I forget how high the fences need to be to keep the deer out of the apple orchid in Eastern Washington. I have a few pictures of deer eating apples. They are not very good but I will do a special post using them. Turkeys are another matter but I don’t know the best way to control them. I am smiling at you saying the starling is a lovely bird. They are considered a problem because of the large flocks seem here. They do keep the insects down. Enjoy your evening watching TV.

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    • We had some lovely snow scenes today. I am glad I do not have to go anywhere at the moment. I have never had a problem with gluten. My problem is milk. That is why I never drink coffee. I always have a stomach upset afterwards. I see the starlings about once a year when they arrive in their flocks, but they are not such a problem here. We have no wild turkeys, only those kept on farms.

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