Wildlife Wall Decor

Fishermen, hunters, vacationers, hikers and bikers, be on the alert . . . ! The wolf population is on the rise.  According to Field & Stream magazine, June 2009, pages 36-38, the count of “Canis Lupus” (gray wolf), in the USA has risen to 5500, and in North America 65,000.  The roaming area of a pack of wolves in the USA is approximately 25 to 150 square miles, whereas in Alaska and Canada, it’s 300 to 1000 squares miles. 

Other interesting facts are:  the largest gray wolf (male) recorded is 175 lbs.  The bite strength of an adult is 300 pounds per inch (psi); a German shepherd is 750 psi; and the adult wolf is 1500 psi.  The numbers of humans recorded killed in North America is ONE . . . ! Yet, the estimated deer and elk kills in the 48 states each year are 80,000.

Something to think about . . . when the goverment takes away our guns . . . rest assured these kill numbers will change radically.  When gun control takes over, only criminals, terriorists, and law officers will have weapons for control.

Today, information is more abundant, affordable and user-friendly.  The best teacher, of course, is a member within the family, passing information to others.  However, where there are no fathers or older siblings to learn skills of hunting and fishing from, experience is taught and information is shared by friends from printed materials written by experienced outdoorsmen.

Every young hunter can glean wonderful insight into hunting strategy from the Whitetail Handbook published in the Field & Stream magazine, August 2008 and 2009,  pages w1-w30.  The reader can learn tactics for successfully hunting the elusive whitetail deer for food, for sport, and even wildlife management conservation. 

My neighbor, who lives across the street, is the king of porch and yard decor. Since we first moved in, he has had at least 20 windchimes adorning his porch, metal signs decorating the front of this house, and hand carved wooden ornaments in his yard. I thought it was a little much at first, but then I realized that my neighbor just takes pride in his home and enjoys finding and making new pieces of decor. His holiday displays, especially his fleet of lighted reindeer for Christmas, are especially impressive.

My husband and I decided to add some tasteful metal yard art to our front yard, since we felt ours looked a little plan compared to our neighbor’s yard. We found a nice wrought-iron decoration that featured a few butterflies fluttering on the end of a 4-foot-tall stake. We inserted the stake into our front yard, amongst some plants in a front flower bed, and immediately loved how it looked. Our neighbor noticed it right away and came over that same day to tell us how great it was. If I’m not mistaken, I even think he might have been a little jealous!

Everyone seems to have more free time in the summer. Even though many people work full-time during the day, the sun is up longer and the days stretch on with plenty of light for activities and projects in the evening. Unlike the winter, when early darkness encourages going to bed early, summer seems to make people more energetic. Home construction and remodels are common in the summer, for example.

The summer may inspire you to change the look of your home. But keep in mind that changing the decor doesn’t mean you have to repaint every wall and buy all new furniture. Simple changes can make a big impact; try rearranging your living room furniture and painting one wall an accent color that coordinates with your existing decor. Or, for an easy change, find some beautiful wall decor to adorn your living room. If you’re not into time-consuming paint jobs and annoying paint fumes, this may be the option for you.

In some areas in the United States, deer population is so highly over crowded, hunters are invited to become part of the extermination army, managing the number of deer given to an alloted acreage.

The deer’s age is the primary criteria for determining extermination.  Recently, I read an article written by Doug Howlett, “How Old’s That Buck?”  It identifys unique signs that a hunter can see for determining the age of a whitetail deer.  Some of the signs are the shape of  the deer’s antlers, legs, nose, eyes and other visible signs . . . individually or combined, they are all important in identifying a whitetail deer’s age, especially when it comes to managing the numbers of deer. 

They say there is a story of a thousand words in a picture or photo . . . or at least, there should be!  While I was reading through an Outdoor Life magazine, September 2008, pages 60-66, a story jumped out at me through the grouping of photos showing the deer trophies each hunter was exhibiting.  The story includes family members, and not just the father figure providing meat for the dinner table. The trophy is great . . . but when the hunt includes the girl friend, the wife, the son, the daughter, the sister and/or the brother, then the memory of the hunt becomes more than a hobby; it’s bringing the romance of belonging to a family. Keeping the traditions of the tribe, and the oneness of being a member of a group have a stronger bond than blood . . . it’s sticky like glue and when shared within the tribal members, its called love.  We all need more love for each other.  When added to the hunt, love can move the hunter with meaning and purpose providing for the family.

It’s a blessing to me to hear that there are still areas in North America that allow the wild herds of Buffalo to roam freely in the same way they have for centuries.  One of the areas is in and near the Yellowstone National Park.  Each year the Buffalo roam the range areas surrounding Yellowstone and must be rounded up and placed back into the park’s protective reserve.  The purpose of the roundup is to prevent burcellosis and other diseases carried by bison that could affect the health of range cattle, and then spreading out of control among domestic cattle herds. 

Cowboys from ranches in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming all join in the spring roundup in order to protect their investments by guarding their cattle herds.  The article written by Jim Overstreet, with photos by Mark MacLeod, is published in the Western Horseman magazine, May 2009, pages 22-28.