Thursday, July 23, 2009

Reading

In the off season I spend a lot of time reading. Much of what I read has to do with falconry, some about terrier work, and of course I read some just for fun. many of my falconry books I will re-read sections, or the whole book just to remind myself of details or techniques. I don't have many people out here on the edge of the country that want to talk falconry, so reading is one way that I can keep myself satisfied.



I'm one of those people that reads more than one book simultaneously and right now I have about three books that I'm working on (plus others that I am reading bit s and pieces of). This does not even include the big, hardcover, Cabela's master catalog that I just got the other day.

I just finished Tales of a Rat-Hunting Man, by D. Brian Plummer. Plummer is famous in dog circles for his terrierwork, and the book was an exceptional read. It reveals what a character Plummer is. It reminds me in tone of T.H. Whites, The Goshawk.

I didn't realize it when I got the book, but the forward was written by Stephen Bodio of Querencia, proving again what a small world it is.

I recommend Tales of a Rat Hunting Man. It is a humorous read that reveals a darker, seedier side of a hunter and of Great Britain. A side that I would very much like to visit. It is about a hunter who loves his animals and goes to great lengths to hunt them in the way that he believes they were intended. His drive to hunt rats is impressive.

He writes:
"The hunting instinct is deeply ingrained in man's make-up. It took 200,000 years for man to develop his meat-tearing carnasial teeth and the corresponding mental attitude to go with them. It will take far more than a few Acts of Parliament to get rid of both teeth and mental attitude. Stifle the hunting instinct completely and, oh boy! watch out for sexual squalls. I often wonder what the more violently anti-blood-sport types get up to in their private lives...Suppress hunting at your peril; the world will become a much more violent (place)".


And contrary to what PeTA preaches, I think he may be right. Read the book.

3 comments:

Albert A Rasch said...

Doug,

Thanks for the reading suggestions. Great book list to look into!

Best regards,
Albert
Trophy Merriam’s Turkey
My Favorite Turkey Outfitter

Chris said...

Absolutely amazing. I have found another a little like myself, that is reading multiple books or pieces of literature at the same time.

Certain individuals like my father for instance say, "Boy what in the world are you doing now?" I could see where it would confuse the outward onlooker with various 'things' going on at once. Like i tell them, "I am gonna tie it all together, trust me."

Funny that you read about beekeeping, trapping and shop out of Cabelas. My kind of man.

(laughing)

Chris

Doug said...

Just trying to expand my horizons. One of the things i like about blogging is finding "like minded" individuals.

Thanks for the comments.
Doug