My husband used to work an early shift, so he was up early, around 4:00 AM, playing on the computer.

Insert dramatic reinactment:

Out of total silence comes the sound of a woman screaming in "mortal terror", under the raised deck, right next to the wall of our house!

My husband just about fell out his chair. . .scared the crapo out of him. Somebody is in terrible trouble! A second later it registered that it sounded kind of fake. . .too emotionless. If that makes sense. There was a strange breathy quality to it too, he said.

It was then that he knew he had heard his first puma booma.

I slept through the whole thing. :biggrin:

But we've heard them since, yowling at night. I love it and think it's coolio that they're so near.

Did you know that they can pounce something like eighteen feet? Just so you know. lol

Me too, I would hunt, if i had to but I do not want to ever have to. And I certainly would not trivialize it as just sport.

But it really doesn't bother me. . .my sense of rightness. . .for someone to hunt if they're gonna eat it. I really hate to see life wasted or for someone to do so, disrespectfully. It's no small thing to take a life.

And if it was trying to eat me or my hubby for lunch, that kitty is going down. :evil:

There was a lady that did just that recently, about a year ago I guess. Somewhere near Boulder, CO, a mountain lion grabbed her husband and was dragging him off. . .she beat the tar out of it and saved her husband's life. That cat did NOT want to let go. . .she had to use sticks and rocks and I think finally ended it with a BALLPOINT pin! If she hadn't been around, he'd have been a goner. :shock:

So. . .have a little respect. That's all I've got to say. :idea:

That's soooo funny about the drug copters! Nothing more suspicious than a greenhouse out in the middle of nowhere. . . growing something! ROFLOLOL

We have total respect for all animals....I see them and they are so beautiful....and the way mother nature made them to effortly live and climb around in areas that are hard for us humans to deal with. We never waste a thing....most of our grocery's come from our game meat....it makes me sick when I have to pay high retail prices for beef, even though it is good....and yes when you add up the cost of gas and sometimes taking time off from work and food and the proper clothing to keep warm....it does get expensive, but we are outside with mother nature enjoying ourselves hiking around. I just wanted to clarify that we do not sport hunt....and I have no desire to. We try to eat everything we get, fish, duck, goose, elk, deer, and bear.....with the deer and elk...we even try to bring home the liver if it is not destroyed....liver and onions are yummy! My husband also archery hunts as well....one of these days I will try it when I am confident I will not just harm and animal....so far I have been lucky to bring everything down with one shot very quickly...I don't want to have to see an animal suffer. That brings me to another reason for hunting....wildlife conservation.....if you live in over populated areas then many of the wildlife such as deer and elk will starve to death due to lack of enough habitat to support the wildlife population through the winter.....so I look at it as....meat in the freezer, and one less that will have to die from starvation slowely and painfully......thats just my two cents and I know not every one will share the same opinion....but don't forget what we are all here for......ORCHIDS!:cheer:

Hiya Becca,

Agreed! On all points.

Do you have to cook wild game really differently than grocery store meats? Does it taste "gamey"

You live a really different and interesting life! I love hearing about it. . .don't worry about opinions differing. That's what makes talking to each other so wonderful. I love to hear what people actually think. I could live a hundred years without hearing what other people say but don't really think. . .bo ho ho ho ho ho ring. lolol

I think it's sooo interesting to here where and how you guys all live! Debs greenhouse and the drug helicopters is too funny! It would be funny for the cops to come and you could show them all your pretty orchids. :evil:

Becca, my stepdad is an avid hunter and my parents have 80 some acres of land. My mom always uses venison in place of ground beef. It's better for you and a lot cheaper! I personally think it's more humane to go hunting versus going to the grocery and buying meat. Think, the animals get to live their life out in the wild instead of being crammed someone. I'm a vegetarian (personal preference not anything against meat) now but I used to love venison tenderloin cooked with onions. Yum Yum! I miss that...:biggrin:

Hi Gwen! To answer your questions.....you don't have to necessarily cook game meat differently then grocery store meat....we grill ours on the bbq if they are steaks and just use steak seasoning sprinkled on top....we have what can't be made into steaks made into lean hamburger meat which I make chili's and hamburger patties out of, or meatloafs. And we also have some made into jalapeno hotdogs. As far as "gamey" tasting...I think it depends on how a person cooks it, we find if you over cook it then it has more of the gamey flavor....and some of the regular hotdogs can have a gamey flavor too. But it also depends on what you bring home....such as a cow elk will not have the testosterone that bull elk have during the rut (the breading season) which can cause meat to be more gamey tasting. I put in for cow elk tags and doe tags....and well my hubby goes for the opposite because he his male.....and part of him wants a huge rack for the wall along with the meat...but he takes what he is given the opportunity for whether it has big antlers or little antlers. Oh....and it depends on the butcher as well....we found a place that makes killer bear sausage that goes great in biscuits and gravy and spaghetti sauce...yummy! ok...well that is the end of my book....sorry!

Bear sausage? :scratchhead: I'm nearly afraid to ask? :evil: