Man Will Be Nature's Equal

Remember this: The thing that a lot of people cannot comprehend is that Mother Nature doesn't have a bullet with your name on it, she has millions of bullets inscribed with "to whom it may concern.

~Anonymous Sage~

Thank the Great Unknown, all the scientists, geeks, and nerds for our technology. As hunters, we rely on the meteorologists of the world, cell phone apps, and gadgetry to tell us when it will forecast rain, blazing sun, icy snow, sun rise/set, and when the tides are high or low. At times, we use the old finger-lick technique to see which way the wind is blowing. I guess you could fart and see if you could smell it by the wind coming up from behind.

There are certain initial weather conditions that we can determine beforehand and the secondary fallout from such blights of natural disaster via meteorologic information. In some cases, tornadoes, twisters, tsunamis, etc. just seem to appear out of nowhere with little warning. There are also long burning forest fires from lightning and dry conditions, snow storms, flooding, disease pandemics, and other surprises on the horizon. Nature's good graces and wrath are upon the landscape of Earth in varying degrees.


Rain was pelting my window, slowly lulling me to sleep as I watched television. The reason for this foray into Nature's weather was based from a boot commercial running in between hunting shows. It wasn't a boot issue for sure. The commentator stated something to the effect, “...Man will be Nature's equal”. I heard the sour sound of a bad string being plucked on my inner banjo. Not wanting to be nit-picky, I cleared my mind to focus on the question: how could this partial statement be interpreted?

As Hurricane Arthur breezed its way passed, people breathed a sigh of relief. I thought about the relationship between hunting participants and Nature, as it stands from a human perspective. Hurricanes definitely can serve up a terrible dose of Mother Nature's wrath if you've never experienced one. Unprecedented damage to life and limb, displacement of families and animals, rebuilding and problem-solving for communities for years to come. If you have long endured such a beast during your lifetime, you learn what to do and not to do. The most you can do if you are a local is: ride it out like a big kahuna wave and hope you don't crash under the wave itself.

What could be the possible human perspectives of living as a part or separate from Nature? The human perspective is: you live with Nature as a functioning contributor, live outside/inside of Nature as the competitor, or live life as the spectator who just exists. There are probably otherways not mentioned.

These ideas on the approach of the hunting participant's role in Nature is a pie chart. A little of this and a little of that. These divisible parts show a trend to temporarily visit as a lifestyle choice instead of a way of living as a mutually benefiting organism. The wordage of lifestyle choice makes it sound just that; a choice which can be picked up or thrown down at will depending on your fancy. A portion of hunting participants do consider Nature to be the enemy that one must overcome and vex to feel like a hunter/adventurer. I scratch my head at this. Yet there are hunting participants that want to be a part of the hunting act, involving their need for the intimacy of nature and not its conqueror. There are hunting participants who are integral parts of the maintenance and upkeep of Nature. The list of differing roles goes on. People exist that do not hunt but act the same way. You don't have to look to far; oil spills, deforestation, and displacement of indigenous peoples to assimilate into the civilized world.

The concept idea for marketing this boot lead me into my next critique of how true this statement is. Can Man every truly be equal to Nature? Is there anything right or wrong about this endeavor? Why do divisions of humanity strive to conquer all in a sundry?

There is also the view that Nature is the enemy and fractions of hunting participants exists outside of Nature instead of being a crucial part of the narrative. This seemed to be the idea the commercial was selling. A canine with blue eyes that I observed was to represent a wolf or agent of Nature. Was I to believe that to kill a wolf was to conquer Nature? Maybe it should have been a double twister with the hunter running for his life. He'd be running in the boots. It is truly proven that this animal type, the wolf, can be hunted and killed. There is also the suggestion to employ dogs to hunt wolves. I wondered why hunting as is, was not good enough. Whoever participates in this hunting activity might better think of spay or neutering their dogs. Once in estrus, they are going to be mongrels bred up in them there hills. Dogs will tie up through a kennel fence, as I have seen this. Nothing to stop them out in the bushes chasing after their own kind. On a funnier note, I once saw a chihuahua breeding a female rottweiler who laid down on the ground for him. Naughty. Naughty. That is a hard urge to ignore.

I figure to help with the economy, if someone is going to do a hunt with dogs on wolves, it should be monitored by the DNR through listing the dogs used. The dogs used should then be taken to a veterinary with a 24-48 hour period to be checked for excessive wounds and treatment with follow-up care. This paperwork should be submitted by the veterinary; not the hunter. Ethically, if you're going to endanger your hunting dog, you should not toss the dog in the pen after they do the work. Bite puncture wounds do get infected and turn into abscesses. These hunting dogs should also be pre-monitored by the DNR through submitted paperwork by the hunter listing all vaccinations, neuter, spaying and deworming. The DNR should also charge an extra fee for the administration of this function to ensure hunter ethics, hound health, and wolf hunting regulations. Pen it down as going to conservation and Angelia's love/hate relationship with veterinary medicine. Now write the check.

Humanity's relationship with Nature in the past was, man survives Nature's wrath. Things have not changed, except we can make it rain by dumping particles in the clouds with planes. Covert operations could possibly bring about an earthquake, plague through biological warfare, and let us not forget the secret death ray in outer space (tips hat to conspiracy theorists). I forgot the Aliens. These are man-made versions of Mother Nature's wrath by our own hand.

There are probably times when hunters go into the mountains or the woods to hunt only to find the weather is shifting moods. Clear now. Foggy later. You could start out sunny and dry then end up wet, naked, cold, and afraid. Add the unseen in the dark, staring at you like a piece of bacon then you're in for a treat. Going into unknown terrain would dictate that the guide be knowledgeable of the changing weather patterns, how it will affect the hunt, and the possibilities of waylaying the goal of procuring the animal. I am sure there is not one client that feels uneasy when stuck out in bad weather while wondering if they are going to get trapped out in the bush.

We could even observe commercial fishermen out on the ocean. Introduce a bad storm or some other atmospheric anomalie and you're Mark Walhberg's character in The Perfect Storm, drifting to your death in monster waves. Commercial fishermen experience this all the time when the ship topples over, gets stuck in an ice bank, the waves could push the workers over board, or strand them out to sea. There are just things you don't see coming.

My survey of life infernal on the planet is: a good portion of its inhabitants are actually working on ways to co-exist with nature instead of against or to conquer Nature. This exertion of energy would be more beneficial to all inhabitants. Why has this taken so long?

People don't want to die. The impending threat of extinction on humanity's part is enough to scare people to action and clean up their act. When the Grim Reaper is reporting for duty, people will pray for a miracle, sell their soul, sacrifice chickens, or check-out emotionally. Others will dance in the street having a party. I guess if you have to die; die happy.

I penned this commercial down as a poorly worded advertising slogan. There are people that do have the mentality Nature is a thing to overcome. Participants in Nature's cycles, who have this relationship with Nature as the enemy to be conquered, are arrogant.

I will interject that I disclude adventurers who have goals to do things like climb Mt. Everest. These goals do not intel changing the world but changing or manifesting some need inside. There is little carbon foot print on the Earth or the taking of life; unless they lose their own during the expedition.The implication is not to overcome Nature but issues that block them from finishing goals from within.

Humanity's unchecked fingers produce products and services with poor minds sets that bring about global dysfunction. It breeds pollution on the landscape of Nature and we have debilitated the functioning of the Earth to some degree. There are global changes that humanity will not have control over. We must be accountable for trespasses and find solutions to clean up our leftover, messy wake.

Nature reminds us how strong and fragile we are. There is no need to conquer the wilderness. As hunting participants, we need the landscape to exercise our technical and spiritual skills. These skills carry one through life. Propagate that. There is no conquering Nature or being its equal. To do so could possibly cause a dynamic shift in our perception of the wilderness as a thing to trample under foot instead of protect. People say we have conquered space. The universe is big and we have conquered nothing because we barely understand or know where the boundaries are.

Participants in this life can be stewards of Earth and its creatures. We can learn to manage components of the ecosystems to the benefit of inhabitants. Utilizing sustainability to continue cycles and propagate life is a better endeavor than conquering it.

Participants that strive to be God-like by manipulating the course of life, as it is, should be weary of the outcome. Usually we perceive a goal but the different outcomes could be beneficial or tragic. We can't control everything. Just as Jeff Goldblum's character stated in Jurassic Park, “Life will find a way.”

Man will be equal to Nature doesn't seem so relevant. Once humanity is done there will be nothing but a bare, raped landscape filled with deserts, death, and void of its animals. There again, shifting ideology and behavior is going toward the improvement of the environment. Where does one stand in the throws of Nature's wrath? Where ever it is, it had better be humbled. I subscribe more to Cody Lundin's stance of keeping my ass alive; socks or not. All you can do in the end is survive it.

Written by: W Harley Bloodworth

~Courtesy of the AOFH~

The Blurry Face of Hunting

Remember this: There are now a lot of hunters roaming the countryside blurry and out of focus where before it was crystal clear.

I was doing the rounds looking for something interesting to read. I will say now that I am not anyone's social police. I just read things and write for my enjoyment. You can read or pass, rich or poor, nutty bird or sane-whatever. I can show  you some love as long as you don't overstep my boundaries. Boundaries are important. I had to get some.

I found a post on the Outdoor Life blog. Just as soon as I saw it I put my head down and shook it in consternation. It was one of those "I knew this was going to eventually happen" moments but hard headed people who think they are invincible just don't see the hatchet fall for looking at the basket. If one went back and read parts of my blog its like a prophecy almost.

Rewind to 2010. The posting of trophy animal photography was in full swing.

There were several male hunters, female hunters, and people pretending to be the opposite sex to lure people in for blackmail purposes to squash competition, be creepy, or any other unknown nefarious reason. I told these nameless people it wasn't prudent to interact with violent strangers on the internet or even suspiciouos people. Turn them into the FBI I said. I was ignored because an hour later these same individuals were seeking an aggressive audience with mutually aggressive strangers. Just watching the comments made me think, "God what a waste of energy."
I remarked it was not a good idea to leave family pictures on display publically after the hunter intentionally visited sites and antagonized anti-hunting people and vice versa. This was a mutual two way street of battling absolutely nothing tangible with no productive outcome.

I even noticed that a lot of the faceless attackers were rip offs of convict names from public law enforcement sites. How easy to make an online page of a convict then blame your shenanigans on them. Think about it. You're in jail for murder or car-jacking but Betty Sue is using your info to harass Alejandro online for posting a trophy photo. Not saying this is the case all the time but it could happen.

My second thought was if they are hunters why aren't they hunting instead of playing tag-you-are-it on social media. For me it made me not want to hunt because it disgusted me. I stopped looking at such things. My life returned to a normal happy place.

There was one site that all this negative corruption made birth on social media. I told my brother and  he was extremely irate. I eventually cut ties from that controversy because it was not worth being dragged into someone else's self created mess only to be pulled down by it. I also had a moment where as an indivdual I said, "This is not me. I am not a follower of bullshit and melodrama. I am a hunter". I sat back and watched these hunters and huntresses get sucked down into a problem they helped create. Now they are crying about it. The Blame Game phantasm begins where anti-hunting spooks haunt them but no one is really there.

At one point it really got rich.

Someone started blaming me for all their problems. I wasn't the one at the computer tapping away at the keyboard. No sir.  There is always people who do wrong then try to put the blame on another person so they don't have to face the consequences of their actions. To me this is what it looked like. The person walked into the woods, started a fight with a bear then really thought he or she would walk out without that bear ripping his or her head clean off. When they took this little trip into the mouth of Bear Hell they didn't even go prepared or even think out what would happen next; left all their hunting skills at the edge of the forest and forged ahead into the stupid bliss of controversy and murder threats.

Somewhere in me I feel somewhat sorry for these hunter people. Somewhere......

Then there were the now sensitive huntresses and hunters who saw a anti-hunter hiding in the dark shadows, under rocks, and peeping out from their keyboard.  After that came the direct attacks from hunters onto other hunters who had a differing opinion because they were now "secret anti-hunters", "tree hugger", or whatever nice label could be applied. I observed this was also a form of black balling, character attacking, low common dirty pool on the part of hunting competitiors. It always seemed to me the loser was the winner and the followers of the hunter who used character attacks was the losers. At least that hunter or huntress that stood their ground, didn't play dirty pool, and stood for something was the real deal. That's the one that can look themselves in the face in a pool of water and know who they are.

It was kind of comical because you can still see it on feeding streams. The post will go like this:

Poster points virtual finger and declares, "This looks like anti-hunting sentiment". If you say anything to the contrary the virtual finger points right back at you, "You're an anti-hunter" whether it is true or not. They tell all their friends  in private messages then you are the black sheep of the family or the hunting world. Baaa. Unfortunately no one asks you if this is true for not wanting to get pulled into the vortex of drama. Better to go with the devil you know.

I had hunters lurking around my private page, passive-aggressively posting things to engage me in battle as another hunter-huntress or pretender. At least if they can get you to argue with them its negative press but press all the same. I was scratching my head, said fuck it, I don't need this; goodbye.

One bad experience I had was friending a 'huntress' but she allowed other male hunters to attack a female hunter on her page then didn't say anything. She advertises she promotes females hunting and encourages it but allows male hunters to beat up on females as long as she's immune. This is how you question a motive by people's true behavior. Instead of breeding friendship or making a new colleague it was better to kick dirt in someone's face along with the men. Every now and again when her pages are not active she throws in the old anti-hunter ploy. Now she dreams of being the Queen of the Hunting Heap. Good luck to you; its lonely at the top because someone is always trying to push you off. As for me, I am riding the dirt roads on my white trash golf cart, carefree as a wild bandicoot.

I have also had this happen to me as well. When you have more than two men jump on one woman in one conversation that is suppose to be taking part in the same sport that female must either be a major threat or one awesome woman.

Yes these are bad experiences but when you know who you are it doesn't matter. All these bad behaviors and mistreatments are not doing anything for interpersonal relationships between hunters or huntresses. It just makes people look mean and self-centered on me, me, me; (all the way home).

I know I am not the only person this has happened to? I have spent the last four years looking for a female hunter to friend but there is none to be had.
Nowhere.......

Now going back to the previous mention of blurry faces. I looked at the image. Outdoor Life blurred out the face as requested. This being a type of defacing of the self by one's own hand no matter the reason. Self-effacing is defined as making your acts inconspicuous. A little late for that.  Now you have pressure on hunters to 'remove their face' from trophy photos. The groups against hunting now can pressure the hunters into marring their faces robbing them of media accolades over trophy photos and do it by the hunter's own hand and decision. This would be the first step in wiping it off of social media. The face today, the body, then the whole picture. Gone.

Yet there is still some things Angelia has yet to tell you............


Written by: W Harley Bloodworth

~Courtesy of the AOFH~

Homo Homini Lupus

Remember this: Homo Homini Lupus in Latin means, "Man is a wolf amoung men".


I really must inform you, this is not an 'anti-hunting' treatise where wolves are concerned. There are laws regulating that endeavor which makes it legal, so it's fair game until someone in the Big House decides it's time to give it a rest.
This piece is more how I respect such a thing because I am such a thing (metaphorically speaking).
No,  I do not change at the full moon, run naked, and all the while killing sheep or small children.
The truly understanding reader would be open to this explanation and not one that immediately scoffs to disregard the commentary. They are in denial. Ego has blinded them from what is naturally wild within them. When I say wild, I do not mean savagery. Savagery is beyond control. There is always protocol in the Animal Kingdom,  even where killing is concerned, unless you have the rogue. The rogue beast can have its defining factors of what it will and will not do.  The animal that is without bounds is what one would consider a killing machine; without any kind of prejudice. As a human being, I chose not to be a killing machine, where life is without value.
This is one of the concerns for hunters and huntresses. When does hunting stop being hunting? At what point do you become nothing more than a killing machine? Once you have quested and succeeded with every animal species,  when do you turn to or on man? Could this happen?
I found this quote while researching and its always stayed with me. Aside from the fact that man does not have the same characteristics of the wolf in physical form,  but shares a kind of hierarchy of levels, from dominant alpha to the lower less dominant omega. There are similarities in intellect, mating, and somatics. In life,  we refer to human packs as cliques. A clique in  itself can be benevolent or exceedingly violent. There is always a ring leader and his/her followers, for good or bad. The underlings will do everything the leader wants because there is a limited amount of protection to be had in one. The dire part is being tossed out. Having to find a new way  is probably more beneficial because the atmosphere of your life changes for the better. The 'lone wolf' as it were, is the most free. That person can go their own way without being under the heel as a suppressed person or held back by another person's decisions. They can choose to be with whomever they want but move in and out of territories. I have wondered why people give that kind of power to others who  are beneath them,  but it happens.
I then laugh and say, "Why didn't people in antiquity pick a porcupine?" A porcupine is mean enough and will leave you with presents in the form of quills. It reminds me how kings use lions as their representing mark when a male lion is a dandy. The only thing magnificient about him is his hairy coif.
I have read that Homo Homini Lupus can be translated as man's aggression against one another. This can be seen on the internet and in war, class, or ethnic torn countries. I have also noticed from the online banter,  in a most unfriendly way,  the conversations between hunters and huntresses range from  arguments over hunting technique, imagery, and whose the coolest hunter of them all.
It's my belief anyone that wants to hunt properly is more than adequate.
There are also people that legally know they can't kill but will exert their aggression on another person because violence is achieved to some degree,  if not fully.
Man is known to hunt. Wolves are known to hunt. They could possibly hunt each other in the right circumstance if presented with it.
I always took movies into consideration that were about lycanthropy. On one hand, the moon drives the character crazy. It's almost always about a man that turns into a wolf or has wolf attributes. He loses his humanity, to eat and kill things (mostly sheep and people). When the character is not fully animal, he/she is fighting with the  creature inside. In truth, people are always struggling with some inner turmoil. Even now,  you can see it where people are fighting against societal rules and want to be free. Does that mean free to act as wild animals without defining boundaries? There are people courting anarchy but anarchy leads to even more violence because it's unregulated. People have a problem regulating themselves, where right and wrong exist.
In regards to wolves,  you could see it as another species running through the woods with an open season placed on it for hunting purposes. It has no meaning other than nuisance or quarry. Value comes from its fur,  which I wouldn't eat one,  but I am sure there are people out there that eat anything,  much like a goat.
There are people that need to believe in things, even at the exasperation of others that do not share their beliefs or views. Is it wrong either way? No.
There are people that come to terms with the close association of the other. Humans have the uncanny ability to extend a certain amount of respect to another animal species while knowing that respect will not be returned, acknowledge or seem real to the other. That is man's coming to terms with the sameness in the other animal, even if they come to kill one another. I like to think in terms of the idea that man thinks to itself, "I can take your life but choose not to do so right now." We can mentally chose.
After some previous research the moon has also been  representative of a woman's female parts which has been known to drive men crazy, so maybe some of that is about the relationship of women. Of course there is Cleopatra and Helen of Troy.  All kinds of violence ensued after a man fell in love/lust with them.
You, as the hunter or huntress,  can always choose your behavior. You can choose how you present yourself and treat other people. You may be an animal but you are not a savage.
As far as wolves go,  there are those that look at this animal as a nuisance or just another dog. It has been my long held belief that nothing is above you or below you. Being egotistical by having a condescending attitude,  by devaluing a creature with dismissal, would lead you to devalue the idea of life itself. As long as you can learn something from it to help you understand yourself; to kill a wolf is to kill a hunter. You, as a hunter, could kill yourself metaphorically because not revering something that teaches lessons in the natural realm as you would percieve it in yourself would mean you are denying or killing off that part of you ( that you wish to deny) is thereby its equal. Man is a wolf amoung men. Man is a wolf in heart. Man is a hunter and a predator. Man is man.

~Written by: W Harley Bloodworth~

~Courtesy of the AOFH~