quills and thrills

personality, porcupines and permaculture

I’ve seen a lot of dead rodents in my time.

The list includes but is not limited to:

Rats and squirrels with tire marks across their backs, they were mostly just fur and skin remaining. The grackles likely got the brains as soon as their skulls popped like little, boney rodent zitz.

Rats and their babies attacked and consumed by crows.

Countless mice killed by cats. I once saw Trevor kill, torture and eat a little field mouse in less than nine minutes.

I’ve fed live mice to snakes that a buddy had as a pet.

Then there are the porkeys. I’ve seen porcupines die by: Shot gun, rifle, drowning, axe, rake, garden shovel, pitch fork, crossbow and 2x4.

I am not a fan of rodents.

And I’m also not a fan of killing them either.

When it comes to animals, I’m speciesist in my adoration: Cats, humans, horses, dogs - then the rest of the creatures are essentially food.

I had a problem though.

There were porcupines on the property and they posed a threat to my dogs. But problems are just that - ‘problems’ b…