2/17/12 A BAD DOG, AND A MYSTERY AT THE BEACH

BAD DOG!

HIND QUARTERS  OF A YOUNG DEER

WHAT PUT IT THERE? ...BEAR, BIG CAT, EAGLE?

Happy Birthday, Joan! The  years have been kind to you , and  you're still a good lookin' babe! 29 degrees, wind W, calm.  The sky is overcast and it is snowing big, fluffy flakes.  The barometer is trending up, however, and we probably will not have much accumulation.

        Buddy was a very bad dog yesterday!  He bolted out of the house at 11:30 AM and did not return (we looked all over) until 4:30PM, just in time to bark at the door for his dinner.  I fear that he is a runner, and is not bonding with us, but only with his food dish.  We will see. If he had run off like that in unfamiliar territory he would have been truly lost, and ldinner for the wolves.
        In the prospect of looking for Buddy we went to the beach, where we were greeted by a somewhat grizzly sight; the partially eaten hind quarters of a young deer hung high up on a broken tree trunk.  The snow in the area had melted so there were no obvious footprints of man or beast.  I saw this once before some years ago at the beach, but it was only a hind leg, not both hind quarters.  The stump is about six feet high and has a lot of frayed bark that may or may not be claw marks.  It could be the work of a bear, particularly because of the height of the stump and what appear to be claw marks.  Or, it might be the work of a bobcat or cougar, as either would be powerful enough to climb the stump with the trophy in its jaws.
        My best guess, however, is that it was placed there by an eagle large enough to lift the weight, and and put there to be out of the reach of smaller scavengers. Has anyone else seen anything like this, and have any theories?
        Commentary: Unfortunately, there is an analogy between the dog that only bonds with his food dish rather than with his owners,  and the citizen who only bonds with his food stamps rather than with his country.  I think it is both dog nature and human nature to do so.  Ingratitude and untrustworthiness are ingrained in both species, along with their better qualities.