The monkey trap

I don't remember where I heard or read this years ago, but I remember the claim that monkeys could be trapped by their own greed. It was said that if you hollowed out a gourd, put a banana or some other fruit in it, and left a hole through which a monkey could reach to grasp the fruit, it would trap itself because it would be too greedy to let go of the prize and thereby be able to withdraw its hand. I have no idea if this is true. But I think it is a useful model for what Bush/Cheney are doing in Iraq. They have their hands on the Iraqi oil (or at least hope to) and cannot let go because of their greed. They could get out of the mess they have made in that unfortunate country but their greed for oil simply won't let them. You have noticed I hope that at no time have they ever said they would withdraw all troops from Iraq. This is so even though at various times different people have asked them to indicate they would do this. So I repeat for the umpteenth time, Bush/Cheney and the neocons have no intention of withdrawing from Iraq and leaving all that oil in the hands of, as Rove put it, the "the terrorists." They want us to believe that it is only terrorists that oppose our illegal occupation of Iraq, when, in fact, it is the Iraqis themselves that oppose us (and, after all, it is their oil). Do you believe that Cheney's recent visit to Saudi Arabia was to discuss human rights instead of oil, the price and future of that "black gold?"

It is clearly winter here at Sandhill. First we had about a foot of snow. Now, for the past three days the temperature has dropped to below zero (this is unusual for this part of the world). We always have winters, of course, but usually with only minimal amounts of snow and relatively mild temperatures (in the 20's or 30's). Whatever the temperature, it is quite beautiful now, the proverbial winter wonderland. As it is too cold to melt the snow it now hangs heavy on the huge Ponderosa pines that surround our house (the larch have long since shed their needles and stand bare and somewhat forlorn). Wild turkeys have taken to roosting on the rails of our fence, sitting there like huge vultures, waiting for spring and easier times. We have three deer, still sleek and fat, that invade our yard and nibble at everything edible (which for them is just about everything). I find it strange that we rarely see a buck even though they have to be present nearby. Sometimes in the night we hear the coyotes howling, often so near we think they must be just outside our windows. We have an occasional porcupine, sometimes skunks, and once we even had a fisher in our garden. Within a half mile we have seen elk and moose, and a yearling grizzly bear was trapped nearby. Black bears have raided our garbage and an eagle sometimes soars overhead. We are surrounded by huge and beautiful mountains, the Purcells to the east and the mighty Selkirks to the west. We have no hurricanes, typhoons, tsunamis, or earthquakes. There are no poisonous snakes and although there are supposedly some poisonous spiders I have never seen one (nor do I know anyone who has seen one). Our cats have no fleas, there are no snails or slugs to attack our gardens, and, in short, we cannot imagine a better place to live (unless you have no tolerance whatsoever for cold weather and snow for a few brief months).

We eat only beef from Highland cattle raised with no chemicals of any kind and fed on only the first cutting of alfalfa. We eat pork and lamb also raised with no chemicals of any kind. We eat only fresh farm eggs. Most of our vegetables are locally grown and completely organic. What we do not raise ourselves we buy at our local farmers' market (during the summer, of course) and we put up in cans or the freezer what will last us through the winter. We have an absolutely great mechanic, the best dentist I have ever encountered, a competent doctor, a wonderful small hospital, a fine library and a great book store.

Are there no drawbacks? Of course there are. We have only a very limited selection of fish (certainly a far cry from the Santa Monica fish market or Seattle's Pike Place market). It is two and half hours from an airport. We have to drive half an hour or so to buy most anything else (sheets, televisions, cameras, utensils, stuff like that), and the community is exceedingly conservative (only Idaho did not vote democratic in the last election, a red state to the bitter end).

My wife writes an occasional blog, "Idaho Rocks," to try to lure more democrats to come here. I don't want anyone else to come here - but they are. Sigh!