I wonder how many years have to pass to allow for a man made change be considered also part of evolution. I once had a biology week in Wales, in a conservationist school and our teacher told us about two schools- the ones that want to take nature and pickle it to have it be as it was X years ago, and the school that understands that nature’s interaction with man is inevitable, so we have to be mindful and respectful for both to thrive. I took that home and remembered it when a friend of mine who studied forestry told me: “remember Ana, a mountain that does not produce will make a desperate owner apply fire to it and sell the charred carcass for development. If we want the mountain to survive we have to consider also the people who live in it”. It is the biggest conundrum ever, right after “what comes first, the chicken or the egg?”
I wish those environmental busybodies would leave your island alone. Ecology is always changing anyway. First they went after your goats. And now this. It’s as though they don’t want you to live self-sufficiently.
Thank you. This is the thing that, ah, really gets my goat, so to speak: We have these Dutch regulators who come in and do an assessment after having been here for typically only a few months, and who have never lived in the tropics before. Then we get these mandates that seem designed to make us less self-sufficient—that also come with finger wagging about how we need to grow our economy.
In another example that I very much hope will not be the topic of a future essay, there’s currently a team of “spatial planning consultants” here who, among other things, want there to be zoning laws. Saba is 5 square miles, and very hilly. There are not separate spaces that could be “shopping” vs. “residential” vs. “industrial.” And what is more, we have tons of home-based businesses here. It’s unclear whether these would get to stay in business if Team Zoning has its way. The longest-serving member of this consultant group will be here for no more than two years, so it’s not like anyone making these plans ever has to live with their consequences. But, you know, we will.
I didn't see the contempt, except maybe for hubristic mandates from on high which would dictate that there is only one right way to do things, whether on an island or in the middle of the continent.
Anyway.
Your post reminded me of some of our dear friends in Florida, who had the space and inclination to start raising chickens in their backyard. When we would meet up to teach the children about science, the kids loved going out to the coop, helping to gather eggs and just generally interacting with the chickens. When a predator got into the henhouse and wrought havoc, they were devastated but undaunted. Where we live now in California, it is possible to buy eggs for hatching and supplies for starting your own coop, but there is permitting involved and neighborhood regulations to obey. I'm sure there are plenty of places to buy local eggs, but it's a bit of a hike.
It’s interesting to me how much regulations on things like backyard chickens vary from state to state in the US, where as you note in Florida it’s pretty straightforward to raise your own birds but in California it’s much more difficult. But I do think that this is one of the great strengths of the US system of government, allowing localities to set the policies that are best for them. In the USA, I see that local freedom as also being at risk from heavy-handed federal regulations, as well as from consolidation of what used to be many smaller businesses more in touch with the community into much larger, and more distant, corporations.
What a great lesson about life and death for the kids who got to see the chickens in Florida! And also, yeah, all those chicken-ish birds can be so, so pretty when you look at them up close—but pheasants are especially beautiful. Great photo of him!
You know, you can buy free range eggs in the US - and they too come with all the unique colors, thicker shells, darker yolks. In the US you simply have the option of buying either fancy eggs or cheaper factory farmed eggs.
I feel like this is similar to a prior post on the cars being uniquely damaged in Saba. Here too, I can opt to grind my door off on a retaining wall. Generally people choose not to as a personal preference.
Saba has attributes, sure, but some of these posts really come off as veiled contempt for the US.
Loving the place you are and wanting it to stay unique is not the same as contempt for another place. But also....this is only tangentially related to the US and the bird flu pandemic because that affects the price of eggs on Saba. But if there's something it's showing contempt for, it's the imposition of Dutch policies about animal management on Saba. It's about structures both in the US and here that limit people's freedom to run their own local lives as they see fit--a topic I know we agree on.
I wonder how many years have to pass to allow for a man made change be considered also part of evolution. I once had a biology week in Wales, in a conservationist school and our teacher told us about two schools- the ones that want to take nature and pickle it to have it be as it was X years ago, and the school that understands that nature’s interaction with man is inevitable, so we have to be mindful and respectful for both to thrive. I took that home and remembered it when a friend of mine who studied forestry told me: “remember Ana, a mountain that does not produce will make a desperate owner apply fire to it and sell the charred carcass for development. If we want the mountain to survive we have to consider also the people who live in it”. It is the biggest conundrum ever, right after “what comes first, the chicken or the egg?”
I wish those environmental busybodies would leave your island alone. Ecology is always changing anyway. First they went after your goats. And now this. It’s as though they don’t want you to live self-sufficiently.
Thank you. This is the thing that, ah, really gets my goat, so to speak: We have these Dutch regulators who come in and do an assessment after having been here for typically only a few months, and who have never lived in the tropics before. Then we get these mandates that seem designed to make us less self-sufficient—that also come with finger wagging about how we need to grow our economy.
In another example that I very much hope will not be the topic of a future essay, there’s currently a team of “spatial planning consultants” here who, among other things, want there to be zoning laws. Saba is 5 square miles, and very hilly. There are not separate spaces that could be “shopping” vs. “residential” vs. “industrial.” And what is more, we have tons of home-based businesses here. It’s unclear whether these would get to stay in business if Team Zoning has its way. The longest-serving member of this consultant group will be here for no more than two years, so it’s not like anyone making these plans ever has to live with their consequences. But, you know, we will.
I didn't see the contempt, except maybe for hubristic mandates from on high which would dictate that there is only one right way to do things, whether on an island or in the middle of the continent.
Anyway.
Your post reminded me of some of our dear friends in Florida, who had the space and inclination to start raising chickens in their backyard. When we would meet up to teach the children about science, the kids loved going out to the coop, helping to gather eggs and just generally interacting with the chickens. When a predator got into the henhouse and wrought havoc, they were devastated but undaunted. Where we live now in California, it is possible to buy eggs for hatching and supplies for starting your own coop, but there is permitting involved and neighborhood regulations to obey. I'm sure there are plenty of places to buy local eggs, but it's a bit of a hike.
On pheasants, I had never seen one in person until just over a year ago, when I was surprised to find one trapped in my yard (https://juliecork.wordpress.com/2023/12/12/and-a-pheasant-by-an-apple-pear-tree/). It took a while for us to figure out just what it was, but my goodness what a beautiful creature!
It’s interesting to me how much regulations on things like backyard chickens vary from state to state in the US, where as you note in Florida it’s pretty straightforward to raise your own birds but in California it’s much more difficult. But I do think that this is one of the great strengths of the US system of government, allowing localities to set the policies that are best for them. In the USA, I see that local freedom as also being at risk from heavy-handed federal regulations, as well as from consolidation of what used to be many smaller businesses more in touch with the community into much larger, and more distant, corporations.
What a great lesson about life and death for the kids who got to see the chickens in Florida! And also, yeah, all those chicken-ish birds can be so, so pretty when you look at them up close—but pheasants are especially beautiful. Great photo of him!
You know, you can buy free range eggs in the US - and they too come with all the unique colors, thicker shells, darker yolks. In the US you simply have the option of buying either fancy eggs or cheaper factory farmed eggs.
I feel like this is similar to a prior post on the cars being uniquely damaged in Saba. Here too, I can opt to grind my door off on a retaining wall. Generally people choose not to as a personal preference.
Saba has attributes, sure, but some of these posts really come off as veiled contempt for the US.
Loving the place you are and wanting it to stay unique is not the same as contempt for another place. But also....this is only tangentially related to the US and the bird flu pandemic because that affects the price of eggs on Saba. But if there's something it's showing contempt for, it's the imposition of Dutch policies about animal management on Saba. It's about structures both in the US and here that limit people's freedom to run their own local lives as they see fit--a topic I know we agree on.
But mainly it's about beautiful chickens.
All good points. Just didn’t want you bashing on us too much :).
Truly do enjoy reading your posts. Huge range of topics you know about. Appreciate you taking the time to create and share.
Thank you! I appreciate your reading, too!