Secondly- I think one of the main issues is the top of the food chain is missing. The animals that hunt the dear need territory and unfortunately man has taken it from them or just murdered them out of fear or sport. In Yellowstone, wolves have been reintroduced and the elk and deer populations have become more under control. The wolves are thriving and so is the rest of the ecosystem. Maybe if the government considered some reintroduction programs then some natural “thinning” could start to occur. Every ecosystem has such a delicate balance and unfortunately man’s reckless invasion of these ecosystems has brought forth problems that have no simple solutions. If they must be hunted then I believe they should be put to use just as the Native Americans did with their food. Use the hides for warmth, the meat for food, etc.

I wish people could demonstrate respect for all of nature and humbly consider all of the Earth’s resources as borrowed. This attitude actually seems to be emerging.

Viewing all of Mother Earth’s children (from ants to antelopes) with respect, empathy and even love seems to be a further leap. But isn’t it so rewarding?

I personally don’t believe in hunting for sport, and I still haven’t made up my mind whether killing and eating animals is a humane choice. At the same time, I understand that meat eating is practiced in many cultures throughout the world and likely is not going to disappear as a practice any time soon.

As far as the overpopulation of deer is concerned (or the presence of animals displaced from their natural habitats to suburban neighborhoods ), it seems that man creates these problems. We killed off natural predators for deer (because those predators would kill us), and now we must find a way to manage the overpopulation of deer. We destroyed parts of the Everglades, and the animals left the Everglades and wandered into human neighborhoods.

Honestly, I am not certain what the answer is or should be to coping with problems of overpopulation. I raise the issue of human overpopulation because we would never consider dealing with our own overpopulation with outright violence. I agree that educating women is a positive measure for all cultures, although at the same time, how many children a woman chooses to have must be a decision left up to the individual culture, family, and childbearing woman. At the same time, as a species, we have an overpopulation problem.

These issues are complicated, and sigh, all I wanted to think about, as I noted, when I sat down to write, was how to cope with the birds, ants, and raccoons in my own yard and house. We cannot ignore the fact that we are all interconnected and at times are stomping all over each other.

Harmonious living, nature and all, is possible though, isn’t it?