Sunday, November 1

It'll take a few days for me to adjust to the time change. I went to bed at my usual 10:30 p.m. time last night, which was 9:30 after we set the clocks back. We watch TV until we get drowsy after we go to bed, but last night I had trouble turning the TV on with the remote, and then I couldn't set the sleep timer. Hubbie changed the batteries in the remote control, which didn't help. It completely died anyway. There doesn't seem to be a function on the TV itself for setting the time, so we just watched for about 30 minutes, and I hopped up to turn the TV off.

By that time, I was alert, and it took a while to get sleepy. We woke up after 8 a.m. on this perfectly gorgeous, mild fall day. It was nearly 9 a.m., though, before we had breakfast. After that, I got on the treadmill and did weights exercises. I usually skip my exercises on Sunday, but since I missed a couple of days last week, I decided I needed a session this morning.

Mother came over while I was on the treadmill and put chicken and vegetables in the slow cooker. It was a one-pot meal that included potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, and onions and was very good for lunch.

This afternoon, we went to the museum for a program on trapping, by a woman who, after only a few years, has reached the skill level of some men who have engaged in the sport for many years. Last year, she won the trapper of the year award in our state. She and her husband both trap various animals, including beavers, bobcats, raccoons, possums, gray foxes, etc.

To set the mood, she came dressed in a frontiersman type costume, and spent the first part of her program talking about the animals that were once plentiful in our state, but are now thinning or are gone. We no longer have wolves, for instance, and the red fox suffered a disease that has decimated their numbers.

She brought along various traps that are used, demonstrating that the units, though uncomfortable to animals, do not permanently injure them. She stated that her own dog has been caught in the traps frequently, and he/she hasn't received so much as a bruise. Once the animal is caught, trappers use the most humane methods possible to dispatch it quickly and painlessly. She stressed that trappers have a keen sense of respect for animals.

Trappers trap for profit, of course, but the demand for pelts is very low right now, due to the poor economy. Even the most desirable pelts fetch very little money today, she said.

That being the case, she decided to use the pelts from animals she had trapped to have coats made for herself. She showed us several beautiful examples, like one that is a combination of bobcat and fox, and one that is dyed possum. I would never have thought that possum (ugh) pelts could be transformed into something beautiful.

Another unique coat she showed us is a dyed fox and cowhide combination that is 100 years old and as striking and fashionable today as it must have been a century ago. It belonged to her great-grandmother, I think she said, and was reworked to fit her slender frame.

It was an interesting program, though not one we would ordinarily have been attracted to, except that we were curious about a woman being drawn to the sport. I figure it's because her husband is a trapper.

Also, we wanted to visit the museum gift shop, where Mother bought my Christmas present early...a volume on our state's wildflowers. I'll really enjoy this book in the summer, as we travel on camping trips.

We got back home around 4 p.m., but didn't do anything constructive for the rest of the afternoon. After a supper of whole wheat pancakes, with sugar-free syrup, scrambled egg substitute, and fresh fruit, Hubbie I watched TV, as usual.