Feeding a crane

We went fishing off the pier in back of the condo yesterday morning. Noah caught several catfish, which we threw back. My first memory of seeing a live fish was actually a basket full of catfish in Chinatown, one of them spilling on to the sidewalk and looking at me. But Gong gong  (nor I) know how to cook them so back they go to live their lives. One fish, we fed to a crane. hanging out nearby. Even though the fish was helpless there on a wooden deck this crane got into a fighting position, stalking forward (very much like kei lun bo) and then a snap! and the fish was in its beak. It was pretty cool. Though the fish must have died an agonizing death of suffocation. The crane took a while to get it positioned so that it could swallow it.

Today we pretty much did the same thing. Except that Noah caught about 10 fish, even reeling them in himself. And even catching two at a time once. Grace caught one fish. Jonah caught nothing. (But we told him he did catch some of course) Noah would just touch the pole and then the fish would bite. Lucky.

Today's sacrificial fish also had an agonizing death, the crane dropping it several times. Kind of makes you want to be vegan. Not that I have much of a problem with eating fish you catch. But I think it would be nice to, overall, survive off other food and protein, and then eat animal protein occasionally. Today we also went on a Sea life Safari. Apparently there are Stone Crabs that you just eat the claws and throw the rest of the crab back. It can then regenerate those claws. So you can eat an animal without killing it. That's cool.

Even if I ever start being vegetarian, I will never be vegan. Because I have no problem at all with milking animals. But it would be cool is I had my own goat and milked it myself though.

Anyway, Noah had no qualms about playing with and talking to a fish, and asking it not to move, so he could catch it, and then feed it to the crane. (Gong gong says its not really a crane. But it looks like one. Close enough.)

Today there were more birds gathering around hoping for a meal. Even the one that was already fed and who looked like the fish was stuck in its neck for quite some time. Noah chased them. I bet he would kill those too without issue.


Well its good to know where some of your food comes from.
The other fish were returned. I guess when Gong Gong catches the big fish, he first catches these small ones, and then uses them as live bait. Kind of like investing in a big fish for a small fish when you think about it.