Guns: "How do I love thee, let me count the ways" (With apologies to Elizabeth Browning)

One reason of course is that with the ability to protect oneself, fewer things in the world are so terrifying that the safety of a tree is the only option.

'Feral pig' chases frightened Texas hikers up a tree. It wasn't a pig, police say

The woman warned the officer that the feral pig was still close by, officials said. It was growling just minutes before the officer arrived, she said, according to the release.

Just then, the hikers heard a sound, officials said. The officer asked whether that was the same sound that caused them to climb a tree, and both the man and the woman nodded, according to the release.

That's when the officer realized the sound the hikers believed to be a feral pig actually was cars crossing rumble strips on a nearby road, officials said.

I compared California to Vermont, which is at once absolutely bonkers, and a paragon of personal responsibility. At least I can hike there with a sidearm, safe in the knowledge that I won't have to climb a tree if I see a particularly menacing frog or full-grown rabbit on the trail, or a suspicious animal of the two-legged variety.

posted by CBD at 12:15 PM

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