Philippine Red Bellied Pita ~ One Sighting In 23 Years

 Back in the day my eyes were pretty good. But Even now I would spot this lady in an instant.

The Green Man

On our patio

There was a time, about 80 years ago, when the men would gather, arm themselves with spears and hunt wild pig and spotted deer. They hunted them to extinction. Now the men gather, arm themselves with air rifles and hunt sparrows and other small birds.

There was a time when the people used slash and burn for agriculture. There weren't many people and there was a lot of forest so it worked. Now the local population has exploded. Most of the forest has been cut down. The remaining farmers still use slash and burn for agriculture. But it doesn't work very well  because they keep slashing and burning the same land.

There was a time when not many people lived on the mountain. It made sense to dig a pit and use it as an outdoor toilet. When the ground got soggy and smelly dig another pit. Now where there was 1 family there may be as many as 50. Instead of a pit they install a crude septic tank system. The problem is that whoever lives below you is living in your drainage field.  Not a very good system!

Here you might expect me to offer THE SOLUTION to the problem, and I sincerely wish I could. But Everything M'Lady and I have tried has failed.

Change requires people of good will to come together, honestly examine the problem and work together to solve whatever needs solving. That is simply not happening here.

Differences in religion, caste, education and power drive the people apart. Those who have enough for their greed, won't share with those who don't have enough for their needs. 

Certainly there are those who fight this system. And I must admit, fight it better than I ever have. But they are few in number and as of now low in influence. 

But if the few people of good will are willing to fight on I will gladly join with them. Not that I'm an influencer but every little bit helps. Or at least that's what I've been told.

The Green Man #Courage_On