instead of Uggs, mukluk boots

[shootingstar]

If I had more money, I would lust after...a beautiful pair of mukluks.

I've always wondered how suede-like leather would hold up in slushy snow. Some of those designs are so lovely. The snow in our region does tend to be drier..but not all the time. But there's a pair that full leather grain. And they are lined for warmth. I would wear a dress coat to work with that too... (Really, I'm past walking with stylish higher boot heel in the winter among rocky ice and snow.)
And I didn't need to look to an off-shore company, for unique winter boots....
http://store.manitobah.ca/collections/mukluks

[TrekDianna]

Oh, how awful. Real fur. It looks much better on the animals.

[rebeccaC]

Oh, how awful. Real fur. It looks much better on the animals.

with so many animal free boots and shoes available now there isn't really a need to be personally part of animal cruelty.

[OakLeaf]

Whoa. I don't participate in the "what did you eat" threads ... is there that level of judgmentalism there, too, against those who eat meat and/or dairy products?!

If it makes a difference, according to the website, the furs and leathers are all byproduct. http://www.manitobah.ca/faq.php

[Owlie]

Whoa. I don't participate in the "what did you eat" threads ... is there that level of judgmentalism there, too, against those who eat meat and/or dairy products?!

I think it's less the shearling and more "fur from cute, non-domestic animals"

[shootingstar]

I really hope some people if you feel so strongly then write to the manufacturer --- it's in northern Manitoba...and they hire aboriginal artists for some of their designs.

Yup, I eat meat several times per month. I've never been vegetarian. I could be if I couldn't have meat for whatever reason. But I haven't done it.

I like finished leather hide shoes..particularily for dress shoes. My feet feels the difference in how leather shapes properly around the foot.

[OakLeaf]

I think it's less the shearling and more "fur from cute, non-domestic animals"

And the convenient forgetting of what happens to animals when you buy petroleum-derived clothing.

[Pax]

If I had more money, I would lust after...a beautiful pair of mukluks.

I've always wondered how suede-like leather would hold up in slushy snow. Some of those designs are so lovely. The snow in our region does tend to be drier..but not all the time. But there's a pair that full leather grain. And they are lined for warmth. I would wear a dress coat to work with that too... (Really, I'm past walking with stylish higher boot heel in the winter among rocky ice and snow.)
And I didn't need to look to an off-shore company, for unique winter boots....
http://store.manitobah.ca/collections/mukluks

My mom and I had matching mukluks when I was a kid. My grandparents lived in Alaska and sent them to us, SOOOOO warm!

[Irulan]

I've been looking up a lot of hunting info as this thread goes along. In some areas back east, and UP MI, blacks bears ARE considered a deer predator, primarily of fawns but also others. Enough that it was noted in numerous places on the web: various state fish&game sites, university studies and so on. I was surprised also as that is not the case out West. It was consistently stated that bears don't run deer down, but they have other ways, especially the taking of fawns.

[Crankin]

We have had black bears running through people's yards in the summer, though not a huge amount. There were some seen on the trails in Estabrook Woods a few summers ago, which necessitated some of the local schools to change their training routes for the x country running teams.
It would be really hard for me to eat totally local in the winter, in terms of fruits and veggies. I eat a ton of fruit, out of season fruit, and I am not going to stop. I always have said it benefits my health and i would rather pay the prices than pay for medical bills. However, I know the carbon footprint aspect of it isn't good, but... as soon as the many local farms start selling their stuff, I only buy from them, and I guess that lasts about 5 months of the year. Been going to a winter farmer's market, but there isn't actually much there, in terms of veggies, except kale and potatoes. The other foods are unhealthy!

[Jolt]

We have had black bears running through people's yards in the summer, though not a huge amount. There were some seen on the trails in Estabrook Woods a few summers ago, which necessitated some of the local schools to change their training routes for the x country running teams.
It would be really hard for me to eat totally local in the winter, in terms of fruits and veggies. I eat a ton of fruit, out of season fruit, and I am not going to stop. I always have said it benefits my health and i would rather pay the prices than pay for medical bills. However, I know the carbon footprint aspect of it isn't good, but... as soon as the many local farms start selling their stuff, I only buy from them, and I guess that lasts about 5 months of the year. Been going to a winter farmer's market, but there isn't actually much there, in terms of veggies, except kale and potatoes. The other foods are unhealthy!

You might be surprised...here is a list of 20 local foods in Maine that the state can supposedly produce for its residents to have year round: http://www.mofga.org/Publications/Ma...0/Default.aspx. It's a pretty decent variety, and doesn't include the many other things that are readily available for part of the year. I'm sure a lot of the same would be true for MA. The only thing is that in the winter there would not be nearly the amount of fresh products available as in the summer--lots of frozen/canned.

[Irulan]

We have had black bears running through people's yards in the summer, though not a huge amount. There were some seen on the trails in Estabrook Woods a few summers ago, which necessitated some of the local schools to change their training routes for the x country running teams.
It would be really hard for me to eat totally local in the winter, in terms of fruits and veggies. I eat a ton of fruit, out of season fruit, and I am not going to stop. I always have said it benefits my health and i would rather pay the prices than pay for medical bills. However, I know the carbon footprint aspect of it isn't good, but... as soon as the many local farms start selling their stuff, I only buy from them, and I guess that lasts about 5 months of the year. Been going to a winter farmer's market, but there isn't actually much there, in terms of veggies, except kale and potatoes. The other foods are unhealthy!

I'm not totally sold on the local concept. I heard a really interesting thing on NPR the other day that was talking about some of the nuances of localvorism. One example that was given was that it takes more of a carbon footprint to bring locally grown product into Manhattan, than it does to bring it it from farther away on more efficient transport than small trucks. Granted, that is a really narrow example but I thought it was a good one.

[shootingstar]

A difference between Inuit meat-based traditional diet and if they were to have it now (instead of more veggies), is that they used to burn their energy, hunting, fishing and ranging the land in the cold.

Not anymore. I was told a lot of the Inuit have lost skills in way finding on the snowy tundras even by snowmobiling, much less by husky dog sledding and kayaking. So more sedentary like other parts of very cold Canada. And going jogging even if you wanted: some the temperatures are the same as Calgary but they have less roads, paths and clear sidewalks. When I was Iqaluit I did see jogger...@-20 degrees C.

I was seriously looking at the cost of living...I was there for a job interview. Years ago.

Even Calgary, the middle of winter, a lot of our fresh veggies and fruits have to be shipped from outside of Alberta. In our region, doesn't seem have major greenhouse operations like B.C. or even Ontario. Yea, sure talk about preserved veggies: I guess for some veggies. But honest, I'm not really into canned veggies much at all nor flash frozen veggies often at all.

I guess there are frozen Chinese leafy veggies...but it is not the same. Let's see, once upon a time, my mother tried drying bok choy. Just too labour intensive for a family of 8 ...it would have to be ALOT of dried boy chok to satisfy a large family. Let's not get into salted veggies....kinda unhealthy.

I'm not going to kid myself: I am not a gardener/natural green thumb. It doesn't interest me. I've done other DIY stuff- sewing my clothing, cook from scratch all my dishes for most of my life so far. (Helps I have a mother who is like this also.) I rarely buy prepared frozen food from store.

[Catrin]

I buy locally where I can and when I can afford it. Am more concerned with helping to support the small local businesses rather than anything else. Also, I really like being able to visit the farm(s) where most of my meat and poultry come from so I KNOW how they were raised. I tend to know the farmers that provide my animal protein rather better than those who produce my vegetables. My food budget is only so large, and it is larger than it once was, but I prefer this approach.

[Crankin]

Jolt, I guess the point I was trying to make, is that I am eating fresh (and flown here) blueberries and oranges, etc. year round. I can't do frozen. I buy locally when I can. Like Shooting Star, I am not a gardner, in fact my thumb is brown. I find it frustrating as hell! So, I am lucky there are at least 5-7 small farms within 10 miles of my house. When I can't go there, I go to a gourmet farm market, which grows stuff that is local, but also ships stuff in. I have never gone there and not found what I wanted, in terms of weird ingredients. They started as a farm, and now they are a market that has baked goods from local bakeries, wine and beer, locally grown meats, and a selection of cheeses I could die for. Thankfully, when I moved, it was further away from this place.