Cooperative Living May 2017 - 6

Mailbag
FOR NATURE'S SAKE,
KEEP YOUR DOG LEASHED
The decline in numbers
of American woodcock,
noted in the February
issue's Feathered Friends
column, is, unfortunately,
being noticed in most
ground-laying birds and
small mammals. Not
only is this decline
due to loss of habitat
as discussed in the
article, but it is also due to
the poor habits of pet owners.
All too often, people allow dogs off
leash in natural areas: historic battlefields,
regional parks, national parks, beaches and
wetland areas. Many times people choose
to ignore postings that clearly state all dogs
must be on leashes at all times.
The postings are not present to limit a
person's enjoyment of the area.
People need to understand that these
postings are intended to protect and
preserve nature in these areas.
I have observed dogs running off leash
through dunes, digging furiously into
unprotected turtle nests. I have seen dogs
off leash, chasing and catching ducklings
paddling along in streams at a local
battlefield. I have listened to rangers
recount the horrors of dogs running loose
and devouring the eggs and hatchlings of
nesting shorebirds.
We need to remember, this world is on
loan to us from future generations. We
should be good stewards of that which
belongs to our children and grandchildren.
Please be responsible. Keep your dogs
on leashes when visiting natural areas.
- Carrie White, via email
WhatzIt?
Take your best guess at this photo of a
familiar but unidentified object. Send it in
writing with your name, address and phone
number to WhatzIt?, c/o Cooperat ive Living,
P.O. Box 2340, Glen Allen, VA 23058-2340;
or guess online at www.co-opliving.com
under " Contests. " Dead line for entries is
May 17, 2017. All correct entries will be put
into a drawing and a winner announced in
the July 2017 issue. The winner will
re ceive a check for $25. 
UPSIDE-DOWN GLOVES
INDICATE NON-GARDENING
MODELS
I love, love, love the magazine,
especially Margo Oxendine's
column. I just had to reach out
and share that my 5-year-old
grandson, Joshua, noticed that
the March-April issue's cover
models " must not garden very
much since their gloves are
upside down. "
- Kirstin Andrews, Dinwiddie
MOUSE LETTER LEFT
READER DISTRAUGHT
I look forward to the arrival of
my Cooperative Living magazine,
appreciating the beautiful pictures, and
interesting articles, and I enjoy trying
to solve the various puzzles and reading
the other parts of the publication.
My favorite is the last page, Rural
Living, the column written by Margo
Oxendine. Her stories can leave us
laughing, crying, emotional, but she
always writes with humor. My point is
I finish reading the magazine with
good feelings.
The February issue began with the
Mailbag letters about various topics. In
this issue's Mailbag, also, there was a letter
about a mouse caught in a trap. It was a
lengthy story about the death of a field
mouse, an animal that feels fear and pain
as we do.
Neither my husband nor I was amused
by this horrible story of suffering and
reading this letter in its entirety (which
was hard to do) left us distraught, certainly
sad, but wondering " what was the point? "
I failed to see how this letter had any
connection to co-ops and wondered why
you printed it.
Thank goodness you ended your
magazine with Margo's column, because
you began by printing a sad and painful
letter.
- Frances Menefee, Luray
STEPHENS CITY SET FOR
BIG WEEKEND
Come May, a little town will celebrate.
Nothing unusual about that as Stephens
City in the Northern Shenandoah Valley
does this every Memorial Day weekend at
something called the Newtown Heritage
Festival ( " Newtown " being one of the
town's many names over the years since
its chartering in 1758).
As president of this festival these last six
years, I've written to Cooperative Living's
Mailbag before, hawking our delightful
rite of spring. I wish I could say something
is spectacularly new or different about
the festival this year, but I can't. And
maybe that's a good thing. Constancy and
continuity, especially in small towns, are
compelling virtues.
What I do wish to convey in this note is
the special-ness of this particular festival.
It's our 25th, and we on the festival board
are doing our utmost to give it a little extra
boost - without being something more
than we are: a tiny Virginia town
FEBRUARY
WHATZIT?
The February 2017
WhatzIt?
was the tip
of a key. Reader
Tina Webster
of Horntown
was our
$25 winner.
 DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?
4 | Cooperative Living | May 2017
Congratulations,
Tina!
www.co-opliving.com
WRITE US!
We want to hear from you - comments,
opinions, suggestions. Your letter must be
signed and legible. We reserve the right to
edit for grammar, style and length, with
a 250-word maximum for acceptance.
Write: MAILBAG, P.O. Box 2340, Glen Allen, VA
23058-2340; or email mailbag@co-opliving.com.
Please include your name and city/town of
residence, with Mailbag as the subject.
NOTE
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Cooperative Living May 2017

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