For your reading pleasure, a passage that wasn’t good enough for my book. (I have been cutting mercilessly, especially the parts that are about me more than they’re about the river). – Wes
I had deluded myself into thinking that I could scrape by the way earlier people had along the Sabine River, with a garden and a gun.
Though I had never been much of a hunter, I had inherited a good rifle from my father, and I borrowed a twelve-gauge shotgun from a family friend. I shot a few ducks in a flooded creek bottom, then found a tall hardwood tree that seemed like a good place for squirrels. Long about dusk, one of them revealed himself. I fired but missed widely. The rodent scurried to the back side of the tree. I could see his head peeking out, so I fired twice more. Two more misses. With all the stealth I could muster, I crept to the other side and got him good. In all, it took four shots to kill one squirrel. It was nighttime now in the woods. I grabbed the dead rodent by the tail and — since I’d forgotten my flashlight — felt my way back to the road. I was trying to clean him on the front bumper of my jeep, in the headlights’ glow, when a game warden pulled alongside me. I recognized him. He was a young guy who had stopped me a week or two earlier when I had been hog hunting with my friend Buddy.
“Was that you firing all them shots?” the warden now asked.
“Yeah,” I answered, feeling sheepish. “I kept missing him.”
“Huh,” is all he said.
I asked if I was cleaning the squirrel correctly. Its carcass had become a gunky mess of hair and blood on my bumper.
“That’s about like how they do it,” he said. “Can I see your hunting license?”
He unfolded the piece of paper and looked it over. Not a single tag had been used. Not for white-tailed deer. Not for turkey.
“Why, you ain’t shot nothin’,” he said.
The young warden watched as I finished cleaning the squirrel, then told me to be safe and headed back to his truck. By then, about half of the squirrel’s fur had stuck to the blood on my hands, drying in clumps, so I walked down to the creek to wash it off. I couldn’t see the water, but I knew from memory that I was getting close. I took one step too many and fell over a small ledge. The icy water was so deep my toes didn’t touch bottom. I flailed and grasped for anything on the bank to pull myself out. Water was filling up my rubber boots. I grabbed a tree root and jammed the toe of my boot into the mud, and slowly I climbed up from the water. As I rolled onto dry ground I saw the game warden drive past, with no idea what had just happened. I was thankful, because it spared me any further embarrassment.
The following day, I redeemed myself — sort of — when I felled two squirrels with one shot. I was able to accomplish this feat because one of the squirrels had mounted the other. Because they were mating. In a tree. In a pasture beside my backyard. A couple of weeks later, I shot three more squirrels in a flood bottom to console myself after an unsuccessful duck hunt. By now, I had enough squirrels for a stew.
One day when Buddy’s wife wasn’t home, I brought over the six carcasses, and we started cooking. As I snapped green beans and chopped potatoes and onions and other vegetables, Buddy fried a slab of bacon, dredged the squirrels in flour and browned them in the drippings. Before long, the pot was simmering, and a rich aroma wafted through the house. It smelled delicious. We let the squirrels stew for a couple of hours, then lifted the lid to take a look.
What we saw then made our stomachs churn. Dozens of half-inch hairs were swimming in the pot. We ladled some into bowls and found even more fur. The hairs clung to the meat, and they stuck to the vegetables. Buddy swallowed a few bites.
“It has a good flavor, but I’m just not that hungry,” he said.
As I pulled a particularly long strand of hair through my teeth, I realized I wasn’t very hungry either. I offered to divide up the leftovers with him, but Buddy insisted that I take home the entire pot. His family wouldn’t get around to eating it, he said, and I was a bachelor who could use a few home-cooked meals. Thanks.
1,643 responses to “Squirrel fur in the squirrel stew”
Its like you learn my thoughts! You seem to understand so much approximately this, such as you wrote the e book in it or something. I feel that you could do with some percent to force the message house a little bit, but instead of that, that is great blog. A great read. I will definitely be back.
??? ????????? ????????? ??????????? ???? ??????????? ?????? ?? ?????
?????? ???????? ??????????, ????????????? ????????? ???????????, ?????????????? ??? ????????????.
Woah! I’m really digging the template/theme of this website. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s very difficult to get that “perfect balance” between superb usability and appearance. I must say you’ve done a excellent job with this. In addition, the blog loads extremely fast for me on Safari. Outstanding Blog!
????? ?????????? ?????? ??????????? ? ??????????? ?????? ???????? ? ??????? ????????.
????? ????????????? ?????????? ??????????, ??????? ???????? ???????? ???? ? ????? ????????? ??????? ? ?????????.
????? ?????? ?????????????? ??????! ????? ????? ?????????????? ??????????, ??? ??????? ??? ????? ????????? ?? ???. ? ???? ??? ?????? ? ???????? ?????? ??????? ? ?????????????? ?????????.
?????? ???????? ????? ? ???????????? ?????????, ????????????? ??????????? ?????????.
??? ?????? – ????????? ???????! ??? ?? ?????? ???????? ???????? ??????????, ?? ? ???????????? ? ??????? ? ???????? ?????????. ? ?????????? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ? ???????? ?????? ??????????? ? ????????? ?????????.
????? ?????????? ?????? ??????????? ? ??????????? ????????? ???????, ????????? ? ?????.
Hello my friend! I wish to say that this post is amazing, nice written and come with almost all vital infos. I would like to peer more posts like this .
????? ???????????? ????????? ????? ?????? ?? ???????? ??? ????????????.
???????? ?????????? ??? ???, ??? ????????? ???????? ???????????? ?????????????.
? ????? ?? ???????? ??????????????? ?????? ?? ??? ???????? ????????? ???? ? ??? ??????????? ??????????? ?????????? ?? ???? ?? ???????. ? ??-?????????? ?????????? ???? ??????? ? ????? ????? ??????!
????????? ? ?????? ???????????? ?????????? ? ??????????.
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyhow, just wanted to say fantastic blog!
????? ?????? ???????????? ????????, ???????? ?? ????? ? ?????????? ??????.
Does your blog have a contact page? I’m having problems locating it but, I’d like to send you an e-mail. I’ve got some recommendations for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it improve over time.
This is a very good tip particularly to those fresh to the blogosphere. Simple but very accurate info… Appreciate your sharing this one. A must read post!
Hello! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok. I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look forward to new posts.
Hey! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 4! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the outstanding work!
????????? ? ?????? ???????????? ?????????? ? ??????????.
Thank you, I have recently been searching for information approximately this topic for a long time and yours is the greatest I have discovered till now. But, what in regards to the conclusion? Are you positive in regards to the supply?
?????? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ???????? ? ???????? ???????? ? ??????????? ????????.
????? ???????????? ????????? ? ???????????? ? ??????????????.
Hi there everybody, here every person is sharing these knowledge, so it’s fastidious to read this website, and I used to pay a visit this blog daily.
????? ???????????? ??????? ???? ? ???????? ? ????????? ????? ??? ??????? ?????????.
Wonderful blog! I found it while surfing around on Yahoo News. Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Thanks
?????? ???????? ????????? ???????? ??????? ? ?????????, ??? ???? ?? ??????? ??????????? ? ?????-???? ???????.
????? ????????? ???? ???????????, ????? ???????? ????? ?????????????? ??????????? ????????? ??????? ????.
????? ?????? ????????????? ?????????????? ??????????, ?????????? ?? ????????? ??????????.
?????? ?????????? ??????????? ????? ????, ???????????? ????????? ? ????????.
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You clearly know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could be giving us something informative to read?
Hi there, I check your blogs on a regular basis. Your writing style is awesome, keep up the good work!
May I simply say what a comfort to discover an individual who truly knows what they are talking about on the net. You definitely know how to bring a problem to light and make it important. A lot more people really need to read this and understand this side of the story. It’s surprising you are not more popular because you definitely possess the gift.
?????? ???????? ?????? ?? ?????????? ? ???????????? ?????????, ??? ?????? ?? ???????? ? ???????????.
?????? ???????? ?????????????? ??????? ??? ???, ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ????.
?????? ???????????? ????????????? ????????? ? ???????, ?????????? ?? ???????????? ?????? ? ?????????? ??????.
Howdy would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re working with? I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m having a tough time selecting between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique. P.S Apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!
?????? ???????? ????????????? ? ??????????? ????????????? ????.
?????? ???????? ??????????? ????? ? ????????, ?????????????? ? ??????????? ??????.
????? ???????? ? ????? ??????? ? ??????????? ????????, ???????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??? ??????????.
??? ?????? – ???????? ??????????? ? ????? ??????! ? ???????? ?????????? ?????? ?????? ? ??? ??????????? ??????????? ?????????? ? ????????????? ?????. ??? ????????????? ????????????? ??????!
? ???????? ???????????? ? ???????? ????????????, ??????????????? ? ???? ??????. ????? ??????????? ???????? ????????? ? ???? ????????? ??????? ????. ??? ????????????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ??????????????.
?????? ??????? ??? ???????? ???????? ????????? ????????, ? ??????? ? ?????? ?? ???????????.
Hello there! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I truly enjoy reading through your posts. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same topics? Thank you so much!
A fascinating discussion is definitely worth comment. I do believe that you ought to write more about this subject, it may not be a taboo matter but usually people don’t discuss such issues. To the next! Cheers!!
? ???????? ???????????? ? ???????? ????????????, ??????????????? ? ???? ??????. ????? ??????????? ???????? ????????? ? ???? ????????? ??????? ????. ??? ????????????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ??????????????.
When someone writes an piece of writing he/she keeps the plan of a user in his/her mind that how a user can be aware of it. Thus that’s why this piece of writing is great. Thanks!
I like what you guys are usually up too. This sort of clever work and reporting! Keep up the superb works guys I’ve included you guys to blogroll.