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.
366 responses to “Squirrel fur in the squirrel stew”
It’s awesome for me to have a web page, which is good in favor of my know-how. thanks admin
Greetings from Colorado! I’m bored to tears at work so I decided to browse your blog on my iphone during lunch break. I love the knowledge you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m surprised at how fast your blog loaded on my mobile .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyways, great blog!
????? ???????????? ?????????? ? ????????????? ? ????? ??????????? ???????.
hello!,I really like your writing very so much! share we communicate extra about your article on AOL? I require a specialist on this house to unravel my problem. Maybe that’s you! Taking a look ahead to see you.
?????? ?????????? ????????????? ????? ?????? ?? ????, ???????????? ????????? ??????????? ??????????? ????????? ??????? ????????.
????? ?????????? ???????????? ??????, ??????? ???????? ????? ???????????? ? ????? ???????????? ?????.
????? ???????? ? ????? ??????? ? ??????????? ????????, ???????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??? ??????????.
?????? ?????????? ?????????? ???????, ????? ????????????????? ???? ?????????.
??? ?????? ???????? ????????? ?????????? ??????????? ? ?????????. ??? ?? ?????? ????????????? ??????????, ?? ? ??????????? ? ??????????? ???????? ????. ??????? ??????? ?????? ?? ??? ???????? ? ???????? ?????? ????????????? ????????!
?????? ???????? ?? ??????????? ?????? ? ?????????????.
??? ??????????? ???????????? ??????????, ?????????????? ??????? ??? ???????????? ????? ???????????.
? ????? ? ?????? ????????? ???????????? ??????, ??????? ????? ????????? ? ???????????? ?????.
Appreciating the time and energy you put into your website and in depth information you provide. It’s good to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed material. Great read! I’ve saved your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my Google account.
Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Many thanks, However I am experiencing troubles with your RSS. I don’t know the reason why I cannot subscribe to it. Is there anybody else having similar RSS problems? Anybody who knows the solution can you kindly respond? Thanks!!
I need to to thank you for this fantastic read!! I absolutely enjoyed every little bit of it. I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post…
? ????? ?? ???????? ??????? ????????????, ?????????????? ? ???? ??????. ????? ?? ?????? ??????????? ?????, ?? ? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ? ???????????. ??? ????????????? ?????? ? ????????????? ????????!
??? ?????????? ??????????? ??? ??????, ??????? ????????? ???????? ?????????????? ???????????? ??????.
?????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ? ??????? ?????? ???????, ????????? ? ?????????.
???????, ??? ????? ??????????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ??????????? ????.
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an really long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyhow, just wanted to say excellent blog!
?????? ???????? ???????? ??????????, ??????? ????? ???? ???????? ??? ????????????? ??????????.
????????? ??????????????? ??????????? ?????????????? ??????????? ?????????????? ????? ? ??????? ??????????? ??????.
????? ????????? ?????????? ???????????, ???????? ????????? ???? ???????????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????????????? ??????????.
????? ?????? ???????????? ????????????? ????? ?????? ? ?????????, ???????? ??????? ?????? ?????????? ?????????.
Its like you read my thoughts! You appear to know so much about this, like you wrote the ebook in it or something. I feel that you can do with a few percent to force the message house a bit, but other than that, that is wonderful blog. A fantastic read. I will certainly be back.
????? ?????????? ???????????? ? ?????????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????????????? ?????? ? ??????.
?????? ????????? ???????? ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????.
Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this site. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s difficult to get that “perfect balance” between usability and visual appearance. I must say you have done a very good job with this. Also, the blog loads extremely quick for me on Firefox. Superb Blog!
? ????? ???????, ??? ???????? ??? ??????. ??? ?? ?????? ???????????? ??? ?????????? ?????, ?? ? ??????? ????? ????? ? ????. ????? ????????????? ??????, ??????? ????????? ???? ? ???? ??????!
Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Going through this article reminds me of my previous roommate! He continually kept preaching about this. I am going to forward this information to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!
?????? ???????? ?????? ??????????? ???????? ????????, ??? ???????? ?????? ???? ?????.
?????? ??????? ??? ???????? ????? ?????? ????????????? ? ????????, ??????? ???????????????.
Hi there, I enjoy reading through your article. I like to write a little comment to support you.
????? ????????? ?? ??????????? ? ?????? ??????????, ????? ???????? ????? ???? ???????????????? ? ??????? ??????.
Magnificent beat ! I would like to apprentice even as you amend your website, how could i subscribe for a blog web site? The account helped me a appropriate deal. I had been tiny bit familiar of this your broadcast provided shiny clear idea
????? ?????? ????????????? ????????? ???????? ??????? ? ????????? ??? ?????????? ???????????.
?????? ????????????? ??????, ????? ????????? ??????????? ?????????? ??? ??????? ????????????? ???????.
????? ?????????? ???????????? ???????, ??????? ????? ???? ???????? ? ???????? ?????.
?????? ???????????? ?????? ??????? ?????????, ?? ??????? ???????????? ??? ???????????.
?????? ???????? ??????????? ????? ? ???????????? ????????? ????? ??????. ??????, ??? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ??????, ??? ? ??????? ??????????????? ????.
????? ?????? ?????????????? ??????! ????? ????? ?????????????? ??????????, ??? ??????? ??? ????? ????????? ?? ???. ? ???? ??? ?????? ? ???????? ?????? ??????? ? ?????????????? ?????????.
It’s really very complicated in this busy life to listen news on TV, thus I just use world wide web for that reason, and obtain the latest news.
? ????????? ???? ???????! ??? ?? ?????? ????????????, ?? ? ?????????????. ??? ?????????? ?????? ?????? ? ?????????? ????, ? ? ????? ????? ??????. ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????????? ? ???????? ??????!
Hi there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be okay. I’m definitely enjoying your blog and look forward to new posts.
????? ????????? ??????????? ???????? ??????????, ??? ???????????? ????????????? ???????????? ????.
????? ?????? ???????????? ???? ??????????? ???????? ?? ???????????? ?????????.
? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ?????? ????? ?????? ? ????????????? ?? ? ???????? ???????.
Hi, There’s no doubt that your site could be having web browser compatibility issues. Whenever I take a look at your blog in Safari, it looks fine however, if opening in I.E., it has some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to give you a quick heads up! Besides that, excellent blog!
????? ????????????? ????????? ?????????? ??????? ?????????, ????????? ? ?????.
??? ?????? ???????? ????????? ?????????? ??????????? ? ?????????. ??? ?? ?????? ????????????? ??????????, ?? ? ??????????? ? ??????????? ???????? ????. ??????? ??????? ?????? ?? ??? ???????? ? ???????? ?????? ????????????? ????????!