The only way I ever liked squirrels was when my momma would cook them up. My daddy was a hunter and we ate the deer, squirrels, rabbits, pheasants and doves that he hunted. (Yes, in North Carolina there is a legal dove season and yes we do shoot them and yes we eat them.) My city-boy husband was absolutely amazed to hear that I had actually eaten squirrels. Not only had I eaten them...I LOVED them. I haven't had any squirrel since I was a child but my momma's stew was such a treat. Momma even cooked and served the head in the stew and one lucky person would get the head to crack open and eat the brains. That's DEFINITELY not a good idea now given the possibility of contracting Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Enough about squirrels...how about the Golden Girls? I began this post with squirrels because our dogs are excellent squirrel dogs. (Forget about hunting dogs that will tree a squirrel for you. They hunt by observation.) They do their hunting from inside the house. And occasionally out on the deck.
The girls look out at the rain. They are actually looking at a squirrel.
They don't seem very excited.
In fact, they are lying down on the job.
But their eyes are still on the squirrel and they are at the ready.
Why so nonchalant about the squirrel?
He's running in the tree. He's not on the deck or railing.
A squirrel on the deck is another story!
As you can see in this terrible photogaph, this squirrel is VERY frightened at the dogs.
Honestly, I think if he had fingers he would salute them or thumb his nose.
To their credit, the girls do at least stand when stalking a squirrel that is on the deck.
And if we open the door they chase the squirrel off and prance around proudly.
And so we have reached the last Friday in January. Many a New Year's resolution has fallen by the wayside. While I never make New Year's resolutions, I do try to think of things I can improve on. In this past week I have seen a great deal of anger on many levels. Too often we let anger continue to fester and just cannot seem to learn when to let it go.
So I leave you with a quote from Buddha:
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.
Good luck to those of you in Florida as you take your turn at watching the mud-slinging. As for everyone?
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!
22 comments:
Oh those diligent Golden Girls! We stalk squirrels in a similar manner - with our camera :)
Excellent quote by the Buddha.
I have referenced your Golden Girls in my post today -- make sure they are present when you read it, they are in for a treat! (of the non-food kind)
When I was a kid, I'd go hunting with my grandpa and uncle, and they would indeed bag some squirrels. Grandma did make stew, and I remember liking it. But the part about the head? Nope. Never. Can't even imagine! My other grandma favorite was fried trout for breakfast, caught by my aunt. That is good eatin'!
Have a great weekend.
Hmmm. Never had squirrel head before, and likely never will even if there weren't a threat of a disease that would eat my brain. I always thought cannibalism and eating diseased cows were the biggest threat, but you bring up another. No risk here.
I like that your girls know which squirrel incidents present the biggest threat. No sense in expending energies on the bushy tailed rats they can't catch. Smart.
I broke my resolution and watched a certain speech telecast live from the University of Michigan today. I'm still more enthralled with someone who presents solutions than I am with the nastiness that is what we call our politics these days.
Have a wonderful weekend! I myself realized I'd reached my limit and took an unexpected mental health day. It couldn't be helped.
Oh Gosh, you ate squirrel and the head (yuk, double yuk).
My Grandfather ate brains.......I never joined him, thank heavens :)
Squirrel is eaten in posh London restaurants. Only the grey, of course, as it is threatening our native red squirrel with extinction. Long live the red squirrel, which is now only found in Isle of Wight and Scotland.
The Golden Girls are so very diligent.
Nella caught four squirrels last year....something I accept but never quite get used to :(
Oh that's funny, I just posted a pic of me looking out the window on this rainy day! My squirrels are hiding, though...very sneaky!
Loved the pics!!
Have a great weekend,
Miley and Maggie
Hi there, Great stories from your childhood; my parents raised rabbit and although I had alot of rabbit dinners-bbq & stew, I never knew they were my pets we were eating. I'm way to visual to think about what we are eating. Hope you have a delightful weekend.
Hugs, Noreen
I'm in total agreement on not liking squirrels, but thankfully we don't see too many around, escept when they got into the top of the barn and chewed boxes. A problem that Grenville with wire netting put around the eaves. Never eaten them myself and honestly don't have any desire, but I can understand eating food that was hunted. Wishing you a wonderful weekend too.
Thank you for that walk down memory lane! I've never eaten squirrel stew with head in, but, yes, I've eaten squirrel, rabbit, deer, and dove, not to mention quail and pheasant, raccoon, and probably a few others. Given how fat they are, we could probably subsist the rest of the winter on our backyard squirrels, but I would miss them terribly. My friend Jamie hates squirrels...she calls them rats that know how to accessorize! I love your girls...thank you once again for sharing them with us!
ha..My uncle used to cook squirrel too..said it taste like chicken. Your pups look like good squirrel chasers..my dad doesnt like squirrels either and has his dog chase them out of the yard.
I was ok with reading about you having squirrel stew as a child, until the brains....ew.
We call squirrels rats with fluffy tails. There aren't too many here.. think the owls and the hawks take care of many of them. Our dogs like to chase squirrels if they come into our yard....lots of fun for them.
We love squirrel stalking. Best hobby ever. Well, that and tennis balls.. and well, chasing your tail.. and well, chasing the cats. Ok, it's way up there anyway! Have a great weekend!
AROOOOOF!
Boondocks & The Love Shack Pack
I just read an article that you would enjoy (I think). Connie Schultz is married to Sherrod Brown (one of our Ohio Senators). She is SUCH a good writer - I follow her on Facebook & she posted this article that will be in the Sunday Parade: http://www.parade.com/news/views/connie-schultz/120129-the-bird-feeder-wars.html
The girls would be on their feet every minute if they were at our house. We seem to constantly have squirrels on the deck. I almost wish hunting were legal here -- I'd even be willing to try some squirrel stew if it would help get rid of a few of them.
Have a great weekend.
I've never had a dog that would sit quietly while any varmint was outside. Good girls!
"Skinned rats" my bride was heard to say when I presented some to her for cooking years ago....
I really like squirrels for their problem solving abilities and for their amazing athletic stunts.
However if you remove that cute tail, it looks very much like a rat so I can see why not everyone loves them. That and the amount of bird seed they can consume. I had a bunch in Florida, not a bushy tail in sight here.
Really---the brains????
The little bastards are unappreciated here, too. The granddog had the yard cleared for awhile, but now that she's gone back to her peeps, our lazy old cocker ignores them.
I can't remember... did you see Winter's Bone? They showed how to skin a squirrel in there and I realized I'd probably rather fix stone soup. I'm impressed that you have eaten them. Should you get a craving, just come on over. Bring the dogs.
I think squirrels are neat--as long as they are NOT in my bird feeders. For that reason alone, I hate 'em. But I too have eaten squirrel, in stews (but without the heads) and fixed in a pressure cooker. Good stuff! But it has been decades. As for doves, I had to laugh at the fight over dove hunting in Michigan a few years ago when they allowed it--it was always the first season to open in NC, on Labor Day if I remember correctly.
I could hardly read anything after the image of squirrel brains were in my head!
Your girls are great hunters...perhaps they learned to loathe squirrels from the master? :)
I love this quote!
Oh my... My stomach was already feeling a little bad before the squirrel stew and brains story. Yuck!!!!
Maybe you can train those beautiful golden girls to kill squirrels for a stew?
I love the Buddha quote.
I have never heard of eating squirrels. I hate them too as they do a lot of damage in my garden shed.
Up here, we have those flying squirrels. the Herd thinks they are totally unfair as they glide over their heads.
Post a Comment