Adventures in Roadkill

Aunt Mel's Deck VIII

2011-02-04T12:20:00.000-08:00

When I repaired Aunt Mel's deck, I did not replace the stairs. One tread in particular looked bad even then. I guess it is time to replace that one.

Eventually we will replace the whole stair, but in the mean time this should fix things up a bit.

Aunt Mel's Deck (part VII)

2009-06-17T07:35:00.000-07:00

Here is the finished deck.

Here are a few more stained boards. We will be heading back up again in a month or so to stain the rest of the deck.

Aunt Mel's Deck (part VI)

2009-06-16T08:12:00.000-07:00

We also built a step at the bottom of the stairs.

I had a first rate crew helping me out.

Aunt Mel's Deck (part V)

2009-06-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

Now for the rail.

I used cedar fence pickets for balusters (needed fewer and cost less, and I like the look).

I used the waterproofing stain on all the ends and places that we won't be able to get to later.

Aunt Mel's Deck (part IV)

2009-06-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

I started with the new deck boards next to the door, so that Aunt Mel could get in and out of her house.

I then worked outward from there.

I stained a few of the boards, we weren't able to finish the staining, so we will be back later to do that.

Aunt Mel's Deck (part III)

2009-06-13T07:43:00.000-07:00

Framing day

We had a couple guys from Aunt Mel's church show up to help with the framing (a big help because this was some of the heaviest lifting of the whole project).

In the end we replaced every other deck joist and all three headers around the stair opening.

Aunt Mel's Deck (part II)

2009-06-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

Destruction time.

I ripped off the rail. (mostly by hand with out tools)

Then I started pulling deck boards. Initially I thought I could just replace a few bad deck boards. But the demo process showed that every board was rotted: some came apart in my hands. No wonder the deck felt soft and creaky.

After all the deck boards were off it was obvious that I had been overly optimistic about the condition of the framing members.

Aunt Mel's Deck (part I)

2009-06-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

So, what did we do on our vacation?

A few weeks ago we visited Aunt Mel and noticed that her deck was in poor shape.

There were rotted deck boards.

The rail was falling apart.

The lateral supports were covered in lichens.

And some of the framing was rotted, even the added in stiffeners were bad.

Since Aunt Mel wasn't able to fix it, we decided to come do it for her.

For some light reading...

2009-02-21T15:16:00.000-08:00

see more pwn and owned pictures

Wanna know about them there love languages?

2009-02-13T18:04:00.000-08:00

This is a blatant attempt to win a book for my lovely wife, and would not normally be a topic in this blog.

But, if you haven't heard about the 5 love languages, then it is about time you did. Please check out Heidi's blog to find out more.

At first I thought a peanutbutter recall wouldn't affect me, but then...

2009-02-06T06:38:00.000-08:00

"Huckleberry Haven Inc. is recalling the chocolate covered peanuts it packages in Novelty "Poop" bags because they could be contaminated with salmonella. No known illnesses have been reported, according to the company. The products were packaged in red, green, black, white or brown paper bags and contain 4 ounces of chocolate covered peanuts. The product label might read: Bear Scat, Bear Poop, Moose Droppings, Buffalo Chips, Deer Droppings, Dino Eggs, Cow Pies, Cow Patties, Fish Eggs, Dino Eggs, Osprey Poop, Lizard Eggs, Monster Eggs, Chicken Coop Poop, Prairie Dog Pebbles or Crew Rations. The products were distributed through specialty and resort retail stores in these states: Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Details: by phone at 800-774-8257."

Where am I going to my Moose Nuggets now?

Dang, I so wanted to go there...

2009-02-03T20:02:00.000-08:00

see more pwn and owned pictures

Smoked Sausage the hard way.

2009-01-31T15:31:00.000-08:00

Wait for your local volcano to pop its top then hang the sausage out the window.

Notice the steam venting. It can pop any time now.

So What Happens On The Side Of The Road?

2008-12-28T07:48:00.000-08:00

This is a calf that was hit hard (who also starred in my video)Here we are skinning him

More skinning

The spine is broken and the abdominal cavity has been punctured.

I didn't show good pictures of it, but I removed all 4 quarters before opening the abdominal cavity (any more than it already was).

On a small critter like this a tailgate makes a good table, and then it is really easy to dump the guts into a wheelbarrow.

After the guts are out we need to clean up the chest cavity (wipe out the blood, it's easier now than later).
What a mess.

Looks like the terminator moose.

I Hit a Moose!

2008-12-06T08:50:00.000-08:00

We had some excitement last night. On the way to a kids activity in town, a moose trotted out in front of us (the whole family). I got on the brakes hard and kept the van straight, but we hit her pretty solid. It came up on the hood a then skidded 15' into the ditch on its butt.

Fortunately we were not hurt. The older boy saw it happen and said it took his breath "half away".

As for the damage to the van...

Dang it!!!

She bent bent my fender where antennae mounts! (see the ellipse)

And I'm not too happy about those hairs in the lock nut either...

Actually the Trooper was impressed that there was so little damage to the vehicle.

As for the moose...

I bet her butt hurts this morning.

I Did It!!! I made Haggis!

2008-12-01T21:21:00.000-08:00

I started with these meat products. I couldn't a sheep's pluck (if you don't know... you may not want to). So, I used some moose tongue, moose heart, moose roast, and beef tripe. I also used bacon fat instead of suet (hey it's what I had)

These are the spices I selected. Don't ask me how much, I just added until it looked right.

Here I have cut up the meat and tripe, and I am about to boil the meat for 30 minutes.

Now the meat has been boiled, the tripe added, spices added, onions added, oats (7 grain cereal) added, and bacon fat added. Looks yummy.

This is what the whole mess looks like after I ran it through the course plate on the meat grinder.

As there is a distinct short shortage of sheeps' stomachs locally (and in particular, my kitchen) I am substituting fiberous casings (intended for summer sausage).

These are haggises (haggae? haggisaurus?). Ok, here are six haggis. Notice that I didn't stuff them super tight (the oats will double in volume as they cook and I don't want to bust a gut).

Here it is boiling. It ballooned up quite a bit. Now I have to wait 3 hours (or three days, and not a minute more...).

Haggis

2008-11-26T22:58:00.000-08:00

I've been dreaming of making haggis...

Processing Roadkill Moose

2008-11-12T18:29:00.000-08:00

This One Was A DLP

2008-10-17T06:41:00.000-07:00

If you are wondering, DLP means "defense of life and property".

This little one charged an 88 year old man in his back yard, so he shot it. In cases like this the Troopers call someone on the roadkill program to recover the meat.

Not real big, but plenty of meat. Since it was shot and not hit by a car there are no broken legs or road rash. A little meat damage near the exit wound, but not bad.

HELLO!

Who are you?

This is the mama. She is not too thrilled about this whole process. I worked quickly to winch the calf up into the truck (took about 10 minutes). Mama kept circling around, putting her ears down, and just generally looking menacing. Fish and Game expect she will hang around for 5 days or so until she gives up and moves on.

Kilz Behr?

2008-10-12T16:21:00.000-07:00

I was sent to a training for work recently and they gave me a new water bottle. I wonder if it is somewhat prophetic?

I can always hope...

Biscuitosaurus

2008-10-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

We had a visit the other day from some prehistoric baked goods.

Of course you recognize the ever popular and fearsome biscuitosaurus.

Here is a shot of the whole herd. I should mention that the boys were impressed, Mama was more impressed by the bacon gravy.

In case you were wondering... (and I knew you were)

Dang! Hunting Season is Over

2008-09-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

I tried you arrange my work schedule so that I could hunt every day before work and have 4 three day weekends and 1 four day weekend during the season. It was not to be. Circumstances conspired to limit it me to one over night hunting/camping trip, two full individual days, and several AM patrols before work. Here is the story of my overnight hunting trip.

You may be wondering why I included a photo of these boots. You may notice that the laces do not match. In my extensive planning and prepping I had a small planning snafu. I had greased my boots shortly before I left the house and wanted to let the grease soak in, so I wore other shoes on the way to the trail head. When I got ready to put the laces back in I realized that I had left one lace at home. DANG Never fear captain field expedient to the rescue. I used some white 550 cord as laces. I think I like them better that the commercially available laces. I left them in after my trip and it seems to have less wear than the other lace.

This tree made me think of Middle Earth. I wonder what the bag limit is on fawns and ogres?

1200 vertical feet later (in 2 hours humping a 60# ruck) I arrived at my home for the night.

I dined on blue berries, lingon berries, and granola bars and wished I had that ever popular hunting supper side dish from years gone by.... Gummy Bears. As you can see I made my camp under a tree and then put my tarp up too. I was warm and dry all night despite the wind and rain. The next morning I climbed another 5 to 600 feet higher. When I started knocking rocks loose from under the moss and rolled for more that a minute I figured I was steep enough and maybe I should go down intentionally before I went down anyway.

While the moose hid well and the bears were taunting me (leaving tracks on top of mine) the sheep were visible but I didn't want to tackle such a steep hill on a solo hunt. I did not come back entirely empty handed. I brought some berries (in the water bottle) and a couple grouse.

Palin/McCain in 08

2008-08-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

The Fruit of my Labor

2008-08-05T22:37:00.000-07:00

Our strawberries are doing very well this year. I guess that is what happens when you weed them and water them and mulch them and...

Look what I canned!

2008-08-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

I wanted to label them as "Deer" from my hunting trip to Roswell.

Actually they are chicken feet. I thought you might like to know how to can them yourself.

First you need some chicken feet. Although I have 16 chickens of my own, we were not ready to slaughter any of them yet. However, one of my co-workers slaughtered 16 of theirs over the weekend. I appreciate that they prefer that nothing goes to waste, even if they don't want to eat it. Once you have the feet, they need to be cleaned. Don't be too picky, just get the big stuff off.

Then dunk them in 190 degree water for 45 seconds. One minute cooks the meat and less than 45 does not loosen the skin.

Now you peel them. Use your thumb nail to get it started and just peel the top layer off. Sometimes the pad is worn through and you will have to cut it off, if this is happening to your chickens they might be spending too much time on a hard floor. I use some tongs to pull the feel out of the scalding water and after the skin is off I use it again to squeeze the outer layer off of the toe nails. Some people suggest you cut the tips of the toes off, but I think that is harder than popping the nails.

Next you can as you would normally. I looked in the Cooperative Extension Service Guide to Home Canning and used the processing time for bone in chicken meat (65 minutes).

Now that's some good shootin!

2008-08-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend I took my older boy to a gun show. It was pretty lame. Lots of empty booths. I only found one gun I was interested in, and it was out of my price range. I can't believe how much people want for junk sometimes.

It wasn't a total loss. There was booth that would let you shoot airguns on a little range. This is my target

You may notice that it is sideways, because that is how they mounted it at the range. 5 shots decent group. This was off hand (no rest).

This was my boy!

It's a little hard to see but there is a hole at the top of the target. I tried to explain a "sight picture" to him. When his first shot missed by 5' I though he might not quite understand. His second shot missed by about 10". I looked through the sights and lined it up and then had him look, to try and show what it should look like. He missed the paper just a bit high. For his fourth shot I tried to steady the gun and he punched that high hole in the paper. For his last shot I lined up the sights and used my hand to hold the butt in position ( there was a sand bag for the forstock). He hit the bull. Some may say that was cheating, but I think I showed him a good sight picture, and he had something to brag about and feel good about.

Hobby farmer

2008-07-28T04:25:00.001-07:00

This is my garden on a rare sunny day.

From L to R peas, potatoes, beets, lettuce, and carrots. It is hard to see but at the far end of the spuds are onions.

These are some feathered friends. We have Buff Orpiningtons, Black Australorps, White Leghorns, and 2 Rhode Island Red Roosters.

Addition parts III and IV

2008-07-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

Not a lot of narrative but here's a few pics.

Hey, what are you lookin at?

I got a little boo boo.

Tunnel...

2008-07-27T20:54:00.000-07:00

Mama may kick my butt, but this photo she took reminded me of a quote...

"the light at the end of the tunnel...

...is a train"

Deer Brats

2008-07-27T20:12:00.000-07:00

No, that is not a typo... These are Bratwurst made from Sitka Black Tailed Deer, shot on Kodiak Island. A few weeks ago I made some Bear Brats for a co-worker, out of a bear a killed the week before. After word got out, and a few people tried them Mark asked if I would make some sausage out of some deer meat he had in the freezer.

Mark got some pork, about 6 pounds of of shoulder roast that was buy one get one free. We cubed everything up and trimmed as much sinew and fat as we could. Then we weighed the whole mess, it came to about 22#. I prefer to spread the spices on the meat before grinding so the grinder can help mix it in.

Then we ran through the course plate on the grinder, which is pretty easy to do. The grinder just sort of pulls every thing through, fingers too if you are not careful. My grinder in an antique that my Grandparents bought shortly after they married in the 30s. Over the years some parts were lost. So, I made the hopper and the stomper. An uncle gave me my fine plate and I have purchased a few additional parts from a butcher supply house 3 hours away.

After the coarse plate we run everything through the fine plate. This is a little harder, it necessitates the use of the stomper. My helpers are loading the hopper.

Notice the difference in the "grain" after it comes out of the fine plate.

My three year old was thrilled that we were making worms...

Next I put in a spacer and my stuffer tube (I have two and this is the smaller). This third time through the machine is really difficult. Mark pushed on the stomper, the five year old loaded the hopper, and all I guide the casings...

Notice that they are natural casings. If you look careful you can see the blood vessels and the less than uniform diameter.

Next thing you know we had brats.

...and more brats.

Do you see those little string like things? Those are "connective tissue" I told you they were natural casings.

Addition Part II

2008-06-30T00:10:00.001-07:00

I spent my whole vacation (minus the camping part) working on the addition. A couple teens and I excavated for a full crawl space and frost footing. I then spent several days placing my forms and rebar. The specification I am building to allows me to place my footings on "undisturbed soil" which means I had to very careful not to dig too deep.

As you can see I am finally placing concrete.

I dug the hole by hand and I mixed and placed the concrete by hand.

Here I am about to screed (level) a load that I just placed. This went on for several hours, but now (44 eighty pound bags later) the footings are placed. Now I need to let them cure for about 3 days and then get back to it.

While we were camping we did some fishing

2008-06-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

I took the little boys fishing. Mama and the littlest one watched.

Look at the form. That boy's a natural.

This guy has had a little more practice.

We also found another duck. I believe this is a shoveler hen.

We went CAMPING!

2008-06-26T22:40:00.001-07:00

I expect to post several times about this trip, but this first one is about some of the wild life we saw.

This is an Eagle's nest in a tree several feet off the road and about 12 feet off the deck. Mama must be from the city to tolerate that much noise. There is a eaglet in the nest, I got some video I may add later.

This is a Common Merganser swimming in the Anchor River. I apologize for the picture quality,but I was stretching the limit on my digital camera.

These are two mature Sandhill Cranes and their colt.

Watch that first step...

2008-06-21T19:42:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I posted twice or three times in rapid succession, and then nothing for several days. You may be wondering why.

Here's why...

I somehow talked myself into building an addition onto the "Roadkill House"

No one has actually fallen out yet, but that is the primary entrance to our home.

That's quite a pile of dirt, is it not? Notice the pile of rubble in the lower right of the picture. That is all trash we found in the hole.

Amos lesson 1

2008-06-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

I am filling in as the Adult Sunday School Teacher at our church for the Summer. After preparing this lesson I thought some of you might be interested in reading it, so I posted it. Let me know what you think.

Background to the book (which covers Ch1 vs 1 and 2 as well as other resources)

Who was Amos?
1. Probably not the father of Isaiah, this Amos was a poor herdsman, Isaiah's father was a courtier.
2. Amos means “Burden” Amoz means “Strong”
3. Matthew Henry says that “Burden” could refer to a speech impediment or lack of skill in public speaking or the burden, or weight, of the words Amos spoke.
4. Probably from the tribe of Judah from the area of Tekoa
What did he do?
1. Prophesied
  1. against Israel, the ten northern tribes, and king Uzziah
  2. against the countries round about that did not follow God and had persecuted his people
When did this happen?
1. Contemporary to Hosea, Joel, and Isaiah
2. 2 years before the earthquake
  1. That is probably the earthquake mentioned by
    1. Josephus, Antiq. 9.225, and says, "By it half of a mountain was removed and carried to a plain four furlongs off; and it spoiled the king’s gardens.’
    2. Zechariah 14:5
    3. Isaiah 6:4
Why did he prophesy?
1. To call Israel to repentance and show the nations that God is the God of the whole world
2. The words of Amos which he saw concerning Israel-implies a vision from God
Where did he prophesy?
1. In Israel and concerning Israel as well as Judah and the nations around about.
Where was he from?
1. Tekoa in the tribe of Judah

Chapter 1:3 through 2:3

The form of the passage is a literary device that repeats for each of the nations that God is judging. It follows this layout:

Thus sayeth the Lord, for three transgressions of insert country and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because insert specific charge: insert specific punishment

What does the form of the indictment tell us?

From Matthew Henry regarding the nations:
1. The indictment drawn up against them all is thus far the same, (1.) That they are charged in general with three transgressions, and with four, that is, with many transgressions (as by one or two we mean a few, so by three or four we mean many, as in Latin a man that is very happy is said to be terque quarterque beatus—three and four times happy); or with three and four, that is, with seven transgressions, a number of perfection, intimating that they have filled up the measure of their iniquities, and are ripe for ruin; or with three (that is, a variety of sins) and with a fourth especially, which is specified concerning each of them, though the other three are not, as Prov. 30:15, 18, 21, 29, where we read of three things, yea, four, generally one seems to be more especially intended. (2.) That the particular sin which is fastened upon as the fourth, and which alone is specified, is the sin of persecution: it is some mischief or other done to the people of God that is particularly charged upon every one of them, for persecution is the measure-filling sin of any people, and it is this sin that will be particularly reckoned for—I was hungry, and you gave me no meat; much more if it may be said, I was hungry, and you took my meat from me.
2. Which means it could be either:
  1. 3 and 4 = 7 which would imply a perfect combination of offenses that God has to judge
  2. Or, it could be three unspecified charges and one (the fourth) specific charge

I am not sure which of these ideas is correct and they could both be correct, but the major point is that these nations had committed crimes against Israel and God chose to judge them for it.

So lets look at the specific countries and the specific charges against them:

Country-Damascus
1. Charge-they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron
2. Punishment-But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad. I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD.
Gaza
1. they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver [them] up to Edom
2. But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof: And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD.
Tyrus (Tyre)
1. they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant
2. But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.
Edom
1. he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:
2. But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.
Ammon
1. they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:
2. But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind: And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the LORD.
Moab
1. he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:
2. But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, [and] with the sound of the trumpet: And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD.
The theme of this poetic passage is God's judgment on nations that have oppressed others. I don't know the exactly the line that these countries crossed, but it is clear that God chose to punish them for their multiple sins.

Galvanized Pancake?

2008-06-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

Any guesses what this is?

Here's another view.

Yesterday was the last day of bear baiting season. I didn't set up a bait station of my own this year (I decided to spend that time with the family) but a friend did. He borrowed my bait bucket. When his wife got sick he knew he wouldn't be able to sit on the stand, so he offered to let me. This is what I found. The black bear (the only ones legal to bait) have swatted it around before and left a few dents. But this was done by a big bear. I guess the other hint were the huge tracks on the trail. I sat up in the tree with a video camera so if he came back I could at least get him on video. I was also armed to the teeth in case he wanted to make an issue of things, or a blackie showed up. The stand was set up for Archery so it was a closer than I usually do, so I carried a riot shotgun with Brenneke slugs. All I saw was a herd of Grey Jays.

Father's Day

2008-06-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

Coffee Jitters blogged about 5 things she learned from Dad. I thought that was very appropriate, and I agree with her on those five things, but I thought I might talk about some of the things I enjoyed doing with my Dad.

1. Hunting
Mama thinks I'm nuts when I get excited about rain or a hard frost, but those are the best times to hunt. I remember climbing mountains, stopping for wheeze breaks about every 10 minutes, hoping we would have an easy pack back down the hill. We were always successful, but only occasionally filling a tag. Dad taught me to walk softly, listen constantly, always scanning, and check your back trail (thats how he got his first moose in 76).

2. Fishing
I was driving the orange boat while Dad was dipnetting. All the sudden he was nearly jerked out of the boat. As he was rolling over the transom, still holding the net, I slammed the throttle into neutral, which threw him forward, and grabbed him by his vest and pulled him into the boat. Then together we tried to hoist the net into the boat. A 40# king salmon with an attitude in a 16' boat is pretty impressive. Dad asked what we should do, our fish bonker looked pretty silly, so I grabbed the fire extinguisher and hit him with it. Dad and I caught lots of fish together, but he never let that get in the way of having a good time.

3. Wrenching
When I was younger I always wanted a new tool. I loved to work on vehicles and he enjoyed the help. Mechanicing was not one of his gifts, but he was usually able to get the job done. Many times it was only because he just kept trying until he got it right. I am amazed at the kids I work with who try something once and if they don't get it the first time they quit. Dad may not have tried the same thing twice, but he didn't quit the first time until it was done.

4. Farming
Dad was a hobby farmer. We very often had chickens or pigs or sheep or goats and we always had a garden. I sometimes wished I didn't have to take care of the animals or weed the garden, but what do I have now? A garden, 16 chickens, and one rabbit. I loved driving the Kubota and maybe someday I'll have a tractor of my own. In the mean time the Troy-Built is still kicking.

5. Canoeing
Boats are fun, but we could never afford one. We went on many canoe camps and we went hunting by canoe also. It is a joy to paddle with someone who not only knows what they are doing but what you are doing too. Some people seem to try to fight you when you share a canoe, but Dad and I were able paddle in a way that was complimentary. When I got to be about 18 he started to let me have the helm (sit in the stern) and I learned to control the canoe. We were able to communicate where we wanted to go and then we both just did what needed to be done to get there.

So... I've been tagged.

2008-06-14T07:22:00.000-07:00

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
I think this photo is about 10 years old. It was before I got married but after my time in the Army. As for work, I was working 60 hours a week as a manger at McDonald's and pulling 14 credits (made the Deans List twice, and Chancellors list once).

2. What are five things on your list today?

Receive a load of lumber (for the addition).
Go to work (to pay for the lumber).
Layout stakes (so I know where to dig).
Kiss Mama (has to be done).
Eat roadkill (this is a roadkill blog after all).

3. What snacks to you enjoy?

I enjoy roadkill meat sticks, potato chips, fruits, vegetables, roadkill steak, and cheeseburgers.

4. What places have you lived?

Eugene, OR (they let roadkill rot)
Kodiak, AK (Dad told a story about a guy who used a roadkill hare to plug a hole in his rusted out Bronco)
Palmer, AK (much eating of roadkill)
Ft Stupid, GA (they let roadkill rot)
Wonju Korea (they have very little wildlife, but they waste nothing)
FT Campbell, KY (they let roadkill rot)
Soldotna, AK (we eat lots of road kill)

5. What things would you do if you were a billionaire?

I think I would hunt and recover roadkill, although I would probably build a cold room for processing meat.

6. Who are the people you want to know more about?

Any one who will engage me in stimulating conversation, that won't:

get angry at my opinions
always need to tell a bigger story
ridicule people who aren't in the conversation
always agree with me
make scripture fit their theology (instead of making their theology fit scripture)

Now the rules!

Answer all the questions.
Tag 6 people, leave a comment on their blog to inform them that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog for rules. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answers. (No links for private blogs)

I'm tagging...

mama
altered weapon

I guess that's all for now.

Caribou hoo

2008-04-23T23:37:00.001-07:00

If you saw my recent post you know about my Alcan trip. Between Glenn Allen and Tok we came upon a crowd of ravens. As we drove up they cleared out and we found this...

This critter appears to have been hit and then covered by snow (possibly by a snow plow).

I am disappointed that this critter was not recovered for human consumption. However, I don't think it was from neglect. I just know that it was in the middle of nowhere and I suspect it got hidden pretty quick.

Why did the Bison cross the road?

2008-04-23T23:09:00.000-07:00

Recently I took a little trip down the Alcan Hwy. Along the way we (my brother, who was sharing driving duties, and I) saw many interesting sights.

One interesting sight was this Bison crossing the road.

He moved pretty slow and did not look both ways before crossing...

I was wondering if this happens often...

And what might happen if visibility was low...

If there were an altercation who would win...

I guess it does happen on occasion.

I'm afraid the Bison didn't win...

Neither did the Toyota...

Equipement For Roadside Use

2008-02-24T13:08:00.000-08:00

First of all you need a truck.

I use this beat up old Ford (290,000 miles and still on it's first engine). We call it the Bird Dog. I suppose you could use a car, but it would make a mess and might take several trips. Some folks use a trailer, I have one made out of a 1984 Chevy that I used to pull behind an Astro van.

In Alaska the powers that be would prefer that you use a Whoopie Light. I have many times just used my flashers and no one has ever complained. But if you have one you may as well use it.

I also find it handy to carry a shovel or two. The flat bladed shovel is handy for scraping guts and hair off the road.

Part of the deal is that you get to clean up the mess.

Sometimes the critter is off the road or otherwise inaccessible. Then a rope-along is handy. I prefer this to a come-along because I am not limited on cable length. The rope also does not kink like a steel cable. Replacing the rope is easy.

I usually quarter and dress a moose without ever using a saw. But I do have some and they are handy, especially for the ribs. I carry the small one when I am hunting and use the Ridgid to respond to roadkills.

Knives are critical. From left to right I have 2 general purpose hunting knives. Notice the gut hook on the Winchester. I never use it. Then there are two skinning knives. The Old Hickory seems to hold an edge better, it has high carbon steel, however it does rust easier and requires more maintenance and immediate cleaning. The other skinning knife and the 1st 2 boning knives are Forstner Victorinox, the same people who brought you the Swiss Army knife. These are very nice knives and the hold an edge very well for being stainless steel. The last two boning knives are no-name stainless steel but they work well so I use them a lot.

Once you have the critter quartered, or as you pull the quarters off, they should be put into game bags to keep them clean until you are ready to process them. I prefer heavy duty bags. I reuse them so they do need to be laundered, a hint is to soak them in a bucket with some soap for a while first. I don't like disposable bags because they tear so easily.

I'm not showing any but I also like to use disposable latex gloves, and I change them often as I go. I try to always have clean gloves on as I handle the meat it's self.

Recipes... Yum

2008-01-31T19:43:00.001-08:00

I'm sure you can see what the focus of this post is... The most tender/yummy part of any critter. The tongue.

The first issue we should deal with is: with or without? Taste buds that is...

I prefer with. Mainly because trimming them off is extra work with little show for it. I also love the look on peoples faces when I tell them (as they are chewing) what it is they are eating, and it only gets better when they look at what is in their hand and see the taste buds.

Some prefer without. Their position is not without merit; the skin and taste buds are tougher than the meat inside. Truly the best flavor is from the muscle itself. I often do trim the skin just for everyone else's benefit.

So... now, how do you cook the darn things? Some suggest boiling. I have never had good success with this as it seems to toughen the most tender cut on the critter. I prefer jerking it. Another method would be to grill it like a steak. Roasted and shredded and used in tacos is also excellent.

Boil:

trim
cube or use whole
put into water
add seasonings
bring to a boil
cover and simmer until done

Jerk:

trim (or not)
slice thin
freeze for a couple months (to kill parasites)
thaw and marinade (something salty with a little acid)
smoke on low heat (optional)
put into oven on low heat until dry

Grill:

trim
cook on grill

Roast:

trim
roast at 350 until done
use 2 forks to shred

Now go put some tongue in your mouth.

I think I'll call him Herbert...

2007-12-30T19:52:00.000-08:00

This little feller wasn't a roadkill. This was my first moose that I successfully hunted. He was not very keen on the idea of being supper. Dad and I were "on patrol" early one morning. We were headed south when heard someone open up with a mini-14. A dozen shots later all was quiet. We figured there was no point in going that way so we turned around and headed North.

After a dozen steps, or so, I heard a branch snap behind us. I stopped Dad and told him, but he thought I was hearing things. As we were standing there arguing about whether I had or had not heard anything...Herbert walked out in front of us. He was staggering and wheezing. At 15 yards broadside we opened up on him. I fired 4 rounds and started to reload when I noticed that Dad had a jamb (on his Winchester Mod 70 Featherweight). Herbert had turn 90 degrees away from us and bolted.

So, I took off running after him... and ran right past him. Dad called me back to where he was laying (head up looking at me). I walked around behind at delivered the coup de grace.

That tough young ungulate soaked at least 5 .223 and 4 180 grain .30s before he finally went down. 2 of the .30s went through and through the lungs broad side, and 2 more entered through the hams and lodged forward of the lungs in the low neck area. The .223 entered and broke ribs breaking apart , but did did not penetrate all the way through rib cage.

Look a New Theme Song

2007-12-25T08:38:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across a song that I really thought was appropriate for this blog. I was trying to figure out how to get it onto my blog when Hot Mama found a very nicely done video of it on You Tube. Please enjoy the clip, and if you get a chance stop on by for some Bulwinkle sloppy joes.

This little guy is tempting fate.

Got One Today!

2007-12-05T20:50:00.001-08:00

Unfortunately I did not get go help recover this one as I was working. What did I say about "Happiness is..."?

Some friends of mine got his one while I was at work. I don't normally leave the hide for 2 reasons: one, it helps insulate the meat cools slower keeping it in the temperature danger zone longer; second, you end up with more hair on the meat. They are not doing wrong, just different (and at these temps the meat cools pretty quick anyway).

These ribs look really nice and clean, I like that because I don't like to use water to clean the meat, but on ribs its the only way. I'll use my saw to cut those into 6" pieces and they should be ready to package.

A couple quarters hanging. I have a bar in my shop to hang meat on. The other pieces on the floor are on clean cardboard and getting next. The ribs on the cutting block are OK right where they are.

The closest piece is the pelvis and the picture looks ugly, but in person the cuts are clean and neat and no sign of bloodshot or damage.

A pickup bed makes a handy table

2007-12-05T08:19:00.001-08:00

Same critter from the last post. She was a calf. Small enough three men lifted her into the bed of the truck.

After we got her in the truck we thought "why haul the guts home?" So we started to open her up.

We typically split them up the middle. I've tried splitting the hide up the spine and taking the quarters off with out ever opening up the abdominal wall (like ADF&G recomends) but you miss out on the liver, kidneys, heart, and the teeny tiny tenderloins. I also think about saving the stomach and lungs for Haggis, but I haven't done it yet.

I've never used a gut hook. Here Dad is opening her up using a hunting knife with a finger next to the point so he doesn't puncture the gut.

Notice that we skin the hide back quite a ways before splitting the gut open, this helps keep hair off the meat. Moose hair seems to shed very easy, I can pull it out by the hand-full. In my opinion moose hide is only good for leather or raw hide, not fur.

Happiness Is....

2007-11-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

My Dad would say "a large gut pile". I guess I prefer the part we take home. One of the benefits of recovering roadkill is that you get to keep whatever no one else will eat... I love heart... and liver... and tongue...

This is a fairly rare situation. A roadkill in the middle of summer, in the middle of the day, on a sunny day, and the bugs weren't even too bad.

The critter was a moose calf. We removed the tailgate of the "Bird Dog" (big green Ford who earned the name) and slid the whole thing up into the bed. Then we decided to gut it there so we didn't have to take the guts home.

While we were working some tourons, or are they tourorists? (you know the people that take pictures of everything and pay to wild life) came by and wanted to watch. I'm all for educating the public so they leaned over this near side of the pickup bed to watch. We had the guts out and I wanted to get the heart out. So I was working up inside the rib cage (note the blood up to my armpits). When I pulled it out it did not look like what our tourist friends thought it should (it sits inside a sack). So I slit slit the sack and flipped it over exposing the heart... and splattering blood... on the tourists. Oops!

After they ran off, some one snapped this photo, as much as we like moose heart I think the grins are because of the tourists.

We have a history

2007-11-06T18:07:00.001-08:00

This is my grandfather (maternal). He is in the basement of our farm house in what we called "the cold room." This was a room specifically designed for cutting meat. It was below ground and stayed about 40 degrees year round.

Some things to note in the picture: Meat cuber on the table behind, Hobart meat grinder, and solid maple cutting block. Not visible in the picture but in the cold room anyway: built in smoke room, meat cutting bandsaw, second maple cutting block, second long prep table, overhead trolley system, and there was always a huge tin can of white pepper.

Grandpa was a Dentist, but his father was a meat cutter. Growing up in rural Arkansas my grandfather learned the trade from his father. He also worked his way through college and dental school cutting meat.

Now grandpa was not keen on hunting, he thought that you should work, so raising beef cow or some hogs he respected but thought that hunters were leaving too much to chance. However, he also thought that wasting meat was about the worst sin a person could commit, he grew up during the Depression. So one day on the way to work in his Cadillac limousine, surplus from a funeral home in KC, he hit a moose. It tore off the hood ornament and broke both windshields but the center column kept it from coming in the front seat with him.

Grandpa had his knives with him, this was not first roadkill he had encountered, and he got to work bleeding and gutting and dressing the critter. Now up here in Alaska if you hit it , you don't get to keep it. So someone else was going to get the meat so as he was telling the story I asked why did he do all that work? He said that quality of t he meat would have been affected if he had let it lay there. He wanted the stranger was getting that meat to have the highest quality meat he could get.

That, in a nutshell, is why we recover roadkill. Not everybody knows how to do it, not everybody has the equipment to do it, and not everybody is willing to go out at 2am when its -40 but we do because we hate to see the meat go to waste when there are people who need it.

He got me started...

2007-11-01T19:07:00.001-07:00

About two weeks ago my Dad died from pancreatic cancer. He taught me how to dress, butcher, and cut meat. We started small with spruce hen, hares, and ducks that we got hunting on our farm. I also remember raising chickens and slaughtering them.

We raised several pigs over the years, usually two at a time. We would name things like: Porky and Petunia, Laverne and Shirley, or Heckler and Koch. I was handy to put their names on the packages of meat so we could know who we were eating.

This is a picture of my Dad splitting down a pig. We did it by hand, I've seen the fancy power saws and heard of people using chain saws but this got the job done and didn't waste meat. We did get one road kill pig, although this is probably not it.

My sister was walking home from a neighbors house, a mile away. and found a pig that had gotten loose, gotten hit and broke a leg, and then got stuck in our fence. It then wallowed a shallow still entangled in the fence. Dad called all the other farms around close and nobody claimed it, so he called the Troopers just to be safe. Then he put it out of it's misery and brought it home.

Back in the 80s Dad got us on the Roadkill list and the Troopers would call us to come get Moose that had been hit. Back then they let anybody sign up, but after a while they discovered that they had a huge list to deal with, a lot of inexperienced people wasting a lot of meat, and a whole moose would go to one family. So they have since changed the rules. Now a nonprofit charitable organization can be put on the list and they are expected to distribute the meat to the needy.

Once they required nonprofit status we signed up through our church.

Besides the moose we got hunting, we usually did one or two roadkill a year. From 2001 through 2006 I was averaging 6 a year. Over the years my Dad and I have probably recovered close to 100 moose, I have records on about 40.

Dad was real serious about not wasting meat and the idea of big animal like going to waste really galled him.

What's a sporran anyway?

2007-11-01T18:39:00.001-07:00

A sporran is a man purse worn by Scots (notice the furry sack in front of this piper's kilt). A sporran is typically fur or leather and since there are no real rules about them they tend to reflect the personality of their owner. This particular sporran is more a reflection of the family this poor piper married into... You see, he's my brother in law, and that sporran is... you guessed it... roadkill!

Shortly after I had knee surgery I had to drive a motor home on a long road trip. I was driving left footed, as I still was not allowed to bend my right knee, when I noticed a dead muskrat in the road. Being the conscience redneck that I am, I pulled over and hobbled out into busy traffic to recover the somewhat tenderized rodent. The critter appeared to be in good shape, so I skinned it (I always have a knife).

As I was working, this silly little bird (Arctic Tern) was squawking and dive bombing me. I ignored it for a while, but when it started hitting me I looked around to see why. I had backed the monstrosity of a motor home over her nest... The chicks were OK, so I moved the motor home. then she left me alone.

After I had the muskrat skinned I needed to preserve it. The motor home had a pretty sparse pantry, no salt. We happened to have an ice cream maker kit, so I used rock salt. I then called my sister to brag about my score. Her husband suggested a sporran, so I tanned it and my wife sewed it into a sporran, which we gave to him as a Christmas gift.

I Suppose I Should Start At The Beginning

2007-10-18T08:55:00.000-07:00

Roadkill are not the critters fault. Almost all vehicle vs. animal accidents are truly driver error; driving too fast for conditions, ignoring warning signs or danger areas, and outright intentional interactions. There are a very few situations where the driver was in control of his vehicle and a collision occurred (like the guy who was stopped at a stop sign and the moose ran into his passenger door). My point is this: slow down (the speed limit is the upper end of what is allowed, not the minimum speed allowed). So idiot drivers are the cause of roadkill.

Now for my next tirade... When I visited the lower 48, as a member of Uncle Sam's US Army, I saw bloated deer along the road in several states. I know of one case in Georgia where a large pig was hit and left to rot. That's wasteful!!! All that perfectly good meat. I don't know of any other State that does it quite like Alaska, but they all should... Up here when a critter is hit the Trooper Dispatch calls a 501 (c) 3 non-profit to come pick it up. Thats where I come in. I go out and recover the carcass, usually by cutting into manageable pieces of meat and a package of offal to take straight to the dump. We then cut the meat, usually I do a few roasts and make a lot of burger. Next we distribute the meat to families that can use it. Some like to say "needy" but few us are on the brink of starvation and many of us can use some help filling the freezer. The point here is we don't waste perfectly good food!

Whew, that was cold

2007-10-15T04:43:00.000-07:00

-40, Blowing wind, got the call at o-dark thirty and I still have to go to work this morning... This is a photo of me and little bro that appeared on the front cover of the Sunday edition of the Anchorage Daily News. The reporter was doing an article on roadkill had heard our call on his police scanner. I'm the bonehead freezing his ears off. I'm sure you all know this already but that is a rack of ribs off a good size cow moose. I believe that it is from the right side.

BP Rifle

2006-03-01T21:50:00.000-08:00