Recipe - Southern Squirrel Stew

~ 2 - 3 squirrels
~ salt
~ pepper
~ Adolph's meat tenderizer
~ oil
~ 1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
~ 1 - 18 oz jar Heinz chicken gravy
~ 1 - 2 cans Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits


Heat the oil in a large skillet.

Rub the squirrel with the Adolph's. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

Add to the skillet and cook on high until browned on all sides. Flip as needed.

Remove the meat and place in a crock pot. Add 1 inch of water and cook on high 3 - 4 hours or until meat starts to fall off the bone.

Remove the meat and allow to cool. Save the water/broth if you want thinner gravy.

Remove the meat from the bones and return to crock pot.

Add the veggies, gravy and broth if desired. Stir together.

Cook on high 1 1/2 hours or until hot.

Serve over buttermilk biscuits.

Enjoy.

Squirrels in the big timber

Several years ago I had blood work done at Doc Carnett’s office in Salem. When I went to get the results Doc dropped an informational packet in my lap. Over the top of his glasses frame he looked at me with that piercing, serious stare and in his serious voice he said, “Read it and live it.” It was a low fat diet. “NO WAY!”, I remember thinking to myself. He knew my family health history and apparently my eating habits were not to his liking. Only Doc could get away with telling you what to do as opposed to asking and he told me to quit consuming so much red meat. Apparently my cholesterol was right on the cusp of being too high and I was only in my early 20’s. After some serious discussion about what I could and couldn’t eat I asked him, “What about wild meat – deer, turkey, squirrel, rabbit, etc.?” He replied, “All you want, just don’t fry it.” Problem solved. I consume as much wild meat as possible. In between fall deer and spring turkey seasons squirrel is a tasty change of pace that is easy to find, healthy to eat, and cheap to hunt, not to mention fun.

Squirrel season extends from the 3rd Saturday in May through the following February 15th. The bag limit is 6 and the possession limit is 12. Both gray squirrels and red fox squirrels are legal to take. As far as eating is concerned, young gray squirrels are the best. Because of their smaller size you need more to make a meal but they are much tenderer when prepared.

Methods for hunting squirrels vary. Some of the most fun hunting you will ever pursue is hunting squirrels with a good squirrel dog. Some of the best squirrel hunting dogs are Feist and Cur breeds. They make good pets and can even be trained as well-mannered house pets. I believe house squirrel dogs bond better with their masters and give more in the woods while hunting than their outside dog counterparts. Since they spend more time around their human masters they respond better to verbal commands and more fully understand what their masters want. I know some will not agree however my kids want a house dog and I’m vying for a Feist. Another more predominant method is still hunting. In the Ozarks the squirrel population is adequate enough to still-hunt in the big timber and have a lot of action and the opportunity to limit-out. In normal years big oak flats and ridges are great opportunities to still-hunt for squirrels. 2009 – 2010 season has proved a little more difficult because to the spotty acorn mast. However, they are out there.

Adequate firearms for squirrel hunting range from the 12 gauge shotgun to the .22 magnum rifle. The newer .17’s are also proving to be quite good squirrel guns. For my purposes the .22 long rifle is the caliber of choice and the most economical. The subsonic ammunition variants provide all the velocity needed at a greatly reduced noise level, thus spooking fewer non-targeted squirrels into their dens. At around $0.07 per round, if you shoot straight your limit can be had for as little as $0.42. When compared to $5.00 for hamburger or $7.00 for pork chops on average for a family of 4 it becomes a pretty good economic choice as well as nutritional choice. For folks and youth who prefer a shotgun the .410 is a great choice but much more expensive to shoot. For our very young beginners the small, inexpensive, and accurate Cricket and Chipmunk .22 rifles are great choices that are readily available at the local sporting goods store.

Squirrel hunting– easy to learn and teach, cheap to outfit, fun to hunt, and good to eat, what more could you ask for? One of my favorite recipes for squirrel is Southern Squirrel Stew. For the recipe visit my blog at www.natureseconomy.blogspot.com. It’s a tasty recipe that is not fried so it passes the Doc Carnett litmus test and he would be proud of me. Hope you enjoy it. Remember, in Nature’s Economy the food is more or less free and replenishes itself when properly conserved. Take the kids to the woods and introduce them to ‘free living designed by Mother Nature.’ Good luck, be safe, and get a big one.

Christmas Rabbits

Listening to beagles run on a cold, crisp winter afternoon is a great way to create a life-long memory that will stand tall in a child’s eyes for many years to come when they reflect back on Christmases past. If, at your family Christmas gathering, dinner is served early and you either live in a rural area or have quick access to a rural area briar patch, that span of time between Christmas dinner and dark, when most others are exhausted from the huge meal, is a great time to turn out the dogs. Not only will you work off some turkey gravy but the excitement of watching a beagle race with cottontail rabbits and then the satisfaction of harvesting the following day’s dinner, is an experience that the young will ask to repeat time and time again. And for the beagles, well, they are ready to go any time the dog box is opened in the back of the truck.

Beagles - what a completely happy-go-lucky, up-beat, and loyal breed. Short in stature, warm in demeanor, and large in perseverance, beagles will bawl at a rabbit’s trail all afternoon and then, after your long days hunt, they will jump in your lap in front of a warm fire and lay there all evening. When it comes to beagles if you are a dog lover then true happiness comes in multiples - the more the merrier. Hunting, while still possible with only one good beagle, is much more exciting and faster paced with multiple dogs. Likewise at the fire in the evening if you have several beagles competing for lap-time, between dogs jumping, tails wagging and tongues licking, it can be quite a trying experience! It’s similar to many young children all trying to get under the Christmas tree at the same time on Christmas morning.

Speaking of children, Christmas trees and presents, mixing Christmas vacation with hunting creates a great opportunity for a new hunting shotgun or rifle as a gift under the Christmas tree. A young person never forgets that first .22 rifle or .410 shotgun. The excitement is even sweeter when the recipient gets to use the gun the same day they get it. Some very inexpensive (as far as firearms go) yet sturdy examples of youth firearms for rabbit hunting include Rossi or New England Firearms .410 shotgun - .22 rifle combos, Cricket .22 rifles, Chipmunk .22 rifles, and many others. It is best to fit your child to the gun just as you would a pair of pants or shoes. Different brands have different youth sized stocks and so ‘trying on a new gun’ at the local sporting goods store is the best way to find the perfect fit.

A new perfectly fitted Christmas .22 rifle, a child bundled up in their hunting garb, beagles running, snow softly falling - what great excitement and what a great foundation for a Christmas tradition for years to come. This year rabbit season runs from October 1st through February 15. The bag limit is 6 and the possession limit is 12. With a limit that liberal opportunities abound for spending time in the outdoors hunting with friends and family. This winter I encourage you to take your child rabbit hunting with a pack of good beagles. It’s an experience both the children and you will forever cherish. The kids will want to go back again and again.

In closing, as a collector of valuable thoughts and sayings one of my favorites is the quote: “All that we are we will pass on to our children - our loves, our hopes, our dreams, our character. Therefore let your thoughts be planted in rich soil and let your actions stand tall in a child’s eyes. Just as fruit does not fall far from the tree, children do not stray far from their heroes.” As an outdoorsman with unsurpassed love for Nature’s Economy and the circle of life, I encourage each of you to introduce a child to the Great Outdoors. Remember, as their role model and their hero, children will emulate your example for the rest of their lives. Merry Christmas, good luck, be safe, and get a big one.

New Years in the Great Outdoors

Want a change from the run-of-the-mill New Years celebration? How about hitting Nature’s reset button and getting in touch with the real foundation to this life? Spend your New Years in the Great Outdoors. An ultimately peaceful star-filled sky on a crisp winter night along a river bank in the Ozark wilderness is a lesson in solitude that can be learned nowhere else. You have to feel it to understand. After the midnight buzz dies down, the children turn in and the wilderness becomes deafeningly quiet. If not for the sound of the river forever surging on, the occasional lonely coyote in distance, and the crackling of the campfire, one can almost feel the utter stillness of the winter wilderness. But make no mistake, the wilderness is not asleep and old man winter will, more than likely, throw some cold yet refreshing chills your way.

This is not a camping trip for the ill-prepared or faint of heart. The elements, like Nature itself, are beautiful yet completely indifferent to the comforts of man. With children it is easiest to use a camper with a furnace; however, in years past I have taken friends and family along in the wall tent with a wood stove and managed to stay very dry and warm. It is a tremendous effort but it is also a tremendously gratifying experience to be able to barter with Mother Nature on her terms. Sleeping bags are best if rated to 0°F. Army Surplus Extreme Cold variants are very adequate for this type of camping. An air mattress to get you off the ground is also a great way to insulate yourself from the heat-draining ground. Clothing needs to be worn in layers. Warm underclothes under layers of wool or modern thermal insulated clothing are best. Those layers of clothing will keep your backside warm after midnight as you sit at the campfire breathing in the crisp night air, searching the star-filled sky and contemplating worthy New Years resolutions.

In Nature’s Economy, tuning in the Designer on New Years provides for resolutions that seem to have a higher calling with deeper meaning and more far reaching personal and worldly impact. Likewise, vivid understandings of powerful quotes jump into the conscience, such as a line in a quote by Dean Alfange, “I refuse to barter incentive for a dole, I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm utopia.” While written to apply to man’s economy, in Nature’s Economy it is just as applicable. A camping trip on New Years Eve is as much a challenge as you will find in the Ozarks. And it is rewarding beyond your imagination. Not to mention fun when you consider the outdoor activities you might pursue. Trapping, hunting, and fishing are all on the menu through the New Years holiday. With children, a two or three day camping and fishing trip is generally the easiest and most fun for the kids. Not to mention the fact that the cold part of the year is the best time to catch a big trout in the river or lake.

This year I encourage you to try something new. Get out of the New Years rut and open yourself to Mother Nature’s New Years party. It will bring pause to the soul that is constantly exposed to the hustle and bustle of society. Start a tradition for a young child away from the video games and TV. Expose them to the foundation of life and society in Nature’s Economy. I hope to hear many wonderful stories from children who got a change of pace and a new experience on the eve of 2010. Good luck, be safe, and get a big one.

Missouri Mountain Lions

I have always been a skeptic. You know, from Missouri…you have to ‘show me.’ I spend as many days in the woods as anybody. Too many if you ask some… With squirrel, rabbit, deer (firearms, muzzleloader, and archery), turkey (spring and fall), fishing, gigging, and trapping seasons, it is not uncommon for a Missouri outdoorsman to spend well over 150 days per year outside in one fashion or another and if you really tried you could spend 200 (+) days outside. State trapping regulations require a trapper to check his traps daily and when you are a beaver trapper, trapping season alone is approximately 135 days long, so it is easy to see how much time one could potentially spend outside. That being said, I have a burr under my saddle – I’ve never seen a mountain lion. If I can’t see it, oft times in my mind, it isn’t real. One time in 35 years of hunting, fishing, and trapping, have I caught a glimpse of something of which I questioned the possibility of it being a mountain lion. I was deer hunting with my son Mitchell and we both saw it. To this day we are not sure what we saw.

Today, there is enough evidence to second guess my contention that if there are any mountain lions around, they are one in a million and just passing through. There are just too many stories, eyewitness accounts, and even confirmed occurrences from the Missouri Department of Conservation. The late Dave Hamilton, former resource scientist with MDC, wrote in 2004 that there had been 8 documented mountain lions in Missouri since 1994 and now, since Dave’s report there have been 2 more confirmed occurrences. Strangely enough 5 of the confirmed sightings state-wide were either adjacent to Dent County (Reynolds County in 1996, Texas County in 1999, and Shannon County in 2006), or one county removed (Carter County in 1994 and Pulaski County in 2001). Those confirmed sightings would surely lead one to think that a mountain lion in Dent County is not beyond the realm of possibility. Still, I spend a lot of time in the woods and I’ve never seen a mountain lion. Kind of a burr in my saddle, but I already said that didn’t I.

Officially, the Missouri Department of Conservation lists mountain lions as “extirpated.” That is a population that is extinct as a viable breeding population in the area, however it does not preclude the species from being present. Starting to cut hairs my dad used to say. As I mentioned earlier, despite hundreds of reports, there are only 8 documented occurrences in Missouri. In order to qualify as a documented occurrence the MDC must have hard evidence present such as photos, scat with cougar DNA, confirmed tracks, cougar carcasses or the like. As a trapper, I pay particular attention to tracks in my ongoing search for the big cats. A mountain lion track differs from a domestic dog or coyote track in several distinct ways. First, rarely do claw marks show in the print. Cats have retractable claws that generally are not protruding as they casually walk through the woods. Second, mountain lions have teardrop shaped toes as opposed to the oval shaped toes of dogs, bobcats, and coyotes. Third, the heel pad of cats has three lobes at the posterior side of the track as opposed to one indent for dogs and coyotes. Finally, a mountain lions track is 3 to 3.5 inches wide as opposed to less than two inches for their bobcat cousins. I’ve never seen a mountain lion track in Missouri…kind of bugs me that I can’t find a track.

Currently Missouri is missing physical evidence of a viable breeding population of mountain lions. However, Missouri does have mountain lions present in our wilderness. They actively search out dense cover and rocky terrain or swamps. Males have a home range of 90 to several hundred square miles while females stay within 50 to 75 square miles. An adult male mountain lion weighs 140 to 160 pounds and is 5 to 8 feet long, nose to tip of the tail. Mountain lions typically consume one deer sized prey animal per week. You would think a person could at least find one prey carcass during 35 years of outdoor experience…it just kind of gnaws at me.

Now, here comes the rub. I started my son Jason hunting when he was 12 years old and he is now 26. Fourteen years hunting and the first 4 years or so were spent by my side. He’s seen a mountain lion. I would love to chalk it up to a misidentification however he watched it in a road ditch for several seconds and only several yards from his truck under the headlights. Then, days later the publisher of this fine paper saw a mountain lion on his lake dam just a mile away from my son’s original sighting. Of course, neither had a camera and it was a particularly rainy stretch so there were no identifiable tracks. So, according to MDC these two sightings are not confirmed. That’s good enough for me. Therefore, officially speaking, my son and Mr. Dodd don’t have anything on me. That burr under my saddle is still bothering me…guess I’ll keep looking. Good luck, be safe, and get a big one.