So the other day I was digging thru my archery tackle box and low and behold a pack of matches with Barnes name on it . It just so happens that the autumn colors are in full swing in the upper pennisula of Michigan and a little town called Paradise is a major hot spot to view . My wife is up there now on a waterfall color tour with my mom . Hunting and fishing tackle are sold at the general store but no airguns yet !
There is a very beautiful water falls up there on taquamanon river .
Wish I was there right now .

Thanks
Kurt

Well, sure Kurt.

You don't think I could make a living on the stuff I make and show here .... do ya? Ha! Yeah, right.

It's the General Store that keeps me going.



Gary

Hey - you've heard me say, time and again .....

"ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE!"

I knew Gary was leading a secret life iin Paradise! I'm glad you caught him Kurt!
Jeff

Yes Sir!

We are having a sale today on ....... wait ......

KELLY!!!!! What was that thing we found .... ....... huh? ..... NO .... It wasn't a 'possum ...........

Ah .... We're having a sale on these here nice steaks! Justin nickel four ninty nine a pound. This one right here is a full two ounces!!! Comes with a hand tied fish pellet fly Uncle Beauford made. That's him sittin' right there with that shotgun on his lap. SAY HI UNCLE BEAUFORD!!!!!! ,.... He's a bit hard ta hearin' since the furnace blew up with his head in the stove pipe ....... I SAID SAY HI TO THE PEOPL... ah ... never-mind.

Now ... How many of these here steaks ya say ya want???........

Now Gary,
You've done gone and made me hungry. Now, in the past (as a younger man) I have killed and sold a number of 'swamp pork' critters. I'm sure I could still find some and send them your way so's you can sell them in your store. You do have to be careful how you handle them as they carry leoprosy. Umm, umm, Armadillo, the other white meat! Enjoy your time with Uncle Beauford, and if you need any of Georgia's other wild game I'll see what I got in the freezer (I have a lifetime huntin license!).
Later,
Jeff

Hi Jeff,

I have a lifetime hunt in' license too! Mine's a Dodge ...

Hey - we actually did see an Armadillo in the back yard late one night last week! Time I got the truck, it was gone though ... But we do see where they root around like pigs in the pine needles.

Gary

Fast food is hard to catch up here . But with so many white tail around and mostly corn feed , don't b needin no possums. Ain't never eatin any armadillo but I would ifin I killed it .( or saw it killed )
I ain't scared !!!

Thanks
Kurt



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/2015 05:40PM by kurt wag.

Don't eat the Bandana. You see them in every Texas video.

That long spear of a striped tail would give you a start it that's all you saw. Don't know where they bed down. Probably best I don't.

Watch out for the infernal critters on the road too, they're a danger to your vehicle. They're prone to freezing in place when they get spooked and then suddenly springing straight up at the last second. That pops them up to the perfect height to take out the radiator on your car, and you can guess how I know.

Hello all,

This is fun,

I had an Uncle who loved to Racoon and he would often send me out in the afternoon and if I looked I could find one sleeping a tree and used a .22 to take it. He taught me how to do it and I since have seen many while squirrel hunting.

He had to cook it out in the shed as my Aunt would not let him "SMELL UP THE DANG HOUSE" with that critter.

He baked it in a big dutch oven with fresh veggies. He called Racoon, the other Bear meat.

I liked it.

You guys made me smile and remember times and people long past.

Thanks for that.

Larry

Hi Larry
I have eaten raccoon before and like you said they are strong . Once you get thru the fat layer there isn't much meat . I planned on makin a hat from the pelt seeing at it was a large parent raccoon. It didn't turn out very well as it was my first attempt at preserving a fur .
The other bear meat haha he was right !

Thanks
Kurt

Hey Larry,
I have had many a meal on 'the other bear meat!' I used to hunt them with dogs down in Alabama. Both the dogs and the raccoons were beautiful animals, but the hunting was hard work. It was always at night with headlamps. The take was usually cooked as bar-b-q, and it was wonderful. My best friends father in law had some of the best hounds in the US, and he always did the cooking. Like Kurt, I also tried to tan the hydes, but I ain't no Davey Crocket! It's really amazing how many people actually have stories like this... I guess we ain't so removed from the pioneers as we think sometimes!
Later,
Jeff

Jeff and Kurt,

I never got to hunt with dogs except once for birds. Nice..

But I was shocked to see that most racoons sleep or nap in open trees laying in a crotch or big flat spot in the trees during the afternoon. Just have walk and look they almost always saw me but did not move I guess they felt safe that far up a tree and with no dogs or noise just sat tight. I was a headshot guy.

Yes great to hear stories about that from other people and know I was not the only guy on the fourm to eat "the other Bear meat" and like it. Kurt I do remember my Uncle working hard on the cleaned racoon to get all the fat off if possible and the scent glands. After it was cooked there was not a lot of meat like Kurt said. But with the veggies it was plenty and we did not have to worry about his Wife coming out to get any. ha ha ha It was a guy thing.

I love groundhog in stew in a crockpot I mean I look forward to that when I could get it.

Life is strange and wonderful,

Thanks for the smiles guys,

Larry

Never had raccoon, but I've had bear and it's all over the place on how gamy it tastes. Up here in Alaska people hunt and eat both grizzly (brown) and black bear from the interior, but almost never eat the coastal bears. The difference is their diet, as coastal bears eat a LOT of fish, mostly salmon. The meat is so fishy/gamy that even the natives historically didn't eat it unless they were starving.

To put that in perspective, these are folks that would eat fermented fish heads (stink head) which was buried on a beach for days or weeks, and treasured both euchalon/candlefish (hooligan) oil and seal oil, both of which are very strongly flavored. Seal meat is so gamy/fishy that I can't even stand the smell of it, and likewise with salmon shark. On the other hand, moose meat is always welcome, along with the local blacktail deer. And even though they don't live up here, mountain lion/cougar meat is some of the tastiest you'll ever have if you ever get a chance to try it.

Yes Sean that all makes sense but up here in Michigan we only have black bear and they mostly eat berries I guess but a friend of mine hunts them and I always hit him up for fresh fur for tying flies . He says sure come on over I'm rendering fat . So when I get there the stinkest smell was coming from around back . I did leave with some good boot grease though but man it was bad.
Stink heads NO THANKS

Thanks
Kurt

You know Kurt.....

I can't remember the last time I had a good Stink Head ......

No Sir ... I can't.

REALLY.

WHAT would possess anyone to consider such a thing, much less build it into a tradition with a Slang Name for it.

Man, I need THAT GUY .....

wow.

Gary

Have you ever seen the TV show where the bald fat guy goes all over the world eating weird stuff? I've seen quite a few episodes and there's virtually no limit to what the guy will eat, some of it makes me queasy just looking at it. I've only seen two things that he couldn't keep down, one was the fermented shark that's supposed to be an Icelandic "delicacy", and the other was stinkhead.

Gary,

I was trying to think of something witty to say about stink head I am glad you showed up and said something.... er..... nice!

People eat some strange stuff around the world.

Larry

You know Gary, I can't ever remember having stink head either... And NOW I think I NEVER will!!! After this thread brussel sprouts are starting to sound yummy!
Later all,
Jeff

When somebody offers a taste of whatever disgusting glop is supposedly the local "delicacy", my experience is that it's far more likely to be some sort of test or practical joke that applies to strangers than it is to be a food that the local people actually eat. Especially if they're got a big grin on their mugs when they hand it to you.