Thursday, November 18, 2010

No longer "just" the cook


So I was feeling slightly fraudulent with the attention the Wild Harvest Table has been getting and therefore being asked the question, "do you hunt?", to which I had to reply, well I fish, but I am more the cook. So last weekend I accepted the invitation to go on a squirrel hunt with my family. Cagey set me up with his beloved LC Smith 20 gauge and our oldest daughter had her .22 Chipmunk. We set off for the wood line in the front field. We noted that there suddenly weren't any squirrels to be found when you are actually hunting them, but then we saw one up ahead. Our guide hurried us on. He told us to wait as he went around the huge cotton tree to push the squirrel to our side and not to worry as long as we aimed high. Sure enough, the squirrel came around to our side up high in the tree and I shot. "BOOM", yes the gun tip went up, but the squirrel was shot. He scrambled/fell down the tree and started across the ground. Damn. I shot again. Now he was clearly hit hard and feebly moving away slowly. I have no more shots or ammo to reload, so I call in the sharp shooter with her .22. "Quick, take the squirrel that is getting away (unless I choose to go pick it up, I realized in hindsight)...shoot it in the head", I plead to my daughter. Aim, fire, and the squirrel is quickly dispatched. We now have squirrel to add to our Thanksgiving larder, and I am no longer just the cook.

6 comments:

Jim Tantillo said...

nice!! and love the recipe too. Good going, Tidball clan!

KGT (aka Cagey) said...

That's my girls... MO-- did you see this? http://www.oprah.com/food/Women-and-Hunting-Kimberly-Hisss-Humbling-Harvest

Yeoman said...

There's a squirrel season here, but nobody hunts them. Ours are tiny, which is perhaps why. Even the cat doesn't bother with the ones that come through the year for some reason.

Are they good eating?

Anonymous said...

I get a little discouraged about the future of hunting until I see a photo like this. Looks like the future is still bright for a few lucky girls in Seneca County.

Mr. Bill

Anonymous said...

Can we get Tori and Jonah to team up for the Squirrel Derby? Team ToJo?

Nice work ladies!

-Joshua

Anonymous said...

Classic mom/daughter photo -- love it.
- Andy
Yeoman, squirrels can be quite tasty.