1 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:08,719 Speaker 1: Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves 2 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 1: from coon hunting to trotlining and just in general country living. 3 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 1: I want you to stay a while as I share 4 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: my experiences in life lessons. This Country Life is presented 5 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:23,320 Speaker 1: by Case Knives from the store More Studio on Meat 6 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best outdoor podcast that 7 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:31,319 Speaker 1: airways have to offer. All right, friends, grab a chair 8 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: or drop that tailgate. I've got some stores to share. 9 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:44,879 Speaker 1: Squirrel It's what's for supper. We're gonna be hunting and 10 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: eating squirrels this week, and I've shared my fish cooking 11 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: recipe on episode one eleven and how I Cook a 12 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: coon on episode two seventeen. There's a lot of ways 13 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: to prepare squirrels, and the recipe I'm sharing here today 14 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:03,320 Speaker 1: is simple and it was on a very special occasion. 15 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: I'm going to tell you just how my mama did it. 16 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: But first I'm going to tell you this story. This 17 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:18,160 Speaker 1: one was sent in last June by This Country Life 18 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:24,200 Speaker 1: listener John Perkins. John is a civil engineer in Albertville, Alabama. 19 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: John sharing his story of growing up with an older 20 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 1: parent and was inspired to send it in after listening 21 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 1: to episode three point thirty three of This Country Life 22 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: titled Pocket Knives, Squirrels, and Father's Day. Now that's all 23 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: the lead in you get, so in John's words in 24 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: my voice, here we go. I recently listened to Your 25 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: Father's Day podcast about your dad. I'll admit I had 26 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 1: to stop what I was doing and shed a few 27 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: tears as the story had so many similarities to my dad. 28 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: My dad was born in nineteen twenty nine in Lamar County, Alabama. 29 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:08,400 Speaker 1: He married my mama when he was seventeen and she 30 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 1: was sixteen. They quickly had my oldest brother and three 31 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:14,800 Speaker 1: other siblings through the years, and when finally, at the 32 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: age of forty seven in nineteen seventy seven, my mother 33 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: brought me into this world. Growing up, I always felt 34 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:27,359 Speaker 1: a little embarrassed by my parents' age, as they were 35 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: older than some of my buddy's grandparents. But my dad's 36 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: huge personality and his love for hunting and fishing and 37 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,800 Speaker 1: the outdoors, and his willingness to share it with anybody 38 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: made me a lot of friends growing up, several of 39 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:44,800 Speaker 1: which I spend regular time with in the woods to 40 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,920 Speaker 1: this day. At some point in my younger years, I 41 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: realized that I most likely did not have as many 42 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,360 Speaker 1: years as most young men would have with their fathers 43 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:59,640 Speaker 1: due to our age difference, so I spent many hours 44 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 1: with him in the film. Much of the time was 45 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: spent behind his huge pack of beagles, chasing rabbits, running walkers, 46 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: and bluetick hounds after deer. Most especially, we followed a 47 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:14,800 Speaker 1: tree and fists and rat terror squirrel dogs around the 48 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: hardwood bottoms of the butter Haatchee River. We lived on 49 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: seventy acres in the middle of ten thousand that we 50 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:27,799 Speaker 1: had permission to hunt on, so there was no shortage 51 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: of space for my tom Sawyer want to be lifestyle. 52 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 1: And my first memory of hunting with my dad was 53 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: at age three now, he took me and the dogs 54 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 1: on a short walk around the house on a squirrel hunt. 55 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:44,839 Speaker 1: We traveled no more than half a mile, and when 56 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: my short legs got tired of crawling over logs and 57 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 1: wading through briars, my daddy put me on his shoulders 58 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: to carry me the rest of the way home, two 59 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:57,520 Speaker 1: hundred yards from the house behind the old quail pin 60 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,360 Speaker 1: my dad built to raise birds to trade his English owners. 61 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: Jack our best tree in Fice treed the last squirrel 62 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: of the day. Dad pulled me off his shoulders and 63 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 1: sat me on the ground in front of him, and 64 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:13,080 Speaker 1: he helped me line up a shot on the squirrel 65 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: with his little brown and twenty two short semi automatic, 66 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: which somehow I miraculously hit. The squirrel toppled out of 67 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: that water roape for Jack to retrieve, and that day 68 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 1: set off twenty three formed of years I got to 69 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: spend with my dad. We followed the hunting seasons throughout 70 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:35,919 Speaker 1: the year, starting with doves in September. It ended with 71 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: squirrels and rabbits in February. Deer, coon, and quail were 72 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: thrown into the middle, and when hunting seasons ended, we 73 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:47,680 Speaker 1: focused on catfish and panfish and our local rivers and lakes, 74 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:52,040 Speaker 1: and grew a ten acre garden every year. I wouldn't 75 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: change my youth for anything that I could imagine. But 76 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: my dad had a stroke in May of two thousand. 77 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:04,840 Speaker 1: He stayed in the hospital mostly unresponsible until June, when 78 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 1: he passed away around two months later, with my Mama 79 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:12,880 Speaker 1: by his side. For ten years after that, I barely 80 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 1: hunted or fished. It just didn't seem right without Dad either, 81 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: being there with me or having him around to tell 82 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 1: about the experiences that I'd had. I went to college, 83 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,279 Speaker 1: I got a degree in civil engineer and started a family, 84 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:32,479 Speaker 1: settled down into a domesticated life. Finally I felt the 85 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,320 Speaker 1: pull of nostalgia for the old days starting to creep in. 86 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: I had started still hunting for squirrels again, and after 87 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: a few deer hunts, I knew it was time for 88 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 1: me to get busy living. Found a great houseman with 89 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: an awesome bloodline of Tree and Phiston, and bought a 90 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:55,239 Speaker 1: pup in March of twenty ten, Perkins Delilah Jane DJ 91 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:58,760 Speaker 1: for short, and by October of that year she had 92 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,919 Speaker 1: treated her first squirrel and we killed over one hundred 93 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: before she turned a year old. She helped reignite the 94 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: love of the outdoors for me, and now I've since 95 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:12,359 Speaker 1: spent the last fifteen years getting a lot of young 96 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: folks into hunting and getting to take some awesome trips 97 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:18,160 Speaker 1: from my friends and family to as far away as 98 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:22,480 Speaker 1: Canada and Alaska. In fact, I'm planning to fly out 99 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: at the end of July to Anchorage for a two 100 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:28,159 Speaker 1: weeks salven and Halibu trip while living out of a 101 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:32,800 Speaker 1: tent all because of a great dad and a twenty 102 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:35,600 Speaker 1: pound squirrel dog that got me back where I belong. 103 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: And according to John Perkins, son of mister Ralph Perkins, 104 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 1: that's just how that happened. And there's so many things 105 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,919 Speaker 1: to take away from John's story. Taking advantage of the 106 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 1: time you have with someone and passing along the traditions 107 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: that they taught you to the next generation, and sharing 108 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:03,039 Speaker 1: the things you love with others who love it too. 109 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: That's good stuff, John, Thank you for sending it in neighbor. 110 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 1: How long has it been since you had a steaming 111 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 1: plate of fried squirrels? Well, that's too long now for 112 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 1: you more seasoned listeners. That question may sound a little familiar. 113 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 1: That that was an old Wolf brand chili commercial that 114 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 1: I altered a bit to fit my narrative of one 115 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 1: of my favorite things to eat, and that's fried squirrels. 116 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: I never remember not eating them, but neither my mother 117 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,720 Speaker 1: nor my dad would have at one had they been 118 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 1: starving slapped to death, the stigma of their animal order 119 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: being too much for either of them to overcome. Me. 120 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:52,720 Speaker 1: I have no issue with squirrels as long as they 121 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: as long as they have hair on the tails, and 122 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:58,560 Speaker 1: they don't get wet any deviation from a fuzzy tail 123 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:01,440 Speaker 1: and dry as a bone, and I'm out as well. 124 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 1: I'll eat it, but I ain't picking up a wet 125 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: one before it gets skinned. Both of my parents nestled 126 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:11,720 Speaker 1: firmly in the squirrel nests of musophobia. It's reasonable to 127 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 1: see where my aversion to rodents comes from. And I've 128 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 1: said it a million times. I ain't scared of rats 129 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:19,679 Speaker 1: and mice. They just creep me out to the point 130 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:22,119 Speaker 1: of wanting to jump off a bridge to get away 131 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: from them, or if it came down to it, throwing 132 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: one of my kids that wanted to keep it from 133 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: getting near me. I exaggerated that last part. Maybe not no, 134 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: not really, but I don't like rats or mice, But 135 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,199 Speaker 1: squirrels ain't neither one of them. And as long as 136 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:42,840 Speaker 1: they have bushy tails and stay dry, they're good to go. Now, 137 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: how did I get to eat them so much as 138 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 1: a young And when neither parent would eat one, they 139 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:50,360 Speaker 1: fixed them for me and they had something else just 140 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:53,080 Speaker 1: like now in my house, but in reverse, I fix 141 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:56,080 Speaker 1: squirrels in a Lexis and Bailey they eat something else. 142 00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:58,720 Speaker 1: Now what I like for them? To eat them, of 143 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: course I would, am I sorry it works out that 144 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 1: all the squirrels I fried are going to be at 145 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:07,800 Speaker 1: by me. Of course I ain't, So why do we 146 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 1: eat them? The short answer for me is they taste good. 147 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:14,480 Speaker 1: I'm very proud of my heritage and where I come from. 148 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 1: The only thing more southern to me than a plate 149 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: of fried squirrels, biscuits and gravy is nothing, not one thing. 150 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:25,960 Speaker 1: If I was blindfolded and carted around in a van 151 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: for three days and sat down at a table in 152 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:31,960 Speaker 1: an undisclosed location and told the guess where I was 153 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:34,400 Speaker 1: by the meal they served me, and that meal was 154 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:38,720 Speaker 1: fried squirrel mash taters, biscuits and gravy, my first thought 155 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:41,240 Speaker 1: would be after I eat this and escaped this place, 156 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:44,080 Speaker 1: I probably would be close enough to the house to 157 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:49,160 Speaker 1: walk home. But why would I want to leave? I mean, really, 158 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 1: the reality is I could have been anywhere in the 159 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:55,680 Speaker 1: eastern half of the United States, from a Gulf coast 160 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:59,680 Speaker 1: to Canada and over to the Atlantic Ocean. That's where 161 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 1: the great squirrel lives in Cyrus. Carolyn Nenzs can be 162 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:14,920 Speaker 1: found in every corner of Arkansas. People outside of the 163 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:18,880 Speaker 1: squirrel circle. Think about folks eating squirrels, that's only associated 164 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 1: with economic hard times and the Great Depression or poverty 165 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:26,079 Speaker 1: stricken areas where people are forced to eat them because 166 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:29,400 Speaker 1: they can't afford to eat nothing else. I know this 167 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: because I'm married to one of those people. And by 168 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: those people, I mean squirrel snobs. She accused me once 169 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:39,400 Speaker 1: of growing up like the people she saw living on 170 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:42,880 Speaker 1: little house on the prairie. Now, I would have preferred 171 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 1: gun smoke bonanza. The horses were faster and there was 172 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 1: more gunplay, but I took it as the complement of 173 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:52,640 Speaker 1: which she didn't intend. I eat squirrels because I like 174 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:54,560 Speaker 1: the way they taste, and there ain't a lot of 175 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 1: trees out on the prairie to shoot squirrels out of. Anyway. 176 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:01,080 Speaker 1: I saw a headline for a Lee story one morning 177 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:04,720 Speaker 1: several years ago that said, coming up here, the near 178 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,240 Speaker 1: death survival story of a lost man having to eat 179 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 1: squirrels and berries for several days until he was rescued. 180 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:19,440 Speaker 1: Rescued from What if someone pulled me out of a 181 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:21,600 Speaker 1: place where I was eating squirrels every day, I call 182 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:25,800 Speaker 1: that kidnapping. I have no idea how old I was 183 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:28,000 Speaker 1: when I shot in my first squirrel six or seven, 184 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:31,439 Speaker 1: I'm sure, but I remember as plain as if it 185 00:11:31,559 --> 00:11:34,600 Speaker 1: happened this morning, the first squirrel I ever shot out 186 00:11:34,679 --> 00:11:39,199 Speaker 1: hunting by myself. In nineteen seventy eight. I was twelve 187 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:42,920 Speaker 1: years old and in the sixth grade. The squirrel season 188 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 1: in Arkansas now opens in May. It runs to the 189 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:48,920 Speaker 1: end of February, but back then it didn't start until October. 190 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:52,480 Speaker 1: It was cool that morning, and I remember walking down 191 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:55,679 Speaker 1: an old road across the creek north chicken houses on 192 00:11:55,679 --> 00:12:00,240 Speaker 1: our farm. Brown and yellow leaves were floating down as 193 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: the view in front of me framed by hardwoods on 194 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:04,880 Speaker 1: either side of that old lane that I was slipping down. 195 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:09,880 Speaker 1: A cool breeze brushed across my face as I carefully 196 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:12,840 Speaker 1: picked my steps, avoiding twigs and mudholes that lay in 197 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:17,240 Speaker 1: the dim ruts that lined the way, being as quiet 198 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:19,520 Speaker 1: as I could, watching for movement on the ground and 199 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:24,839 Speaker 1: in the trees for anything it resembled a squirrel. Every 200 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:27,520 Speaker 1: gust of a breeze would bring water, oak and penoak 201 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 1: leaves and acorns raining down all around me, and I 202 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 1: stopped and I made sure it was the wind knocking 203 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:38,000 Speaker 1: the acrons down, not a squirrel. Then the breeze died 204 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,520 Speaker 1: down for a moment, and I froze straining to hear 205 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:45,880 Speaker 1: a squirrel shaking leaves, barking, or loudly gnawing on an acre. 206 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:50,719 Speaker 1: You'd be surprised how far you can hear that. Then 207 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:53,040 Speaker 1: twenty five yards in front of me, I saw a 208 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 1: single acron bounce in the middle of the right hand 209 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:59,720 Speaker 1: rud of that old lane. That's all I needed to know, 210 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,000 Speaker 1: as if my life depended on it, I started slipping 211 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:07,560 Speaker 1: up that old dirt road, walking just like my brother Tim. 212 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:11,840 Speaker 1: It showed me slowly stepping with the outside part of 213 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:15,200 Speaker 1: my heel first, then rolling my foot forward, keeping all 214 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:18,480 Speaker 1: the weight on the outside of my boot, cutting my 215 00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:23,160 Speaker 1: footprint by nearly two thirds, before slowly flattening out my foot, 216 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 1: redistributing the weight and the pressure, then repeating the process 217 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:30,760 Speaker 1: with the other leg. With a little practice, you can 218 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:34,839 Speaker 1: teach yourself to do some show Enuff Daniel Boone slippage. 219 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:37,800 Speaker 1: And as a youngin I literally used to practice how 220 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:40,240 Speaker 1: to do that. It's a technique I still used today. 221 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:43,840 Speaker 1: But the water rope from where that acorn dropped had 222 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:46,600 Speaker 1: stood in that old patch of woods for a long time, 223 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:49,440 Speaker 1: and two an eleven year old boy. It was as 224 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:53,000 Speaker 1: big as a skyscraper, especially when that boy had never 225 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:57,040 Speaker 1: seen one. As I got closer to where the acron 226 00:13:57,120 --> 00:13:59,040 Speaker 1: hit the ground, I saw the one that I thought 227 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:02,720 Speaker 1: had fallen. It was half chewed and missing the acron cap, 228 00:14:03,679 --> 00:14:06,440 Speaker 1: the cream colored meat on the inside being the object 229 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:09,680 Speaker 1: of that squirrel's attention. But with so many within easy 230 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:13,040 Speaker 1: reach of wherever he was in that tree, it might 231 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:17,080 Speaker 1: take a while before I ever saw him move. Saw 232 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:19,440 Speaker 1: a limb shake in a nearby tree and started to 233 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,120 Speaker 1: go in that direction. But why would I leave the 234 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:25,000 Speaker 1: squirrel to go find another one. I already found this 235 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 1: one slipped right up under where he was. I just 236 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,680 Speaker 1: needed to sit down and wait for him to show himself. 237 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:35,400 Speaker 1: On the opposite side of that old road where the 238 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:39,200 Speaker 1: tree was was an equally old fence. The posts were 239 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,360 Speaker 1: split rails, and the fence had passed being rusty many 240 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:46,000 Speaker 1: years ago. It sagged in places and was hidden in 241 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 1: others by trees in the passage of time. The metal 242 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,200 Speaker 1: of the net wire was slick, dull, and dark, having 243 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:57,960 Speaker 1: more or less been blued by decades of rust. I 244 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 1: leaned back against a fence post that was at least 245 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 1: as old as my grandfather and as sound as the 246 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:07,920 Speaker 1: day it was splitting set in the ground. That acre 247 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:10,560 Speaker 1: that hit the ground fifteen feet in front of where 248 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,240 Speaker 1: I was now sitting, and the angle I was looking 249 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,440 Speaker 1: up into that tree was steep, so I leaned back 250 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:19,400 Speaker 1: like I was on vacation with a Stephens Model ninety 251 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 1: four seventy eight single barrel, twenty ages laying across my lap. 252 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:29,960 Speaker 1: Hunting by myself made me feel grown, responsible and trusted 253 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:33,200 Speaker 1: to be safe and do the right thing. I was 254 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:36,400 Speaker 1: basking in my new found independence, staring up into a 255 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:38,480 Speaker 1: big fork in that oak tree that hung out over 256 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 1: the road when something caught my attention. Is that a squirrel? 257 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,480 Speaker 1: I strained to see, focusing all my attention on the 258 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:50,480 Speaker 1: space where those two huge limbs separated, each going their 259 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:54,560 Speaker 1: own way in the race for sunlight. That must be 260 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:57,040 Speaker 1: a knot right in the middle. That wasn't a squirrel. 261 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:01,240 Speaker 1: Looked like a squirrel's head kind of, but it didn't move. 262 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,240 Speaker 1: It couldn't be a squirrel. I never took my eyes 263 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:08,200 Speaker 1: off that spot, imagining if it had been a squirrel, 264 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:11,360 Speaker 1: all I'd have to do is ease my shotgun up, 265 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 1: cock the hammer, aim, and squeeze the trigger, and I 266 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:18,040 Speaker 1: heard another limb shake, and I turned to see a 267 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: squirrel three trees over, jump to another limb and disappear 268 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:24,400 Speaker 1: from you. I looked back to the knot and the 269 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 1: big fork above me, and it was gone. Hey, where 270 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:32,120 Speaker 1: does I not go? Was I looking in the wrong spot? No, 271 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:34,760 Speaker 1: it's the biggest fork in that tree, and it's right 272 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 1: above where I saw that acorn fall. I looked back 273 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:39,760 Speaker 1: to where I'd seen the squirrel that other tree and 274 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:43,000 Speaker 1: saw nothing. I looked back toward the fork, just in 275 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,920 Speaker 1: time to see another acron falling on the same path 276 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:48,080 Speaker 1: as the one before, and I followed it to the ground. 277 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,360 Speaker 1: They had been chewed on too. I looked back up 278 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 1: in that tree and the knot had reappeared, except this 279 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:57,120 Speaker 1: time it was poking halfway out in the middle of 280 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:00,680 Speaker 1: that fork. Looking down at the acorn, it just dropped. 281 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:05,840 Speaker 1: I slowly shouldered my shotgun, never taking my eyes off 282 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:11,080 Speaker 1: that squirrel. I cocked the hammer and shot bark flew 283 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:13,600 Speaker 1: off that fork all around where I'd seen that squirrel, 284 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:17,600 Speaker 1: only to realize he was gone. It seemed like forever, 285 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:20,800 Speaker 1: but just a moment later, that squirrel followed suit of 286 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:23,280 Speaker 1: both acorns. He dropped and rolled off that limb and 287 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:27,159 Speaker 1: landed right in front of me. The only thing between 288 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:29,320 Speaker 1: him and a hot skillet was his hide and a 289 00:17:29,359 --> 00:17:31,439 Speaker 1: half a mile run back to the house, and I 290 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:35,440 Speaker 1: couldn't wait to show him off. I did a bunch 291 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:38,200 Speaker 1: of squirrels before that one in a million squirrels since, 292 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,600 Speaker 1: but I've never had one that tasted as sweet as 293 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:44,720 Speaker 1: that one did. I skinned him out and Mama fried 294 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:47,680 Speaker 1: him for my supper with biscuits, mash taters, and gravy 295 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:51,200 Speaker 1: made from the renderings. And this is how she did it. 296 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:54,960 Speaker 1: As soon as I got back to the house and 297 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 1: got him skinned, we dissolved about a tablespoon of salt 298 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:00,679 Speaker 1: and a mixing bowl of water and threw his naked 299 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:04,919 Speaker 1: carcass in there. And there he sat all day, soaking 300 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 1: in that bowl in the ice box, or as you 301 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:11,520 Speaker 1: sophistic as referred to it, the refrigerator. I've heard folks 302 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:14,399 Speaker 1: say that soaking wild game and saltwater takes the gamy 303 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:18,040 Speaker 1: taste out of it. I ain't no chef, but I 304 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:20,480 Speaker 1: know what a brine is, and soaking a squirrel in 305 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 1: salt water is brin in the meat. What it does 306 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 1: is help breaks down some of the proteins that make 307 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,760 Speaker 1: the meat tough to chew, and soaking it overnight works best. 308 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:34,040 Speaker 1: It also cleans away any blood, which may cause what 309 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:37,679 Speaker 1: folks refer to is as a gamey taste. Now, I 310 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:41,160 Speaker 1: don't think I've ever eaten anything that was gamy. I've 311 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:45,520 Speaker 1: never really understood that term. Things taste different. Fish is 312 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:48,159 Speaker 1: different than the chicken. That's different from pork or beef. 313 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:51,960 Speaker 1: Things taste like what they taste like, But anything wild 314 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 1: or different is labeled gamy. But whatever, anyone, My mama 315 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,359 Speaker 1: took that squirrel out of that bowl and renched him 316 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:02,159 Speaker 1: off and poarded him up, and then she dried the 317 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:05,560 Speaker 1: parts off with some paper towels. She would then roll 318 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:09,040 Speaker 1: him in flour she'd seasoned with salt and pepper, then 319 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:11,640 Speaker 1: dunk him in a bowl of buttermilk and a beaten egg. 320 00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:14,720 Speaker 1: Then she'd rolled and powdered his fanny once again in 321 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:17,119 Speaker 1: that flyer and lay him in a cast iron skellet 322 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,080 Speaker 1: that had a half inch lard waiting on him, the 323 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:25,640 Speaker 1: thermometer peeking around three twenty five and three fifty degrees America. 324 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:29,480 Speaker 1: Once the crust on the cooking side resembled the gold 325 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:32,199 Speaker 1: and brown or fried chicken. She'd turn him over and 326 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:35,640 Speaker 1: he do the same on the other side. As far 327 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:38,359 Speaker 1: as how long for side item, I don't know. I 328 00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:41,760 Speaker 1: guess about five minutes on the first side, and maybe 329 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:44,439 Speaker 1: a little less on another. I don't know. It seems 330 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:46,640 Speaker 1: like it takes forever to get it done, especially when 331 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:49,000 Speaker 1: you like squirrel as much as I do. But internally, 332 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:52,399 Speaker 1: the temperature you're looking forward about a one hundred and 333 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:56,359 Speaker 1: sixty to one hundred and sixty five degrees. Anything over 334 00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:59,439 Speaker 1: that and your risk making it tough, which is the 335 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:01,840 Speaker 1: opposite why you soaked them in the salt water to 336 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:05,760 Speaker 1: begin with. I remember seeing that plate with all four 337 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:08,760 Speaker 1: quarters laying on there, with a buttered biscuit and a 338 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 1: mash tater's colored with gravy mama maid and skillet with 339 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,000 Speaker 1: the grease and the renderings from where she fried that squirrel. 340 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:19,640 Speaker 1: I challenge anyone for a better tasting gravy than that 341 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:22,639 Speaker 1: made after frying and mess the squirrels. For me, it 342 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:28,720 Speaker 1: is distinct and stands above all others. Now, that was 343 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:33,160 Speaker 1: my supper, That was my reward for killing my first squirrel. 344 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:36,480 Speaker 1: By myself, and it was a feeling that I remember 345 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:40,159 Speaker 1: as well or better actually than anything I did yesterday. 346 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 1: But then nothing I did yesterday even came close to 347 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:49,920 Speaker 1: killing that squirrel on my first solo hunt. I love 348 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:52,600 Speaker 1: everything about this, every bit of it, and I hope 349 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,880 Speaker 1: you all like it too. Keep sending those stories into 350 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:59,680 Speaker 1: my tcl story at the meat eater dot com. Share 351 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,399 Speaker 1: that episodes you think other folks might enjoy that you 352 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:04,879 Speaker 1: hear on the Bean Greece Channel, whether it's Meet Clay 353 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:08,560 Speaker 1: or Lake or all three of us. Until next week, 354 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:12,400 Speaker 1: this is Brent Reeves signing off. Y'all be careful