Bill & I walk somewhere every day. Most days we head into Coco... walk the mile or so through the residential area (kind of a rural area), then turn along the beach... walk along the beach, then head onto the main street... usually up to the AutoMercado (grocery store).... then walk a different route towards home... up a well-traveled street that eventually joins up with the road we headed down. It's hot... even by 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning, so we get started early. So... today, while we walk, since I wrote about road kills and carrion eaters yesterday, I'll tell you about our roadkill adventure in Manitoba a few years ago. I suppose each is interesting in itself (to some, anyway), but I don't have any photos of that adventure with me, and I did take some photo today....
Nope... not roadkill....
Just a few of the neighborhood dogs napping alongside the road.
We were on an Adventure Caravan trip.... October, 2004. Traveled through Manitoba and saw so many interesting things. We were on our way up to Churchill to see the Polar Bears. Way up in Snow Lake (I always want to call it Snow Flake) a little rowdiness went on overnight by the locals, and during the night our drivers side window was broken.... to smithereens! We actually slept through it all.... so the next morning was when we met the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (I believe he had a Jeep), the mayor of the town, and various other officials.
Only this one lone Howler Monkey and her baby in the trees today...
She was howling, but sounding kind of forlorn... didn't see any others... usually they're in a pack.
The mayor was so mortified that this happened in his town that he called a friend in Thompson to make arrangements for us to get our window replaced. This is not only on a Sunday, but the following day, Monday, is the Canadian Thanksgiving. So we head out - leave the tour we're on - to Thompson. We'll catch up with them the next day up in Thompson.
WoooHooo... Looks like there's some kind of carnival coming to town in a few days! We'll have to check it out and report back later!
We're driving along... not much traffic on a Sunday morning. We're seeing a lot of Spruce grouse hanging out along the road. Now, I don't know a whole lot about Spruce grouse, but the Ruffed grouse, that I am familiar with have this thing called "fall dispersal". The chicks are full grown by October... Mom tells them to get the heck out of there and find a life of their own. They'll stand alongside the road looking lost and forlorn. This is we're seeing a lot of up here in Manitoba.
This guy apparently is painting a new sign on this tienda (corner grocery). What an art that is! I'll have to check it out tomorrow.
One after another, we see grouse alongside the road. Except one grouse decides to flush..... just as we're upon it. Yep! The darned thing hit the grill of our rig... I see in my side mirror that it bounces off to the side of the road. Bill! Stop! And he does....
I run back and pick the bird up... yeah, it's dead... got a broken neck. But, other than than, except for losing a few feathers, it's still intact.
I had to Google this car... a SsangYong.... Korean
We see all makes of cars here... mostly Japanese.... a few American... and a few, like this, that I have to look on the internet to know what the heck they are.
I put it in a baggy... and put the baggy in the fridge... On we go....
We make it to Thompson... the Greyhound bus (or whatever bus line they have) has delivered our new side window to the auto shop. While the window is being installed, I dress (some would say "undress") the grouse, and ... guess what folks? That was dinner that night. Okay, so it did taste a bit like pine needles... and yeah... what we did was no doubt illegal... but... hey.... why let a perfectly good bird go to waste?
And, no, it didn't taste like chicken.
That's All For Today!
Well you're braver than I for eating road kill. Not that the means of dispatching it would have made any difference.
ReplyDeleteI note how you mention that by nine in the morning it's already "hot". Reminded me of Puerto Rico. "Going for a walk", meant having to get out there early, because by 9 or 10 it was time for a swim.
That Korean model was on the list of possible company cars when we first moved to the Netherlands. I had never heard of it either, but then did see many of them throughout Europe. Don't have any around here.
Like you said why waste a perfectly good bird. I know back home if you hit a deer, I knew a few people to call, and they would be right there and take care of it. Even give you a roast or two after it was processed.
ReplyDeleteI love reading about your adventures - you should publish a book!
ReplyDeleteThe view, as you recount the reminiscence, is equally fun.
ReplyDelete"Waste not, want not", is the motto for your road kill story. In my humble opinion, you did the right thing. Sometimes the "right" thing isn't always the "legal" thing.
ReplyDeleteYou were making the best out of an unfortunate situation. Sure a lot better than killing for sport an not using the trophy for humane purposes! The manner in which you put together this post is very interesting; thanks for the crativity.
ReplyDeleteIt just became legal in Montana to harvest roadkill. May be my imagination but I think we are seeing fewer dead deer beside the roads.
ReplyDeleteWe always see a lot of dead possums, racoons and squirrels around here. The other day we were driving in Veneta, a small town near Eugene, and there was a dead deer on the sidewalk not far from the elementary school. It was a small deer, but nobody had been there to pick it up. Don't think we have enough people around here who truly appreciate what's readily available sometimes.
ReplyDeleteYou are a bitty more adventurous than I would be as far as dinner, Sharon, and try as I might I could not come up with a suitable pun.
ReplyDelete