I killed my first Alaskan mammal the other day without even pulling a trigger. I squished a snowshoe hare with my car. I tried to avoid it but the thing seemed to be on a suicide mission, dodging this way and that until it was lined up with my tire.
Nothing worse than the dull thump of tire meeting critter. Wait, I take it back, the second thump is worse. I hate the second thump.
Trying to make myself feel better about the whole thing, I began to notice just how many fuzzy white carcasses are frozen to the asphalt. There's about one every couple hundred feet. Driving down the street at night, you'll see hares by the hundreds at the side of the road. No wonder so many of them become fuzzy speed bumps.
One of the local papers ran an article on the current infestation of snowshoe hares that included a tasty looking recipe. I asked Hunter to go out and get me a couple to try. He hasn't done it yet. I bet he's thinking it's too much work; the local hares are looking pretty skinny these days. I'd probably need four or five of them for a stew.
Can't say I blame him. Especially when we have such a full freezer. Maybe in the spring, when we're moosed-out, the hares will start looking chubbier and tastier.
Milton hasn't brought one home in days. That might have something to do with the deep snow. It's pretty hard for him to leap after them. His 60lb frame sinks deeper into the snow that his light and large-footed prey. I'm happy about that.
We're gearing up for a Christmas long weekend. We still don't have a tree. Every time we find ourselves ready to go, nature responds by pelting us with blowing snow, rain or a nasty combination of the two. We're fully planning an Alaskatarian tree, too. Tradition is tradition and Hunter and I are going to pack the toddler out to the local tree cutting area and get us a true Alaskan Christmas tree. I've been looking forward to it for ages, I think the kid will love it. We just need the weather to cooperate.
Labels: snowshoe hare
