Bookerdog's PNW Freedom Fest Chainsaw Rally

[Just Mow]

This is the roadcut at 3200 feet at the base of Alpental ski area....that's about 20 feet worth of strata, with the 32" of new snow from 2 weeks ago on top...snowed another 3 feet or so since then...

Paradise Ranger Station, 5500 feet, at Mt Rainier, just past 800 inches of snowfall for the year.....which is still far below the 1998-99 world record of 1140 inches at Mt. Baker. There's currently 215 inches on the ground at Paradise, but in 98-99, Baker peaked at a 340 inch snowpack!--and 315 inches at 5500 feet at Alpental, just 50 miles from Seattle.

Jackson Hole in Wyoming has had over 600 inches fall, an all-time record. 482 inches at Monarch, Colo. also a record.....Silverton has over 550 inches, a record, prolly several other records in Colorado.....Wolf Creek, in SE Co, averages nearly 500 inches a year of total snowfall, briefly touched 205 inches base depth, back in Feb.....
Alta, Utah has had 672", but 800 or so is their record. Alyeska, 826 inches (But their base depth is 30 inches at near sea level, versus 208" up top...this is typical of the last few years in alaska, where temps really are a lot warmer----permafrost melting earlier, Arctic sea pack ice much reduced....)

Thanks RB, the closest I have ever been to a lot of snow was a trip to Pennsylvania many years ago. I enjoyed it while visiting but if you didn't grow up around it, then it get's old after awhile.

 

[GASoline71]

Just wait till all this crap melts in a month or so...

Gary

 

[Gologit]

You mean there's not going to be any squirrel stew for the GTG? Hmmm..

Put me on the same list as Gologit... I'm honored kind sir.

Ian

Thankyou!! And pellet guns will work just fine for townie squirrels. They're quiet and they don't destroy as much useable meat.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

Thankyou!! And pellet guns will work just fine for townie squirrels. They're quiet and they don't destroy as much useable meat.

Not mine. It throws a 14gr 22 cal pellet 850fps and sounds like a 22 short when I pull the trigger. I dropped a couple starlings the other day at 60 and 85 yds. Those were lucky shots mind you, not the norm. It seems to be acting up this spring for some reason tho, won't stay as consistent as last year.

Ian

 

[MNTAINGAL23]

Squirrel feeders? Baiting them is illegal here I think. Do you shoot them with the 22 or a good pellet gun? My mom would love to have me shoot the squirrels that constantly raid her bird feeders but she's a "townie". The police would not like me shooting up the neighborhood.

Ian

Sometimes the cats try to catch them but the squirrels are pretty fast and smart.
My Mom has a whole family of them that come right up to her that she feeds. She even has names for all of them.
We don't eat them let alone shoot them.
Don't look like they have much meat on them anyway.:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Gologit]

We don't shoot tree squirrels but ground squirrels are considered a varmint here. They colonize and dig holes that the horses and cows step into. :censored:

So far I've never eaten one but the hawks and coyotes sure seem to like them. Maybe Haywire can give me a recipe for squirrel stew.

 

[Lakeside53]

Brunswick Stew

3-pounds of squirrel, cut with a cleaver through bones into 2-inch pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained, reserving juice, and chopped
1 (10-ounce) package frozen corn
1 (10-ounce) package frozen lima beans

Preparation

Pat squirrel dry and sprinkle evenly with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.

Whisk together flour and cayenne in a shallow bowl, then dredge squirrel in flour, shaking off excess.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wide 6- to 7-quart heavy pot over medium heat until it shimmers. Brown half of squirrel, turning once, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to a plate. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pot and brown remaining squirrel; transfer to plate.

Add remaining tablespoon oil to pot along with onion, bell pepper, garlic, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes.

Add bay leaf, broth, tomatoes with juice, and squirrel with any meat juices from plate and bring to a simmer. Simmer, covered, 50 minutes.

Stir in corn and lima beans, then simmer, uncovered, until stew is slightly thickened and vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf.

 

[slowp]

Probably tastes just like chicken. My old dog killed a lot of those pesky ground squirrels and kept the yard free of moles. Dogs shouldn't eat moles.
She buried all her kills, then after a few days, dug them up and rolled on them.
At the same time we were talking about the need to teach kids to make fake eyebrows out of moss after teaching the art of starting fires with gas, we discussed shooting near cats to make them come down the tree that they are staying up in. A friend told the tale of his brother who refused to loan out his police issue sniper rifle so it could be fired close to a kitty, and test out whether bark sprayed in the face of a kitty would make it move downwards. We then talked about using my must compensate for the drop of the beebe Daisy rifle to gently get the kitty to move down the tree. But, when I arrived home, no kitty was up the tree. We have to use quiet weapons because a state game guy lives very close and this is a no shoot area. The beebe gun is well suited to the area. Shhhhhhh.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

We don't shoot tree squirrels but ground squirrels are considered a varmint here. They colonize and dig holes that the horses and cows step into. :censored:

So far I've never eaten one but the hawks and coyotes sure seem to like them. Maybe Haywire can give me a recipe for squirrel stew.

Slit the little bugger open and pull all the insides out. Chop his tail off and pull the bone out. Pack the tail with salt and hang it on a nail in your man cave/barn/shop. Peel'em like a banana to get all the fur off. Chop off the bulbous end that contains the eyes. Quarter what's left. Place these in a pan of salty water overnight. The next day put about 3 squirrels in a crock pot with potatoes, whatever veggies you like with enough water to cover it all and turn it on high all day. On the way home from work, stop by McDonalds and get a 1/4 pounder value meal. When you get home, take off the lid and stir the contents. Eat the value meal. Empty the contents of the crock pot into the toilet and flush several times. Use plunger if necessary. Check Squirrel feeder for more crock pot ingredients.

Ian

 

[Cedarkerf]

Squirrel hunting big time Midwest deal. Went squirrel hunting while in Indiana with a friend they take it seriously well never understand.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I'll bet I haven't been squirrel hunting in 10 years. It's been about 5 since I went rabbit hunting. Didn't have any luck either time. Down in Ga, they jump right in front of you when you stomp the fence lines. Here they were moving 50yds ahead of me. No wonder they use dogs to hunt them here.

Ian

 

[Gologit]

Slit the little bugger open and pull all the insides out. Chop his tail off and pull the bone out. Pack the tail with salt and hang it on a nail in your man cave/barn/shop. Peel'em like a banana to get all the fur off. Chop off the bulbous end that contains the eyes. Quarter what's left. Place these in a pan of salty water overnight. The next day put about 3 squirrels in a crock pot with potatoes, whatever veggies you like with enough water to cover it all and turn it on high all day. On the way home from work, stop by McDonalds and get a 1/4 pounder value meal. When you get home, take off the lid and stir the contents. Eat the value meal. Empty the contents of the crock pot into the toilet and flush several times. Use plunger if necessary. Check Squirrel feeder for more crock pot ingredients.

Ian

Well, that was good for a spray of Sprite all over the monitor and keyboard.

Somebody rep him for me if you can...I'm all out. And my gut hurts from laughing.

 

[Lakeside53]

Rep me; mine taste better.


Oh,., I rep'd Hayward, but i'll get him good at the GTG...

 

[teacherman]

Try this instead

Squirrel feeders? Baiting them is illegal here I think. Do you shoot them with the 22 or a good pellet gun? My mom would love to have me shoot the squirrels that constantly raid her bird feeders but she's a "townie". The police would not like me shooting up the neighborhood.

Ian

Here is an ingenious solution for politically correct locales...

http://www.killsometime.com/video/video.asp?ID=870

Aim it toward teh PETA member's house.:greenchainsaw:

 

[rbtree]

Hilarious......

 

[Bowtie]

Squirrels are evil.

 

[04ultra]

Treerats

 

[sILlogger]

well..i had a day of working on saws/drinking beer/turtle eradification out of the lake with my .22....and one or two with my .270 just for fun..(way overkill)..and i can say i eat squirells..the little grays are the best..i always just dip them in milk&egg, cover with flower and fry them..or you can slow cook them with veggies and they are pretty good. and i eat rabbits, dove, deer, turkey...if it lives in the woods and i can kill it legally i eat it.

 

[slowp]

Boring weather report. An inch and a half of white stuff on the ground this morning. Bah.

Now back to squirrels.....

 

[MNTAINGAL23]

I'll bet I haven't been squirrel hunting in 10 years. It's been about 5 since I went rabbit hunting. Didn't have any luck either time. Down in Ga, they jump right in front of you when you stomp the fence lines. Here they were moving 50yds ahead of me. No wonder they use dogs to hunt them here.

Ian

We have a cat that loves to catch the bunnies and eat them.
One of our young cats found a bunny and was making it scream from fright when the older cat heard that, she ran right over and killed it.
Our two girls chased her down trying to get the bunny from her.
She wasn't going to share.
Oh, and we have about 1/2 inch of more snow on the ground this morning. I am really ready for it to go away and for the warm weather to kick in.
Who would have thought we would still be burning in the wood stove at this time of the year?