DEC|27|11

A Mouse Fit for a Meal

This past year the cat died. An unpredicted consequence of this was a deluge of field mice she had been keeping at bay by sleeping all day. Dad decides to put out some traps. I feel pretty bad about killing them, but they already got into the food, ravishing my popcorn and adorning the tattered bag with a pile of poo. The first night ended with Dad finding 2 dead mice. He disposed of them, reset the traps, (got a third in minutes!) and left for work. Over the next few hours another mouse was captured. It looked like a clean kill, but I still couldn't just throw this little dude away. I was determined to respect the life of this mouse. After a few minutes I decide to practice skinning, dressing, and... eating this mouse.

I had been reading a lot of survival books, and had also watched a few videos of how to dress a rabbit. With no real experience, armed with only some book-smarts and a youtube video... I got out my pocket knife. Rigor mortis was just setting in; I repositioned the limbs with faint creaks and chopped off her little feet with four loud cracks. Next the head comes free. I cut where the mouse trap had already broken the neck, making a clean cut. Off came the skin, which was much tougher than I imagined. I peeled back the skin all the way down the tail, leaving me an intact hide. Interestingly, the skin on the tail "squeeks" when you compress the air in it.

The innards were also quite tough and stomach was a bit bloated. Still all of the guts remained intact as I cut the membrane to release them. The kidneys grasped to the the insides of the mouse, requiring a flick of the blade to be set free. I cut apart and set aside the heart, liver, and kidneys. Well, I actually ate the heart raw. How else could I gain the powers of the fallen?! haha.

As I stuck the dressed meat into the refrigerator I heard another snap. This mouse was not cleanly killed; he was suffering. I didn't know what to do so I grabbed my boot and bashed it twice. It was still alive. Crouched down next to it and apologized as I smashed its head with the toe of my boot. A sad time indeed, but I would definitely not let this one go to waste either. I followed the same routine and harvested a second mouse. I was rewarded this time with a still warm heart, consumed straight from the chest of my victim!

After dressing the second mouse, I tucked them into the refrigerator for a few hours. I decided to make a simple stir fry with the mice. I have pretty much never cooked meat before, but it came out great! I softened up my veggies, tossed the mice in, and buried them in deliciousness. In the end, with just bones remaining, my appetite was staved off for another few hours. The meat was pretty standard chicken-ish. The kidneys, though a little overcooked, were good, and the livers were delicious!