Need Help..... What Is It

[Ed Kennell 35,809]

I spotted this family of creatures crossing the field today.  Should I be concerned for the horses safety ?

 

 

 

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,052]

What the What?

[ol550 829]

The 3rd one is the only one I would be worried about, the rest look domesticated.

[jackhammer 544]

I think they live in the heavy forest of NY.  

[DennisThornton 4,769]

I feel the need to comment, it's just not coming to just yet...

[oliver2-44 8,852]

I suspect their native to Pa and from the looks of the first one, related to Big Foot!

[DougC 2,641]

Them's good eat'in. Taste like chicken..........

[stevasaurus 22,230]

Na, they are OK.  We have them here in Illinois too.  The federal government brought them in a couple years ago from the Yucatan Peninsula.  it is an experiment to control the Earwig infestations in all the county forest preserves around here.  Those look a little bigger then ours.  They do make a funny noise though, if you run over one of them on a bike path. 

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,052]

2 hours ago, oliver2-44 said:

I suspect their native to Pa and from the looks of the first one, related to Big Foot!

I think they are related to my uncle Max, he has less hair but the same expression and lives in S W Pa.

[Ed Kennell 35,809]

Well, I appreciate all your help with the ID, but I think I got the answer today when my high school buddy Skinner stopped by to pick up the road killed opossum I have been keeping  in the crisper drawer of Mrs .K's fridge for two weeks.  I can't believe she didn't see it hidden under the celery.

Skinner knows his animals, but  failed to get his degree in biology when he was banned for life from entering any Pa Public School System. 

How could I forget that day in 10th grade biology lab when Skinner dropped his partially dissected frog specimen  down the front of our  22 year old student teachers dress. Who wouda thought Ms. Hostetter while wearing those pumps with 4" heels could run like a deer.  It took half of the cross country relay team to catch her and several defensive linemen from the football team to tackle her and remove the frog.  Whata mess.

Sorry, I digress...anyway, Skinner did continue his higher education via a mail order taxidermy course offered by Sam and Laura  Touchstonel.

So, when I showed Skinner the pic of these creatures,  He  immediately recognized them as the elusive  Big Horned Two Toed  Tundra Bunny.

Skinner says they are a mutant offspring of the native North American Cervus Canadenis (elk) and the Eurasian Native Rangifer Tarandus (reindeer).    Then Skinner proceeded to explain how the reindeer found its way to North America to mate with the elk.

 As the story goes, the ranchers of Finland  were able to domesticate these wild reindeer and teach them to pull sleds as a means of transportation in their snow covered land.   Then one winter one of these  bearded  jolly old fat Fins took it up a notch and taught eight of these reindeer to fly.

Of course, they took the scenic route over the North Pole to get to North America.

 

As  Paul Harvey would say......"And now you know the rest of  the story"

 

 

 

[tunahead72 2,342]

It's gettin' deep in here.

[WHX?? 46,804]

Now I don't much about that Ed (so says Forest Gump) ...but I think I did take one out, quite by accident, with the 520 the the other day, sounded like a rock goin thru the deck, lot messier that a frog or a snake too. Now I gotta go pull the blades for a sharpen....

[DougC 2,641]

I still says them's good eat'n. Pass the biscuits and mustard, and another can a that potted tundra bunny meat yep, um hum....... 

[WHX?? 46,804]

I get the feeling you would eat   the south end of a north bound skunk Doug....

[KC9KAS 4,741]

@ekennell Have you fallen recently and hit your head, or have you been smoking your dinner?

[Ed Kennell 35,809]

1 hour ago, DougC said:

I still says them's good eat'n. Pass the biscuits and mustard, and another can a that potted tundra bunny meat yep, um hum....... 

You got me interested Doug.  I gotta call Skinner and tell him to save that possum carcass.

I'm thinkin roast possum stuffed with tundra bunny and sour krout for Christmas dinner.

Bout how long do you cook the bunnies to soften the toes ??

[DougC 2,641]

I boil my bunnies first like you would an owl, then fry 'em in veg. oil.  Man O man dats good stuff....

[953 nut 51,735]

3 hours ago, ekennell said:

road killed opossum I have been keeping  in the crisper drawer of Mrs .K's fridge for two weeks.  I can't believe she didn't see it hidden under the celery.

 Obviously Mrs. K never sees your postings; keep it that way, we love them.   

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,052]

Down here in Richmond Va we cook them like Shad ( the fish) . Nail them to a plank of wood. Cover with horse manure. Cook for 5 hours by an open flame. After 5 hours remove from flame, peel back manure , throw tundra bunny away. Eat manure with large amount of spirits of your choice , never speak of the party or the food served. 

[953 nut 51,735]

1 hour ago, elcamino/wheelhorse said:

throw tundra bunny away. Eat manure with large amount of spirits of your choice

Jim, now that I know the recipe,       I won't be stooping by for dinner after-all!       

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,052]

You are a smart man. You don't even want to think about New Years day feast. 

[Ed Kennell 35,809]

15 hours ago, KC9KAS said:

@ekennell Have you fallen recently and hit your head, or have you been smoking your dinner?

Nope KC, I stopped smoking on Oct. 30, 1955. 

I don't know if it could be a factor in the condition of my mental health, but I probably have "accidently" huffed 2-3 rattle cans of Rustoleum Regal Red  and a couple cu ft of cover gas from ESAB flux cored weld wire in the past 10 years and  I have gotten in the habit of taking my arthritis pain meds with a glass of JB.

I don't remember ever falling, but I do wake up on the floor quite often and wonder how I got there.   

 

Edited December 10, 2015 by ekennell

[WHX?? 46,804]

16 hours ago, ekennell said:

Bout how long do you cook the bunnies to soften the toes ??

Same as you do deer horns & unused deer tags.....Boil the pi$$ outta them and serve with a hacksaw & plenty of condiments...and

 

1 hour ago, ekennell said:

with a glass of JB.

 

[Ed Kennell 35,809]

Good news....Skinner dropped of the possum carcass today so we're all set for Christmas dinner.   Guess I'll let the ham hang till Easter.

Mrs. K asked me to chop the pumpkins for the pies so I got that done yesterday.   Mad Max tiller sure comes in handy.

  Mrs. K is really fussy with her pies and she always double strains the pumpkin through cheese cloth to take out the stingy stuff, so I don't think we'll have any problems.

 

And as luck would have it, yesterday I picked up this new load of road apples for my garden , now I can't wait to try some of those recipes Doug and Jim  have posted.   We Yankees have a little different variation on Jim's shad recipe though.  Up here the shad are known as Susquehanna

Salmon, and  we bake em on a hickory plank for 10 hours then throw the Salmon in the garden for fertilizer and eat the plank. Not sure how that road apple seasoning is gonna blend with the hickory, but I'm game.

 

Well, gotta go, Mrs. K wants me to get the pumpkins ready to cook and strain.....She really appreciates my help.

 

 

 

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,052]

Good one, had the wife read your latest post , she may have peed her pants a little due to laughing so hard.