Tuesday 17 May 2011

Roadkill

Very sadly, this old bird flew into the front of my car. It was immediate death.  I slowed in surprise and shock, the van behind overtook me, the approaching vehicle passed and in the mirror, seeing the pheasant lying in the road,  thought, "Oh what a waste," and reversed to rescue it.  Having researched what to do, I bravely dunked it in boiling water in my preserving pan cauldron, wet plucked it and wearing gloves emptied the poor thing, set it on paper in a sealed container in the fridge for my memory to fade with instructions to  Captain Sensible to braise it after 5 to 7 days. It was a  bit of a tough old bird, but I blessed it and thanked it for providing food as  braised casserole, a meat pie and soup.

Although there was a time of great poverty when my children remember me trying to kill a bird by driving at them, which was stupidly dangerous of me, I have never to my knowledge killed a game bird in this way.  I am not proud of taking a life but it did just fly straight into my car.

I do not wish to repeat the experience of plucking and gutting but would do so again if I had to!
And I was a vegetarian for over 23 years!

4 comments:

*Ulrike* said...

Very interesting, and I'm sure a lot of people would not turn up their nose if they were starving!

ladybird said...

When you wrote that you 'went to rescue it' I thought you were going to perform mouth-to-mouth respiration on the poor thing. And when you put it in warm water, I still thought that you were going to try and save it. It was only when you mentioned plucking it, that I finally understood what was about to happen ... :) Martine

GaynorB said...

It would have been a much greater waste to have left the bird.

Well done.......... I can see that you found it all very difficult - not certain I could have done it!

Carolyn said...

Ladybird, your comment made me laugh!

Sweetpea, I think that's very enterprising of you.