Roadkill

If you are squeamish at all,
then stop reading here......

So, this may be a little rough for you.
If you are still reading.


How far do you have to go to get food?
The Supermarket?
Farmer's Market?
Roadside Sales?
Or only as far as the Roadside?

It so happens that when you combine a busy county road with a dense population of wildlife, 
there will be certain casualties.
It is the end for some,
and the beginning for others.


A bounty lays along the shoulders of the road.
Ironically, the wealth of easy food brings others into danger.
They too, often become part of the buffet.
Road Raccoons are most often hit, 
while dining on squashed frogs.

The carnage may not appear to be so severe.
The thoroughfare is cleaned scrupulously,
by the diners themselves.
Every last bit of meat and bone and offal 
are gone. 
Zero waste. Perfect.


And so, why should we not partake of the feast.
We share this land with our forest friends.
Surely, we are entitled to part of the spoils.
And so, we do.

The last three grouse that we have eaten,
were killed without any shots fired.
One was a cat's kill; 
Offered up in return for praise and physical touch.
The hatchback and the van respectively,
deserve the credit for the remaining two birds.

A most memorable evening was spent, several years ago,
when we helped process a moose.
We had to retrieve it from the woods,
where the cops had shot it.
I know, that's crazy!
I believe that there were seventeen rounds fired.
None of them discharged by the moose.

There was a phone call this morning.
Someone had hit a deer.
Someone else spotted the hit deer.
He told a friend.
The friend finished the deer off.
For, strikes are not always fatal.
Another friend called me.
We have our cold room,
and a hoist for working on the fresh carcass.

Strictly speaking, 
wild game is among the healthiest food sources.
Perhaps, in a post-apocalyptic future,
I may fulfill my role as a roadside butcher.

Does anyone else hear Banjos?