Unpacking the cooler my friend overnighted me, I found a little vacuum sealed bag with what looked to be a squirrel inside.

But, humans, enterprising beings that we are, have undoubtedly eaten them, although the only historical anecdote IвЂ™ve come across is Indigenous people cooking buffalo fetus for the elderly who have problems chewing. Besides a casual Reddit mention, I canвЂ™t. What I really wanted to know though, was if there was a tradition of eating unborn animals around the world I could find. IвЂ™ve always been fascinating by the odd, unusual edible, and, IвЂ™m also a passionate consumer of offal and organ meats, so, itвЂ™s honestly right up my alley. And, for the past few years, the does heвЂ™s harvested have had some extra baggage in their unborn fetuses. So, just so happens I have a friend in Virginia that participates in his local urban deer cull, and itвЂ™s in the spring. If you harvest and butcher one of those does in the spring though, the butchery can be, ahem, more interesting. When a hunter harvests a doe, the last thing they probably think about is if sheвЂ™d been with a buck. Mating season of deer should be around October-Dec. In Wisconsin and Minnesota, the deer season runs (roughly here, including archery) from late September to mid November.В In places where urban deer culls are held, the season may not be in the fall, it might be later in the winter, or nearly spring, or, as in the case of the cull at U-M Dearborn I link to at the end of this post, over Spring break. IвЂ™ve seen some homeowners get pretty fired up about them. Hosta shoots are one of the preferred urban snacks for deer where I live. And, as my hosta-growing neighbors can tell you, an urban garden and landscaping is a just a giant, 24-hour salad bambi bar. Bears ( on my mind as IвЂ™m getting ready for an off-grid trip into the British Canadian Wilderness as I write this) are well known for being adaptive carnivores. Squirrels love nuts, but also donвЂ™t mind a slice of old pizza. We all know racoons are adept at opening garbage cans.

In a way weвЂ™ve created a new, almost perfect habitat for wild creatures to find food. Most of you will know that there are a lot of deer in America, and that human-deer conflicts from overpopulation can be an issue in some places. If you eat meat, and you appreciate the interesting odd tidbit, you may find it interesting, as I did. As a disclaimer, I have to tell you that if youвЂ™re one of my vegetarian or vegan friends, youвЂ™ll probably want to skip this one. Whenever a Bird, Bug or Bean shows up you have to act fast You've got to tweet for the Birds, clap or slap the Bugs and toot for the Beans. IвЂ™ve always loved Halloween, and I usually do something вЂњseasonalвЂќ when it comes around. A custom illustration just for this post by artist Xee Reiter. When he couldnГўВЂВ™t find one, he did what folks in this part of the country (and in particular, Ville Platte) do bestГўВЂВ”he went to work and dreamed one up.A pregnant doe in a semi urban setting.

While running the Walker family deli, TW started his search for a seasoning that had a real Cajun pepper taste without the heavy salt content of the national brands. To tell you the truth, he never even thought about it. To this day, TW has never once slapped his mama. It was here, back in 1956, that Wilda Marie Fontenot Walker gave birth to Anthony Walker (affectionately known by friends and family as ГўВЂВњTWГўВЂВќ), the one-of-a-kind creator and sole originator of the award winning Slap Ya Mama brand seasoningГўВЂВ”recommended for everything from popcorn to popcorn shrimp, breakfast to late night snacks, and gourmet foods to French fries. ItГўВЂВ™s a magical place, no doubtГўВЂВ”even by LouisianaГўВЂВ™s high standards. The self-proclaimed smoked meats capital of the world, Ville Platte is also world famous for its modern-day jousting tournament, the incomparable FloydГўВЂВ™s Record Shop, and the magnificent Chicot State Park. The Walker Family is proud to produce their line of top quality Cajun seasonings and recipes in their hometown of Ville Platte, Louisiana.

Slap and beans