Oh Deer... All Done
     I spent much of the last two days butchering the deer I got, cutting the meat from the bone instead of sawing through the bones like your local slaughter houses Some I made jerky. I made up a recipe like usual and this time it is almost too hot and spicy. It makes the tongue tingle.
     I cut some into bite size pieces and cold pack canned it in Mason jars. I made nine quarts.
     Much of it I sliced into steaks and chops. They are packaged and frozen. The rest I am planning on grinding and after I spice it, I will put it into a casing for salami. I shouldn't have only one choice when I want to eat some of the venison.
     All totaled, I think that I have about seventy-five to eighty pounds of meat saved and preserved for the winter.
     I am not greedy though. The rib cage I leave almost intact. All of the scraps and much of the suet I dump inside the ribs. It looks like a cornucopia an that's what I call it; a cornucopia for the birds. I placed in a tree where most animals cannot get it, but allows easy access for the birds.
     Today I saw ravens, crows, some chick-a-dees and a hawk. I am not sure what species it was. With the harsh cold winter winds, the fat from the suet is what the birds need to survive and that is what I give them. Last year, I had cardinals and blue jays there, but I haven't seen them yet this year.