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simply incredible!

VERY PRETTY RENDERING...
JEALOUS AND IN AWE OF IT ALL..
Like the pose too..

P

Thanx Milo and GOGOPEDRO.
Glad you like it.

beautiful! (I'm JEALOUS too :))
i´d never got to understand acrylic, it's simply a mistery to me!

congrats, and I hope you understand my english...

Hermoso (también te envidio) nunca pude entender los acrilicos, simplemente es un misterio para mi!

Felicitaciones!

Lovely!

Thank you

Wow! This is beautiful.

You are so brave and self-reliant. I've been working hard to learn all about the foraging of locally growing green things (makes one feel most virtuous!)- but haven't been been courageous enough to extend that to animal life.

Well done! I have to admit, rabbits have a "cute factor" decidedly missing from fish and poultry, so it would be more difficult to prep a rabbit. But I'm with you--know your meat, and realize that a creature gave its life to nourish you and yours.

We have been very frank with my niece about where meat, fish and poultry come from. She has a gentle heart, and is uncomfortable with the thought that animals died to make our dinner. I suspect she may go vegetarian as an adult.

Lovely photos...okay I did skip over some parts I admit...but you do constantly amaze me (in a good way lol).

Excellent stuff Gretel, Ray Mears would be proud. The clearing of the bladder should be done as soon as possible to stop meat contamination. Reminds me of the survival training I used to do in the military, except sometimes we had squirrel!

I haven't skinned a rabbit personally, but I do eat them, and our local game shop leaves the pluck in (liver, kidneys, heart), which is very yummy gently flash-fried (the dog gets the heart)!

My mother made finger-puppets out of rabbit skin, which she'd skinned herself, and I'd be tempted to use the skin in some way, shape or form - but I'm not quite sure how to go about doing that!

I admire you well done! Not sure I could do it!

thanks for your comment, i'm glad you like my work! most impressed with your rabbit skinning abilities -i'm a farmer's wife (a REALLY crap one) and i'm sure that somewhere it says you should be able to do such things, but sadly i don't think i could! :)

Well done you! We don't get rabbits in the cutting garden unless the cats bring them in frm elsewhere but I am firmly with Mr MacGregor on this ne

Mind you we do get hares and I love them and would not have anyone shoot them at all, despite the nibbled hedging plants.

J

I noticed that Tash commented on doing something with the skin, there are lots of instructions on the internet about preparing pelts. It is actually a very simple, if lengthly, process. Stuarts' brother has been doing it for years and Stuart started preparing a deer skin (actually given to him by the butcher) before his accident, months later it is still a w.i.p. but at least it isn't smelly or fly blown. Anyway I digress, Stu deals with any plucking or skinning in our household which is only fair as he is really the only one in the household who enjoys game. I don't mind a bit of pheasant provided I have lashings of bread sauce but dislike the taste of rabbit and hare intensely. I am however fairly confident that I could do the job myself if absolutely neccessary.
BTW well done for managing on such a low budget, maybe you could write a sort of frugal food ?cookbook

Hi PG,

thanks a lot, Im leaving this place (Romania tomorrow) will be home in Italy 2 weeks.
I will try to post if I can for the next weeks but for sure will start again when settled in Bangkok, lots of stuff to post from there.

Take good care and see you soon again.
Mary

Well done Gretel! It's good to think that Mr Rabbit didn't go to waste - afterall as you said he wouldn't have known much about the swift despatch and being marinaded in white wine vinegar and herbs sounds like a much more preferable end than being squished into the tarmac by endless car tyres or being slowly devoured by maggots. It's a shame most of us are raised to be at distance from the origins of our food - there is something honest and pure about your encounter with the rabbit - bet he'll taste good!

Hope your rabbit stew was delicious! I agree, the skin should be used for something - I was taught in Greece to home-cure sheepskin by staking it out upsidedown in the garden covered in salt(on the fleshy side) - it turned out ok if a bit stiff and we used it as a rug for years while the dog slowly chewed it smaller and smaller.....

Brave lass - I love my meat, but am absolutely rubbish when it comes to things like that!

On a totally unrelated note.... your nipping press and printing adventures: I'm thinking of buying a nipping press - you may recall that I want to take some of my forthcoming GD back to basics.... you don't happen to have a tutorial about using one of these things, do you? I'm after kooky ways of putting together plates and printing without masses of cost.... any tips, chickadee?

x

You continually amaze me. I think you'd be a great candidate for the show Survivor...you have no fear.
At least the bunny did not die in vain....he nourished the two of you and did not lie on the road with no destiny.
XOXO

Oh yet another visit where I am astounded by the countryside surrounding you!!! just beautiful - if I can't see it for myself I know I can at least get a portion here. I am full of admiration for you and your rabbit preparing skills - it is good to know the rabbit was not wasted - I really have a desire to go back to the former days of knowing exactly where your supper was coming from and what is in it.

Well done you !!!

Our children have plucked feathers from chickens since they were young for us to eat. Other children ask them all the time how they can eat their chickens, but the kids just tell them it's okay as we'll just bread some more.

In fact we rearely buy meat from the butchers due to the expense. Also there's nothing better than knowing that you've reared the birds yourself.

Have you considered breeding rabbits for meat. The woodcutter used to years ago.

"Then following my computer print out, I gutted him. This was quite easy - I have to say, once you get over the fact that you have your hand stuck in a load of fresh offal, you are over the hurdle and the rest is plain sailing. "

LOL! I have to say... rabbit is one item that is NEVER encountered on the menu this side of the pond. I have seen ostrich, buffalo, venison and alligator.

But NO rabbit!

:0)

jn

I've been a vegetarian for years, but I found your rabbit encounter and subsequent pot finale fascinating. I'm reading Barbara Kingsolver's latest book (non-fiction) and if it could be summed up in just a few words, they would be KNOW YOUR FOOD. It deals with the loss of small farms, the urgent need to return to organic ways of growing food and her family's journey away from the industrial food pipeline to a rural lifestyle, eating only food that they've produced themselves and food produced by their neighbours in Appalachia. It's called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and it's right up your alley. She would be cheering from the sidelines as you skinned the rabbit.

if only all animals could have such a quick death.

Hi Gretel: This is post is one of your best and it is exactly why I love your blog so much! So honest and no nonsense. And your photos are fabulous. I live in the British countryside vicariously through you. Thanks so much.

I think eating the rabbit in some ways gives meaning to his or her death. An accidental death to an unsuspecting rabbit, provides and accidental dinner to an unsuspecting passer-by.

As someone said above, leaving the rabbit to be squished and defiled by cars running it over would have been wrong.

I'm in awe of your brave boldness.