DISCLAIMER: Animals were hurt during the making of this post. Really hurt. Like Bambi’s mother hurt.
This weekend, Babs, my mom, sent an email with two troubling pictures attached. The email was entitled, He Finally Snagged One.
She was quite put out, because her neighbors recently constructed what she called The Gallows in their backyard. Every time Babs set foot on her porch, this monstrosity was in plain sight.
Before I show you these pictures, you need to understand that my parents live in suburban New Jersey, in a town full of white-collar yuppies who take the local train into Manhattan for work. They shop at Pottery Barn. They buy artisanal bread. Their kids play lacrosse.
In my parents’ world, the world in which I grew up, people have graduation parties and swing sets in their back yards. They do not have…well. This:
I’m sorry, Babs. If it makes you feel any better, now that Peppermeister and I are out in western New Jersey, we have deer in our backyard every day, too.
Of course, they’re still alive…
Do you have any neighbor horror stories? No? Any good venison recipes?
Go Jules Go 
K, I hit the “like” button,,but it was NOT for the pic.
When ex and I first moved into our new home in the country from Toronto,,on the 1st wknd we had deer in the backyard,,and ex was super excited when they started doing “it”,,he ran got the camera,,and took dirty pics to show the family!
If I was Babs, I would’ve called the police and reported a lynching in the backyard,,,just sayin……
There should totally be an ‘unsee’ button on this post.
Now that’s a blog post in the making, right there. Or maybe the start of a really great 2014 calendar!!
Am I the only one who’s wondering how they managed to strap that critter to the hood of their Lexus SUV?
I’m not entirely sure m’self, but luckily, they found a water and gut-proof mat slash duvet cover at Pottery Barn last week, which worked perfectly to line the hood of their car.
This ^ is pee my pants funny. Thank you. You owed me after the creepy pictures.
Thank you, Kelly! …I feel like I owe everyone a free therapy session after this post.
It’s off to Williams-Sonoma for some Jamaican Jerk Venison rub!
Recipe Idea:
1. Remove venison from metal noose.
2. Skin, remove offal, de-bone, chop into bite size chunks.
3. Throw away.
4. Have a salad.
5. Report neighbour for shameful display of deer abuse.
6. Let us never speak of this again.
7. I said, let us NEVER speak of this again.
1. Protect this comment from spam filter / hellfire.
2. Laugh butt off.
3. Thank Richard for step 2.
4. Have salad.
5. Wish salad had bacon.
6. Feel thankful that salad was eaten sans dead deer backdrop. Sorry, Babs.
Oooooh, whilst I think about it, I also have a bad neighbour story (please excuse correct ‘English’ spelling of neighbor).
During a very heavy snowstorm, I crashed my car and was rescued by my neighbour who kept me confined to a bed before crippling me by smashing my ankles to pieces with a giant sledgehammer. She then forced me to write my blog until she found it funny…..i’m still here…..please help…..
Wow, I wish I could help, but I’m too busy watching this really scary movie. I think it’s called Misery.
I’m from Tennessee, so this is pretty usual. And by usual I mean gross. Ick!
I had serious second thoughts about posting those pictures.
Then I had serious third thoughts when I realized I couldn’t stop laughing as I wrote this post. I was a vegetarian for like, six years. What the hell happened to me?
Good grief!
Babs loves to say that when things like this happen! How did you know?
it’s a well worn expression in my repatiore
My brother’s neighbour hangs his bloody trophies in his garage and they drip down the driveway. I nearly fainted on the walk up to the door.
*gasp* Not knowing your brother, my mind would have totally gone to an American Psycho place walking up that driveway.
All I can picture is the blood and bone crossword*shutter
Lawd have mercy! When I was growing up, my neighbours bought pigs about 3 months before Christmas every year (let’s not go into the logistics of rearing pigs in the middle of the suburbs) and sure enough two weeks before December 25 the horrifying screams could be heard very early in the morning too. That photo reminds me of that trauma.
Oh man. I should have called Rent-A-Shrink before I published this post. I think we could all use a little time talking some of this through with a professional.
But seriously. I think that experience would have sucked the bacon lovin’ right out of me.
Does that sentence sound as wrong to you as it does to me?
Yes it does…especially since I’m having bacon and eggs right at the moment. LOL!
After I get off the line with Rent-A-Shrink, I’m going to update the disclaimer to include: “If you’re eating right now, maybe finish up and then come back.”
Ahahahahahaha…yes yes please do.
My dad used to hang them in our garage. That’s all I have to say.
I have to say I’m heartened by the fact that my bloggy buds are equally disturbed by this type of slaughter. I wasn’t sure where the majority would sit with this.
Yikes. I once lived below crackheads who tipped over their toilet, which caused our bathroom ceiling to cave in. And then later that year, one of them came to our door because she had been hit in the head with a stereo speaker and needed to use our phone. I would take the crackheads over the gallows any day.
I get that. The Gallows is probably only good for one blog post, whereas crackheads, well, that’s just an endless supply of blog fodder.
I can’t unsee that, Jules. Now I feel bad for eating venison jerky the other day. (But it was so good.)
Ha! Two things: 1) I almost called this post “Things You Can’t Unsee” (but I think I’m stealing that from Talk Soup) and 2) I almost asked if you wanted to collaborate and post a venison recipe today.
Because that’s the kind of
friendblogger I am.I want my friend Bryan to give me some venison steaks, so I can make something tasty with REALLY local food (like he bow hunted it practically in his backyard).
I will collaborate with you any time, any where. Always.
Bow hunting! Let’s do that! (Only not real animals because I’m hypocrite and I just can’t do it.) And I’m not just saying that because of Hunger Games. I think I would rock the shiz out of a bow and arrow. You should see me with Peppermeister’s BB gun. Beer, bonfire, BB gun. Now there’s a good time. I like to call it the BB FUN!
I need to hook you up with some buffalo from the buffalo farm by us.
I will roast the buffalo over the bonfire while you shoot at beer cans with your BB gun – We’ll call it BBBBB (beer, bonfire, BB gun, buffalo, as if I had to explain). I’ll work on the invitations. Should we make it BLOB?
Make sure one of those invites makes it to Michigan. I’ll make Venison loin with a blackberry gastrique. Yummmmm
I added you and your venison loin with blackberry gastrique to the list!
You have to slow cook venison otherwise it’s gamey, but that is strange. Most people clean it and just display the antlers of bucks. Doe probably goes nicer with artisanal bread though…
I also enjoy it with partially eaten sausage. And cereal.
I’m telling you, it’s just wrong wrong wrong. That is barely a ‘zoomed in’ picture. When Babs looks out her back windows, it is RIGHT. THERE.
I am not a vegetarian nor do I oppose hunting (for food, not sport). But this sight is NOT okay.
That is EXACTLY how we feel, too. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s right on display where about 6 different houses can see it whenever they’re in their backyard with the kids. And dude. There’s a Dunkin’ Donuts two blocks away. They ain’t doin’ this for survival.
P.S. – I know I’ve already said this, but man I just love your new gravatar!
Jules,
We live just in the outskirt of downtown Montreal; seeing a raccoon is an event for us, and by event I mean a moment of sheer terror. Raccoon’s know how to hold a knife, and rumours are they all vote for Stephen Harper.
Those images are sad.
Le Clown
Le Clown:
I think we should join forces to retaliate; you do a balloon “animal” show for the neighbor’s kids.
Jules
Jules,
In mime make-up.
Le Clown
Le Clown,
Perfect. And any chance you know Pee Wee Herman?
Jules
Jules,
I haven’t talked to him since our circle jerk days.
Le Clown
Le Clown,
You might think I’d be worried right now because Babs not only reads all of my posts, but all of my comments, too.
Nay. She grew up in the 60s. Game on.
Jules
Jules,
Babs will be happy to know that Pee-Wee did not wear clown make-up during these sessions. She can sleep well tonight.
Le Clown
Oh dear lord. That is just all kinds of wrong. The Gallows indeed.
We live in the country. Officially, it’s the suburbs, but it is far out and we are all surrounded by now developed but previous farmland. We see deer in our backyard all the time. There is a copse of trees far out behind our house, and we can usually look outside in the temperate months and see 3 or 4 deers just eating leaves and generally being adorable. I’ve named the big one Fred. As in, “look boys, Fred and his family are out back again!” The boys even point out the deer tracks in the snow (especially Xmas morning when they think they are reindeer tracks) during the winter.
I am also not a vegetarian and eat meat all the time. But something about this just strikes me as cruel and wrong. Poor Babs to have to see this from her window. ((Shudder)).
And now I have to call my therapist. Thanks a lot, Jules. I’m sending you her bill! :p
I was thinking of telling Babs to name this one. After all, she might as well get used to his company. Throw an extra shrimp on the barbie.
I told someone else I should have called Rent-A-Shrink before publishing this. We need a professional on call. (Honestly, I wasn’t sure how people would take this and I had this brief, panicked moment this morning where I thought, “What if someone flags this as inappropriate? Could I blame them?”)
P.S. – That is the first time I’ve ever heard someone use the word “copse.” You always impress me, Misty.
Ha! I have a plethora of arcane words and phrases at my disposal. Glad someone enjoys it! 😉
Did you read Peg’s post from last week? Every time I hear a word like that I think of her now!
Yep. I totally thought of her when you commented on my word choice. GET OUT OUR HEADS, PEG!! 😉
Yep. That’s what our front yard oak looked like for two months out of every season. I LIVED at deer camp as a kid. But then, we’re in Texas. That’s how we USED to get our meat. I’ve cleaned my fair share of bird and mammal carcasses in my youth, required as “training.” I was taught to kill cleanly and quickly and humanely dispatch an animal that was merely wounded.
If this is how all Americans still ate, I guarantee a skinny, healthier population. Sadly, that ain’t so.
Cleaning an animal carcass for consumption is not pretty (as you can clearly see). Just because you are NOT witnessing the mainstream slaughter of billions of animals every year, just in America — the very meat you buy in the grocery or consume at your favorite restaurant — doesn’t mean it’s not happening. And making a system of animal “widgets” hardly has the animals’ welfare at its core. It’s all about cranking out the product. And believe me, it’s quite worse than what’s hanging from Bab’s neighbor’s tree.
At least that animal lived its life and was most likely dispatched in a humane manner. Good for your mom’s neighbor for doing what’s right, but even that meat is not for me anymore. Veggies are where it’s at!
And now you know why the whole fallutin’ clan at DirtNKids is vegan. 🙂
Shannon, I could not agree more with “If all Americans ate this way…”! And I think these people DO eat the deer, thank goodness. What bothers me about this is that I know it’s mostly for sport! If people were actually ‘living off the land,’ it wouldn’t be an inappropriate display.
Going vegan is so tempting sometimes… but I don’t think I could do it!
Well, even if it was for sport, his animal probably still fared way better than the bacon you might have had for breakfast. So for the case of courtesy and compassion toward neighbors, JimBob loses. As for species ethics and health of the environment? He wins by a landslide.
It is a good post. I can see that you brought down quite the discussion!
PS — No consuming our fellow earthlings is not hard at all once you know what not to eat and how to fix the palette in different ways (most people eat meat not because they need to, but because they like the way it tastes…HABIT). Baby steps, Jules.
Sniffle, sniffle. Why is it out in plain sight? Looks like there’s a perfectly good shed behind it.
I’m not eating meat for the rest of the day…well except for maybe tuna…those fishes aren’t cute and cuddly.
I wonder if they’ve gotten any calls about it…
Cuddliness is definitely a factor, isn’t it? Although pigs are awfully cute (and smart!), and we all know how I feel about bacon.
Unless they removed the antlers, that’s a doe and I think that makes it an illegal kill. I fancy myself a hunter (in the sense that I had a hunting license two years ago and I wield large calibre weapons with gusto… but I’ve never actually hunted, per se), and that’s revolting.
You know, I didn’t even think about that! I know there are laws about when you can hunt here, but I’m honestly not sure about the doe vs. buck law. I know what I’m Googling right now…
Bring the wrath of the law down on the hill-billie neighbors, Jules and Babs!
Depends on state regulations. Here in Minnesota, doe are legal. In fact, you’re only allowed one buck per person. Fawns are illegal (male or female) but once they’re adult, they are all fair game.
I see… Where I got my license, doe are illegal to hunt and bucks are limited in tags depending on the year and population. The regulations vary wildly state to state because when I moved to Nevada and looked into getting my license there, there was no dedicated season for mountain lions– it was year round, with a limit on the number tagged for the whole state, and there was a season for black bear (which I would have loved!).
And that population thing does also make a difference. When they’re running rampant, TAG ALL THE DEER!
Our biggest issue right now is Chronic Wasting Disease, which means if they’re caught in a certain area, everything you tag has to be tested before you’re allowed to take it.
Jason would be proud. Apparently I do listen when he talks about hunting. And here I thought it was all the “Charlie Brown Adult Voice”- wah wa waaah wa wawa waaaaah.
Many moons ago I wrote a short story called “Night of the Living Deer” published in a teeny little magazine. It was about, as you might guess, zombie deer returning to hunt their hunter. I haven’t thought about that in years, but it comes to mind suddenly.
My father-in-law is a hunting and fishing guide, so I’ve been exposed to more of these images than I’d like, and would have ever, ever believed in my pre-marriage visions of matrimony.
I’d love to read that story!
I suspect I’m going to lose some people on this post – oops! Just lost one! (Seriously.) Ah well. I’ll get your father-in-law in here before the next deer slaughter post, to help ready the troops.
Didn’t you tell me your wife’s mom sends him letters covered in PETA stickers? That is The. Best.
P.S. – Why the hell can I remember that, but I can’t remember things that would help me, I don’t know, cure cancer?
Dude. This is nothing. Out here in the sticks, it’s not usual to see four or five of those suckers hanging from trees and such. This is child’s play. And like hiddinsight, my husband has been known to hang them in our garage. Thankfully this year when he went deer hunting with friends, they did all the cleaning at their house. They filled nine of their ten tags. NINE. Can you imagine that mess in my garage? I don’t have enough tarp for that.
On the recipe note, Jason makes these deer medallions that are apparently pretty amazing. He cuts the loin into snack sized pieces, wraps them in bacon, and puts them on the grill. I say “apparently” because I can’t even smell venison without throwing up. But that’s a story for another time, which (fair warning) I’m going to blog about and credit (use) you as the springboard.
I will be your springboard any day! Even for posts that sound like they might keep me up at night!
She’s gonna need a bigger tarp, people! A BIGGER TARP.
That is a horror. Can she not call the town? Or municipality? Or whatever you call that down in Jersey? We’d have the po-po at our doorstep it we did something like that. Meanwhile, who ARE these people? And where do they keep the other bodies. This is so disturbing. Seriously. There’s hunting and quietly butchering the venison. And then there’s a sick display of machismo. Something is wrong here. I hope by the time you posted this, these people took this monstrosity down. Soooo not kosher. Such disrespect for G-d’s creatures. Oy.
Renzzz, ain’t it cray-cray? I know this sight isn’t uncommon to everyone, but I cannot begin to express how disturbing it is in this setting. Not to mention that you know it’s totally for sport!
Who the eff hangs a carcass by its throat? You hang them upside down. Ugh. I HATE city folk who try to get all down with the real people. The real people know how to butcher. Eedjits. I wouldn’t even eat that thing. It’s got god-knows-what going on.
That said: I prefer venison steak. People always talk about ‘gamey.’ I never heard that term til I was in my 20s…We ATE game all the time. Rabbit tastes like rabbit, squirrel tastes of squirrel. That’s just weird to me that people say ‘gamey.’ It’s not something gone wrong with the meat–it’s the MEAT. Bah! Crazy bastards.
Sorry Babs has to be put through that. Hell, it bothers me but only because it’s done wrong.
Hilarious. I’m glad to hear someone who knows what they’re talking about say it’s disturbing! I have no problem with people hunting for food, but this is just… not cool, people, not cool!
I am so curious was squirrel tastes like. I’ve never actually had deer. I did try kangaroo, though, which is like the deer of Australia. It was gamey. (I’m kidding.)
Oh – I’m not kidding about eating kangaroo, by the way, I’m just kidding about it being gamey.
When I was 4 or 5 years old, a neighbor in our apartment building used the swing set in the backyard to “drain” his deer. Talk about killing Bambi! Eeeeeuuuuw! There were a lot of kids on the block and I am sure most were traumatized in some way.
Make venison sausage. It tastes like chicken! Hahaha!
Nooooooo. They used a swingset in an apartment complex?! Now THERE’S a blog post for ya, Sus.
It was seriously gross. I think my parents tried to keep us from seeing it, but it was right in the backyard for god’s sake!
Squirrel is more flavorful than rabbit. When I was a kid (as kids often dislike stronger-flavored things like mustard or hot peppers), I preferred rabbit. Now, I’m like, ‘meh, give me the squirrel.’ I adore venison, it’s a bit like horse but not as full-bodied (not a pun) or if comparing to music, ‘dynamic’ a flavor. Americans aren’t cool with eating horse but it’s lovely. I prefer horse steak over beef steak. Never had kangaroo but I say I’d eat panda if somebody prepared it for me. I was raised eating brains and about anything else. You didn’t waste meat.
I’ve eaten dolphin, too (not dolphin-fish, which is tuna but Flipper). I loved it and when I learnt what it was, I kinda cried. Ha! I was younger. I can still remember saying, ‘They’re like people.’ And my coworkers, shrugging and diving in (that pun was meant).
Horse. Now there’s an interesting debate. I don’t like horses, but I would go through a very intense internal dialog before eating one. They don’t LOOK good, but I’ll take your word for it!
Dolpin I could never do. I was soooo a dolphin in a past life. Is it fishy?? That’s probably a ridiculous question, but I feel like it wouldn’t taste like fish.
I don’t think it’s a true debate unless one side is vegan (re: horse).
As for dolphin, it was decades ago…I don’t clearly recall the flavor but as I related earlier: I had no idea what I was eating til after, when I cried. Maybe I blocked it from guilt at the time. Living in other cultures or holidaying, you roll with it — if not, stay home, right? I’m ashamed of my reaction in front of the locals, not eating what was handed to me. I’m truly embarrassed at my lack of … cultural sensitivity? I wasn’t trying to be an asshole but I ended up being ‘the American who cried eating dolphin we made for her.’
I am a city kid, but most of my family and many of my customers like to kill things on the weekends. It is a totally different world view, no pun intended. I am certain that it didn’t even occur to these folks that anyone would be horrified by their weekend conquest. A reminder for us all to consider others in our daily lives.
That is actually a really great message to take/send from this post. Can I take credit for it? 😉
make it your own. 🙂
Awesome. Now will you please send me all of your best blog post ideas so I can write about them?
Heh.
Sure! My next post is going to be about postmenopausal beastiality. Have at it.
I wish you could have seen how hard I just laughed at that.
I am looking forward to the post
I “liked” this post not because I liked the photo’s but rather that you took time to do this post. This is absolutely wrong on what the neighbors did. I can’t get that image out of my mind now. We have deer in our city neighborhood, but never would you see something this horrible and disturbing.
I am having NEIGHBOR problems at the moment too (but not to this degree) . We live in a neighborhood where all the houses are crammed so close together and you can see what everyone is doing. There is only three feet of grass between us and the neighbors. Our neighbor (for years) keeps running over our grass, making huge ruts (and he does this mostly when it is wet) and I just got into a huge fight with him last night over this.
I’m sorry to hear you’re having neighbor problems, too! I know my parents don’t want to confront these people – I don’t think anyone wants to stir the pot. The pot full of venison.
I did not want to confront the neighbor either, but it HAD to be done. By the way, are you a subscriber to our blog too?
LMFAO. Oh, Sweetie…. I’m the neighbor who raises her own chickens for the freezer. Deer swinging from the gallows isn’t a big deal; at least they’re going to eat the deer! Waste not, want not. And venison is delicious. 😉
Rock on, my friend! My issue is that this guy is mostly doing it for sport, and it really is just so inappropriate the way it’s displayed for all of the neighbors. I mean, it’s REALLY close to where my parents sit on their back deck to relax and, you know, enjoy the…not dead deer.
The people down the street from Peppermeister and I have the most gorgeous chickens. They’re almost too pretty to eat. And their eggs are faboo.
I live in northern Kentucky. Deer hunting is all they do here. This does remind me of a neighbor story, however. I will post it and link it here.
I can’t wait to read it!
Woohoo!!
Ahhhh…not cute…not cute at all! 😦
Thank goodness for your gravatar, Lilykins! It’s just what my eyes needed!
Jules,
That is a really nice set-up. I can tell you that a pulley makes things a lot easier. If I ever have a house of my own I will totally have to put one of those in… and a rock- wall… and a workshop where I can make guitars– which makes me wonder if I could get my next strap made out of moose hide… hmmm…
-Soul Walker
Yuck! This is the second dead animal pic I’ve seen today. A friend posted a photo of both a warthog head and its (severed) butt on Facebook. He and his fiancé obtained this animal for god knows what purpose and have it in their apartment (in Vancouver!) right now. They’re getting married in a couple of weeks–let’s hope Mr. Warthog doesn’t make an appearance at the wedding! I may hurl. Poor Babs–that is not something you want to stare at while drinking your morning coffee. Or, you know, ever.
My Pop was a hunter. We lived in downtown Las Vegas and he liked to shock the neighbors. He was always doing crazy things to see how far he could push it. He never erected a gallows, but he did hang a deer in the tree in our front yard one time after a hunting trip. Children cried, parents got upset, so he tied it to the hood of the truck and drove it to the butcher. We had venison salami for the next 3 months.
That sounds delicious.
It was.
Our one throws rats in the loft… We share a loft…
Ugh. I grew up on a farm and butchering day was always a mixture of horror, revulsion and curiousity. Sometimes the pet we fed yesterday was hanging out by the barn tonight…and would be on the table in a day or two. But we were farm kids and the meat was raised for that purpose. Would I like to sit on my deck and look at the carcasses? No.
We don’t have many deer here in Florida and the ones we do have are about the size of dogs. Weird. But we don’t have a shortage on crazy, asshat neighbors.
I have thought for some time that our neighbors have a meth lab. They are always burning things (they have garbage pickup, but for some reason they always have a barrel of trash burning – vile, hideous plastic burning yuckiness. If our windows are open, their smoke sets off our smoke alarm. They sometimes fight all night long, and just Sunday morning I was awakened at 5 AM by the sound of loud puking coming from their yard. But their best “good neighbor” act was to build a boat. Every night for a week, all night long, they operated a vessel-building facility in their driveway – mere yards from our home. Grinders, saws, welding, etc. ALL. FREAKIN. NIGHT. Bastards.
Wow, in my hillbilly area people would find that a fabulous piece of engineering! I could probably make some money selling the plans.
That is a really nice set-up. It would make things a lot easier.
It is kind of impressive, isn’t it, Steve? I say this because I can drink my morning coffee without staring at it, unlike Babs.
Yeah, staring at it every day would kind of kill the mood!
If I looked out at that while drinking my coffee I know what my immediate reaction would be:
Hunger.
My second thought would be:
How much would it cost for me to build one of those in my yard?
My third thought would be:
I wonder if he needs help processing? Because the usual fee for that sort of neighborly assistance is always a cut of the meat… and you already know what my first thought/ reaction was.
LMy old neighbor almost tramatized my little brother at the age of four. The neighbor was a violent thirteen year old with a weird mind. I go in my back yard that day to find my little brother crying. I look at the neighbor who is shooting a baby bird from the nest. Then when the bird fell out he picked it up with his shovel dragged it to his yard and layed it down. I went to get my mom, and we came back steamed. The kid has shoveled off the baby birds head and was flinging it around while faunting it in my brothers face. This meant war.
Noooo. I wish I could say we didn’t have a very similar neighborhood kid growing up. You know what they say about kids who kill/torment animals… They grow up to be super well-adjusted contributors to society.
I don’t knock hunters since I am a meat-eater. Bagging dinner yourself seems rather more noble than picking up dead animals all wrapped in sanitary plastic at the grocery store, which is the way I hunt.
Having said that…I don’t want to see Bambi’s mama hanging in the yard next door, either. Shudder, shudder.
Exxxxactly, Peggles. On all counts. If I’m making any point here (and really, c’mon, we don’t make points here at Go Jules Go; that’s exhausting), it’s just that this display is wild-ly (pun intended, because we do try to do that here) inappropriate.
reminds me of all the lynching photos taken in Alabama and Mississippi. No respect at all. Not for the neighbors, and certainly not for the deer. When the American Indians hunted, it was out of reverence to the spirit of the nature and to the animal itself. It was a sacred gift and all parts of the animal were used.
There’s no excuse for this kind of treatment/display.
I’m from a family of hunters. I would never hunt myself but I respect that they do (and my brothers do eat everything they kill, no waste and it’s not just for sport) BUT
once I drove up my sister-in-law’s long winding driveway (she lives in the thick woods) my two kids were in the backseat, they were about 2 and 6 then. I came around the corner and BAM. A gutted hanging deer just like your photo. Swinging smack dab in front of her garage. I had to do a quick impromptu lesson on life/death and why Bambi was killed to my crying kids. Fun. So yeah. In Maine this is a common sight. I suppose I eat turkey and chicken so I can’t judge.
I live in the midst of “hunting season glory”. I used to go for a walk at lunch and would see more than my share of those pictures, up close and personal. I prefer the live variety on my lawn so my dog can feel like she is defending her turf.
I grew up in rural Wisconsin and even with how common deer hunting is I did not see much of this. It is usually common respect to hang the deer in your garage or something out of sight.
Moving from the Adirondacks in Central New York, That was a common site as unemployment was high with all of the factories closing in the area and that was a way of families being able to eat. Moving to Tennessee I have to admit that in almost 4 years I have yet to see even 1 hanging although they are beautiful walking around in the horse stables in the area where you can go horseback riding lol…they really know where to hide…they go on the military base here where it is a Federal Crime to be shot…
This experience reminds me of an interesting conversation we had at our work potluck yesterday. Someone had brought in venison and another coworker was expressing disgust before immediately segueing into the following conversation…
Coworker: I can’t believe anyone would ever eat deer! Dog is pretty good, though.
Separate coworker: Yeah, but you had to be careful. The people who cooked up dog often use strays and you don’t want rabies.
An immediate conversation began between the two filipino nurses about the intricacies of dog meat and the irony of deer meat disgust was never lost throughout. If the slaughter of animals is the first step towards serial killing then based upon this conversation all of my coworkers might be sociopathic mass murdering cannibals. I’ll keep you posted.
PS glad I found your blog!
When my wife and first got together we lived in a little town called Hythe, near Dover, where we rented an old railway terrace house, on the edge of town where the town’s railway station used to be. We went to France on the ferry at week ends to shop and well France, cheese, you know how it is. Anyway I bought some Camembert, but my my wife refused to have it in the house so I hung it on the washing line out the back in a plastic bag. The neighbours complained that it made their washing smell so I had to take it down, but I wasn’t allowed it in the house, even to eat it. There were steps up to a small garden, the end of which backed onto a country lane and then after that were some fields. I took the Camembert and hung it on the trellis at the back of the garden. That night there were terrible screeching sounds from the garden and I went up to the garden with a torch, in dressing gown, pajamas and unlaced boots and there by the light of my torch were two foxes fighting over my Camembert. That was the last time I bought Camembert even though I really do like it. So I was the bad neighbour hanging an offending article outside my house.
As for your mum’s neighbours I suspect them of being the New Jersey version of the Beverly Hillbillies, sort of ‘Cletus In Suburbia’ kind of scenario. The clues would be if they all wear check shirts, dungarees, don’t wear shoes and the husband lets his pregnant wife get the dead deer down from the gibbet and shouts ‘Lookee there Yankee man she’s real strong!’ at your father and then spits chewing tobacco juice on the head of a sad looking blood hound. (Hollywood has a lot to answer for when it comes to how American’s are perceived abroad!)
Anyway at least they haven’t put up a flag with a swastika on it… yet.
If a wheel of Camembert is the equivalent of a rotting, fly-ridden, dead deer in your neighborhood, then I want your life. Maybe the neighbors were disgusted because you didn’t have Cabernet in the birdbath to go with the cheese.
I put Californian Rose in the bird bath; suddenly their disgust becomes clear to me! Cabernet you say, I’ll give it a try.
Or a Chenin Blanc. Either is OK.
At least they haven’t put Christmas lights on it 😁
Oh. Wow. Please tell me you’re speaking from experience?
My friend’s dad was the president of the archery club and he’d always go out bow hunting and get his deer that way (manly hey? err something? seems like it’s more work and skill than a gun any ways) and they would always hang their deer up in the GARAGE so that their neighbors so that people didn’t have to look at it because they have class. Also, hanging a deer up like that, out in the open would attract predators like wolves and bears – are these people morons? I mean any of the hunters I know always put their deer in a barn or some sort of shed to keep predators away, hanging them out there like that is just an invitation to another carnivore saying hey there come get this yum yum and when you’re done there are some people inside, yey ;D