Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Look what I've been doing since Saturday. If you knew me personally, you would know how utterly unbelievable it is that I would undertake this kind of thing.

Several weeks ago, this raccoon massacred a friend's flock of chickens. They trapped and killed it, but I asked them to keep it for me, and we put it in our freezer. My oldest is covering the Late Renaissance through Early Modern Times in history this year (we homeschool). It was my plan to have him make a page from an illuminated manuscript, from scratch like the monks used to do it, as an in-depth school project, for which we would need a small animal hide. My son, aka Lucky, was less than enthusiastic about it. In researching how to tan hides, I ran across the instructions on how to make a Davey Crockett/Daniel Boone coon skin hat, which interested him a lot. Since both Davey Crockett and Daniel Boone will also be covered in our history timeframe this year, I made the switch, and decided he should make the cap instead.

I have to tell you it is hilarious that I, the classical music loving, museum visiting, ballet supporting, sole female (and proud of it!) in a house of manly, fishing, hunting, building, shooting, scratching, bodily-noise-making males, am the only one who was excited about this project. Although I did not relish the thought of skinning an animal and tanning the hide, the thought of all the interesting stuff to learn was very motivating. Happily, my stepdad saved the day; he came to visit and was willing to help me skin the thing, so I thawed it in a bucket of water for several hours.

We strung it up by the back feet and commenced to skinning the renegade raccoon which, I repeat for those who are horrified, we did not kill. The anatomy under the skin was a whole lesson in itself (part of the plan since we are also doing the human body for science this year). We poked and prodded, identified, dissected, and gagged our way through it, and then came the gross part: scraping. After several days of salting and scraping, I have completed the initiation and am now a real live Cherokee squaw.

OK, so the low down is, it was not bloody at all. Some of you might know that; I didn't and was full of visual and nasal trepidation. It also wasn't nearly as smelly as I thought it would be. I vomit at snot and rotten food, so for me to be able to do this means anyone could. The one really awful part was the flies, and I won't go into that because I will vomit sitting here at the computer. Let's just say I used two boxes of salt to keep them away.

So here is the finished pelt, left to dry for about a week, at which time Lucky will work the stiffness out of the hide and begin the pattern for the hat. I didn't let him do much of the scraping because I was afraid he would put a hole in the pelt (although that was a wasted worry; it's a HIDE after all, and very tough). I made him watch me do the prep work, but the rest is his to do.

So, for all of you wondering why I have not finished an article yet, this is what I've been doing, and it is about the coolest thing I have ever done besides have children. The divine, original recycling plan!