Bear Hunting with Jodee Dixon

Artemis

Jodee Dixon joins Artemis this week to talk about bear hunting in southeast Alaska. We talk about spring versus fall bear fat, pie crust, trichinosis, skinning a hide for preservation, scouting tactics, and more. Plus, what does hunting do for our sense of self? It's kind of a forced meditation, which is a powerful experience -- both as it's happening, and months later when we enjoy our harvest at the table.

2:00 Cold-season gardening, y'all

5:00 How does hunting change our relationship to the natural world? (Hiking feels extremely anticlimactic, for one)

9:00 How bear hunting differs from other quarries, and predator vs. prey dynamics

15:00 Bear meat, spring vs. fall

17:00 Predator hunting... it's an intimate decision for some hunters

18:00 Trichinosis

23:00 Freeze in chunks for grinding later (even MUCH later)

25:00 Catch our 'What About the Hide?' episode (or the blog post) it inspired a bear-hide tanning project. Want to TRY a hide? Roadkill can be a good starting point

30:00 Ticks... or mosquitos? (Or devil's club?)

33:00 The zen of hunting for a distilled/strengthened self... a "forced meditation"

40:00 Boat-assisted bear hunting in Alaska (with a side of grouse)

42:00 Predator hunting: bears, wolves, cougars... it's different

43:00 Black bear kidney fat for pie crusts

47:00 Mind-blowing bear biology... body temperatures, the quick transition out of torpor, floating eggs, etc.

51:00 "A bear without its hide looks a lot like a person."

55:00 Skinning paws/nose/head for a hide destined for the taxidermist (and OTHER languishing hides)

56:00 Sleeping on the boat, dragging anchor, custom-sewn sheets for the v-berth

59:00 2021 Artemis Ambassador squad... assembly in process!

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