What's For Dinner?
By Tina Jones

On a Tuesday night I decided as a last ditch effort that I would make a big pot of nice, hot soup. I figured it was the perfect night for it. Nothing better to beat the cold weather, right? Well, I went to the freezer where we keep the venison and found a bag with some of the less choice pieces.

Already cubed and placed in a nice, zip lock bag. We do this every year, figuring it's perfect for soups and stews. So I proceed to take out the bag containing the meat and go upstairs and throw it into a pot to brown. Meanwhile I dice up the onion, rummage through the cupboard for vegetables and proceed to make this wonderful soup.

The boys and I are playing scrabble and Duane is in the other room finishing up one of his taxidermy mounts. When dinner is done the boys, Brian and I grab a bowl and start to eat. We finish off our first bowls and go back to grab seconds. We all finish eating and head our separate ways to do whatever it is we were going to do -- Duane has finished his mount and asks Brian what I have fixed for dinner. Brian tells him, "Tina has made some awesome venison soup." So Duane grabs a big bowl and starts to eat some of the soup. I am sitting in the adjoining room playing on the computer when Duane calls in and asks me, "Honey, where did you get this meat from?" So I tell him, "In the freezer next to the venison that is cut into steaks." His next question is, "Was it in freezer paper or a zip lock bag?" Well, at this point I get the uneasiest feeling and am not sure I want to answer the last question, but I say, "A zip lock bag." He bursts out laughing, and I know this is a very, BAD sign. He laughs even harder, and says, "Well, Honey, this is the best darn COYOTE soup I have ever eaten!"

Okay, so I figure (or am hoping) that he is just being his usual self and is pulling my leg. (Sometimes it's hard to tell) and he gets me often. Well, it was NO JOKE. I did in fact grab a bag that contained coyote meat. He said, "Darn, I was saving that meat to use as bait during trapping season." Like he is more upset at the fact I used his trapping bait than he was that he had me serving everyone coyote for dinner.

He did warn me at this point not to use any other meat in zip lock bags because it MAY contain possum or raccoon -- also to be used for bait during trapping season. The he says, "Guess I better start labeling those bags." I'm thinking, "Gee, you really think so, Honey?"

Well, I hope I made your day with a good laugh. You can get up off the floor now -- I'm still laughing too and I was the one who ate it!