15: The Day was as Cold and Gray as Yesterday's Whopper

The other day Scout came back from the OP woods with a souvenir. I originally posted this on Face Book because I thought it was cool in a gross way and Scout gave it to me without any territorial behavior in exchange for a handful of kibble. She's a good pup. I have roughly 180 "friends" on Face Book (hey...no brag) and usually get 18-30 likes (again...no brag just fact). Note: this includes family and terrestrial friends. This post got 5; 7 if I include my wife and one of my children .
Karen (Opperman's  Pond Keeper's Keeper) informed me it was possibly, "too graphic."  "Bu-ut," I said, "I also included a cute picture of Scout! That's usually good for 10-15 alone!"
Karen, "Get a job."    

A deer leg. And my foot

Scout knows there are more bones out there 

I don't have a job so my big concerns were; 1) coyotes, 2) the rest of the deer, 3) will Scout bring any more home. I saw the general area where Scout found the 1st tasty piece which was halfway down to the OP in a cluster of fallen trees - ideal coyote cache. The first Google was the NY Wildlife site to see if there are any particular steps for the disposal of carcasses or do the Fish & Game people want to examine deer eaten by coyotes. For those of you who may encounter this situation (you never know...I didn't) the answer is: 1) don't call us unless it is rabid (but it's dead); 2)  shovel it into a big bag, 3) put that big bag in another big bag, 4) dig a hole 2 feet deep, 5) throw it in, 6) cover it up, 7) don't forget to wash your hands (what about my memory!).    
I took Scout to puppy play time because I didn't want to test the kibble vs. wild meat again. She's a good pup, not a stupid pup.

Remember, there is a possible pack of coyotes lingering about looking for the rest of their lunch or something fresher. I was really a little worried. I remember what it was like going for that last slice - not proud but I have to live with that dark side. The equipment was chosen to be functional and survivalist:

 

Cache area in background 

1. A big stick to beat back the coyotes 
2. Gloves...and I would still wash my hands
3. Tape measure...these things could be big and I wanted to measure 2 feet
4. Big bags
5. Shovel
6. Pocket knife in case I had to cut my arm off to survive      

With heart pounding (it is really easy to build this up) and equipment in hand, I headed down the hill and started poking around the dragon's lair. Listening...Looking over my shoulder...Damn squirrel! Nothing! A little disappointed...only a little. Now back to Kathie Lee and Hota and I used the word "cache."