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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