Bison, bitches . . .

I know this is a sewing blog, but I'm also an Alaskan and hunting and gathering runs in my blood. Don't read if you are offended by hunting, blood, and death.

It is thought that steppe and wood bison inhabited Alaska and have only recently become extinct. In Alaska, bison were transplanted here in the 1920s. Since the 1950s, they have allowed hunting of the herd. They only allow about 100 people permits to hunt this herd and I was one of the lucky out of 15,000-20,000. Once you pull a permit and have a successful hunt, you can't even put in for this permit again for 10 years. It's kind of a big deal.

Here she is, I shall call her Bessy. We will eat her delicious meat and I plan on having the hide tanned. They have the most luscious, thick, glossy hair. I've never seen a bison up close and personal and I was amazed at the thick coat. Nothing will go to waste. We are even cutting the long bones lengthwise for amazing bone marrow. As best we can tell, she's a 3-4 year old female and she has had a few births.

Of course, when you shoot something, you get to spend a loooong time out in the field skinning it out. We were especially careful this time because I wanted the hide in good shape. 

Back to your regularly scheduled sewing soon . . .