Letter from Jyri (Finland)

Very interesting commentary from Jyri.  And Eldri, I am sure -- being part Finnish and Saami -- would love some Reindeer meat.  But somehow I doubt that it's readily available in Idaho. She and other fine cooking folk will certainly be interested in the basic recipe.  We have a lot of venison and elk in our freezer, thanks to Josie and Cameron.  I mentioned this earlier but October 17, of course, was my Bear Day.  So I add this for Jyri -- to whom I am sending a copy of this post. The Bear was huge and provided us with several hundred pounds of meat, all of which we ate over a long period of time.  Some of it was akin to beef, some similar to pork.  But all uniquely Bear.   (H)

Thanks for remembering, John and Sam -- and thanks to any others who have done so.

And thanks deep and high to The Great Bear himself.

Thanks to the fine clear spring water that always flows down a rare easy slope, deep within the  Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Area, and nourishes pines and scrub oak, white aspens and red maples.along the way -- and ends  in a small marshy and muddy clearing which regularly drew visits from The Bear.

It is that flowing spring water which guided me  down to that open space where I saw the huge muddy tracks and where, under a scrub oak tree on the clearing's edge, I waited patiently for hours with my 30/30 Winchester lever action.

As I have written before:  

As an older Teen, I shot my huge Coming of Age Bear -- deep in the vast Sycamore Canyon wilderness area in Northern Arizona.  At that point, I then became a man. The fiery spirit of the Bear and his abundantly fine qualities -- intelligence, courage, stamina, instinct -- are with me always and have served me very well and faithfully on my swift and rocky River of No Return.


Hunter,
I've taken the "liberty" of forwarding your last piece on the coming presidential election and other matters to friends and acquaintances here just to keep them informed of other voices in the American political conversation. A lot of lefties here and thinking people of other persuasions, too, are sadly unaware of the other currents of American politics and the deep historical roots of some of them. A lot of naivete about Obama too.  

We'll have our municipal elections next weekend - I'll be in Sweden visiting my sister so I have to  vote in advance at my nearest post office tomorrow. I'm still a bit undecided between Left Alliance (partly ex-Commies) and a Green candidate (ex- and present whatever you like...). Good intentions to the contrary Left Alliance is basically treading water in the local politics here in Helsinki and the Greenies as a party are not to be trusted, though they have some good people. But I'll try and make a reasoned choice - or  toss a coin at the post office.

Cooked reindeer sauté today for lunch with home-grown potatoes from the country place (beats store-bought any day). Shorts strips of "poorer cuts" of reindeer meat (you could do the same with venison)  sautéed in a big cast iron skillet in butter with small bits of bacon (optional). Add beer (or beer and water)  enough to cover the meat and simmer on low heat for about an hour, leave a bit of moisture remaining, salt and black pepper to taste. Good with preserved lingonberries, also cranberries. The reindeer meat is not exactly cheap here in South Finland, but it's worth it at least once a month. I also do a similar sauté with moose/European elk that I get from friends with hunting permits around this time of year.

Bests,
Jyri

HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /St. Francis 
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk 
Protected by Na´shdo´i´ba´i´ 
and Ohkwari' 
Member, National Writers Union AFL-CIO
www.hunterbear.org 
(much social justice material)

Key pieces from our big Jackson Mississippi Movement 
scrapbook.  Three consecutive and full pages beginning with
this Link:  http://hunterbear.org/a_piece_of__the_scrapbook.htm
See my personal reflections on Medgar Evers:
http://hunterbear.org/medgar_w.htm

The Stormy Adoption of an Indian Child [My Father]:
http://hunterbear.org/James%20and%20Salter%20and%20Dad.htm
(Expanded, and with more photos in Fall 2012. Material on our Native
background.)

For the new (11/2011) and expanded/updated
edition of my "Organizer's Book," JACKSON MISSISSIPPI -- 
with a new and substantial introduction by me.  We are now at 
the 50th Anniversary of the massive Jackson Movement of
1962-63:  http://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm