HOP TO IT. I'M HUNGRY!

This is the dry season in San Miguel de Allende. Brush fires are everywhere and so is the dust. The crops are dry or nonexistent. The cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens are thirsty and in need of sustenance. So are we.

But, there’s a bright side. Rabbits are everywhere and I mean everywhere. Apparently, they thrive in dry conditions when their predators are too tired and thirsty to chase them.

From our patio we see playful rabbits hopping over each other and scurrying to and fro. The chicken hawks love it and swoop in periodically returning to their lofty space with dinner for the family.

Local families join the hawks in pursuit of a meal. Private ownership of guns is prohibited in Mexico so the families use their dogs to scare up prey and slingshots to kill the rabbits. All this visible from our patio. But, a good view doesn’t put food on the table. And we don’t have a dog. What to do?

Mezquite trees grow everywhere here. They grow slow, last forever and their wood is extremely hard. The trees are protected by the Mexican government. Even if you build a home you can’t cut down the trees. You can’t cut them down but you can pick up fallen branches and maybe, just maybe, quickly cut a branch that’s suitable for a slingshot.

So I made a slick looking model from a mesquite branch and a large old rubber band I brought with me to bind some files and off to the field I went. Not having a dog I followed the other guys’ dog and hoped for the best. Three or four shots later I still hadn’t even hit or even annoyed a rabbit but a couple of dogs knew me by name.

I was lucky and an old guy named Gustavo took pity on me. He said he would give me a rabbit if I would just stop shooting is favorite dog with my slingshot. He called his dog Perrito I called him Wounded. Sounded fair to me so off to the hunt we went. Perrito (aka Wounded) limped along but soon scarred up a herd of rabbits. Gustavo, not one to lightly follow the law, shot several rabbits at once with his shotgun. He told me that in Mexico laws are considered strong suggestions rather than mandatory. That being said he tossed me a rabbit and began running to his truck with the rest of his kill. Wounded was close by and quickly jumped into the old pickup.

A little slow but not stupid, I too took off running with my rabbit. Safely on my patio I skinned and gutted the beast. It was disgusting particularly because I didn’t have the appropriate tools and had never done this before. But, hunger is a good teacher and soon I was done.

Soon after, we had the BBQ going and rice and vegetables cooking. We cooked rice with garlic, onion, carrots (that was in honor of the rabbit) and chayote. Chayote looks like a green potatoe. Yes, it was prepared Dan Quayle style.

Thankfully, we had both white and red wine on hand. Yes, rabbit looks like and tastes like chicken. Nevertheless, I preferred red wine and Sam preferred white.

Dishes done we retreated to our computers so I could report all this to our faithful blog followers while Sam stayed in touch with family and friends on Facebook.