Bog Myrtle & Peat

As a side project, I have resolved to learn more about taxidermy. How this will progress remains to be seen, but as part of my preparations, I received a bag of borax powder and two acrylic grouse eyes in the post this morning. The eyes came from the amusingly named company “just eyes” which operates on Ebay. If I thought I could get away with it, I’d phone them up and ask if they do ears, so that I could hear them sigh and say “no, just eyes”.

I skinned a grouse in December, an hour long process which nearly ruined eating them for me, thanks to the slow, arduous and slippery process of removing eyeballs, tongue and brain amidst gusts of heathery grouse flesh odour. The skin has lain in the freezer ever since, and although I’m informed that it might have become harder to work with over the past few months when compared to a fresh skin, I might as well give it a go.

A friendly taxidermist put me on the right lines with a good introductory book on taxidermy, and I’m now ready to take my first tentative steps. More information to follow, inevitably.