gourmet critters?

Also, as I was sifting through the Gourmet website looking for a picture of the magazine (which turned out to be very tiny), I found a very disturbing piece of Gourmet's history:

SQUIRREL IN CIDER

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1954

Skin, clean, and disjoint 3 plump squirrels. Soak the pieces in cold salted water for 20 minutes, wipe dry, and dust with flour seasoned with salt and pepper. In a heavy skillet sauté 1/4 cup diced fat ham until browned. Add the squirrel and brown the pieces well on all sides in the ham fat. Add enough hard cider barely to cover the squirrel, cover the skillet, and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated and the meat is tender. Add 2 tablespoons butter, increase the heat, and quickly brown the pieces of meat once more. Remove the squirrel to a warm serving platter and to the juices remaining in the skillet add in 1 cup hot cream and stir in all the brown bits from the bottom and sides of the pan. Stir in, bit by bit, 1/2 tablespoon flour mixed to a paste with 1 tablespoon butter, correct the seasoning with salt and pepper, and strain the sauce into a gravy boat. Serve the sauce separately.

yikes.

the photo is of a squirrel sleeping on my deck. i've never seen a squirrel resting before, so i had to take a picture.   (i guess he knew he was safe from a cider-like fate at my house.)