Have you ever found yourself in a situation in which you need to earn a little extra cash?
Do you have a way to spend time in large fields or rural areas?
Are you handy with potentially dangerous but simple mechanical devices?
Here’s an idea you may wish to consider-as a way to keep a little extra cash in the mattress.
Trap gophers.
Pocket gopher.
Image via wikipedia
There is a nearly endless supply of the little rodents.
Local government entities still pay bounties for them.
Well, not the whole gopher….just the feet.
And, if you don’t want to do the dirty deed yourself, but still want to reap the financial rewards, you can always just steal bags of the gopher feet from the freezer of someone who has done all of the hard work. Then, turn in the feet and “pocket” the cash. (Sorry. Couldn’t resist that one.)
And, if your mother is willing to help you, all the better. It’s always nice to share a career interest with your parent.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_STOLEN_GOPHER_FEET?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Oh, yeah. Frozen gopher feet. Thousands of dollars’ worth.
Ya just can’t make this stuff up.
Just My Life 
it’s all kind of sad … the theft part, but, also, that there’s a bounty for gophers?
By: John on June 19, 2013
at 12:47 am
Isn’t it unbelievable that they pay bounties? I think it is very strange that in the “Gopher State”, bounties are paid for gophers.
By: chlost on June 19, 2013
at 8:49 pm
This is horrid on so many levels – unbelievable.
By: sweffling on June 19, 2013
at 8:23 am
No question. It is the kind of thing that is so awful that it is unbelievable.
By: chlost on June 19, 2013
at 8:50 pm
Sounds like something out of a sequel to “Fargo”.
By: Jon on June 19, 2013
at 1:33 pm
Fargo was way too true for most Minnesotans. It is the Minnesotan version of “Deliverance”.
By: chlost on June 19, 2013
at 8:51 pm
That makes me terribly, terribly sad.
By: Secret Agent Woman on June 19, 2013
at 6:14 pm
It is a tie between sad, awful and just plain strange. We are an agricultural state, and the bounties were set decades ago for farmers’ protection from gopher holes injuring animals and equipment. The gophers are still very abundant, the need for the “protections” has long passed. The idea of trapping is horrible in and of itself….the family dysfunction side of it is just added to that.
By: chlost on June 19, 2013
at 8:54 pm
Hi Chlost,
I am making a comment so I can check if my name clicks back to the right blog! It’s been a long time since I touched base with you! Where does time go? No comment from me on gopher hunting and stealing; I am a refined city woman I am. 🙂
By: Yael on June 21, 2013
at 8:30 am
I remember as a child visiting my grandparents in upstate MN. Grandpa gave me and my brother a shotgun and taught us how to shoot those same gophers. That was over 50 years ago so I guess the little critters continue to thrive in spite of attempts to end them.
By: RustedGranny on June 22, 2013
at 8:35 am
I’m not sure what to say on this. I’m not sure what is more disturbing: the fact that there is a bounty paid for gopher feet, or the theft of the feet stored i a freezer (or the fact the gopher feet were in the freezer…food is kept in there for goodness sake!)
By: jannatwrites on June 26, 2013
at 11:18 pm