Chicken Mama, Gilligan, and good neighbors D and M joined us in our second butchering of the season which included 14 ducks and 3 geese.
The day was gray, chilly and overcast with a bit of wind, but at least no rain.
We started the actual butchering a little after 9 a.m. and broke shortly after noon for a lunch of soup, garlic cheese bread and pie. Except we voted to save the pie and coffee for when we were all done.
Over the delayed dessert 'round about 3 p.m., D regaled us (he's an excellent story teller) with tales of growing up on a farm in western Minnesota with his brother and three sisters. As soon as they were each old enough, they were expected to "work" right alongside their mother and father, but as D said, they didn't feel they were abused in any way. It was just the way his family functioned. And, of course, the kids all had time to have fun while partaking of all the mischievousness they could experience being healthy kids raised in that environment. Made a couple of us adults around the table feel we'd missed something in our own "townie" upbringing.
I'll not post any of the pictures I took to commemorate the day except for one of the ones taken by our photographer-with-the-artistic-eye daughter.
At clean-up time, we raked, gathered and chased one heckuva lot of feathers, but I'm sure some of them blew all the way up to the Canadian border. Or if not actually that far, at least folks a few acres away may be wondering what's all that white, gray and black fluffy stuff skittering across their yards and through the woods. As Chicken Mama said, she can picture some cozy, comfy, down and feather lined nests this winter for the small forest critters.
Respect and honor with a smattering of gratitude. The way a time honored task ought to be preformed.
ReplyDeleteGoatldi - Good to hear from you! Have been wondering if you've been okay because of the bad fires in your area. Hoping for the best for you.
DeleteWhat a blessing to have such family and friends. This is the kind of chore that help is appreciated for. The stories must have been great! Lunch and dessert sound great too. :)
ReplyDeleteLeigh - Yes, the help for so very much appreciated! And the fact that everyone involved has the same respect for the creatures who provide us all with healthy food.
DeleteI love stories like that. We had to work on the farm as well. For us it was just part of life and we enjoyed it. If we were naughty dad would always threaten to sell up and we could all go live in the town. He was bluffing though but no way would we have let him move. We loved our lives and knew we were lucky to live like that. As I've got older I realise how lucky we were.
ReplyDeleteKev - I can imagine the stories you could share with your readers of your growing up years. And you're providing your three little ones with the same wonderful life.
DeleteI love stories like that. We had to work on the farm as well. For us it was just part of life and we enjoyed it. If we were naughty dad would always threaten to sell up and we could all go live in the town. He was bluffing though but no way would we have let him move. We loved our lives and knew we were lucky to live like that. As I've got older I realise how lucky we were.
ReplyDeleteWhat a joy it is to have good friends (and best daughter ever) giving you a hand with this job. You should sure be set for the winter now - not to mention having less to do this winter. Nothing makes a job go faster than sharing it with good company!
ReplyDeleteSusan - Amen to your last statement! It's all hard work but no one complained one single, little bit.
DeleteMama Pea,
ReplyDeleteHaving good friends, and family assist with freezer camp makes the process so much easier. You could make flies (lures) for fishing with those feathers.
Hugs and love to you and your family.
Sandy
Sandy - Yes, we are blessed.
DeleteThe goose wing feathers would make nice quill pens, too! (Not sure how much market there is for those these days though . . . ) ;o}
Thank you for not posting the process! I usually catch up on blogs on my lunch hour...this would have been surprising! :) We had that same weather yesterday too!
ReplyDeleteMrsDM - You're welcome! After many years, I still find something else to do when the hatchet comes out, but after that I'm fine being respectful with the carcass and grateful for the good food the bird (or animal) has given us. Even the gutting process doesn't bother me anymore. But I don't think it's appropriate or necessary to document with pictures on the blog.
DeleteI agree Mama Pea, thanks for limiting the photos :) I'm glad it went so well and you had a good day. I think the way your friend was brought up is how everyone should have been brought up. Modern life makes people lazy and ungrateful if you ask me! :)
ReplyDeleteThe lunch sounds delish! :)
Rain - I know I sound like an old foggy when I say kids today aren't brought up knowing what "work" is, but you don't have to look very far to see that's true. So much of today's society doesn't know what self-responsibility is nor do they have any of the basic skills to truly take care of themselves. So sad. It makes one feel so good to relearn some of the ways and values that used to be the norm.
Delete