Do you know how amazing a feeling it is to plant, cultivate, and harvest foods from your garden? Not even stopping there, the feeling of exhiliration when you create a meal and see it on your table knowing that long before the food feeds your body, it has been feeding your soul?
A couple weeks ago we did the first big chicken harvest of the season. It’s been a few years .... more like 20.... since I have processed any animal. My husband is the one that has done all of that. I was a little hesitant because I forgot what the process was like and how I had handled it before. After a few birds I was back in the groove and able to do it well, muscle memory is a real thing!
This time though, it was different. This time there was so much more involved. I was working side by side with my husband and children. Harvesting animals that we had spent so much time and energy caring for, and loving. Chickens are fun animals and are often looked over as anything significant, but the truth is, they are fun and have personality just like any other creature of God’s.
Before there was no connection, I was in the FFA and people brought in hundreds of turkeys for us to process. None of them really meant anything to me... it was more fun to spend 2 weeks processing turkeys than going to my classes, so that’s what I did. I knew one day I was going to farm and Ranch and I wanted as much experience as possible. Little did I know how vastly different the type of farming/ranching would be that I ended up doing.
Now there is a relationship, a kinship, to each of the birds. We gave so much to them to have a high standard of living and care, and in return, they will do the same. Giving me and my family, and our customers life, vitality, and an option outside of a disconnected society.
The next time you buy local, and from a non-conventional source, realize that the difference goes beyond non-gmo clean meat. Just like a home cooked meal is always better because it’s additional ingredient of love, so is a loved and respected animal raised to give life for life.
A couple weeks ago we did the first big chicken harvest of the season. It’s been a few years .... more like 20.... since I have processed any animal. My husband is the one that has done all of that. I was a little hesitant because I forgot what the process was like and how I had handled it before. After a few birds I was back in the groove and able to do it well, muscle memory is a real thing!
This time though, it was different. This time there was so much more involved. I was working side by side with my husband and children. Harvesting animals that we had spent so much time and energy caring for, and loving. Chickens are fun animals and are often looked over as anything significant, but the truth is, they are fun and have personality just like any other creature of God’s.
Before there was no connection, I was in the FFA and people brought in hundreds of turkeys for us to process. None of them really meant anything to me... it was more fun to spend 2 weeks processing turkeys than going to my classes, so that’s what I did. I knew one day I was going to farm and Ranch and I wanted as much experience as possible. Little did I know how vastly different the type of farming/ranching would be that I ended up doing.
Now there is a relationship, a kinship, to each of the birds. We gave so much to them to have a high standard of living and care, and in return, they will do the same. Giving me and my family, and our customers life, vitality, and an option outside of a disconnected society.
The next time you buy local, and from a non-conventional source, realize that the difference goes beyond non-gmo clean meat. Just like a home cooked meal is always better because it’s additional ingredient of love, so is a loved and respected animal raised to give life for life.
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