Holiday Happenings

Well it has certainly been a busy month.
For our Thanksgiving feast we butchered a two year old Blue Slate tom. He turned our beautifully even at that age. The legs were a bit tough (probably from chasing me!) but no worries there as that was a base for soup later in the weekend. We were blessed to have 25 friends and family at our table in ages ranging from 4 to 75.
With Thanksgiving coming so late, Christmas seemed to catch us off guard and it felt like we were at a dead run for the next few weeks. The annual turkey cookin' was held for Doug's employees, friends and family.
The grills practically moaned with all the delicious food. 16 turkeys, 8 chickens, 2 pork shoulders, a prime rib, soup and beans and potatoes. Oh my! Snacks galore, cookies and cakes...well, as you can imagine, everyone left stuffed. As usual a good time was had by all. Again we felt so blessed.
Next was Christmas. Another turkey was butchered, this time a Naragansett. It was two as well and was just as good as the Thanksgiving bird. With two get togethers on Christmas eve and the multitudes here at the house on Christmas Day the whirlwind continued up until 9 that evening. We closed the doors and took a deep breath.

This past week we have taken time to catch up on chores. We have had some pretty heavy rains over the last month and at some point our drain pipe at the pond was clogged. With another 5 inches of rain the pond has risen to an unaccepted level for the safety of the animals and they literally had to be moved to higher ground. I am still unable to do much wrestling with the critters so the boys caught the sheep before we moved to do a quick eye check for parasites. All looked great except for one. Yeah! The six bred dairy goats were moved to a wooded pasture high on the hill. Though not thrilled with the move they did finally settle in and start munching on fallen leaves. For the most part, all is quiet here on the homestead.

I am continuing to heal from the accident. It is a slow process and I am not a patient person. Some days are better than others but I have a huge support system in my family and friends and that keeps me grounded.

We are looking forward to a great new year in 2014!