A Good Week

It has been a good week.  I had the privilege of spending much of the day on Wednesday working with fellow agrarians doing chicken disassembly.  Thankfully, they don't start processing at the crack of dawn.  I had spent a great deal of the night before getting work done at the office so that I would take the day off.  And by the time I got to bed, the first light of the new day was beginning to show.  So I slept for about 3 hours, and then took my 8-year-old son and headed off to Bechard Farms.  They were just getting started when I arrived.

 

My first task of the day was removing lungs and kidneys.  I did that for a while, and then switched to eviscerating when chickens started to back up in that area.  I had done that job some last year, so I was familiar with the procedure.  And after a little refresher from Micah (or was it Luke?) I was on the way.  Clearly I am no expert.  Nevertheless, it is gratifying to know that I know enough of what I am doing there to be able to accomplish what must be done.  I still have not worked in the front end (killing cones, scalding, plucking, head & feet removal), nor on final cleanup.  My 15-year-old son loves the front end ... I might leave that to him, although I probably need to learn the intricacies of it sooner or later.

 

In the meantime, my (8-year-old) son was enjoying the task of separating out hearts, livers and gizzards from the guts pulled out in evisceration.  He was thrilled to be joining Dad in this job.  I substantially fail to include him in my work (starting with going to the office every day without him); it is good to know that I occasionally get it right.  (Here is a story about one of my heroes, who gets it right most of the time.)

 

All in all, we processed 387 chickens on the dis-assembly line.  And then we shared a delicious meal of fresh fruit, chicken and turkey sandwiches, salad, jam, honey, and homemade bread.  It was all very yummy.  I also got to see the beehives I had built earlier this spring.  Until she has a place in the country, Eph1:6Beloved has them hung at Bechard Farms.  Other than a mishap with a cow that had not yet learned proper etiquette around beehives, they have been doing well.  Even the one that the cow knocked over is well on its way to recovery.  It was gratifying to know that the work I did is really being productive, and I will be rewarded in time with sweet honey!  It is also nice to know that I didn't have to go into beekeeping myself to gain this reward; having evidenced an allergy to stings some 30 years ago, I would just as soon not deal with the creatures close-up.  Eph1:6Beloved does deal close up, and in a daring manner ... apparently doing so without a bee suit on a regular basis.  (Naddy is similarly daring ... though I'm not sure it is on as regular a basis.)

 

Another wonderful part of the day was singing.  Now, it is to be acknowledged that we did not do nearly as much singing this time as we had during the first November processing date last year.  On that day we had a bigger crew, and those who have really great memory (so as to call to mind all the words of all the Psalms and hymns we sing).  Even with a smaller crew, and less singing, it was still a blessing.

 

After a wonderful agrarian day, I headed to the office and worked until nearly midnight, so that I could take half the day off the following day for the next adventure ... moving a fellow agrarian to a place in the country.  A crew from church (many of the same folks who processed chickens on Wednesday, and several more) moved Eph1:6Beloved and her 5 children to a lovely country location, where she will be able to pursue her agrarian dreams more fully.  We loaded multiple pickups, vans, and trailers, and formed a convoy of sorts.  (BTW, don't ever agree to follow Eph1:6Beloved on the highway, unless you have both a lead foot and a turbo-charged engine.  A little pickup with a refrigerator in the back could not keep up with her!)

 

Two days with the saints of God makes this a good week!