October 2, 2014

• Dinner for Supper

  Even though we live in the boonies, our boys haven't had some of the county experiences that Dean and I had as children. They don't know what it's like to live next to a pig farm nor have they ever milked a cow. (I've never milked either - that was my brother's chore.) They've never had the opportunity of watching animals birthing, and they've never helped butcher. The closest they get to country living is when they help with the canning and freezing in the summer.

  When I saw a "Free Roosters" sign earlier this week, I decided it was time to introduce them to some country living. We stopped just a mile or two down the road to ask about the free rooster. The lady of the house came out and gave us out pick of the two roosters that she had left and kindly showed Justin how to hold it long enough to get home. As we drove home, he named it Dinner and made jokes about having Dinner for supper, but the jokes ended pretty quickly when I put a pot of water on to boil and picked out a sharp knife.

  I'll leave out all the gory details, but not long into the process, Jeremy texted Dean that he was thinking about becoming a vegetarian. JJ rode his bike around the periphery and kept his distance, but Justin was right at my side the entire way.

  When I watched my father and grandfather butcher chickens, it looked so easy. I no longer think the process is easy. I've scratched that itch and have told the boys that I don't plan to butcher chickens again. Of course, if I had lessons as an adult, I might change my mind. Even though we were told that he was a young rooster, he was still tough and he ended up in soup. This afternoon, JJ told me that he wanted breakfast for supper. I suppose if we can have Dinner for supper, we can have breakfast for supper as well.

  • 7:34 pm
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