First the cow, now the chicken...

Buds on the trees.  Flowers poking their shoots though the snow.  Green grass and birds.  All beautiful signs of spring.  Not that we've seen many of those here in South Dakota as of yet.

As a matter of fact, just this morning it snowed.  So, ummm, I KNOW spring is coming -sometime- but I'm just not seeing it so far.

Just one more reason to be fascinated with chicks.  Chicken chicks that is.

Soft and sweet and cuddly.

And dinner.

Sorry, but that is the reality of a farm.

Not to worry, our friends tell us the cute ones will stay cute and will be their laying hens.  Those we can fawn over.  The ones we are going to process (that's farm talk for kill) are supposed to get ugly so we will not feel bad.  I sure hope so, because the last time I saw them I just wanted to kiss them.  Pretty sure one of my sons did!

But in just a few shorts weeks, those chickens will be ugly (I am counting on that friends!) and ready to process.  And yes, we are going to be a part of that processing...process.

Remember - we have friends that actually KNOW something about farm life and have decided to let us be a part of their journey - like when we butchered the cow.  Quite frankly, they may either be crazy or just entertained by us city folks.  Either way, they are teaching us how to process chickens. And I cannot wait.  I think.

You see, in my head it is amazing.  You know, back to basics, fresh organic meat on the table for my family, no pesticides, I know where it came from, pipe in the Little House on the Prairie music, and on and on.

But of course, to get to that point is hard work.  Almost all of which we are not involved in because we do not live on a farm and so far our friends have not invited us to live with them.  They are not THAT crazy.

But for a few hours we will join them for the hard work.  And hopefully not make it harder.

Stay tuned!

Blessings,