Chicken Pickin'

In our society today, we occasionally run across people who think that food comes from a grocery store. They think no further than that. It comes in nice convenient packages, often ready to serve. Very little realization of where food really comes from, and what it takes to get it to the store.
Today on the farm, we had our annual chicken butchering day. Family gathers together for a day of fellowship, food, and food processing. It starts with setup; chicken catcher, chopping block, tables, donuts, scalding kettle, plucker, singeing torch, cleaver, and lots of sharp knives. Then we proceed like our grandparents and generations before acquired their food. They started from scratch! In the eyes of the kids the highlight is seperating the chicken and its head(hence the need for a clever and chopping block). And many a practical joke was played with the unused feet. There are piles of wet feathers and buckets of offal. And each year you have to prove to the youngsters that yes, chickens can run around with their heads cut off! Butchering is not a clean job and it is not for those with sensitive natures. But the taste of fresh farm raised chicken beats those wimpy store-bought ones. And there is satisfaction in eating food that was raised, processed, and prepared right on the farm. And our children know where food comes from - it doesn't just magically appear on store shelves. Back to the basics.

Yesterday, my daughter baked us a fresh cherry pie with cherries picked from a cherry tree that I planted. I know Marie Callender makes good pies, but I wouldn't trade a homemade, daughtermade, our-own-fresh cherry pie, for any of hers! The way to a man's heart . . .

In America, we have the cheapest, safest, and most abundant food supply in the world!
I truly feel sorry for less fortunate people around the world who don't eat as well as the old farmer does.
Good food is a blessing!