This past weekend the we were invited to the Jersey Village Farmer's Market. It was a bit chilly and I think the kids shopped away all of our limited sales with local vendors. The other vendors were lovely and we look forward to returning. Since the kids are out of school this week the three of us came up to the ranch and have been accomplishing projects. We set up new waterers for the chickens, installed roll out nesting boxes to reduce egg washing time and we are making new feeders today to reduce the frequency of refilling. And of course its not a week at the ranch without having to herd cattle that escaped their pasture.
But the kids were most looking forward to picking out our Thanksgiving Turkey. Once the birds are stunned and their heads removed they are placed in a scalder at 150 degrees to loosen the feather and then on to an automated plucker to get the job started. Since Turkeys are larger than chickens there is still quite a bit of manual plucking needed and the kids were not shy. They are not as excited about removing the abdominal contents of the birds so that still falls to the adults. The birds are currently chilling in an ice bath but will be removed today to start the dry brining process.
Today the rest of the family arrives. We will start baking pies, making corn bread for the stuffing and begin the rest of the prep work for for Turkey Day. We give thanks to the animals, the land and our family.
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