The Great Turkey Massacre of 2009

A great weekend, blood and guts not withstanding.

This has got to be the most autumny autumn that I ever autumned. The air is crisp, the mountains are turning red, and last week they got their first dusting of snow when we had an early first frost. I was driving East early one evening (the "blue time of night" my mom calls it)and looked up at the Bountiful temple midway up the mountain. Red and orange blazed above it, snow-capped mountaintops gleamed above that, and a gorgeous full moon shone just above it all. I almost drove back for my camera, but knew it would quickly be gone, so I just had to live in the present and take it in.

I'd planned on doing about four days worth of fall-prep on Saturday, complete with 12 tasks on the checklist. But I knew that harvesting four turkeys, which my book said would take an hour a piece, would likely end up filling up most of my day. I was right, although the last one probably did clock in at about an hour. And the book was correct, it was just like harvesting chickens, just 5x bigger. The three I plucked came between 18-20.5 pounds by the time they were "fully dressed" (i.e., ready for the freezer). I skinned one and chopped it up into breasts and legs for four meals later, and the meat alone was 14 pounds.

David did the killing, and I was glad, because the book demanded that you give a sharp blow to the back of the head to stun them before chopping off the head. I've gotten used to killing the offending rooster that crowed too loud at 5 a.m., hanging them upside-down by the feet with a rope in the shed and a mega-sharp serrated knife, but the whacking seems rather brutal. David, to his credit, did not enjoy it much.

I couldn't help but think about how far I've come in the more unpleasant tasks of homesteading. I really feel very matter-of-fact about it all now, and am happy to know where my meat is coming from. [Notes to Lisa, don't click on that link--talk about running and screaming]

Ben, that amazing worker he is, harvested 4 buckets of grapes over the course of the day, so when I wasn't picking and cleaning turkeys, I was picking grapes and steam-juicing them for the canner. I got 17 quarts put up and another 3 quarts to drink fresh. The chickens loved the steamed skin/seed mash that was leftover.

This was my second year canning, and I totally felt at ease with it. Diane, you were right, it really is easy. I don't know why people make such a stink about it. Right now I'm listening to the little pops of the cans sealing (yes, I canned on Sunday, but it was an accident). My mom always said that it was one of the most satisfying sounds, and she's right.

Today I gathered 3 dozen eggs. That's partly because they weren't gathered yesterday and partly because I again found where my free/escaped chickens are laying now (the horse trough in the corral). By the way, eggs can easily last 5 weeks in the fridge or more, and one day out of the fridge is worth three days in. So, if you leave eggs out overnight, please don't throw them away. They can last over a week at room temperature (although I'm not sure why you'd do that).

When I find random eggs in the yard (it really is like an Easter egg hunt--that must be where it came from), if I question the freshness, I just put it in water in a glass bowl--it sinks, it's good. One end up a little, but still touching bottom, use it soon. Not touching the bottom or floating, toss it out.

Here is some other advice you don't need:

1. Get white turkeys instead of bronze, the bronze look cooler, but their feathers are black, so when you pluck them, you end up with a lot of black little bits that you can see under the skin. (We had two of each, I plucked one bronze and skinned the others).

2. Don't dry pluck your turkeys, imagining that you'll find something useful to do with all those feathers. It is WAY harder than scalding, takes way longer, and you can just pluck out some wing feathers (for your quills, of course), just before you dunk her in the water. Finding something big enough to scald a 20 lb turkey in is a pain, but it's worth it. (I dry-plucked two, and scalded the last one. My fingers are so sore.)

3. When you're trying to get out the wing feathers, try turning them as you pull, like a key--they come right out. (This learned after me tugging like a madman in vain at length.)

Anyway, file that away in your "Stuff I Hope I Never Need to Remember" file.

Seriously, pictures of all this are coming (nothing too gory, don't worry). They're on Dave's computer and I hopefully will have time to get down there tomorrow night.

I don't know what, other than genetic memory, could make me feel like harvesting turkeys (which I've never done before) would make it feel like fall, but it certainly did. It was overcast and cool and just felt like fall--my favorite time of the year. Today it rained and rained--a wonderful day to just stay inside.

Conference was great, I can't wait to read/listen to it again with less distraction. I loved just being home for two days and enjoying the family.

I've been reading the New Testament lately and really feeling that although I have faith in Christ, the fundamentals of Christian behavior--just being loving and kind, really are lacking in my life. And without charity I am nothing, right? Conference definitely repeated, many times, that theme, that love of God and love of neighbor are really what is all about, and although I can tout busy-ness or any other lame excuse, when I stand before the Savior, that love is what He will have expected of me.

And I really do have a lot of love to give, but I haven't been giving it any outlet this past year. So, it's time to change that.

Love to all,

Valerie

My 101st Post

Highlights of today--found two (big) cucumbers I hadn't seen before, the first, and ate one of them with salt on the spot. Came up with a good PR idea at work which people liked. Dreamed about how I want to start this or that business. Wrote several new blogs I never intend to start in my head. Listened to two full operas at work (we can have headphones), one of which brought me to tears. Found a new voice teacher for myself. Talked to some friends on the phone. Watched a flash-flood thunderstorm come down out the window at work. Ate sweets.

Downside was when Sophie dramatically and accusingly told me that she was forgetting she even has a mommy lately (yesterday I got another version of this statement from her), and when I came home David rushed downstairs to get some work done and I was left with three children fighting over my lap and crying for attention while Ben tried to talk over it to tell me about his day. Also, I ate sweets, and I'm up 10 lbs since moving here! I wanted to buy a cow, not be one!

Yesterday my friends the Hunters came over which was super fun--I love being in a place all my long-lost friends come to visit.

Things are good. My husband has the hardest part, because we both have identical income quotas and he has to make his while watching the kids all day and then working into the night. That's modern living, I guess. He's a good man.

PS. There was actually an article outing that funny blog I mentioned below, if you want to know who is really writing it.

Happy Birthday to my man

David in 1990 - just before leaving for the mission. This is the pic I had on my wall for two years.

This blog is named after a very old-tyme song David and I considered "ours" in high school, "The Old Black Magic Called Love," with Louis Prima and Keely Smith. Listen here:



Still very relevant, if I say so myself. David says he agrees with Ned, his friend 2 weeks his senior, that 37 is indeed very different than 36, as the fears of aging have given way to acceptance of inevitable death.

Love you, David---I'm loving the spin I'm in!

Fathers' Day

Because yesterday was Fathers' Day, in our house that means I have to do whatever David wants, so last night that meant watching Dark Shadows with him and not blogging.

Saturday should have involved more weeding than it did, but definitely some gardening was done, and I have many mosquito bites to prove how late it was when I finally had to go in from lack of light.

I'll take some pics of the plants and chickens soon--they are both growing like crazy. Now it is finally heating up I think they'll grow faster. The potatoes are defintely the biggest, although the Yukon Golds are not so prolific as the red and russet.

I learned the "grape" vines I found and put on the rameumptom, as well as others I thought may be grapes around our fence are all creeping virginia--that look like grape vines when dormant, and do set berries (for use by the birds). It looks like it will be very pretty in fall. We have tons of some kind of mint, which I suspected was catnip and was right, I so wish it was spearmint!

I'm planting a lot of corn, and with all the flooding in the midwest, I'm glad about it. However, my first planting several weeks ago I thought I was smarter than the instructions. I hate thinning, it feels like such a waste, so I just planted one every foot, like they are supposed to end up. Well, I later read that corn has a low germination rate, plus I think some robins got to them just after planting, so I ended up with 10 plants in my 10 x 4 area in the West garden. This is bad for pollination, which I'll have to do by hand now. I very carefully transplanted them into a group (they were spread over the patch) and replanted more, 4-6" apart this time as instructed, and as I did in the big garden. I need to quit thinking I know better in things.

For Fathers' Day, I'd spent the week doing a very homey cross-stitch pillow for David's present. I'll have to take a picture, but it was a reference to an inside joke between us about the Book of Mormon story of the great missionary Ammon in Alma 18-19, where King Lamoni is converted and collapses, overwhelmed by the Spirit and what he's heard.

1 And it came to pass that after two days and two nights they were about to take his body and lay it in a sepulchre, which they had made for the purpose of burying their dead.

2 Now the queen having heard of the fame of Ammon, therefore she sent and desired that he should come in unto her.

3 And it came to pass that Ammon did as he was commanded, and went in unto the queen, and desired to know what she would that he should do.

4 And she said unto him: The servants of my husband have made it known unto me that thou art a prophet of a holy God, and that thou hast power to do many mighty works in his name;

5 Therefore, if this is the case, I would that ye should go in and see my husband, for he has been laid upon his bed for the space of two days and two nights; and some say that he is not dead, but others say that he is dead and that he stinketh, and that he ought to be placed in the sepulchre; but as for myself, to me he doth not stink.

You can finish the story here - but David has always thought this was the sweetest love story, that everyone else thinks he stinks except his wife. He applies the scriptures to himself. The pillow says in my neatest cross stitch possible since I haven't done it since the 7th grade:

To me he doth not stink . . .

Yesterday we went up to my in-laws ward because my Paw-in-law was speaking in church and I was asked to sing "O My Father." (click for history) Earlier in the week I found out the original tune Eliza Snow had chosen was "Gentle Annie" by Stephen Foster, so I found an SATB version at Day Murray Music and sang that version--everyone seemed to really enjoy it, it has that sweet, "Shenandoah Valley" vibe to it. You can hear a clip here of what I sang, if you click the second track--this whole CD is highly recommended.

We had a BBQ with David's parents and sibs and it was all very pleasant. My Paw-in-law is my only Paw, and he's a good one.

Happy Fathers Day to my sweet man. To me he doth not stink.