Sharon Astyk over at Casaubon’s Book wrote a really cute post about being potentially perceived as a “Sustainable Martha Stewart”

I hope that she NEVER has the nightmare interview that she parodies.

She refers to being called a “Sustainable Martha” – that is too darn funny. Martha actually does a lot to grow food on her property and she seems to love to blog about her efforts (tho she has an army of people who help do it and administer it so she too isn’t the perfect “Sustainable Martha”)

I have 3 kids and woe is the person who gives me a look askance about their numeracy. We figure we are just a tiny drop in the karmic balance bucket against the Duggars of Arkansas (who have bred up to 19 as of last count, are not done breeding, and who are teaching their kids to go “full quiver”)

My oldest complains at times about her goat milking, chicken tending, and egg collecting duties. I smile and try to be sympathetic while encouraging her to hop to it. Things will be more difficult when its -20 F this winter, then we will be going out to give her moral support.

We will also be arranging for a mechanical milking machine and warmer surrounds.

Besides, she doesn’t get ALL the tough jobs, she will not be the primary midwife this next early spring tho I intend to train her along with myself when the 8 goats go into labor. I try not to be terrified, most days it works.

I never assumed that Sharon would have a perfect house! Anyone with 4 kids and all the rest (including writing a book) would have to be twisted to be perfect in the cleaning department too.

My house – well – it does make me weep on occasion. I admit to dreaming about becoming a monkess at a zen monastery where NOTHING but cushions hit the floor. And the quiet. I can dream. Then I awake to watch my sleeping kids as I get ready for my commute and work.

My real dream is to be able to stay at home and get a more complete situational mastery of the homestead but its been more difficult than it seemed in past times when I worked full time out of the home.

Only way THIS is happening is if I win the lottery.

If you have been reading here a bit, you will remember that we are in the process of building a new chicken house. I have not mentioned this in a while because construction on the house has been delayed. Why? We live not too far from Old Lyme, Connecticut and live in the Lyme Disease Hot Zone and as a result, like everyone else around here, we are awash in deer ticks and the constant lingering menace of Lyme Disease.

My husband, while building the decking between the wood shed and the chicken house, was bitten and came down with lyme disease. Let me assure you, this is not a minor annoyance. Lyme disease, the way he got it put him in the ER several times, bought him a spinal tap and dubious concerns by ER docs of Eastern Equine Encephalitis, West Nile, even Malaria (which his symptoms were mimicking tho they said since he didn’t just come from some stinking steamy malarial swamp - they haven’t seen parts of our land! - that malaria was not likely). It finally took our family doc, who is just awesome, to know as soon as he heard the details that this was lyme disease.

Whew.

Back to the chickens.

Some of the chickens we are thinking of raising include the white silkies which the Chinese love for it’s black meat and traditional medicinal value, MAYBE we can get a hold of some blue feet chickens, some hearty brown and other color layers, and perhaps some cubalayas.

In my previous chicken experience we had meat chickens and I am still traumatized by the experience of killing and butchering them. As a scientist, I have taken down numerous rodents but I never butchered them nor ate them (yikes). I always did it because I had to and I always detached mentally from it. That doesn’t mean I don’t still think about those animals and I certainly appreciate their contribution to my thesis and published works.

To get more experience from people who have done this a lot and who raise organic pasture chickens, I attended the “Chickens for meat and eggs” workshop at the Many Hands Organic Farm.

I have put together a slideshow of some of the photos from the part of the workshop that demonstrated how to kill and then butcher the chickens below.

I share this with the intent of helping to educate. I do not share this to traumatize anyone so if this sort of thing bothers you please do not click through the show.

I also do not share this so that it can be used to traumatize others! I believe in mindful eating and mindful animal husbandry. Its important to know from where and how your meat comes to you.