A snowy Thanksgiving for farm creatures great and small (and proud)
The snowfall late yesterday afternoon and evening left us five or six inches of snow on the ground. With more forecast for tomorrow, Thanksgiving, all the skiers and deer hunters are ecstatic. It makes things a little sloppy around the barn with snow on top of the unfrozen ground, but it wasn't too bad this morning feeding round bales and handling the manure.
The animals take the change of weather in stride. The heifers being overwintered outside in the pole barn were munching hay at the round bale feeder while snowflakes from a passing flurry swirled around them.
The chickens surprised us by wanting to come out of their coops and into the snow once the doors were open. The younger hens followed Rooster Cogburn across the lawn and, of course, right to the bird feeder which Karen had filled this morning.
One reluctant older hen spent the night under one of our decks. She must have gotten caught there when the snow started yesterday afternoon, and then didn't want to cross the snow-covered ground to go back to her coop for the night. We'll be sure to get her out from under there today.
Turkey sales have been excellent. One more person is stopping by this afternoon to pick up her bird. That will bring the number of birds sold to about 30. That leaves 18 in the freezer, some of which we may sell at Chistmas time and the rest we will have to use throughout the year. It's nice to think how many families will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday by serving one of our turkeys. It's encouraging to see people making a choice for locally grown, organic food for their families because they think it is the right thing to do.
--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont
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Posted by Blogger Chris at November 23, 2005 06:54 PM
Jonathan Gates reports from Howmars Farm in Franklin, Vermont.