Yesterday, we spent a splendid day with neighbors and enjoyed our own turkey (fried), mashed Purgatory Ranch potatoes, homemade biscuits and home canned peaches (along with fabulous contributions from our neighbors). Later in the day, my sister's family joined us. While we love being with family, I cannot remember a calmer Thanksgiving. It was beautiful to stay at home the entire day, let the kids run around everywhere, and not need to unpack. We are grateful beyond measure for God's goodness to us in the past year.
Today, in the vein of being countercultural, James and a friend chopped instead of shopped. Our Turkens, the original chicken flock at Yahweh Jireh acres, never proved to be a viable layer flock. They laid well for a few weeks this summer, then quickly fell off. For the last four to five weeks, we haven't gotten a single egg. They are expensive to feed through the winter for so little yield, so the eleven hens were butchered today and are already nearly frozen in the freezer. One rooster is left, and we are hoping to incorporate him into our freedom ranger flock, so maybe Darkest Winter and Soup will not try to kill Toeless when she joins their coop.
I definitely enjoyed spending the day with friends we rarely see, and am grateful to have one more task complete for James before hard winter hits.
Until next time, remember, this is not paradise. It's Purgatory Ranch.
