Hunting And Gathering

I was gone from the farm most of yesterday.
When I arrived back at the farm, it was just in time for
late afternoon/getting ready to close up for the day - chores.


I spent a little time with my piggy gals...
and snapped a few photos as Hubbs was handing out treats.
(Warning...the rest of the photos will not actually go with the text...
so don't look for some hidden correlation!)


Yesterday was the traditional day of hunting and gathering...
ie: grocery shopping for Thanksgiving.


If you've never visited the farm over Thanksgiving before,
then I will give you a little explanation of our family tradition.


Because we are a blended family (two of his, two of mine),
and our children are all grown with their own families,
we celebrate our family holiday on an "off" day.


It works out for everyone, I think.
The kids have one less place to try to fit into their holiday,
and we have a better chance of everyone showing up on our chosen day.


And so, we celebrate Thanksgiving with our family on Black Friday...
or as we used to call it Black and Blue Friday.
(When the kids, as we, were younger, we would all play paintball
"capture the flag" in our woods.
It was great fun, but we have all gotten older 
and now there are little ones who would not be able to play.
Hence, no more black and blue.


Instead, we spend the day playing other games and visiting
and eating and just enjoying each others' company.


We've strayed away from the traditional Thanksgiving feast,
mostly because everyone will have eaten that feast on Thursday
with other parts of their families.
Instead, we do a non-traditional farm feast on Friday.


This year we are having a big taco bar with:
Blackened shrimp tacos
Pork carnitas tacos
Spicy roast turkey tacos with cranberry chutney.

I make a lot of salads and sides and desserts as well.


So, there you have it.
My refrigerator is stocked.
My oven is baking away.
The crockpots are busy slow cooking meats...
and by Friday morning, everything will be ready.

I received a rather nasty note on my facebook messenger from
someone using a pseudonym.
They wrote: (and remember, all "caps" connotes shouting)

"You take care of and love all the animals....BUT YOU STILL EAT ANIMALS!!!! SHAME!!!!!!"

Yes, we do eat some (not a lot, however)meat... certainly not any of our beloved animals,
but, we are not vegans.
To me, this is a personal choice and not one that should be criticized by others.
I take great care to source all of our meats locally...
making sure that I can see the animals and how they are raised...
pastured and handled humanely.
This is our choice.
I would never shame someone else for their choice, so I would like
the same respect in turn.

I am saddened by the blatant un-kindness that is propagated through social media.
I suppose that when one can write words instead of saying them face-to-face,
it is easier to just let judgements fly.
I take issue with this.
None of us has the right to judge another for their personal choices.
We can teach.  We can inspire.  We can empower.
But... we cannot judge.
Everyone is on his/her own path.

I choose kindness for mine.

We are spending our day with this little one today.
We will be going to her pre-school to watch her Thanksgiving program
and then taking her out to lunch and to the movies
to see the new Disney Frozen movie.
It's going to be a fun day!


Last, but not least, I wanted to share with you the amazing 
trick that MaryAnn can do!


Here she goes.... with a treat as motivation....


she lifts her right front foot off the ground!!
Applause, applause!!!
Kidding... she actually gets both feet off of the ground in an attempt to beg.
Tricky pig!

Comments

Your custom-made Thanksgiving rituals sound wonderful! And bravo to MaryAnn, Trick Pig Extraordinaire!
daisy g said…
What a great family tradition!

I wouldn't give the anon. poster a thought. It's easy to spew hate when you will not be accountable. I don't eat meat, but that's what works for me. I have no problem with others doing what fits their needs. Your family obviously puts a lot of thought and consideration into what you eat. If more folks did that, meat animals would have a better life.

So glad your grands are close enough to enjoy on a regular basis.
Have a wonderful and memorable holiday!
The JR said…
some people lurk around facebook and blogs to have something negative to say. if they are vegan, that is there choice. i love animals and have never eaten one of my pets.

lol.....my husband said that the old old wise indian chief said "vegan" meant bad hunter :)

happy thanksgiving. yes, i'm being lazy and not using caps.

sounds like y'all are going to have one big happy family gathering too.
Susan said…
Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, sounds just right with family and a non traditional meal for Friday. Totally agree with you on accepting others and not criticizing. Kindness and love work wonders for happiness!
Leanna said…
We don't anticipate anyone coming over for Thanksgiving this year, which is fine by me. I don't think I could make a gargantuan feast as I would when I was younger and healthy. With my RA and Lupus going full-blown zonkers right now it's hard to get the energy to do anything. I loved the pictures of the treat giving. Y'all have a wonderful safe and warm Thanksgiving.
Eileen in Fla. said…
I'm so sorry that the angry, rude portion of our world invaded your Facebook. Your idyllic farm should not be a recipient of such negativity. Whatever happened to the "Live and and Let Live" motto?
This N That said…
Your Thanksgiving celebration will be perfect as always ..Fun, family and food..What more could one ask for?? Have a happy time..Hugs!
Karen said…
Yes, sometime it seems kindness is in short supply in our world today. I just wanted to stop by and say how much I enjoy your blog and witnessing your lifestyle. Have a happy thanksgiving with your family. I will be reminiscing about how things used to be and the excitement that I once felt.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and all the farm animals--(and of course--Hubbs, too!!)
love Mary Ann's 'trick'!! you teach her well--
and I am sorry someone was unkind to you--but we all love you enough to make up for that person's unkindness!!
luv, di
Leslye said…
I don't know why there are people out there that think it's ok to hide behind the internet to be mean but they are the ones with issues. You lead such a loving caring life that person shouldn't be judging you. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
jaz@octoberfarm said…
i love your tradition! right about now i wish i was making tacos. don't you just love the gutless anonymous people! have a wonderful thanksgiving bev!
Love your blog Bev. Your Friday Thanksgiving sounds awesome....I too love tacos! Wow ….now your pig does tricks! How awesome.
Hope you have a super good Thanksgiving and Post-thanksgiving.
Sorry you got that nastygram.....there are always trolls lurking around blogs, it seems. Who are they trying to impress?
Lynne said…
Love hearing and seeing your farm family
and blended family . . . everyone blends wonderfully!
And the COMMENT . . . why is it that there are those that choose to “pick”
in blog comments to create their personal energy?
Kind of like hiding in the weeds!