November 6, 2020
This week we brought two lambs to the abattoir – which is by far and away, my least favorite part of farming. When I was a vegetarian, I was sanctimonious - and clueless about the damage my soy, corn and grain heavy diet was doing to the environment. Now as a dedicated omnivore, locavore, and believer in regenerative agriculture, I am still sanctimonious- but infinitely more knowledgeable.
Not a day goes by that I don't think about, read about and evaluate how I live, how I eat, how I farm and the impact my choices have on the planet. I am now sadly, but unapologetically, back at the top of the food chain.
People often ask me “how can you eat an animal that you raised and cared for?” - the answer is that it is, indeed, very hard, in fact extremely hard, but how can you not? I want to know that any animal which was raised for me to eat, had a good life, while it lived – and that through out it's life it was raised in a manner that does not contribute to the degradation of the planet. I believe strongly, in fact, that thoughtfully raised grassfed animals could be a part of the solution. I vote with my food dollars and try to support only farmers that I believe are good stewards of their land.
On a much happier note we had our annual “Knitting with Sheep” event. It was a whole lot of fun. Good low key, calm kind of fun. Forty six people showed up so we easily broke our previous world record of fifteen knitters “knitting in the company of sheep”. It was the perfect socially distanced COVID activity. Spread out through the pasture were clutches of knitters knitting and meandering sheep demanding attention. The sheep ate pumpkins until they were full and then just mingled. Samson the ram was safely tucked away in the barn. I could almost feel his relief and hear him say “too many knitters- too little time”