Living The Dream Farm

Turkey
its not a far away place I desire to go,
just here, on my little farm, surrounded by your existence, presence and beauty
It is hard to say goodbye to you, my darlings
a friend told me his grandma would tell each animal before harvest, said a little prayer
“a toca tu, a toca me”
Today it is your turn, tomorrow it is mine.
Sunday means your turn, and I trepidaciously enter the day of your last
But each of you carry with you a thankfulness
as you will be the amazing centerpiece of Thanksgiving feasts for many families. For this I am grateful.
Grateful I was able to experience you in all your turkey splendor, enjoying your life on my farm. I am grateful to you for enriching my life here. I have enjoyed our turkey songs together, the bunch of you and I.
You’ve done well, my turkeys, grown as you should, fat on organic corn and oats and vegetables and fruits. Each of you has been a delight to know and care for.
Tomorrow you will pass through the doors of heaven, your spirit will go away from here, your bodies will nourish us.
We are thankful, on our Thanksgiving Day, for so much, but especially for you. Thank you for living and dying so beautifully.

I had a feast with my Dad, three sisters and two friends today, and my lovely turkey, Mr. Tom, was absolutely amazingly delicious. His beauty enriched the feast in countless ways, every part was utilized and savored. Thank you Mr. Tom.

Sunday was one the most intense days of my life. When one thinks back on the moments that changed your life, many of them involve a birth, or a death. I have several moments of these with the humans in my life. To those moments of great importance, I now add death experiences with animals that I raised, cared for and nurtured to the day of their death on my farm.

sue and mary plucking one of the turkeys that came home for their thanksgiving feasts photo stephen filla

sue with her beautiful Bronze- 22lbs of delicious good life turkey photo stephen filla

This may seem an oxymoron- raised and cared for, nurtured, and then KILLED!?  I have to allow that- this is a contradiction in many ways. I welcome discussion about the ethics of eating animals. because I am gonna tell you that I am practicing what I preach on my farm. Know your food, acknowledge that it was an animal, and know how it lived. Don’t eat misery. Don’t eat without deep thoughts, because that which you ingest is going to nourish you, and I can’t imagine what kind of nourishment you would get from miserable animals.

this is the turkey I will be giving thanks over, with my family. he was giving me one last show, what a beautiful guy. photo stephen filla

my bourbon red tom turkey

check out the gooble-dee-gook on my guy! photo stephen filla

from a beautiful, noble dude on my farm, to a feast to truly be thankful for- here he is in the final stage before roasting overnight on wednesday eve

photo stephen filla

photo stephen filla

photo stephen filla

Thanksgiving will never be the same for me, nor for the amazing people who came out and processed their own bird with me. I owe everyone a round of applause for a job well done, well thought out, and enjoyed. Thank you.

This is the letter that went out to my turkey purchasers this morning:

Alrighty- this is the last check in.

Everybody ready for this? I am so ready….have been thinking about this all week long!

Here’s the stuff to bring:

cash for the bird $40

a big, clean cooler and at least 5 lbs of ice.

warm clothes and gloves, and some warm footwear that can handle getting wet.

A ziplock bag to put organs/feet in if you want to keep them

I’ll provide knives, cold water to get the birds chilled down ASAP after eviscerating and some foods. I still have feta and yogurt and soaps for donation/sale, so bring cash for that if you want too!

I just kept my bird in the cooler until cooking- with plenty of ice and keeping it from pooling in water, my first turkey was still super fresh after a week. Imagine how old the birds at CUB are!! Be prepared, you’re gonna have a nice size bird. The bigger the bird, the more the meat to bone ratio. I recommend an over night slow-roasting, breastside down, as it led to the most luscious turkey ever (I had a 30lb er two months ago as a trial run for thanksgiving.)

If you’re worried about this, be comforted that these birds have had an incredible life. They really have a been a joy to care for, to admire and to sing back and forth with. I’ll miss this crazy group, but I am honored to be the one who raised your Thanksgiving day turkey. So, here we go!

Email with questions!

-Khaiti