We have chicken, rainy hay making
It’s starting to feel like summer. It’s Amy here this morning.
This week has been full of chicken shuffling. On Monday, a farmer friend from a few hours away came at 8:45 PM (after some truck troubles) to load up 600 chickens to take to their processor. The kids were out there with headlamps helping catch chickens, carry crates, and whatever we asked them to do. Farming sometimes has strange hours and long nights, but the kids seem to almost always rally around us with good attitudes willing to help. \
Tuesday morning we filled those shelters back up with about 600 three week old chicks from the brooder. Then Tuesday afternoon we caught almost 300 chickens for us to process on Wednesday while Will’s Uncle Jimmy mowed some hay for us around the chicken shelters. We will fill those shelters up in a few days when the chicks from the brooder get big enough.
Wednesday was our first chicken processing day of the season! Almost 300 chickens were harvested and put in the freezer. We are finishing filling pre-orders now and will have more chicken listed in the online store soon. Chicken processing days are long and tedious, but we actually enjoy it. Friends come out to the farm to help (some have been helping for over 8 years now). You can have some really great conversations over cutting up chickens. Huge shout out to our great help!
Yesterday morning, after chores, we filled orders and coolers. Then Will went to the hay field that afternoon. He was about done raking the hay into windrows when about 1/4 inch of rain got dumped on us. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for him to get the hay made today. He’ll have to run the tedder over it, re-rake it, and roll it.
This morning I’m heading to Charolette, NC for a meat delivery. Most of this meat is handed over to cousins who continue on with the meat to families in Myrtle Beach. Thanks Steven and Whitney for getting ORVF meat all the way to the beach!
Over the last month I’ve been reading The Collapse of Parenting by Dr. Leonard Sax. He points out that too often we let kids make the decisions and allow them to choose what they want to do (and don’t want to do.) He feels that these factors have led to children and teens being less resilient, less physically fit, and more likely to become anxious and depressed.
“It’s tough being a parent in a culture that constantly undermines parental authority. Two generations ago, American parents and teachers had much greater authority. In that era, American parents and teachers taught right and wrong under no certain terms. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Love your neighbor as yourself. Those were commands, not suggestions.”
“What does it mean to assert your authority as a parent?… (the parents must be) teaching the child how to behave both within and outside the family unit… The child must learn the grown-up culture from the grown-ups. When parents lose their authority—when same-age peers matter more than the parents—then kids are no longer interested in learning the culture of the parents.”
“When culture values youth over maturity, the authority of the parent is undermined. Young people easily overestimate the importance of youth culture and underestimate the culture of earlier generations.”
“The culture of self-esteem leads to a culture of resentment… The culture of humility leads to gratitude, appreciation, and contentment.”
Have a blessed week!
Amy