Spared.

It's the day before Thanksgiving and, despite having so many things that I wish were different, re: that the corncrib was gone (sorry, Jeremy, had to mention it :)), or that my usual hay guy had brought me great hay this year, instead of hay that had to be returned ... there is so much more that I am thankful for.  Here at Sunny Silver Maple Farm, having this amazing November weather is something I am are so very thankful for! The longer it takes to have snow, sleet and cold blowing winds, the better it is for our animal friends at the farm.  And, I am thankful for how much easier it makes the human life better, too.  Yes, the carhart clothes: coveralls (for Ada) bibs, coat and cap, along with Cabela's extreme-cold temperature boots, do keep us warm, but ... if they stayed tucked in their corner, gathering dust year-round, because it was too warm to need them, I wouldn't complain.  I am thankful to have them, though, for when they're needed.  

I'm sure the couple of tom turkeys who get to strut-their-stuff year round, are thankful too - for being spared, year after year.  The Bourbon Red tom is about 6 years old. He's so tame, that you can walk right up to him and pet him. He, along with the younger Midget White tom, love to be where humans are. They follow us around, verbally reacting to every snap, crackle or pop they hear - showing their plume of tail feathers and puffed wings, as they, "gobble gobble gobble" - wanting us to look and see.  More than once I've contemplated finding a new home for the pair.  Their barnyard antics are fun to watch, but sometimes I get tired of the winter mess they make in the barn - turkey poop is big smelly poop!  And when it lands in a feeder because of where they roost, its a big-smelly-poop that needs to be removed. THAT part of tom turkeys is what's almost gotten them sent away. But then, when I'm out doing chores, and they're following me around like spry puppy dogs, and they gobble back to me when I talk to them, and they willingly go wherever, I shush them, I realize that I DO like having them around and that I am thankful, too, that they've been spared through the years.

We are having turkey this year, though, as we do every year.  Its the store-bought variety.  Yes, I prefer to eat what I raise, because I know what its been fed.  But, I feel confident that by the time the turkey in the fridge is brined, and seasoned-butter-rubbed, then roasted to perfection, it will taste great, too.  Besides, its not really about the bird you're eating on Thanksgiving is it? Its about sharing that bird or whatever you have to eat, with family and friends ... and isn't it family and friends that we're most thankful for, anyway? We are, here at Sunny Silver Maple Farm. We are most thankful for family and friends, and safe journeys and healthy bodies and minds.  We are thankful that we too, have been spared. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Sunny Silver Maple Farm.