Christmas and Turkeys

Our first Christmas on the farm was beautiful. As always my favorite part of Christmas is watching the boys race down to see if Santa came. The cookies and carrots are eaten and 2 specially wrapped presents are always awaiting them under the tree. We had breakfast looking out at the falling snow. Even the cat got a special breakfast! We kept the animals in the barn as we were off to the city later for Christmas dinner with the family.
We had a fabulous turkey dinner, each of us eating way to much. The turkey was fantastic! I bought it from my friend Dave who had crossed heritage breeds: Bourbon Reds with Beltsville Small Whites. It was over 15 lbs, but the easiest one I've ever carved.
I've chosen to raise the Beltsville Small Whites as I keep being told many people only want small turkeys. Dave told me he ran out of the small ones right away and was hard pressed to sell the larger 20lb birds. I'll be breeding them and I'm happy to help a breed on the conservation list, unfortunately Beltsville Small Whites are still listed as critical. Bourbon Reds thankfully have moved up and are now listed only as vulnerable. These breeds and many others don't fit the criteria made by factory farms which is why many have become endangered. If interested please check out www.rarebreedscanada.org
After dinner we went for a walk in the park with the dogs and looked at the Christmas lights. Then we came back and played some music. Paul and David on guitar, I played the violin, and the others sang along. We were all impressed at how much we had improved since last year, which was hilarious.
Boxing day morning saw us coming home to the farm early. The chickens and turkeys acting overjoyed to see me happily clucking, cooing, and many other indercipherable noises. The pigs were also super excited and looking big and happy.
Those darn turkeys are now on our porch, being quite annoying. It's time for them to go into the freezer. I'll be talking with someone next week to set up a time. As they will be for us or friends I'm able to "do them in" here at the farm. I'm not looking forward to it but I feel it's something I have to do.
This Christmas has brought me so much joy and hope for the future. Achieving the dream of owning a farm with huge prospects ahead has made it that much more enjoyable.
Warm wishes to all of you this holiday season!