Hello, this is Emily with the semi-weekly update from Sandhill Farm. As time goes by after KŠthe & Michael's departure, I have an even greater appreciation for all the little things they kept on top of-this column among them. But our smaller group is getting along, with plenty to keep us occupied: processing seeds for sale and for next year's planting; sending out sorghum that folks have ordered for their holiday baking; tidying up the garden; and a bit of worrying-that the garlic in the ground and the corn on the "drying" racks are going to rot before we get a break in the wet weather.
Gigi has been hard at work revamping the greenhouse heating system, and tending to the greenhouse salad and cooking greens, so that we can have fresh produce coming in throughout the cold months. Stan just returned from visiting an old friend in Arizona-bringing back with him travel stories and cactus flowers. Owen left on Sunday to spend Thanksgiving with his family in New Jersey before heading down to Acorn Community in Virginia, where he'll work on a new straw bale residence and lend a hand with their seed business. We'll miss him, but hope to see him back here in the spring.
With Owen gone and several of the Rabbits traveling, we may have just played our last ultimate frisbee game of 2009. The field conditions were marginal at best, but it was our last opportunity to play, so we slipped and slid and splashed around as the sun set.
Our frisbee obsession aside, the biggest news around here is hunting season. Venison is our main source of meat, supplemented only occasionally by our chickens and turkeys. So Jacob and Apple have been spending long hours on the land, despite the rainy chilly start to the season. Our friend Roger came out early on opening day, and by dark the first deer was hanging in our cooler. In the next couple of days Jacob brought in two more deer, with Apple and Owen helping with the field dressing and skinning. A neighbor of ours had gotten three deer whose meat he didn't want, so we picked up those as well-including a giant buck that took three guys to wrestle onto the hanging rack. Now our cooler has the look of an overly crowded elevator, and there will be lots of meat throughout the coming year. I made an attempt to brain-tan a couple of the hides. I was hoping for some soft and warm blankets or rugs-but I've ended up with some fairly stiff, super labor-intensive furs probable best used for dog beds-and a new profound appreciation for my leather boots.
Laird is due back shortly from a business trip in Virginia, and then his children, Ceilee and Jo, along with their partners, kids and pups will all be down for Thanksgiving. Along with catching up, playing games, and enjoying some good food, they'll get to work butchering, freezing, drying and processing the venison. Also on the theme of holidays and meat-our tom turkey is currently strutting about the yard for the appreciation of the ladies, but by the time this article goes to print, he'll be stuffed with grains and vegetables from our land as the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving table.
I think of Thanksgiving as an opportunity to be thankful for what I've been given. But this year I also feel in touch with the festival as a celebration of what our communities work to achieve, and an acknowledgement of those sacrifices we've asked of the living beings around us-adding solemnity and beauty to the joy of the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Sandhill!