I am absolutely smitten with the beauty of winter :)
The snowy weather has continued here all week. While it hasn't amounted to much more than 5 or 6 inches it has tried awful hard and the temperatures dipped as low as -14 freezing our back door permanently shut for 4 days!! Thankfully we have another door so we didn't have to try to hard to get it unthawed *grin*.
I had been holding off heading into the city for groceries and errands since the highway has been covered with slush and hard packed snow but the fridge was mighty bare and hubby has been home from work due to all the wind up this way so we bundled up and ventured out with the truck.
Normally the trip takes us just under an hour but it was over an hour this time before we got into town as we slowly made our way over the mountain, through the fog and sometimes rather slippery conditions.
The trees covered in snow and the silence that it brings made the trip so enjoyable though that I could have gazed out the window for much longer. You just can't beat a the winter wonderland that snow brings :)
The cold weather has also brought with it the perfect temperature for killing our beef cow. We raised him from a little calf on our own pasture and it will be so nice to have yummy homegrown beef in the freezer again since I never buy any from the supermarket.
We didn't have a cow for butchering last winter so we were behind. We always try to have one cow ready every second winter so that we don't run out of meat but it didn't quite work out that way this time.
With the hide removed Hubby and my dad worked on taking out the gut and all of the organs so that they could cover the meat and raise it up high where it will hang for 2 weeks before we do the big job of finishing the butchering and all of the wrapping.
My daughter was really interested in watching the men work and was not squeamish about it at all which was great and we got to have a really good look at the heart, lungs, kidneys and liver.
I should have thought of it sooner but it would have been really cool to have done a biology block for our homeschool courses so I'm going to have to think ahead next time and get a bunch of materials ready so that we can do a full dissection class. Every moment can be a learning moment *grin*.
Hugs,
Rosina
I really enjoy your blog but the cow butchering is just too much reality for me. I personally border on going vegetarian and rarely eat beef or lamb. So seeing pictures of someone's cow butchered is just too much for me. I totally understand that it is your blog and your right to chose the content.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it so beautiful right now. we've got about 8 inches of snow, more where it's drifted.
ReplyDeleteGee, it's a good thing for Anita that you didn't actually show any butchering pictures, just the skin off. There was a much grosser exhibit a while ago that showed human bodies without skin and such -ugh. We send our animals to the local abattoir for processing -but then Colin has enough work to do without butchering too.
Are you guys expecting a warm up this week too? We're at -22C today and they are calling for rain tomorrow!!!
Oh I am so sorry Anita that the photo of our cow was to graphic for you :( It's something that has been part of my life since I was a little girl and it didn't really occur to me that it might be offensive to others so I apologize and in hindsight I should have know that not everyone shares our views so next time if I share something similar I will put a disclaimer right at the top so that you and other readers will know that there may be content you wish to not view and you can hit delete or pass over the post completely.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Rosina
Hi Paula :)
ReplyDeleteThis is the first year that we have ever experienced drifting snow! We always have heavy soggy snow and with the wind and sub zero temps it was so light and fluffy this time around that it was really neat to watch it move and drift into new heaps :)
They have been calling for warmer weather here to but so far we are still at freezing and it's been trying to snow all day so I think for now we're going to hold onto the cooler temps and we need it for a few more days :)
When we build our Earthship we plan to have a small farm to sustain ourselves...I'm still not sure HOW I will eat a cow we will undoubtedly have as a pet until slaughter time??? I guess it will take some getting used to...I KNOW though we will pay to have ours butchered...as I know I couldn't do it and hopefully that will help me pretend I'm not eating my pet :)
ReplyDeleteNever truer word written. Every moment is a chance to learn. I really don't like driving in the snow. Your snowy views are beautiful. I'm still wishing for a bit more snow. Could you just blow a little over here, please!
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