Today is the day when we finally began processing the meat birds. It’s not my favorite homesteady thing to do because despite loving all things Halloween, I am actually pretty squeamish.

Of course I don’t mind handling the meat once it’s all over…

It’s just the hacking off their heads and putting them into the plucker that I am not fond of! 😄

Lucky for me he had some help to do the dirty work and I got to spend time out there trying to ignore the sound of the hatchet while picking a few more things from what’s left of the garden and admiring the flowers and the bees!

I also spent a minute reassuring the ducks that they are safe and won’t be on the menu any time soon…

The pups were certainly happy that today finally arrived as they get to eat the bits and pieces that we would otherwise discard and I was more than happy to take some quail and the first of the chickens to the kitchen and set about preparing them for dinner…

Tonight’s dinner is mostly made with things we grew/raised ourselves, which is so rewarding. Along with the chicken and quail we’ll have fresh corn on the cob and I was even able to use some of the fresh rosemary that was still growing right up until I harvested the rest of the plant this morning to dehydrate and put up for this winter. The carrots, onions, garlic, basil, oregano and potatoes are all from our garden, too.

I am marinading the quail for pan frying later and I just put the chicken in the oven to slow roast while I fire up the bread machine for some fresh bread to go with it.

Yummm.

It won’t be long now before the aroma of home cooking fills the house and reminds me of why we do what we do! 🙂