So, I viscerated 10 chickens....

Thursday June 4
Got up at 6 to help milk the goats this morning. So many steps to make sure everything is sanitary! I was so slow at milking; I milked one goat by the time Jess finished 6. Embaressing. But she said everyone is slow on their first try. As the milk flow started lessening, the goat began to kick. Tricky part: if the goat kicks the bucket, it's game over. If the goat touches the bucket, it's game over (unsanitary!). To prevent this, you have to lean your body into the goat. At one point I was bracing myself against the wall to prevent the goat from kicking. My back was aching aching aching at the end of it. Couldn't believe how taxing that was! It was a good experience. We then had to herd the goats into the pasture, which was pretty close to the dairy house. While it seems easy enough for two people to shepherd a herd of goats down the road, it's really not! Not at all. The goats broke free, started running into a gallop, and then proceeded to attack the corn and potato crops. I started running with them, which I was told later to not do. Some kids that were there (why? don't know) helped us herd the goats up. Very frustrating that animals are sometimes smarter than humans.
Since today was the day of harvesting chickens, I did not work in the garden. I was glad for this break and I was kind of excited to see how this chicken slaughtering business was done. Normally they don't kill a bunch of chickens at once, but since these egg layers were 2 years old, they weren't really producing many eggs any more and were really just taking up space and feed. And that's why we killed them.
Here's how it went: we put the chickens in a metal cone with the smaller end of the cone facing the ground. There was a little chute for the blood to run into which led to a bucket to collect the blood. Once they bleed out and stop moving, the head is cut off. If the head is cut off before they die, then the heart keeps pumping and too much blood comes out. Next they were placed in a scalding bath at 145-165 degrees for 50 seconds, which helps to get the feathers out. Then was the de-plumer, which is a machine with a big wheel with spikes on it. The wheel turns constant and the little spikes pull out the feathers. It looks kind of violent, but does really well to get the feathers out.
Last we viscerate the chickens guts, which is what I did. I estimate that I did about 8-10 chickens. I had no idea what I was doing at first, but I got used to it. It was more of an anatomy lesson for me than an emotional conflict. I kind of enjoyed it, and that may seem weird, but I felt zero guilt about it. First the "knee" is broken, cut off, and discarded. Then the oil gland (near the tail) is cut off because it interferes with flavors. Then the underbelly is cut and you yank all the guts out. It was kind of like pulling the guts out of a pumpkin because it just all comes out with a little tug. I had to be careful of the anus, the gizzard, the gall bladder and the intestines. If I punctured any of those, it could lead to a horrible smell. Cutting the anus while it's still intact to the carcass spoils the entire chicken (we discarded one of the 33 chickens for this reason). Everything else just sort of came out easiliy. I was amazed at how small the lungs, heart, and kidneys were. Then I cut out the "crop," which is a small membranous like organ near the neck. It's like a pre-digestive organ. The crops were empty because we didn't feed the chickens yesterday (for this purpose!). Cleaning up the prep house was kind of gross, lots of organs and blood everywhere. Let it be known that I did wear latex gloves during the visceration. I have so many cuts on my hands and I know too much about microbiology. Nuff said!
Funny story: Chris was carrying the heavy bag of guts to the landfill. When he was outside, it split open due to the weight. Yummerz.
Best part of cleaning out the chickens: sometimes whole eggs were in their bodies, ready to be laid. They were covered with a thin membrane and just came out when you pulled the body parts out. We kept those eggs and they are now in the fridge. I am definitely seeing the value of eggs for most of my meals. What a great source of non-meat protein.
The interesting part about all of this was that everyone didn't feel comfortable at the beginning of the operation. We said a prayer before we began because we wanted to honor the process of slaughter. The Lord gave us animals for a reason, but we needed to honor the chickens, to hope that we cared well for them during their two year reign in the fields, and thank God for the opportunity.
Tomorrow Mom is coming to town to help me move into my apartment. I swear, moving back and forth between "The real world" and "farm life" is completely strange. It's like I literally lead a dual life. Here everything is chill, sustainable, and looks really aren't a concern. Beyond the farm, it's the complete complete complete opposite. Needless to say, this comparion has let me see that I am starting to see the my real life for what it is and what it needs to become. What this means in terms of how my real life will change when I leave, I do not know.

Wednesday June 3
More weeding this morning of the collards and swiss chard. Weeding in general was much faster this time and much less taxing mentally as I had a friend there to help me. We had some really great conversations about life, boyfriends, the future. We each had hand hoes and had to break up the soil around the plant, then put fertilizer in the broken ground. The fertilizer consisted of two parts fish remnants and three parts rabbit poo. Needless to say, by lunch time my hands smelled sufficiently like my former fish, Speedy (may he rest in peace!).
This afternoon I attempted to make fresh carrot juice. I salvaged the juicer that hadn't been used in years (as evidenced by the massive amounts of dust). All went well until it decided to poop out on me. But it sure tasted good! I am starting to enjoy the "process" of things: peeling carrots, soaking dried beans, etc.
This afternoon Brandon and I went to HEB to get band aids, ear plugs, and motor oil. Bandaids for the ant bite situation! I also bought a Coke Zero. I know! Totally cheating on the whole "green living" deal. But it was a treat. Or a necessity. I might possibly be addicted. But I went two days without it, so that's progress (?). We also went to Michael's to get Amber a crochet comb for her dread locks. Couldn't find one, but got these awesome bandanas instead. They are nice feminine colors, which is always good! I don't feel too feminine here, so I gotta take what I can get. I have been showering everyday though, so don't fret. I wear so much sunscreen that I would feel so gross if I didn't shower. But being at those stores, dressed ready to work at the farm, being dirty and smelly, I felt different, and true, I looked different. But I was definitely treated differently by workers at both stores. I wish that this hadn't happened, but it did. I now know how homeless people feel when they walk into a store. Kind of like when Tyra Banks dressed in the fat suit. Yes, I just went there. I thought that I might run into someone at one of these stores and I totally did. I wasn't embaressed, but I wonder if she knew that I looked different..she probably smelled me and immediately knew. I am not going to put too much thought into it, I got better things to do with my mental free time.
That evening we sat on the porch swing and talked and joked about life. Ryan got out his guitar and just strummed some chords while the weather cooperated with a nice breeze. The stars weren't quite as kind and I am always still looking for Orien's belt...he just won't show it to me lately. Ha!

Gonna go backwards in time here. Most recent days at the bottom. Freaky picture, sorry. Haven't showered from today's work yet.

Sunday, May 31st

Last day at home! Went to church and then, later, a wedding. It was very surreal to be all dressed up and fancy pancy for a wedding and then turn around and come here! I met the farm gang, which consists of about 10-12 volunteers/interns, all in their early twenties, more than half are very married or very seriously dating someone. All have very global Christian mindsets, are very hard workers, and who love joking around! These are my kinds of people! Everyone is also very chill and down to earth, very real friends to have, I think. Very different from the suburbia that I have experienced in the last two weeks!

Interesting story: as soon as I arrived Sunday evening, three guys were tilling soil, shirtless, and the sun was almost setting. Later, they started singing songs and dancing around out there. Before you know it, they'll be singing plantation freedom songs. Ha! What a great way to start out! They also enjoy peeing outside of the house and almost make it a point to do so.

Pretty much everything here reminds me of Honduras. From the dirt road, to the community lifestyle, to the constant heat/sweat/sunburn, and the wonderfully kind people. Just brings back some really great memories.

Some things that I learned: the pecans are the only ceritifed organic product and we have a chicken mobile (read Omnivore's Dilemma to find out what that is, or just ask me later!).

We sat around singing guitar this evening...made me wish I had a much better voice!

Monday, June 1

Slept in til 7:20 today, made some breakfast, devotional at 8, chores list given at 8:30. I signed up to work in the garden, which meant I was pulling weeds all morning! I couldn't believe how right Dr. W was on this prediction. It was fun though, as it gave me a chance to get to talk to people and listen to their opinions. I used a hoe for a significant amount of time as I had to break up a bunch of grass, pull up the weeds, then move hay around the crops (peppers and cucumbers!) to make sure it doesn't cover it. Kind of confusing to explain, but moderately easy to do.

Weather wasn't too hot, there is a nice breeze, and the humidity doesn't kill you like in Houston. My parents always say that living in Houston during the summer = getting a free facial everyday. Ashley says that it's also like going underwater, minus the whole wetness and "I don't breathe water" bizniz.

Got to gather the eggs today after lunch. Did you know that not all eggs are white and brown? Found several blue and pink ones too! More of a pale color, but still, how cool! We attacked the chickens from the front of the coop in their little nests. They just stared at us like "whatyougonnado?" vibe. I am told that if you grab their necks then they will move. I am still slightly scared of them. On Wednesday it's chicken "harvest time," meaning...THE AXE for 30 some odd chickens. I will update on how that's done later. I am not sure if I am able to kill one yet, but I want to know about the process. I have read about it, but not sure how it's done. I think the boys are mostly in charge of that.

We had a class this afternoon (given by the farm director) about farm experimentation. Not drugs, silly. It was about different geographical regions and how to start testing for placement of various crops. I am sure that it was a great presentation, but, sadly, I fell asleep during at least half of it. When I say "sleeping" I really mean nodding off, as I am sure that many of my classmates and sorority sisters have seen me do.

Tuesday, June 2

HARVEST DAY!!! Everyone got up at 6:30 am to harvest the veggies: green beans, kale, collard greens, carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes. I was working on potatoes for about 3 1/2 hours or so, and then some carrots for about 1/2 hour. Those potatoes sure were hard work! Had to get a shovel to unearth them all, it was quite a task! Stumbled on quite a few fire ant beds, which I soon figured out after my ankles/hands were gnawed on. Makes me glad that I am not highly allergic to them like Dad is.

The best part of all of this is that we work next to each other and talk about life and Jesus. Such a cool thing. I listened to two folks chatting about it, about if language is given to man by God or if man created it, if God even talks to man via language, how this relates to Tower of Babel, etc. Very deep. Made me wish that I think about these things more often. No worries, as I am sure that I will have LOTS of time to think these next few weeks!

Our basic work schedule for most days: devotionals at 8am, chores assigned at 8:30am, then work til 12:30pm, then class (twice a week) or do whatever you want. Today my "do whatever you want" afternoon including helping with the goat kid milking and taking a three hour nap (from which I just woke up). I have felt the sting of having no caffeine for two days now. Two days! No coke zero here! I miss "non water drinks" but I think I can get used to it. It will be good for me.

After lunch I went to help feed the baby goats (kids). We pasteurize the milk that we give to the goats because they can get some sort of disease from unpasteurized milk. The kids aren't sucking anymore, so we use this big bucket which has little droplets "nipples" on the sides, where the kids suck. They completely attacked us when we were in there. One of the goats, Nuguet (named after Ted Nuguet) had to be bottle fed. Not sure why, but he had no idea how to use the nipple bucket contraption. The goats were so sweet! Like big dogs, almost. They wag their tails when we come close and nuzzle against your leg.

Funny story: I asked the girls if there was some sort of shower schedule. They said "no, don't worry about it, just shower whenever you want. In case you haven't noticed, there's not a lot of showering going on around here." I am home.

Still recovering from that vicious three hour nap this afternoon. I still can't believe I did that.

For those of you keeping tally on the sunburn issue, my answer is it hasn't happened (yet)!

Blessings!