Around 5 years ago, when J and I started talking about trying our hand at hobby farming, we loved dreaming about which animals would accompany us on the journey.
As it happened, more often, the animals found us than vice versa. For instance, we got our miniature Pygmy goats after meeting a new farmette family, through JJ's Tai Kwon Do class, that had goats and loved them!
We got our first ewes (Aoife & Beatrix) as "rescue sheep" due to a farm foreclosure of friends of friends; one day we knew nothing about sheep, the next day we had two, Tunis ewes grazing in our pasture.
When I looked at our new ewes, I saw a picturesque rural farm scene stretching out before me. I pictured us shearing sheep and me learning how to knit woolen mittens in front of a roaring fire.
When J looked at the ewes, he saw exactly what I saw...along with some lamb chops cooking on the grill!
Farmer J loves to eat lamb, always has...so in his mind, he was already planning out how to bred our new sheep. He just had to figure out a way to tell this news to his already wary farm wife...his VEGETARIAN, wary farm wife.
At first, I loved the idea of breeding our sheep. We wanted to grow our herd and how better to do that then by having baby lambs. How exciting it would be for the boys to see lambs being born and watch them grow?!
And then I had that Oprah "ah-ha" moment when I realized you grow the flock with baby girl lambs...so what happens with the baby boy lambs?
Me, the mama to two human sons, soon realized the fate of the male lamb...
And then I threw a fit!
There is much more of a story here that I'll save for later...cliffhanger, right?!
Long story short, as we move into our fourth winter/spring living on a farm, I find myself, the vegetarian, not only accepting the lamb chop being cooked up for dinner, in my cast iron skillet, but defending how and why it got there to others.
Now, I'm still not eating lamb. And I highly doubt I ever will...but I do believe in slow food, growing your own food, eating local and giving the animals you do eat a good birth, life and death (which we do, I pray.) I also think it's important that our boys know where their food comes from...and they do. (What kids learn about growing food, especially meat, is another story for another time.)
Last night, I found this amazing vegetarian, sweet potato curry...and Farmer J happily made it for me. He and the boys had lamb Lollypops on the side...
And I had tofu! One happy farm family!
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