New babies

The poults are here! For less than the price of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy- DVD boxed blu-ray edition, (way less!) our family has taken the next step toward food independence. And, what my oldest hopes, another way to make a little money on the side.

These guys look just like chicks. So much so that when I peered into the tub of little fuzzy birds at my favorite feed store, I thought I was too late and all the turkey babies were bought up. True, they are a bit larger than the buff orpington chicks in the next tub and they're a little more leggy. But not enough that I knew that these were indeed turkeys. After humbling myself yet again in front of the feed store guys (I should be used to that by now) by not knowing these were turkeys (I'm telling you they look like chickens!) I picked out six, little, pale yellow fuzz balls, boxed them up and brought them to their new home. A large, warm tub awaited them with fresh wood chips, clean, (lukewarm) mountain water, a home grown, finely chopped hard boiled egg and an indoor sun in the form of a heat lamp.

This next phase of our farm has me so excited that I can barely believe we are here. I have stopped typing about 12 times to run down to the basement to check on our newest babies. I'm surprised that the kids have not called from school fending sickness so they can come home and be part of the fun.

I'm sure that some of the novelty will wear off in time as the birds grow and feathers take the place of fuzz and chores become mundane again. But I hope not. I have a profound, humble spirit of gratitude for all the animals in our lives. Especially the ones we raise to feed our family. I hope I can imprint my children with the same gratitude.

But for now, all I can see when I look in this little poult's eyes is......mashed potatoes and gravy.