{"id":6469,"date":"2017-08-09T09:00:06","date_gmt":"2017-08-09T15:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/?p=6469"},"modified":"2017-08-13T12:26:06","modified_gmt":"2017-08-13T18:26:06","slug":"on-grief-and-farming-a-k-a-me-and-my-arrow-pt-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2017\/08\/09\/on-grief-and-farming-a-k-a-me-and-my-arrow-pt-2\/","title":{"rendered":"On Grief And Farming (A.K.A. Me and My Arrow) Pt. 2"},"content":{"rendered":"Approximate Reading Time: <\/span> 4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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I’m the one on our farm who has primary responsibility for all the lives that exist on that farm. I’m the one who makes almost all of the life and death decisions on our small farm, even though I’m not the one who usually carries out the deed.<\/p>\n

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This is Wednesday, at the vet’s the day I had to decide to put her down. She had been the most adventurous kitty we’ve ever lived with, and, after 13 years, it finally caught up with her.<\/p><\/div>\n

Still, it’s me who decides whether or not something on the farm lives or dies.<\/p>\n

Mostly, it’s a tolerable decision:
\nthe animal is not one we had planned to keep for breeding and it is ready (i.e. in prime condition) for butchering.<\/p>\n

I *could* use the euphemism “processing”,<\/p>\n

but let’s not.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I love all my critters far too much to try and gloss over their deaths with euphemisms.<\/p>\n

I love all my critters – even the ones I kill.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The truth is that most of the critters who are born on our farm are destined to become someone’s dinner, and that dinner is both tastiest, and tenderest, when those critters are in their prime (i.e. still pretty young).<\/p>\n

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\"\"Let’s not beat around the bush – these animals are killed<\/strong><\/em>. The vast majority of the life on my farm ends (i.e. dies) when *I*<\/strong><\/em> say. Sometimes it is because I honestly believe I am ending their suffering, but most often, it is because they are the right size to be of value to us for meat. The reality of the world is that MOST life on the planet ends up being food for other life on the planet*<\/a>. That’s how the planet survives. The Grim Sower.<\/p>\n

MOST of the time, the remains of the critters we sacrifice here are used completely – they feed the human members of the farm as well as the dogs who protect both them and us. It’s a “circle of life” that makes sense, and seems appropriate –<\/p>\n