Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, a sacred day slowly being encroached on by the steady beat of commerce. A day we pause in our mad rush to accumulate more things. Things we manage to forget the ownership of even more quickly. A day when we hopefully pause to reflect on what we are most thankful for in our lives.
For most of my childhood Thanksgiving morning started around four am at the Duhon duck camp. All the men and boys rolling out of bed for a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, grits, biscuits and homemade fig preserves before piling into pirogues and pushing out into the marsh to hunt ducks. By mid-morning, loading up our game harvest we pushed back through the marsh. A light lunch before everyone headed home with the cleaned ducks. We arrived to find the dinner preparations well under way for the main event. Not a bad way to spend ones youth, hunting ducks in the company of your father. For that memory and experience I am thankful.
Last Friday I deboned a twelve pound pork shoulder roast, prepared a corning solution and immersed the meat to brine for five days. I pulled it out today, rinsed and put it back in to soak overnight. The corned pork roast will be the center piece for our dinner tomorrow. A classic boiled dinner of turnips, cabbage, carrots and potatoes to accompany the meat with a fresh pumpkin pie for dessert. Not a traditional meal. But I’m thankful to have a partner in Cindy who is willing to indulge these culinary whims and thankful we are able to provide the majority of the food from our farm.
Saturday we had an excellent dinner with the Fuja brothers a few valley’s over. The brothers entertained us by showing off their farms extensive ornamentals and vegetable plots. Sunday Mr. Kyle drove his tractor over to see us and chat. Earlier in the day I hung out with Lowell, an older farmer over the hill, talked and loaded a truck load of hay. Monday evening our friend Adrienne came up the hill to see the new lambs born over the weekend and stayed for conversation and a glass of wine. For all of them and so many more I am thankful.
Everyone enjoy the day.
