We probably should have done in the ducks months ago, but have always had better ways to spend our time. Freezing weather impends and so yesterday saw the demise of five Rouens and our one Cayuga.

Hauling water to the lower pastures loses its attraction rapidly when freezing weather sets in.

We gathered them two at a time to exercise proper duck control. Even so, one of the last Rouens made an escape attempt...to no avail. Michael and I shooshed him into the new fowl pen (where the lucky ducks and chosen chickens live) and he joined his brethren on the chopping blocks.

We looked up how to humanely harvest chickens and ducks on line. The process starts with hanging them

by their feet. This calms chickens much more than ducks. The next is to wrap them in a gunny sack so they can't flap. Head on the block and one swift chop. Held neck down until the blood stops flowing. Then comes the hot water bath. We heated water to 145 degrees for the first two birds. The feathers resisted more than we thought proper, so upped the temperature to 160 for the rest. Hotter water worked better.

We spent half a day processing 6 ducks. We got better toward the end. Today the rain falls steadily. One of the Rouens is crackling in the oven while I jar the dried thyme and prepare parsley for drying. We will have the last of the Swiss chard to accompany the roast duck.

We are slowly recovering from the amazing 3-day house raising extravaganza of last week. We did get a tarp on the roof before it started raining last week. So far, both the new addition as well as the basement have remained dry. We still have a lot of work to do to get ready for winter. Work is something that is never lacking here. Nice that it is good work to do.