I know the wife is going to post something on this subject soon.  I just want to throw in my two cents.  

I’m not doing the homestead thing because I want to run a business.  I do it because I want to be a better person.  I want to be successful, but I’m not willing to lose myself.

Part of being a better person is understanding the consequences of your actions.  Where do your dollars go?  Are they going into the pockets of organizations you appreciate?  Is your grocery money going to companies that don’t treat animals well?

We want to grow crops that are good to eat.  We want to raise happy, healthy animals.  We want to be connected to the process that puts food on our table.

Yes, we name our animals.  They get treats.  They are held when they’re little and petted when they grow up.  We celebrate their quirks.

This brings us pain though.  There’s hurt when one of our animals dies.  Sometimes they die because we harvest them.  Sometimes it’s another factor.

I think it’s amazing how life can be fragile and yet tenacious.  A piglet or chick is so weak, so vulnerable, yet the spark of their lives is strong.  Our place is a place of wonder because we’re in the middle of all of this life.

Death is inevitable though.  It’s Spring, and right now, the flowers are beginning to bloom.  Fall will come.

I will savor every blade of grass, every blossom, every young life of every animal on the farm.  And I’ll mourn them when they go.

So, it’s good to be sorrowful when you lose a creature.  Remember to celebrate them though.