Beef Day 2020

Beef day is the best way to start out any new year.  A trip Home (in this case, Smicksburg) with family and friends is something we start looking forward to even as we drive home from Beef day.  Totally NOT typical, though, is that fact that out of all 7 beefers, Kath and I were the last to arrive.  We are always one of the first.  However, this year a spilled mug of tea and a breakfast snafu put us behind schedule.  We were a whole minute and a half behind! 

The driveway was already full,and the workers were fully engaged.  Nate and Dave were busy cutting the first front quarter;Amber and Sara and Lynn were trimming and scraping, joined by the beef owner Jason and his son Ethan who lent a hand or two and helped until mid afternoon.  Kath and I were wrapping to start with.  About 9:30am it was decided that we needed cheese and chocolate from the Smicksburg Country Store (A favorite!) right down the road.  It was Lynn’s turn to go along.  We each got several types of cheese, I got chocolate covered peanuts, cheese cubes for my sister, and a tiny bag of homemade potato chips for the ride home. Lynn got several cheeses, Scrapple, and corn mush, and chips.

That little side trip put the wrapping behind, so I jumped in to pick up the slack.  We had all pitched in to provide lunch, so Aunt Joan and Uncle Clifford would not incur the cost and labor of feeding thirteen hungry workers.  At about 11:30am I went upstairs with Aunt Joan and we put 2 huge pans of lasagna in the oven, set the table, prepared the salad, cut the Italian bread, and then worked for another hour until lunch.  We sat down to a feast!  Lynn’s baked cinnamon apple dessert, taken hot from the oven, melted in your mouth.  Before we had time to settle in and take a nap, Uncle Clifford did the dishes (haha – just silverware as we had brought disposable plates, bowls, cups!) and we all went back to work. 

Mazie the dog guarded the last quarter of cow, Kath stuck with the wrapping, I ground and re-ground and bagged ground beef for about two hours, then helped pack everything in appropriate cars.  The guys helped Uncle Clifford scrub up as much as possible and soon the work area was almost back in order.  It was such a great day, with sharing and laughter and conversations of everything from A to Z and back again at least twice.  And it wouldn’t have been a day on the farm without a drink from the natural spring pouring down from the mountain, cold and clear and pure.  We left in a caravan, creeping down the dirt road in the dark rainy night, watching for the ever present deer in the headlights. 

Everyone arrived safe and sound back home, put their plunder safely in the fridge or freezer, content with the hard work, great company, and a job well done – with dozens and dozens of meals dancing like sugar plums in our heads.  It will be twelve months until we embark on this particular adventure again – in 2021! – but we’re already calling it our annual event!  Love you guys!   PS – Sunday’s lunch was a fresh burger on homemade bread, with a meatloaf baking for tomorrow’s supper!  Yum!