~Et Tu Brute~

Caesar, having fulfilled his purpose in joining us for these last several months, was butchered on Saturday. All four deep red, beautifully marbled quarters of the bull are currently aging in the barn for a couple of weeks when the dividing into cuts will be muddled through. My husband built a furnace to control the temperature in there since the forecast wasn’t as warm as originally predicted and we don’t want the meat to freeze. Too cold or too warm and the enzymes that break down the connective tissue thereby tenderizing the meat don’t do their job.

My husband decided to try his hand at butchering his own meat because after some research on cost of the materials that were needed, it was discovered that the cost of the investment could be turned around as quickly as next year when the hogs are butchered. Our butcher has been inundated with orders and wouldn’t be able to accommodate our bull until mid-January. We simply didn’t expect to have him here that long and do not have an adequate supply of hay. To purchase additional hay at this time would be expensive since farmers continually raise prices through the winter. I made it very, very clear that I was not encouraging him to pursue this so that if things went poorly, I couldn’t be to blame. That said, I am so impressed with his willingness to learn a new skill and it is such a comfort to know that we can be provided for by him in such a tangible way.  The virile image of my husband standing in the pasture, hands and arms red with blood is burned in my memory.

In reviewing the day, it can be said that the butchering went very well considering that is was his first time. The extent of his expertise is field dressing 3 deer and assisting someone else in the butchering. I have never seen him put so much investigation into a project that we ever done. He even read a book- a couple of times! (Home Butchering and Meat Preservation) in addition to internet research. All said and done, the job was completed before dark, except for clean up, and we owe that fact in large part to my Uncle who unexpectedly showed up, knives in hand. I think that the largest obstacle for them was logistics or managing such a massive heavy quantity of meat. The tractor bucket was too low to hang the bull from and so a couple of things were a bit trickier, the innards apparently aren’t as easy to remove as with a deer, and in hindsight we should have had him fast at least overnight to minimize the contents in his digestive system, knives weren’t as quality as they should have, and the brand new meat saw blade from Cabela’s was junk.

Now that I’ve hopefully lost most of you who read this blog and if I haven’t yet and you’re a softy, you may want to stop now, I’ll will tell you that not all parts of this day went well. It was extremely challenging to take him down. The way that it is supposed to be done, and we’ve seen and read over and over again, is to shoot him in the head.  Alternately there is a contraption out there that deals a severe blow to the head. Both methods are intended only to stun the animal long enough to allow you time to open the neck which is how the animal is to die (I think the methodology is the same for hogs). The first shot was true, hitting the mark exactly where intended, but it took another 19 shots and over an hour to bring Caesar to his knees. Our vet had told us that it often took this many- he said 17- to bring a bull down, so this isn’t necessarily an unusual circumstance, but is certainly less than ideal! I was amazed to see that he stayed true to the reputation he rightly deserved of being a gentle “giant” and at no point became aggressive.

It was the most horrifying thing I’ve ever witnessed in my admittedly sheltered life. I failed to conduct myself with dignity and spent the time blubbering between attempts to distract myself. Every shot wracked my nerves and made me jump since I hoped that the previous one had been the last. I tried not to look, but so often found myself going to peek, praying all the while that the Lord would be merciful and that the next should would bring his death. It was most certainly a horrible way for him to die, he suffered greatly, including experiencing blind stumbling into trees and the electric fence.

In contrast, I was surprised at how well my children took it. They were very matter-of-fact about it. It was just part of the process of owning the bull. They’ve learned their life & death lessons well. Clearly, I’m still struggling with former worldview issues in regard to animal life and dominion. While the Lord does say that “A wise man regards the life of his beast” (Proverbs  12:10 ), we live in world that increasingly says that animal life is of more value than the Lord would have us to regard it- often times in the most extreme cases putting human life on equal footing with that of the animal. So we must endeavor to maintain a balance. I pray that the Lord would increase our wisdom in how to quickly bring an end to the life of the animals that will be providing our family with meat.

PS- The boys wanted me to photo journal the day and I declined for your sakes. You’re welcome.