Oh, my that's pretty! Looks like home to me! I love the mountains...I love that special color of blue they have that varies with the seasons, the humidity and the time of day.
I can't even imagine processing in 25 degree weather!You are one tough lady.
I processed late in the winter for the first time this year and I'll never do that again! I've processed in the spring, summer and fall but never in the winter...it's downright miserable and took me twice as long as it normally does. It seems like the hides are just superglued to the carcass and all things are harder to do with your hands stiff and cold.
If I was ever forced to do that again, I think I'd spread a very large tarp down inside and do the bleed out in a 5 gal. bucket with the bird down inside of it and just skin them also. I hardly ever eat chicken with the skin on anyway so doing the pluck and scald thing isn't worth it to me anymore.
That was in Va, so not all that far from you I don't guess! I live in NC now, but still less than and hour from the area I grew up!
It was frigid! My hands and fingers still hurt! We don't really eat any chicken with the skin on it either so as the temp started dropping I was done with getting my hands soaked trying to scald and pluck! As a kid, my dad taught me to skin rabbits and squirrels by basically just pulling it off of them. I did the chickens the same way, and except for the flight feathers and some of the tail feathers I was able to get it off in one piece down to the feet and then cut it off from there! I was really proud of myself since it was my first time! I even did better than my friend who has processed MANY! I ended up finishing mine, and doing the one she was working on too!