Harvest

I dispatched six pigs last Saturday and we turned them into chops, hams, bacon and sausage meat on Sunday.  I found Saturday to be very draining emotionally.  As well as a good deal of work.  Here no one scrapes the hide so we ended up skinning them.

I thought I was emotionally prepared for it.  I suppose I was in that I managed to dispatch all six.  We left two, from different, herds to breed.  Hope that works out.  I just don't like paying 85 bucks for weaner pigs.  I was as careful as I could be not to become emotionally attached to them.  No names.  Except for Lard Ass - the pig that sat to eat.  And Ms. Piggy the sow we kept.

The nice thing about being grown up is that we can eat all the ice-cream we want.  The downside is that responsibility comes with that freedom.

We do have an option, taking the pigs in a trailer for a 100 kilometer ride to a processing facility.  That's what most of our neighbors do.  They charge 40 dollars to dispatch them.  I just think it was quicker and less stressful for them to pass on to the great pig sty in familiar surroundings.  Eating apples.

It was quick for them - a lot slower for me.

But I don't really want to meet the person who enjoys that part of the process.. 

And have you heard of Australian Bacon.  1/2 inch strips slow cooked over the barbecue..