best pork i ever tasted came from pigs "finnished" on apples and acorns.
when i moved here and found out they finnihed the pigs on corn (or soy) i couldnt belive it and after tating it, i couldnt understand why (cost and supposedly "clean" i guess) but all the home raised pork i ever had was raised on whatever was around then for the last week of life fed nothing but acorns, windfall/damaged apples and whey, the meat was so good... had a slightly sweet (apple) and nutty (acorn) flavor to it and was always so tender and juicy.
That's making my mouth water, Pink! I need to go gather more acorns and maybe hold them in reserve until it's closer to "time". I've got plenty of whey and milk. I have noticed that the more clean protein (not soy - ugh) they get - (eggs and chicken carcasses) the more content they seem. Maybe instead of omnivores I got carnivore pigs, lol!
Today has been a bust as far as getting anything done outside. I spent nearly 3 hours in town getting supplies for T-day and doing a little bit of Christmas shopping for the grandbabies. Can't complain about the shopping for the kiddos - cuz that's just fun! I have to rein myself in cuz I want to get them one of everything, lol.
Guess tonight I'll do some prep work for the dishes I'm bringing to the in-laws dinner. I can make the sugar-free cheesecake tonight - it'll hold very well. I'll chop up the stuff for the broccoli salad and make the dressing, but I won't assemble it until tomorrow night. Chopping all that broccoli is time consuming so I'll get that much done and out of the way. DH has made a special request for this salad cuz almost everything that gets put on the table by his family is CARBS, CARBS, CARBS. Not too good for the diabetic. I don't know why his mom does that cuz she's diabetic too! She's a retired nurse, but she thinks as long as any food is 'sugar free' it's okay to eat. We've tried to explain that potatoes and rice and bread are all carbs too. We've explained that she should try to focus on complex carbs instead of the more simple sugars... It's like this - OH well, whaddya do. She's made it to 81 so I guess she's doing something right.
Need to fill the feeders up for the critters. We'll only be gone about 36 hours but I still worry about the animals. I've got one goat that has an eye issue. I don't know if it's pink eye even though it certainly looks like it. Her eye was swollen, and had that opaque look to it - both eyes were running and she definitely has light sensitivity. I went ahead and isolated her and started her on a daily dose of LA-200 - even knowing it's kind of controversial in pink-eye treatment. There is a train of thought that says goat pink eye doesn't respond to antibiotics the way that bovine's do - but I had to do something for her. She'll get dose 4 tonight and dose 5 tomorrow before we leave and then I'll just have to hope for the best. This ol' gal is about 15 years old and she's been totally healthy all her life - but she's always been very standoffish. When I was able to walk right up to her and put a lead rope on her to isolate her I knew she wasn't feeling good at all. She's been so good that I don't really have to restrain her for her injections either. Kinda scary that she's being so nice.... But her appetite is good and she really wants out of the stall, so I think she's gonna be hanging around a bit longer.
Need to get busy... been slackin' long enough today.
I will be extra thankful on Thursday that we don't have to go to my hubby's sister's this year - I would rather spend all day working on things here, than go there and deal with that/her!
Two memorable things happened in my life today. First - I officially paid off the last of our credit card debt! Woo hoo! No car payment, no house payment, no cc payments! Life is great right now. But, I know better than to get too happy about it - something will happen, something will come up, something will want my money - there's no doubt about that.
Second - I've got to say goodbye to an old friend. Actually - my goodbye is to a pair of old friends. I have decided to retire my old chore shoes. I must have been wearing these things for at least 5 or 6 years. They've been with me through winters, summers, hot cold, mud and manure - and they've earned their retirement. They were slip ons that I could slip on from either end of the shoe. My grandkids made fun of them when they were here a few months ago. "Toto (thats what they call me) - we can see your toes through your shoes." Why didn't I throw them away they wanted to know... I bought a new pair of slip-ons today. Black ones instead of white ones. Goodbye, old friends....