The Pig Roast: early morning

The day of our big pig roast.  Meet Rudolf (named in honor of Rudolf Steiner, the father of Biodynamics, if you want to know), a ninety-pound dressed pig who was the be the center of attention on this day. 

And here's David with his five o'clock shadow--five in the morning, in this case.

After wrestling for a while with Rudolf, David decided he needed help after all, and so Sam stepped in. 

Well, two still wasn't enough.  (I didn't count, I was holding the camera, you see?)  Cynthia had to come out and help too. 

This was a three-man, oh, wait, two-guys-and-a-lady job, getting that Rudolf up and in properly in the roasting cage. 

Now the fire was about ready, burning down to embers.

Not quite content with just burning wood, David gathered up some dried-up fennels from the herb garden and tossed them into the fire for extra flavor and aroma.

By 8 o'clock, the piggy was well on its way spinning atop the fire.  There's no flavoring yet on the piggy, only strategically placed bits of heavy-duty foil to prevent burnt spots.

Here's an impromptu brush, made from athering long stems of rosemary into a big bunch.  This will be used to brush a mixture of good butter and olive oil on the skin.

This was early in the day, the guests wouldn't arrive for hours yet..