Sit Sheila! Good Girl. 
Down Sheila. What a good girl. 
Charlotte, Sit. Charlotte. SIT! Thank you Sheila. Good girl, Sheila. But I was talking to Charlotte. Now Charlotte. You have to learn to sit. No, I don’t, she says. 
Well, you will be sent to coventry like smelly TonTon.
Charlotte is bad, miss c. But I am the good pig. See I have come closer to sit for you.
Good morning. They are still at the stage of opportunist commands. Each time Sheila sits I call sit. She is close to getting it. Charlotte.. not so much.
Last night we were sitting in the twilight eating our Friday dinner, when I heard Sheila screeching from her pen, telling on somebody, and a big plonker pig walked past, nosing its way through the flower garden. Right up there by the steps.
Johns fork paused on its way to his mouth and he said, Well that’s not good, as the second plonker waddled into view.
Get buckets I said. So we fanned out, with buckets, called them and they dutifully trotted back through the garden, following the Call and the Bucket and back in through the garden gate that had been left open. All that training for this one moment. And it worked. They did not get into the beans that is the main thing. Two big fat pigs lost in the beans would have been bad. Especially as they have an appointment at ‘you know where’ on Tuesday.
After they were securely locked up and someone said oops about leaving the gate open instead of arguing that it opened itself, I went over to feed out a little more hay to the cows. I was walking through the barn with my arms full of grass hay when I heard a scuttling around the bins. That chicken is up late I thought. It was almost dark by now. I saw a shadow in there and frowned. The dogs took a few hesitant steps forward to investigate. Then my mind got in touch with my brain and yelled RUN! I screeched OUT to the dogs who were already on their way to the South and I ran to the North still holding my arm load of hay, all of us begin pursued by skunk stink. That skunk was in the barn at dusk! had it been laying in wait!?
I washed Ton with the dishwashing liquid then the biogreenclean, then rinsed with the vinegar. (this little trio now lives on the outside bench). tere was a lingering odor but i figured it was coming from the barn. Then I went inside to tell my tale of woe and John said. It is not the dog. What? I said as he and the TT moved briskly away from me and out the doors. You need dunking in vinegar John said and they pointed me to the showers. Sigh. Head down tromp, tromp, tromp to the showers.
Good morning. I have very clean hair now. In fact I am very clean all over and I am hoping that my farm dress comes clean too.. sigh again.
Today we hope to bale the hay. It is dry and ready to go. Of course rain is in the forecast. So, thank you so much for keeping your fingers crossed just a little longer!
celi
My thoughts on this day a year ago. A very current subject. Why can’t a guy buy a girl a drink?
The Kitchen's Garden 
65 responses to “Sit Sheila, Sit”
Skunky funny!
Excuse me c. but are these pigs keepers?
yes rosemary,good question, the shush sisters are pure breds, they are breeding stock..The plonkers have been grown for the freezer. c
I’ve heard that smelling slightly of skunk makes one a better hay-baler!! Have a nice day.
Oh well thats ok then! I would rather be out with the hay, the barn is not the sweetest smelling place at the mo either!! morning charlotte.. c
So what is the plan to ban the skunk from the barn?
Shut the door?
I have a little half door that goes across but with no stock in there I was being lazy, no more laziness!! c
Sheila the brains and Charlotte the Personality. Did TonTon laugh while you were being deskunked? 🙂 Laura
That dog! I am sure he was having a very quiet chuckle, very quiet you understand!! c
I still can’t quite believe you are training the Shush Sisters – my mind is all a-boggle !
well one day Sheila and I are going to go to the old folks home and do Outside visits.. it is all in the big plan!! c
Wonderful piggies! Once upon a time at garybuie, we had THREE escaped piggies in the veg plot! Untangling those solid, wriggling bodies from the beans and their supportive netting was no easy task I can tell you!
Christine
Oh NO! what a mess, John was feeling quite irate as we led them back and we left him inspecting his tomatoes for damage, thankfully they were more interested in coming up to the porch!! c
Oh, C! How awful… Hope the workdress can be saved!
Fingers still crossed for the hay – would you do the same for us with a cool breeze? We’re on the second day of Too Hot To Play Outside. Makes everyone cranky…
Too hot to play is a misery indeed.. i shall blow a little of my early morning cool over tomorrow! Presently I have it trapped in the house! c
Ms. C … never, ever scream or yell around a skunk because it scares the stink right out of them. Whisper in an urgent voice to TonTon and whomever else might be in the vicinity of said skunk and as quietly as you can … get the heck away from wherever you are. I had a wonderful Pug who one evening on our evening jaunt outside for Pug to do his business went hightailing it toward what I thought was a black cat! Upon closer inspection and Pug having his flat pug nose up close and personal to that skunk’s butt and that black and white tail raised and ready to do damage, I kept calling softly to Pug … come here, Pug … COME HERE!! The skunk kept turning its head to see what had its nose so close to its rearend and I kept backing away and, still calling softly to Pug to get away from that critter and, thank God, he minded me and we came away unscathed. We went one direction, the skunk in the opposite direction! It was hilarious once we were safely back inside.
Oh you are so right! I see my error now..I should have been quiet, after all I had just walked straight past it without any problem! How clever of you to extricate your Pug from such a situation without aromatic damage.. I will think before I shout in the future! Silly me.. bloody foreigners!! (laughter!) c
oh I am laughing myself silly at “it’s not the dog”. hee hee. it’s only funny because it wasn’t me. But it will be a story your family laughs about for many years.
hmm, being sent the the showers to ‘wash the stink off’ was pretty funny! morning joss! c
That’s excellent information, Marcia. Poor Miss C.
poor miss c indeed! c
You need a live trap….that skunk will eat your chickens and your eggs….not to mention the above mentioned! Just a thought!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
Ah, maybe it is getting to that stage, I shall have to investigate.. c
I’m glad we don’t have skunks so that I can concentrate solely on Algy. Wasn’t there a skunk called Pepe LePew in a cartoon? I think skunks are best left in cartoons.
Buerk. French word for Yuk., But I loved the piggy pics.
Oh no sprayed by a skunk! Good thing you started running when you did!
Have a lovely day Celi and I hope you get all the hay in before it rains..
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