A little girl pig is a gilt until she has babies then she is a sow, a little boy pig starts out as a boar and becomes a barrow after his wee operation.
The Kitchens Garden Farmy officially has six barrows and 2 gilts. The barrows will sell for less than the gilts but are also used as show pigs. Though I will be keeping a few back for the freezer. Their ears are clipped with their registration numbers so when they sell they can be identified. 
We had more showers yesterday morning on my already soggy hay so I forked as much loose hay up into the truck as I could before my energy ran out and it (my energy and the hay) is on the barn floor and draped on the pen walls drying. I just could not bear to watch the rain hitting my precious hay and do nothing. Even four truckloads is a fair amount of feed saved. The rest we will bale loosely today of we get some drying time, store it outside under a tarp (in case of fire) and feed out straight away. Some we will haul up into the hayloft and I will cut the strings and let it spread out and dry up there also feeding out straight away.
The really good news is that after work John took all the information you gave him the other day about balers and scraped and cleaned and sprayed the string tie thingy, we took it out for a trial run and YAY! It worked. We baled 6 soggy unliftable bales and 5 of them knotted. Smiles all round. They were carried onto the concrete pad and I will probably use them as door stops and draft barriers! Hopefully today there will be some drying done and we can get to work. But there is rain coming in tomorrow for the week so today is the only day to clean up this field. It has to come off one way or the other.
The Lady Vet is visiting Queenie again today, with her bull in a straw. So if you have any fingers left to cross, please cross a couple for a successful outcome.
Boo was thrilled to discover that Minty and Meadow had escaped. Then was deeply disappointed when I called them and they followed me back into the field from whence they came with none of his wild herding skills required.
Sheila is on perpetual holiday now that she no longer hangs out with Charlotte. her chosen spot for yesterday was outside the chook house. She is hoping someone will lay her some breakfast!
I was watching the piglets play while the chickens scratched through their run doing some housekeeping and one of the little pigs made a cackling run at Son of Neanderthol Man from behind. The rooster shrieked and leapt into the air.
Of course Charlotte came roaring around the corner at the kerfuffle, 
scattering piglets in all directions, and saw the rooster off.
Good morning. As I was struggling with this wet hay yesterday, with the knowledge that I did not have enough gilts to sell, and the sheep got out, and the peahens eggs under the chickens had not hatched and I was facing the limitations of doing it alone, and how was I going to get these lambs to the abbatoir with John working all the time then a huge piece of wood fell on my wrist and it began to swell and pulse, blood running down onto the fork handle and I was losing two acres of hay to the bloody rain, and I should be weeding and mounding the potatoes – I felt like quitting. I threw down my pitching fork and put my hands to my face, blood running back up my arm and had a washing basket moment but instead of wet washing I sat in wet hay.
But you cannot just up sticks and quit. The food has to be brought in. The animals need a human. The human needs the animals. So. Whoever is in charge of the weather machine could you please turn the knobs to hot winds and open the valves shortly. And while you are at it turn OFF the thunderstorm warnings for the next six days. And withdraw the dense dark humid cloud cover that is above me. That would be nice. Thank you. I need some hay drying weather. The farmy needs sun.
And as I have said before. The wonderful thing about the morning is that we have a chance to do it over. The sun rises and we start anew. Every morning comes with a Good and a Chance. And I have been thinking in the night. A plan is coming to thwart the wet and save the hay. It must come. We have to get it in to dry it.
Have a lovely day.
Your soggy brained friend, celi.
The Kitchen's Garden 
74 responses to “Gilts and Barrows – Goods and Bads”
Chin up, darling, because if you don’t, your nose will be underwater and you’ll drown. And we can’t have that. I hope all of your jabs are up to date.
The washing basket moment clutched my heart. Tears for you. Tears for me. Then we move on. I am so very, very proud of you Celi. XXOo V.
Cinders, I too will send the rain, rain go away wishes to you. We all wish we could come over to help…wouldn’t that be something, if the whole farmy fellowship descended on you with arms full of hay…but then you’d have to cram us all into the little house for a stay over and wouldn’t that be a hoot? Sorry, I’m just trying to make you feel better but probably not doing much good am I? Ok, how about Lyn’s advice to keep the pecker up?? I really had to laugh at that one and said to no one in particular…but Cinders doesn’t have a pecker!! 🙂 Ok, now I’m really sorry for pointing that out!!
I hope your wrist heals up quickly C….we’re all sending good and (dry) wishes and thoughts your way!
Big Hug!
LOL Sorry Chris but that is a favorite saying in England and in this instance the ‘pecker’ is the NOSE!!
Wish I could give you a hug. You work so hard, C. We all have these days of wanting to give up. They pass and I know you know yours will too. All the best to you!!
Your poor wrist. I hate it when I’m feeling up against it and then something happens to set me back even further. Best to have a moment in the hay and let it all out.
Oh, Celi! What a horror of a day! A washbasket day! For those of us armchair farmers, this is a wakeup–a reality check. I sure hope your wrist is better fast. God knows you need it!
Fingers crossed, and ankles too, if that’ll help with the scheme to dry that hay 🙂
What a rotten day. Ouch. Hope your hand repairs soon. In Maine we had the same kinds of days. Finally got half the hay cut and turned and then it rained, and rained again. It finally got dry, but it’s more straw now than hay. Too dry. We don’t have enough experience with this, but coastal Maine is iffy at best for hay-making. Wish we had an area to dry it in. Good luck with it! Maybe we can all hope for perfect second cutting weather. :*)
Celi – I know NOTHING at all about anything, but … is silage an option in your part of the world?
Keep safe. XO
So sorry for all the troubles hitting you at once, Celi. Aw. I prayed for your farm, that you would get some good drying weather for your hay. I also prayed for the other farmers who have hay out. I ought to pray for farmers more. My work is all inside so I don’t have to face unpredictable weather. Farmers must be the bravest and most determined people on earth! From reading your posts, I know you are brave and determined. I hope your injury heals well.
“The wonderful thing about the morning is that we have a chance to do it over. The sun rises and we start anew. Every morning comes with a Good and a Chance. ”
Words which went straight to my heart, Celi. Thank you so much. All the best. Hope the plan works.
Ah why is it, Celi, that when these things happen, it’s never one at a time so you can deal with it and move on? It’s like they sort of wait for each other, so they can ALL dump on you at once!
It absolutely doesn’t change anything, but looking at the silver lining in your life: You own a lovely two acre hay field that will give you a second chance in a month or so; you are blessed with two sheep that have been kindly and gently raised; your lovely peahen and hens are sitting on little miracles, and that healthy litter of piglets would make any farmer proud regardless of their gender.
I know that by the time you read this you will have re-grouped and soldiered on. Sending good thoughts your way.
LOL is right Lyn! I knew it had to mean something else….just struck me funny with it’s American meaning! Isn’t language a fun thing sometimes! And yes, I hope by the time C. reads all of these comments, that things will be better and hopefully drier!!
Now I’m worried that she might have fractured a tiny bone in her wrist…oh do get better Cinders! You don’t need an injury on top of everything else! 😦
for 22 yrs i had a horrible job with unbeliveable nasty boss,
due to limited education and health problems i couldn’t quit,and he knew it
had no options but to stick it out till retirement
on bad days i would say to my self
”this is not happening to me.its accually happening to someone i really don’t like”
really didn’t help much
but everyone around got chuckle out of it
next bad day, wish it on the tree assissins, weather fairy, polititions or anyone else that has recently annoyed you
Courage, Miss C.