Piggie’s really DO give each other piggy backs. They climb onto each others backs and rush about honking like little trains having races.
I gave them a mud puddle to play in yesterday.
Sheila is hoping for cabbage leaves to come flying over the garden gate.
Time to prune the grape vine I think!
Basil Pesto
- 1 cup ripped basil leaves, no stalks.
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons walnuts (roasted in the oven until sweet)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Grind in food processor or with mortar and pestle.
- Stir in 1/4 cup of grated parsmesan cheese.
I freeze this in little blocks or in small jars without the cheese. Then add the grated cheese after it is thawed. Though this batch was so tasty it immediately went onto pasta for a quick lunch.
“Oh. What?” says Boo, The Savage. “This is your gumboot? I could have sworn this one was mine.”
Good morning. I hope you all have a lovely day.
your friend, celi.
The Kitchen's Garden 
54 responses to “Muddy Piggy Backs!”
These photos certainly prove the saying “as happy as a pig in a mud hole… ” as for your dog in the last photo…that face is just looking for trouble…
in UK it is said ‘happy as a pig in **** begins with s and ends in t
It is much the same here, but in polite company its mud… s..t works for me too…
I’ve heard that expression too, but it really isn’t true. Pigs are very happy in mud or clover, but they don’t like being in poo. Unlike most farm animals they make a special place for that and they never wallow in it. Just fwiw….
Yes you are 100% correct… much like Rhino they have their toilet spot specially for such use and then they have their favourite dust, mud, rubbing pole and drinking spots…
Lovely piggy photographs.
I have basil envy. Yours looks so luscious. It seems to be dying off at the moment over here but should pick up again. Tends to come in a glut so it’s good to freeze it as pesto for the lean times.
I am reading and commenting very early before I go to bed or very late after you go to bed. My last response yesterday was too late I think, but I wanted to ask you a question re Baby so I hope you dont mind if I ask today. I will have a creep so that is not the problem. The pen has a concrete floor, not such a problem when there is lots of straw in there but that wont be possible when the babies are tiny and I dont want them lying on concrete.. I thought to replace most of the straw with a layer of sawdust, then put a small amount of straw over that. Do you think this is ok or can you forsee problems if I go down this route? In particular I wonder if it is ok when she is farrowing? Thank you for your help.
Wow those piglets are so long, I think Herefords must have an extra rib or something, all the more chops and bacon!
Sal, once I had it sorted out I had a nice thin layer of straw on the concrete but not enough for the babies to HIDE in. They love to burrow, so I only allowed enough to cover the floor. Then in the creep I had enough for them to burrow into but not so much that they go too deep and suffocate. In a few weeks when you enlarge their creep you can put more straw in there. What you are doing is enticing the piglets into a warmer spot out of the way of their mothers sharp feet, so that they do not sleep under the straw where she may not see them and steps on them by mistake when they don’t see her coming.(As you know this is how I lost two piglets) If it is very cold and you need a heating lamp, you will put this (safely) above the creep area too. So they will go out and feed from their mother then pop back into their safe area to sleep (and later) eat their grain. Mine have never pooped or peed in their creep, even at only a few days old they went to the poo corner. I hope that makes sense. I will find your email and send you photos of Mama pen and the creep so you can see what i mean.. c
Thanks, for some reason I assumed the floor of your barn would be dirt. I will do as you suggest, sometimes it is hard to get actual straw here, we have to make do with hay which does not break down in the same way as straw some how. Anyway I dont think cold will be the problem and I understand the principle of getting the piglets out of the way of Mums “restless feet of knives” (I think this may be my favourite peice of your writing so far). I have a problem with them lying on concrete, it seems to smack of factory farming to me. I looked at my diary today and I think it may only be two weeks to farrowing, I was away when the deed was done so I don’t know exactly. Anyway it was enough to galvinise me into action. I have thought hard about the logistics and have come to a plan that gives me a creep within an extra pen which will be useful when the piglets get bigger and later if my wee operation gets bigger.
I love the Gumboots, particularly that they turn down,very nifty. Are they comfortable to wear for a while? I like to wear them all year round, in the summer my feet stay clean when things get dusty. I think there is a killing to be made for someone who can design gumboots that are comfy and supportive enough to wear all day. Ergonomic gummies for Farmers!
wow your basil plant is wild!! Amazingly healthy. Great tip about freezing the pesto 🙂
I know a dog that would love to wade in there with the piggies!
Thanks for the pesto recipe!!! Yum!
The look on Boos face is priceless. I almost wish I could join the piggies,it has to be cooler than our weather down here.
Those look extremely stylish gumboots…not like your normal Wellie, nor as predictable as Hunters. Are these NZ or US?
Skellerup, Red Band, my fourth son gave them to me for my birthday last year!Every farming fami,y has a line of these outside the back door in NZ. I turn their sleeves down in the summer so they are not too hot! c
Such abundance on the farmy! I love the photos today, especially that piggy with his head in the muddy water and Boo with the boot. Thanks for the pesto tip; I’ve never thought to hold the cheese until I thaw the pesto. I’m sure it freezes better that way. Have a lovely day!
Nothing like a good wellie! Bought mine over from the UK as hard to find here in VA.
I keep saying I must get some Pesto frozen down, but seem to have a million and other jobs that keep me too busy! Lots of pet sitting this weekend, and I really must mow the lawns or I will need a scythe!
Love the piglets curly tails! And mud is good for the skin (keep telling myself that as I weed in flip flops and get muddy feet LOL).
Got Olivier a mate on Saturday – his name is JJ – great grandfather, grandfather, uncle and cousin all called Joseph Joyce(my maiden name) so family name but a bit too long for a tiny kitten so JJ it is.
Have a great Sunday Celi.
Pigs do love mud, don’t they?
As for the last picture, the perfect, ‘Who, me? No, I just happened to lie down next to where somebody had put them.’
we have the proverbial green wellies and ours have also been chewed by a naughty puppy..many years ago. The boots are still here but the dog is now in ‘doggy heaven….what happy memories those chewed wellis bring back…chewed with love!
and as fo r the wallow…ooooh how I would love to join them
Oh my gosh! That picture of the piggy with his face in the mud is too funny! Facial anyone?
Great Pesto recipe. Could I do it with pine kernels instead of walnuts? My basil crop is coming on nicely for once.
Love the piggy and Boo(ts) pix.
Kupa’s plumes from last year have already migrated to the new house – too precious to trust to moving men.
I think the original recipe probably had pine nuts in it, but i find them so expensive and hard to find so I use roasted walnuts, I do think the pine nut version is tastier tho.. c
The pigs might prune the vines for you, but I suspect they’d eat the grapes like their wild board cousins 😉