Boo has begun stealing ripe dry maize out of the field. They call it field corn here.
Oh yes! He eats it! He is one BAD Boy. Bad Boo.
Sheila is on a diet and deeply unimpressed. Did I tell you that I have decided to breed her myself in January. I don’t want to risk another psychologically damaged sow. I shall begin the research. (sigh) I am so new to all of this. We were talking about it in the comments lounge yesterday. I am only six years into developing our own little farm out of an industrially cropped field. Previous to this I worked in the film industry. I grew up on the beach. The only things I ever really concentrated on as a kid was when a surfie tied a towel around his middle so he could get changed. Will the towel drop? I was not born or bred to farming. Boat building maybe. Art and writing maybe. The stage and film definitely. But not farming. And now I have decided I am going to go breed my own pig. My father (who is one of the original member of the fellowship but is too shy to comment) will be shaking his head. The girl had such promise he tells his friends. She could come up with an argument for anything. Would argue black was white that girl. Now she is deep in research so she can breed her own pig because she does not trust the swine herd to keep her Sheila safe and calm and gentle.
No Daisy has not grown a hump! Though we woud still love her if she did. That is the high point of the boot of the cows dining car, but it was slim pickin’s yesterday when I looked at what Camera House had collected.
I will tell you why I was distracted and did not take enough pictures. My Son Sam has been telling me for years that I should listen to talking books when I am doing mundane stuff. Like dishes and cooking and CLEANING! So a month or so ago I brought myself some breathtakingly beautiful red head phones. I could plug them into the kindle and listen I thought. They are splendid headphones but they are still in their box, sitting in a pristine state upon their soundless cardboard ears. I move about too much.
Yesterday when I was in a certain big box store with the Matriarch buying printer ink for the local library, I spied some tiny kindle speakers. So when I got home I down loaded Cats Eyes by Margaret Atwood, plugged in the little red speakers and read a book without my eyes. Fantastic. While I loaded the pots with vegetables, restacked the dehydrator, thought about cleaning the ‘fridge (then thought against it) and made the custard for the ice cream and cleaned and cleaned I was transported. Days of preserving makes a mess of the kitchen! So you see. Thank you Son Sam. Mama is a slow learner but you were right. Listening to books while I work is great. But I was inside cleaning way too long and lost the light for yesterdays photos. Distracted you see!
And now Daisy has a hump.
And big ear piggie (no they are not named ) was shot straight into the light and turned lavender. But who can resist those ears! Poor luvey!
Do you see that little table in the picture above, that is the bee table, it was swarming with hungry bees yesterday.
and there are thistles in my fields… back to work everyone!
You all have a lovely day.
your friend on the farm, celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
91 responses to “The Corn Thief”
Wonderful post as always, Celi: but Boo’s look to camera while he hoardes the corn is something I won’t forget. Wonderful, Celi.
Morning Kate! have a great Sunday, you can warm it up for me!! c
I have heard that the semen does not have a long shelf life and one of the difficulties is making sure your pig is in the optimum heat period at a time when the semen arrives and is still viable. Also my dads 1950’s pig rearing book makes much of ensuring that the sow is inseminated at exactly the right time within the heat period. I have lent the book to someone right now but when I get it back I will email as the info is interesting but quite detailed. Probably most important right now is to make sure you know when Sheila is on heat and start to see how long her cycle is (for instance Baby’s is not as long as the usual 21 days). In the meantime I love this info about how to tell when she is pregnant, http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2011/08/28/pregnancy-indicator/ The pointy end of the pig business!
Carrying on our conversation on from yesterday, I cant move baby to another area on my own property I dont have anywhere far enough away or secure enough this time around. Instead she will go back to the boar next weekend, the boar lives at a small farm like yours, they seem to get along, she hops off the trailor and goes straight in with him and then together they investigagte every trough in the place, anyway thats what happened last time, who knows this time around as she will be leaving the piglets. Also I do not have an experienced pig person to help with de sexing the boy piglets so I have to get the vet to do it. He does not like to do it til they are 6 weeks old, but he does use local anesthetic which some pig people dont use! But still it is probably going to be noisy, just picking them up is noisy, so it is better if Baby is out of the picture.
I dont feel brave keeping pigs, but I do feel like I have to be a major strategist, both logistically with the bigger picture of pig production and right now staying ahead of Baby. This coming week I will let her out of her pen then feed her and let her free range for grass for a bit, then put her back in to feed the babies and then back out again for a break whilst I go to work. I will bring some work home with me so I can get back early then do it all again in reverse in the evening. After a week of this it will be a relief to take her to the boar and it will ensure I have something better in place for weaning next time around.
That should work though, good that you have the vet to do the boys, an anaesthetic at that age will be excellent. They say that the sow will cycle in quite quickly after weaning.. it seems to me a good idea to get her off the property like that. How lucky to have a boar down the road that she likes. Now I shall go and look at your link. Thank you for that, i can track her heats already so that is half the battle they say. c
The boar is 90 minutes away but worth the travel, also it was where Baby went to stay when I went overseas so she knows the place now. This spring is turning out to be very hot already so we will need an early start. Good that you know when Sheila’s heats are, thats half the battle over.
Ooh I just repeated exactly what you said back to you. Great minds think alike!
Not surprising as we are both struggling with exactly the same learning curve. But you have done so well. I think we are Both brave.. c
I am of the understanding that corn cobs can wreck HAVOC in a dog’s gut, including creating an obstruction that would require surgery or cause death in a worst case scenario. Might want to keep a close eye on that bad boy.
I sure will Wendy, he only eats the corn, not the whole cob, he saves that kind of gnawing for the fresh bones he gets every day! Welcome to the Lounge of comments.. c
Thanks, but I’ve been here for quite some time, just quietly. Can’t start my day without checking in to see what’s going on at the farmy! I had a dog who had a close call with corn cobs, and just wanted to spread the knowledge! Love your blog!
Good evening, c. The day is winding down here but wanted to wish you and the farmy a lovely weekend … and hugs to Boo. I just love his expressions.
he certainly looks as naughty as he is! i will give him that! I hope you have a lovely sunday in your garden.. c
Morning looks sunny but rain this afternoon. Not complaining though! xx
I loved your paragraph especially describing your circuitous route to this part of life’s journey. It’s interesting how we get from where and who we were to where and who we are at this time… I commented similar to the G:O. the other day – we are both country born & bred, now living in the centre of a city, and I spend my days high up at a desk days in a skyscraper looking over Sydney’s top tourist icons working behind the scenes on corporate projects, and he in construction, that get reported in the media. But that’s what we do, not who we are. I think there is a whole different resume for that. Pig breeder, sustainable farmer I think is worth aspiring to.
very very good point, are we really who we SEEM!?.. i have always been fascinated as to how people see other people. I remember turnning up to a barbecue once with all my little kids in tow, all bouncy and loud and gorgeous, I was a single mum at that time. A man came up and looked at me and said Hey c. These are your kids? They are, I said proudly. He said – wow. I have to apologise. I thought you were just one of the beautiful people, I didn’t know you were a Mum. He did not know who I was until then. funny.. that was a long time ago.. take care honey, give my love to sydney! c
Corn Fed Dogs who knew JT won’t touch them 🙂
I kind of love how mischievous Boo is!
He just stole a mouse off a cat! The ultimate in naughty!! c
I love that dog more and more every day: the cat wasn’t fast enough, was she!! Good Boo 🙂 !
I think we should deliver Boo to You! He would see those mean spirited people we were talking about! c
Boo has been the second dog from the US/Mexico offered in a week 😀 ! Oh Wouldn’t it be luvverly, but both families would miss their pups to hell!!!
Well, if Boo is into the corn, it is because his body needs it ~ not ‘bad Boo’ in my book unless he leaves a trail of half-eaten destruction 🙂 ! Love the look of your orchard: so green and restful at the moment. And why not try the at-home-in-comfort insemination with Sheila – you have learned everything else: why not that!! She trusts you! I love listening to chamber music and trad jazz when I’m doing boring chores . . . does not take my mind of things at all ~ just makes the work go faster 😀 !
I know this will shock you but i have no music. I used to but when i started travelling again I just forgot. I sing! and hum as i go about the day, but mostly I do the Dr Doolittle. But where did my music go? How odd. Music really does make things go faster too! c
Uhuh: I love talking to any four-legged critters I meet also . . . quite serious conversations 🙂 !
The bees should be in heaven, with their dessert laid out so beautifully in that green and lush space. I love talking books – just having someone talk to me as I work or rest, it’s such great company for someone who spends time alone.
I like the idea of the speakers for the Kindle…except I don’t have a Kindle. I had a Sky Gnome that allowed me to listen to Radio 4 while I cooked, but the Gnome is dead. I’m hoping my 70th birthday presents will include a digital radio….
I wish I could say bad dog with a straight face.
I was going to mention the corn cob problem but notice someone else did. It can cause a very painful obstruction but obviously Boo knows about that. I was laughing a big eared piggie…a slight angle adjustment and it would have looke like he had a set if antenna – probably gets goods reception with those Nd his big ears.
Yikes! I just noticed all the typo’s in my comment above. Usually I double check for that on my little IPad keyboard. Guess it’s not as embarrassing as some things that come out of auto-correct.
Boo looks guilty. Maybe he thinks he deserves more perks for his job.
We have a dog named (well, nicknamed) Boo too! The day after Armageddon, I intend to stick to her like glue , along with the rest of the family – she is a scavenger extraordinaire! I thought her unique talents were due to her breeding – husky/basset hound mix – but apparently it comes from the name, instead!