Every evening before bed-time Sheila has a little routine. I am allowed to place her clean straw on top of the old straw and she carefully tears it apart and pushes it this way and that until he has a nice high soft bed. She spends some time getting it just right before she settles down to sleep.
If it spreads out too much she gently goes around the edges and pushes it back together with her snout. Tucking in and smoothing. She likes a nice deep bed. Some straw is pushed up along the wall and some pushed to cut any drafts from the gate. And a nice groove is created in the middle where she lines up lays her body so straw comes up around her. Everything is spick and span. No-one else is allowed on to jump on her bed. I have never even seen chickens in there.
Certainly not Daisy.
Or the cats.
The cats have to wait quietly on the wall until she is settled in the evening then they are invited to join her as long as they don’t wriggle. She was appalled to see a sheep going in her barn door on the way to his new paddock this morning and he had to be chased straight back out.
Then she had to set to work and tidy up again. This is her inside door which for obvious reasons is never left open. Her outside door, leading to her field, is almost never shut. If it is, Sheila will never, ever, ever go to the toilet in her bedroom. She will wait even if it takes all night and will go outside when her door is opened.
Sometimes if it is very cold I am allowed to go in and cover her with extra straw. Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh – she will say. You’re welcome my little petal, my honeysuckle, my sweet pig, I answer, turning out the lights.
This is the hole in the loft that I use to throw straw down into the cows sleeping area. I have to be careful not to throw myself down too. Look at Paisley Daisy’s perfect round belly. Do you have a baby in there Daisy?
I am still gathering old pumpkins off peoples porches for the cows and sheep and pigs .. wish you were close by I would collect yours too. 
Cold again yesterday, sitting just above freezing all day. But today will be better they say.
Have a lovely day.
your friend on the farm,
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
38 responses to “A perfect housekeeper is my pig.”
I taught her everything she knows about making a proper comfortable bed!
Beautiful to see Sheila so relaxed and comfortable and houseproud in her very own part of the ‘house’ . . . methinks she is wise enough to thoroughly enjoy her lucky life ~ I so agree with Emily Heath! And what a lovely daily view with all the leaves now departed – don’t even dare ask ~ is that lovely tree on the other side of the road from the magnolia etc ‘my’ one: I do hope so – it looks strong and healthy 🙂 !
Daisy is indeed round and I am happy Sheila can make “hospital corners” with her bedding !!
Even though I don’t comment everyday I visit and eww and ahhhh …hugs to all !
Nanster
My late potbelly, Roosevelt had a pile of rags for his bed. He was very good at shredding blankets into strips. He’d spend hours arranging and rearranging them in his corner of the laundry room (still known as Rosie’s room). At bedtime I’d give him his graham cracker and he’d burrow into his rags and I’d pull the largest pieces up over the top of him and tuck him in. He always gave a little wiggle, a big sigh and I swear a smile.
What an expression on Daisy’s face. I hate it when photo’s of me turn out like that 😉
Sheila’s ‘house’ of straw does very well indeed.
It makes me smile that our stable girls spend ages banking up the bedding for their horses and then cleaning it all out again the next morning whereas we just chuck in a bale of straw for the pigs to pull apart. Just like Sheila, they block the draughts and build a bed just how they want and never soil it. Given the choice, I’d sleep in a pig sty rather than a stable.
Your snow disappeared almost as quickly as it came. Good shot of Daisy’s roundness through the loft. That Sheila is a very special pig.