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.”
Oh, I love Sheila best of all your animal family. Closely followed by Boo and his tiny marmalade burr…
Me, too!
Aw, that is so sweet. I’m pretty sure I could fall in love with pigs…so I don’t let myself get near them ;-).
oh but that i lived closer so that i could visit your farm….i am fairly fastidious with my housekeeping and bedding, so i’m sure to get along with sheila. in fact, i would help her chase away the less-tidy….[(smile)]
[years ago, when i ran a sled dog team, it was interesting to watch the various dogs’ bedding and housing habits. some liked their straw “fluffed” for them, others wanted just the “block” of straw torn from the bale and placed as a square into their houses so that they could arrange it themselves. now my only outdoor animal is my “trapper” rabbit, and he always pulls the straw from his box out into the wire cage area where he nibbles on the fresh bits. aren’t animal habits so very wonderful to witness??]
I always thought pigs were just pigs until I met Sheila. Then I realised what a huge mistake I had been making all my life..maybe cos I have never had the privilege of having my own pig.
what a character your Sheila is, so sensible, so sweet, and so very house proud…absolutely adorable
It looks really cozy in the barn. I wonder do the animals talk to each other before going to sleep – does anyone snore? 🙂 I am feeding pumpkins to our cows now. Joy
I always wish I had some cows to share my pumpkins with–funny you mentioned that! When we lived in North Carolina the church we went to had a huge pumpkin patch every year. The truck would come, we would do an assembly line unloading of the pumpkins, people would buy them and at the end of the sale there were always pumpkins left over. A local farmer came with a trailer and took the leftovers for his cows. When I moved to another church for a job we did the same pumpkin patch project and I called that same farmer at the end of the sale—-the cows loved them!!! Absolutely loved them!!!
Everything in its place and a place ….for me, says Sheila! Isn’t it lovely to witness everyone’s personality and the way they go about things.
Years ago we moved to an old mountain cabin, orchard & former farmy. When I introduced myself to the neighbors up & down the road every one of the old timers remembered & had a story to tell about the famous character of my same name who had lived at our place some years earlier. I heard of her colorful antics many times over though she & her old mistress had been gone 20 years or more: the First & Unforgettable Judy– the Pig!
Wonderful pictures of the cats and of Sheila’s little face in the fence hole.
Sheila is a treasure.
I guess Sheila is trying to banish that terrible saying “your room is a pigsty” . Fussy little piggy that girl is but I agree with her, the pillow has to be just right and the blankets arranged just so or I can’t sleep either.
All the years growing up on the farm, I never recall my dad feeding pumpkins to the cows. Perhaps because all of them were consumed by his family. Who would have thought cows love pumpkins? Not me.
Love the photo of the cats. It’s like a cat puzzle, or Tic-Tac-Cat (Xs and Os). Good morning to you all, and happy writing, c.
Animals have as many sleeptime rituals as us humans do. My dog always goes around in a circle three times before lying down to sleep. The smaller the sleeping area, the tighter the circles! Apart from her official sleeping area, she has a ‘bed’ in each room. You should see her going around in circles on the armchair in Mister’s office.
I’m always learning something new when I stop by and visit! Pigs are neat so you say! This will make me think twice when I tell my kids they live like pigs!!