This was the morning yesterday, clear and cold with a good hard white crunchy frost.
Later yesterday evening Jake and I drove up to Chicago to the United Cargo depot to collect the latest member of the farmy family. After the shortest of waits Tane Mahuta,our kunekune boar baby, in his new big white crate, was wheeled into the waiting area -followed by a small collection of cooing airport tarmac workers. All in jackets and hats over bright vests and with big hardworking bellies, tatoos and beards, gone all soft and silly over the little grunting pig. By the time we reached Tane he was surrounded in large workers all smiling and exchanging pig stories and sticking their fingers through the bars to pat him. He gently tasted each finger one after the other but found none of them to his liking.
It was 10pm, pig and Jake and I were more than ready to get home but we exchanged our own pig stories and had a yarn, then they escorted us out to the lone jeep waiting in the empty parking lot on a cold still night and helped load Tima in. Then I gave him water and fed him slices of pear straight from Jake’s tree. He was very appreciative. He is a well brought up pig with very nice manners.
After the long drive home, back down through the country roads, Tane was released into the lock down pen in the center of the barn. It is draft free, with Tima’s upside down horse trough dog kennel in there – stuffed with straw to be extra warm and there is no chance of him escaping into a strange yard. When I checked him at five this morning he was fast asleep inside and warm as toast.
He really is a nice little chappie, not so little either. He is black and white, a good size, about four and a half months old now, has a much longer coat than Tima, a nicely squished nose and is very tame and friendly. You will like him.
When the sun comes up (it is dark much later in the mornings now) I will take some photos of him for you. We got back just after midnight last night and it was too late for a photo shoot. Today is windy and cold. Not a kind day for Halloween. But a good day to be in the barn.
Later this afternoon I will load Queenie into the stock trailer and when John comes home we will drive her over to the farm with the bull. The lady who owns the bull is a good friend of mine. You will remember her partner – he built all my new fences over at the West barn. Their cows run on grass as well so I know Queenie will be well looked after.
And tomorrow we have another expedition, the kiwi builder has invited John and I to go up to watch the rugby. New Zealand is playing the US tomorrow afternoon in Chicago. And it is sold out, he was lucky to get tickets. They are calling it an exhibition game, which I guess means the Eagles don’t expect to win? The All Blacks are a pretty grizzly bunch. Anyway it will be fun to watch my home team at Soldier Field and I guess there might be a few other New Zealanders there. We will take the Metra up and do a fast visit. Jake as usual is on hand to mind the farm and John needs a day out.
Boo got skunked last night. We have not seen a skunk in months!
I hope you all have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farm
celi
P.S. Did you know: There are 21 reviews on Letters for my Little Sister on Amazon. How wonderful! If you wrote a review thank you so much and if you need to start your Christmas shopping with a book from one woman to another (and there is talk that men might benefit from reading this book too) then do think about getting your orders in soon. There are not terribly many books left but I would like to get them sold and out there being read and scribbled in. What a joy.
The Kitchen's Garden 
44 responses to “Tane of the night”
And snowing!
The Letters to my Sisters is an amazing, intimate, starkely open, and beautiful book. I recommend it to anyone and everyone. After reading it I felt I was even closer to the people who follow your blog…a true set of friends from near and far.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/?s=The+Adventures+of+Fuzzy+and+Boomer&submit=Search
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
No doubt Tane will slide right in to the rhythms on the farmy. And become great friends with everyone. Keep an eye on him though. Our piglets matured way faster than we ever dreamed and we were caught by surprise with unexpected piglets….midwinter. That was the awful part, as you’ll remember. But seems like you’ll have a few months still before Tima and Tane are ready. I already can’t wait for the babies!!! 🙂
Yes that midwinter misery is etched into my brain.. he will mature in about 4 months and she will mature about the same however I will seperate them again in February so i can get a handle on the dates.
Aaaaaaahhhh!!!! Imagining those tough guys at the airport going all gaga over the baby pig, chocked me up.
I just love the porches on your home so warm and beautiful.
Robin🐥
I meant porch & decks? 🙂
Celi, I had a dream buying a pig from you and you and I delivering it to my home. The dream was about the drive and you returning home. In reality that would be a long drive from my home to your home , in the dream it was only hours and not days. You see why your blog does to me!
That’s the best thing… see the tough guys go soft. Do you cover your pool in winter? We’ve had ours covered since early September when the leaves began falling. What a mess that is if one doesn’t cover it quick!
John has tried covering it in the past but the winds out here on the prairies always find a way to get under a cover and rip it apart.. we are very exposed. ..today we have 40 knot winds, it is hard to fight the wind.. c
Yes, the pool cover is a “damned if you do damned if you don’t” conundrum. Cleanup in the spring is a nightmare – what with all of the debris that the wind carries, yet covering it allows the elements to rip and accost the cover which (here) needs replacing every 2 or 3 years.
The feel of today’s post is quite Autumny, which should set the mood perfectly for rugby, a night out of Kiwiness. I love the image of Tane surrounded by adoring big tough blokes… great piglet marketing opportunity!
Well, Ella was there ahead of me again and said most that I was going to!! If Tane got the ‘big blokes” interest, can you imagine what will happen in our Community when photos are released 🙂 !!!! Hope you had a great time at the rugby. There has been quite some talk in the Oz media just lately that the haka is unfair to the opposing team psychologically! Ha! Ha! Ha! I love it and try it on my own in the living room: who cares there that I am a gal!!!! Oh those gorgeous faces pulled . . . . OK, back to 6 kittens, one young mother and one yet to be seen kunekune pig . . .
Isn’t that exactly WHY they have the haka.. merciful heaven that is like saying we must get rid of the KETTLE because it gets HOT! Did you ever notice that after the haka the opposing teams have to go for a wee walk or throw a ball around to get themselves OVER it.. poor darlings.. c
Oh, Celi, poor darlings indeed! Well, I do NOT mean to be disrespectful, but were I a team member in Oz, I would learn the whole deal [if I can it can’t be THAT difficult! ]and begin the same at the very beginning of the haka from the opposite side ! [Of course everyone would dissolve in laughter and have more than one beer after 🙂 !!] And ‘Down Under’ would have a great deal less of that inter-Ditch controversy!!
Poor Boo! Not sure what you use for “skunk remover”, but if you go to http://www.nistockfarms.blogspot.com and look for the Oct 19th post, you’ll find a “cure” for poor Boo. Not to mention a well-written (and funny) story about a sad dog. Very excited to see more pics of Tima’s new partner, the jam pot of little marmalades and whatever your next adventure is.
Chris S in Canada
Tane’s going to think he died and gone to heaven — all those pretty sows and he, the only stud around. I’m sure Sheila will set him straight. The Farmy is not a harem.
Have a good time at the match. Hoe the weather is better than it was today. I was stuck on Lake Shore Drive with the waves pounding the breakwaters. What a mess!
Our part of France like the All Blacks. You can usually find an All Blacks jumper at any sport shop. Curious how the US will view the Haka.
The cold weather is in a hurry to get here, and I’m not liking that much! Finally, Tane is in his new home. Can’t wait to see him. Poor Boo. That ol’ skunk was a stinker to do that!
I do enjoy reading your stories everyday – thanks for your snippets of farm life. I am a bit late getting on to this but do you have any of your Letters to my Sister books available in New Zealand. I see they can’t be sent to NZ through Amazon.
Carolyn, if you can email me your address, i can either send you one from here, or bring it over and post it in january.. I can do pay pal or a bank cheque .. would either of those work for you?
Thanks for that but I can’t find your email address??
oops sorry.. celima.g.7@gmail.com..