My Pig and I
It was hot yesterday. Humid and hot. All the animals and birds used as little energy as possible and rested in cool spots.
Any animal with access to the barn got a fan.
Especially Poppy and her piglets.
Sheila was limpiing yesterday and as she has spent months in the mud now I had to bring her into the yards and hose her off so I could even begin to see what the problem could be. She is coated in mud.
It is a simple problem I hope. Her nails have got too long and one is tearing. I poured iodine into the cracks and I can trim the bad one today but I also brought her up to the barn to get her out of the muck. I think she needs to get dry for a while. Once I had enticed her to hobble all the way up she was very relieved to lie down in the barn with Linda’s fan. Linda from Colorado sent it to her last summer.
I sat with her for a while. Right there by her head on that piece of straw, in my short blue dress and gumboots. I leaned on the barn wall with my dirty elbows on my grubby boys knees. We talked for a while. Then we were quiet for even longer. I took photos of dogs and Sheila grunted to me using her piglet voice. A series of short gentle low reassuring grunts that go on for quite some time. In fact a very similar sound to Poppy when she is feeding her babies.
My Pig and I. She loves it when i sit down next to her. There is something so whole about Sheila, my big fat pig. I do love her. She has been folding her bad hoof under her and lying on it, maybe because it hurts, so yesterday afternoon after she drank her milk and eggs I sat in front of her face and touched her bad leg and kept lifting it a little and told her as clearly as I could that when she lies down she much stretch it out. No folding it up to swell. I went with her to her corner saying this again and touching her foot. She arranged her body as I watched and leaning on the wall lay her vast self down, holding my eye the whole time. And there – Both her front legs were stretched out and she laid her enormous head on them watching me. Good girl, I said. She grunted and wriggled down to sleep.
I could cry I love that pig so much.
I hope you have a lovely day,
Love, your friend on the farm,
celi
43 Comments on “My Pig and I”
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The way Sheila talks to you … the way Poppy talks to her babies = the way a beautiful pig talks to the ones they love ❤
She is so intelligent and loving, isn’t she….
Bless her! I hope you can get to that nail today. ❤️
Yes, it will need some heavy cutting tools!
Sheila isn’t just a Pig, she is a Personage. Her personality is carried around her like an aura, or a distinctive perfume. She’s very, very clever, and she knows who loves her and takes such good care of her. Of *course* she understood you, and realised what you were trying to tell her. I hope we’ll hear that her foot is better very soon.
She put weight on it when she walked this morning.. I also think she had been spending way too much time in mud puddles so she is in a dry space for a while until she is walking normally at least. c
Sounds like you have a Plan, and it’s working…
Pigs are so smart and I am sure that Sheila loves you as much as you love her! She is so lucky to have a home where she is special and loved.
I agree fully with RuitFArmNorth above 🙂 Laura
It is a love story of mammoth proportions. Very, very sweet.
Everybody seeks shadow and a moderate breeze at the Farmy (as here). Great shots. – Sharing your love to Sheila with us is great. Love is such a tremendous thing. Yes, sometimes love makes us cry, moves us to tears – of joy and happiness.
Wishing you much love, Irmi ❤
What a wonderful story! I love how you care and how your pigs care for you!! What a delight!
There is something so special when an animal trusts you completely. She is quite something.
That almost brought a tear to my eye too!
I can’t believe how clean Boo looks with all that mud around, but dogs might like to play in mud, but they also like to clean it off later 😉
Boo is the one who is clean as he jumps in EVERY single water trough he passes – TonTon now so much he is a filth monster.
They say pigs are smarter than dogs. Dogs understand at least 200 words if spoken to often enough. They also understand the inflection of your voice and I think the heart behind the words. One day we will all realize how smart animals really are I hope Sheila lets you fix her foot and the heat finally breaks for you. I’m so glad none of the really bad storms have come though your farm. This weather pattern is hard on everyone and everything. But at least you have the animals to make it bearable. Have a wonderful Sunday.
I am not sure that pigs are smarter than dogs, some pigs may be smarter than some dogs I am sure but my pigs are not smarter than my dogs.. Sheila on the other hand is a most unusually intuitive pig. I hope you haave a wonderful sunday too!
A very touching story, c. Lovely. I believe that I detect your heart lightening its load a bit, too.
What a touching story. I hope you can trim her nails today and that will help with the l limping. Good luck!
I try hard to keep up with checking and trimming goat hooves, but once in a while I notice someone looking uncomfortable and then I need to check feet Right Now. It’s nobody’s favorite job – not theirs because Someone is Touching My FEET!, and not mine because it is painful for my back. But I once bought a goat with a sore foot and it took AGES to clear it up, with frequent tiny trims and soaking in a bucket and applying medication, so I just remind myself how much easier it is to prevent than to fix a hoof problem. Then grit my teeth and get on with it. Have never trimmed a pig, though!
I have never had to trim a pig either, except for Tima (must remember to do her too later) I think that the constant damp has caused these cracks way up high in the hoof.. I can clean it and trim a little but most will have to be kept clean and allowed to grow out.
The bond between you and Your Big Fat Pig is so touching…
I love the love between you and Sheila.
I’m so glad our farmily’s pig loves the fan!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Farmily! lovely! Yes this is her second summer with the fan you sent, she is very attached to it!! c
Farm family of followers 🙂 Tee Hee. Good, Sheila is a girl after my own heart!
A girl and her pig…that is a beautiful thing!
I totally understand the “girl and her pig” depth of bonding. I feel that with Daisy deer. Deer are silent mostly, but Daisy has always mooed gently to me like she does with her babies. That’s pretty special. The mutual grooming she does with me is a soul thing. I hope you manage to get that hoof trimmed just right. I hope it is easy on your special girl.
I love daisy.. c
total wow; love wins again
You and Sheila are a magic pair. You must have some big nail clippers to tackle big Sheila’s trotter. I’m glad it seems to have stopped raining where you are. It’s chilly here, but we start south tomorrow, overnight in Birmingjam and home Tuesday morning. Keep your fingers crossed that Lappy will be ready and cured when you pick him up tomorrow (he has to be a him, as he’s so temperamental!)
love,
ViV xox
My fingers are crossed! Safe travels! Home soon.. c
it’s so touching, hearing of you and Sheila together, and how you care for each other.
According to books & articles pigs actually are more clever than dogs: it is rather obvious how much Sheila cares for you and tries to do what she thinks you ask of her. And if she feels better as a result she trusts you even more! My favourite pic-of-the-day is that of the little piglet asleep on its tummy with those awfully cute short legs stretched out behind: what lovely beginning to a tired day and week, but the absolute wonderment of TdeF is sadly almost over at the end of it and it is time to stop goofing off 🙂 !
Simply wonderful.
I would enjoy nothing more than spending time at your place! Wonderful pics Celi ..
That’s lovely and I think she loves you just the same right back!
I love reading about you and Sheila – what a fantastic relationship!
She loves you right back, it sounds like. I hope her foot heals quickly.
How sweet of Linda to send a fan. I’m sure it felt very good.
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This post made me smile a lot 🙂
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