Growling Sheila

Sheila tried to take her barn door off its hinges yeterday. She has another door out into her field but decided that she wanted to get into the field – maybe to visit Tane?

She literally put her nose through the pales in the gate and lifted the old wooden gate off the hinges. I heard her grunting and went over and said:  No Sheila. That is very naughty. Put the gate down.

So she did, and gave me this look.

Then she stuck her snout through and rattled at the gate until it came loose again.  Then pushed the gate so it was just hanging on its chain like a row boat tethered to the top of the wharf  at a very low tide.

Bad pig, I said, coming back to her. That is a very bad piggie. She left the gate and took a step back and looked at me  with such fury then she opened her mouth growled then WHINED like a miserable dog. I have never heard her make this sound before. It was a high pitched frustrated sound. She cried out at me. Then she stormed outside and bit Tima,  Tima screamed and then Sheila stormed back in.

Not me. I am not a BAD piggie, she cried.

I put the gate back on its hinges then took poor Tima to a new field with a nice warm house and locked her in there for her own safety (much to Tima’s relief).  Then returned to Sheila. She had lost interest in the gate and was sleeping on her high pile of straw. Her back to me.

I have no idea what that was all about.  But the barn is locked up tight in case she decides to break out again.

Here is Poppy – looking just the same as she did a week ago.

Tane the kunekune boar went so far out into the field yesterday that I had to ask  Inaki to drive me down the road and drop me off so I could cut across the field and walk the pig home. It was very cold. The rain was blowing in little sharp shards of ice. And it took me and two dogs and one tired piggie a long time to trudge through the muddy field, our paws, trotters and boots fast becoming heavy muddy dinner plates,  all the way back to the barn. Tane had a long drink then lay down and slept for the rest of the afternoon.

Of course the cows watched all the goings on with feigned interest. Mostly they were thinking about why they were not allowed out into the fields on that cold soggy day.

Alex is such a loner. Always a little apart.  I will be watching her closely. Her udder is growing steadily. I still do not think she is due in June but we will see.

Not long now if all goes well we should be seeing some babies on the farm. The waiting is always the hardest especially with heifers.  First time Mums and all that.

Have a lovely day.

celi