A Pig’s Cat
Tane (the disabled kunekune boar) has a cat. Her name is LuLu. All the farm cats are ginger cats and LuLu is the oldest ginger cat. And LuLu loves Tane.
You know how cats rub their bodies against your legs and ankles – particularly when you are cooking dinner – well LuLu does this with her pig.
She moves round and round him firmly brushing her little body right along his long one.
They have been going through this routine just before bedtime and around about milking time for years though she is a shy cat and you have to be tricky to get her on camera.
He is a pig though so he studiously ignores her. And she is a cat so she carries an alloofness to the relationship but I bet if I were close (and she seldom lets people close – she is a pigs cat after all) – I would hear her pur.
I have seen LuLu sleep close to Tane in the nights too but not for warmth she looks like she is guarding him, watching over him while he sleeps. Often curled up on a bale just above him.
This weekend the cold nights arrive so I bet she will be sleeping a little closer to her pig. But today is again in the high 60’s with a sprinkle of rain forecast.
My fences are all finished at last. At least the infrastructure is in place in case the ground freezes solid before I need them. Now I can put the strings up at my leisure. Difficult (Holstein heifer) was sold yesterday so now I am down to ten cows, two mature cows and the rest young or small. We pick up a last load of hay on Sunday.
Today I put Molly (Hereford sow) in with Manu (Hereford boar).
The really exciting news is that today Jake (my long time farming partner and friend) signs and officially takes over the new premises in Pontiac, Illinois, that he will open as a farm to table restaurant this spring. We have partenered up on different projects for a few years now (in the summer he buys my eggs and vegetables for his CSA) and now it will be my farm on his table! Growing specifically for a restaurant brings my wee farm a sense of maturity and purpose and if all goes well – security. This plan has been a long time coming up and is the reson why I have been slowly expanding, so I am ready.
I will keep you up to date as we get ready to open.
The restaurant will be called The Seasonal Plate. It will intially be open for lunches and features locally sourced, seasonal, fresh food.
I hope you have a lovely day.
celi
58 Comments on “A Pig’s Cat”
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I love this! A cat and her pig, so sweet! 🙂
That news about the restaurant is SO exciting!! Go Farmy! Am akways touched and intrigued by the cross species friendships and alliances that form. x
Sweet LuLu and Tane!
Sending good wishes for great success for The Seasonal Plate.
Yes, best wishes for a wonderful start to the restaurant. And of course Tane has his own cat! I love it.
The Pork that he is going serve there will be the best, good luck to the pair of you. Laura
Such exciting news! We will make a point of visiting The Seasonal Plate on a future visit to Illinois.
I think every pig should have a cat or a dog. They are so cute together. And the progression of your farm to table is brilliant. Wishing you every success and expansion.
Congratulations to you and Jake for much success! Also, one of the best stories from the farmy today Miss C, Tane and Lulu make a wonderful pair 🙂
Maybe Lulu likes the texture of Tane’s coat? Regardless, it’s very sweet.
I wish Jake lots of luck with the restaurant – I hope proves to be good for the farmy 🙂
Congratulations on getting ready to open The Seasonal Plate!!! What a sweet story of the pig and her cat. May just be her guardian cat 🙂 Jen
A most delightful story.
[J+D] We have Thomas, neutered male cat, that goes to the henhouse and curls up in a nesting box, sometimes (in the bigger communal box) sharing with hens! His best friend, though, is Tilly – our black labrador. BTW – note (in your photos) the lean of the tail towards the subject of affection! The new project: We’re excited for you – and look forward to learning more!! ;~)
Just back from time in Kenya and London and what a lovely post to come back to C! Wonderful!
Have a beautiful weekend.
🙂 Mandy xo
Tane and Lulu are so cute together, I am glad they will have each other for the cold winter. The new restaurant sounds like it will be a lovely and healthy place to visit for lunch. I do wish you both well on that adventure. Have a great day!
Considering the state of my room some of the time, one could say that Winnie, another of this ginger brood, is a pig’s cat as well 🙂
Good luck with the restaurant!🍀🍀🍀
Congrats about the new eatery deal. I used to live in Pontiac in the early 70s when I taught at the high school. If I get back to the area, I will look for the restaurant. Good luck with the arrangement.
Wonderful news on the restaurant!
The arrangement with Jake and the restaurant venture is so exciting! I would totally support such an endeavor if I lived in the area or we had such a place open up around here. We rarely eat out since we are strict about healthy eating. I love that Tane has a companion of sorts. What a sweet and exclusive series of photos!
Sweet Lulu. I always know it is her from her white chest and chin. I’m sure if you looked at Tane’s fur closely, you would see some of Lulu there. Everyone, people and animals alike, needs a cat friend, in my humble opinion. Have a wonderful Friday, C. I am very happy that there is no school next week! YAY!
Oh that’s adorable!! Is she a stray?
She is one of my barn cats – I have five cats and theya re all ginger – LuLu has been here for years now
What a coincidence! Just yesterday I had lunch at a farm-to-table restaurant. Everything was prepared there and came from the owners’ farms. It’s a great concept and my lunch was quite good. I would like to say that i sought it out because it was farm-to-table but, truth be told, I went because it was 70˚ and their patio was open. I wasn’t the only one because the patio sure filled up quickly. Next time I’ll go back and get a look at the actual restaurant.
Good luck to Jake! Tell him, to paraphrase Field of Dream, “If he builds a patio, they will come …” 🙂
Aah that’s so lovely! And good luck to Jake, exciting news 😀
Lulu knows Tane is ailing. I’m not surprised that she loves him the only way she can. Animals are better at crossing boundaries than we are. I sure hope you have a lot of help scheduled for next summer. It sounds like you will have a lot of extra work on your farm to table plate too. 😉 Thank you for making my morning with those photos and wish Jake all the best with his restaurant. Wish I could visit it.
I think Lulu would say Tane is a Cat’s Pig. She seems to have a strong sense of ownership and responsibiiity for him! I wish you and Jake both all the success in the world with The Seasonal Plate.
Sweet Lulu. I recognize her by her white chest and chin. It is my firm belief that everyone, animals and humans alike, needs a feline companion. A dog will also do in a pinch..ha Nine days off starting tomorrow. YAY! Have a wonderful day, C.
Best of luck with the restaurant. That is so exciting!
And love the pig and cat companionship.
This post is filled with sweetness and great news. Best wishes on the new business adventure for both!
Wow, congratulations to you and to Jake! Make me a reservation for August, will you?
Two exciting partnerships–Lulu and Tane, you and Jake. I will definitely be there at the Seasonal Plate. Why? Because I know I can actually find Pontiac, Illinois. It has been a very long time since I’ve had pork, but I would love to partake of pork knowing their kind background.
I am so happy to read that you partnered wit Jake. I love restaurants like that and I have to google Pontiac in Illinois.
How absolutely perfect and appropriate – the food you grown with such love and care to be shared. People go into the restaurant business for many reasons. The right one – to feed people lovingly prepared good food. In our French restaurant we had a small window overlooking the dining room. Frequently after a dish was prepared the chefs would take the few steps to the window and watch it served to a customer. We understood it was not to feed our ego that we were preparing the very best food possible. We cooked from the heart. XXX Virginia
I love that Lulu has a pet pig to look after. Congratulations on your venture and Good Luck Celi & Jake.
A perfect pair of friends! Lovely and he’s getting regular cat scans! Very pleased to hear about you and Jake’s business plans. I wish you and your farm continued health and success!
I’ll be up closer to your farm next week for thanksgiving in southern Illinois. I hope the restaurant is a smashing success!
Hey, Moonwatcher51, a lady after my own heart! CAT scans, indeed! And with that bad hip and spine, exactly what the doctor ordered! Loved your wordplay! Thanks for the great photos, Ceci – any of your orange kids named ‘Punkin’ perchance? We loved our orange guy! How soon will your and Jake’s restaurant open? We’re looking for a trip from California (we’re the chicken farmers near Yosemite) and that sounds like a wonderful place to go in the near future.
Hugs,
Sunny
A pig and a cat befriending each other is just what I needed today! Too cute!
Thank yiu for a very cheery start to my Saturday morning. Animals sense energy, and Lulu knows Tane needs a some cat healing energy… and a guardian. Wonderful pics ♡
So happy about your partnership news, and that a wider audience will be able to eat your food, and it will give the Farmy an income.. Well done on so many levels ☆
The restaurant is wonderful! I’m so thrilled that you get to be part of this venture. Many wishes for good luck and success!
What a great opportunity for you and Jake. Congratulations!
Oh my goodness Celi!!! you and Jake on quite a venturous pursuance!! We’ve eaten several of Jake’s pork chops from his grill in the summer time!! Where is he going to have his “Seasonal Plate” in Pontiac? We’ll have to go in often for lunch!! I love LuLu and Tane together ~ she likes to rub up against him and brush her hair!! Exciting to hear the news today ~ after the sad news I learned in the blog a few days ago ~ sorry about Gayle and Viv ~ very sweet gals in our fellowship ~ was shocked.
it was a cafe – Lydias? on the north side of the courthouse – I will keep you updated!
yes I know Lydia’s that closed ~ hey that’s great!! maybe next spring we need to have a showing of my Farmy favorites: Boo, Ton, Marmelade, Sheila, one of our favorite cows, ~ I’ll watch the animals for the show!!! All the best!!
Like your comment. Agree cimpletely.
I love when animals develop unusual relationships. Saw a monkey that rides with its arms around the neck on the back of a goat this week, so cute. Well done on your partnership. Look forward to seeing photos and hearing all about it. Instagram is a great place to promote that sort of thing, if you or Jake are interested. There are some very good locavore feeds there. xx
Huge congratulations Celi and Jake!! Perfect name, too. xo
[popping in from hols 🙂 !] Wonderful, exciting news about ‘Seasonal Plate’ . . . in today’s developing climate a great idea. I wish I could send you our highly respected Matt Moran’s ‘From Paddock to Plate’ DVD series, but as I have been told by a US friend ours can’t be viewed unless you have a ‘0’ [universal’ DVD player – you are ‘area 1’ and we ‘area 4’ . . . . wonder whether some form of streaming would work as there are heaps of good ideas from which to learn. All the best . . . I can see the vegetable gardens growing in size!!
lovely article; congrats big time to you and Jake; wish you tremendous success
Awww this made me smile. How lovely 🙂
Just letting you know, I totally live for your pictures. 🙂
o, thank you – sometimes there are some good ones!
There are always good ones. Your pictures are so heart warming and soothing. Thank you 🙂
Really excited about your news of a partnership with Jake to provide local food!! We are all doing our small local part to create a sensible “Foodshed.” You are living your ideals and its wonderful to see. Keep up the good work Celi and Jake. Also love brave Tane and his faithful kitty companion.
Lulu is a love as is Tane- the restaurant sounds so wonderful- we have a great ( the only one around here ) restaurant here that strives for the same things
this restaurant will be creating…..cheers and bon appetit!
Animals buddies are wonderful. A rooster of ours ended up at a sanctuary and teamed up with a goat. The best buddies. Such good news about your produce 😃
Thank you for brightening my day.
What a beautiful relationship they have together! I would love to have a little farm 🙂