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
The Kitchen's Garden 
58 responses to “A Pig’s Cat”
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