The Cat and her Pig
I was taking photographs of the plonkers yesterday which is a challenging task as they are never still…
… and with the sun being so low I needd to get myelf low to get a shot but the moment I lowered my hanches to the ground I was mobbed. So it was a frustrating business.
I looked back to the house and there they were. The cat and her pig. The pig and his cat. Tane and LuLu. I know we saw this the other day but it is so cute it bears repeating.
Just hanging out in the cool sun. They have been good friends for years these two but it is hard to get these pictures as LuLu is very camera shy.
Tane’s back legs are no better after a two week course of anti inflammatories so I will be again consulting with the Vet today.
Boo has also developed a limp (from jumping) and both dogs are due for their shots so I will take a video of this little boar walking to the vet with me when I take the dogs in. I hope the Vet has another idea. Ton lves the Vet. Boo tried to climb into my pocket and in fact last time he saw the vet he climbed into a chair behind me and refused to come back down.
At best he has not got worse.
The sun rises at 6.49 today and sets at 4.28 and it is raining and presumably overcast (too dark to see yet). A perfectly acceptable 39F/3C. Our high today looks to be around 46F/7C. Nice weather. These temperatures look like holding for the next ten days. I use the app wunderground for my weather. Having the app on my phone improves my daily farm planning and give me all kinds of useful and sometimes critical information.
So while I am writing to you on my old laptop I am checking my weather on the phone.
We could go into a long and (in fact hilarious) description of the journey of mobile phones from the first that were as big and embarressing as a small handbag with an aerial to these mini computers in our pockets. My favourite one was in the late 90’s – it was a flip top, and so small it could hide in the palm of my hand, you could call in and call out and it gave me my GPS location. That was all. It was gold and I loved that phone.
My favourite car was a small well used mini. It went forwards and backwards and had a radio that got the local station and that was all. Of course it was a manual but then most cars in New Zealand are manuals (stick shift).
The GPS ability disappeared from phones for years and has returned (comparitively recently) with maps attached but I have never been able to find one that small again. We need the big screen.
I love smart phones. I love the apps. Keeping pace with the development of technology is a journey we must pursue actively. It changes fast and it would be very easy to get left behind. Learning is good. But dependence is bad. And phones depend on power. And we do not always have power out here. (We don’t always have drinkable water either if it comes to that). So I still save written directions and maps and a paper list of phone numbers and addresses and my fivers and my recipes and jugs of good water in the pantry. I still watch the sky for clues to the weather. And I still take photographs with Camera House, and print the best for safekeeping.
I like to balance technology with common sense. And it is a balancing act.
Oh, did I tell you? Molly (young sow) is in with Manu (the Hereford Boar) now both cruising the field and today I will take Poppy (senior sow) from her piglets straight into the trailer and she will go to the West Barn today. Though I will keep her in the big back pens – away from the boar, for a month so the two Mums cannot farrow too close together.
Time to get moving on Part One of my day.
Hope you have a lovely day!
celi
28 Comments on “The Cat and her Pig”
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I am so glad Lulu and Tane have each other. Everyone needs a friend. Is Tane still in good spirits and eating well? Good luck at the vets office for Ton & Boo. I feel about dentist the way Boo feels about the vet. Still remember that picture of Boo sitting on the chair next to you at the Vet’s office. Rain & snow mix forecast up here. I will be traveling later today (depending on the weather) — wishing all who celebrate it a Happy Thanksgiving! The Farmy and the fellowship are one of the things I am thankful for – every day!
My brain was quite baffled at it getting dark in the middle of the afternoon just about in the UK. Guess we are lucky where we are that the times don’t vary too much from summer to winter.
Have a wonderful day C.
🙂 Mandy xo
I think you’ve achieved a good balance between enjoying and embracing the new tech, and keeping in touch with low-tech solutions. I had the same thought just the other day, how phones went from big, to tiny, and then back up to quite large (if thin) again. Tane and Lulu are so sweet together, thank you for the lovely photos.
You often show symbiosis between animals in a way that professional documentary makers would find it hard to achieve. Tane’s a happy pig in spite of his back legs 🙂
Good morning. Alas, I am one of those left behind, as you describe it. I don’t own a cell phone. And last night at dinner I said to my son-in-law, referring to his cell phone, “On your telephone…” to great gales of laughter and, “Oh, I have to use that one at the office tomorrow.” I had no clue what he was talking about until he explained that it was preferably a ‘cell’ or. at the very least, a ‘phone’, but not a ‘TELEphone’. He has recently upgraded and is passing his old ‘cell’ to me after we get it reworked with a new TELEphone number. They’re iPhones and Lord help me to understand it and use it to make calls on. I am not looking forward to the process.
Poor old Tane, but it’s lovely to see he has a pal in Lulu. No rain in our forecast until tomorrow but also not the milder temps you’re experiencing till then either. It’s scheduled to get up to just a plus 2c. this afternoon, and while better than minus 2 is still rather chilly. I notice that wind blew all your fallen leaves away, and the lawns look clear. Hope it brightens up for you. ~ Mame 🙂
Another delightful post with fabulous pictures! Thank you.
Just thinking of the cold you are already experiencing makes me chilly. Here I sit with my morning coffee dreading going out in 40 degree wind to do chores. That’s really not so bad… but it is for me with my poor circulation. I will stay cold for the next five months. I carry an iPhone, but it’s really not a good outdoor work phone. I loved my old Motorola Razr flip phone. They were durable with the best reception and audio ever. My iPhone is junk compared to that. And then there are these tiny screens and my increasingly poor vision. I hope all goes well at the vet’s office today. Your photographs of Tane and Lulu melt my heart.
Every cat needs a pig. I hope the vet has another idea for poor Tane.
It is a balancing act. Yes indeed. The first phone I used was on the wall with a crank. Party lines meant your neighbors could listen in.
I have a phone that I love right now, with all of 2 or maybe 3 apps on it, which is all I need. I am never on it, preferring usually to read blogs, emails and do my limited amount of social media interaction on my computer. I get ‘reminders’ at least once a week telling me that it’s time for a new phone. They go to the trash without being read… 😉
I find so much joy in seeing the pictures of Tane and Lulu. How can anyone say that animals have no emotions when you see pictures like this.
I’m with you. I embarrass the technology with one hand and keep a hard copy of everything with the other. I too have been too often without fresh water here in the city, (broken pipes, etc,) so I keep bottles of water just in case. Nothing but rain here so I will cut a quilt today and hand stitch on another. Winter projects for Christmas. The photo of Tane, Lulu and Boo are the most precious of all. Humans should take serious note.
Fingers crossed for another solution for Tane. Love the photos of he and Lulu. I had an old phone that was a flip–but from the bottom. I think it was my first cell phone and I adored it. I’ve been through so many since then, but I love them, too! Use mine all the time.
A couple of years ago I made a project out of scanning all of my mothers recipes to save them for posterity and make sure all my family had copies. They were on cards and the backs of envelopes and odd slips of paper. But your point about the reliance of technology makes me realize that I also need to look at my system in reverse. Because for at least 7 years I have been ONLY putting my new recipes on my computer. Indeed, that is most often how they get shared with me. A co-worker brings something to work, we ask for the recipe and we get shot a link from a website.
Hah! I did not get a cell phone until almost 5 years ago when we moved to the mountains of Northern California….it does come in handy and we get fabulous reception!
My sweetie pie has a smart phone and I am reluctant to get one as I see people become addicted to them. WE shall see as you have a good point about staying
current with technology. All the best to Boo and Manu! Love that Lulu- what a marvelous cat!
I love that Tane has Lulu. Great photos of those two! If you have an iPhone, you might want to take a look at an app called ‘Dark Sky.’ It may not be free, but I love it. I set it to warn me a certain amount of time before it’s going to rain or snow, and it also bings and says when it is due to stop. Quite accurate, actually! I use wunderground on my computer. So many things in farming depend upon the weather, it’s an obsession for me!
Good advice about balancing technology with common sense. Tane and Lulu make a charming picture. Thank you for sharing and I hope the vet can help with Tane.
What will happen to Tane if you cannot correct or improve his legs?
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2016 at 2:35 PM
I guess like all of us he will shuffle along with a bit of pain but lots of good food and loving.
What great photos. I started using computers when they first came out and even learned how to ride some software. Not much, but just enough to make a minute long animated clip for my class. Once the Internet came around I lost interest for a while. I got my first smart phone and was hooked again . Today all my information is in the cloud . Right now I am in a group that follows my niece’s trip through South America via WhatsApp. Technology is amazing but like anything else it has so many downsides . People don’t interact anymore because they have their devices to entertain them , children play far too many video games .
Whatsapp is fantastic – all my family have it now and we chat for hours for no extra cost – wonderful
What beautiful pictures of Tane and Lulu, calendar material for sure. I am much more attached to my laptop than my cel, maybe because I can find what I need when I need it. Laura
I love this cat/pig friendship that’s going on here, it’s so heart-warming! S x 😍
My 72 year old mum now has her tablet and smart phone and constantly rings me for advice “Tanya, I’m talking to Google and it’s not answering me today”. “Have you turned the volume down Mamma?” …and so it goes. But I no longer memorise phone numbers and I really should write the important ones down.
[J+D] Very similar weather here, though as yet nothing has frozen up (last time it did was at least 5yrs ago). You’re thousands of miles west of us, well to the south (so somewhat longer daylight hours, currently), and of course have a continental not a maritime climate. The common factor, we suspect, is that you like us are currently well to the north/cold side of the jet stream. Southern England is currently to the south of it, and getting all the milder but very turbulent air on that side.
He he. I used to have one of those huge phones with an antenna and I had it in the back pocket of my jeans as I was mucking out the stables and my mare ate the antenna, as I was bending over. It was a total loss😱
That is such a funny story!! ,made me laugh out loud! Thank you!
SO cute! I love interspecies cuddling:)
Tane and LuLu are sweet! Any of you folks who loved this should check out the blog “my favourite sheep”, also known as Punkin’s Patch. Sarah has a chicken that needs a bit of a boost to get to her roost – have a look at who helps. Adorable!
We’ve got chilly weather right now here in SW Ontario, ball-bearing snow, changing to rain overnight. I am so NOT ready for winter.
Chris S in Canada