Run-aways

We have not had an escape for ages.  Everyone seems to be happy where they are. But when I went  out to do the afternoon chores yesterday and saw this –

– in front of the barn, I knew that somewhere was an escaped pig.  I looked first into the bedroom of the little pigs and found Tima and Tane.  Something very wrong with that picture. Instead of seven little Hereford pigs there were two old kunekune pigs in there.

Looking further I found all seven of the little pigs,  upon being set out on their adventure by Tima, had gone through the barn overturning everything and looking behind everything else then erupted out into the corridor paddock  and were busy trying to make friends with Sheila through the fence.

And digging holes in the field.  Which is why they do not live in this field! They have their own backyard to dig in.

It actually took some time to sort this out. Tima and Tane wander free in the winter – kunekune don’t dig holes in the soft grass so I don’t mind them wandering through the gardens doing winter house-keeping.  Apparently Tima had found a way to open the little pigs door.  Then threw  all the little pigs out and she and Tane proceeded to eat all their food.  Of course the little pigs were thrilled. And Sheila was glad there was a fence between her and a gaggle of  screechy piglets.

I was not too worried – they all come when they are called – but I wanted them out of that little field as soon as I could before they dug it all up.  At least they did not end up in the kitchen like Poppy that time.

The Cadet, wearing her grand-dad’s gloves and her own getting-too-small gumboots came for a visit and helped me get all the pigs back in order and then we shifted the little chickens in with the big chickens and we started to catch all the wild chickens, mostly Leghorns who lay big white eggs all over the place, so we can get them all into the Chook House together. The Chook House door has to be shut for a while now to teach the little chicks where their home is. So we may as well have all the chickens in there at the same time now that they have begin to lay. The space is pretty big  and being so warm I have opened up their wall door so they will have plenty of natural light in the day.

Things get a bit loose in the winter, especially with gates and chickens and pigs apparently.  But soon there will only be roosters roaming free eating pig food and getting fat for the first spring cull.

There is hope for a little sun today and if the sun does come out I will make the new electric fence for the Middle Sized Pigs. I need them to dig up one specific area that will be a new vegetable garden this coming summer. Of course I can do this job in endless cloudiness but I want sun. And I see no reason why I cannot have sun if I want it. So.

I hope you are going to have a lovely day or at least find some loveliness in your day.

Love celi