I cannot tell you how excited I am with the pig pastures. The growth is marvellous and since I placed both the SIX and the FOUR into their new pastures I have had to cut down on their grain, they are putting weight on that fast. And no-one wants a fat pig.
Here is Valerie filling up the cow’s water to show you how high the sunflowers are. The pigs chew them down and eat the lot, stalks and all. The whole thing is edible or it would not be in my field but I did not think they would eat the whole sunflower with such relish. I kind of thought they would ignore the stalks and the sunflowers would create a cool sea green canopy above them. Like little beach umbrellas for little pigs but not at the beach.
Nope. They are eating them.
The sunflowers are just beginning to flower too! It is a race against time.
In the back pig pasture, where no pigs dwell yet, there is a strange windy track through the foliage, way down low beneath the ceiling of sunflowers.
This picture does not show the track very well but it is there and well trampled – it seems to have been made by a wide animal – not the bastard mink, thank goodness. But a mystery never the less and much too close to the chook house. BooBoo and I will investigate further today. Very Carefully.
Soon more of the sunflowers will be flowering. Wonderful.
I have guests who are staying in the Airbnb and helping on the farm this weekend and yesterday they helped us throw up 121 bales of last years grass hay that I bought from my hay man. This saved hours of time. Today we can continue to work down the back making the ditch fence. It is so grand having so much help. One of them is a member of the Fellowship of the Farmy so it is doubly grand.
It must be so strange and exciting and maybe a little bemusing to read about the farm animals for years then suddenly get to meet them all.
Last night I got to sit on the porch at the end of the day which was such a treat.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Love c
WEATHER: Perfect.
Sunday 06/24 0% / 0 in
Sunny to partly cloudy. High 83F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night 06/24 10% / 0 in
Partly cloudy skies. Low 62F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
Sun
5:21 am 8:28 pm
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 87% visible 5:16 pm 3:11 am
c
I will come one day to meet the farmy friends too! Such lush vegetation for everyone right now… but the summer is young so you best enjoy the growth from the rains! Soon the inferno will blow in! Ha ha!
Yes – it would be great to finally meet you! Are you in Germany now? c
Yes, I am still in Germany until the 28th and I will get back to Oklahoma on the 29th just after midnight! I am ready to be back on American soil, though I have had a lovely time here. It is my first time in Europe… so very different than what I know. I hope to write about it some… but there will be much to do to “catch up” when I get home. Forrest has been a good sport!
How I wish I could visit and hunt little pigs in those verdant fields. Coyotes would have good cover in there too. We can’t blame WaiWai or Tima the mystery track isn’t wide enough 🙂 Laura
True that!!
Your pig pastures are fantastic and no doubt have a huge impact on the quality of your pigs. Happy plonkers that have eaten amazing food!
I think this will be great pork. Real pasture raised!
Indeed!
Fantastic picture Miss C..That Camera House is doing a fine job….and those sun Flowers…it will look just like Bulgaria where it is also time for Sun flowers but here they let them stand until the heads go brown ..then…”off with their heads” …at least yours go to feeding animals and not to make oil…. I had a thought ..if the pigs eat the flowers, when they poo the seeds would be there and regerminate so you would have a constant planting of sun Flowers…called re cycling ! and very Eco-farming I am looking forward to UK visit..we are going on a cruise up to Lerwick and around Iceland and the back via ireland..Its very cold up on the tip of Scotland.
Keep the piggies chumping…lots o love from me in BG
Iceland then Ireland- you are a Viking…
How wonderful to have Fellowship of the Farmy members staying and helping out!!! xoxoxo
It really is great – we got heaps done today
such a splendid post to read! Such lovely and lucky piggies! And isn’t it nice to have helping hands!
It is wonderful- some things I just cannot to alone!
Ahhh! Those verdant pastures! Hog Heaven! Enjoy, little (and big) piggies!
And so they do!
There it is again…that lovely sitting on the porch. It must feel amazing after the day of work you put in. I hope there’s a nice chilled glass of white nearby when you do finally sit back and look out at your world.
p.s. love the piggies coming through their little green corridor with such PURPOSE.
Oh no, I hope the trail maker isn’t a groundhog! We’ve had a terribly time with them and they are awful to get rid of. Once you get one chunky mama, you can have dozens the next year as the boys start moving in and she breeds. And they eat every plant you dream of getting food from.
Just for future reference 1/4acre, Ground Hog(Wood Chuck) are very tasty roasted!
Good God. I am not roasting the wee fellas.
So I have heard! I have considered this and we may just do that if we find another. 😛 Got any recipes???
My experience was long before I was doing any of the cooking, sorry; but Mum usually roasted meats “low and slow”, if that’s any help? I did find this piece from the Kansas City Star (mostly; ) about roasting woodchuck on Andrew Zimmern’s show “Bizarre Foods” though: https://www.kansascity.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/chow-town/article45668469.html
What is a mink anyway? Is it like a skunk? The only minks I ever met were sewn together to make my mother’s pill box hat. They do not live here . . . or at least I do not believe that they are here. hmmmm. Anyway, that is why we named the gophers Halston and Halston Junior. Their fur is the closest we get to mink.
No Farmy in my reader today! I couldn’t work out what was going on, but then I came to the previous post and saw there was a new one. WP doing its usual silly stuff…. If it happens again I’ll have to unFollow and then Follow again to fix it. I hope that mystery track through the sunflowers isn’t a skunk or you and Boo could end up a bit ‘on the nose’. There again, we really don’t want a mink highway to the chook house either.
Badger, coon or ‘possum trail perhaps?
It would be wonderful to meet all the fur, feather (and gum-booted; ) folk of the Farmy: )
It makes me happy to hear about your perfect weather. And about sitting on the porch at the end of the day. I do that a lot, weather or not.
My sunflowers just started blooming. It’s so exciting. I read sunchokes are from the stalk so maybe that’s why the pigs like them so much?
My man wants to visit Chicago soon. I told him I’ll go as long as I get to visit the Farmy!
Yes!! If you want to stay a night it is a good idea to book the room ahead of time.
Of course. It will take some coordinating.
Like everything!!! No worries
Your farmie looks wonderful Celi … all your hard work. Love love all the green. Good luck with finding that 4 legged critter 🙂