Once again – huge punishing storms in the night. So much rain again. But (and I have written this sentence three times as it sounds so naievely optimistic). I think the weather might be settling soon. The last few days we have had longer periods of dry in the daytime – it IS warming up at last. I have a feeling.
Poppy’s wallow is legendary this spring!
Because of all the rain the grasses themselves are waterlogged – growing too fast and leached of minerals so the cows are eating a lot more of their mineral blocks and literally trying to lick the salt out of the barn timbers. I have three kinds of mineral choices out for all the cows now just to keep them healthy.
So, for many reasons I am looking forward to a few days of dryer weather.
If June 10 is the last day to sow most of the organic corns then it had better dry up soon or no more polenta! In ancient times we would be hoarding our stores in case of famine.
Lucky for us the organic grains markets are unaffected by tariffs ( we find our own markets) so if we are forced to plant more soybeans we will be able to sell them. That being said I am discussing planting buckwheat in my field. Just imagine the bees and butterflies in there! 
But something needs to get into these fields soon or we really will have a weed problem.
Everything smells damp, we smell like a yacht – like badly dried sail-cloth.
In the last few days I have sold four piglets to good homes. So now Molly’s Eight is a Four. Poppy continues to grow downwards – though her first farrowing date is not until sometime in June ( I need to look that up).
Today I will create an in house pen for the ducklings. I am lucky to have had them in the chicken tractor for this long with no attacks. They will hang out in the Quack House for a while, at least until they have some grown up feathers. They are at the Ugly Tween stage.
I have devised an indoor pool for them that won’t make too much mess. They are happy with anything to do with water.
I hate to lock them up but there you are – it is not for long. And they need to begin to blend with the big duck flock. ( the big ducks will go in to sleep with them every night). We will see how that goes though – the big ducks roam far, I am not sure whether the ducklings will keep up or get lost so I am going to try and keep them close as long as I can.
The Easter Eggers have come out of the turkey house and are in a small cage inside the Australorps Tin House. After a few days I will set them free in there so they blend with that flock. They look like owls. And are impossible to get a photo of at the moment – too scared. 
The Thistle Eaters.
Ok! Off to work for me!
I hope it does not rain today. Rain is getting boring.
Celi
O. Well, I guess that was a Fat Chance. But soon I think. Maybe tomorrow it will dry out a bit.
The Kitchen's Garden 
44 responses to “WALLOW ABOUT”
We’ve had the worst spring I’ve ever seen in Cataluña – Easter was a wash out. However, it looks like it’s improving now – I hope you get the same.
Rain by the sea seems even more dismal for some reason, Chg john tells me that we only had 4 days without rain so far this May.
I would love some of your rain…it’s been a lean year so far.
It is comforting to see pigs actually do wallow and it is not made up slander
It is not a myth. Pigs LOVE mud.
A number of years ago, in the 70’s perhaps, there was a story in (I think) National Geographic. It was about a family that decided to have a pet pig – but not a little one – a full size pig! In the backyard they had installed a child’s wading pool, sunken so the pig could get in and out easily, deep enough for the pig to wallow. If I recall correctly they explained that pigs love mud (or water) because they do not perspire and this is how they cool themselves. As a nod to the 60’s they called the pool “Bay of Pig”.
Chris S in Canada
It is true that pigs do not sweat – so -‘sweating like a pig’ is a stupid saying!
I love the Bay of Pig name!