pigs and kids

Just a few pictures of my children with the pigs, or rather hogs, as they should be called now.

'til next time...

A redneck pig pen or "re-purposing pallets" for hog fencing

We weren't able to adapt our pasture fencing to let the pigs have complete access to the field so we continue to adapt their pen to give them more space and more access to grass.

When we first got the pigs we had only enclosed a small area so we gradually keep expanding it.

When we ran out of hog panels we resorted to the effective-but-not-very-classy method that we will call "re-purposing pallets for hog fencing".  It was remarkably effective.

We made the mistake of hiring someone to drop some trees in our yard, normally we do it ourselves, the result was disastrous. Fortunately no pigs were harmed in the making of this mess.  The tree saga will have to be its own post, if I can bring myself to write about it.  However, the trees are down and the pigs are safe and happy so all is well.

This is how they sleep, snuggled up together. Now doesn't that just melt your heart?

'til next time...

"pigs out, pigs out!!"

The pigs are growing up fast. I've already started telling the kids that the pigs won't be with us for long, that when it gets really cold the pigs will go away.

I know some people think I'm crazy because I love raising pigs. But there are several reasons I enjoy them, they are adorable when they are young.

They are playful, they run, they chase each other, splash each other and frolic about.

Last time we had pigs it was a constant battle to keep them penned up. We have been pretty lucky this time or we have gotten much better at building pig pens.  The pigs broke out once when they were pretty young but haven't gotten out again.  Fortunately for me I had reinforcements the day they got out.  I happened to be hosting a playdate at my house so I had a few extra moms to help out.  I couldn't get the pigs back into the pen so I was just trying to keep them out of my garden and out of the road. We had some memorable moments, namely my neighbor and I racing through the pasture and scrambling over fences trying to head off the pigs as they were making for the road.  We quickly decided we had earned a glass of wine, besides it was so much more entertaining to sit and drink wine while watching the pigs explore the yard.
I sent out an S.O.S. call to my husband asking that he come home early to help wrangle pigs and rebuild the pen.  He rushed home only to find several moms lounging on the patio, polishing off a bottle of wine, laughing hysterically at the pigs routing around in the yard.

Lest you think we were tipsy or neglecting our kids I can assure you we were not. The kids were later found safe and sound digging in the dirt pile. No harm done.

'til next time...

Meet our new additions...

No names yet, we are still considering giving them the names of their predecessors but that is yet undecided.  My vote is yes, I think we should call them Pancetta II and Prosciutto II, then all subsequent pigs could be the III, IV, etc.

This is what happens when you pick perfect names the first time.

'til next time...