Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[lcertuche]

My neighbor has a yard pig that looks like that picture. I thought it was a pot belly but maybe not. Its belly is almost to the ground. We really are considering a couple. Of course they won't be yard pigs (pets) but future meals. I've only raised a couple of girls once before. They were escape artist until my neighbor helped me fix our electric fence. They loved to sneak up behind you and nibble the back of your knees. It didn't hurt but scared people really bad. They sound like they were barking at times. Door to door salesmen didn't hang around. They were regular size pigs though.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

No doubt I have an ankle and now a knee that has been "torn" in there....

YIKES! And, I know what you mean about vetwrap - wearing some as we speak. I need to get to TS and see if they have a flesh tone...these bright colors attract too much attention, lol!!

I have been on Meloxicam for nearly a month and I have another refill. It's an anti-inflammatory. DH is ok with whatever I decide about surgery. I think he'd secretly be pleased if I don't have it, lol. It'll make life really hard on him if I'm down for months. But, at the same time, he doesn't want me to be in pain either.

I'm chalking this up to getting old, ugh. One day at a time....

On the pig front: Still not sure if this is the week. If so, she should go by the weekend(ish) I think I have written down that tomorrow is the first possible day....but... if she didn't catch on the first time then we're looking at the end of the month...my luck around Thanksgiving. UGH. Thinking the younger one didn't settle so this weekend I'll try to pen her with one of the boars. I'm ready for one of them to go, so he needs to get his job done and jump into my freezer afterwards, lol.

Have another broody hen. Just what I need - more chickens!!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

They loved to sneak up behind you and nibble the back of your knees.

That's funny! My sow does that when I'm carrying a feed bucket - it's like she's trying to 'encourage' me to move faster!

 

[NH Homesteader]

It would be great if you didn't need surgery. Being down for an extended period of time is no good.

Pigs barking can be a pretty jarring sound. A protective sow bark is pretty intense! The sow we just sold used to bark at my husband so he would play with her, lol. It was cute, if you consider a 300 lb pig cute.

 

[lcertuche]

Our girls were still pretty small maybe 100 pounds tops. When I went to visit my dad for the weekend my ex got them and had a barbecue while I was gone. I really liked them though. They would lay on their side so I would rub their bellies. I had a big feeder and water and my neighbor would check on them everyday. Of course they called me to tell me they were invited to the pig roast. Divorces are messy business. That same weekend my young steer, two doe goats and all my chickens disappeared too. I moved back to my hometown after that weekend. I stayed out of livestock until this spring when I got chickens.

 

[NH Homesteader]

That is really awful. I'm very thankful to have never been through a divorce myself.

One of my piglets was just nibbling on my gloves. Yes... I'm wearing gloves because I'm cold! Anyway it's the one who never let me pet her before but she did today. Yay!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

So sorry you went through that @Icertuche. I had a rough one too, but I got through it and am happy now!

STILL not fall here yet! But, it's not still total summer yet. Highs in the high 80's and I'm really ok with that. Would be nice if the air were less wet and a little more brisk - but I'm not gonna gripe too much about it.

Don't think piggies are imminent. She musta took the next cycle. Grrrr, I was so ready to get this over with! I guesss we'll have piggies when we have piggies. Ain't that the way it always goes?

 

[lcertuche]

Oh, well at least there is the potential of piggies frustratedearthmom. As far as my divorce it's great not being married to him. I have a husband that is great now. I probably wouldn't appreciate him as much as I do if I hadn't seen the other side of the coin.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I probably wouldn't appreciate him as much as I do if I hadn't seen the other side of the coin.

Ditto!

So, driving home from work yesterday and just after I turned onto my road (which is a dead-end) I look to my right and see what I thought was a pack of dogs a couple houses before I get to my house. That does NOT make me happy. I've got 2 big ol' lgd's, but not sure they could take on 7 or 8 dogs nearly as big as they are. Makes me glad I've got good fences.

I only had a glance at them before my view was blocked by some trees, so I backed up to get a better look. Not dogs at all! Wild pigs! There was a sow and 6 or 7 young ones. Not babies, but young. Sow was probably 150 lbs and the young 'uns about 60-75lbs. Why am I raising and feeding hogs when free ones are running around 4 houses down from me? They were close to some heavy cover, but when I saw them they were right in the open in the neighbors front yard. Eeeks!

I've lived on this same rural road for over around 25 years and rarely see wildlife that close. I've seen two deer - one of them last year and one of them 20 years ago - and now these pigs. Granted, I see them all around us, just not on my road. Kinda strange.... am wondering what's pushing them in my direction.

DH is going to his mom's tonight so I'll be alone. Yay...oh wait...I'm not supposed to be happy about that, lol. I'm not necessarily glad he'll be gone - it's just that I won't have to cook if I don't wanna cook and I don't have to worry about what's on TV, and I can go to bed at 8pm with a glass of wine if I want to! I'll miss him, but he'll be home tomorrow.

Next weekend we'll be moving her from about 2.5 hours away to an apartment complex right across the street from my job and about 7 miles from our house. It'll be so much easier to help her out when she'll be this close! Wish I could convince MY parents to move closer to us, but they are still determined to stay in their home. Can't really blame them though. I'll probably be just as stubborn when it's my turn.

Gonna try to find a few goats to sell. I've got a young buck that I kept just because I liked him - not because I needed him. Think I can let him go now...he'll be an easier sell if I pair him with a doe or two so I need to look really hard and see if I can pick a couple to let go. I've got some Nubian doelings that I'd like to move out too - but they're such hard keepers that I hate to sell them to anyone. I don't really want to saddle a customer with a problem child. Maybe I'll just eat 'em. Heck, after the buckling goes out of rut I could just eat him too. Whatever I decide will help the feed bill...

Gonna try to pick up a few more round bales soon. I'll call my hay guy in a little bit. Don't want to get it tonight because of possible rain, but maybe tomorrow.

TGIF!!

 

[NH Homesteader]

What makes them hard keepers? Just curious. When I bought my goats I wasn't aware of a difference between easy and hard keepers. I ended up with some of both. Now I know which ones I want to pursue!

Wild hogs freak me out. So glad we don't have them here. Well there are a few floating around out there somewhere. Do you have many there? Do they bother your animals?