the sound of silence...

I woke up to yet another rainy day ! The paddocks are so muddy...I hope it can dry up soon. The rain was so hard I waited to go out to feed until it let up a little. Of course by this time they were "hungry hippos" & very vocal about this delay! 

I quickly fed first the cats, bunny, then horses...the big pigs noses to the gate & loudly saying "feed us first!"

 After everyone was fed I sat down to listen to the silence....well , sort of silence...there is that hum of munching with the occasional satisfied "grunt"...quite the enjoyable sound I must say ;)

oh Earl.....

Just another morning doing the feeding.

 Flossy is in heat so tends to go off her food for a couple of days. She ate about 1/2 & then walked away. Her herd mate , Poppy, is a little on the chubby side so we do not let her finish the food.

 Instead Brian picked it up & took it over to Forrest (who is on the thinner side). Forrest was enjoying this "extra" treat when his bully brother, Earl, came over to ruin the fun!

 Earl pushes poor Forrest out of the way & starts to eat up the leftovers. Brian sees this & is coming over to "rescue" Forrest when Earl picks up the bowl (food & all) and RUNS into the forest area...not spilling a morsel . Brian yelling "Earl, drop the bowl !!" of course he does not obey this command & finishes the food before Brian could locate him & the bowl in the forest! Little (BIG) brat!...but smart !

they just don't understand....

We have been using the same Vet for many years. He does small animals as well as farm animals which is very helpful to us. He has come to our house 5 times over the years to help our dogs go to Rainbow bridge...we always get a lovely "Sympathy" card with a donation sent in the animals name to Guelph University/animal science department.

Today I received the bill for Trixie's euthanasia  ($277 for him being here all of 15 mins) but that is not the point....NO card saying sorry for your loss, NO donation in her name...only "PIG" euthanasia. He knows what our pigs mean to us & saw our overwhelming grief at the loss of Trixie but she is only a "PIG"...not worthy of sympathy like a dog or cat.

I called to pay the bill over the phone & so wanted to say something but knew I would be perceived as being the "crazy pig lady"...mostly we can't make an enemy of this vet as they are few & far between, the ones that will even treat pigs.

It just saddens me to know that so many other people do not find the specialness (is that a word?!) in these amazing animals!

 Trixie deserved a sympathy card & donation in her name...damn it , I will send one myself. Why am I crying again....

another day in the life of...

We had a storm here last night which knocked out the power for 6 hours...thank goodness for the generator to keep the sump pumps going! A couple of tree limbs down but no major damage.

Today was a sunny but cool, breezy day (my kind of weather!). All the pigs seemed to enjoy it too....as well as the horses who like the breeze keeping the flys away!

I watched the peafowl "playing" today...it was pretty funny as I am sure they were playing "tag"! One would run around a bush with the other in hot pursuit & then would stop & go the other direction stopping to "peek" around the bush looking for the other. This went on for about 10 mins...very funny to watch! It is past mating time so I really think it was a game!I believe birds are far more intelligent then we give them credit for! You just have to listen to those black birds "talk" to each other...even the peafowl will look "up" when they do a certain warning "call" & sure enough the hawk is flying over shortly after!

The geese are just starting to teach their young to fly....they were practicing on the front lawn today. They would run, flap, get a little "air" & then try again! There is one little guy/gal I call "Tiny Tim" who is 1/2 the size of the others but still tries everything they do!

Katie (potbellied pig) is our old gal (15 yrs)she amazes me everyday when she goes out for her walk-a-bout after supper. She is basically blind & deaf but finds her way out & back without a problem. Today she even found the pile of fresh hay I put out at the very back of the area! Such an amazing pig who I adore!

Final resting place....

It has been 2 weeks since we put our Trixie to rest. I cannot tell you how much she is missed here. Walking past her empty stall is agonizing.

All of our animal friends are laid to rest at a nice spot down the lane way by the apple tree. We post their name signs on the tree. 

Last year we purchased a swing seat & go down there to sit, relax & "visit" with the gang....very peaceful !

It never gets easier losing a dear friend...

cutting the grass ....laughing at the pigs!

Today was a nice day (or turned out to be) a little cool but breezy & sunny!

 I was doing the grass trimming around the paddocks & for some reason this gets Poppy & Flossy going wild! 

They run , spin & flop into the mud wallows over & over !! Next time I will have my camera with me....but today I just watched & laughed. By the time I finished trimming & came to get my camera they were sound asleep in their houses....all covered in mud!

So if I couldn't get some shots of Poppy & Flossy I headed into Forrest & Earls area....they get excited when I go in there & "oof...oof" at the top of their lungs when they see me!

They went into the mud pit area (which resembles the surface of the moon !) & flopped into one of the wallows...the mud there has a lot of clay so they come out grey(but happy!) at the end. 

All in all an enjoyable "working" day for all of us !

Avian facial & pedicure....

Today we took our Gonzo (yellow fronted Amazon parrot) to the specialty Vet for his 6 mth beak trim & nail trim. We have been going to the same place twice a year now for 17 years...you would think Gonzo would have grown accustom to this trip by now!! But NO it is a fight to get him in his carrier & the squawking while at the Vet is ridiculous!

He is home now & looks wonderful ....for another 6 mths!

Yesterday we power washed his cage outside while he watched through the window...all in all a stressful 2 days for the poor fella!

The sun has come out & according to the forecast will be staying with us for several days...yeah! Everything is so wet from all this rain.

** picture is pre-facial !! **