Accident

Well, it had to happen. Needless to say, Grace was not amused and had
to have two showers when she got home...

polly

...just went to see the piglets - they were all fast asleep in a
quivering heap in their straw. I have been bringing an apple for mum
for the past few days. The first time, she viewed it with suspicion
and wouldn't come and take it - in the end I put it down near her and
waited for her to find it. This time, she came running out of the sty
(or what passes for running given that she has short legs and the pen
is a foot deep in mud) and took the apple from me, devouring it with
pleasure. After that, she wouldn't leave me alone, nuzzling up and
sniffing me up and down with her large wet snout. I made a hasty exit
when she had an exploratory nibble of my wellies. She is very sweet,
though, in a piggy kind of way and I hope she's not too stressed when
the piglets are weaned at the weekend (males and females will be
separated and taken to nearby pens)

Polly the Piglet

Just introducing Polly, our new addition to the family. My daughters
bought her for me as a Christmas present. She's a cross between a
Gloucester Old Spot and a Berkshire. I'm under strict instructions
that I can't slaughter her, but what we will be doing is rearing her
and allowing her to have her own litter, in about 18 months' time. I'm
hoping that this will allow us to become totally self-sufficient in
pork by 2011 - our contacts in the trade mean that we will be able to
have bacon, ham, salami, chorizo, sausages and of course fresh meat in
plenty - with doubtless more to spare for interested customers...As
they say, the only part of the pig you can't eat is the squeal! It's
just a pity we're no longer allowed to feed pigs on restaurant waste,
which would have provided us with an ideal recycling method for all
our plate scrapings.

Below are a couple of photos - follow the blog for regular updates.

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