The Pig Pen

Master Breeder

2011-11-29T08:31:00.000-08:00

I finally completed all the work necessary- a task taking over 13 years- to become the 18th ACBA Master Breeder this October- awarded at the National ARBA Convention in Indy. It's been a lot of cage cleaning along the way :). Which I must get on with.

Someone tell me

2010-03-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

how to delete comments on your blog. The last entry had so many shoe commercials in it that I deleted the entire post because I couldn't figure out how to delete the comments. I suppose I could go to moderation, but that seems rather stifling to me.

In other news- I don't know what's been going on, but we have struck again. We had a show in in Greensboro and had two BIS and one RIS. And I have been asked to speak at the judges' conference at the Macungie Classic in May up in PA. On cavy emergencies. Hopefully I will get my computer back with all the data restored on it today. We have been fighting issues with it for over a month and even though the hard drive seems to TEST as though it is OK, once everything is reloaded, it gives disk errors. I have all sorts of neat though gross necropsy pictures from cavy emergencies (which generally speaking aren't good things). It will be a good bit of work to put it together, but I feel flattered to have been asked.

Tater Soup

2010-01-12T15:07:00.000-08:00

I could eat it three times a day but have to limit myself to making it only a few times a year. I think I prolly said this about this time last year- it is certainly a winter soup. If the creek don't rise, I'll be in Florida this weekend, showing my pigs. Supposed to be 76 there on Saturday. They will be rejoicing at the return of seasonable weather. I hope some warm weather helps me over this cough from Christmas bronchitis that just won't go away. But a small price to pay for the blessings of grandchildren and little warm bodies that give you hugs- snotty noses, coughs and all.

2010-01-06T16:11:00.001-08:00

I got my first Spring nursery catalog today... think I'll take a long hot soak and imagine.

June

2009-06-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

Went fast! I've been working diligently on writing some articles. I have been asked to write not only for our fancy's journal, the Journal of the American Cavy Breeders Assoc. but also a little something for Domestic Rabbits. It is difficult to come up with quality topics and then to research them. Although I buy quite a few veterinary books every year which deal with exotics, they still don't have a lot on pigs.

Tonight I went and saw the play Jersey Boys part of the Broadway South series. It was absolutely excellent! You knew all the tunes, the performers were really talented, the fellow who played Frankie Valli even looked like him. If you get a chance to see it when it comes through your neighborhood,, GO! I have to order tickets tomorrow for some of the special ones we would like to see.

I am sure there is more to write about, if I think about it, I'll write more.

May

2009-06-08T16:51:00.000-07:00

I turned 55 and am now eligible for Sr discount on coffee at McDonald's. Everything else fades in importance.

April

2009-06-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

It's sort of sad, but I can't remember all that much about April. We did have our National Specialty show in Lancaster, PA. I did OK, not fantastic, but right where I should have been given the pigs I had to show. Another fancier and I were Co-Superintendents and we had been working for 5 months getting things lined up. It went well with a few exceptions. Supers are the ones to settle disputes and to enforce the rules. Dealing with people, even those that you have known and shown with for years can sometimes be stressful, especially when you have to issue a ruling that doesn't go in their favor. Oh well, maybe they should be worried about how I feel about them, trying to bend rules etc., instead of me being worried that I hurt our relationship with enforcing the rules that everyone has agreed to abide by when they send in their entry. If that makes any sense. The rest of April must have been pretty uneventful.

Stuff

2009-06-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

Not much exciting happening, but I will share the "big" stuff. March- Husband went to Utah skiing, and on one of the days he took sightseeing down near Arches or whereever the hell he was (and it looks like HELL to me- I would get tired of looking at that country in about 3 minutes) he hit a mule deer in the rented car. The process is still ongoing, the rental car place hasn't rec'd all its money from the insurance folks who seem to be dragging their feet and contemplating their colon from the inside. So the rental car folks are like, get this mess straightened out. I refused to deal with it for my husband,, this time I said, the mess is yours and you can talk to the insurance folks. Our local insurance fellow is pretty much worthless, he doesn't handle much except sales, so he turfed husband to a "team leader" who said, yeah, I can see that we were supposed to pay 100% of the claim, but for some reason, we put you down for a 250 buck deductible (thinking we wouldn't notice?- they did that same thing to me earlier this year when we had another comprehensive claim). I told husband, you need to follow this up with the rental folks before they slam your credit card with an unauthorized charge, then you will have that much more of a mess to clean up. I am pretty sure he ignored sound advice since that seems to be his general mode of operations. I tend to call twice, get names and badge numbers when I deal with folks and follow up on any twists and turns. That's enough for now, in a few days I'll catch you up on April.

Maybe March will be better

2009-02-26T16:22:00.001-08:00

This is such a tale of bad luck and misery that I wouldn't fault you for doubting it. First, for over three weeks I have had some wretched bronchial cough/ yellow sputum producing/ two rounds of abx and it's still here although much improved but still capable of making me cough until I retch malady. Then, I was robbed. In my house, in broad daylight. I spend most of my time upstairs- that's where the pigs are. My daughter left for work at about five one evening, about five-thirty my husband came home. I went downstairs to start dinner and I said to him,, why is my purse in the living room on the floor? He said, it was on the couch where I wanted to sit so I put it on the floor. I told him, I never NEVER put it on the couch, but he said, well you did this time. So I thought no more about it. Until the next day when I went to buy some fast food, opened up my wallet and between two and three hundred dollars were gone. I checked with husband to see if he had taken it, although he would take half,, not all. No, it wasn't him. So, I looked out the back to the lower gate which has a log under it so when my son comes with his dogs, they don't squeeze out. We seldom use that gate, and certainly hadn't for weeks previously. The log was away from under the gate, pushed back when the gate swung open. I went to my alarm to see how they might have come in, because the back door was locked. The sliding glass door was open about a cm which showed me the zone fault. So, they came in thru my sunroom, which is open to the outdoors- abysmal little storm door which hasn't locked for year is how you get into the sunroom, tried a door, one was locked, but the sliding glass door,, which is always locked wasn't. Why wasn't it? We had it open at Christmas because it was so warm. And when it is closed and contact made, it shows up just like it is locked so when I set alarm, everything was groovy. Why didn't the alarm go off? because I was in my house, who sets the alarm when they are home? Daughter wasn't home or they would have taken her money too, because her purse was even more out in the open than mine. The neighbors on that side have had workmen present for several weeks, the working theory is that they saw daughter leave, probably knocked on my back door, but I can't hear much when I am upstairs,, saw my purse hanging out on the kitchen desk, because we have no curtains in back because we want to watch the birds at the feeder,, tried and found a way to come in, heard me and left, or I might have lost more. They didn't have much time to look around because they left my digital camera which was sitting right there alone. Anyhow, rather bizarre. Now I keep the house locked up when I am home.. so I have to unlock it to feed birds, squirrels you name it. Let me tell you,, you feel stupid not knowing you were robbed until a day later. Sheriff folks came, made reports, dusted for prints, but nothing on the glass.

And as if that weren't enough to fill my cup until it runneth over, daughter and I were on outer loop of the beltline when a T connecting piece- 4 inch plastic pipe thingy- fell off a plumbing truck, bounced around and hit my front bumper on my new car, busted it. Although we tried to get license plate, we were unable to do so. We had pulled halfway onto the shoulder trying to avoid the darn thing, slowed down,, and by the time we got back up to speed, we were hemmed in by cars and he was zipping down the road outta sight. Comprehensive is taking care of it. It's all true, I couldn't make this stuff up.

Flattered

2009-01-28T17:04:00.000-08:00

Last Fall I wrote an article for the Journal of the American Cavy Breeders Assoc and it was very well received. That was nice. I just had a request from a cavy club in NSW Australia to use that article and some accompanying pictures I took in their club newsletter. Permission granted. I will say, without reservation, that I am flattered.

Weekend Kids

2009-01-26T12:44:00.000-08:00

When I came home from the national convention I put a bunch of sows into breeding, and now, I am starting to have those pups appear. I think about half have had their litters. EttaLotta had four,, all boars. Ethel had four- two boars, two sows; Lulu had four, but two were DOA,, huge pups- wish they had made it. Had I induced her, maybe I could have saved them. Yesterday we induced a sow named Eidelweiss. She has not been looking too good, belly not growing, been hypocalcemic twice- it was time to take action. Pups one and three had been dead a long long time. Pup number two came out depressed but alive, a little white boar. We are thinking of naming him Al for Al Franken. It's not a compliment. And then last night, Butterflyweed decided to give me four nice pups.

Mistletoe

2009-01-20T17:38:00.001-08:00

In red oak tree.

It doesn't happen often

2009-01-20T17:32:00.000-08:00

Snow- 5 inches or so. Schools canceled before the first flake fell.

Blessings

2008-12-22T18:33:00.001-08:00

I generally like to not post much about my family, but since some of you are feeling low this Christmas- with some very good reasons- I thought I'd share with you why I am not.

About two weeks ago my mother fell backwards down the basement steps. She is on coumadin (an anticlotting medication) for a heart condition which predisposes her to strokes and other nifty issues. In falling, she cracked open her head in back and started bleeding. As bad luck would have it, my father was away from the house on some errand. A few years back my folks had decided to put a phone in the basement, which is unfinished, just in case an emergency arose, and after she collected herself (she doesn't know if she lost consciousness or was just dazed) she was able to dial 911. My mother always keeps the front door locked when she is in the house by herself but on this day, she left it open. The rescue squad came right quickly, were able to get into the house, found her in the basement, and got her loaded up when they couldn't stabilize her. About that time my dad came home to find her getting in the process of being transported to the hospital, IVs running like mad because her blood pressure was dangerously low and she was bleeding like stink. Scalp wounds always bleed, but when you are not clotting normally, it is a holy mess. In the ER, they were able to staple her scalp and get that under control, but her pressure still wouldn't come up, so they admitted her. Over the next two days her blood count kept falling; she was bleeding into her tissues; her entire back one massive bruise. They did a CAT scan to see if she was bleeding internally and she wasn't. She was transfused which helped her clot besides giving her some red cells and on day three she was able to go home, tired and bruised and in pain, but home.

This has been a year of some really great moments for me, and I have shared some of those with you. There have been times that have been not so grand too, and I generally keep those to myself, not because I mind hearing about your troubles, but I don't reckon you need to hear about mine. But I will tell you, I feel pretty blessed all in all when it comes down to the important stuff, and I am ready to celebrate the birth of my Savior- you may not know him, but I do. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Have a Happy Christmas.

The Christmas Cactus

2008-12-03T18:54:00.001-08:00

This Christmas cactus belonged to my grandmother and was a fixture in her house for as long as I can remember. When she died, my mother took possession of it and eventually handed it on to me. It has been split about four times and many starts have come off it over the years. Two years ago it was looking rather sickly and so my father and I replanted it, a rather large undertaking. It is looking better this year than it has for many years. Regardless of how it has looked, it has bloomed faithfully and abundantly every year that I have had it. It is on a sun porch facing south. I turn it every month or so. I love plants, but I particularly love this one for the connection it has to my grandmother.

Conyers

2008-11-13T15:14:00.000-08:00

Well, I've got all my gear together for a triple pig show down in Conyers this weekend. About a seven hour drive for me, I'll leave tomorrow after packing up the pigs. This show I am trotting out some little projects I have going on in the caviary, red eyed oranges, teddies, etc. Not my big guns. Those girls and boys came home and are all in breeding. I don't want to mess them up by traveling with them. It's rainy here, tons of wet leaves in the yard, but as always (or until we get a tropical system) we need the rain. Have a good weekend. See you round the bend.

Trees in my yard

2008-11-06T20:02:00.000-08:00

The leaves are pretty much at peak color right in our area now. We have had several days of rain and so a lot are starting to be knocked down. This is my backyard- you can see one of my squirrel boxes in the pine on the right side of the picture.

This is standing in my yard looking down the street.

My favorite tree in the yard, a white oak. The bottom leaves are still green and the top are brown, it is shaded as it goes up. Most of the leaves will fall from it this fall unlike some oaks that seem to need the new leaf budding in the spring to push the old leaf off. Ded probably knows more about that sort of thing than I so. I could throttle my husband, he nailed that bluebird house to the tree because I cut down the damn pine that the house WAS on.

Earl

2008-11-03T15:50:00.000-08:00

TM (The Duke of) Earl. On October 2, we had a litter of creams born and one of the little babies had two clubbed feet in front. He could still scramble to get under mom and get his grub, he just walked on the back of his wrists. We tried stretching the tendons to allow him to walk more normally (the more you walk wrong, the more the bones won't develop right and the greater the chances that things will never improve). And it worked pretty well with his left wrist. His right wrist however remained turned under so that he is really walking on top of the outer two toes. But he gets around. He holds it up when not running, that leg is now shorter than the other, and you can feel that the bones aren't right. But that is what we figured would happen. Anyhow, on October 6th a young man came to look at two girl pigs. These girls were a little bigger and hadn't been played with and were nice breeding sows, not pets. And so I said to the fellow, look, if you want a pet, this little crippled baby is your best bet. We are holding him a lot working with him, so he will be very tame. And the fellow said, OK, let me think about it. So he went home, thought about it, decided a free baby pig was just the ticket for him, and he named him Earl. Earl went home with his new dad this weekend. It seems like a good fit. It was hard to get a picture of his clubbed foot, maybe you can see it tucked up close to his body on the right.

TM Take A Gander

2008-11-02T10:34:00.000-08:00

The picture on the left is her glam shot for the front of the JACBA (the magazine of the fancy), the one on the right is her posing with her RIS award. Amazingly, most pigs will sit and pose after you have worked with them awhile. Her showing off her assets is what helped her out,, I swear she was posing and flirting with the judges.

This Just In

2008-10-30T15:56:00.000-07:00

I have been busy involved with all the packing and preparation for the ARBA Convention in L'ville, KY. I just got back, had a great convention,, had Best of Breed and Best Opp Sex American Satins and Best JR of Breed American. And,, I won reserve in show, second place in the whole shebang. A lifetime achievement sort of deal. I'll post a picture when someone sends me one. More later.

Drying the pig

2008-10-12T22:02:00.001-07:00

Amazing Grace

2008-09-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

On Thursday evening, my daughter and I induced a hugely pregnant cream satin sow that we were worried about. We successfully delivered five nice sized pups. Often when you induce a sow the milk doesn't come in. I had to go to Ohio for the weekend and so decided to take mom and the babies along to supplement in case mom's milk came in late or not at all. So they got packed up and taken to Ohio. On the way home Sunday I stopped to feed them. The towel covering them had fallen into the cage on one side and one of the pups (the only sow baby in the litter) had managed to get out. At the gas station in Wytheville, Va., I am unpacking the car trying to find it. Can't. Called my folks in Ohio to see if maybe it had hopped out there and I just didn't notice since the towel was covering the cage to keep the babies warm from the cold air on Sunday. Wasn't back in Ohio. I was very upset- felt like a negligent Mom. I stopped again to feed the pups and look for the missing one. Still no joy. When I got home, I carefully unpacked a full car. Then I heard a squeek. The baby had crawled into the space between the backseat and the back compartment up where you couldn't see her. But you could feel her. Husband went on one side, scared her into shifting a bit and then I was able to get her out. Amazing Grace- once was lost, but now am found. This is a pig that will never be sold. But you all know I am a Sentimental.

Pain

2008-09-18T10:11:00.001-07:00

About a month ago I had a basal cell carcinoma biopsied from the tragus of my ear That's that little triangular piece of tissue in the front of your ear. This morning I had a MOHS procedure done- tissue sparing. I said, just make sure I have enough left to hold in a hearing aid- that's probably next year's purchase. They had to reconstruct the dang thing anyhow with a flap they pulled over to cover the cartilage that was left. The numbing has worn off and it feels like someone is continuing to torch my ear- they did do a lot of cautery. They gave me a script for real drugs which is in the process of being filled right now. I will likely use them tonight when I go to bed. Suture removal in 7 days.

Yes, Yes

2008-09-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

We got a new rat baby. Kibbles.

Cannon

2008-09-11T16:07:00.000-07:00

The editor of the Journal of the American Cavy Breeders Assoc put out a call for little short essays on the first cavy we ever owned. I can remember her distinctly and so wrote the following which was put in the journal several years ago. Hope you enjoy it.

I blame Jim XXXX. I was eight- he was an older man. How was I to know he would start a passionate lifelong affair- with cavies?

In the summer of 1962, my father brought home a pair of cavies he had purchased from a boy who lived in Caldwell, Ohio. Jim XXXX. Dad got the sexes mixed up and so we named the pig that eventually turned out to be a boar- Lady, and the pig that turned out to be a sow- Cannon. Cannon was a golden agouti American with a white snip and it soon became apparent that she was increasing. Imagine our delight one morning when she came out of the box in her cage with two little perfect babies! Lots of babies later, my mother forced us to give up Lady (boar). We found Lady a good home with our bus driver. He had watched us carry the pigs to school for show- and- tell and wanted one for his children. Cannon lived to be 8 years old- I was in High School when she died. She was buried with full Athenian honors in our backyard in a wooden coffin that my younger brother lovingly assembled. And I will unashamedly tell you we mourned her passing. Cannon was such a gentle creature-she would sit under your chin by the hour and hear your sorrows and joys. She was a wonderful ambassador for the species. I have had many pigs over the years who have been very special to me in some fashion or another, but no pig has ever been more special than Cannon. She was indeed some pig. Thanks, Jim.

Hey, Baby!

2008-09-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

How's about a date? Not with a loser like YOU!

I had a very good TSF show. In this show, I won both the Best in Show and Reserve in Show. The BIS is on the right as you look at it- Julia a white American Sr Sow, and the RIS is Peter- a White American Satin Sr Boar. The other show, I had RIS with a White American Sr Boar- EttaPig.

Hanna hit while I was gone, we had five inches of rain, our basement got a little bit of water in it, not terrible, and I guess not surprising.

I am trying to unpack and clean pigs. More later.

I hate days

2008-09-03T12:47:00.001-07:00

when you wake up with a headache and it never really seems to go away. It just sits back there, mildly annoying after the drugs kick in, but waiting to roar back as soon as your blood levels of whatever therapeutic agent you took drop.

I have all the carriers set up and my show lineup for the TSF selected. Want to hear their names?

Patrick, Julia, Oboe Oboe Oboe, Magic Man, EttaPig, Etta Girl, Piccalo, Magpie, Garth, Emmylou, Nessie, Nellie, Peter, Reo Lobo, Take a Gander. Etta Girl and Etta Boy-yes, they were littermates- were the best in show winners. I need to check and make sure they don't need a bath.

Went and got pig groceries. On the road they get all sorts of treats to help them maintain condition. Some pigs say,, ROAD TRIP, and they LOVE it, and love to strut their stuff on the show table. Who could imagine. Others really don't do well travelling and I generally don't keep those guys on the show string. No need for misery. Lots of newbies on this trip. I retired several after the last show in Cashiers. Give someone else a chance to bring home the glory.

I was all set

2008-08-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

to spend part of the day trying to get a bird picture for Verb, either a goldfinch or chickadee- something sort of jolly. But, lucky us, and I am dead serious, we got some rain, finally, from Fay. It has been a very nice little gentle rain that has persisted throughout the day, the sort that soaks in and does some good for your yard.

In other news, I started grooming and selecting pigs for the TN State Fair show that is next Saturday. It is about 9 hours from me. I drive over to a fellow cavy person's house, spend the night, show, spend the night again at her house and then drive back home on Sunday. This may be the last year for the TSF. The land that it sits on is very valuable and whoever owns it which would be the city, county or state, wants to move it to another site and do whatever on the current site. They would like to combine it with a county fair in another county, but so far most counties have said, no thanks, we don't want you. State fairs tend to attract a bit larger "undesirable" crowd than county fairs and would involve being forced to give over to someone else's rules etc. Most counties would rather continue rocking along at their own pace in their own way. I guess that I can't blame them.

Spidey's worst nightmare

2008-08-21T18:48:00.001-07:00

My neighbor tore out a squirrel nest in his attic and missed getting this one out where Mama could find it and carry it away. So they called me when they found it several hours later. Despite my best efforts, I could only keep it alive for six days.

In other picture, two Teddy sows are happy to have someone hold their banana for them!

First Show of the New Season

2008-08-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Went down to Cashiers NC this weekend- in the southern mountains of NC- for the first two pig shows of the new season. I won both of them! Yippee! With white Americans. Next show is the double at the TN State Fair over in Nashville, so if any of you all live close, come see us Sept 6, in the goat building. They are flying in a judge from California for us, should be good fun. The mountains were wonderful, about 15 degrees cooler than here- it was delicious. I will write more later when I am not so tired and the work is caught up.

Sore Throat, Windshields and Cable Men, in that order

2008-07-11T15:49:00.000-07:00

I've had a da'gum sore throat for four days now and am about ready to bust out the pig medicine and swill some. And yes, you betcha. I allus buy human grade so's we can share if need be.

A lot happened on this day in history at our house. Had the windshield in the 4runner replaced. Nice fellow. Did an admirable job in a grand fashion. Had Thomas the cable man out to fix our cable. You know, I absolutely despise TW Cable Co, but their field service guys are top notch. Their office help not so much. But I have to say, the guys who actually come out are knowledgeable and capable and I appreciate them. Which will show on my survey. We tried to get a dish but the trees (obviously I didn't cut enough of them down!) are blocking the signal unless we plant the thing out in the middle of our front yard.

From a fellow breeder

2008-07-05T21:47:00.000-07:00

(I measured every car we looked at for carrier space for the pigs before I settled on the Scion xD.)

Pat H’s contribution. This woman is my worthy opponent in Satins.

You might be a serious cavy breeder if:

You buy more greens for your cavies than yourself.
You bought 10# of carrots yesterday and there aren’t any left.
You learned to use a computer just to run your pedigree software.
If your favorite PIN # is 2289 (C-A-V-Y).
The first thing you look at in the Sunday paper is the produce ads.
Your cavies eat more of the produce from your garden than you do.
Your lawn is considered the hay field and you yell at the kids/dogs for running through it.
You only cut your lawn when there will be 3 days of nice weather to dry the hay.
You spill something liquid in the kitchen and you run for a handful of shavings to soak it up.
Every time you go to Wal-Mart you take a spin through the plastic bin isle to look for sales.
You examine a hairbrush before using it to see if it is yours or the cavies’.
All the toenail clippers in the house have migrated to the caviary.
You had to increase your trash service to accommodate the used bedding.
You hang all your coats on hooks because you used all the wire coat-hangers for the water bottles.
You faithfully give your cavies vitamin C every day, but can’t remember to take it yourself.
You can sleep through the TV and noisy kids, but the tiny squeak of a newborn cavy will rocket you from bed.
You plan your vacations around major shows.
You choose your new car based on how many carriers will fit in it.
You choose your new home based on where the caviary would be.

Worm Police

2008-06-26T06:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I visited three stores dedicated to the feeding and housing of our feathered friends. At the first store, recently opened up by some friends but way far out of my way (I probably won't be visiting there much), I purchased a new thistle feeder since our old one was shot. This store, owned by two nice women, made a commitment to stock with only things made in America. While there, I asked about mealworms. Did you know that there was a nationwide shortage of mealworms now? One woman said, there is only one place in town that carries them, and named the store I generally get them from. And, she added, they will only sell to you if you have already bought mealworms from them. Well, I answered, no problem there because I am in that category. I went to the second store to get a particular brand of feed. If you think gas prices have gone up, you should see what bird feed prices have done. I paid $38 for 20 pounds of seed that 3-5 years ago i think i bought for $23. But you get different birds with the feed than you do with just the regular sunflower/millet and there is no waste and no hulls. Then I went to the third store and asked for my mealworms. The fellow asked, have you bought them here before? I thought, you doofus, YOU are the very person that sold them to me! (and they do have their regular customers, and he has made special orders for me, so I thought it reasonable that he remember me) Yes, I responded, and he pointed to a sign that they had posted by the register- Due to a nationwide shortage of mealworms, we will only be selling to our regular mealworm customers. What if I had lied? He apologized for the worms being smaller than usual, but hey, I figure the bluebirds won't care. I would hate to have to ask folks if they were my regular customers and then turn them down if they weren't.

I come by it naturally

2008-06-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

My father went out one morning and saw that the robin's nest which had been perched rather precariously in a rose bush had the side broken out of it and all four of the little nestlings were spilled out onto the ground. Dad wasn't sure it would work, but he took the remains of the nest and put it in a flower pot, put the babies back in the nest and wired the entire thing back into the rose bush in approximately the same spot it had been in. Mom and Dad Robin never missed a beat. Last week when I was up, I got to see all four babies in the nest, and one by one they fledged and were gone. When I got too close for comfort, the mother would fly up on an overhead wire and she must have been sounding some sort of alarm call to them, because they would hunker down and get very still when she did it. Dad also had a clutch of chickadees in one of his boxes. I bought him another hummingbird feeder so he could place it farther out in the yard and not have the battles over the one by the porch. He has a bully.

Bluebird 2

2008-06-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

This is her again, setting on top of one of the feeder poles- she comes down to within five feet of you. They are really not bothered by folks. You can see one of my squirrel boxes up on a tree behind the feeder. That is the tree that has the hawks in it.

Bluebird

2008-06-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I am not so great with the camera, and she is always moving. You can sort of see the mealworms that she has gathered in her mouth. This is sort of at dusk, I tried taking some during the noonday, but the pictures were all washed out.

Last Show

2008-06-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday down in Columbia, SC, I attended my last show of the Spring Season. It was 94+ degrees- absolutely sweltering. A passing rain shower did nothing but make it more humid and miserable. I had to get up at three to load up my car (the new xD) and drive down 230 miles to get there by 8:30. Loading takes me about an hour. I am not an overly fast driver. I tend to try and go exactly the speed limit with the help of cruise control. Had two shows and then I drove home. I was so tired I was just this side of nauseated. Do you ever get that feeling? I find it very hard to sleep before a long drive I know I am going to have to make- granted this one wasn't that long, I just was worried about being late. So I had very little rest Friday night. Anyhow, I did good, not great. Did have one reserve in show with TM Tumbleweed,, a pretty damn nice little cream satin boar. The judges have liked him all spring. Time now to find him a girlfriend and make little tumblelets.

I got my hair cut

2008-05-26T16:58:00.000-07:00

I had all my hair cut off to shoulder length straight around and rediscovered my two types of hair. From my father I inherited a fivehead (not a forehead) which means my hairline starts very far back on my cranium and has deep indentions back to my crown in it on either side. This hair is straight and thin. Then the occiput cap hair, I got from my mom,, very very thick almost coarse hair that is wavy to curly if you crunch it while it dries. I probably should have got the hair layered around my face like the woman wanted to do but I wanted to have enough length on the side to be able to twist it back up and clip it off my face and neck- which I can now do. Do I like it? Well, combing and brushing and washing and drying are certainly a lot simpler. But I am not one to monkey with my hair and plan on doing as little as possible with this so no wondrous styles I guess. The woman who cut my hair was Russian and I was able to converse with her from my college Russian. That is to say,, I remembered hello, goodbye and how are you. That pretty much covered day one and the limit of my rememberance of all things Russian.

I was wrong

2008-05-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

The dang hawks are back and there is a little one in the nest. You can hear it cry. I went out today to dump gp bedding and heard it. Looked around, saw a parent drifting around up high on the breeze. I waved my arms to get its attention, and unbelievably, it stooped and came down straight at me to see what was up. I again waved my arms!!@! and said, you stop right there, missus! It stopped about treetop high right overhead (which is pretty high up for these pines), hovered for about two seconds and then took back to the heights. There is hawk poop all over the trampoline. (I never really figured it was gonna get me, but then I never really figured it would approach me at all. It is a bit unnerving to see something just a speck in the sky one moment bearing down on you until you can see its body parts.)

Results

2008-05-15T18:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't do outstanding at the big show, but neither was I skunked. I did win the prize for largest white American pig- a bottle of Fat Bastard chardonney, which, to borrow Kath's phrase, was consumed by the assembled. And I won three of four best of breed satin americans and two best opposite and a reserve in show. Got some lovely ribbons, and a fleece throw, money and best of all! I came home with a dreadful cold!! yah me! It has probably been two years since I have even had a cold and this one has made my sinuses hurt to the point of making my top molars ache, and coughing. Lovely. Somewhere on the boards I think I read that someone saw the film Juno and we rented it and really enjoyed it. If you haven't seen it, by all means go rent it. Very few films hold my attention anymore, this one did.

I saw something amazing today

2008-05-04T22:20:00.001-07:00

While I was setting up pig carriers for the upcoming show, I happened to look at the window that was right in front of me. These are on the second story and rarely get washed so that there is a plethora of cobwebs built up in the corners on the outside. I saw a female(?) hummingbird gathering the cobwebs to use for nestbuilding. Initially I thought, are you after the spiders? (they are not averse to eating a small insect or something if they can get it) they are long gone from these webs, but no, she was picking up the strands. She worked for about 30 seconds and then flew off. I had my daughter come over and look, but the bird was gone. And then she came back! Something I never in my wildest dreams would have ever expected to see. In other news, damned hawk got one of my squirrels. It picked it off on the ground in the backyard and then flew up to the darned squirrel nest box and sat on it. Squirrel was dead so me flying out the backdoor screaming and swirling a dish towel at it didn't help the squirrel, but it did make it fly away. Damned hawk. I would like to have been able to smack it with a baseball or something. I love my squirrels and I hate those damned shitting hawks.

All About Birds: Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Life

2008-05-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

I am gearing up for the Macungie Classic next weekend for the 2 day, 4 show extravaganza. This year we are holding a challenge, the GREAT AMERICAN WHITEOUT for white American cavies. If I had the pigs I had last year, I might have a chance. The show sow I have been showing all spring, TM Mandolin, got her ear ripped the other day by another sow and so she is now out of the picture. I have nice pigs to show, just not one that says, pick me. Now,, in satin americans,, that's a different story. If my white satin sow holds condition, she will be damned hard to beat. But, you never really know what the judge will pick or how they will fault each pig. We shall see. Generally speaking, if I don't win, one of my friends does! We are a fairly close-knit bunch and all get along and are happy for each others' successes.

I ordered a new car last night, an xD scion. I want something that gets better gas mileage yet can haul a few pigs. Thought about the Matrix- not good enough mpg and the Fit. My son has a Fit which I like but I thought I would like the xD better. Not sure when I will be taking delivery on it. I don't like lots of options on a car,, went with the basic radio,, who can hear and appreciate good sound anymore? yet I wanted alloy wheels and a wind deflector so that I look younger and sportier than my years :). And it has tire pressure sensor- one of my great anxieties in driving- a flat tire.

Today

2008-04-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

My freaking Neptune washer finally burnt up last week, and by burnt up I mean it. I could smell the thing and when I opened the door, out poured smoke. My husband insisted I try to have it repaired but the repair was 484 dollars so I declined and paid the technician for his trip. Money down the freaking drain. I did not point this out to my husband (I said, it will cost too damn much to repair). I did get another front loading machine because despite its poor service, I did like front loading. This time I bought an LG machine, neither the top of the line with steam cleaning capabilities nor bottom of the line with small capacity- and for the first time in my life, I bought extended five year warranty. I am thinking of you, M Sb- it's ironing duty today.

Garter Snake

2008-04-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

As I was carrying buckets of used pig bedding out to the compost heap, I startled a garter snake that was sunning on the steps. I didn't even see it until it moved.

Eastern Garter Snake - North Carolina

TM Pear Blossom

2008-04-06T10:17:00.000-07:00

This is TM Pear Blossom the sow that won the two BIS last weekend. A friend- the judge actually- sent me a picture of her this morning. She was a posing fool that day for him. I have to admit, she is a pretty nice animal.

Weekend In Conyers, GA

2008-03-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

I just got home from a weekend in Conyers, GA- a triple pig show was my main reason for attendance, but apparently it was also the Cherry Blossom Festival and there was also some sort of very large horse show(s). My white American Satin Sr Sow won two of the three Best In Shows- I was so overcome at the first one that I started boohooing (at the presentation of this wonderful Chinese print). You know the wonderful thing about friends, really good friends? when you start crying, they start crying too. A sad or happy occassion,,, they are willing to get their faces all blotchy with you. We are likely a bunch nincompoops (my husband said,, why did you start crying? you won! I said, it's a woman thang.) but somehow, I fell into a wonderful group of women (and men too! but they don't cry with me).

New Roof

2008-03-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

This week the big project is getting a new roof installed. We had one put on ten years ago but the workmanship was so poor that it has failed in three places and no amount of caulk seemed to be able to shore it up. I have to say,, repetitive noise does drive me up a wall. I am also cleaning out a closet,, do you GW (Goodwill) those clothes you no longer fit in, or do you keep deluding yourself that ONE day, oh that happy day! you might fit back in them again? They are all going. I have one skirt left and about twenty pairs of jeans- which is my uniform. If I could wear jeans to Sunday service, I might start going again,, well, if they moderated their tune that is.

Pig Shows Sunday

2008-03-17T18:16:00.000-07:00

First shows of the season for me. There have been others held that I would normally have attended had not health issues intervened. Totally new lineup this spring with the exception of Mandolin. I won best of breed and best opposite sex of breed in American Satins in both shows which was decent. In two weeks I will be down in Conyers, GA for a triple show. Tree, I finished a season of fire and ice by Zimpel published by Unbridled. A very bleak book. And am about 1/3 through Buyer's book which I AM enjoying just as you reckoned I would.

Can you say biddies?

2008-03-06T12:46:00.000-08:00

I made a run to the Tractor Supply this morning for pig bedding and they had little chicks and ducklings for sale. It's been a few years- there was the uproar about Avian flu and so for awhile, they didn't sell anything, just gave you the number of the hatchery to order from and have them come to your mailbox. They had little bantams with fuzzy feet,, it was all I could do to not bring a few home,, had I been able to sex them I would have had a little pen in the backyard (covered of course because of the D'd hawks) and had me a little fresh egg factory in about 18 weeks. Don't ask me why, but I like chickens. I technically live in the county (with the city on every side) and so there is no proscription against livestock. My neighbors probably wouldn't say a thing either- over the years, being the only mom at home in the neighborhood, I have had the occassion to do lots of favors and lookout for lots of kids coming home from school- including picking kids up from car accidents, carrying kids to the ER for broken leg and driving child home who had been drinking and was smart enough to call and say- I need a ride home. I am the Chatelaine,, the keeper of keys for this section of my street. Anyhow, they don't say anything about my pigs nor my enormous compost heap, so likely they would just think it was another manifestation of my personality and hope for fresh eggs.

What a lovely day

2008-03-02T18:28:00.000-08:00

Mid 60s, lots of sunshine,, the daffodils are starting to bloom,, the bluebirds sat watching me thru the window,,, and this morning,, I heard the damn hawks screaming. I was hoping maybe since I cut down an adjacent tree they would go nest elsewhere,, but they were back,, investigating the old homesite.

Debate

2008-02-15T14:14:00.000-08:00

I thought about whether or not to post anything and decided to wait until the outcome, but things went smooth this week. I had an ovarian mass that had to be removed along with the other associated feminine body parts and everything went well. It was benign and I only spent two days in the hospital! I am one tough old broad if I do say so myself.

Migraines

2008-02-09T12:24:00.000-08:00

I think my 18 hour migraine has finally let go of my brain. Went to bed with it last night after taking some medicine- woke up early to take more medicine (this was good,, I checked on a sow who was heavy pregnant,, found that she had been in labor for some time,, had to pull the first baby,, first and fourth were dead, middle two alive but depressed,,, sow depressed,,). After dealing with sow I proceeded to throw up,, I get so nauseated when I have migraines,, tried eating, lying down- shutting out light and noise- and finally, it seems to have decided to move on- hopefully not to your brain. Oh happy day!

Fundy Hair

2008-02-08T10:11:00.000-08:00

It has been several months I think since Schell and I were both in the BS at the same time. We were discussing hair, and I said that I had long hair,, she asked if it was Fundy hair,, I replied no,, mainly inertia hair. I haven't a clue what to do with it, and so let it grow. This is my daily uniform: blue jeans, athletic shoes (someone was optimistic when they named them!) and fleece sort of jacket over a teeshirt. I tried rotating the picture, but it made me look very short and hefty,, which I can manage all on my own thank you!

Veterinary Meeting

2008-02-06T11:05:00.001-08:00

Went to a veterinary continuing ed meeting today,, good topic- vomiting and diarrhea. Learned a few new things, none of which are pertinent to my area of interest,, picked up a couple of books,, zoonoses($46) and wildlife and zoo medicine($150). Good stuff. Now,, off to clean pigs. Gonna save these books for an event coming up. More about that later. Maybe.

Man in Tree

2008-01-31T07:42:00.000-08:00

Men in Trees

2008-01-28T17:28:00.000-08:00

I had the tree folks out today to take down five trees: four pine and one sweetgum. They brought in this crane to get them down- the pines were about 85 feet tall.

The fellow cutting down the trees would get hauled up into the trees with the crane. He was incredible. They took the trees out in sections. I must say it is rather amazing to watch large lengths of trees pass over the top of your house.

Bedding

2008-01-15T11:47:00.000-08:00

This morning I went out to Tractor Supply to get bedding,, 25 40# sacks of pelleted pine called Equine Pine and then five bales of pine shavings. That is over half a ton. I helped the fellow load it and then I stacked it in my garage for storing. Is it any wonder that my elbow hurts? The litter of six continues to do well and gain weight. The least 'un has gained about 18 grams! It's afternoon already and I haven't started my pen cleaning. In an effort to lose wt I have gone to tea drinking instead of coffee. I can drink tea without milk and sugar,, but I like my coffee sweet and white. Nothing beats a cup of coffee- especially this time of day -when I am starting to run out of gas, though. Time to press on.

Today had a few highs

2008-01-09T16:47:00.000-08:00

but was generally business as usual. Etta May pig had six babies around noonish. Little bits. It has been awhile (or should that be a while) since any of my sows have had six and all of them alive, but tiny. Mom is experienced so she will do her best, but with six, you need to supplement some- well, that's my philosophy anyhow. The rest of the day was the usual feed, water and clean. And! I did a load of whites! How decadant of me. Now I just have to go fold them- I'm talking serious fun, can't you tell?

Splat

2007-12-29T13:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went to pick up my pallet of pig feed from the Conway Freight depot. I order what I consider the best food in the country from a small mill up in South Whitley, IN. In unwrapping the clear plastic wrap from the waist high pallet that was sitting on the forklift, my address page blew away. Being a confirmed non-litterer, I leapt to get it before the wind could carry it much farther away and in the process I managed to catch my upper thigh on one of the prongs of the forklift. And as I was falling, I thought, damn, this is gonna be ugly. It wasn't too bad, I landed on one hip and a hand, didn't tear my clothes, just an ugly bruise on my inner thigh,, up high,, i was thinking,, this is a good thing i am not a man. The poor fellow helping me about had a cow, he couldn't help me enough and wouldn't let me load up any of the feed, and kept asking if he could do anything for me or summon any help. I assured him that the only thing damaged, and that only slightly, was my dignity. But hey, it takes more than a fall to embarrass me much anymore. He was more upset than me, bless his heart,,, I hope he didn't have to fill out an incident report! Trouble is with trifocals,, sometimes what you don't see below a certain point simply doesn't exist,, like the tine on this forklift.

An Early Christmas

2007-12-23T18:55:00.000-08:00

Due to family circumstances, we celebrated Christmas today (Sunday). Tomorrow daughter works and then goes with her boyfriend to his house to celebrate Christmas with his family- husband is on call Christmas Eve and Christmas, so we may or may not see him. Wednesday both of them are back to work. Son will stay here until when(?) and then drive down to Georgia to see his peach. We got up, opened presents, snacked our way thru the midday; they all went to see I Am Legend while I finished getting dinner ready. At seven we had the big Christmas meal. One guest over. He had never seen a Wii in action, so we are having a round robin playing various games and having liquid Christmas cheer. We also had a tiny bit of rain, which we rejoiced in. We are anticipating tighter water restrictions this coming week. They had an article on the TV about how urine is sterile and not flushing is no big deal. And there was a local news station who had an on the street interview asking folks about what they felt about using a public toilet that had not been flushed. Most said, oh, anything to do our part,, but at least one lady was honest and said she thought it was a little bit gross. The new slogan is "if it's yellow, let it mellow". I think they could come up with something better- I have a few suggestions, but they likely wouldn't pass the censors. Merry Christmas to you and yourn. HA!

Saturday

2007-12-15T17:37:00.000-08:00

This morning I went to a charity rabbit show about 50 miles from here. All the proceeds from the show and various raffles and dessert contests go to the Angel Tree at the Community College where it was held. The Angel Tree there holds the names of children of students from the college who would have a bleak Christmas otherwise. Lots of folks attending CC here go on scholarships or help of some sort and many don't have two extra nickels to rub together. Anyhow, I thought it was a nice gesture. Some of the judges donate their time or reduce their fee to help. I entered a pig in the DQ rabbit class,, where the judges try to spot all the DQs on various animals. Obviously, being a pig in a rabbit show is pretty easy to spot, but the judges and exhibitors had a good laugh. We aren't a sophisticated lot, but we know how to have a good clean fun. Like putting a rabbit on a grid where the squares are numbered,, and then folks buy a square. The first poop from the rabbit in a square, that squareholder wins. What? I never inquired.

Finished

2007-12-08T18:05:00.000-08:00

My mother finished up her radiation treatments. Now just to heal from the radiation burn, but she said it's getting better every day. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Sold!

2007-11-27T20:13:00.000-08:00

A few posts ago I showed you a picture of some baby pigs,, well, the one on the right, a little sow went to a new home today- a little visually impaired girl. I think she will enjoy her; the pig was very calm which was good. I survived Thanksgiving- still doing up laundry and putting away the extra bedding that was pulled out of spacebags for guests. I do think those spacebags make a lot of extra room in my linen closet and do keep bugs out,, a problem ever present here in the south. My mother in law goes home Thursday morning and then I will count myself and household back to normal. Just in time for Christmas preparations. I would say that Thanksgiving is probably a bigger "family" day for us than Christmas. Certainly a bigger feast day.

Home Again, Home Again

2007-11-13T10:32:00.000-08:00

I went to the Carroll County/ Southern Maryland shows this weekend up at the Ag Center in Westminster, MD. The best I could do was Best of Breed and Best Opp Sex of Breed in American Satins. I did not see Jilly and Mandolin, but TM Mandolin did very well. Mother in law flying in on Thursday, so I am busy cleaning and getting things arranged for the visit.

Halloween

2007-11-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

We only had five children come for trick or treat- four with a dad, and a singleton with dad. Second kid was one that hubby delivered. Some kids that he has delivered are old enough now to have their own kids- I think he has done a few of those. We're old. It was a lovely night for begging.

Can't think of catchy title

2007-10-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

Got back from the ARBA national convention about 10 days ago. I was away from home for 9 days- I can't remember the last time I was away for so long. I had best of variety and best opp sex of variety in White Americans which for a national show is good. The convention was held in Grand Rapids, MI- right across the river from the Gerald Ford museum. I did not go visit. Probably the worst thing about the convention was the parking- you paid 6.50 every time you left so when we would get there in the morning, we would stay there until everything we needed to see/do was done for the day. I went to a judging conference, purchased such items as feed cups and breeding chart, was consulted on various aspects of guinea pig health and pulled a stone from an aby sow's urethra (yes, that was rather spectacular) with a fellow collegue. The little gal who owned the pig is an aspiring vet and when it was all over I told her this was a fine lesson- to remember that the difference between being a hero or a heel is sometimes a very thin line. Going and coming I went through Ravenswood, WVa and thought of RS. Athens was my halfway point in the trip which was two days driving each way. My mother has started her radiation treatments and seems to be doing well. I think some of the problems such as skin burns don't necessarily show up until later in the treatments or after they are finished.

SURPRISE!

2007-10-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

Sometimes they fool you. We have been feeling this sow,, yeah, she's a little bit pregnant,, not due for awhile though. When I opened up the cage door this morning to feed,,look what greeted me! I moved them to a maternity tub to make sure they bond good to mom and not to dad (no grub there, son), or the other sow (that well is dry too!) I am wildly busy this week.. I leave for Michigan on Friday, will be gone at least a week I think. National Rabbit and Pig Show. I have five entries,, but the one sow that I was most hopeful for has turned up pregnant! This is a sow that has won one best in show and about three reserves and routinely kicks ass and takes names,, but is notoriously hard to settle. She had been living in peace with a boar for about six months,, no action,, so I pulled her from the breeding pen and put her by her lonesome. This past week,, she is very full,, and I could probably still show her, but these pups are more important than any award she might get,, so she stays home. I do have a replacement for her,, but side by side, a poor substitute.

Stuff

2007-09-29T12:05:00.001-07:00

It's been a trying week. Father in law passed away in his sleep- a blessing since he has been bedridden and mainly helpless since massive stroke in January. Due to many factors which I won't go into, my daughter and I were unable to attend the memorial service and we had to fly son up from another city which was not in the original plan. (In laws live 12 hours from us.) Husband was already scheduled to go up, a strange turn of events, so his airline tickets and plans were already in place. My mother gets her basic total body scan next Friday and finds out if she is going to be required to do chemo in addition to her radiation. Originally that was not even thought to be a possibility, but is on the table now. One of my favorite sows, Gladys is toxic with a bellyful of babies which today I can't get to move,, so it may be a bellyful of dead babies. I am force feeding her and giving her fluids, but these situations are always grim.

Greensboro

2007-09-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday in conjunction with the Guilford Co fair, the Sandhills Rabbit Fanciers and the NCCavy Breeders Assoc. held a double show. It was not a large gathering,, only 70+ pigs, but,, I won Best In Show both shows with an American Solid Silver Sr. boar. This is not an animal that I bred, but rather bought back in January and he has come along nicely. For a reward, he got a sow,, which he is ignoring. Some cavies are,, well,, just pigs when it comes to breeding,, lots of noise and disorder,, some are gentlemen,, you never know when the deed is done, you just see the sow getting more rotund,, and then, there is a rather substantial group that simply isn't interested in females at all. Hopefully he is not one of those. The next show for me is the national ARBA show in Grand Rapids, MI,,, I have been trying to find an Appalachian State tee shirt to wear.

Happy Anniversary

2007-09-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

My folks have been married for 56 years today. When I called them,, my father always says the same predictable thing,, well, Mom has had X number of years to regret marrying me. The truth is that they have been a blessing to each other, and they know it. They each can be difficult and stubborn, but have made each other's life fuller and richer. It is a great boon to be born into a stable household and I recognize this more and more the older I get. June and Alan- many happy returns- I love you and you me. Thank goodness we say it.

Tennessee State Fair Shows

2007-09-09T15:03:00.000-07:00

It was an 1100 mile roundtrip out to Nashville this weekend for the shows at the Tennessee State Fair. I had one best in show with an American Satin Cream Sr Boar. The big news is that TM Mandolin was best jr of breed in both shows! Very promising little sow. Next weekend, the Guilford Co fair, only about 70 miles from here.

A Post that seems surreal

2007-09-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

My mother's breast cancer has recurred. 20 years ago she had a modified radical mastectomy and had the right breast and a million lymph nodes removed (they weren't doing sentinel nodes at that time, they just took every lymphnode in your armpit that they could find). About 7-8 years ago, she got cancer in the other breast and had that one also removed. Six weeks ago she felt something strange above the scar on the right side, doctor was unable to feel it, but had her come back in a month and he thought maybe he could feel something. Anyhow, he went after some tissue and to his credit came up with the little tiny bit that is cancerous. Very small. So she is having a wide local excision next Wednesday. And radiation. And, I simply cannot get my mind around this. I thought she was home free on this issue. It's like the Grinch that stole Christmas.

Rats

2007-08-31T08:57:00.000-07:00

I just got back from having surgery done on one of my rat girls,, she had mammary gland tumor and I have a wonderful collegue and fellow OSU graduate (those are the best kind!) over in Chapel Hill who did the honors for me (and yes, the coincidence of beanns having her sx today is not lost on me). It might seem frivolous to pay big bucks for a fifty cent feeder rat (we got her before her eyes were open and hand raised her), but there you go. This board is filled with folks who are nuts in one way or another,, and most of us are harmless.

Announcing

2007-08-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

TM Mandolin ear tag 521 White American Sow
TM Gracie ear tag 525 White American Satin Sow

I will try to get motivated and take their pictures.

Bedding

2007-08-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

Keeping the animals clean is a big deal. This is approximately how much bedding material I will use in a month; there are 12 more blue bags up in the caviary. I use two products, one is a pelleted pine product that I put on the bottom of the cage and then I top dress with pine shavings. My husband is very tolerant of the pigs as long as he cannot smell them and I need to keep my whites white, so no messy cages. I have a huge compost heap outside that I add to when the two rollaway cans from Waste Industries are full each week. Everything here has been mulched within an inch of its life, and the natural area is six inches deep in shavings. We are slowly turning the red clay into wonderful rich choc brown soil. I went to Tractor Supply yesterday for the bedding; tomorrow ConWay Freight is supposed to have my feed in from Whitley, Indiana. I tried using a freight company this time instead of UPS, minimum order is 500 pounds,, so I got 600 pounds and 50 pounds of toasted wheat flakes- a treat the pigs adore.

An Evening with John Prine

2007-08-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to hear John Prine at the Regency Park Amphitheatre- an outdoor venue with some reserved seating and then lawn seating beyond. We were in the very last row of seats and the view was non-existent. It was 95 degrees. They distributed handheld fans to folks to help. Patty Griffin opened and at times was really outstanding and at times pretty,, ho hum. We saw some empty seats in a totally empty section beside us and halfway thru her part of the evening, we got up and moved,, then the view was excellent,, we were in about the 9th row, off to the left. After a forty minute interlude while they reset the stage and we sweltered, out they came,, all wearing sports jackets or suits- John, David Jacques and Jason Wilber. And it was outstanding. We had heard JP either three or four years ago and his voice was pretty tired- we wondered if his health was still bothering him. They were terrific last night and performed for an hour and forty minutes. Stopped by the teeshirt booth on the way out, but all they had were black shirts and I didn't much care for them. At eleven when it ended,, it was 86 degrees. And we're looking to see when he will be this way again.

First Show of the New Season

2007-08-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

Went down to Cashiers, NC this weekend for the first pig shows of the fall season. It was unseasonably hot, but we slogged thru and no pigs died from the heat, although many were very hot and tired by the end of the shows. My pigs did OK, I had a few Best of Breeds, but no Best in Shows or Reserves. I was pleased in one class of six white American Sr Boars that the top three animals all came from my caviary. (you can get strange looks in restaurants when folks overhear you talking about breeding white Americans or black Americans) I only owned the number two animal (who was number one in the second show) having given away the number one and number three animals to youth exhibitors (I love kids and I am not afraid to say it here-or there). The national convention is coming up in October in Michigan and I have been having folks as far away as Oregon contact me about getting some stock, so that is a boost to one's ego. Verb said something about turning 50 being liberating and I will second that. I have been a rather shy nerdy person but with a dry sense of humor which I am now not worried about letting folks see. And I am getting over my inferiority complex, always worried that I don't know enough. Well, shoot,,, we all have our areas of expertise and anyhow, I am on the downhill slide of my font of knowledge, but my wisdom is much greater. Me? I would rather have a 30 year old body than the mind of a 30 year old again. Just wait, in a few years you will see where I am coming from. I've had a pretty good mind; I would give quite a bit for a pretty good body :).

The Death of a Computer

2007-08-07T06:29:00.000-07:00

At least it happened on tax free weekend. For about six months now, the fan in my computer has been making a strange noise and since it is connected to some other important part that would have to be replaced also, the decision was made for conservative therapy,, that is to say,, let 'er die. Now it seems that the video card is also starting to malfunction. As I sit here, the entire side of my computer case lies flayed open in order to keep the internal workings cool,, but actually, the fan now seems to be working. Go figure. I looked at what I wanted to order from Dell, and then went down to the kiosk in the mall,, where I got exactly what I wanted for two hundred dollars less,, free shipping and handling,, and no tax. Now I sort of wish I had put that savings into 4GB of RAM. I am a wimp and had them install XP. Why? Because my pedigree software for the pigs is best functional it seems with XP-- otherwise I would have to "tweak" the program. I am afraid that my days of tweaking anything are fairly well over. The computer tends to die at unspecified intervals and then may take days to be able to reboot, or minutes,, depending on its whim. I bought an external hard drive to transfer all my good stuff from this computer to the next. Estimated delivery- two weeks. I actually start to get anxious when I start worrying about all the things I have on this computer that I might forget about transferring.

Squirrels and their boxes

2007-08-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

In the first picture you can just make out Mama squirrel stretched out on the top of her nest box. I was hoping you could see the other box down farther in the yard in the second picture, but no such luck. We have four boxes in our backyard and have had squirrels, flying squirrels, screech owls and probably other unknowns nest in the boxes. In the top of the tree with the nest box, there is a red-tailed hawk's nest. Been coming back to the same nest for three years. Lord, what screeching goes on from them from the moment that nestling hatches until it fledges (this year only one, last year three). I threaten every year to cut down the tree. They turn the ground around the base of the tree white with their excrement- and let me tell you- we walk a wide swath around it when they are nesting. Those hawks put their little vents up to the edge of the nest and SQUIRT! They might do well in a tobacco spitting contest if allowed to use their rear ends. I tried to get a picture today of a young bluebird. I used the last of our mealworms trying to coax it in to a point where I could get a decent shot. I need to go to the bird store and get some more worms. I think 1000 of them are only 12 bucks or so. Cheap entertainment.

It's a puzzle

2007-07-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

how the dead doe came to lie in my backyard. Our backyard is completely fenced in. The back fence is about a 7 ft high solid wooden fence, the sides are wire (5 ft high) and wood. So, I know she had to come over the wire portion,, but why didn't she go right back out? I saw her down below in the wooded section and went to examine her,, getting only as close as her fly blown body would allow me to ascertain that she was a doe and that the bottom leg looked like it had what one might call road rash or street pizza marks on it. So I think she had been hit by a car. I never saw her thrash around in the backyard, and we have a birdbath out there, so she would have had water to drink had she not been mortally wounded- I think I would have noticed a live deer before she died of hunger and thirst. But I will honestly tell you, it is very disconcerting and puzzling.

Someone's been eating my hibiscus!

2007-07-16T20:14:00.000-07:00

Early this summer I bought two lovely hibiscus bushes, one a yellow, the other a deep pink. As soon as I got them home and put on the back deck, I noticed that the yellow one started missing leaves, and then branches. I have been watching the squirrels cut branches from the maple trees and drag them into their nest boxes for new nesting material, so I figured that they were the ones doing it. Well, they ARE the ones doing it, but they are EATING the hibiscus leaves like spinach. They sit up on the railing of the deck and eat the leaves with wild abandon. Now both plants are denuded and just shells of their formal glory. I was just gonna throw them out, but I figure - ah, what the heck- if they grow new leaves, just more for the squirrels to enjoy. This is a picture of a young squirrel on the railing of my deck- this spring's model. His mom will eat from our fingers and she has within the last week or so had a second litter.

Find the orphans

2007-07-14T11:26:00.000-07:00

The two little orphans are a week old today. Still small but they eat from the syringe enthusiastically. This sow had four babies on Tuesday evening and so once she got used to her own babies, I put these two in. She is a very laid back sow. This is her first litter. She tolerates the newbies and will care for them as much as she cares for any of the babies,, but she is not obsessive like some sows. If they are close, she gives them a lick. If not, that's OK too. Some sows keep their kids herded up and put in a nest. This sow is not like that. It's catch as catch can for the nippie. Some of her kids are getting supplemented too. I offer it to everyone, including the sow (who LOVES it). Be thinking of names or they will be stuck with what I come up with. These guys aren't out of the woods- and won't be in my mind until they are eating on their own and gaining wt.-but I am cautiously optimistic.

Yesterday I went to the feed store about 20+ miles from here to pick up a half ton of bedding. I left it in the 4 runner hoping husband would offload for me-which he did this morning. But he put the stuff right in front of my freezer, which means I will be shifting it soon anyhow. Oh well.

Back to folding laundry which my girl ratties enjoy helping me with.

Feed me, Mama!

2007-07-12T07:24:00.000-07:00

This is one of the babies that I am handrearing. Right now, they can take about 1 cc at a time,, probably more later. These guys come out looking just like real little pigs- born with eyes and ears open, fully furred and adult teeth already in place. Gestation is long in these guys,, it averages about 70 days for my pigs. They will get weaned at three weeks, but start nibbling solid food quickly after being born.

Hard times come again no more

2007-07-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

There are tragedies in the caviary too. For the past 10 days I had been force feeding a pregnant sow with pregnancy toxemia (not terribly uncommon, unfortunately). She was heavy pregnant as is always the case and you could see her babies kicking in her. Four times a day I would get her out and give her a "potion" to provide some nutrients for her and the kids. On Saturday night she went into labor and with assistance delivered four pups- the first two were dead and had been for at least 12 hours. The last two were alive, but small and weak. She didn't have the energy to care for them at all. I continued to force feed her, but she died yesterday morning. The two babies I have been feeding every two hours- last feeding at 2AM. Initially they looked pretty bad, but this morning I actually have some hope that they might live. We will have a shelf naming project. I believe that they are two little sows (although, keep in mind, these small parts are indeed,, small).

Frangipig

2007-07-05T11:51:00.000-07:00

Last night about midnight, Frangipig (Faranna's pigsake) went into labor and had these three little white satin babies- two boars and one sow. This morning I woke up and when I came into the caviary, another sow had had her babies as well. Everyone seems to be doing fine at this point. All they need to do now is find the nipples (2), latch on and grow. Frangipig is a very good mother and is very attentive to her babies. (I believe that there are only two shelf pigs left,, frangipig and biff)

Yesterday was pretty much like all days- this time the errand was out for rat food. The thing that is fun about the rats is that you can share your food with them. Last week I had to make a run about 50 miles away to get a pig for some other folks and I stopped by a fast food place for a fish sandwich. I ate about half of it and brought the other half home for the rats. They were in heaven!

Watermelon

2007-07-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

My days follow pretty much the same pattern: get up, check email, feed pigs, water pigs, go around with notebook to mark down which cages need cleaning, clean cages, vacuum floor. This takes up most of the morning. If I am lucky, I am done by noon. Afternoons are for errands and corresponding with fellow cavy enthusiasts. Yesterday I went to feed store to pick up 10 bales of pine shavings. They have a new feed person, so I discussed the trouble I have had with various feeds and wondering if we could get something worked out so that my feed which I order from Indiana could be freighted into their store, saving me big money on shipping costs. Right now, I get 400 pounds of feed at a time shipped UPS. The shipping is about two thirds of the cost, which is significant. It remains to be seen what can be worked out.

Today for a treat the pigs got watermelon. It is so funny to watch them draw back their lips from the cold melon while trying to sink their little teeth into it. And they slurp. When I give them lettuce and they are all crunching away on it, it sounds like rain. Right now I am about to start evening rounds, checking to see who is out of water or who might be by morning.

I have started watching the Sopranos on DVD (and it is also on A & E here I think it is). I am in the middle of season three. Had to skip over one DVD that couldn't be located at any of the stores,, but that doesn't seem to have messed up things- or maybe ignorance is bliss. Several months ago, I said I was working on a baby quilt. I am almost finished with it,, I will see the folks in August (yes, at a pig show) and will give it to them then. Kid will be almost a year old.

This is a trio of solid sows,, two are silver solids and the one on the left is a dilute(choc based) solid.

Ratatouille

2007-07-01T15:33:00.000-07:00

I saw this movie on Friday and LOVED it! It got a little draggy thru the middle section (is like an hour and 50 minutes long) but overall,, two thumbs up. Gentle Disney social commentary- as in anyone can do/be what they want with a little ingenuity, creativity and perserverance. Someday I'll try to get a picture of my rat girls and post- they don't stay still like the pigs do.

The Pig Pen

2007-06-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

I think the summer doldrums have set in- too hot to be outside, no pig shows to plan for. Summer is a time of rest and reproduction in the caviary. Pictured above are five of the seven white American senior sows shown in this class at the national Specialty show this spring. My sow won the class- see if you can pick her out.