Sometimes, you just have to abuse your overdraft

When I sent the five pigs off for slaughter, the sale of one paid for all the slaughter costs, one went to the guys for the rent on the field and the other three were divided up between five friends. I’m still waiting to be paid for one and a half, but the rest of the money went into the bank, and I originally intended to use it for useful and practical things like buying food or paying off debts.

But then I had a thought. (Yes, just the one. You at the back, stop giggling.)

Since I have this whole panic-attack-when-I-leave-the-house thing going on, I need stuff to keep me busy and/or occupy my mind when I’m in said house and there’s only so many times a day that you (ie me) can do the washing up – or any sort of cleaning, for that matter.

I’ve always loved reading, and rarely need an excuse to cram some more novels onto the bookshelves, and so I spent a wonderful afternoon browsing the book sections of some local charity shops, in addition to the ones I got for my birthday.

However, I’m having a few concentration issues, in that my mind tends to wander after about twenty minutes or so, so reading isn’t always the answer.

DVDs, on the other hand, are spot on, especially TV series.

And that is why I recklessly and shamelessly abused my overdraft and am now the proud owner of, amongst other titles, the complete Friends box set, the complete Buffy box set, seasons 1-5 of NCIS, the complete Band of Brothers, and season 4 of Bones.

Yes, I know. But in my defence, each and every one of those was a bargain!

What’s more, every penny I spent on them has been justified. I already owned the complete West Wing box set and have worked my way through that, leaving the final season for another time, just to make it last (*sniff*). I’ve watched seasons 1-3 of NCIS and the same for Friends.

I’ve decided to give crime and comedy a break and am now making my way through Band of Brothers, a show I wish I’d watched much, much sooner.

However, my timing was slightly off as I didn’t realise it starred David Schwimmer. The last I saw him, he was picking between Rachel and Bonnie at the beach house, then I went to cook up some sausages and scrambled eggs and hey presto, Ross had gone back in time and was Captain of Easy Company. And no, I don’t know what I put in those eggs…!

It’s where I go next that’s got me puzzled. Should I sit down with Bones, or go back to NCIS, Friends or The West Wing? Alternatively, I also own seasons 1-3 of Bad Girls, which I haven’t watched for years, so I could always settle down with Nikki and Helen…

But what about Buffy, I hear you cry…

Well, Ally’s husband, B, has been muttering something about his data projector and the rather large wall in their living room. Which sounds great to me, just so long as he realises that I saw Willow first. 😀

Ah, that’s better!

I only managed two hours sleep last night but today is already a better day … my head feels quite clear and I am more or less ready to take whatever the day throws at me.

So … what to blog about?

The pigs, I think.

It’s two weeks since I sent the five Kune Kunes off to the abattoir and ten days since the epic trip to collect and distribute hundreds of kilos of pork. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a Picasso sink to its knees and beg for mercy, but mine came close. The boxes of meat just kept coming … and then there were the bags containing the “bits”. You know – heads, trotters, ribs etc.

Thankfully, we were able to leave three pigs (who shall remain nameless) in Wales and returned back across the Severn Bridge and down the M5 with just two.

I didn’t keep any, still having a freezer full of Bailey, Harold and the last bits from Vicky and Albert, but I have been sampling Ally’s pork and home-made bacon and ham, which has simply reaffirmed my belief that Kune Kunes are the ideal smallholder’s pig. Yum!

I miss my pigs. I miss having pigs. I miss giving them belly rubs and watching them eat. I miss the sound of them snuffling in a fresh bed of straw. I miss their curiosity and intelligence. I miss their friendship.

But I know that I am not in a place where I can look after myself, right now, let alone livestock. I can just about cope with the dogs. But that’s my lot.

So giving them up was the mature, sensible and wise decision.

I can even cope with the thought of selling my Eglu Cube (see here if you are interested) but the thought of selling the pig arks hurts too much at the moment. Maybe I’ll keep them – maybe not. We’ll see.

The five adults and Snipe - 27 November 2009

Curly, Pinky and the piglets - 21 December 2009

I do know one thing: after delivering all that meat and sampling the end result, my days as a pig keeper are not over by a long shot.

Finally, some news about Fergie and Brini. Gardening girl, who is looking after them has described them as “the BIGGEST time wasters ever 😆 Everyone loves them, they talk to you 😳 The OSBs that are going on Thursday just don’t have such characters.”

Good news!!

Farewell to the pigs

Yesterday was not a Good Day.

I took two loads of pigs to the abattoir, Curly, Pinky and Perky in the first load, then Tia and Scrumpy.

I pick the meat up on Friday.

Brini and Fergie were saved, because Fergie is too small and Brini makes an ideal companion for her as she is (a) kind to the little pig and (b) is not a natural-born trouble-maker. They are now living in luxury in east Somerset.

I cried when I got home.

Not a Good Day.

Kune Kune porkers and sows for sale in south Wales

Due to a change in circumstances, I need to drastically reduce the size of my (unregistered) Kune Kune herd, porkers and adults alike.

They are all extremely friendly, bucket trained, electric fence trained, wormed, and are currently living outside.

They are also rather tasty, whether as sausages, chops or the extra guest at Sunday dinner. The last porkers that I sent off at 6 months came back at approximately 70ish kg, which is equivalent to half a British pig!

Unregistered KKs tend to go in the region of £40-£60 but I’m open to offers on them all…

2 x proven sows (black and white), aged 3
1 x barren gilt (black and white), unknown age, at least 4

1 x maiden sow (ginger), home bred, aged 16 months
1 x gilt (ginger), home bred, aged 16 months

1 x boar (ginger), home bred, aged 16 months

3 x female porkers (ginger), home bred, aged 3 months, ready to kill from 6 months
3 x male porkers (ginger), home bred, aged 3 months, ready to kill from 6 months

Tia, Brini, Perky, Fergie and Scrumpy - 3 November 2009

Pinky, Curly and the piglets - 13 December 2009

Fergie in the snow!

Hmm, I don’t think Fergie’s particularly impressed with the change in weather…

Jo and Fergie - 21 December 2009

Fussy pig, she won’t like it when the snow and ice turn back to rain and mud!

The end of the world as I know it…

Just a brief post to say that B and I parted company over the weekend. Yes, the timing sucks. No, I haven’t got a clue what comes next. As we slip from one decade to the next, I shall be single, homeless and jobless. Ok, so it’s not as dramatic as it sounds, but in the wee hours it sure feels like that! It’s an opportunity, or so I’m told, to do anything, to go anywhere. Here’s hoping, right?!

Thankfully I am surrounded by wonderful friends to whom I owe bucketfuls of thanks.

Here’s the most recent photo of the piglets, to end on a good note:

Pinky, Curly and the piglets - 13 December 2009

Remember when …

… the sun was shining and the grass was green?

No, me neither.

Unbelievably, this was taken just three weeks ago:

The five adults and Snipe - 27 November 2009

All that green is now a sea of mud into which the pigs sink. On a dryish day it tickles their knees. When it’s raining, it laps at their bellies.

Apparently, we’re having a dry spell for the weekend. Here’s hoping…

Get well soon, Perky!

Oh dear, having just dealt with the lame cat, I’ve now got a lame pig 😦 Poor old Perky, she’s currently hobbling round on three pins, while we wait for the vet to arrive. I’m hoping she’s just bruised her foot (somehow) and that a swift recovery is just round the corner.

Wait and see, that’s all I can do.

Ho hum 😦

Snipe and Perky - 17 November 2009

Straw thieves!

Having bought some new straw on Sunday, I cleaned out the piglets’ ark, a necessary task every few days as they’re still being toilet trained. Although they tend to go to the loo outside, they do go inside as well, presumably at night – especially with all this rain bucketing it down!

So, having cleaned out the wet straw, I gave them about three-quarters of a bale, and left them to it, playing in the suddenly much bigger bed, eating the heads of barley, throwing it about and generally enjoying themselves (their fun was abruptly halted when Pinky and Curly saw what was going on and booted the piglets out so that they could play!).

I then took a second bale down to the sows and gilts, nearly slipping in the mud en route but thankfully managing to stay upright! I only intended to give them about half of the bale, topping it up again later in the week but, being pigs, they had other ideas. I put the bale in the ark, pulled the old straw to the front, which is where the rain comes in, cut the string, carefully removed half, and put the half I wanted to keep in the corner, and set about shaking the sections up. That done, I turned round …. and saw that Perky and Scrumpy had taken matter into their own trotters and had done the same to the other half! I thought they were enjoying the straw that I was shaking about the ark but no, they were making sure they got the whole bale, not half.

So they got the whole bale, though I did tell them that this means they won’t be getting a top up for at least a week.

I don’t think they cared…

Perky in the pig ark - 15 November 2009

A blustery November!

It’s a windy but sunny day today, what a change from all the rain we’ve been having. I’m seriously thinking about buying some lifejackets and arm bands for the pigs, just in case!

Mind you, the rain did hold off long enough earlier this week for me to move both the piglets and the adults onto dry, fresh and green ground, though how long it will stay like that is anyone’s guess (for what it’s worth, mine is ‘not long’).

The adults couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw where they were going and haven’t stopped grinning (or stuffing their faces) since then:

Tia, Brini, Perky, Fergie and Scrumpy - 3 November 2009

The break in the weather didn’t hold for long:

Dark clouds over the field - 4 November 2009

And here’s the cutest piglet photo ever:

The piglets - 5 November 2009

But this is the funniest:

Don't ask. Just don't ask!

If they’re like this at 6 weeks, what will they be doing at 6 months?!!