Today started out like any other day on the farm. I opened, collected eggs and hard boiled them, prepared produce for the chickens and did some laundry. My last task of the day was to feed out the pig produce to the rescue barn pigs. I toted my buckets full of carrots, celery, cucumbers, and zucchinis up to the barn, dropped them off before entering so I could separate the pigs without them freaking out about their food arriving, and put Kiwi and Fergus into their stall. I prepared their bowls and fed them. Next were Ramona, Lassen, and Matilda. Feeding them is always a bit trickier. Balancing three bowls while trying to maneuver a latched gate and three hungry pigs is no easy feat. I made it through the gate and ran out to the pasture so the pigs would follow. They all chowed down. Sweet, I thought, mission accomplished. Not quite. While I wasn't looking Ramona finished her produce and had pushed open the unlatched gate. I threw down the empty feed bowls and bolted towards the back side of the barn and saw her trotting merrily towards the vegan house. When she noticed that I'd come up behind her she picked up her pace. I needed to get ahead of her to cut her off. Somehow I managed to jump in front of her path. We stared each other down, and I could see her little mind working. You couldn't be farther from the truth if you ever thought pigs were stupid. And Ramona is not only extremely intelligent, she is also quite stubborn. She was bound and determined to continue on the path she started on whether I was in front of her or not. She eyed me a bit longer, gave me what I now know was a mischievous grin and ran towards me. Before I knew what had happened Ramona shoved her snout between my legs and lifted me up off the ground and onto her back and kept running. It was almost as if she were saying "Hop on! We are going for a ride!" I held on for dear freakin' life! I couldn't help but laugh a little bit as this was happening because I'm sure it looked hilarious! After a few seconds Ramona paused, lowered her snout and let me off. I ran into the vegan house, grabbed and apple and coaxed her back into the barn. What a ride. Sure made for an interesting day! I must say, I never would have imagined, in all the times I looked at Ramona's sponsor picture on my fridge, that one day I'd be given a piggie back ride by her!
Anyways, I also wanted to show off these pictures of me feeding produce to the chickens. Stephanie was out and about taking photos and was able to get some pretty good candid ones :)
Don't think I even need to say it, but I'm loving every day here more and more!
Well, I'm no expect in the area of farming or pig-rustling so I'll give you a ton of credit for handling that experience with a smile. I'm just glad the pig's actions didn't signal an animal revolt of some type. You never know when the animals might decide to overthrow the farm's government and seize control. I only know that that if it was me, I'd have been trampled to death by Ramona's sausage toes.
ReplyDeleteIt actually sounded rather cartoon-like the way you described it. I'm pretty Tom & Jerry had a similar experience. You know, you might be on to a new mode of transportation if you could figure out how to steer the sow. While you're at it, those chickens might be able to get you airborne! Enjoy the farm!