Quote of the Day: Joseph Harris
“It is, nevertheless, a fact, that there is no more docile or tractable animal on a farm than a well-bred pig.”
-Joseph Harris in Harris on the Pig: Practical Hints for the Pig Farmer
Yesterday we went to visit a local pig farm and I put down my deposit on 2 piglets. The farm was wonderful. You could see how much Mary loved her pigs.
The pigs were all happy as clams, out on large areas of forage. They had cozy warm houses and lots of hay.
This farm breeds heritage pigs, she has Red Wattle, Large Black and Guinea hogs. The piglets I ordered are a mix of the three, that should make for meaty pigs with a good layer of lard.
Now I just have to start making the rest of the preparations needed for our future piggos. There are a few things I need to buy and a few things that need done to make pig keeping a little easier this year. We’re really looking forward to having them, being out at the farm reminded us of how much fun the pigs were to have around.
Have you ever spent time a lot of pigs?
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So Long Christmas
I finally took down the Christmas tree yesterday. We figured we’d leave it up as long as it was still fresh. I noticed a few dropped needles, so we decided it was time.
This year I decided to minimize my Christmas things and only keep the things that have been used the past few years. This is pretty much it for my Christmas decor, it fits in two small boxes. One strand of big white lights, about 25 etched glass bulbs, a few tiny glass teardrops and a metal star. There is one other box of extra Christmas lights that I save for the extra bulbs and in case I decide to put lights up outside some year. There are also 3 small nativity sets that are in a different box. The remaining 4 totes of Christmas things are all going into the giveaway pile.
It’s very liberating to get rid of so many things. This year, I’m hoping to slowly weed through all the extra stuff we have accumulated. I’ll be painting the indoor rooms, and as I move from room to room I’m planning on being ruthless about paring down to only the things I need or love.
Do you have any goals to minimize this year?
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Friday Favorite: Actual Fridays
Someone pointed out that my Friday Favorite post yesterday was actually posted on Thurs. For some reason I thought it was Friday, no doubt all the late nights recently have been catching up with me. Or perhaps it’s my fault for not making/ordering a Chiot’s Run calendar this year!
Now that Mr Chiots and I have quit filming wedding, Fridays actually mean a weekend is coming up. Even though we often still work on the weekends, we’ve been trying hard to take time off on both Saturday and Sunday. It’s rather nice now that Fridays mean there will be a few days off!
Do you ever get mixed about which day it is?
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Friday Favorite: Being Warm & Toasty
We definitely stay warm & toasty all winter long thanks to all the work we put in cutting & splitting firewood. It’s that time of the year to start working on the wood we’ll be using this coming winter. Mr Chiots has been out the past few weekends cutting down a few trees close to the house that are half dead and have been dropping large branches when it’s windy. Some of them are pine trees which we won’t be using for firewood, but one was a nice big cherry tree. Most of it will heat our home, but there’s one nice piece that he’s going to mill into lumber for further furniture.
Harvesting your own firewood is a lot of work, but it’s satisfying work. Mr Chiots usually cuts down all the trees and when the splitter comes out I step in and help out. It’s a great chore because it makes you get outside in the winter when you might not otherwise. We always enjoy the days we spend splitting & stacking, usually we try to pick a beautiful sunny winter day if possible.
Every year we hope to get a little extra wood put up to get a year or two ahead. That way, should injury or some unforeseen circumstance prevent us from doing it we’d still have enough wood on hand for the winter.
Last year we stacked some of our wood in holz hausens and really loved the look and technique. We’ll be stacking all of our wood in these as we cut this winter.
Do you or have you ever helped with cutting/splitting/stacking of firewood?
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Sad Chickens
I must say, a molting chicken is not a beautiful thing. Some chickens molt a little more gracefully than others. I’ve had a few chickens and you can’t even tell when they molt, they must lose their feathers here and there and the new ones grow back quickly. Then there are other chickens, like Sandy, our poor Wyandotte lady.
This poor lady was in the thick of her molt when the weather was dipping down into the negative 20’s. Poor girl, she looked terrible, she hardly had a feather left on her. Luckily, by the time I took this photo her feathers were starting to grow back in. I almost brought her inside, but then I worried that would not be good for her. I did keep a close eye on her to make sure she wasn’t shivering. Lucky for her, she’s the favorite of Mr Rooster and has the prime roost spot right next to him. She snuggles up close to him every night, no doubt this helps keep her warm.
I’m glad her feathers are finally growing back in. She’s the most beautiful chicken in our flock, I’d love to hatch some of her eggs this coming year.
Have you ever seen a chicken in molt?
