Splat

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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.