Yes, Yes

We got a new rat baby. Kibbles.

Cannon

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!

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

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

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

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

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.