A Change Of Plan

An opium poppy sport that self-seeded. I love these surprises.

Last night, I had decided that I would take the train to Belfast. Knowing it was going to be a hot day, I gave some thought to what I should wear, especially when it came to choosing the right footwear. Warm weather calls for sandals but tramping pavements calls for something tougher. So I dubbined my Blundstones. So what if there's a heatwave.

This morning, I decided not to go. It was already too warm at eight o'clock. Instead, I went to Tesco and the Oxfam shop in Ballymena and was home before midday. The remainder of the day I spent outside, watering, weeding, deadheading, planting, potting on and more watering. And I wore sandals.

Much of the day was also spent keeping an eye on Rusty. He’s not well. The antibiotics gave him a lift for about a week, but he’s in decline again - sleeping more, eating and drinking less. The heat is hard on him. He had to be checked often, moved to the shade, and encouraged to sip water. He’s an old boy now. Kune kune pigs usually live 12 to 15 years, and Rusty turned 15 back in April.

 

There will be no journeys abroad tomorrow apart from picking up milk and the Saturday Guardian early morning. For it is Orangeman's Day and this year one of the parades will be in Cullybackey. We'll be home all day listening to the sound of distant (Lambeg) drums.

September 4th

We had six callers this evening come to look at the pigs. One of them was Curtis who is a long-time fan of Rusty and Lily. You could even say they've grown up together. It is Curtis' auntie who wants to get a couple of kune kune piglets and he told her that he knew where she could see some fully grown ones. Rusty and Lily had retired for the night but the smell of freshly cut oranges soon roused them from their bed to meet their visitors.

Curtis and Rusty

At first Curtis' auntie was surprised at how big they were but we pointed out that it's not that they're actually especially big, they're just wide. We held nothing back. They break out. They're rough. A male will rip the side out of a collie dog with his tusks. They steal food. It was no good. The sheer cuteness of Rusty and Lily could not be denied. They just won everyone's hearts.

Martha and kune kunes

Aren't they cute?

A Bit of a Scare

Friday was our annual day trip to Portrush and although it was tiring I think we all enjoyed the outing. It's a family tradition. The grandchildren take grandparents and Aunt Hannah to Barry's Amusements where they go on all the rides. This was our third year and we found that Miss Martha is an unrepentant thrill-seeker. In 2015 she did not disdain the teacup carousel, this year she was saddened that she is still not tall enough for the big dipper. She was just big enough for a very scary ride that practically turns a person upside down and which bears signs warning folk that the contents of their pockets will fall out. Poor Evie was far too small to go on it but at least she was standing handy when the pound coins started falling at her feet. An extra two quid to spend on sweets.

Hannah and I had a couple of gins and elderflower when we got home and a bit of good craic. I was just thinking what a good day it had been when Bert came in and told me that Rusty had had a "massive heart attack". I went out to see him convinced he'd be dead or dying before I got there. He wasn't but he did look a bit petered out and and was breathing really heavily.

Apparently they'd had the usual piggy row at supper-time and Rusty had been shoulder-charging Lily out of the way when he'd given a squeal and (so Bert said) leapt two feet into the air, then fell over on his side and started gurgling. Bert rolled him the right way up and he managed to get on the four trotters and stood there breathing noisily. I fetched him an orange (his favourite) and he ate it, then moved into his sleeping quarters. We left them to it and honestly, I thought he'd be dead in the morning.

It was the first thing I thought of when I woke at five a.m. and I went out to check. Both pigs were sleeping, breathing normally and I went to tell Bert. He said he'd been out at midnight and they were both settled.

Pigs are not early risers so it was after midday that we let them out. I thought they shouldn't go to their usual field as it's a bit of a walk. Instead I put them into a secure area behind the sheds. There's not much decent grass but there's is water, shelter and a pile of dung. They both had an orange. And fell asleep.

I checked on them later. It was such a lovely warm afternoon and they'd found a sweet spot on the edge of the dunghill. They are pigs after all.

He seems OK today. Ate more oranges. This evening Bert reported that they are back to fighting over food and that Rusty was shoulder-charging Lily again.

Yet I'm not sure that Rusty would have been capable of jumping two foot into the air. I wonder if Bert was exaggerating. He does have a tendency to make things seem worse than they are. Whatever came over Rusty on that evening he seems to have got over it and may live to fight another day.

Every Picture: Pig Walks

Holly is in this picture too

Ah... the memories. When Rusty and Lily were little pigs they would go for walks with me up the back lane. They associated Nellybert with food and would follow us anywhere. Obviously, we wouldn't take them off the property as pigs cannot be moved without forms being filled out and permission granted etc. etc. Imagine having to apply to the government every time you wanted to take a dog for a walk.  They still hang out that back lane and the fields and woods that the lane leads to but no further than that as they are good and law abiding pigs.

I took a walk there yesterday with Ziggy, Roy and Holly de Cat. We tramped around a field, explored the wood for a bit and I took a few photographs. We spotted the pigs in the distance but they were their usual boring, grass munching selves so we paid them no mind.

Roy had important things to do and kept his distance. I don't think he actually approves of cats coming on walks.

Ziggy did not mind Holly being there

Eighteen Pig Gardens

Another super day, literally not a cloud in the sky. I made great progress with my new perennial garden, with only a dozen or so more to plant. And a path to lay. Fitting then, that the eighteenth most viewed image on my Flickr today is one of my old perennial garden which was taken seven years ago. Between one thing and another that old garden got out of control. When Matty was sick I neglected it and it only takes a couple of years of neglect to create huge problems. Last year I painstakingly cleared it of pernicious weeds, mainly bindweed and couch grass. Then Bert suggested rotovating it. This was a really big mistake for the bindweed spread. It only takes a smidgin of root to start it off. I got disheartened, too disheartened to replant. My current plan is to lay cardboard and mulch and then only plant huge sturdy plants and shrubs. I'll start on that project when the new perennial garden is finished.

Nelly's Garden 2008, 850 views

Lily, 305 views

The eighteenth most interesting picture is the young Lily gazing up at the photographer and wondering when the next tasty titbit would be coming. That was five years ago and she was still a stripling. Still looking for tasty titbits. If the pigs don't get a treat as they enter the grazing paddock they break out. Give them half an orange or a carrot and they graze contentedly until bedtime. All is right with their world. Sometimes I wonder if it is actually the animals that train us.

29 Years Of Dogs, Cats, Pigs, Horses and Chickens

I have had a very lively few days with hosting playdates and having Leitrim sister to stay. She returned home this morning but there was still one thing left to do. Nellybert went into town to meet some very distant Scottish cousins of his. You know I'm not even sure if they were cousins but there is certainly some connection. Bert has a very confusing family. Far out cousins were always getting married to each other and motherless children were reared by other families. Old widow women abounded and they were moved from house to house to help out until such times they became too demented and were looked after in their last house until they died. So nobody is sure who is related to who. Which is why they are always seeking each other out.

I think I prefer my kind of family where one knows exactly who one is related to and there is no need to seek each other out as we have Facebook and funerals to refresh our connections. I have over 50 first cousins and probably far more second cousins, not to mention more than a hundred first cousins once and twice removed. That is as far as I am prepared to go for it is safe to assume that I am probably distantly related to every Catholic in Ireland and a good few Protestants and Jews as well.

So, when I got home from the distant Scottish cousin thing I planted iris, aquilegia, foxgloves and some sort of blue and pink thing that Howard gave me. I cannot remember what it was called, he did tell me, but I do remember what size it would grow to and that is far more important. It got very cold for outdoor work so I planted nine broad bean plugs in the polytunnel. I'm still very behind.

And now to Flickr which is brought to you by the number 11.

The 11th most interesting photograph has featured already.

19 years worth of pets, 1,003 views

It's the 11th most viewed image on my Flickr and featured on  a blog post from 2005. Well overdue an update.

Row 1: Holly de Cat, Big Bad Fred and Rusty. All still part of the family.

Row 2: Lily, Judy and Charlie. Lily and Judy still here. Charlie broke my heart. We only had him six months.

Row 3: Jess, Roy and Plum. Charlie's departure left a space for Jess. Roy, we've had for a month but he has fitted in well. Plum, represents all the chickens. We had him for five years or more. He flew out of the hen house one morning, cleared the fence, then the hedge and was never seen again.

And lastly, Bonnie. I miss her every day.

Cattle, Kittens and Baby Pigs

My Flickr photograph with the second most views is this one of Rusty and Lily when they were very small indeed. They are nowhere near as cute these days. This picture has had 3,042 views. As far as I know it has not been nicked, not according to Tineye anyway.

This one of Holly sleeping in the decoration box is my most viewed picture with 6,835 views. It has also been widely 'borrowed'. I've found it on Christmas sites, interior decoration sites, Pinterest and, of course, lots of cat lover sites. For some reason it is very popular in Russia. It is also rated the second most interesting picture. 

And just to keep the thing going, here is a link to my number one most interesting picture. Bunch of cattle standing in a field, 1,942 views. Yawn.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/17223773@N00/2605884758/

Poorly Pig Tale

Rusty got sick last weekend and at first we thought it was a return of the pneumonia that he suffered from when he was a little pig. We got a shot from the vet and put him under an infra red lamp. It was a bad sign that he just stood there and took the shot. Poor thing was too weak to struggle.

Lily made all our lives difficult. It is so hard to nurse a sick pig when there is another one vying for attention, the warmest part of the enclosure and all the food so we decided to separate them.

He was completely off food and would not drink so we brought the vet out the following day. His verdict was that Rusty had 'got a foundering' and we were to give him warm liquids and tie a blanket around him. His temperature was low and he got another shot to prevent him from taking anything while his resistance was low, He needed to be warmer. So we built him a little den within a stall with rubber matting and piles of cardboard on the floor. It was lined with bales of hay and he had piles of straw bedding. This kept the heat in as did the blanket tied round his big round middle. He still wasn't eating or drinking but he was starting to feel warmer.

Rusty on the mend

The next morning I went out half expecting him to be dead but when I went into the house there were morning snuffles and grunts coming from both sides. Rusty was up and he felt considerably warmer. He took a decent amount of water and afterwards a bowl of warm mash which he wolfed down. While all this was going on Lily was squealing with rage so as soon as I'd finished with Rusty she got her breakfast too. I went indoors to tell Bert the good news.

I had the dentist that day and while I was out I stocked up on strawberries, grapes and bananas for the patient. As soon as I got back I was hand feeding strawberries to the poorly boy while his sister raged. She got some but Rusty had most of them. Lily knew she was being short changed.

Rusty continued to eat and drink so we put them together for a while. That did not work out as Lily started to bully him. He is a great lump with big scary tusks yet he is mortally afraid of his sister. He is a far nicer pig than Lily.

I had another appointment today and while I was gone Bert tried them together again leaving a door ajar so that Rusty could escape her wrath if he needed to. After a while he heard them squealing and within moments Rusty was at the back door looking in at Bert with a beseeching 'rescue me' expression. I don't know what we are going to do. If I felt he was completely well I would let them sort it out between them but that doesn't seem fair when he is recuperating.

 The day the pigs came

People – pet pigs are not for the faint-hearted. In fact they are not for anyone who has an ounce of sense.

In other news – my hospital appointment in Belfast went very well and it seems I will be getting my cataract surgery sooner rather than later.

Strawberries are their favourite food

The Joys Of Pig-Keeping

Miss Martha is otherwise engaged for ten weeks. She is doing an important after school class in the martial arts and is likely to become a child not to be trifled with. The sad part is that her class will be on a Thursday which is her day for spending the afternoon in Cully. The jolly part is that it means we have Evie all to ourselves and, as the van only has three seats, we can have days out that include Bert. He had errands in town so we decided to pick up Evie from nursery, do the important business, then go to Cafe Couture for lunch.

Evie was convinced that she would be given a complimentary lollipop after her meal so when this didn't happen she was rather sad. So we went to Lidls and bought ice cream and other essentials.

On the way home we listened to Alan Bennett read In Which Pooh And Piglet Go Hunting And Nearly Catch A Woozle. We all enjoyed it very much. Every time we hear it I have a new best bit. Today it was...

Piglet passing the time by telling Pooh what his Grandfather Trespassers W had done to Remove Stiffness after Tracking, and how his Grandfather Trespassers W had suffered in his later years from Shortness of Breath, and other matters of interest

As we approached the end of our lane I noticed the oncoming traffic slowing down and pulling out as if to avoid something. I said to Bert,

What is it?

It's a woozle!

Unfortunately it wasn't a woozle. It was Lily. The pigs had broken out of their paddock and Lily had spotted the recycling bins at the end of the lane. No doubt thinking they were full of delicious food she went down to investigate. She overturned the bins and spread the contents around and by the time I got out of the van she had crossed the road and was trying to batter her way into another field - grass being greener and all that kind of thing. The good pig Rusty contented himself eating silage in the yard. We had got home just in time. 

Yet another rethink needed on keeping the kune kunes contained. Pet pigs? Don't even consider it!

Hey Pig-Keeper! Call that a fence?

Pigs Are Rough

It was only the other day that I was hand-feeding that brute the choicest, sweetest dates that our local greengrocery could provide. You'd think he'd show some gratitude, wouldn't you?

This is what Rusty did on my birthday. Bert was making a cake so asked me to take care of his evening chore of feeding and housing the hogs. I agreed and went to their sleeping quarters where I prepared them a supper of pig nuts, cabbage and pineapple. I then went to fetch them. First I turned off the electric fencer. The fencing is behind a length of corrugated roofing tin which is a bit makeshift and not really necessary but Bert thought it would provide an extra deterrent to their breaking out. The tin is supported by a heavy old car wheel rim. Arrangements like that are not how Clint rolls but it is very Berty.

Anyway - I was a bit fingers and thumbs with the fencing cord and couldn't get it detached. The pigs were becoming impatient, especially Rusty. I looked into his wee piggy eyes and did not like what I saw there. He was for coming through and  nothing, not electric fence or sheet of metal was going to stop him. I quickly turned to get out of his way but he charged me. The corrugated tin went flying with me on top of it. I fell to the ground. I'd had enough time to worry about getting cut on the metal or the pig getting injured but neither happened. What did happen was I hurt my shoulder and the pig ran over my arm in his haste to get to his supper. The wheel rim rolled gently down the yard just as Bert came running out. He'd heard the clattering of flying tin, wheel rim and wife. I knew he wanted to laugh but he restrained himself.

Meanwhile Lily was screaming her head off. Unlike Rusty she is mightily afraid of the electric fence and she did not know that it had been switched off. So she must have been thinking that Rusty had beat her to the supper trough and was scoffing her share of the grub. No doubt, with her super piggy senses she could hear him gobbling and smell what little was left of the pineapple.

I have been left with cloven hoof marks on my right arm and my shoulder is a bit stiff but I'll survive. Rusty is forgiven. He was just being a pig. I'll just have to be a bit more careful in future. Pigs are rough.

Sugar High

sugar high, originally uploaded by NellyMoser.

What pigs look like when they have just shared a packet of dried dates.

Beware of the Boar

Even though he is castrated Rusty has a set of tusks on him that are as sharp as knives.

Picture courtesy of El Capitan

Charlie the collie does not respect the pigs. He chases and harasses and slips in for a sneaky nip on a pig's ear, nose or bottom.  He does not listen to me and the only way to avoid it is to close him in when the pigs are being moved. Yesterday morning he got out and started his nippy behaviour. Rusty charged him, tossed him and walked over him. Charlie ran off - I didn't realise that he'd been injured.

A few hours later Ben noticed fresh blood on the kitchen floor. Charlie had just left his corner to challenge and bark at a couple of callers. The blood spots led back to his bed. I looked him over and discovered a deep gash on his hind leg. It was then that I knew that Rusty must have caught him with a tusk.

It was straight to the vet. She discovered a puncture wound as well as the gash. Poor dog got eleven stitches. You'd think it would have made him wary of the pigs. Not Charlie. He came out this evening when the kune kunes were being moved into their evening quarters and started to stalk them, cone and all. Thankfully he kept his distance. I am going to have to be very careful in future. The dog and the pig are now mortal enemies and the dog is insane.

Boiler Suit Days

Martha models her new boiler suit (Blue Castle same as Bert wears) while Rusty and Lily look on. Rusty is the sneering pig in the middle of the picture. He looks like he might be saying something hateful. Look at his twisted mouth. And Lily looks as if she's hearing some nasty comment. What do you think he might be saying?

Stringing It

New pictures in the corner. Hannah is responsible for the action pic of Dan & Rosie. She took the shot, framed the picture, sang the theme tune.

Last week I left a couple of items into Framework in Ballymena. They were an enlarged photograph of Lily and Rusty (a wee freebie from Photobox) and a poster I picked up in Burnham Market during Katy and Mark's wedding celebrations. I collected them today and was delighted with the results.

Rusty and Lily looking inquisitive

Only thing was I needed string for the hanging. Do you know how hard it is to buy string in Ballymena? Very difficult indeed. I tried Poundland and BM Bargains. No string. Lots and lots of customers there. All sorts of people too. Sign of the times. I bought interesting soup, envelopes and cheap drugs (cold remedies not crystal meth). But still there was no string.

Onwards to Sainsburys – I needed anchovies and a blouse and string. You know – your typical shopping list. Blouse easy to find, 25% off, very nice. Anchovies – wearisome and tedious trek around the entire store to find them. They were eventually located above frozen food cabinets. What is the logic? Beats me for sure. I bought four tins for God knows where they'll be next time I want them. String is not something that Sainsbury's customers have any call for. I left stringless.

Last port of call was my local garage in Cullybackey. I walked in, picked up some milk and called, “Darwin d'ye have any string?” Immediately a staff member darts to the back of the shop and comes back with the desired article. “Is that what you're after?”

At home, for the surprise of the thing, I got Bert in to open the carefully wrapped pictures of Desperate Dan, Rusty and Lily and there was the picture string already supplied. My searching had all been in vain.

My recommendations this week are for Framework, Hill Street Ballymena for a wonderful framing job and string and Hayes Garage, Dreen Road, Cullybackey for the usual great service and string.

There Are Many Ways To Put In An Evening

Bert: You've been out lying with those pigs again, haven't you?

Nelly: So what if I was? How d'ye know anyway?

Bert: You're all covered with straw up your back.

Nelly: So! What if I am?

Bert: Did they like it?

Nelly: No! They were raging at me disturbing their sleep. The tomatoes I brought them hardly made up for it.

Vittin'

When we decided to get kune kunes we did think about the health care responsibilities. We were aware we'd have to vaccinate, innoculate and operate parasite control. We knew we'd have to feed them properly. We knew that all this would cost money and we decided that we were happy to take this on.

But what i wasn't prepared for was, that barely a month in, both pigs would go from being boisterously healthy to displaying serious signs of illness. Rusty was at death's door last Friday morning. We got him to the vet immediately and she pronounced him seriously ill. His temperature was actually abnormally low which is far. far worse than being high. After a couple of shots he started to rally and was eating again before the day was out. Saturday was good. On Sunday I thought he looked low again and called the vet. she said he'd go up and down and to keep on administering the shots.

Oh the shots! Rusty hated these and so did we. Bert jabbed and I held. As Rusty continued to rally he got stronger and ever harder to restrain. By this morning he was so difficult to pin down that it was only a miracle that I didn't get the dose intended for him. Afterwards he was in a right old state, sides 'thumping' like billy-oh. I decided to call my cousin.

I have a cousin who is an excellent vet. His practice is a fair distance from where I live so he is not our vet. But, worried sick about Rusty, I decided to ask for a second opinion. He reassured me, told me that our vet was giving Rusty the same medication he'd have prescribed. advised me to continue the course and only then if we thought he wasn't doing well to ask for different treatment.

Then this evening, Rusty continues to rally, he has lost growth and Lily has outstripped him in size but I'm happy enough with his progress. Then at bedtime Lily, who only a few hours earlier was up on her hind legs for grapes, was listless. Not interested in melon. (I bought the melon to practice injections) She is getting sick too. She had a shot earlier in the week as a preventative but afterwards did not seem to need it. We decided to jab her and were worried about it.

Then Stephen arrived on the yard. Stephen keeps cattle on our place but he is a pig man too. His daughter and her friend were ther to see Rusty and Lily. He showed us how to give shots in such a way that the pig will be as little stressed as possible. he gave us some really good advice and reassurance. Vets are essential. sometimes they even seem like miracle workers because they know all about those magic potions but there is nothing like the man or woman on the ground who knows the animal , who cares about it, knows how to handle it and is happy to share that knowledge.

Moving House

Rusty and Lily have moved to a spacious new home situated in a bucolic woodland and built from sustainable materials.

I am considering moving in with them. I wonder if I could get used to sleeping in straw?