New Arrival

I have been to the auction nearly every week this year, since it appeared that we would have an early spring. Two years ago we bought four piglets at auction. They lived in the garden and dug up the soil. We butchered two in the fall and two the following spring. With plenty of pork in the freezer, we didn't raise pigs last year. The garden suffered for it.

The garden is always my first priority in the spring. It's pretty big. A couple of acres, I think. I should measure it someday. It's very over run with weeds. I am a lazy gardener. The soil is not particularly good either. We add manure to it in spots as we clean out the barn. Pigs are awesome rototillers. They root through the soil and eat all the weeds. They dig out huge rocks. They fertilize as they poop. I need piglets.

So far this year, the few pigs that have gone through the sale barn have all been nearly butchering size. I want piglets. Piglets are easier to handle, and less likely to break out. And then there's the added bonus of fresh pork in the fall.

Yesterday was no different. Big pigs. But I didn't come home alone. I rarely do. Yesterday I bought Oscar. A billy goat. He reminded me of Spot. Climbing up on the edge of the pen, sucking my fingers, and even giving me a kiss. We think he's probably a yearling. Not too old. The girls seemed happy to meet him.