Some Pictures of the Farm
This farm is primarily a fruits & vegetables farm that raises a few pigs, chickens, and goats. I doubt I can capture its beauty with my camera, but here are my few attempts:
Two of the four old English sheep dogs... that's what they look like with their hair shaved off, which is what the farmer did because they kept getting into the mud
I recognized staghorn sumac (are you proud of me, Wide Eyed Lib?) growing by the stream
The Veggies
Lots and lots and lots of squash are in season. So are eggplant, green beans, cucumbers, and garlic.
My mouth is watering for tempura squash blossoms
The Critters
There were 6 sows, 1 boar, 1 billy goat, and a large number of piglets and chickens in the barn. Two the sows were named Thelma and Louise. The sow who just gave birth recently was named Sniff. She was lying on her side and the little ones were asleep next to her or awake and trying to nurse. They were REALLY REALLY CUTE.
This is Winston. He's a big pig. 700 lbs. The farmer told me he's hoping Winston will lose a bit of weight before it's time to breed with the sows because he's a big large for them. Notice that he's got some tusks growing, too?
Here's another shot of Winston. We went over to pet him a bit and he just lied there. It's not terribly easy to pet a pig because they are covered in very bristly, coarse hair.
One of the six sows had 2 older piglets still with her, and this is one of the piglets. The farmer told me she stepped on one of them when he was very little and injured him, but the piglet made a full recovery. That's the reason factory farms use to justify keeping sows in crates, but this farmer told me he doesn't like that practice. And he praises his sows for being good mothers.
This is Thor, the billy goat. He's incredibly friendly and VERY cute... not terribly unlike a puppy dog.
Check out these horns!
Thor seriously had the personality of a puppy dog. We gave him lots of pets and scratches, and he jumped up on me just like a dog would. He also spent a bit of time trying to pee in his own mouth... something I've been warned that billy goats like to do. The farmer told me that Thor is his son's goat, and his son plans to take him for walks when he gets a bit bigger... big enough to let the four dogs know that he's the boss. They hope to breed Thor with dairy goats when he's a bit older. When we left, Thor climbed up on the side of his pen so his face was visible over the side and bleated at us. He wanted us to come back and pet him some more. Very, very cute!!! |
