One thing led to another.
I started out just enjoying a soft breeze in one of the pastures when I noticed a large red and black mass running in the back wood area, out of the fenced in pastures.
Earnest...I gasped inside my head.
And in hot pursuit, his trusted sidekick, Marcella.
It was the end of the day, I was not in the mood to do this, but if Earnest made his way around the entire groomed path he was on he would end up near the front road, a busy road full of people careening up to beach destinations, their stomachs full of lobster rolls and beer, unfamiliar with moving red and black masses. I felt that panic feeling when an animal occasionally gets out. It had less consequences at our old farm, but not here.
Fortunately Martyn was home too and heard me screaming for Earnest. He usually comes to me but he had wanderlust in his heart. I could hear him singing that old childhood favorite song of mine,
"I love to go a 'vandering and a 'vandering we'll go..."
Marcella was near the road, she was casing the joint, she's been wanting to do that for a year now. Martyn met up with her and held her while I followed behind Earnest on his little walk-about. He was just thrilled and was moving at a fast clip, which for him takes a lot of energy due to his shape. I figured if we trotted the 1500 or more feet to Marcella, we could walk her back to the barn and he'd hopefully follow. Instead, we led Marcella behind Earnest and he moved at a quick clip back to his escape hatch.
So, that is what I've been doing for days, with Martyn's help of course. We are blessed with tons of midden walls of rock, piled up like boundaries from many years. Most properties you drive by here have rock walls. We had opened up another section of the back wood near Earnest's barn, to be cleared and to give more roaming room for the goats, and the Earnest and gang. Pigs can easily lift up a fence from the bottom. We had stupidly bought a type of pasture fence that really is not great for pigs, but we were trying to save a buck. Anyway, we made a rock wall to secure the bottom and hope that will keep everyone inside, I think it will.
I continued on with my night chores and when I got back to Earnest's barn some twenty minutes later, he was already fast asleep.
