When your hair bolts out

Little Lonely is sporting his summer haircut and wears it proudly! And please don't tell him, or me, it reminds you of a certain slob with dyed orange hair. Little's hair is natural and free and you can't pull it off his head, you see. And also, Little doesn't scream and has not a mean bone in his body.

So just to educate anyone wanting to know, pigs bolt their hair each summer, and some lose it in the funniest ways. Some lose their top hair and it looks like a crew cut and some lose most of their body hair and keep this wig like look. How can we not love Little Lonely!

Pig line up

Officer: Do you two realize it is illegal to break into a grocery store and take food?

Grandmother Pig: Why, no, we did not.

This is Eleanor and her grandson, Little Lonely, aka Freddy the Dreamer. I was leaving the barn when I looked over and saw them like this. It cracked me up. I guess we know what a pig line up at the police station would look like.

We are melting but we carry on..and the bunny gets her own AC unit

Freddy the Dream, aka Little Lonely, cools off in his mud hole

I won't write a post about how hard a month August is, I think I did that on August first. But it is very hot, and worse, humid. Out West the summers grew hotter, longer, drier and full of fires every one of my fourteen years there.. People's wells were and are drying up in Oregon, it happened to many people I knew. We had a horrible well, and were blessed with water rights from the rivers for our animals, gardens and vegetables/plants, otherwise, we could not have made it. And digging a new well is expensive, and does not always bring results. It is the risk you take buying land anywhere, but especially out west.

I'm glad to be out of that aspect of The West. It was brutal and just felt like the entire coast was burning up...and it is.

So here, the beast is humidity. Eighty five to ninety in dry air is hot, but yesterday and today the humidity is something like 80 or more percent. Kill me now. It is not as horrible as I remember the Minneapolis summers. Here we have the sea right by us, we do not own seaside land, but we see the cove, and the entire area of Mid Coast is on the sea. So when it is humid, it blows off usually by night, and we rarely have a horrible night. But when the humidity does come, it's like a slap of a huge wet blanket on my head. I can't think. My routine is simple, get up, do the chores, and get back in the house where we have one AC unit that keeps us sane in the living area. Fortunately our house is small. I finally broke down last week and bought another AC unit for the studio in the upstairs, I had too. Not only could I not get any work done, I could barely function, and...there is the bunny factor. Poor Isabelle Noir, aka Bunny, is not good in heat, no rabbit is. I was wetting down her ears about four times a day, and finally I had to bring her downstairs at night. Martyn got a kick out of this,

"Leave it to you to wait to get another AC unit for two years for the studio, but you finally did it...for a rabbit."

Yep, and Bunny and I are now very content. And I got work done.

So, we carry on. I have nothing of interest to tell you today because that is what the heat does to me, it flattens me out. Physically, I am also finding that humidity-when it is really hot and high humidity-is giving me a pressure feeling in my front head, just like I felt after the concussion. I suppose the heat makes blood different and vessels different, and from what I understand, my brain is different after that severe concussion. So, another reason to lay low inside with Bunny,

The animals are fine, they are more stoic than we humans in heat. They know to lay low. I feel sorry for my sheep, I hate to see the wool sheep in heat. Out West we had hair sheep, and it was hard on them, but these poor guys carrying around a load of wool. They do pant, since sheep don't sweat, and I will hose off their legs-not their backs or bodies because you can actually heat them up that way due to the wool. Same thing with the llama, don't wet the wool, just the legs [and she loves it].

I am working on my new book, about White Dog. I will share more about that soon.

Little shares his mobile milk bar

That's Little on the far right.

Little was born 15 weeks ago on the coldest night of the season, and all his litter mates died of hypothermia. He struggled a bit in his first days, but he made it. I named him Little Lonely because certain situations require a name and he was so small, and alone. Once you see a litter interact, to see only one with nobody showing him the ropes was sad. But he's a chunk now and in the past few days, the new litter of his grandmother, Eleanor, has been allowed to romp and run outside for the first time. I underestimated how happy it was to see Little with his own kind, a litter he never got to have [which is why he is now a super chunk]. This morning as Eleanor took a break in her wallow-it is very hot today-Cornelia snorted around for dropped feed, and Little graciously allowed the litter to snack on his private milk bar. I sat and imagined the conversation.

"Wow, you're a huge piglet," said one of the litter.

"I'm older than you, I think that's the reason," said Little.

"You have your very own milk bar, wow," said the largest piglet.

"It's okay to have some milk, but don't take it all," said Little.

"What are we going to do today?" asked the little red runt girl, politely.

Just then she got bashed by her bigger brothers, and Little touched her nose.

"You took a direct hit, but you're okay," he told her.

"I'm used to it, but I have gilt power," she said.

Just then Cornelia made an about face and the milk bar was once again on the run.

"It's hard eating and running, isn't it?" asked Little as they all ran by the running teats.

Big bottom Littles and piglet mayhem

It's going to get wild around here very soon....I guess it already is, but even more so. The piglets are eight days old and are starting to leap and explore in the stall. They are not outside yet as I have to create a separate safety zone for them. I let Eleanor out once a day to roam a bit but she needs to feed every two hours and if she doesn't, bam, smash, she'll go right through the wood gate to get to her babies.

Meanwhile, Little Lonely has a fine butt, don't you think? You can see it waddling in the final movie below. He is still very polite, but also he and his mother Cornelia now bash each other around a bit at dinner time-normal behavior. In fact Eleanor bashes her daughter Cornelia around at dinner. Can you imagine having to bam your mama in the head to get more food at the cereal bowl? She hasn't totally weaned him, and I've always been one to let animals naturally wean-if I can. So he is a chuck!

All the nine piglets are doing well. They are available so if interested you should contact me.

A post shared by Katherine Dunn / Apifera Farm (@katherinedunnapiferafarm) on May 28, 2017 at 12:19pm PDT

A post shared by Katherine Dunn / Apifera Farm (@katherinedunnapiferafarm) on May 29, 2017 at 12:58pm PDT

A post shared by Katherine Dunn / Apifera Farm (@katherinedunnapiferafarm) on May 31, 2017 at 6:49am PDT

Chunk of pig love

I guess Little isn't so Little anymore. He is more like a Chunk of Pig Love. These things happen. Piglets get bigger and grow out of their piglet pants into big boy pants [and don't ever let anyone tell you there is a creature called a micro pig}. Another week and holding him will be difficult. He is still a charming fellow, and today he finally got to graze and get outside. Eleanor should be farrowing in a week and a half. I will relish that one since the plan is that it will be out last litter. However, Earnest has not been told and he might have his own plans. I caught him snorting around Rosie's pen gate. I explained I was pretty certain The-World's-Grumpiest-But-I'm-Fine-As-I-Am-Pig has no interest in love making or romance.

I hope this piglet smiling face will make up for this lack luster post. I'm on day ten of this dang nabbit cold and it has finally turned a corner for me. I spent the entire day outside in sun and beautiful sea wind helping Martyn put more electric wire up in equine area. Another rite of spring greeted me: the infamous black flies of Maine. I was not impressed, nor were the equines!

Soap opera flip flop moving day

Overheard in the barnyard:

"We are moving next door", said Earnest.

"Why?" asked little Opie.

"I hear it has a view of the ocean over there," said Moose.

"Doubtful", said Wilbur.

"I'm going to go the ocean some day," said Earnest. "I have a plan."

{now back to business}

This weekend, we were busy with all the things that must get done before summer hits.

For me, that meant delicing and shots for all Misfits, applying the first fly/tick spray and rearranging the sleeping areas to get ready for Eleanor's pending May farrowing. I also had to get Little Lonley and Cornelia out of the cat room where they have been snug as bugs to help Little get through the chilly part of his life. But with the first warm days, ammonia wafts were setting off the fire alarms! Despite the twice a day cleaning of bedding, the warm air made the ammonia potent, since that room is insulated, and the floor is painted so runoff is problematic.

The cats were unimpressed.

While this might seem like not a big deal, it meant taking Earnest-Sir Tripod Goat-Wilbur-Moose-Goose-Opie_Rosie the goat and Marcella and putting them in the stall next to them, which meant moving the two barrows and pregnant Eleanor out to another paddock and then relocating them in the newly vacated stall. These things often go off without hitch–which it did, I was pleased.

Little is getting big, but he is still a charming little bloke. He is old enough now that his mom bashes him away if she feels he is getting too much of her breakfast-that's pig talk for,

Hey, that's mine, back off.

So, that is step one for spring management. Today I am giving sheep shots and foot trims and entertaining the tractor maintenance man while he gives our tractor it's free inspection. We are starting to plan the garden, and while plants are in full upright since as they would be in Oregon, it does me good to see things growing again...including grass, which to me always translates to 'food for the animals."

{Thank you to those who have donated to the 2017 Fund, which is also helping raise money so I can build an intake quarantine area so I can help animals in need that come the way of the state vet and animal control.]

Little Lonely is eating like a big boy

A post shared by Katherine Dunn / Apifera Farm (@katherinedunnapiferafarm) on Apr 2, 2017 at 7:17am PDT

He's finally eating solids, slowly. I must say, he is the most polite eating piglet I've ever known, I suppose because he is a loner piglet. It's like he does exactly what my mother used to say,

"Chew slowly, dear."

Little Lonely

Little Lonely turned three weeks old and has a nice chunky little body and appears to be doing just fine. He is a very calm and quiet little piglet, but when you pick him up he has good strength. He now understands that belly rubs are nice. And he is learning that coming to me allows for more belly rubs. I am still guarded about him, but I'm growing more confidant daily. Oddly, he doesn't chow down pig pellet, something pigs normally would be doing now. But he is not losing weight. I can only guess that because there are no litter mates, he is getting ample milk, and I do see him nibbling on hay. Fortunately Cornelia does still have milk-something we worried about when she lost the six girls- because the sow can dry up without pressure, but he must be milking a lot to keep the weight on and keep her in enough milk.

Opie's smile and piglet heart throb

Opie says "G'morning!"

Little Lonely is doing really well. This photo makes my heart thump!

Rosie freaks me out and Little Lonely hanging in there

Last night I had a scare with Rosie, the goat Rosie not to be confused with the pig Rosie  {I have not told the pig there is another Rosie, I think it will only irritate her. How could there be more than one me? she'd ask.}

Rosie had just finished dinner-I have her on a bit of grain as she is a bit thin-and she got choke. If  you've experienced watching a goat with choke it's horrible. You feel pretty helpless. I've never had one die of choke, and typically they pull out of it, but it is so scary to witness, and the first time you do you think it is all over. It happens when a goat eats to fast, which can be compounded when they eat in a group. They toss their heads in distress as they can't breathe, and they foam and shake their heads, some cry out as Rosie did - good sign really. And Rosie would jump up and around trying to expel the choke. Some people misdiagnose this when they see the froth as frothy bloat, fyi.

Some people put rocks in their dishes to slow them down-that never worked for me. So I massaged her throat, got water down her and then did drum beats on her sides. I've never had a goat take so long to work herself out of it though. Of course it was night, and it was one of the chillier nights so there I was sitting with a goat, and of course Opie was trying to help. I finally went into give her some time to relax, as all the commotion can make them even tenser. She was breathing, she just could not expel what she needed to. When I returned she was much calmer, and I knew she was going to be ok, but she still had some fits. I was so relieved she worked herself, finally, out of it. No more grain for her for awhile and I will start to mash is in water I think.

Little Lonely is hanging in there. I have shied from constantly taking pics of him, but I will this week. I think he is getting enough milk, and Cornelia's bags are fill [some anyway] so i think he's milking well. He seems strong, in fact he's downright feisty when I work with him. Bugger even gave me a bite already. Pigs get teeth fast, and they are sharp. I tried to supplement with a bottle but he just refuses, but i think because he is getting enough at the mama milk bar, right now anyway, it is okay.

I'm pretty beat. Please forgive me if these past couple of posts wreak of exhaustion. I am determined to be back in the studio tomorrow and all month focus on painting, now that my little Spoken Word memoir is done-which by the way, NOBODY has purchased. I'm crushed! It is the sweetest story. Perhaps people don't think a frisbee has any insights-this frisbee does!

Little Lonely's fight

Little Lonely made it through night okay and I'm carefully monitoring his eating -Cornelia is really wiped out- she appears to be eating and drinking ok - I am concerned though about his breathing

A post shared by Katherine Dunn / Apifera Farm (@katherinedunnapiferafarm) on Mar 5, 2017 at 9:12am PST

Little Lonely made it through the night, and I was feeling pretty good when I saw him up and about this morning. He does have this weird breathing spasm, I've shown to some pig friends and they agree its odd. But no signs of pneumonia or rattles/fluid in the lungs. Cornelia is ok, she is still really tired, but eating and drinking. I'm going to get some goat milk which one of my pig friends uses on her pigs and she learned it from a vet in a similar situation when the sow had a singleton and her milk was not plentiful. Cornelia has milk, and he has the hang of the milk bar, but just in case, I might help him for the first couple days.

It's hard with just one as he doesn't have his mates to sleep with so he wants to sleep with her and each time she gets up I cringe-but you have to let go of what you can't control. The cold weather snap is suppose to gradually warm by tomorrow and 40-50's in mid week. We feel like hypothermia was the killer. We analyzed our actions, mistakes, lack of foresight, missed cues if any...and we ended up with the same conclusion-it's sad, but it happens. I never would have had piglets in winter, but Earnest had other ideas, and we just hadn't gotten our paddocks totally secure since we just arrived in May with so much fencing to do all at once. But...I am responsible, and Cornelia and I have an understanding about it. It is between her and me.

Little Lonely day one

Well we went the extra mile and rigged up a space in the heated cat room for Little Lonely - if he can't survive in 55 degrees it wasn't meant to be but already I think it helped - let's hope she doesn't lay on him (copyright Apifera Farm ) #piglets #kunekune #apiferafarm #farmlife #farrowing

A post shared by Katherine Dunn / Apifera Farm (@katherinedunnapiferafarm) on Mar 4, 2017 at 2:24pm PST