Idaho Pasture Piglets For Sale

As seen in the January/February issue of "Grit" magazine. Tired of pastures that look like a bomb struck? 

Idaho Pasture Pigs are bred to be grazing pigs rather than rooting pigs. After the first year in your pasture, your pigs will simply eat the grasses rather than root them up.  

IPPs are a smaller pig and perfect for the small homestead farmer. They have a delicious, richly flavored, more marbled meat. 

For more information about Idaho Pasture Pigs, click on the page link at the top of this blog for Idaho Pastured Pigs. 

Breeding Pairs $700, Gilts $350, Boars $350, Barrows $125. 

Please use the "Contact Me" bar to the right if you're interested and for more information.  

Planting Crocuses (Or Croci - Either Is Correct)

The honeybees have been making forays out into the bleak, bleak, grey and brown world of very early spring.  I feel so bad for them because there is just nothing for them out there - until I noticed this busy little honeybee on one of my crocus.  

I know it's important to feed the bees in the spring, but it must be so completely satisfying for them to be able to bring back something natural to the hive.  This honeybee forager is fulfilling her role in life!  

So, I vowed that this spring, I will plant many, many more crocuses, daffodils, tulips, and other early-spring blooming flowers, just so these poor, hardworking bees can fulfill their destiny!

I'm looking forward to the emergence of the smiling faces of the first dandelions and the abundance they bring to the unfortunate bees!  

Harbingers Of Spring

In the heart of winter, it's hard to even remember what the world felt like when it was warm and green.  But slowly and inexorably the earth turns and the seasons begin to shift.

The temperatures have climbed up to the 60s!

This year, due to being over scheduled and overwhelmed, we decided to take off a year from maple syrup production.  It looks like we picked the proper year for it because I think the season is going to be (sadly, for the producers) very short.  The warm temperatures will make the trees get buds and the sap gets yucky.  It gets a slimy look to it and a kind of nasty smell and that's the end of the season.  

The red wing blackbirds are back and their familiar trill can be heard throughout the day.  And I had heard that there were robin sightings, but didn't believe it until I finally saw some myself.  The red breast of robins and their cheerful little chirps definitely mean spring is on it's way.  

Then there's one final sign of spring.  All the animals are shedding.  Violet the goat, looks like a refugee from a yarn factory.  She has long, angora-like fur and it comes off her in ropes.  Yesterday, I gave Bandit a good combing and I think I could have made another horse out of the hair I took off him!

Happy, Happy Spring!

Awake, thou wintry earth -

Fling off thy sadness!

Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth

Your ancient gladness!

~Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"

Now, I'm waiting for that one more wintery blast.......

Idaho Pastured Piglets Playing

Is there anything cuter than a batch of piglets playing?  Watch these little ones run and jump.  They're adorable!  You can hear mom smacking her lips as she eats her breakfast.  One piglet had burrowed under the hay and I brushed away a bit of hay so that it would come out to play.   

This breed of pigs is mentioned in the January/February issue of "Grit" magazine.  In fact, the article's writers are the people from whom we acquired our pigs.  Idaho Pastured Pigs are a wonderful small homestead breed that does well on pasture.  

Although the article mentions that their sows farrow out on the pasture, we bring in our sow for farrowing because we've had losses in the past due to extremely low temperatures (below zero).  We only have one breeding pair, so we really baby our pigs and piglets.  

To the people who have contacted me about purchasing Idaho Pastured Pigs.  I wanted to make sure the piglets thrived before I contacted you.  I am in the process of working to create some non-related breeding pairs and deciding which will piglets will become barrows.  I will be contacting everyone shortly.  

See the link above for more information about Idaho Pastured Pigs.   

Coudersport Courthouse

I'm not much of a photographer, but I captured these haunting (haunted?) photos of the Coudersport Courthouse last night with my cell phone.  

Absolutely ghostly!

Interestingly, one of the six statues of Lady Justice that isn’t wearing a blindfold can be found within the county courthouse to preserve its rarity (my understanding is that it had been hit more than once by lightening), with its replica taking its place on the courthouse clock tower. 

We Have Piglets!

February 20, 2016

Flower successfully gave birth to six of the cutest piglets you ever want to see!  

A couple of them are tucked up under her front leg and you can see the tiniest piglet by her back leg.  The tiny one near her back leg is sooooo cute!  It's ears are still folded and it looks like a baby rabbit!  

Their have gorgeous coloring - four orange and two black and white.  One orange piglet doesn't have any black on him at all!  I believe there are four boars and two gilts.  But I didn't mess with them too much because I didn't want to disturb mama.  

This sow's temperament was outstanding.  I was in the pen with her the whole time and she easily let me move around piglets to ensure they weren't stepped on or laid on.  She became restless if I picked them up and made them squeal though, so I refrained from too much handling.     

Interestingly, there was a seventh piglet.  But it was born mummified.  I read about this and I found that if a piglet dies in the womb before a certain age, it will be absorbed.  If a piglet dies after a certain age, it will be mummified.  I didn't take any pictures of this because it is not pretty.  Or as my son said, "oh, gross!"

Now I'll cross my fingers that they all grow well without being laid on, stepped on, etc!

School Cancellation

Well, for the life of me....

... I just can't...

...figure out...

...why school...

...was cancelled...

...today!

Source: This Old House.com

No, truthfully, it was a very wise decision.  The roads are treacherous!

We're still waiting for our sow, Flower, to have her babies - and sooooo happy she didn't have them during the polar vortex of the past few days!

She's getting very, very close!