They're at it again....

.... being lovable. They know, I swear they know....

Well, it looks like I'll definitely be getting a couple more weaners at the beginning of April, when Edward goes off to piggy heaven. And food plate heaven, but we wont mention that right now. The wonderful farmer's wife up the road (where I got E&T from) has spoken to the lady who runs the farm bit of the local agricultural college & she will have some piglets ready for when I need them. Great stuff. I'm not sure what they are, but to be honest, I'm not that fussed providing they're gilts or castrated boars. I'm going to telephone her on Monday to finalise the arrangement. I shall let you know what I'm getting then. Maybe I'll be able to go see them as tiny little piglets & I'll take a few piccies, I hope so.

When we were up at the farm shop, their weaners who were born at Christmas were out & about. My goodness, it's hard to imagine Edward & Tubbs were so small! They were all so inquisitive & came running up to us for a little scratch. It was lovely! I can't wait to get the newbies now and I'm hoping (as everyone who's done this before has told me it will) that their arrival will soften the blow of my little Ed going. Fingers, toes and dangly bits crossed for me please....

Speak soon.

VP x

I've had to make a difficult decision....

After having received some advice from couple of members on the British Saddlebacks forum, I've had to make a decision about Edward. I'm afraid he's going to have to go to slaughter earlier than I'd hoped. He'll need to go in April, when he's 6 months old, for 2 reasons. The first is that I run the risk of boar taint after this age - this is when the meat is tainted with a pretty rank flavour which is caused by him reaching sexual maturity. If he had been castrated as a piglet, I wouldn't have had this problem, but he wasn't & so I do. I suppose this is maybe a good reason to castrate boars - I know from various things I've read, a lot of people frown upon this practice, but if he had been, he'll be able to live a longer life. I think I know which I would have preferred... The 2nd reason is that because he'll have reached sexual maturity (and so will Tubbs - his sister), I cannot run the risk of him successfully doing the deed with her. Her cycles will come every 3 weeks apparently from this age & the last thing I'd want is for her to get pregnant. So, the plan is to get 2 more weaners to keep her company when he goes. She can then become the hog roast for our wedding feast & the two newbies will go for slaughter around Christmas. If all this goes to plan, it's then our intention to have a break for a few months as Jeff & I will take our honeymoon next January / February time & then we'll get our next two in Spring 2009.

I feel really sad (as I knew I would) and I'm letting horrible thoughts enter my head about Edward's end. I've become far too attached to him (and her), and maybe I should have kept my distance more. But how can you when you have only 2 & they rely on you for everything? Maybe if you're a farmer on a much grander scale, it all becomes less personal, but for me it's going to be hard. I know I'll go through with it, but I do know that I'm going to be really upset. I can feel the tears pricking my eyes now as I type. Oh goodness, this is hard! I really want to go with him to the abattoir - not to watch, but just to be there for him. I'm going to ask if I'm able to.

On a brighter note, it's warmed up. The taps are finally working & I've just given everything a really good hose down. I feel ridiculously satisfied about having running outside taps! It's amazing how difficult it is without them. It's pretty grey & a bit drizzly, but I'm so glad it's not sub zero. I think Ed, Tubbs & the inmates are pleased too!

I'm off to the 'proper' job now so need to go shower. Speak later.

VP x

Bloody hell it's parky out there!

Went down to -8 last night, it was bloomin' cold! It's not gone above freezing at all today - outside looks pretty magical, well it did when it was still light, but it's been absolutely bitter. There was no sunshine, just that freezing fog that never lifts - the really eerie stuff that you can imagine a headless horseman galloping out of. Well, I can with my forever active imagination... I think all sorts when I'm out and about round here. I think it's do do with my London upbringing. I'm forever thinking some crazy axe murderer is going to jump out of the bushes. Anyway, the ground's all frozen, the taps are not working, and it's been very difficult to do anything other than just stay warm. I fell arse over tit this morning and am aching like mad now - the ground behind the kennels was like an ice rink and one of the dogs has to be fed in his run so I was taking his bowl of food round to him & my left leg just slipped underneath me. Blimey it hurt & the food was absolutely everywhere. I didn't manage to block my fall with anything so I landed with an almighty thud on the outside of my left arm. I'm going to feel it tomorrow I'm sure...

Eddie & Tubbs are as cosy as they can be - I've given them extra food & a lot more straw than they would normally have and they've spent most of the day just huddled together on their bed. They really pump out some heat between them though, I'm sure they're not suffering at all. They have more than a pig ark which is what most piggies of their kind have, and they're pretty big these days, so I'm not worried about them. I just hope it gets a bit warmer soon! The poor inmates must be absolutely frozen! They do have panel heaters in their kennel blocks, but the buildings are just single skin breeze block with a bit of render, so they're not exactly toasty! I've put extra blankets in with each dog, so they're happy enough. I'm sure they're all looking forward to going home to their sofas though!

OK, here comes the sentence:

Hog roast sorted - the butcher with the gear is free on the day of the party, marquee is hired, invite's on it's way (electronic - much more eco-friendly & a lot less hassle than post), wedding list sorted, dress bought, pretty much everyone told to save the date. There, one sentence. I didn't say it would be a short sentence, did I?! I swear I should have been an events manager.

It feels like I haven't been off of the 'phone since we announced to the world we're getting hitched - I'm absolutely shattered!

Off to snuggle up with my Jeff now.

VP x

Ding Dong

Well, it's official folks. Jeff & I are getting wed! On our 4th anniversary which is April 29th - yes, this year!! - with a celebratory party on June 14th, here at the Burn. Some hectic arrangements have been made already, with obviously still more to do, but I'm absolutely ecstatic - the happiest I've ever been! The actual wedding day will be very small, just our parents and a couple of witnesses, but the party is rapidly turning into a pretty huge affair! We think (and we do believe this will be a fitting end, although I don't know how I'll feel on the day) that one of the pigs will provide the food in the form of a hog roast - perfect timing really. We need to make some hasty telephone calls to make sure that people save the date, including those friends that might be reading this - we realise it's pretty short notice!

Please don't worry - I'm not going to gush on about weddings every day now - I just wanted to share my VERY happy news with everyone! Well, maybe I'll limit myself to just a sentence a day - surely you can grant me that??!

It's another absolutely stonkingly beautiful day here again and Edward & Tubbs are enjoying the wonderful sunshine. Their water trough was actually completely frozen solid this morning - goodness knows how cold it got last night, but I'm glad I was under my cosy down duvet, I can tell you! I've put a couple of large bowls of water in their barn so that they can at least drink liquid, rather than crunching on ice... When I went in a little while ago, they were both asleep and woke up as soon as I opened the gate. I sat down on their bed & was singing along to that Newton Faulkner track (it was playing on the radio - you know the one, 'there's a place I go, when I'm on my own', I can't remember what it's called, but that's not important (!!)), and little Edward just looked at me & then lay back down again almost like I was singing him a lullaby! He's just so lovely, I really am having difficulty imagining sending him off. I honestly don't know if I can do it. I need to get my head round it though because I know it has to happen. I think Tubbs is going to have to be the hog roast in June - I couldn't bear to watch Rock Steady turning around on a spit.... Even Tubbs I'll have trouble with, but definitely not as much as my little Ed. Oh goodness me, this is SO hard!!!

I can't believe I did this & equally I can't believe I'm going to tell you all, but I feel I must pay a penance of sorts, so feel free to send me your emails of hate. I ate cruelty chicken last night. Sorry. Well, I assume it was cruelty chicken - it came from the local Indian. I was weak. I hang my head in shame and vow never to do it again.

Bye for now.

VP x

In a rush!

Really really sorry - been absolutely rushed off my feet today & now I have to go out - we're out tonight in Newcastle & wont be back til tomorrow late afternoon - will write more then, promise.

The cake seemed to work(!!) I'll fill you in tomorrow.....

VP x

How bloody good am I??!

It's 8:30 am and I've just made Jeff a passionfruit curd layered Victoria Sponge. Geddit? He wont see it til he gets home from work, but if this doesn't get him to pop the question, I don't know what will!

Happy Valentine's Day to all you lovers out there!

VP x

Amazingly, another beautiful day!

Hi! It's another lovely day here in County Durham - a pretty chilly & frosty start, but I just love those sorts of days, when you know that once the mistiness in the air clears, the sun will come though & the skies will be blue. You can smell it, can't you? Well, I can but maybe that's just my huge bloodhound nose.... Anyway, I took Buddy up to the top paddock with his ball & my camera

and then we went in to see Edward & Tubbs....

Buddy, what are you after in that midden????!

Consequently, when we got back he had to have a bath - which he absolutely hates, so I'm as wet as him now, trying to dry my kennel trousers as I type. Please don't imagine me sitting here blogging in my undies - it's not a pretty sight.

I went to the farm shop this morning & was discussing with the butcher 'the end'. I think I'm going to try to go to the abattoir - I need to see what it's like. Apparently, it's not as small as I thought it was so I want to make sure it's where I'm going to send them. I know 'the end' is 'the end' no matter where they go, to a certain extent, but it's not to me. I've loved & nurtured this pair of pigs and they've been really happy and I really don't want their last half hour, or however long it'll be from the moment I send them in the truck to the moment they die, to be traumatic. I'd like them to really be none the wiser until the last possible minute. There are a few abattoirs not far from here & I've heard some good things said about a much smaller set-up near Bishop Auckland. I'm going to do some research....

I also had to get some more feed while I was out. I tell you what, I know this was never going to be a money-making experiment, but by the time 'the end' comes, I reckon in total these two will have cost me near on £500 from start to total finish (butchery & all). Not cheap. I can now totally appreciate why it's difficult to get good meat these days. I think if this whole thing goes to plan & I do get a couple more once E&T are gone, I think I'm going to have to start mixing up my own feed. It's surely got to be cheaper than £10 a bag, which is what I'm currently paying for the Allen & Page stuff. I do mix it with some slightly cheaper pellets (still £8.50 a bag though!) and some barley to make it go further - and they obviously get peelings etc as & when I have them, but it's a pretty expensive experiment! I still think I'm going wrong somewhere. Any tips greatly appreciated. Malc, Claire, Fairy?

Well, I'm going to get out there while the sun's still shining. The days are definitely getting longer now, but once it gets to about 3:30, when the sun gets low in the sky, there's a real chill in the air. Jeff's away tonight - I hate it when he's not here. Still, at least I wont have to watch Newsnight - every cloud has a silver lining eh?

Bye for now.

VP x