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saturday chores

I was fortunate enough to be given the day off from markets, getting to spend a Saturday sleeping in, and enjoying a morning walk around the farm. Well, okay, I walk around the farm every morning- but it's different when I can do it lazily, without a full day of projects ahead. Jonathan wasn't feeling too hot, so I left him to sleep more, and well- this was actually the first day I've ever gotten to do chores all by myself. It was a nice change of pace, and I took my phone along (something I don't usually trust myself enough to do) to photo some of the things that I haven't had the chance too.

My first priority was to walk the dogs we were babysitting overnight while Daniel and Emily stayed at Tuckahoe. Then tending to the rabbits (I failed to get a good picture of the babies, who are not so much babies anymore) and a special turkey who gets beat up by the others.

A short intermission to feed and play with the guard dogs, Huck still rarely comes near me, Sawyer is better, letting me pet him now and then, but he prefers to sneak up from behind and touch his head to my hand. They are very much like the ghosts in mario. Bruno has made the most progress, after five months, he will approach me and sometimes seem be excited to get a good head scratch. He is my favorite. Today they had to be on extra guard, fighting sheep, a goat, and even some rogue pigs to protect their food. Exciting!

The big pig who is now head of the three musketeers in the world of free range pigs, was being quite mischievous. After trying to steal the dog food, he decided he wanted to live with the hair sheep, which earned him a nice cut on his back from crossing a barbed wire fence. Later when I was returning from the other pigs, he greeted me at the gate between the fields, and expecting that he was ready to return to his fellow swine I lured him to the correct side if the gate, which moments later he attempted to dismantle completely.

Next w as the previously mentioned bully turkeys, a few of which were free ranging themselves around the yard. They are beginning to make grown up turkey noises and strut around with their feathers poofed out. Then filling water for the sheep and few cows we have left here (the rest of the herd had been moved to graze at Tuckahoe for awhile.) That part was particularly entertaining because I got to see all the various size and colors of the new (and very wild) chicks we have running amuck in the barn.

That finished up the yard chores, as they have come to be called, which meant the last part of the morning-driving out to feed and water the pigs and laying hens. The chickens seem to moving right along, although egg production is not as abundant as we would like. The pigs moved back back back to the wilderness of the property, in a wooded area where there is tons of forage for them to rut through. We also got three new big pigs this week, two bred sows and a boar. They all have fancy pure bred names which I cannot seem to remember yet. The sows are black and red, in almost a brindle kind of pattern, beautiful. We may even get to see piglets before we leave. The younger pigs are growing up fast, but still adorable.

Now, for the rest of the day.
Until next time,
Angela Kelly





























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