It stormed again last night. Thunderstorms, tornado warnings, tornado watches, all of the things tornado season brings here in Arkansas. I’m not a fan of these months with all of that going on. I did not panic the last few times. I calmly went outside and prayed for protection for all of the property and the animals. I did stay up late and went to do a check after the storm was over. I walked out to all of the pens and looked in with a flashlight. The donkey and goats were looking at me like, why are you flashing a light in our faces. They were all good and no damage was done there. Went down to the pig pens and they all woke up and started running around the pens. They were not happy with me waking them up. They were all okay and there was no damage. It rained so much all of the bowls were full of water. That a lot in just two hours. I was grateful they were all fine.

Spam has started limping a bit the last few days. I sure didn’t see that today though. I decided to check out her feet and I didn’t see anything. So, then she was still limping just a bit yesterday. Today I decided to clip her hooves. Oh, well, that didn’t happen. I brought out the clippers and she freaked. So weird. When the mud dries up, she will be fine with this, I hope. She ran around that pen like she did not have a care in the word. I watched her jump over the tree roots. She was on a roll. I finally gave up and left her alone. As soon as this mud dries up, it’s spa day for these pigs and their hooves.

It’s 11:30 at night and what have I been doing the last hour?? Calling for Daisy. She was inside most of the day because of the storms. She must have had some pinned up energy in her. When I let them out so I could go to bed, I didn’t turn on her training collar and off she went. Maggie and Bella followed her but they both came right back. I have stood on the porch calling for her for an hour. I gave up twice and came inside. I then got in my car and drove down the driveway but it was too foggy and dark to see anything, so I can back. I sat down and prayed. I would be devastated if she didn’t come back. I’m afraid my husband would be too since it’s his dog. They have such a bond. I came back to the back door and didn’t see her one last time before I went to bed and there she was. I won’t be forgetting that training collar again. That was awful. She usually isn’t gone that long and the only thing I know for sure was she was in the creek. I was a mad tonight at her. I usually am not but it’s getting more frequent. The collar will be staying on. I’m grateful she came back. I did not want to have to tell Ronnie.

The saga of Russ continues. These other pigs are really getting on his nerves. They try to take his food and he runs them off. Then, I put straw in his bed to keep him warm and they decide to spread it out for him. He just dumps the whole house over when they do that. They all are in his space so he goes to their space to get away from them. Poor guy. I went out to check on them tonight and didn’t see his house. He must have gotten so mad that he dumped it and moved it to the middle of the pen. Half of his straw was missing so I went to put more in. This woke them all up. I moved the house back and I put more straw in because it’s in the 30s again tonight. Well, the other ones were back trying to spread it out for him. I should have just left it alone. Poor guy. Just came in from checking on them again and they were all back in their beds. I disturbed Russ again and he was not happy about it. Apparently, he likes his sleep.

Well, the sleeping arrangements in the pig pen did not go as I had envisioned. Russ still is refusing to sleep in the shelter with the other pigs. Even when he was in there and I didn’t think he could get out, he was sleeping outside. I went out to check on him last night before I went to bed and sure enough, he was in his dog house. I had put a lot of extra straw in there because I knew it was supposed to get cold. He was bundled up so well in the straw I could only see 1 ear. Bless his heart. He really likes to be alone. I guess we will be building him his own shelter after all. I really thought he would eventually get in the shelter with the other pigs, So building him one was kinda put off for awhile, but now I know it needs to happen. My question is this, if there is a shelter built over there, will the other pigs stay out of it, nope, probably not. So then what am I going to do? I guess we will cross that bridge when we get there. I’m definitely working hard at keeping them all happy.

You guys!!! I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. We cut the middle of the little pig pen since the pigs were going under the fence and getting scratched. I hate that, so we cut it out. I wasn’t really sure how Russ was going to do because he really does guard his area. He likes to have his own spot. He is definitely top hog and doesn’t tolerate much of the others when he doesn’t want to. He lets them know quickly who is boss. It is cold again here, down in the 30s at night, so I go around and put more straw in pens to keep them warm at night. Russ is the only one I really worry about because he refuses to sleep in anything except the small dog house. The other side of the pig pen has a big shelter the other 4 pigs sleep in. He just wouldn’t sleep in there with them. Well, as I was going to put straw in the shelter, Russ came running out. After straw was put in the shelter, he was actually over there helping the other pigs to straighten the straw out the way they wanted it. That is the first time Russ has done that. Seriously, the first time. I am hoping this means Russ will be cuddled up with the rest of them tonight to stay warm.

Have you ever just stopped what you are doing and just looked around and listened to what’s going on around us?? Life is so busy all of the time that we don’t take time to really stop and notice things. I have been trying to stop and notice more things around me lately to try to block out some of the distractions around. The other day, something caught me in my heart. Something I hadn’t really paid so much attention to. I was out in the pig pen, of course, and most of the little ones were in Russ’ pen. It was just Pork chop and Patsy that were in that pen. Both of them are a little skittish still but so much better than they were. I just stopped and bent down to Pork chop, like I usually do and I looked in his eyes. You can see emotions in their eyes. What I saw was contentment with a little uncertainty. He finally came to me and let me pet him, until Brutus wanted in on the petting. Brutus wants all the attention. I did the same thing with Patsy that day also. I had never realized how much their eyes show. We do this with people everyday, but not animals. I mean, you can see in a dog’s eyes. Never did occur to me to look in my pig’s eyes. It really was an amazing thing to see. Now I do it with all of the animals.

Friday evening, Ronnie and I decided to try something new. He roped Hercules to bring him out of the pen to eat some grass in the yard. He tied him up on the fence to graze. Hercules wasn’t loving in. He screamed at Ronnie the whole time. When he was tied up, we decided to worm all the animals in the pen since it was time to do that. Hercules was eating at this point outside the pen during this time. What I didn’t know was going to happen was Cracker Jack was having a fit. He was not having it that Hercules was not in the pen. He would go over and stand by the pen and watch him. He would come back to us and then walk back and forth between us and Hercules. He had such a fit that we had to bring Hercules back in the pen. I thought those two hated each other but apparently they don’t. I learn something new from these animals everyday.

I have been telling Ronnie for awhile about the flooded pig pen. I mean, it has been raining constantly here in Arkansas. I don’t remember it ever raining so much. It’s insane. So, when he got home, he looked at it but didn’t say much. So I kept on. Today he went and got a bunch of sand to put in there. When he got home from the store, he stepped into the pen. He looked at me and said, this is really bad. I knew it was. The drain he put in awhile back was clogged also, so he cleaned that out. Funny enough, even though it’s not funny, the sand wasn’t going to be enough. Luckily enough, we had some river rock. He stuck the river rock in the bad part of the pen and covered in all with sand. It is so much better and the pigs were super happy. Problem is, as soon as we got it finished, it started storming and is supposed to go all through tomorrow. Poor pigs can’t catch a break. Hopefully it won’t be too bad tomorrow. Ronnie did a great job. The pigs being so happy made me really happy.

This social distancing thing is hard sometimes. Kids get restless. I had some friends come over to see the farm. They hadn’t seen the farm., yet.  So we social distanced outside the house with the animals. They had a good time seeing all the animals and of course the animals loved it. The pigs got Cheerios and the goats and donkey got some animal crackers. I got Gus out of the pen on his harness and leash. He was able to roam around, but threw the biggest fit when he had to go back in. I haven’t seen a fit like this in a long time. The little pigs now have a pen twice as big since they kept cutting their backs going under the fence. Cracker Jack was demanding on food and attention today. Interesting and productive day.

Well, all the little pigs have found the way to and from the other pen. Poor Russ, he doesn’t care for it. What I find so funny about the whole thing is that Bacon bit has lost her top hog status. I always feed Russ first and normally Bacon bit and Brutus are usually over there. I pour in the food and then have to tell them to go home, which they do to get food. One time, Bacon bit decided she would challenge Russ with food and I ended up having to hand feed her she was so upset. He didn’t hurt her except maybe her feelings. He is now top hog. What he wants he gets. He is not afraid to challenge any of them. He is ruthless. I only think it’s funny because bacon bit has been such a bully for so long. She finally got knocked off that pedestal. So, there you have it. Russ is now top hog. I will have to cut out the middle fencing now. Pork chop has difficulty finding his way back home and I have noticed a few scratches on Bacon bit, but it looks like from the fence and not Russ.

We decided to do something different this year with the garden. I saw something about planting in hay bales. We had a bunch of hay bales we can’t use for food on our other property, so hubby brought them home and we attempted to plant in them. That was a work out for sure. My muscles hurt so bad after that. We planted zucchini, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, beans, green onions, corn, pumpkin, cantaloupe, etc. I can’t remember what all we planted, but it was a lot. I was a little worried about it with the temps getting back down into the colder range and with all the rain, but it was like it started growing overnight. It is so amazing!! I’m really excited about the garden this year. It is such a blast to try new things.

I know the Coronavirus has completely taken over everything. We are at home and most people are bored (I, however, am not one of those people). I want to share a story that blesses my heart. There is a little girl in Michigan, she is 9 years old. Her name is Alaina. She has a dream of saving as many pigs as she can. She loves pigs with her whole heart. She is the CEO of an organization called Pink for Pigs. She came up with Pink for Pigs a year ago. Her parents decided to help her with this dream. The reason is, they learned the hard way about the myths of mini pigs. Alaina got a pig that was supposed to stay small, and as you all are learning, the pig did not stay small. Of course, they love the pig and still have the pig, which most people rehome them before a year is up because they get bigger than they were told and decide the pig is too much for them. Is that the pig’s fault? Of course not, but the pig is the one that gets rehomed or taken to the shelter and doesn’t understand why. Alaina is on a mission to help get the word out about the myths and about breeders and their lies. She hates to see these pigs ending up in the wrong hands. Her organization does online auctions to raise money for sanctuaries and rescues across the United States. What is happening is all of these unwanted pigs have to go somewhere. There are sanctuaries and rescues across the United States for these pigs, but they are all full. Most of these establishments are a 501c3 and run on donations. Since the Coronavirus has hit America, the donations are drying up and these owners of rescues are struggling with how to feed these animals and give them the care that they need. Alaina is working on a fundraiser right now to help keep some of these places opened. These people need help to continue to help these animals. Can you help Alaina?? Do you have an extra $1 or $5?? This girl has been in People magazine and a few news stories lately. She is living her dream at 9 years old. I find that amazing. Please look up her page, Pink for Pigs and give if you can. These animals deserve to be cared for. Let’s focus on something more than the Coronavirus and help these animals and Alaina today.

Do you all talk to your animals?? I know I can’t be the only one that talks to their animals. Tonight I was telling Daisy that I loved her or something of that nature. She got so excited and kinda danced around and was wagging her tail. Someone had said to me once upon a time, animals don’t know what you are saying, they can only understand commands. Let’s think about this for a minute. If a dog can understand a command, learn what that means, then they can learn other things also. Animals are so smart. I think they know way more than we think they know. That could just be me because I’m an animal lover. But really, Cracker Jack knows when a car pulls up to bray because he wants attention. All the animals know what time of day it is by how hungry they are. When I talk to the pigs, they wag their tails. They wag those tails a lot when I say I love you. I may be wrong, but I really think they do know what you are saying. Does anyone have an opinion on this??

I have finally figured out my connection to Russ, the pig. As I was watching him today, I realized why I like that pig so much. He has a personality just like I have!! Now, let me explain. Ronnie set up a pen next to some of the other pigs when we got him. The plan was to take out the middle of the 2 pens to make one big pen. When we tried to integrate Russ into the herd, he wasn’t having it. I hadn’t latched that other gate because I put him in with the other pigs with no way out, or so I thought. He did escape and how he did it and the others didn’t get out, I will never know. So, I kept him in the pen alone thinking that’s what he wanted. Nope, wrong again, he made a hole in the fence so he could go visit when he wanted to. He does do that several times a day. He does not go over at meal times because he refuses to share his food. He also would rather sleep in a medium size dog house instead of going into the other shelter with the other pigs. And now he isn’t too happy because the other pigs are now coming and going as they please. He has been showing them who is boss the last few days just to get some alone time. This pig also can hold a grudge. It’s been 3 weeks since he has wanted anything to do with me since he had an antibiotic shot. He wants to do things his way. He doesn’t put up with the other pig’s nonsense, he just goes back home. When the other pigs are fighting with him, he has started fighting back a little. He paces and tries to get out of the pen when he wants something and succeeds sometimes. This little guy is a fighter also. He has had 4 homes in a year, but despite those circumstances, he is a sweet pig. He also was pretty sick with a bad infection recently, but again, he is a fighter. Russ reminded me of my personality today and it made me laugh out loud, literally. Crazy little pig. Glad he is cute.

I am going to make this post, but if any of you know my husband, please refrain from telling him I made this post. Lol!! Daisy is my husband’s dog. There is no doubt about it. She sits in the truck spot when he is gone. That’s how much she is Ronnie’s dog. It’s really funny to me since I had never seen this side of him. Daisy goes everywhere with Ronnie when he is home. He has a couple sets of keys to his truck so he even takes her to Walmart and leaves the truck running and locks her in since he has another set. Can we say spoiled?? That’s not all, he goes to Sonic with her and gets her her own chicken nuggets. He cools them off for her and puts them on the console for her in bite size pieces one at a time. When she is finished, he gives her the peppermint. I could not believe my eyes when I saw this. And he just let me know that he may take her to work with him. I do love this though. I’m sure I have told the story about Daisy coming to live here. She was found at Tractor Supply in the parking lot by my brother in law. He had been out at the house working on something and had to make a run for parts. When he came back, he had a dog. We had lost our pit bull a few months earlier and I didn’t want another dog, we still had 2. My brother in law said he was going to take her home and find a good home for her. My husband saw that dog and it was like a scene out of Annie. He starts yelling, “Daisy, come here, Daisy.” That dog came to him and had been Daisy and his sidekick since then. That was almost 2 years ago. She is definitely a fantastic dog and I am glad she is here.

A few months ago, I met a girl on Facebook who was wanting a pig. At that time I was looking for homes for 15 pigs, now, that’s another story all together and I’m not going to get into that right now. It did not work out for this girl to get those pigs. I felt horrible about it, but it was for the best, we just didn’t know it at the time. Anyway. As I was working with her, I realized she was a teenager. With talking with her, I never would have known that. As I asked more about her to work on the adoption of the pigs, I was so impressed with her. At a young age, she already recognized there was a pig population problem and she wanted to rescue one, or two. She was very knowledgeable about pigs and knew exactly what all needed to be done. She even built a shelter and fencing for the pigs she was going to get. I was so heartbroken when the adoption stuff fell through. I kept in touch with her and again? I tried to help her get a pig to foster and that fell through also. At that point, I was determined to find this girl a pig. One that wouldn’t fall through. I was scanning Facebook one day and saw a story about 7 pigs that were saved from being butchered and 5 of those pigs were pregnant. That’s a lot of pregnant pigs and they have several babies. I reached out to this girl and told her about the things that were going on at that rescue and she wanted more info. I gave her what I could. I knew it was expensive to adopt, but it’s so much better when you do. They have already been fixed and are more social when they are adopted. Breeders don’t try to socialize them. Anyway, she messaged me the other day to tell me she was filling out an adoption paper for 2 pigs. I was over the moon with happiness for her. She had waited for so long and now she was finally getting her pigs. She was able to pick one up last weekend and she will be able to pick up the other in a couple weeks. I am so happy for them. I am so thrilled she adopted. The sanctuaries and rescues are so full. I know her dream came true. I’m so glad I was able to help a little bit!! Thank you, Isabella for allowing me to be apart of your journey.