Pigs!

I bought 4 piglets today!

It wasn't exactly planned.  I had been searching for pigs - spreading the word that I was looking for 2-4 feeder pigs to raise for pork this summer.  But I was getting discouraged.  It seems like so many of the local breeders are off schedule this season and piglets are a little more scarce than usual.

This afternoon a friend emailed me saying that she found 6 piglets for sale and was getting 2.  She wanted to know if I wanted the other 4, but needed to know by the end of the day.  In a swell of bravery, I said I'd take them.  No regrets!

The pigs are duroc/yorkshire crosses (similar to the ones in the photo above I raised a few years ago).  They're 7 weeks old and my friend offered to babysit until after the closing.  The electric fence I ordered is scheduled to arrive either tomorrow or Thursday and I'll throw together some sort of inexpensive, movable shelter so they can get to work reviving the old horse pasture and tilling in the vegetable garden.

I now have 60 chickens and 4 pigs being watched by 3 different babysitters, plus a dozen flats of vegetables out on the patio with more on the way.  All of the pieces of this farm are coming together quickly - just not as quickly as the actual farm.  I'm totally screwed if this doesn't work out.

But I'm not going to worry about that for now.  I have living things to care for and the loan officer assures me everything is on track to close April 30.  I had planned to get pigs for the season, but faced with the challenge of finding good quality piglets, I had almost resigned to the fact that I may not get any until mid-summer.  Obviously that wasn't the plan for me.

Now I'll have 2 pigs for the fall CSA shares, and 2 pigs to process later in the season for our wedding next spring. I'll make this farm work no matter what.

Apparently all it will take for the farm to come together are moments of bravery followed by lots and lots of planning.

And this adventure is only just beginning.