Hey Yall! I know it's bee more than a minute since my last blog, so instead of doing a huge post where I try to catch you up on all the things, I'm just going to blog as the thoughts and projects come.
So let's talk about pigs.
I'm not going to lie, I've never been a pig fan. Honestly, I had never had any first hand experience with them, growing up I knew that a large corporation wanted to put pork production farms in a town nearby and everyone was adamant against it. They went on and on about the smell and the environmental nightmare that pig farms were. And you know what, they're right. Commercial pork production is absolutely atrocious. The animals aren't treated properly, they are fed the cheapest feed to get them to the biggest size as fast as possible. All around unhealthy and miserable. So there I was, fully team, hard pass on pigs, then something happened.
Well a couple of things happened. I started seeing how small farms had pigs and they weren't huge filthy environmental wrecking balls. When allowed to live as naturally as possible, on rotating pastures, these pigs were happy, healthy and actually quite adorable. I was warming up to having pigs...one day. We had a bunch of other projects that needed done first, then another thing happened.
A local friend was selling their farm, they had 2 feeder pigs they needed a new home before their fast approaching closing date. Of course I had to approach Karen very carefully with this. I would be adding not just cute feathered chicks, these pigs were already over 100lbs each. I can't recall the exact convo, but I'm sure there was at least one, Hell no and a are you crazy that came from Karen.
But ultimately, I'm a master negotiator, (read: more stubborn and headstrong than you can imagine) Karen agreed, we would take in these pigs till their date with destiny....yes, I've named out deep freezer Destiny.
After getting their area ready for them, the day finally came and Pinto Bean and Sweet Potato were brought down by my friend.
Initially, I was excited but still hesitant. I wasn't full on Team Pig, but I was open to it. Very quickly Beans and Taters, as they were nicknamed, grew on me. I would find myself spending time in the back pasture with them, just giving them belly scratches or bringing down treats. My girls also got in on the "pig spa time" Helping me set up a pool for them, spraying them with the hose and assisting on the scritches.
December 14th came wayyyy to fast. And I won't for a moment pretend that I didn't cry like a baby when I said goodbye to these two huge pigs that had become my babies.
In the end Beans and Taters taught me to educate myself before I make a judgement on anything. Also that just because something is done one way, looking at you commercial meat, doesn't mean that it can't be done a better, more ethically and sustainable way.
They filled out freezer, they gave us hours of laughter and endless smiles. Beans and Taters will always be remembered as our first pigs, the ones that made us pig people.
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