Lawnmowers

Yesterday was another mostly sunny day on the farm....

with gusty winds howling through the trees.

I feared Minerva might lose her brand new hat!

Our warm weather experienced a hiccup last night as temperatures plummeted into the high 20's.

In preparation, I covered my tender seedlings with clay pots and plastic.

As part of our pasture rotation program,

I moved the pigs into a new enclosure for their grazing time.

This time they shared a yard with our dwarf Nigerian goats.

The goats were unsure about having these strange creatures in their yard with them,

and so they stayed in and around their houses all day long,

watching as the pigs combed over their yard like lawnmowers.

There is nothing more wonderful than fresh Spring grass!

And as long as Ginger and MaryAnn have plenty of grass to eat, 

they resist the temptation to use their snouts as shovels to uncover tasty roots.

I was relieved to see there would be no inter-species skirmishes.

All was quiet...

that is, until feeding time for goats.

To prevent the pigs from eating the goat feed, I harnessed them up and got them to the gate.

Before I could open the gate to usher the pigs back to the barn,

one of our elder goats, Star, marched over to the gate and gave each of the pigs a firm head butt,

sending them squealing out of the enclosure.

It's as if Star was telling the girls to "get lost"...

"it's our time to eat!"

Do you recognize this horse??

Pete is looking so much better.

He is also a very effective lawnmower, and prefers pasture grass over hay.

(naturally)

I believe he has already gained some weight.

He's starting to finally hold his head up...

life is really looking up for this chap!