Pig Tales

After reading yesterday's post,

Ginger and MaryAnn had their little pigtails a bit out of joint.

You see, they were a bit jealous over all of the attention that

the equines got when their dry lot tree was cut down.

What?  You are surprised to hear that Ginger and MaryAnn read the farm blog?

What surprises you more...

the fact that they can read, or the fact that they have their own I-pads?

Back to our story....

Ginger and MaryAnn, while sweet-natured, can at times be quite the drama queens.

(Especially if someone else is getting the attention that they feel they deserve more!)

They asked me to tell you...

(they would have written this themselves, but their little cloven hooves just don't

work well on their I-pads.  And, well, Apple just hasn't perfected voice
recognition for pigs yet!)
anyways... they asked me to tell you that they spent more time in their stall
when the tree trimmers were here than the horses did.

You see, there were about 5 dead trees in the pigpen...
(the horses only had one tree that needed to be cut down...
and it took several hours to cut them all down...
several hours that Ginger and MaryAnn did what they do best
(ok, well second best...eating is their first talent)...
they napped!

I worried that all of the noise (chainsaws and wood chippers)
would stress the girls out.

Not so....no...they spent the hours in peaceful, blissful sleep...
awakening when all of the activity was finished....
full rested and eager to investigate.

Their little wooded area looks a little bare now.
The trees that were removed were dead, so there is no less foliage.
In their place are several piles of firewood that will be cleaned up and added to the wood pile.

MaryAnn told me that she likes the way the pigpen looks.
She thinks the piles of wood give the area a rustic appearance.
Ginger, who hates change, is still trying to get used to the new look.

I suggested that perhaps they would both grow to like the new openness...
that it would give them better access to the vegetation in that area.
After all, every cloud has a silver lining.
Right?

By the way, the garden continues to explode with edible goodness.
The grape vine (after being picked three times) is still full of grapes.

Yesterday I canned 20 jars of grape jam...
and there are enough grapes left for 5 times that!

And then there are the tomatoes.
Hubbs calls it the "tomato crisis".
Although the tomato plants look to be on their last leg, they just keep producing!
I will be making more tomato sauce in the coming days for sure!

Lettuce seeds have germinated and are beginning to emerge.

Autumn broccoli plants are growing.
I planted several boxes full.

What an amazing garden year it has been.
I have enjoyed every minute of it,
but will be ready for a little rest once Autumn arrives.

And speaking of gardens gone wild...

my fairy garden has turned into a fairy jungle.

None of the houses are visible now.

I will have to do a major pruning job if I ever hope to see those fairies again!