Piggy Toes and Dirty Fleece

I wish that I could introduce each and every one of you
to Ginger and MaryAnn.


Of all the animals on the farm, these two are so very special.


Of course, they are all special in their own ways...
but,
Ginger and MaryAnn are highly intelligent and highly social.


They absolutely love human interaction.


Here is a little video that I captured yesterday afternoon.



If you listen closely, you will notice a slightly different sound that they make
when they get close to me.
Their grunting turns into a sound like "ha, ha, ha" (not laughter)
You see, I have always said "Hi, hi, hi" to them and they seem to respond with something
as close to what I am saying as they can muster.


It's their way of showing that they are happy to see me.


They actually have quite a vocabulary of sounds that they use.
This one particular sound, however, they only use when greeting us.


On the other side of the fence are the sheep.
Since losing her mother, Hope has been a lot more friendly towards me.
Yesterday, while in the pig yard, I moved over and sat next to the fence beside Hope.
Reaching through the fence, I dug my fingers into her fleece and gave her a little scratching.


She didn't move, but sat very still.
I rubbed her ears and her nose and still she stayed.
We seem to be making a lot of progress...
which is good, because I will have to be able to trim her feet soon and do a little maintenance.
So, the friendlier she is, the easier for all of us!


See her lovely white fleece beneath all that dirt?
If only I could bathe her...
but she would be just as dirty all over again!

Comments

Louise Stopford said…
Those piggy girls are so sweet - I loved the video. So glad that Hope is getting more friendly and that they are both doing so well without their mum.
Patsy from Illinois said…
Love Ginger and Mary Ann and the way they talk to you. How long do pigs live? Hopefully a very long time.
This N That said…
MaryAnn is a bit less enthusiastic but she came through..I didn't realize that Hope's grey was dirt..I thought that was her color..Interesting..Mollie comes to "pig, pig,pig..." I'll try to remember that the next time that she gets away..I think it's your voice...Enjoy this beautiful day..
nuri said…
Happy pigs loving your attention - touching to watch these interactions. MaryAnn's teeth look like she's been flossing.
Memo to bucket list: Touch a sheep at least once in my life.
jaz@octoberfarm said…
those girls are just too cute! are the sheep adjusting to life without mom?
An American in Tokyo said…
Nice video!
I can hear the "ha-ha-ha" that sounds like "hi hi hi"!!
Sooooo cool!

I think it's funny how they like to smell your toes!
Reminds me of some horses who like to smell me up and down.
I wonder how much they can experience from all the smells?!
hee hee!
Lynne said…
Cute little oink like language.
They sure do like you Bev . . . and your toes too!