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!