Welcome new piglets~!!!

Today we welcomed new piglets to our Peculiar Clan~

Hello from Frodo, Spock and Luke!

They are six weeks old and not happy about being in the car for several hours.

Right now they are napping in the grass...

They are right next to the older pigs... (you can see them in the background) so they can acclimate.

I have a video of them meeting for the first time, but Paul and I were having a (ahem...) heated discussion about hose nozzles. haha... 

Best to insert happy music over that discussion. 

Screaming, thrashing, poopy piggies can make some people cranky. go figure.

More later... perhaps that video clip?

 

 © 2011 Eve Hanlin

The Summer Day

Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

© 2011 Eve Hanlin

Oink Oink... Pastured Pork~

 This year we decided to raise our own pigs...

(See previous Pig Posts here and here...)

Why? Because we decided years ago to be more conscious of where our food comes from.

So... here we are! On our dream farm, with piggies scampering about in our pastures.

We are selling pork shares this year, but since it is our first year, we have limited numbers.

If you are interested in reserving a half or whole pig, please email us at peculiarambitions@gmail.com.

I will then email you a detailed information price sheet.

Berkshire Piglets

We only have Berkshire pigs left, and will be getting more Berkshire the end of May.

Berkshires are a heritage breed pigs, renowned for their ability to raise well on pasture and for their yummy, marbled meats. 

Berkshire Links~

Wikipedia on Berkshire Pigs

The History of the Berkshire Breed

Heritage Pork

Our pigs are raised on our no-spray pasture and we feed them soy free/organic grains from Magill Ranch in Oregon. They are kept in a mobile fence that gets moved around our pasture and orchard areas.  

E-i-e-i-oooooo

They are spoiled rotten.... and get plenty of fresh air, clean water, unlimited green grass, sunshine (when it's out), rainbows and happiness! 

We are really enjoying them, they are very happy pigs. 

Lotsa napping and basking too!

 zzzzzzzzzzz

You are welcome to come and visit our pigs, to see how they are being raised and what they are fed, etc. Just drop us an email to set a time.

Here are some helpful links I have found while doing my research...

On Buying a Pig... by Former Chef ~ This post shows a really helpful breakdown of what they got from a whole pig... 

Going Whole (or half) Hog: Buying Pork Directly from the Farmer

How Much Meat from a Pig? .. by LoveLiveGrow.com

Our Dreams are Here, NOW~

There are several blogs that I follow...

They inspire me and give me plenty of food for thought.

One of my favorites blogs is by Melody Ross, of The Brave Girls Club.

Her post this morning talked about the bad habit of waiting for the shoe to drop.

Living in fear of bad things happening...

I am SO guilty of this... I know I am happy and that we are in the midst of such a fantastic, blessed time in our lives, but there is always that voice in my head saying "enjoy it, it may not last". 

That voice comes from years of lean and hard, stressful times. It was a coping mechanism that I needed at the time, admitting there are things I have no control over and just hanging on by a thread.

But those times are years in the past. Life is amazing now, and I am learning how to expect them to stay amazing.  I now know how strong we are, and what we learned from our struggles. 

So really, no matter what the future brings, we will be OK.

I have learned to appreciate the NOW, because NOW is all we really have. 

The past is gone, and the future? It's not guaranteed and definitely not here yet.

I REALLY loved to this part of her post...

"I love this home, and the trees and the water and the peace and the way it seems like it has been waiting for us for all of it’s life. I started thinking about how something could happen and we might not be able to stay….and how I better not get my heart set on it…….better not fall too deeply in love….

But see, it’s too late for that. I am smitten. I am so deeply in love, committed……it’s too late to not fall in love. When the sun came up…..and the pink sky with the big golden light ball started to reflect off of all of it…..my heart broke again thinking about how this water was going to not be here forever.

Suddenly…….my whole soul shook and I felt the words loud and clear…

“MELODY, the water IS here NOW..enjoy it.”

Smack.

WOW. I know better than this…..and I was falling into an ugly old outdated expired trick. I realized I was thinking more about how to protect myself from the heartbreak of not being here, not having this water……..this whole place……than just ENJOYING IT TODAY."

We feel the same way about our farm! 

Like it has been waiting for us it's whole life. 

Now we are here and have magical things planned for it. 

Even after a year and a half, we are still in the "pinch me" phase.

Sitting in a very grateful and thankful place right now.

Life is good.

Cross posted with Reenie's personal blog, ReenieHanlin.com~