Our female pig (that has no name beyond Mama Pig) is close to farrowing. Because of that, we needed to separate the male. I talked with Lamar, and he gave the green light on selling him.
But I was struggling to find a seller. I’d had only one interested person, but they wanted to give half of what he was worth. I mentioned the pig to Fernando, and he asked if they could use him to breed their sow.
They came over to check him out one evening and were very pleased with how he looked. They said he was easily worth twice as much as the other fellow had offered. In fact, Fernando decided he wanted to buy him.
So he sent Esmeralda to pick him up yesterday. The timing is just right because the Mama Pig is bagging up. From this morning to this evening, she looked twice as full and acts like she’s nesting. Her due date is three days away.
Dane helped me put in a farrowing corner. I got the idea from a design I found online. I couldn’t find a heat lamp, but I do have another heat-fan-thingy, so I’m using that. I ordered a heat lamp from an ag store in town, but it won’t be here for a few days yet.
I’ve never had a pig before, so this is all new territory for me. I’m eager to learn. I hope the piggies do well. The Mama Pig is really gentle and loves being scratched, especially on her belly. I expect she’ll be a good mom.
Our cat is also looking like she’s near her time. I never saw a tom around, so I don’t know when she’s due, but she walks more like a penguin than a cat nowadays. It’s fun to feel the kitties pawing from inside her tummy.
Steph is putting out a bed for Garralina under the table where she’s fed. Steph hopes that will keep her from kittening in off-limits areas. The girls are excited that piglets are coming soon. They have an alarm set and plan to get up at midnight to check on the pig. We don’t want the piglets freezing.
A year ago at this time, we were sitting in the airport at Lima. Our Cusco flight wasn’t until the next morning. Everyone else was exhausted and sleeping. I stayed awake to watch the suitcases. Daniel and Alicia were with us for the trip. We’re still grateful for their sacrifice in giving up time and money to help us in that travel.
I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of inadequacy in regards to the language. We’d been studying, but I felt I understood almost none of what was said and could speak even less. I was deeply relieved to have Jolynn and Alicia with us to help in those tight spots of language trouble on the trip.
It had been a stressful day, particularly because we were basically turned away from the initial flight unless we could buy a return flight. They wouldn’t accept one-way tickets with no return date. With some frantic online shopping, we managed it just in time.
Ah, the memories…. We celebrated by eating Panetone for bedtime snack. Steph had picked it up especially for today.
Juan David 