Apparently I’m not the only one who appreciates the contented grunts of our ten pigs, who (if
you haven’t driven by lately) are quite the roadside attraction aside Loop Rd. A few days ago, Laura, Mari, and Lauren were finishing up a paddock expansion for the porcine crew, when a family drove by, a rear window rolled down, and a young girl peaked her head out, calling to the pigs with her own “oink oink oink! oink oink!” The three of us on fencing duty sprouted smiles ear-to-ear. Yep, kiddo, you’re speakin’ our language.
These ten tamworth pigs (collectively nicknamed “the chorus” for the aforementioned grunts and snorts) have enriched the farm in so many ways–they’ve contributed fertility to our “bedded pack” system,which is on short order to be made into nutrient-rich compost; they’ve aerated and fertilized future garden sites; and of course, they’ve provided entertainment and dear company. We are reminded now more than ever, as we ready to take them “to market”, just how grateful we are for all they’ve brought us. The value of this relationship goes beyond the symbiotic nature of farmer and livestock, reaching to regenerate the landscape, to engage the surrounding community, and to impart our food with that much more significance.
Of course, in keeping with the ebb and flow of nature’s rhythms (and it being spring and all), we simultaneously find ourselves anticipating quite a few new lives on the farm, and are looking forward to the joys they themselves will bring. As I write this post, two doe goats wait out a cold drizzle in the barn–they’re getting special treatment as they’re showing all the telltale signs that they’re ready to kid. They sure do have us on our toes though, checking in on them every few hours. Oh, the anticipation! We’ve tossed around the idea that they’ve been waiting out these cold, blustery days, holding out for more ideal conditions.
All the same, by the time many of you are reading this, we might very well have a few new additions to the farm! Be sure to check our facebook for pictures and updates, and of course, stop in and see them up close while you’re at the farm stand.
We also began preparing for the addition of some particularly tiny critters this week–chicks! Around 75 little balls of fluff are scheduled to arrive between the 7th and 9th, and we can’t wait to get them situated and off to a good start on their path of pastured clucking, scratching, and laying.
It is an incredible opportunity we are afforded, here at the farm, to witness firsthand these standard but awe-inspiring elements of life–the birth, growth, and health that our animals (and plants!) come to find, and the life that comes even from their passing–the nutrients and the deeply resonating value that their food confers.