Pig farmers?

This is how I look just after a pig has been delivered and I'm thinking, "How in the world do we care for this thing?

This week had its frustrating moments. Rural Water was supposed to have dug in our new water line last week. They showed up this Wed afternoon with the backhoe and said, "Too late to start today, we'll be back tomorrow." Then they never came back. I called Friday morning since I had the plumber scheduled for this coming Tuesday, and she said, "Well they'll be out today, because they certainly won't leave the backhoe out there all weekend." Backhoe is still here...unused. The garbage folks were supposed to bring our new dumpster, and they never showed. But the worst thing for the kids is that the gentlemen was unable to bring the milk cow and pony. But he's going to make up for it by bringing some bantam chicks and ducks. :-) They should all arrive tomorrow.

On Friday night we helped our friend, Orrin Hughes pour the slab for his garage, which he and his wife are going to live in while they build their house. That was fun! We left at 1am, I think he finished with the power trowel at 2am.

So today I was just about to hop on the computer and post to the blog, when Bill Forbes' grandson Ethan shows up on his four wheeler. He asks, "Do you want a pig?" Now what does one say to that question? I said, "Uhhhhhh, sure!" We are starting a family farm, after all! It seems this particular pig was bought as a gag wedding gift, presumably for "Tad" and "Missy" (see photos above). After the gag ran its course, the pig was given to Ethan, who took it home. When his dad said, "You're not keeping that thing here!" he brought it to us. So after the frantic move of a dog run and the re-dubbing of the compost bucket to the slop bucket, we are the proud owners of a new pig, which should bring ham and bacon this fall.

One quick story...

When we arrived, there was an extension cord plugged into the entry/mud room. When I followed it into the basement, I found it was powering one of the 2 well pumps. Seems both were wired on the same circuit, and when they came on together they tripped the breaker. So I bought a circuit breaker to run a new circuit and get the extension cord out of the entry. Somewhere between moving, painting, etc. the circuit breaker got lost. I looked all over, asked everyone (so I thought) and couldn't find it. So I bought another one. While working on the electrical panel, I realized I had left the breaker on the kitchen table. So I pointed to one of the breakers in the panel and said, "Hey Tanner, there is one of these in a bag on the kitchen table. Will you run and get it for me?" He says, "OK, do you want the one from the table, or the one behind the microwave?"

New pets and farm equipment

We have been incredibly busy. We are moving, unpacking, burning trash piles, fixing up a shed, painting, cleaning and planting.

We went and looked at a milk cow this past Sunday. She's a Brown Swiss/Jersey mix, and if her pregnancy test scheduled for tomorrow is positive, we'll buy her. If not, it's back to searching. I had no idea it would be this hard to buy a family milk cow! While we didn't bring the cow home right away, we did bring home the gift that keeps on giving...a pregnant cat! Her name is Patches, and she's a very affectionate cat. Well, as long as your name isn't Callie and you're not fighting over food off the floor. It was just a small bite, though...

Also pictured above is Laddie. He was Bill's dog, and the family asked us if we would keep him. He's very mild-mannered collie and the kids all love him.

We're very excited about our first two pieces of farm equipment. We bought a mower/conditioner which cuts the hay and crimps it for faster drying. It is a 1973 New Holland Haybine 479 that we bought from a farmer about 100 miles north. We towed it back behind the van at 25 mph max...long trip! My Dad, Trevor and I went to get it, and it was a fun day. The farmer we bought it from was 81 and an absolute hoot. His father homesteaded his farm, arriving just before winter. He dug a hole and spent the winter in the hole with his dog. Now that's roughing it! The son was meticulous about maintaining his machinery, and as he said, "You'll run the wheels right off your car if you try to find one in better condition!" Then once we had agreed on a price, he said, "OK, now my wife will fix you some lunch." Great folks.

We also bought a 1977 Massey Ferguson square baler from right here in Minot that is in excellent condition.

Now all we need is a tractor!

Tanner has graduated to riding the Honda 50 motorcycle by himself. The other day he was giving Timmy a ride, and they came by me just cracking up. Tanner said, "I'm riding with my eyes closed, and Timmy tells me if we're going to hit something!" Good grief! Ol' stick-in-the-mud Dad had to put a stop to that game.

The farm is really greening up, so we'll have to get more pictures on here soon.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Just a quick update. I haven't had time to download/upload (I don't know which it is) pics from the camera to the computer, but hope to soon. We have been planting potatoes and onions and painting inside the house to get ready to move in. By the time we quit at night we have just enough energy to MAKE ourselves shower and then we fall into bed. I will try to get some pics on soon!

We are having a lot of fun and loving life though!