I just finished reading The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood by Sy Montgomery. Christopher had been a runt marked for death who ended up leading a charmed and long life, tipping the scales at something north of 700 lbs and achieving fame on television and in print. Everyone loved Christopher; he …
A few weeks ago my pigs had access to a few acres of bare, root-able, snuffle-able ground. Since then we have received over 30″ of snow thanks to a series of Nor’Easters, vivid reminders that late March in Maine can be full-on, full-blast winter. My pigs are not impressed. Deep snow and short legs aren’t …
The pigs don’t seem to mind that there’s a foot of snow where they usually eat their morning meal. The authorities have declared today a snow day, and I thought it might be a good time to catch up on things. I’ll get the unfortunate news out of the way right off. Wilbur, the star …
When I met the piglet a few weeks ago, he was stretched out in front of the wood stove enjoying a life of leisure and diminutive cups of goat milk. He’d been the runt of the litter and was sure to die if the children on the farm hadn’t intervened and nursed him back to …
In my last post I tried to tie the fate of my pigs to the need for a paradigm shift in human thinking about our place in the world. That is, I admit, a tall order, one which is barely within the realm of possible. Our collective fictions, those powerful stories we’ve told ourselves as …
To start, a quick pig update: It’s just above zero degrees fahrenheit at 7am, and the pigs are still curled up in the warmth of their shelter. But the sun’s coming around the bend, and soon they’ll be out snuffling around in the hay, their black bodies absorbing the sun’s warmth. I’m just about to …
Question: Why don’t I just keep the pigs myself instead of raising a large sum of money to send them off to a farm animal sanctuary? Answer: I could do this if the rest of my family was excited about caring for six pigs for the next dozen or so years. It would be a …
Just thought I’d quickly post results from the first day of fundraising. With $324 coming from nine different people, we’re off to a great start. The power of social media comes from sharing so share with abandon! And, thanks.
Here it is: https://www.gofundme.com/saving-the-lives-of-six-pigs The campaign has begun! Let’s hope for nothing but success. Are there 5000 people somewhere out there willing to donate a sum equivalent to the price of a pound of bacon? I’m sure there are. The trick is finding them.
Through several email conversations with Peace Ridge Sanctuary, I have a rough plan to form a fundraising campaign for my six pigs. Since the pig barn at Peace Ridge is full, we would need to build a new structure which would house the sanctuary’s group of smaller pot-bellied pigs, and my six would live in …