March 16, 2008

Weekend activities

After a month of trying, Gary gets the trailer up the hill to the pig pen. We will deliver them to the butcher later today.
Time for Liddy's stitches to come out. Gary held her while I snipped.
When they were all out, I covered the incision with Zinc Oxide. Her coat is taking a longer time to grow back than it is taking for her incision to heal.
Murphy supervised from outside the stall.
Annie, who shares the stall with Liddy, watched from the corner. According to my notes, she is due to kid this week. At this point, her bag is much larger than her belly!
I spotted a duck checking out nest sites under a toolbench in the barn. I never found an egg, but this shows they will be laying soon.
Turkey hens play on our homemade critter carrier (it fits in the back of Gary's truck). They do stuff like this all day.
Hank sits on the hill and watches them all.

Posted by roosterh at 6:36 PM | Comments (0)

March 2, 2008

SnowSnowSnow

Time to trudge through the snow and feed the pigs. An extra bonus today: I found a stash of tiny banty eggs in the barn. There are 6 hens in the barn and each week they find a new place to lay their eggs. This week's hot spot was under the wood splitter.
The girls squeal and squeak when they realize what time it is.
They love those eggs!
And back scratches.
The purveyors of those fine eggs, part of my banty flock in the barn.
After the pigs are fed, we go across to feed the calf. He's about 7 months old now and his horns are starting to show.
My 3 spring toms follow us up. Murphy doesn't like the snow as much as they do.
Gary has plowed a wide avenue up the hill. The house and barns are below.
same picture, with turkey :)
Murphy has stayed down below to take advantage of some cleared patches of grass. Big Tom is with him.
It's a beautiful day. Tomorrow is supposed to be 50 degrees, and then we get more snow.

Liddy update: Liddy is doing great. She gets a dose of children's liquid ibuprofen every 8 hours or so. I wonder if kids eat that stuff up as eagerly and quickly as Liddy? She now checks my pockets and hands whenever I visit to see if I have brought more for her to eat.

Posted by roosterh at 6:08 PM | Comments (0)

August 19, 2007

Quiet Sunday

After yesterday's big adventures it was good to have a quiet day at home. It iwas cool and fall-like today although the sun warmed things up a bit.

The calf spent the day outside and we moved the pigs outside for good.



They look pretty happy! The temp is supposed to go to the mid-40s tonight so we filled their house with hay.



The other pigs are in their own pasture.



If the little pigs keep eating like this they will be as big as the others in no time!



We also worked on the garden fence. The chickens have been getting in and eating tomatoes as soon as they get ripe - not good! We've hardly been getting any. The corn is almost ready. Would you say Gary is outstanding in his field?

Posted by roosterh at 8:59 PM | Comments (2)

August 14, 2007

Auction Bound

There are just too many birds around here. Ducks are underfoot constantly and roosters crow dawn til dusk. Time to go to an auction.

The birds actually sold pretty well and we were ready to head back home.

Until we saw this guy. A tiny pygmy buck kid! Now we have a boyfriend for Liddy, our other pygmy. He moves too fast to get a good picture.
And then we saw this guy.
Two piglets also came home with us too. It's all a blur. I didn't get their pictures, so here's another pic of that calf. He's a real looker!

I also brought some more birds home. Fortunately they do not eat much.

Posted by roosterh at 7:04 AM | Comments (0)

June 18, 2007

PigPig

It's been hot. The pigs are big and the heat really gets to them. They lay in the shade and the mud to beat the heat.
The younger pigs do too.
These 2 go to the butcher at the end of the month. Another hard day.

Posted by roosterh at 6:32 AM | Comments (0)

May 20, 2007

Everyone loves honeysuckle!

We have a lot of honeysuckle growing around here. It can quickly take over. Luckily we can cut it down and feed it to everyone too. Goats love honeysuckle.
Sheep do too.
And pigs.
Both ends.
Meanwhile Toby gets a brushing.

He loves to get brushed.

We bought more baby pigs this weekend. They are still pretty shy. They will get over that quickly ;)
They have a movable shed like the goats and turkeys, only shorter and with a floor. The shingled roof and the floor makes it a bit heavier but the pigs really like it.
There is a flock of wild turkeys on the hill. You may have to look at the larger size to see them.

Posted by roosterh at 3:49 PM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2007

The great escape!

Pigs got out this morning. They squeezed right under their gate, the little buggers. Getting 2 pigs in with one person is not an easy task - you need one to push the pigs and one to grab the gate. One person will only be successful if both pigs go in at once, and guess what? That almost never happens.

It sure didn't today. I got one in but not the other. Here's a tip for all you pig chasers out there: a bristle broom strategically pointed at a porcine hind end will make said porcine move very quickly and usually where you want them to go.

Once Gary got home from his job, we quietly and easily got the second pig back in their pasture. Thankfully he only laid around with the other pig all day with just the fence separating them.

Posted by roosterh at 5:27 PM | Comments (0)

April 4, 2007

This year's pigs

So I casually mentioned yesterday that we sold all the goats. Most of them. I kept 3 - Liddy the pygmy, Annie the saanen, and Tucker the boer buck. Annie should be kidding any day now (as should the other goats who I sold).

The next day after the goats were gone, Gary brought home 2 piglets. They stayed in the barn while it was cold and buried themselves in the hay and basked under a heat lamp when it was really cold.

But this weekend, they went outside.

We moved them to a pasture goats had been wintered in. The pigs are good at working up the old hay.

They really are growing quickly. And getting friendly. Baby pigs are skittish at first but when they realize we bring food and give good back scratches, they calm down quickly.
Chicken, a rooster who only stays outside with the goats (his choice) edges in for a bite.
The pigs get all the spare eggs.
Want some?

Posted by roosterh at 7:01 AM | Comments (0)

August 30, 2006

Sending more pigs

It's that time of the year again when we send pigs down the road. Gary backed the trailer up to gate - a difficult task uphill in the mud. We use hog panels to create a simple chute from gate to trailer.
These are the pigs that were born here last spring. They are tamworths which take a little longer to grow but once they start they really take off.
Here is Gary with the biggest pig.
Their breakfast was placed in the trailer and they calmly went up the ramp. We put the trailer up there with them a few days early so they are used to it. Less stress on everyone that way.

Posted by roosterh at 8:18 AM | Comments (0)

May 14, 2006

Three Spring Pigs

Our first pigs born at the farm. They are tamworth/duroc crosses. We put them up in the goats' winter pasture to clean things up a bit. They're doing a great job!

Posted by roosterh at 9:58 AM | Comments (0)

March 20, 2006

In the Barn

We moved the calf out to the barn this evening and moved Nala and her triplets out of their private suite to make room for the little guy. Gary took over feeding too which didn't bother me too much. Maybe it's just my technique, but when I bottle feed a calf I get most of it in the cow and part of it on me. Plus lots of cow slime. Notice the little goat looking on?
Lots goes on in the barn at night. Xena is telling this female muscovy to move on - he doesn't like anyone crowding his roost.
Murphy turkey and Xena chose to sleep on the pig pen fence. This is always a bad choice. The pigs love to rub their backends on the scratchin-post of a fence and any bird who chooses to roost there gets quite a ride, like poor Murphy here.

Posted by roosterh at 7:23 PM | Comments (6)

March 9, 2006

Three Little Pigs

Three teeny tiny baby pigs were waiting for Gary when he got home today. Of course we thought mama would have more than 3! But they are cutecutecute.
Sweet mama who loves a good back scratch has turned into a raving mad hellion who we can't get near. She launched herself at Gary when he tried to grab the first baby to give him some iron supplement, and even bit his arm. Good thing the temps are warm outside for these babies. They're not moving anytime soon.

Posted by roosterh at 11:27 PM | Comments (0)

March 5, 2006

A Sunny Day (lots of pictures)

After snowing for the past 3 days, Sunday dawned clear and sunny. About time! It was a perfect day. I cooked and cleaned in the morning while Gary worked outside. I came outside and goofed off by taking tons of pictures. Then I went to pick up a load of feed and by the time I got back it was time for chores. We took a quick fourwheeler ride before going in for dinner.
Lots more pictures to follow:
Even though the temps are cold, the turkeys are still in full-spring mode. Here is Luther strutting his stuff.
And here's my handsome Murphy. He and Luther had a little disagreement a couple days ago, and both have a few nicks and scars. Murphy's pride is a little beaten too.
My youngest turkey hen follows me everywhere.
The ducks enjoy the sunshine in the doorway of the new barn.
My chickens do not like the snow. Luckily Gary has plowed the drive and the snow has melted enough that they can walk on it.
The kids in the barn are growing! We have some warmer temperatures predicted finally, so we can move them outside and prepare for kidding, round 2. The roosters jump into their pen to search for grain and scratch through the hay. And provide some entertainment for the kids.
Here is Nala and her 3 kids plus another kid on the left. We ended up moving Nala to her own pen this afternoon. The other goats beat up on her too much for her to get a good meal. And with 3 kids, she needs all she can get!
One of Nala's kids enjoys some hay after being moved to the new pen.
Here is one of our young bucklings.
Annie is due the first week of April. She only started to look huge this week.
Many people at my workplace often ask me about the kid who came to work. Here she is with buddy Cinnamon. I couldn't get them away from the hay for a better picture.
Erin was also born last spring a little after our frozen girl (no, she doesn't have a name yet!)
Hank samples the hay.
Here is Liddie the pygmy. That must be some hay, everyone's too busy eating to pay attention to the camera.
Matty and Mae nibble at a white pine. We throw them into the pens with the goats, sheep and cows. They like to eat something green once in a while.
One of our cows is bred and is really starting to look huge. Here she shows us her best side.
Stand too long at the fence and other cows are sure to get curious! This is another red hereford, coming in for some pets.
Hank pets her too.
The big pigs slept in the sunshine most of the day.
We tried moving big mama pig again today, but were not successful.

Posted by roosterh at 5:19 PM | Comments (1)

March 1, 2006

You try to move a pig and see what happens

Before the big snow storm we tried to move big mama pig. We tried first thing in the morning before I had to go to work. Big mama was more interested in scratching her backside against the trees. We let her walk around a while and Gary brought her back to her garden apartment.

Posted by roosterh at 7:39 AM | Comments (0)

February 25, 2006

Missed the Farm Show

For the first time since we started farming, we missed the farm show this year. Instead we drove over to a friend's farm - he raises pigs and we needed some advice on our impending farrowing. We had a great visit, got lots of advice and saw his almost completed meat shop. He'll be selling custom cuts of pork from his farm soon!
On our way back we checked out a feed store in the same town as the pig farm - we really know how to live. Then picked up a truckload of hay before returning home to warm up. It's cold!

Posted by roosterh at 5:39 PM | Comments (0)

February 3, 2006

Mixing It Up

Trying to keep the big piggs entertained, Gary shovelled the composting hay into the pig pen in the garden. They immediately starting rooting around.
The big bred sow is warming up to us.
The black gilt takes a nap in their house.
Besides working in the pig pen, Gary opened up the kid pen in the barn today. It was a little hectic at first as all the mama does tried to locate their kids, but the kids went on playing, oblivious to their mothers' concerns.

Posted by roosterh at 4:26 PM | Comments (0)

January 29, 2006

Pigs and Coyotes

This morning we had what we call an old-fashioned Sunday morning. We try about once a month to have a morning where we make coffee on the stove instead of using the electric pot and no computer use. Some mornings we will only use the oil lamps but today we used the electric lamps. I finished knitting a sock while Gary caught up on reading.

After chores, we went back to the farm where we got the piglets and brought home a bred sow. We also got a younger gilt. They are now in the garden. Soon we will have our own piglets!

Afer we got them settled in, we went to town to see the results of an organized coyote hunt. I wanted to see how many were brought in and how big they were. We hear plenty of coyotes throughout the night and in the morning when we do chores, but never see them. The hunt brought in a number of dogs but they were mostly foxes. Our winter has been so easy the coyotes are resting with full bellies and are hard to call in. A friend of Gary's had won the prize for heaviest coyote the previous day. I think it was about 32 pounds.
The ducks have begun laying eggs. Good timing too, pigs love duck eggs. So does Hank - so I need to be quick finding them or he'll eat them first.
The little doeling has perked right up and is running around like all the others. It's such a relief when things work out.

Posted by roosterh at 5:46 PM | Comments (2)

January 26, 2006

5 in 10

5 kids.

10 hours.

10 more inches of snow.

Gary woke me at 4. "Lots to do," he said. "We got a lot of snow overnight." I got on the computer to do some quick things for work while he suited up to go outside. He wasn't gone long when he stuck his head inside to tell me Nala had kidded. I finished what I was doing as quickly as I could and rushed outside.
Nala is very forgiving of others before she has kids of her own. Sweet, nice, the perfect goat. But the second she has her babies, watch out! She becomes a she-devil, biting and butting anything and everything that gets near her brood. And I have the scars to prove it. To get by her to take care of her kids, we need to fake left and go right to avoid her wrath.

Did I mention she had triplets? Our first set! Two girls and a boy.

Somehow the pigs managed to sleep through all of this!
Bugsy's kids are up and about. Well one's up and the other is lying about.
Even Murphy is in full force this morning, showing off even as he roosts on a gate. Nala is in the background, on the left.

Posted by roosterh at 8:00 AM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2006

Temperatures: Rising and Falling

Today is the first day in about 5 days I have not had a temperature, so that meant a full day's work. I know I will sleep well tonight. Amazingly, the temperatures outside are still very warm for this time of year. Although we never reached yesterday's high of 52 degrees, today it was about 40 and sunny. I took advantage of the sun, and after chores, I scrubbed all the water buckets outside.

Then we went to look at some pigs. A farmer advertised on FreeCycle that he had some piglets he wanted to give away. I took some pictures of his farm while we were there.



He raised a number of Tamworths, Boer goats, Scottish Highlands(cattle), guinea hens and chickens. One pig, Hamlet, even had the run of the place, and he was a sizable pig! It was impressive that he stuck so close since pigs are known to wander. I can tell you some stories about escaped pigs!



Ulysses is his Duroc boar. Such a laid back pig! I have never felt so comfortable being so close to a full-grown boar.



Here is Rachel, the curious Scottish Highland.



We came home with 2 piglets, about 8 weeks old. Very curious.



Here's a better view. They are in the barn for now. We are going to try putting the pigs on the vegetable garden for a while to have them churn things up. First we have to put some fencing up and move their house over. So the barn is very crowded, the goats are confused by the squealing pigs, and the pigs root around in the hay.



After we got the pigs settled, it was back to work. We are in the process of clearing out another spot for pigs up the hill. After cutting down some pine trees, we burned some of the branches. I pulled some of the trees out with my fourwheeler and we will feed these to the goats. They love the green needles especially in the wintertime. It was the first time I had ridden the four wheeler in a while. I am almost through my first tank of gas, finally.


While we were putting branches on the fire, I happened to look down the driveway and saw one of the pigs! We had our own loose pig! We moved quickly and herded him back inside, discovered and fixed his escape route.


The photographer came out today to take advantage of sunny skies. We had been trying for a while to get together and finally the cards were dealt just right. We got a chance to look at some of the pictures she had taken before--they were excellent and I cannot wait to see them in print. She brought us a pizza, much appreciated! After we came in for the night, we had some and tried to catch the end of the football games.
Weather forecast is calling for up to 8 inches of snow by tomorrow evening. Luther the turkey is sleeping on the roof of the barn tonight so he is in for one big surprise.

Posted by roosterh at 6:24 PM | Comments (1)

July 24, 2005

Dropped the first pig off

We dropped the first pig off. He was a couple weeks older than the others. The chute Gary built worked well with one pig, although I have my doubts about how it will work with multiple pigs. We will see! Gary had placed some pig food in the back of the truck to tempt him to get up there, and the chickens enjoy the leftovers. They are an excellent clean up crew. Murphy, of course, looks on.
On our way back from the butcher's, we stopped at an auction. I broke down and bought a couple turkeys as well as a mille fleur hen with 5 mixed breed chicks. I am glad we did not stay longer since there were some nice sheep there as well as some pigs. Pictured here are the turkeys, a broad-breasted white tom and a Royal Palm hybrid hen. The BB will be Gary's dinner I am afraid, they are not bred to live very long. :( Hank looks on.
Murphy and Hank have a love/hate relationship. Hank loves to tease Murphy and Murphy hates it. This picture shows Murphy trying to sneak up on Hank to give him a quick peck on the butt, as he loves to do.

Posted by roosterh at 7:08 AM | Comments (2)

July 17, 2005

Hog Days of Summer

Pigs don't sweat, and it's been hot. As a result, Gary has been adding many buckets of water to their area for them to lay in. This is one happy pig right here.
They will fight each other for the best mud. Actually they fight each other over a lot of things.
All for one and one for all! Here is a brief moment where they are not fighting or pushing each other. It's just too hot.
Aahhhh yeah, that's better.
And here is the grass check. There's none left!
So Gary orders take-out, picking weeds to put inside for them. This is where pigs were last year. We also give the pigs weeds from the garden.
The first pig goes down the road next week. This will be our third trip. Leading a pig to a trailer is not as easy task as you might think, no matter how many tasty treats the trailer holds. Gary built this chute ahead of time so the pigs get used to it, and it should be easier to load them. I'll keep you posted. ;-)

Posted by roosterh at 8:02 PM | Comments (0)

June 27, 2005

Pig Grass Check 6/27

I have been remiss in keeping up with the grass status and the pigs. :-D

This batch of pigs is not as interested in grazing as other pigs. But with the hot weather we need to provide a wallowing area where we pour buckets of water to make mud for them to roll and sit in. Because of this, much of the vegetation in that area is now gone.
The heat is hard on the pigs. The mud helps them cool off.

Posted by roosterh at 7:54 AM | Comments (0)

May 29, 2005

Weekly grass Check

Here is the grass level after hosting 4 pigs for a week. Not too bad. The pigs are starting to root around more in the center of their area. Once it gets hot I imagine their digging will increase *wink
With yummy treats like these who wants to eat grass anyway?

Posted by roosterh at 7:01 PM | Comments (0)

May 21, 2005

A Dog Named Hank

We have christened the puppy Hank now although Digger or Crockett (after the original host of Victory Garden, one of my mom's favorite TV shows) may be btter choices. I planted some bushes and ornamental grasses to provide some shade for my newer chicken coop. Hank was eager to help me dig.
When I stopped digging he would start. I was afraid I would hit one of his feet but we managed to avoid each other. Tish tells me that "This line (Butcher) is known for being the kind of dog that will pick up the hammer for you if you drop it while fixing fence, they are THAT focused on being your right hand. It's a beautiful thing :-) "
Some folks are stopping by tomorrow to pick up a couple of the pigs. We put the rest outside in their house. This is where Squirt had been housed, and then Hank was in here for a day yesterday. Now the pigs will have it til fall.
I wonder how long all that green lush grass will last? Pigs actually prefer to dig in the dirt rather than eat the grass. After the first few big rainstorms we get, they will be sure to dig out a mud pit to bathe in. We are due for rain every single day next week.
So here is the before shot of all that grass. I'll be sure to take status shots so we can see all of it disappear. ;-)
Blue watches the pigs too. Dogs are fascinated by pigs. Blue doesn't really care too much for Hank right now. She is a blue tick cross and about 11 years old.

Posted by roosterh at 5:58 PM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2005

Pigs arrive

This morning I received a picture from a co-worker who was taking his Harley down south for a little vacation. He had it loaded up in the back of his truck. Here we see our work truck getting ready to carry a different sort of hog.
This is a mama sow with her brood. NOT someone you want to reach out and touch, believe me!
Seven piglets ride comfortably in the back of the truck.
One of the pigs. This one is 4-5 weeks old (the one in the blue shirt is a little older ;-)). They are all boys.

Posted by roosterh at 7:12 AM | Comments (0)

November 27, 2004

Picked up Pork

We journeyed back down to PA to pick up the pigs. About 500# of pork. About 150# went to a neighbor, the man who sells us hay.
Along the way we stopped at the Cheese Factory, an Amish shop that sells The. Best. Cheese. Ever. There is a railing for those who drive carriage to park their rigs. And a sign in front that gives you directions to the outhouse. They have created an addition since my last visit, a board and batting room made of rough cut. No Amish were visiting today but the store was crowded with the English clamoring for samples and cheeses to buy. I bought 5# of the XXX Sharp cheddar, which I thought was over the top, but since I have already given away 3#, another trip is in order. ;-)

Posted by roosterh at 5:12 PM | Comments (0)

November 21, 2004

Dropped pigs off

We dropped the pigs off today at a meat shop in PA. Ahhh... the art and science of the cut sheet. We pick them up the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I hope to get some Amish cheese too (couldn't last Sunday).

Posted by roosterh at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)

October 16, 2004

Been a while since I posted pictures

After chores I went around and took pictures of almost everyone.

Loretta the Leghorn and Xena the silver-laced wyandotte share a drink. No matter how many waterers I make available, everyone prefers to drink from puddles.

A muscovy and banty survey the food. I have 6 black cochin hens. I have no idea how many ducks there are. Or buckets.

Sarah is in with Kong this fall. Can't get her away from hay though.

This year's chicks have discovered apples and the woods.

Here they are on the road from thebarn to the upper goats' pen.

I don't like the name Luke, but that is what this turkey told me his name was. Here he is, showing off.

Still showing off.

Muscovy babies.

The sunrise is starting to hit the hills.

Here is Spot the pig.

Turkeys love to show off.

Dotty the Polish hen.

Here is Arnold the pig.

Yearling doelings, you can tell it's breakfast time.

The parade arrives.

Mom of 10 has breakfast with her brood.

Junior, the barred rock rooster.

Junior with some ladies at the yearling pen. Can you spot Murphy?

Even with all the frosts we have had, the sunflowers keep blooming. This is what happens when you feed chickens black oil sunflower seeds.

Posted by roosterh at 12:06 PM | Comments (1)

September 22, 2004

First Day of Fall

It's coming. Winter is coming. As usual we have too many projects to finish before snow flies and the weekends are shorter and shorter. So are the days.
We have already had 2 frost warnings, but no frost. The garden is abyssmal anyway, worse yet. With all the rain we have had, the tomatoes all have late blight. We are barely getting any fruit from them. The cucumbers are doing very well and for the first time we have melons.
Moving the squash to the middle of the garden has staved off the squash bug invasion we got last year. I also did not trellis them or grow hubbard.
We took this year's roosters to the butcher last night along with three ducks. It was hard for me to do, but this is part of farming. I kept 2 roosters hopefully for some good breeding. One is a maran roo who named himself Madison yesterday(his father was Monroe) and the other, Checkers, a welsumer/maran cross. It iwll be interesting to breed him back to the welsumer hens. If anything I should get some dark egg layers.

The bucks really stink now. They are quite stinky and quite happy to be so stinky. Today we moved them around and put some does in.

The boy pigs are growing fast.

Too crowded in the manger!

Goose goose

Posted by roosterh at 12:06 PM | Comments (0)

August 21, 2004

We get more pigs

We picked up 3 more pigs. Boys this time, about 5 weeks old.

Two of them enjoy a nice meal.

Their names are Red, Spot and Arnold.

The chickens like to share a meal.

Gary gives the girls a scritch. They'll be going away in about a week.

Pigs of a different feather.

Posted by roosterh at 3:57 PM | Comments (0)

July 23, 2004

More Pix

Random Summer Pictures

This year's chicks

It's a good blueberry year

The volunteer compost garden

My herb garden is in need of a good weeding. Here are some echinacea.

This year's chicks; her name is Honey.

Dorkings have 5 toes (most chickens have 4)

Ethel is happy to see me. She loves a good scritch.

Beagle and Ethel chow down

Beagle and Ethel in front of their house

Muscovy duck with babies

Maran chicks and a couple others

Murphy flirts with adult maran hens

This year's chicks

This is a welsumer/maran cross named Checkers.

This year's chicks

This year's chicks and turkey

Goose goose

Posted by roosterh at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)

June 26, 2004

Trip to Delhi to get Porta-Huts

We drove down to Delhi top pick up some Port-A-Huts for pigs, goats and chickens. Port-A-Huts are small movable shelters, very light. Yes we would have built something but we wanted to try these! They will last a long time.


Link to Port-A-Hut: http://www.port-a-hut.com/

We are moving in the direction of pasture-rasing everyone. I am not sure we will go the full route for my layers; I like the comfort a coop gives them (and me!) at night. The farm we visited raised their broilers on pasture, sheltered by a Port-A-Hut of course.

They had about 40 or so pigs around, pasture raised. They raise Tamworth which are very hardy and do very well on pasture.

This farm also works and breeds Suffolk Horses, a light draft horse.

Posted by roosterh at 12:00 PM | Comments (2)

April 26, 2004

First weekend at the Windmill, We welcome pigs

The Windmill is a large outdoor market with Amish influence, although there are more English shops than anything else. Mine included! A friend of mine, Kirstin, has been the main impetus for getting us in to this large market. This will be an interesting adventure: seeing if our soaps will sell and if we are good sales people! The first day is typically slow but this year opening day had a good crowd til about 2 p.m. (Then I took a the chance for a quick tour of all the shops!) We did good business. My bggest seller was my Happy Hippy soap -- a blend of patchouli and hempseed oil. Kirstin sold a lot of lotion bars.	Here is the view from the front of our booth. Say hi to Kirstin!
I didn't pay as much attention to display as I did product, but it turned out ok	Kirstin paid attention to every detail
Rooster Hill welcomes pigs! This weekend also brought the arrival of a pair of 6 week old pigs, both girls and both unnamed so far. They came from a pig farm in Newfield. They quickly got used to their new home, although they are still getting used to us.	Gary with a pig

Posted by roosterh at 11:31 AM | Comments (0)