What a weekend!

Who knew you could fit so much excitement into one weekend?  First thing Saturday morning, before the sun peeked over the trees, we loaded 4 young pigs onto the stock trailer.  We piled into the GMC diesel, headed first to my mother’s to drop Fly off for te day. Next stop, an hour away, the NH 4-H Livestock Judging Clinic.

At least we thought it was about an hour. Everything was going great until we were about ten miles from our destination. As we pulled off the highway for the final stretch something was wrong. No matter what Marcus did, the truck would not accelerate beyond 25 miles per hour!  Oh boy!  This was bad, not only in a worrisome way!  Nothing puts Marcus in an unpleasant state more than when the “Delk luck” kicks in.  So we continued to limp along and finally crawled into the driveway of Sweet Meadow Farm, the site of the 4-H event.

 We made some calls and arranged for a good friend to come out and tow the trailer home when the event ended.

In the meantime we enjoyed a great day with an extended 4-H family. The kids all learned about judging livestock and how to explaine their selections. They were presented with the following classes: sheep (fleece), sheep (carcass), steers, heifers, mature cows, and swine (provided my our farm).

  
  
  
  
This event was also used as a tagging station for 4-H project animals that will be auctioned off at the Hillsborough County Agriculture Fair.

 After a lovely potluck lunch Becca spent some time looking at the lambs.  She is purchasing 2 ewe lambs from the Sweet Meadow Farm.  I thought shopping for clothes took a while, but apparently shopping for just the right ewes is a much more intense experience!

  
 By the time we made it home all I wanted to do was rest!  But that wasn’t on the schedule.  It was time to start the evening chores. Thankfully my mother drove little Fly home to us.

Sunday we spent the day taking care of a very sick little Becca, making major barn repairs and taking Katelyn to her 4-H officers meeting. She was recently voted in as president!

 I think Mondays in general are a dreaded day. This Monday was as stressful and hectic as ever. I was on sow watch, a litter due any minute!  Well that sow was hard at work on her nest. After checking in on her at 8 am I discovered she was hard at work on a hole in the barn, and would soon escape. Marcus came home from work long enough to make the repairs and keep her in place.  Becca’s fever was climbing, up to 103, she had major headache and ear pains, a cough and lack of appetite. The doctors couldn’t get her in, so it was off to Urgent Care.  Turns out she has the Flu.

So we made it home before the sow delivered.  I gave Becca her Tylenol, set her up in a “sick nest” on the couch and sat with her.  Fly seems to know she feels miserable and keeps watch over her.  Marcus gets home from work about 20 minutes later and there are already three piglets born in the barn!  So out to the barn I go.

 We spent the next 4 1/2 hours in the barn with Spoinky as she delivered.  She had a nice litter of 11.  We did lose one the first night though.

  
Thankfully Tuesday was quiet. I spent the day taking care of Becca.