Berkshire piglets, Daisy and Danielle, wood, gardens end, a cornucopia of life.

Fall is upon us and hopefully it is a long Indian Summer, we still have fire wood to get, and yard work to complete.  Poppie spent the day pulling all the plants in his garden a wondrous harvest for such a late start.  I spent yesterday making sauerkraut.  I may be adding to it this morning as I have more cabbage to add.  Professor and Herbalist sent us Daisy and Danielle, queen la manchas, to add to our goat herd so as I don't want to have more than a set amount of goats, as I couldn't feed them I am going to have to reduce the herd.  Hay is a bit hard to find this year due to no rain, fires, and drought so no one is buying goats so we will harvest some of the younger does as we would normally harvest withers, as weanling it is about the same so we are making out our harvest list.  My Friend the Crazy Goat Lady from Polson recently told me she had purchased a breeding pair of Berkshire pigs.  They are a heritage breed I had been hoping to acquire.  She was a little upset that when she got them they had already been bred.  She had wanted to get them settled in and made to be part of her farm then breed them.  This weekend she called to tell me, in an excited manner, she gets excited about her animals more than any one I know because they are literally her life.  She had 9, three born dead,  she ended up with 2 boars and 4 sows.  She is going to eat two so had 4 available.  I made a killer deal with her for a pair,  I won't be able to breed them together so will be looking for a pig to breed to them that I can afford but in the mean time I can breed them to mine and get 1/2 breeds and 3/4 bred Berkshires.  I am so excited.  I truly like the look of the Berkshires and they, being heritage pigs, will give me more lard.  I won't be able to have babies from them for a good year but it is a start down the path to heritage piglets.  That will be great for 4-h.  The girls just started 4-h and will be in the program for years to come.  I think it will allow us a better product to offer people interested in market pigs and 4-h piglets as well

Fall is such a cornucopia of events, animal and things to do.  We have wood to collect, usually we have it all collected by now but the summer got away from us and we just didn't do it.  I like to collect it in the fall, the mornings are crisp and cool.  The away time to collect it is such a nice down time.   The work is hard but rewarding and soul cleansing.  I find it very soul cleansing to do something just because it is to be done and nothing is more peaceful and rewarding than being in the woods that God made for us..... tomorrow.