On the news and on the move - again

"Oh my gawd - what's going on!?" exclaimed the Big Boss in dazed shock when he came round from his slumbers in the semi darkness early yesterday morning..... "What are those pigs doing in here?" .... And then he recognised the image of himself and slowly comprehension began to dawn..... the pigs weren't really in the bedroom....they were pressing their snouts up against the fence but they were just on TV ...Yes. They'd made the News again. What's more it was the local news. The piece was about small businesses weathering the recession and, as He said to that nice young man who came to interview him for the item last week, "Going from one breeding sow to four breeding sows in just two years", was certainly an indication of growth...... And the local News repeats at half hourly intervals for three hours during the morning with a longer slot at lunch time and an even longer slot during the evening! Delighted with the publicity... although He found it a bit disconcerting when he went shopping later in the day---- What was worse? Those that immediately recognised him or those who couldn't remember why they recognised him!!!?

So on to more down to earth matters today. Picking up Bonnie and Lotos from their summer home at The Butterfly Park and transporting them up to their new home and future husband -the handsome JD who left Rectory Reserve just three weeks ago.

Despite the raging gales we arrived at The BP in good time expecting to have to spend a little time coercing the two young ladies to leave their summer quarters and enter the trailer... But not a bit of it... "You want us to go in there? No Problem. Where to next?" they seemed to say and were loaded before Yours Truly could even get the camera out! We tidied the

(unnecessary) hurdles back into the trailer, had a long catch-up chat with the charming Mr Cross and departed in good time for the North of the County.

The weather blustered and poured but still we made good progress and arrived at The New Home just ahead of schedule.

Bonnie and Lotos had no hesitation in leaving the trailer for their new quarters and happily and inquisitively chuntered around their new (quarantine) pen that JD had not long before been moved from. Their new Boss, young Keith, has installed electric around the bottom of his

fences and this gave the girls some nasty shocks... time and again a nose or a bottom or a belly bumped into the Stingy Thing and time and again they squealed ---- and we all jumped even though we knew they would squeal.....

"In a day or so they'll have learned" said Keith "and we'll be able to turn the electric off....." I sighed in relief (for them of course!).

And then we went along to say "Hi" to JD. He did spare a few seconds to come over and give us a "I think I remember you" sniff but then he was quickly back to Serious Business. Keith suspects that Oscar, his Saddleback boar, has not mated with one of his sows and hoped that by putting JD in the pen alongside, Oscar would be spurred into renewing his acquaintance with said sow. He hadn't bargained on JD being quite so vigorous in his attempts to make Oscar jealous nor was he aware of his ability to mount a challenge!

The Big Boss completed the formalities and exchange of papers in double quick time saying that he thought "The sooner we leave, the sooner" Keith and his mate Dave could install some electric wire on JD's side of the fence before JD took it upon himself to climb over it and into Oscar's pen

with the ladies.......

As I said, we left quickly with The Big Boss muttering something along the lines of "I think they underestimate the determination of the Mangalitza male....". Let's hope they were just as speedy in their remedial work........