Peace and too much quiet

It's been a quiet weekend. Of a Kind.

Friday, as ever, was Moving Day. Sunday was Open day. Friday first.

Ever since they'd been unable to roam at will, Delila's Delinquents had been giving her a hard time and she was looking really lean. So it was decided to wean them a week or so earlier than we would otherwise have done.

Bouyed by our success when weaning Precious from her Little Gems, we approached Delila's Little Stars with the same plan: using tasty morsels, separate mum from piglets and when she's pre-occupied, pick up piglets one by one and place them in the trailer.

It worked wonderfully - for the first two Little Stars.

The third one squealed and squealed and squealed.

The plan fell apart.

Then the rain poured down.

Delila became preoccupied in a different way --- with keeping us all away from her babes. It became pretty chaotic after that. Piglets scooting every way but the one we wanted. Delila being as obtrusive as possible. Con tripped over backwards, fortunately clutching a hurdle which scotched Delila's desire to push him into her extremely muddy wallow. Linda found herself esconced for a while in the ark clutching a piglet while Delila ranted outside. It took us a goodly while to collect up each and every lively piglet, whilst avoiding her wrath. Eventually though they were all in the trailer and we were all very hot and bothered.

The rain stopped. The sun came out. Delila tucked into her food bowl, seemingly forgetting all about her piglets. They had a short trailer ride to the Stalls. Ran out into their new 'home' and eagerly - like the Delinquents they are - started running around examining and inspecting everything and playing tag and chucking straw around -- and tucking into their tea without The Big Snout shoving them out of the way....... and then, realising they were not really all that hungry they started running around the place, chewing and tasting and sniffing everything and everywhere all over again ...... And then collapsed into a big Piglet Pile and fell asleep. Miss their Mum? Didn't seem to. Not a bit.

She on the other hand - after she'd finished her tea - did the obligatory '20 minute missing-my-piglets' bit, for the next 48 hours. In no uncertain way she let us know that whilst peace and quiet was quite nice, she really didn't want it. Not yet.

"Nothing for it but to give her back a piglet" I said to the Big Boss.

"Wait a bit longer" he said.

Of course, Delila woke up the next morning and was fine and started enjoying being spoiled with extra titbits and as much food as she wants. Meanwhile, the Little Stars have been happily dividing their time between playing piglet games and dreaming piglet dreams.

Which they did almost undisturbed throughout the whole of Sunday. On any other Open Day they'd have been subjected to a constant stream of "Ooohs" and "Aaaaahs" but this one was like no other in that we had only the smallest handful of visitors and it was all just a tad quieter than we are used to on such occasions. In the end, we put it down to the current political and economic climate. The pervading national mood is enough to put the dampers on anything.

Fortunately animals are oblivious to such things. When the rest of the world is going crazy and life seems just a little too serious animals provide the very best pick-me-up of all. Absolute Peace and Quiet.