Hot August nights

Another hot August night; the air filled with the thrumming sounds of the nearby graindryer, sundry owls Tu-whitting and Tu-wooing in the orchard trees - and the Bestest Gundog, beside me as I write, still panting from his evening run!
We shouldn't be surprised to have heat at this time of year, except this year has been far from normal. It's not just the weather that's been different. We've had the Olympics, the Diamond Jubilee and the Double Dip recession to cope with as well. The pigs don't know that of course. For them, it's just about the weather.
They're known for their curly coats so perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise to see these photos.

But they should not be sporting such luscious locks on a hot August Night. Over the past 5 years we've grown accustomed to their habitual moult. Come June the coats start to loosen and slowly fall away. It takes a few weeks - long enough for us to have time to groom them in order (a) to help them along and (b) to 'harvest' their wool.
It hasn't happened this year though. The boy in the foreground in the first photo is sporting a mature woolly coat. As is Victoria in the foreground of the second photo. There's some excuse for the boy because he's only a youngster and maybe not old enough to moult. Victoria, however, was born last October so has had plenty of time to grow and

shed her curls.  As for the Bananas in the third photo; they have even more glorious curls than Victoria and are showing no sign at all of throwing them off. When not eating they all vie for the coolest part of the wallow: the blonde Banana in the background usually wins even though Black Banana is boss. Maybe blondes feel the heat more than swallowbellies? Whatever; it must feel very hot for them on the rare occasions, like now, when we are actually 'enjoying' some summer days. The young pigs of course have nothing to compare this year with so they won't know it's unusual for them still to be wearing their winter coats.

This, on the other hand, is Delila who is sporting the sort of coat every Mangalitza should be wearing on a Hot August Night.  She's about the only one of the herd who looks the way a Curly Coated pig should look at this time of year. It would make sense if all the older pigs were similarly sleek but they are not: Ginger has half a coat, Samson has at least half of his, Truffle looks almost at woolly as the Black Banana and Mangal doesn't count because he's been going a bit 'thin on top' for the past couple of years and never really has curls anywhere except round his face!

No wonder, when I did the night rounds after dusk, they were all sleeping out under the stars; even if it were not such a Hot August night they'd be far too warm inside their arks with those woolly coats.....