Joel has become fascinated with raising our own pigs. Yes, I said pigs. Well you can't have pigs until you have a pig pen. And so, in typical Joel fashion, he read several books, researched online, talked to the locals and then hatched a plan. One day last week he and I walked our land to decide on the best location in which the little porkers would reside. Then he ran into town and bought the supplies to build the pen, 4"x4" posts, hog panels and hardware, and bags of cement. He was grinning from ear to ear when he pulled in our lane with his trailer full of supplies. Gotta love a man that gets excited about a hog pen!
Hmmmm.....hog panels.....16 feet long and 34" high. The wires are close together along one long side of the panels and that side goes against the ground....so the little piggies can't get out. And supposedly, the pigs cannot get over the low fence. Let's hope pigs don't fly!
Joel came up with "The Plan" and Jeremy did the grunt work. It was nice to see my guys working together on this project and they got a lot accomplished in one day. Here, most of the posts are in and cemented in place.
It helps to have the right tools.....and Joel certainly has plenty of tools! Um, but who am I to give him a hard time about that? He has seen the huge array of "tools" in my sewing room so I don't dare say a word. giggle....
The pigs will be under the shade of our oak trees during the hot summer and when the leaves fall next autumn they will be warmed by the sun during the cooler months. And Joel made sure they had plenty of room to roam around their "yard".
Whew! Last post for the main part of the pen. The only thing left to do now is put in posts to hold the gate we picked up the other day and the pen will be ready for our guests, Pork Chop and Bacon. Yes, Joel has already named them and they aren't even here yet!
Wait till you see the "house" he is planning for them. Hopefully that will get done this next week. Jeremy certainly has been a huge help to Joel. With Joel's eyesight difficulties, it would have been almost impossible to hammer in all the staples that hold the wire. But Jeremy got lots of practice hitting the staples as he put them all in himself. But isn't that how it should be? A father handing down his knowledge to his son? I believe they both had a great sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. And it looks great, too! All I had to do was supply them with a thermos of steaming hot coffee.....that was an easy day for me.....
Here, piggy piggy!
Debbie
