Hindsight Heritage Farm

The gauntlet-
Ready, Set, go!

Have you ever seen those extreme sporting events on tv? I saw my first one the other day...couldn't help it, Law and Order wasn't on and it was literally the extreme sports show or an infomercial. I am fairly certain that it wasn't the sporting event itself that attracted my attention. It wasn't even the incredible muscles that were so very noteworthy (although I would have watched that part again if I had TiVo). It was the fact that they called this an extreme sport. Apparently these athletes have never had to feed 22 hungry hogs at dinner time. Many of you know that I have had plans the past few years for putting in a new perimeter fence. With pigs, goats, cattle and all varieties of feathered creatures living in semi-harmony at Hindsight Heritage Farm, fencing is a must...good fencing is the thing that dreams are made of.

I have dreamed, researched and drawn out my new fence for two years before even buying wire or dropping a post. I dream of fencing the way my dear city friend dreams of new colors of nail polish her Coach purses or those Juicy Couture swimming suits. The sheep of my sleep jump over brand new shiny high tensile woven wire fencing held tight and strong by good stout wooden posts carefully placed for maximum effect. The problem with new fencing is that you have to take the old fence down before you can put the new fence up. This leaves the pigs in my barnyard until the new fence is done.
Because my pigs are in the barnyard they are bored. They have more space to run and dig around than most pigs in our area but at any rate, my pigs react to boredom the way that alot of people do, they eat and they get crabby. Dinnertime at Hindsight Heritage Farm has become an extreme sport...now called the gauntlet.

To run the gauntlet you must get set up. This is what the recreational sportsmen call stretching. First you set up the needed feed. This consists of four 5 gallon buckets of feed weighing about 35 lbs each. Then you set up the garden hose that will fill the water tanks. Once everything is in place you undo the chain that holds the gate in place as quietly as you can...hopefully you will keep the pigs from hearing that dinner is about to be served. Once the "stretching" is done, you must get through the gate. By the time that the entire herd knows what is about to happen and they are all screaming in anticipation. They are crowded around the gate like a riotous mob. They are three and four deep just beyond the fence. Only the fear of the electric fence keeps them on their side. As they crowd around the gate, the gauntlet participant (me) has just a few seconds to pick out the path that will get the feed to the pans without being mangled, mauled or caught up in the flow of these hungry beasts. Now I am not a little woman, but these are 220lb plus pigs. There are 22 of them, 12 pans for feed, 4 buckets of feed and one of me. With my path chosen, I step to the other side of the fence and lift one bucket. Pig number one jumps the gun and pushes me into the electric fence...which is working well. The first bucket of feed is spilled and there are 22 hungry pigs pushing and shoving to get to the spilled feed all the while I am still feeling the effects of a working electric fence. Once I can get away from the fence and work my way back to the other side to get another bucket of feed...I re-figure my path of least resistance. I once again step into the danger zone. With another bucket in hand I make it to the other side of the fence relatively unscathed. The majority of pigs are oblivious to the fact that I am there because they are still working on the feed that was spilled. There are several of the pigs that are not getting to the pile of spilled feed. They spot me making my way along side of the barn. I run as fast as I can toward the first feed pan and one of the pigs picks up the pan and turns it over as I start to dump the feed.  Most of this feed lands on the ground but I am feeling pretty good that some makes it to another pan nearby. This is repeated with each of the four buckets until all of the pigs are occupied. Then I get to fill the water tanks. The sound of running water reminds the pigs that all of that feed and activity have made them thirsty. I now have about half of the herd wanting water. I fill the water pans and they dump them on the ground and on me…repeat this… and finally they decide that there is enough water on the ground and I am soaking wet so they allow me to actually keep water in the tanks.  I don't care what the temperature outside is...cold water soaking your clothes and filling your boots is cold!

Feed pans full, water tanks finally filled and 22 pigs content, me soaking wet and covered in feed, dirt and "compost". Doing it again tomorrow...These extreme sporting events have nothing on a herd of full grown butcher hogs at dinner time and those over paid athletes have nothing on me!