Princess

Doing Grand – ND #93

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Nuclear Steam – Photo: L. Weikel

Doing Grand

While I didn’t take a photo of her this evening, I want to confirm that Princess is doing just grand. It was getting pretty dark when we met up with her this evening, in fact I took the above photo about one minute after treating Princess to two peanut butter baked dog treats. Hey, don’t give me a hard time. Liddle and Middle chose to stay in their pen and didn’t come out to say hello to us. So yeah…I spoiled Princess.

Lately, we’ve been noticing that Princess doesn’t seem to recognize me when I wear my heavier winter coat. That coat is blue. But every time I wear my yellow jacket, she runs out to greet me.

I should clarify: there are times when I occasionally want to sneak past Princess’s field undetected. Usually it’s because I’ve forgotten the larger baked pup treats I like to share with her. The teeny tiny training morsels we give to Brutus and Pacha and almost always have in our pockets, while she definitely seems to snarf them up enthusiastically, seem to barely register with her. Consequently, I like to try to skip the whole situation when I happen to forget the Princess treats (as we’ve come to calling them).

How to Trick a Pig

First of all, I’ve discovered that if I want to remain undetected, I cannot be having a discussion when approaching her field. Nor can I be listening to a podcast without my earpods. If she hears voices approaching, she knows she could be looking at a potential treat dispenser, so she tears in our general direction, covering ground across the field like a heat-seeking missile.

In order to sneak past pigs, then, your number one lesson is to be silent.

The next strategy effective strategy, apparently, is to wear a blue coat. This has been discovered quite by accident, but it does appear to be pretty reliable (as long as we remain quiet). Whenever I wear my heaviest winter coat, she doesn’t seem to see me – or at least it’s been much easier to escape her attention.

But when I wear my yellow jacket? She notices me. As soon as she catches sight of us, she sprints across the field and escorts me, practically prancing, along the fence line to the place where I always give her treats.

The second way to sneak up on a pig: wear blue.

Are Pigs Colorblind?

I don’t know if pigs are color blind. It sounds like they aren’t entirely color-deprived (as far as their eyesight goes.) But their sight may definitely be less rich than ours.

Lucky for me, tonight she caught sight of me just as I started climbing the hill toward her pen. Her enthusiastic greeting was sweet and always makes me smile. (Brutus enjoys touching noses with her each and every time we give her treats. Pacha, meanwhile, is a little too high strung around Princess. She sort of lunges at her and we don’t want Princess to lash out because she’s taken by surprise at Pacha’s furtive movements.)

I had plenty of treats with me today, so there was no need for us to go into stealth mode. Good thing, too. I was wearing my yellow jacket.

Princess (Middle and Liddle, too) but not today – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+93)

Love and Affection – ND #69

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 4 Comments
A Lesson in Love and Affection – Photo: L. Weikel

Love and Affection

Valentine’s Day means different things to all of us. For most, it’s an opportunity to declare or express one’s love and affection for a significant ‘other’ in your life. For some, that means a romantic dinner by candlelight or a bouquet of roses. And for others it means the gift of a piece of jewelry or a wonderful book.  It’s not the cost of the gift, it’s the care and attention to its selection that matters.

A lot more often than many realize, though, is that for many there may not be an ‘other’ with whom to share one’s Valentine’s Day affections. That should never, ever be a reason to eschew the holiday (even if you generally dismiss it as a fiction created by Hallmark Cards). No. It’s my contention that Valentine’s Day can be a day ideally suited to displaying to yourself just how much you’re treasured.

And while it’s true that some have mastered the art of being an elf to yourself, I have a feeling there are a lot more of us who find it weird or selfish. When in fact, what’s weird is how tough it can be to honestly express love to ourselves; don’t you think?

“Give us a kiss” – Photo: L. Weikel

Unlikeliest of Teachers

For some of us, loving ourselves means taking a long hot bath and soaking in our favorite bath salts and essential oils. Then there are those who crave some alone time and set aside an entire day to turning off their phones, reading a book or two, and writing in their journal. Still others indulge in a manicure, pedicure, or perhaps even a facial.

And so it is the most unlikely of teachers, my Princess, enters the picture.

Imagine my surprise when I encountered my sweet little girl on Valentine’s Day, mid-solo-celebration. How did I know she was indulging in a little sanctioned self-love?

The mask of mud and hay gave it away.

Princess in all her ‘masked’ glory – Photo: L. Weikel

Princess’s Inspiration

What an inspired spirit this sweet porcine princess embodies! I’ve never entertained the thought of giving myself an at-home facial. But what a delightful and indulgent way to ‘celebrate’ Valentine’s Day.

I’m going to have to remember this as a possibility next year. Most important to remember? It’s not necessarily an option reserved for swinging singles like my bad-ass Princess.

(T+69)

Opposite Day – ND #64

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Brutus being a hogger not a pig – Photo: L. Weikel

Opposite Day

I might as well call today Opposite Day. As magical as yesterday was, with the myriad animal sightings and a meteor streaking across the sky, today was, well, lovely but benign.

OK, maybe benign isn’t the opposite of magical. Perhaps I’m exaggerating a tad the difference between yesterday’s and today’s experiences. I’ll concede that, if pressed, I probably wouldn’t want to experience the literal opposite of a magical day.

In fact, today was rather delightful. A warm front came through (or perhaps the frigid arctic front just left) making it almost feel as though taking a walk without a jacket might be on the agenda. It wasn’t. I got chilly before stepping off the porch. But it was tempting.

Pacha Pig-nose – Photo: L. Weikel

Clarification

I posted the other day about a pig in my life to whom I’ve given the name Princess. Let me be clear: this is an unofficial naming. Indeed, I feel she told me her name is Princess. But I’ve not seen her paperwork, nor would I trust it to accurately reflect what Princess would like to be called anyway.

Princess is not my pig. She abides on a neighbor’s farm. Said neighbor is a farmer and part of this farmer’s offerings to his customers are pork products.

This makes me very sad, but it’s not for me to judge nor to condemn. I do, however, choose to bond with Princess and at the very least let her know that she is loved and seen and appreciated while she’s alive. I’m grateful for her being my friend who pokes her head outside of her hut and then runs out to greet me whenever I walk by.

I intend to give her a carrot now and then, in addition to the dog treats I inevitably carry in my pocket. Based on suggestions of a friend, I may occasionally bring a different vegetable or fruit (an apple, squash, spinach, cooked broccoli?) but if I’m honest, I’m lucky when I remember a carrot. So if she only gets what is the equivalent of a piece of candy from me (a carrot) now and again, I admit to feeling little to no remorse. She could have worse friends.

Alas, the past two days it’s been dark by the time we reached Princess’s abode. So even though I remembered her treat, I didn’t see her.

Princess Pig-nose – Photo: L. Weikel

Admission

I’ll admit it: I’m hoping she might have babies. I shudder at the prospect of their future, too, but hey. We all have our destinies. And as our puppies have turned six months old already, the prospect of bonding with some piglets is a tempting daydream.

(T+64)

Meet Princess – ND #62

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Meet Princess (and tell me she’s not adorable) – Photo: L. Weikel

Meet Princess

Meet Princess. Please don’t ask me how I know her name. Surely you know enough not to ask me that question, right? I just know.

Every single day I walk by her field and shelter/hut. Every day, if she catches sight of me or hears my voice, she comes running across the field, squealing a greeting and seemingly providing a running commentary as she travels the entire length of the field. Her enthusiasm is simply adorable.

I realize there’s a decent chance that she’s as friendly and conversational with everyone who walks by her field as she is with me. And while it would make me sad to learn that she lumps all us humans together, somehow I doubt that’s the case. I think she recognizes the high pitch of my voice and she remembers that I bring her tasty puppy treats.

Indeed, that reminds me. I need to write myself a sticky note to post at eye level on our kitchen door reminding me to take a couple carrots on our next walk. While it’s obvious she enjoys the puppy treats, I have a feeling she’d also enjoy something more substantial.

“Did you say treats?” – Photo: L. Weikel

Future Experiments

One of these days – or maybe over the course of a few days – I’m going to ask Karl to walk past the field the same we do every day, but well ahead of me. I’m not sure how good her eyesight is, so I’m not sure if she sees me or if she simply hears my high sing-song-y voice and responds to that. And the reason I think she might react differently to Karl is because he never speaks to her. He stands on the road and just watches – so they basically never interact (nor has she ever heard him speak to her).

So the first test is whether Karl can sneak by her field without making a sound and snagging her attention. Will she see him? Will she smell him and come running? Does she respond to just any human walking past her field?

If she doesn’t see him or seem to realize he’s walking by, will she come to him if he calls her?

Given that she could even be responding to the presence of the puppies, the conclusions we draw from such experiments might be skewed if he has one of the puppies with him. But first things first. We can eventually rule out ‘the pup factor,’ if need be.

I also think we should try to observe her responses to other people walking by her field (i.e., not just Karl). But that may be harder to coordinate.

Whoa! Up close and personal! – Photo: L. Weikel

Friend or Nothing Special?

Let’s face it. Princess may simply be the most affable pig around. Who knows? Perhaps she considers us all to be her subjects (remember: she is Princess!) and assumes that everyone walking by is simply paying her tribute (or should be).

I can vouch for the fact that she’s a remarkable creature. It’s true: I want to think that she recognizes me. She melts my heart when she ever so gently nibbles the dog treats from my hand and grunts in satisfaction.

Brutus and Princess sussing each other out – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+62)