Like part of the family

No, not the 26 year old Land Rover that I’ve had for eleven years that just passed its MOT today but Bracken and Bramble, our two oldest sows.

It’s 22:30 now, time to put the hens to bed and me too, but I’ll just scribble a few lines down, for it is a very significant event. We got our two Tamworth sows as gilts around five years ago from Appin north of Oban. Prior to that we’d just bought weaners and fattened them, initially for ourselves and then for paying customers so breeding was the next logical step. We bought six weaners and kept the best two, not the purest bred or even strongest but the best natured, something that has stood us in good stead.

I never really wanted to keep Bramble, who with her white flash and turned up nose obviously had a good bit of some other breed in her, but the swineherd insisted. Her instinct proved to be good for she was a prolific sow and great mother, too good in fact, for she was extremely protective of both her and other sows piglets. She had a go at me once or twice when I was loading up weaners for transport even though they weren’t hers. Bramble was also the only sow that I’d never get between her and her piglets, you could just tell by looking her in the eye that this mother was not to be trifled with.

The girls have been having smaller litters this last couple of times and it’s time we were getting some fresh blood into our herd. Also this major training for the new hybrid ferry means I’ll probably not be around much for the next few months, so the last thing I wanted to saddle wifey with was two expectant sows in late September, early October. It’s not just dealing with the possible complications but the whole getting, storing and shifting feed malarky, especially now she has hens to deal with 🙂

Monday

So, I’ll try and get it all down before I fall asleep 🙂 First job after the feeding was over to Portree for the MOT,

which, of course we passed. Hardly surprising really considering the time and money that I spend on her. However it has now become a bit of an obsession, having never failed one in eleven years 🙂 It was whilst at http://www.smorrison.co.uk/ having my MOT done that I spotted this MkII Ford Escort rally car belonging to Duncan Black of Eyre Plant.

Having ‘cut my first teeth’ on these very cars in the late seventies I was a little surprised to see such a fine example being used for motor sport.

I even had a brand new one of these in 1980, MVR 200W if I remember rightly, a red estate, though I’d hardly have considered it a ‘classic’ 🙂

This beast however with its twin 40 DCOE Webbers

special rear axle, brakes and numerous modifications

 

was a serious bit of kit indeed 🙂

The Landy having been given a ‘clean bill of health’ I headed for home and the 13:00 ferry to meet the chap who was going to relieve me of some sows.

But, it’s after midnight now and I need my bed, so I’ll finish this off later 🙂

Probably with a tear in my eye 😦