Aug 6, 2019

Our House Was A Pig Sty!

Literally!

Our family volunteers at Big Curve Acres in the summer! There are lots of baby animals that need socializing and we have an absolute blast helping out.

This past week, we had the opportunity to take a piglet home with us overnight! Pumba is a 6 week old male Pot-Bellied piglet. Pumba will be a pet someday so our job was to give him lots of cuddles, care and fun.

We were given a carrier with blankets for him to cozy up in and more than enough food to last. He also eats grass and weeds, which he preferred, so we picked lots of that and brought it in for him to eat. His tiny little piggy toes are not so agile on the linolium and faux wood floors so we kept him on blankets spread out on the when he wanted to explore.

He LOVES his belly being rubbed and even fell asleep on the floor with Hope afterward.

Pumba slept well all night, until the wee hours when he got a bit chilly. I am always up early so I wrapped him up and cuddled him till he was warm and sleepy and he passed out on my lap. So precious!

What We Learned: Pigs are loud. Pigs like their belly being rubbed. Pigs have no grip on flat surfaces. Pigs are loud. Piglets smell amazing. Pigs are fast. Piglet breath smells horrendous. Pigs are one of the smartest animals in the world. Pigs are very sensitive. Pigs are loud. Piglets get cold easily. Piglets can be halter trained. Pigs are clean. Did I mention that pigs are loud? *grin* We had a great time and get to host another piglet (not sure if it's Pumba yet) this week so we are very excited. When we arrived at Big Curve Acres with Pumba the next day, he was outfitted with a harness so he could run around with his sisters and do piggy things on the ground while attached to a handler with a lead line. This gives the piglets freedom without sacrificing their safety and allows guests who visit the farm to get up close and experience these little cuties.

Hope had a blast hanging out with Pumba and his sisters! The black one is Stella Luna and the spotted one is Peppa Pig.

Come on out to Big Curve Acres and meet these cuties for yourself! We'll be there every wed & fri in Aug! (They are only open to the public in July & Aug.) Here's the info from their website/facebook page: The General Public is welcome 4 days a week: JULY & AUGUST, ONLY Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 12-4PM Admission fee applies: $7.50 each Three for $20.00 Four for $25.00 Babies under 18 months at no charge.

This Week Aside from volunteering, we found some animals that needed attention like a sparrow and a wood pecker. We set the woodpecker in a safe space in a tree to heal it's apparent hurt wing and the sparrow seemed to be grounded but ok so we gave it some water and let it be. Hope also found a large frog she tried to catch, unsuccessfully. Hope bought herself a purse she loved while we were out grocery shopping, danced in a rainstorm and picked and ate many wild black raspberries on our land. We camped out at our campsite and had a delicious fire roasted meal of naturally raised Chicken from Nicholyn Farms and zucchini picked from our organic garden. I learned how to play Minecraft with Hope, which turned out to be super fun and hilarious. We drew, Hope coloured and she played around with projects from the Kiwi Krate she was gifted. A friend had his kids over for a bit so Hope and I battled them with our boffer safe weapons. Lots of bike riding, pretend play, both independently and in a group, and of course, Youtube. Hope loves Youtube. She learns a lot! Check out her videos!

Latest Video from our Youtube Channel, The Freeschoolin' Homestead

Thanks for being a part of our journey. Wishing you a wonderful week ahead! We'd love to hear from you so feel free to comment below or send us a msg! Feel free to share this article with others that might find it useful!