I originally wrote this post a month ago, but couldn't get it to post. Well here it is. I'll update more soon.
It has been some rough times in our household the last few weeks. July began with a bunch of thunderstorms in our area. One of which caused a lightning strike/power surge to our electrical system. Which caused my kitchen appliances and other assorted electronics to malfunction. Like my range, which just continually beeps and gives an error code and 1-800 number, without allowing you to cook anything. We are still in the process of an insurance claim, but this means it has been farmer's market days without fresh baked scones. The weather has been VERY warm for northern Minnesota, so I was ok without cooking each day. However, it is getting old.
We also lost our only heifer calf. A combination of a mom with a poor udder, wet weather, and flies. She did live in my kitchen for 20 hours, along with a bath in my bathtub and lots of tlc, but we couldn't pull her through.
This last weekend was full with Kohen's tball tournaments. We left our house early Sunday morning, but had a phone call from my dad during the first game. When he drove down the driveway towards his place he saw a pig laying dead in the pasture. It was Gertie, one of our breeder sows. Frustrating because she was pregnant and would have given us piglets in September. Nate posted her and the only abnormality he found was lungs filled with blood. She hadn't shown any signs of infection, no coughing, or irregular breathing. Needless to say, I have been watching Lyle and Gwennie extra close the last few days. They are in a nice pasture with lots of shade and access to the pond, so heat isn't affecting them too much. We now have decisions to make because it isn't cost effective to have only one sow and boar. Of course this happened after our best farmers market of meat sales all summer. Decisions, decisions.
