Flowers In Her Hair

Throwback to ISF 2013 maybe?  Kids and livestock.  Makes me proud.  I didn't get to be a livestock kid much when I was growing up.  Showing a few goats at the McLean County fair is not exactly being part of it all.  

My kids on the other hand are getting to experience it all.  Rhode Brothers' Cattle are tied up in the barns at the Illinois State Fair.  The "Nine Is Fine" crew spend their time between the swine, cattle and sheep barns checking on a tending to their animals.  Bonding!

Show days tend to be staggered between the families.  Someone is almost always getting ready for the ring or showing.  So there is ALWAYS something to do.

Sometimes something to do looks like this.  

Back in the day, my girl like flowers in her hair.  Not anymore.  Fifteen year olds don't wear flowers in their hair in the show ring I guess.

But they do wear blingy belts still.  And they do wear those cute numbers on their blingy belts.

This was a gilt she was working with.  We got out of showing gilts for a few years after this show.  Hubs decided that we needed to focus on barrows.  Gilts are very different than barrows. 

Loving on the pigs.  Important part of the job.

Can you tell I like the little numbers and clips.  Some moms have make up and leotards.  I get exhibitor numbers and boots.  I'll take it.

Oh, and it was the year of sequined shirts.  She's going to love reading this post about all things from the past like:
1. sequined shirts
2. jeans that are a little too short with her boots (because of skinny butts and long legs!)
3. gilts
4. flowers in her hair
5. BRACES!

Illinois State Fair 2016, we are excited for you!!  We won't pack our hair flowers this time!

10 Things Everyone Should Know About Pigs

Today, I thought I'd share a real, just as it is,  shot at life with a small herd of show pigs.  

 

1. Showing pigs is addictive, just as a warning, if you try, you might just love it! 

2. Our show pigs are always born in January or February of the show year and shown in the summer.

3. Our pigs ultimately end up in our freezer come fall.

4.  Show pigs have a good life.  They are cared for very, very well.

5. We don't breed our own pigs, but buy them in the spring and sell them for meat or breeding in the fall. We let someone else, who loves to go out in January and February to care for a ginormous grouchy sow as she gives birth to 152 babies (not really 152, but many) have that pleasure.

6. Pigs each have their own personalities with likes and dislikes as well as eating/drinking/pooping habits.  Like human babies, eating/drinking/pooping = important to monitor.

7. Show pigs make for some fantastic bacon on a lazy Saturday morning in January when breeders are schlepping water to a ginormous sow laying under a heat lamp with 152 babies. I'm gorging myself with thick, black pepper laden slices of bacon.  

8. Our show pigs make some great convenience food when I cook a pork burger in 7 minutes flat to feed MY 152 babies and their friends.

9. Pigs prefer to drink from a nipple system in their pens.  (I should post some pictures of that.  Pink curly pigs' tongues around that nipple contraption is a funny thang!) Also, the word nipple makes me giggle.  

10. Pigs like you to scratch their bellies, rub behind their ears and lay with them in their pens, while the fans blow on the two of you. 

11. (Bonus) Pigs are smart.

My oldest son was playing hide and seek at the 4H fair with his buddy.  I think hiding next to a 250 lb hunka hunka of love is a great hiding spot, don't you?  Thanks to my good friend for catching the moment with her camera.

 

This is Boss Hogg. We heart Boss Hogg.  He is a gentle giant.  He loves the kids.  He is kind.  He is big.  He is pink.  (technically he is white, but it's my story, he is pink.) 

 

Show Em Your Piggies

Oh the joys of living in the country.  Hog Shows. Swine Shows. Pig Shows.  Whatever you call them, they are a blast. This is our oldest and she wanted to show pigs a few years back.  What's any good set of parents to do, but dive in!

When you show pigs you need MANY items to get going.  One of these things is "bling bling" jeans and a shiny belt.  For the record, this belt doesn't cut the mustard, but is going to have to do (says mom.) Look at that cool clip to clip of her number, yup, gotta have one of those special clips too!!

We are at national show here that is held at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. There were over 1000 pigs here for this event.  Pretty awesome I'd say!  The temperature is 102 so that's rough on all these pigs who are already out of their element by being at the show, but you know what? PIGS DON'T SWEAT!  So you gotta keep them cool or they keel over.  Read---very bad deal for show pigs to die! 

Look at all of those fans!  The barns weren't really all THAT hot, with all of the fans going.  The kids and adults were very, very busy watering down and washing off the pigs to keep them cool during this heat.  

The picture above is just one of the reasons we dove into this pig showing business.  Daddy and daughter sweating it out, working hard, taking care of something outside of themselves.  We walk, feed and wash these pigs 2-3 times a day.  That's what SUMMER BREAK is for us. You know what, we love it!  It's teaching hard work and responsibility and animal husbandry.  Love it.

 The show ring is the center of it all.  We primp, wash, clip, spray, feed, water, walk, exercise and weigh the pigs in anticipation of the moments spent in the ring.  The showmanship is important too.  Presenting the pigs just so to the judge.  Such a fun dance it all is! We don't have the best of the best hogs.  We are just beginners, but we are still competitive even at a big show like this.  At county fairs, now that's more comfortable territory, but it is all great!

Little man is always right there in the heat of it all.  A pig bit his tiny arm this summer trying to eat the marshmallow he was holding. Luckily he just had a little bruise on his arm, but he was m.a.d. that the pig slobbered on his flip flop.  Though he will tell you each time he sees a pig in a picture book: "pig bite you," that doesn't stop him.  He's in it to win it.  Or maybe I should say, he's in it because we are.  Slopping the hogs with dad looks fun doesn't it?

Though the middle guy doesn't want to show pigs this year, and didn't want a pig of his own, he is there to help.  (A bit of parenting advice from me: buy your kid a hog sprayer like this.  I mostly only see orange ones, and it's probably not safety tested but it's worth HOURS of entertainment for kids of all ages.)  We are making this a true family event, where we all have a role, we all work hard, we all take care of the livestock and each other.  Most of all why we love it...we are doing it together!