January Wrap Up!

January was a good month. It started off with celebrating the new year with family and friends, going to a new years dance, spending a weekend at the coast, getting back into our school routine from Christmas break, and I got to see a friend I hadn’t seen in forever!! It also brought tons of new surprises, and many exciting events I’m equally excited to share! 😉

We stayed for three nights at the Pacific Coast, and while there, went to Fort Clatsop (a Lewis and Clark historical site), the Tillamook factory, walked downtown, went to a Bosnian resturant, and I got to drive for a couple hours, including a stretch that was in the dark which was a new experience for me!

Fort Clatsop

Since we were so far up the coast we decided to cross the bridge to Washington, and for the few minutes we were there we decided to stop at this little church just along the ocean…

Then we headed to the beach!…

My Dad got some great shots of Haystack Rock

So pretty!

My family, minus my mom (who is taking the picture lol) at the resturant!

A big project my Dad started this month was building a suspension bridge across the creek. Right now it is too high to cross by foot, so us kids have been kayaking across, but it’s such a hassle and we’d like a way to cross in the rainy months that doesn’t require getting wet and muddy, or having to build a mega huge bridge we can’t afford. So, my Dad built a suspension bridge! We’ve still got to put the railing on (rope) and my mom is going to stain it, but other then that it’s accesable and has been such a nice thing to have! I don’t have a picture of the finished product yet, but here’s an idea of what it looked like as we were building it…

Overhead picture with the drone

My brother and dad working on placing the boards

This January we got a few nice days, which was perfect for working on the farm and having friends and family over for dinner and to enjoy the outdoors. We even had a day it snowed, and I’m pretty sure my siblings were freaking out 😆 Snow here in the valley is quite rare, so when a few flakes come down it’s a big deal. Unfortunately our place didn’t get any that stuck, but lots of our friends got a couple inches and the butte behind us was very pretty with the trees tipped in white.

Just over a week ago I was surprised when my Mom showed me a listing for a pig for sale, and within the hour we had made a decision on getting it, called the owner, got more information, and put an offer on it! It was the exact pig I wanted, and I never could have been more surprised. Esspecially when I found out she was coming to me pregnant, and due to have piglets in the next two or three weeks. 😀

Meet Tilley everyone! She’s half Juliana and half Kune-kune, two of the smallest breed of pigs out there! Only a few days after I got her she warmed up a lot, and I was able to pet her, walk by her without her getting scared, etc.! She’s such a silly girl and in just the week and a half I’ve had her I’ve seen first hand just how smart she is. People say these types of pigs are equivalent to a toddler, and wow she sure is smarter then I ever could have guessed. She keeps herself super clean, is potty trained, by the third day was used to me taking her out of her stall and taking her out back, and did so well in the evenings when I put her away!

Saturday morning I went out to the barn expecting to take out the goats and pig just like all the other days, but I was met with something super exciting instead! Tilley had her piglets!!! It was such a surprise, I wasn’t expecting her to have them for at least another week, and even more amazing, they all were super healthy!!

Tilley had 9 healthy piglets! 4 black, 1 black with pink “boots”, and 4 spotted pink ones! One of the black ones was the runt, and at first he was pretty small, but by now he’s almost just as big as his brothers and sisters and looks completely healthy.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The piglets are doing so well, Tilley is healthy and is doing super well with her piglets, and sitting on the couch holding piglets is a dream come true 😆 The piglets are getting a lot better with us too, and only squeal a little when they start to get hungry or if we pick them up too quickly. In the pictures above, the pink piglet with lots of black on its ear is the one I am planning to keep. I plan to then sell the other piglets when they are old enough to people who will use them for show, 4H, or something along those lines. These breed of pigs are known for being great pets, and super well with humans which is what I’ve always wanted to have. I’ve never been one to care for raising my animals for meat, or selling them for that, so having these small pigs makes me happy knowing they’ll have great lives in store for them 🙂

And just because this little guy has been feeling a little left out with all the piglets being the ones to get all the attention, I just have to share this picture my mom took of him the other day 😉

Such a handsome guy!

I think that wraps up most of what we did in January! So many fun adventures 😀

Also, if you have any name suggestions, we need some ideas for the piglets! And I need the perfect name for my little girl I’m gonna keep 😉

Have a good week!