Piggies!

I love pigs. They are smart, funny, and... delicious.

And few things are cuter (at least to me) than a pack of little porkers running around and noisily nursing.

So when the spouse and I happened upon this family of black pigs, which included five hungry little piglets, at a local farm, well, I was in hog heaven.

[Click on photos to enlarge. And be sure to scroll down to watch the short video of the piggies nursing -- and make sure to have the volume turned up!]

When pigs surf

Meet Kama, the Surfing Pig.

Kama's owner, Kai, took this video (using a GoPro camera) of himself and Kama surfing on Sandy Beach on Oahu, and I had to share.

Just watch Kama hog ten!



Kamabunga!

(Somewhere out there there is a skydiving pig. And when I find that video, I am going to title the post "When pigs fly.")

P.S. Please think good thoughts for Hawaii, especially the Big Island, which is directly in the path of two hurricanes, which are expected to make landfall tonight or tomorrow (Friday). Very scary.

Castrating a few Congressman might be more effective

I saw this video titled "Squeal" on YouTube this morning. It was in the "Animals" category of YouTube's "most popular" page. So I immediately thought "Piggies!" (I love a good cute pig video.)

Well, I was sort of right....



Turns out, it's a political ad for Joni Ernst, a Conservative (Republican) from Iowa running for U.S. Senate. And I have to say, I was a bit disappointed.

When Joni said, "I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm, so when I get to Washington, I..." I was SURE she was going to say, "I'm going to castrate some Congressmen!"

Instead, she promises to cut pork.

While there is nothing wrong, in theory, with cutting pork (though pork-barrel spending can be a boon for districts, as it often creates jobs or things helpful to a particular community, which is why Congress men and women favor it), I can't help but think that castrating a few of the pigs in Congress might be more effective.

Some pig

What would Sunday be without a little bacon?

Alternate title:  What a ham!

Love this video of a little pig rescuing a baby goat from drowning.



That'll do, pig. That'll do.

Gone hog wild

I love pigs (even the male chauvinist kind). So you can imagine my delight when the spouse and I came across a family of adorable piglets in a nearby hamlet, on our way back from a recent bike trip. (The spouse's reaction to the petite porkers? "Mmm... bacon!")

This first picture I call "Pork Butts," though the spouse likes "Everybody in the Pool!"






















This next one I've titled "Hamming It Up," though "Snorf!" would also work.






















Next up, "Nom nom nom nom." (Wish I had taken a video of the piglets grunting and pushing each other out of the way to obtain prime position. So cute!)















And finally we have "Bacon at rest." (All that eating and shoving and grunting wears a piglet out. Though I can only imagine how tired the piglets' mother, a thousand-pound sow from the looks of her, felt nursing eight greedy little piggies!)

And this little piggy went on The TODAY Show!

Apparently "teacup pigs" are all the rage in the UK. So much so that The TODAY Show just did a segment on these petite porkers. I love the line "People love pigs so much, but it's almost impossible to keep a full-grown pig in the house." I hear you, sister. But we women have been doing it for centuries.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

According to their breeder, Jane Croft, these "teacup pigs" (it is really only a matter of time until Paris Hilton gets a pair) grow to be between 12 and 16 inches and weigh up to 65 pounds. And they are quite intelligent. (Smarter than your average dog!)

You can find out more here. There is even a website called teacuppiggies.com (of course).

And now I am off to make myself a BLT. : )

In defense of pigs

Pearls before swine. Pork barrel spending. Gets your mitts off me you swine. Male chauvinist pig. And now swine flu (which may or may not have something to do with pigs flying).

Whatever did the noble, sweet-natured pig do to earn such abuse?

Just look at that face. Is that not a face that any mother could love?

Indeed, I believe that pigs are simply misunderstood. And apparently the pig-loving folks over at the PBS program NATURE, which aired a show entitled The Joy of Pigs, agree:

"Pigs are misunderstood in many ways. Many people think of them as portly and stupid, but the NATURE program The Joy of Pigs shows us how intelligent pigs really are. (They are naturally lean, too, unless they are overfed by humans.) Pigs are smarter than any other domestic animal. Their ability to solve problems, like the pig I.Q. test on The Joy of Pigs, is well-documented, and they are considered by animal experts to be more trainable than dogs or cats."

See! Pigs are smart, clean, lean, and trainable (which is more than I can say for some men I know).

So while I know the swine flu is a threat (though not as pig -- I mean BIG -- a threat as the media would have us believe), and people should practice good hygiene, like washing hands thoroughly before eating and covering their mouths with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, to avoid catching it, it is no worse than other type of flu. And contrary to popular belief, you cannot get the swine flu from eating pork or pork products.

To slightly paraphrase John Lennon: All I am saying is give pigs a chance.

UPDATED: A friend of the blog in Colorado, in response to this post, sent me this picture with the heading "How swine flu is spread."














FYI: While it is safe to savor properly cooked pork, the partaking of raw pig is a big no-no.