What a great tale. Must be that pig just wanted to go for a walk for a change of scenery. What a hoot! You should have not followed her one day to see how long it took her to come back without you tailing her. I can sort of picture you running down that dirt road with a switch in your hand hoping to catch up to that pig; and I can hear her grunting or snorting every little bit. That would have made for a great Rockwell painting and a cover for Life Magazine. A lot of people are not aware of how intelligent pigs really are. They can be house broken easily and make great 'watch' pigs. They get very protective, too. My aunt and uncle- who always had a farm - raised a pair of hogs in their house in Florida when they retired. I'm sure it was my uncle's idea. My aunt would never have done it on her own. This is the same uncle who had a mule he named Maude, after my aunt, who had a fit! When the mule had her baby, it was named Mary, after me. My uncle has a very strange sense of humor. Any way, the hogs got so big, they had to buy a station wagon to haul them with. They used to take them every where with them and walk them on leashes like dogs. By the time the hogs were a couple of years old, each one weighed in at a couple hundred pounds or more. One of their sons told them they were NOT taking the hogs back to Florida when they went back because they were getting so big my aunt and uncle couldn't handle them. I'm sure they probably became pork chops and roasts in the kids' freezers. Hugs, Mary -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Don Churchfield Sent: Monday, January 19, 2009 1:16 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [PD-LIFE] Dog Mary, that was a good story. We raised pigs and chickens. One time we had a sow that dad called Blondie. Even though my mother had red hair, her nickname was Blondie after Blondie from the Dagwood and Blondie cartoon strip. The pig was red, so I guess that is why dad named her Blondie after my mom. Mom did not seem to mind. Now and then Blondie would dig under the fence and get out. She would start running down the dirt road below the house with me usually chasing her. A little distance from the house the dirt road turned right and went down to a stop sign on the blacktop road. She would turn right there and go to the next intersection and turn right again. That would take her right back to the house, and she would go the short distance to the pen, dig under the fence and get back into the pen. I guess she gave both of us some good exercise. She always went the same route and always came back to the pen. None of the other pigs followed her or ever attempted to get out of the pen. Don in AZ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

GREAT, GREAT stories everyone!!!!! I am reading them all and enjoying every resting minute. I am taking a back seat and lurking a little bit. Have been so busy these few days, and have another mailing of THE MANUAL to do. Glad everyone was able to get THE MANUAL documents open Now I must get back to my photo project. We had some snow, and will have to go out again and shovel when it comes off the rubber roof later tonight. My sister-in-law came out to help with the shoveling. We had a lot of it done before Mike came home from work. Their brother is the lucky one, because he works an hour later than Mike, so we had it all done before he even started on his way home :o) I'm getting too old for all this shoveling. I'm really tired right now, and have lots of typing to do still. So, don't think I've gone far away_I'll be lurking. Keep the stories coming_they are so entertaining. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions of the decaf coffees. Yes, I agree, the coffee is always better with filtered water. We had the option of buying a filter that goes into the Hamilton Beach coffee maker, but since we already filter the water, there was no need for it. Brenda!!! Thanks for all those green tomato recipes!!! How interesting some of them are. I will be trying some, someday, too. Might wind up in THE MANUAL_so I thank you for all the sources you posted with them. I like knowing and letting folks know where the recipes came from. Had lots of business type letters to compose today, and have to take a break. I think I'm really going to like the FlavorWave, once I get a chance to use it. I'll explain later. Have to get to my Church Historian work, and family research work now. Still haven't used my Shark Floor Steamer, but I will one of these days. If you guys stop talking, I'm coming back to reeve you up again!!! So please, please keep telling your stories. It's a very bright light in my day, to read them. Glad to see all this listing happening. Keep it coming_I'll be reading it with a smile, just knowing all my dear friends are still here. Take care, don't shovel too much snow, too fast, stay healthy, stay warm, stay right here around cousin Rick's virtual kitchen table, and I'll be right there with you, listening the whole time. I know he is Uncle Rick to you, but he is my distant cousin, so I can't call him Uncle Rick_OR CAN I RICK :o) LOL!!!!! After all, we called Vee, Auntie Vee!!!!! So, by rights, I should be able to call you Unclie Rick :o) LOL!!!! Hugs to all of you from Columbia :o) Lynn