Six Piglets

I made mention on Monday that one of the piglets looked very weak and we believed it would not survive. Today, when I brought feed for the two adults, I noticed that the piglet that had looked so sickly on Monday had been removed from the pen. Only six piglets remain out of eight.

It was three weeks ago that I first mentioned the coconut tree stump inside this new addition to the piggery. Today, I find that the pig (and piglets) are slowly eating away at the stump. I shouldn't be surprised - if a pig will eat its own feces, I suppose there's nothing it won't eat. I was surprised, however to see the piglets already drinking water from the trough. They'll be weaned before we know it.

While Sorting Through Boxes -

Prior to moving to Philippines three years ago, my wife and I shipped several balikbayan boxes here containing everything we could possibly send. Of course, we have limited space in our present apartment and some of the balikbayan boxes are being stored at my in-law's house.

Over the weekend, my wife went to her parent's home to see what, if anything, we could bring to the apartment. Among the books, dishes and other assorted items, there was a metal pyramid that I made in 1979. I was working for a sheet-metal company at the time. Outside of work, I was interested in odd geometric structures like geodesic domes and pyramids. The sheet metal domes I made at the time have not survived. I put together this pyramid while at work during my lunch break, cutting pieces of sheet metal into the four triangles and welding them together.

Who would have imagined that a pyramid would appear amid the items sent from the U.S.A?

And Then There Were Seven.........

.......or maybe six. I got word yesterday afternoon that one of the piglets had died. It was probably rolled upon by its mother.

On the way to the property this morning, I made a stop at Pacifica Agrivet Supplies to purchase an iron supplement, to be injected into the remaining seven piglets, to prevent anemia.

One of the piglets looked very weak and ill (seen nearest the wall in the above photo). We're hoping the injection will help. As we had done two days ago when removing the piglets' teeth, I held the piglets when my wife's papa administered the treatment.

An Update on My Google Maps Photos

It was in May that I noted that my photos uploaded to Google Maps had received 1.5 million views. I also noted at the time that it was one of my photos of Saint Joseph Parish on Pope John Paul II Ave. in Cebu that had received the most views of any of my photos. That's still the case today, with that photo having received more than 48,000 views.

While checking the photo stats this morning, I saw that my photo of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Redemptorist Church in Dumaguete had moved to 2nd place overtaking my photo of the Manhattan Suites Inn in Dumaguete. I like that because this is the church where we attend Mass.

The photo that continues to surprise me is my photo of the Star Oil gas station located between the Dumaguete airport and the Mitsubishi dealership on the National Highway. In May, I was shocked to see that photo as the 6th most viewed of all my photos. Today, it has taken over 4th place with more than 25,000 views. It's a great puzzle to me why, out of the 1,400 photos I've uploaded to Google Maps, a photo of a gas station should receive so many views.

Removal of the Farrowing Pen

My son and I drove out to the property after lunch today to check on the piglets. I was surprised to see that my wife's papa had already removed the farrowing pen. I thought that he would keep the sow in the pen a bit longer - if not until the piglets are weaned, at least until the male piglets are castrated. The sow is, naturally very protective of the piglets, and was raising quite a fuss when we moved the piglets to remove their teeth yesterday. I wouldn't want to pick up the piglets with the mother outside the farrowing pen. It's possible that my wife's papa may have already castrated the males this morning. I didn't inspect them.

While I was there, I needed to give water to both the sows - particularly Olivia. Nursing the piglets requires her to drink more water. I also needed to do a bit of cleaning in Peppa's pen. There was an industrial size turd in her trough that needed to be removed. That would take more water. As it turned out, I needed to fetch water from the spring to fill up the 30 gallon container that holds the water beside the piggery.

I told my son to hold my camera while I fetched the water. While I was fetching water, he was taking a photo of a goat.