Tonight begins the dark half of the year: Winter. I go back and forth between dreading it and welcoming it.

ED has decided she’s too old to trick-or-treat, but Bernard is still willing, so we’re going to go prowl around Hot Springs in a pack with the D*’s.

Sunday we went to SAFF, and, using all our collective family willpower, we did not bring home a single animal. Though I admit I was enormously tempted by the gorgeous Wensleydale sheep.

The pigs are settling in a bit—they’re not quite as wild as they were when we brought them home. At least they’ll eat with me watching now. Around here this kind of pig is called a “Russian” pig. They seem rather primitive, and like a wild boar type creature. They’re smaller than other breeds, and gain weight more slowly, but seem very hardy. However I can’t find any information on them in books or online—-any of you know anything about them? I’ll try to get close enough to post a decent picture of them later.