But, it’s what we signed up for when we brought Zeke and Peppermint (Peppy) back to the barn last April.
This time, we bought the market hogs at an auction and learned that you can’t always get what you want (because your parents are on a budget).
After our older son’s gilt went absolutely coo-coo upon arriving at the fair in 2014, I decided then-and-there that in 2015, the pigs would be level-headed barrows (insert laughter here), especially since we would be raising two.
But, like I said, you can’t always get what you want; we ended up with one barrow and one gilt, who our younger son named Peppermint because he couldn’t think of anything else since he was so sure he would have a barrow; “Blaze” was just not fitting for the spot-cross gilt he ended up with.
Zeke was leery from the get-go. He would run like Ohio State football player Ezekiel Elliott — hence the name Zeke — from my son as fast as his little legs would carry him. It took days for him to warm up to the idea of a back scratch.
Peppy, on the other hand, has been looking for love … and belly rubs … and marshmallows from the beginning. She has been so easy, I’m afraid to take her to the fair and have it all come undone.
But, take her — and Zeke — to the fair we will do. Since April, these pigs have become a routine part of our lives. While our older son has managed to keep his attachment to Zeke at arms length following last year’s emotional farewell to “Wildstyle,” our younger son and Peppy have united as friends and playmates.
There. Will. Be. Tears. Again. And our sons might cry, too.
But it is part of the process. The boys know how this project will conclude. Their job was to give their pet-projects a quality of life, albeit short, and responsibly care for their animals.
Did our sons do it all by themselves? No, that wouldn’t have been possible. They had support from family, friends and advisors. Without the dedication from volunteers and parents, 4-H projects and opportunities — from animals, to sewing and cooking — would come to an end.
If you enjoy the fair as a patron or as a participant, please remember — and respect — the blood (because, yes, animals may bite and sewing needles are sharp), sweat (because, whew! Those barns and ovens get hot!) and tears (because hoofed animals are heavy and sale-day is hard) that go into each project.
Ready or not, here we go again. See you at the fair.
(Contact this contributing writer at DJordan@DJ-Agri.com.)
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