Intelligent But Dirty
Frankly, we are nervous about our move. I love London. I walk down the road and feel a sense of joy at the variety and excitement around me. It’s full of contradictions and amusing absurdities, like the ‘Vote Conservative’ poster in the window of the house in Royal College Street boasting a ‘Rimbaud lived here’ blue plaque. So why are we off?
We were talking about this as we walked by the river yesterday.
‘Old Man’s Beard, Stitchwort, Ladies Bedstraw, Milkmaids, Dead Nettle, Lords and Ladies, Cow Parsley.’ I was naming plants.
‘Ladies Bedstraw?’ asked Matt, as we began to cut across the fields.
‘Yes, people used to put it in their pillows. Like hops. You’ll learn all sorts of plant names. I’ll teach you if you like?’
‘They were a bit frightening in the George Hotel, weren’t they?’
‘Yes. Old, alien, and all white.’
‘Do you think it feels as if we are retiring? Is everyone going to be like that round here?’
‘We will have to support one another. When one of us is nervous, the other one will have to help.’
‘What are those?’ Matt said, as we rounded into the lane. He pointed at some farm buildings giving off a gentle thrum. ‘I don’t like them, they’re creepy.’
‘They’re intensive poultry sheds, where non free-range chickens are reared.’
‘But what are those things for? They seem to be gassing them.’
‘Those are silos for the feed.’
‘They look so sinister. I think creatures are being tortured inside.’
A sound of screaming came from a nearby barn. Matt jumped.
‘Oh God, what’s that? I don’t like it. And what’s that terrible smell? I’m going to have to get away from here.’
‘No Matt, it’s just pigs. Come and look. They’re sweet. Pigs are very intelligent you know.’
‘If they are intelligent, why are they so dirty? Why don’t they lick themselves clean like cows do? Or cats?’
The benefits – space, lack of distractions, increased financial security – had better be worth it, as this move is going to have its difficulties.
I sooooo get it! Enjoy!
Oh ye of little faith . . . Jump in! Just think, you two will get to be “the crazies down the lane.” Matt is lucky to have such a Girl Guide at his side.
I imagine you already knew this, but just in case you didn’t – pigs wallow in the mud to stay cool and keep the flies from biting. They don’t have sweat glands to help cool them, so that’s actually quite smart of them.
Got a chukle out of that! I so understand… Farmville might come in handy to get Matt accointed before making the big move
I hear the 1st year is a bit challenging but those who made the move wouldn’t go back to the city. Enjoy.
No, I didn’t know that, and I will immediately pass it on to the person in this family who needs convincing about the intelligence of pigs! Thank you.
You sound very suited for the region. You know the plants, the birds, the hidden characteristics of animals. Perhaps this is where you were always meant to live, it just took a while to finally embrace it. Instead of a sense of aging and retirement I feel a sense of childlike wonder rising.
Experiments have shown that pigs can learn to match coloured shapes to holes of the same shape much quicker than infants. I saw it on tv once. The pigs were shown a hole shape on a screen then they had to press a coloured shape button in front of them! The pig got a treat when it got the right match and it got it wrong just three times before getting it right every time!
I am sending your comment to Matt immediately! Thanks for that Jo.
My husband followed me around the U.S. for decades. We lived in a lot of major US cities for “opportunity”: Denver, Los Angeles, Nashville, Atlanta (to name a few). I realized that all the stress and mayhem, expense, the population, energy drain, traffic were taking a toll on my creativity and health. I found an old renovated farmhouse on 6.5 acres on a dead end gravel road, in a sparsely populated rural Kentucky county with a studio behind the house! I have a view of the mountains, a huge garden, two bee hives and a rocking chair front porch! My art work is popping and every time I drive up the hill to our home I cry “Sanctuary, Sanctuary! You will LOVE your move!
I imagine you already knew this, but just in case you didn’t – pigs wallow in the mud to stay cool and keep the flies from biting. They don’t have sweat glands to help cool them, so that’s actually quite smart of them.
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