Sunday, January 4, 2015

Mud...Being the Safety for Feeding Time

News flash. It rained here...a lot.  Today I was invited to go along for feeding the pigs, just in case Matt got stuck in the mud and needed rescuing.  "Rescuing?" you ask.  This would be assistance (witness) to when he gets stuck in the mud while carrying feed out to the feeder and can't move his feet, or when he slips, falls, and needs someone to be the rodeo clown distracting the pigs while he gets up before the pigs try to help him first.  Sure, I've shared pictures of mud holes in past posts, but nothing like this.  Pigs generally like mud and even they looked a bit miserable wading to the feeder. (Now before you feel too bad for the pigs, keep in mind, I'm showing where it is the worst, they have plenty of room to roam where the mud isn't deep and they have hay to build clean nests under the shelters where it is dry.)


It wasn't just sloppy in with the pigs, even walking behind the barn you stepped carefully so you didn't end up with mud on more than just your feet.  I took my boots with me of course; no sense in having to scrub mud off my hikers when I have perfectly good rain/mud boots now.  I even tested them in one of the puddles since we had 3 inches of rain and plenty to choose from.  That's right, you could hardly see the tops of my feet in this puddle.


While I certainly didn't want to see Matt get hurt, it would have been good blog material if he had fallen in the mud or lost a boot.  I don't know if you have ever walked in deep mud before, but it has a tendency to steal your shoes or boots.  I can remember being kid and walking behind the barn when we had horses and losing a shoe.  You balance precariously on one foot while you fish your shoe from the mud and try not to step in the mud with your socked foot for balance.  Sorry, no pictures like that for you today.


At the next feeding area, you weren't so likely to lose a shoe as you were to get muddy from the over-spray of walking.  Think of it like riding a bike through a mud puddle and having a streak of spots up your back from the splash.  Even if you escaped that, you still had the risk of snout mud. (Term I just made up that refers to mud on your clothes from a pig sniffing you.)


And this spot, well...it may as well be dish soap on a slip and slide.


The consistency of the mud reminded you of something people pay high dollars for at a European spa.  Don't think you would want a mud bath here though.  Temperatures were dropping rapidly and are expected to be in teens tomorrow.  The good news is the mud will freeze soon and you'll at least be able to walk again.





No comments:

Post a Comment