The other hilarious episode - though it didn't feel hilarious at the time - happened on the first night Natasha was here with her piggies.  I had spent a great deal of time beforehand trying to ensure the piglets would not be able to get to Boris's adjacent pen or anywhere else where they might come to harm. They were only about 8 weeks old.

The wooden gate leading out of the back garden to the shed area has a short run of rail fence alongside it with Boris's steel gate on one side and, on the other, a steel gate into a paddock where I often put Murphy.  I laid a fencepost under this wooden gate so the little piggies couldn't slide under and there was some deformed steel square mesh under the short run of fence alongside the gate itself. So the piglets would be well contained -  I hoped.  I had rigged up all kinds of netting wonders further down to make the rest of Borus's fence as secure as I could.

Late in the evening I fed Natasha and the piglets down by the house.  Then I went up the top to feed Boris and Murphy, taking a roundabout route as I didn't want to advertise to Natasha and Co what I was up to.  I need not have gone to the trouble - they just followed their noses and arrived regardless, as soon as I had put out the feed for the other two.

I was out there filling water troughs in the gathering dusk when - horror of horrors - suddenly a little piglet popped out from under the fence, like chewing gum out of a wrapper, and dived under the steel gate to try and grab some of the food Murphy was dropping as he ate. When I got closer I saw they were also trying to get through my 8 wire fence along the side, but that seemed to be withstanding the assault.  I nearly had a fit because just that afternoon my neighbour's wife had helpfully said to me "Mind your horse doesn't stand on the piglets."  Murphy being what he is, I paid attention.

Rushing forward, I opened the gate, scooped up the piglet and put him back with mom.  Seconds later another one (or the same one?) popped out and headed for Murphy again.  As fast as I grabbed them and threw them back in they kept popping out.  EEEk!  I had visions of my little piggies being stomped on by Murphy's big feet or ground up in Boris's gnashers - because they could have walked under his gate, too.

Over by the small sheds I have a stack of No1 fenceposts and I rushed over to grab one and put it under Murphy's gate.  Then back to get two more, to put under Boris's gate.  These posts are heavy, and there I was in the fast gathering darkness romping around lugging fenceposts and lengths of timber to try and stop these naughty little piggies from getting where they shouldn't be. They were making it out through the deformed steel squares. Though I'd thought they would be too big, they were still able to wriggle out, so that had to be blocked as well.

You could have heard me a mile off cursing the fact that dramas always seem to happen last thing at night when you're dead tired and can't see.  Finally, the holes all seemed to be blocked and the excitement died down.  I went up to check with a torch later.  Natasha had made herself a nest in the litter under the trees close to Boris's fence and she was curled up peacefully with the piggies sound asleep between her legs.

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