Swineherding with Sasquatch

The family joined me on my chore hike around the property this "morning". We stumbled upon two really interesting critters.

*Identified and described by Grok.

The first was "a Locust Borer (Megacyllene robiniae), a flashy longhorn beetle that’s basically wearing a wasp costume."

"That bold black-and-yellow zigzag pattern (especially the “W” across the wing covers) plus the reddish legs and extra-long antennae is its signature look. It’s a classic example of Batesian mimicry—pretending to be a stinging wasp so birds and other predators give it a wide berth. Adults are out and about in late summer and early fall, which is exactly when you snapped this photo. They love hanging out on flowers (goldenrod is a favorite) to sip pollen, but they don’t eat much as adults. Their real job is finding a black locust tree so the female can lay eggs in bark cracks."

"The larvae are the ones…

The pigs survived the first fall rain of the season. Over the past week, 1.67 inches of rain has fallen on Sasquatch Wallows. Allegedly, its going to clear up and remain nice for a couple of weeks.

Everyone was helping demonstrate why we need to reinforce the loading paddock fence tonight.

Turns out it's just mating season at Sasquatch Wallows.

Heading down Shakedown Street to do evening chores tonight we were viciously attacked by this snake.

Why can't I load the picture?

That was ridiculous. I shouldn't have to use my laptop to post a picture. I'll need to figure that out in the App.

The wife has been researching the culprit and Google AI is saying it's an Oregon Racer:

"Juvenile racers look radically different from their adult counterparts. While adults grow into a solid, sleek olive, gray, or blue-green color with a solid yellow or cream belly, babies emerge with a highly contrasting pattern of dark brown or grayish saddles and spots. This camouflage pattern helps them blend into forest floor debris, pinecones, and leaf litter. They gradually lose these spots and darken into their uniform adult coloration over their first two years of life."

This was not the Cheeseburger in paradise I dreamed of coming home to.

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.

~Mike Tyson

This morning things did no go to plan . . . I spent over two hours doing morning chores as I tried to wrangle three escaped weaners and a goat.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, NKJV

When we moved paddocks two boars were left behind. And as we all know, if you are left behind bad things happen to you. I'm off to hunt these two down and turn them into dog food.

The cold weather finally appeared this weekend leading to the first snow up on the ridge and the first "hair ice" emerging from sticks down in the creek bottom.

I got a new shelter set up for the pigs at Lazy Logger, but due to scheduling issues the herd has one more night in the mud without fresh straw before heading to greener pastures.