Only in Kentucky…

I went outside the other day to retrieve Maddie, our three legged cat.  I expected the usual chase because she absolutely LOVES to be outside (and let me tell you, for a cat missing a leg, she's FAST!).  Much to my surprise, she appeared to be frozen in some sort of trance – keenly watching something.  At this point I looked up (I have to admit, I was tired and not paying much attention…) and I was greated with the beast shown below:

  

It was a pig – that's right – a pig!  Now, I admit that living in rural Kentucky we've had deer, squirrels, a fox and even a racoon wander through from time to time, and the pasture behind our house is home to a neighbor's cattle and two horses… BUT – never a pig, and certainly never in my own backyard!

 

 

 

 

The pig and I were both apparently taken aback, as it looked straight at me (first photo), wrinkled it's nose and said 'oink'.  Now, you might say that is what a pig should say, BUT it's not what she (?) said, it's how she said it!  Our porcine visitor was not the least bit concerned that I was there, and it was even less impressed when I tried to 'shoo' it away.  As I waved my arms and said "shoo pig" (no, really – that's exactly what I said…) it merely looked at me again, swished its tail and said 'oink'.  Although I'm not fluent in the language of the pot-bellied pig, I am convinced this single grunt can be loosely translated to "whatEVER!"  I continued to waive my arms and walked closer, but the pig remained unimpressed.  It swished its tail a few times, snuffled around and then finally ambled off through the neighbor's yard.  I returned to the deck and noticed that Cookie and Cocoa (two of our other cats) were perched on the railing watching the proceedings.  Neither having seen a pig before, the expressions on their faces could be loosely described as "OMG! What kind of dog is that?!" 

A warning to the pig though – Cocoa has been known to go after the neighbors cows, and I think I saw her digging a pit in the back yard later that evening…