Spring rush

Vindie-Lou, some days prior to her departure.

Apparently, Spring was not worth waiting for. The lambs, Vindie-Lou, and the piglets all arrived weeks before Spring did. Even the first daffodil was early. So when Spring arrived nine days ago, nobody took much notice, except Albie, who started rutting (apparently in preparation for Autumn, after he heard Mr Farmer talking about how prior planning prevents poor performance).

Then, things on the farm started getting busy. Vindie-Lou moved up north to live on 23 acres, with five human kids and two calves. Trusty Sidekick enjoyed having another small, energetic white animal around, and will miss Vindie. Helen took it well, surprisingly - it is rumoured that this had a lot to do with Vindie's dental development, and with Mrs Farmer's contrastingly gentle milking technique. Vindie's departure meant that there were twice-daily milkings, and (what with Helen being so productive), daily cheesemaking and endless searches for recipes that call for milk, to make room for some non-milk food in the fridge. Eventually, Mr Farmer suggested the piglets be weaned and employed as milk-drinkers (since their parents Kim and Cliff have separated and are looking for new homes). Weaning the piglets isn't as simple as it sounds, here on the farm - it involves a lot of chasing on the part of the farmers, and sometimes also on the part of angry mother pigs... However, now that the piglets are weaned, and Kim is back living the life of a young, single and apparently attractive sow, there is ample space in the fridge because the piglets are skilled and dedicated milk drinkers.

Although there was never any DNA evidence, it is quite widely accepted (by everyone except Roger) that Albie is Vindie's biological father. This pleased Albie for a while, until he thought more about the responsibilities of being a father, at which point he got cold feet and moved into the neighbour's paddock. Clearly, since Vindie has departed, Albie has forgotten how daunting fatherhood can be, as he started rutting as soon as Helen came on heat. Happily for Helen, Albie was living on the front lawn by himself at that time, so nothing ever came of it.