A pig in the bed and lambs in the pantry

The year was 1992 and we were living 6 miles from Lavina, MT. Lavina is a very small town (pop. around 200) 50 miles away from Billings, MT. Our home included a barn, pig pen, chicken coop and a small pasture and a large garden area. It was ideal for me because I wanted to raise our own food. My (ex)husband worked with a man that raised pigs, he had a new litter. We had talked about getting a weaner pig from him when the piglets were ready. One day he brought home a very small piggy. She was the runt and couldn't compete well with her larger litter mates. We had a wood stove in the bedroom and made her a bed behind it so she would stay warm and I bought some baby formula and baby cereal to feed her. My boys were told told that when she grew up she would be butchered and would be dinner. They started calling her Dinner and that became her name.

A few weeks later I was given a lamb. He wasn't expected to live, but if I wanted to try I could have him. He had something wrong with his neck so that he had trouble standing. He looked like he was dizzy and we named him Dizzy. Dizzy had to be kept warm and in a small area where he couldn't hurt himself so he lived in our pantry.

Now as Dinner grew she got adventurous and started exploring. It was getting difficult to keep her in the bedroom, if I shut the bedroom door she would stand there and squeal which set my dogs off barking. I was thinking that it was probably time to put her out in the pig pen but was reluctant to do it because she was still so small. I changed my mind about putting her out when I woke up one morning and had 3 dogs and one small pig in my bed. If she could climb up onto the bed she was old enough to go outside.

Dizzy also flourished and grew. He over came his dizziness and was able to move out to the barn.

Welcome to_________now go home

I'm from Montana. Most native Montanans do not like Californians. They come to the state to escape the rat race and instead bring it with them. They drive up the costs of land and housing so that many native Montanans can't afford to buy. I have seen many bumper stickers telling Californians to go home.

I have lived in Maine for 4 years. In that time, I have found that many native Mainers feel the same way about 'people from away' particularly those from Massachusetts. If you are 'from away' you always will be, now matter how long you have lived here. I have seen a bumper sticker that says "Welcome to Maine, now go home". Maine is Vacationland, it says so on the license plates. Tourist season brings a lot of money into the state and many businesses rely on the tourists. If you run a retail business, a resort or hotel, you are happy to see the tourists, they equal sales. If you have to drive any where you are not happy to see them, they clog the roads with traffic. People from Massachusetts also come here and buy land and houses and drive the costs up.

I have to wonder if all states feel the same way about out of staters moving in.

Marginal Way

In the four years I have lived in Maine I haven't seen much of the state. Before this weekend I had only been to the coast 2 times. Saturday we got together with my boyfriend's sisters and went to Ogunquit to walk the Marginal Way. The Marginal way is a walking path along the rocky coast. On your left you have the coast and on your right you have expensive homes with well manicured lawns and flower gardens.