An unwontedly festive evening

Written to I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got by Sinead O'Connor

The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.
- Charles de Gaulle

It has been 14 days since I last published a blog post. Between then and now, Lone and I enjoyed a much-needed three-day weekend at Fazenda Alfheim, which included a morning of piglet castration (more on that later), and last weekend at Pousada Picinguaba. The latter is owned by our good friends, Emmanuel Rengade and his wife, Filipa. Relaxing does not begin to describe our two days by the shore. Likewise, post-card perfect falls far short when describing the views from the pousada. Our visit to Picinguaba was extra special because on Friday morning Sr. Roberto, currently one of our contract fencers and soon-to-be Fazenda Alfheim's third full-time employee, with an assist from Clair, slaughtered our very first piglets. These were then cooked to perfection by Beto, Emmanuel's chef, who studied in Paris for three years, and shared with the pousada's guests. Beto actually deboned one of the piglets in its entirety...without breaking a single bone. He then marinated, stuffed and sewed the piglet whole before cooking it. Simply amazing! Equally amazing was the taste. Needless to say I am biased, but without a doubt it was the best pork I have ever eaten -comparable even to the finest Brazilian beef. It quite literally melted in our mouths. And as if all of this were not sufficiently marvelous, Joseph Keller, a professional photographer from New York, who was in town taking pictures of the pousada for Emmanuel, provided parents and piglets with a most honorable pictorial send-off. Truly an unwontedly festive evening!

As mentioned earlier, prior to participating in the good life, we had the unenviable task of castrating 22 piglets (on Saturday, September 5th). Thankfully, with the help of Sr. Roberto, Clair and Rosana -and a good deal of preparation by Lone and me to secure the proper equipment and homeopathic medicine- it turned out to be a straightforward affair. While I am pretty sure the affected piglets harbor another, less-positive view, what is certain is that the whole affair took less than two hours. Straightforward or not, and for what I hope are obvious reasons, I chose not to take any photos.

The fortnight's other major happening was the grand opening of Hogwood, Fazenda Alfheim's new four hectare (approx. 10 acres) pig pen. Amazingly, Lone, Clair and Rosana managed to coax the hogs from Hog Haven to Hogwood in less than one-half hour...this compared with the two-day battle we engaged in when moving the hogs 8 months ago. Maybe they had an inkling of the paradise that awaited them...or maybe not. In any event there can be little doubt about how much they are enjoying their new digs (no pun intended).

Finally, Lone will be leaving for Europe (UK and Denmark) for a month-long visit on Sunday. She is certainly thrilled, but equally certain Fazenda Alfheim will be emptier in her absence.