Shout out to Pam Koehler, our printer liaison for The Great Healing. When she’s on press all is well. Pam gifted me this pig pillow which is nestled on this chair in my home office. When I’m working I’ll often look out the window at the backyard animals, plants and trees. And this pillow.
Thomas Quicksilver, who appears in my book and the photo below, is an exquisite creature.
From The Great Healing:
“He’s a little guy with short white hair that doesn’t quite cover all of his soft pink skin. He’s got a really big head. And a long nose and pointy extendo ears. When he looks at you what may first strike you is his sharp, perceptive awareness, but right now his eyes are on the one who is most important in his young life — his mother.
“Pigs like to bask and play in the sunlight as it warms their soft sensitive skin. When cool, scent-filled breezes blow across their farm-yard enveloping their faces and bodies, there’s nothing better. They quickly learn an array of sounds and gestures to communicate with each other. They form social groups. Pigs wag their tails when they are happy, and they learn to respond to their own names. They develop a strong memory for faces and will immediately recognize ones they like and others they’d prefer not to be around. Most of all, they love to root in muddy ground, to forage with their snouts in the wet fields amidst grass and bugs and all kinds of scents and mysteries in the wet soil. Mud keeps them cool as they don’t have many sweat glands. Pigs need to ingest the microbes and ‘dirt stuff’ to maintain their health. However, despite their penchant for rooting in the soil and running around in the fields, pigs are clean animals. They prefer to go to the bathroom well away from the areas where they eat, rest or anywhere near their farrowing pens.
“As Thomas glances at his mom, she is not covered with dirt and bits of field grass and straw from a welcome journey outside — she hasn’t left this crate. Instead, she is covered in her own waste. His mother hasn’t stood up since yesterday. This concerns him but she’s alive and nurses him – so it must be okay. This is all he’s ever experienced, all he knows. This is how it’s supposed to be, right?”