Hurricane Isaias and the evening birth

Hurricane Isaias didn’t affect the farm much. Instead, a brief but thunderous outpouring occurred just after the sun went down. Knowing the three sows were pregnant, I went out to check on them when the thunder had subsided. Sure enough, the stress incurred by the thunderstorm had induced the first sow’s birth — ‘Loin’s first litter! Three separate farrowing enclosures had been built but we had not gotten the girls inside in time. Loin was exhausted, breathing heavy, and nursing nine piglets. I built a makeshift canopy to protect Loin and the little ones through the night.