Swifty the Swimming Pig & Friends!

This here is Swifty the Swimming Pig being positioned by his handler on his "diving board". The trough that bears Swifty's name is filled with water and it's probably 8' long. The track that surrounds Swifty's stage (outlined with triangular flags) is where Swifty's friends race and beyond that are three sets of bleachers that are packed with a cheering crowd including some very excited children. Oh, the tension mounted.

Swifty barely laid a hoof on the diving board before he dove/belly flopped into the water and swam like the devil. I am glad I got this photo because it shows that his handler did not throw him in the water...rather Swifty dove of his own accord. And that Swifty was so swift that if you blinked, you would have missed his triumphant moment.

Here he is in all his glory basking in well-deserved applause and whistles.
Now Swifty was not the only star that day. There were three races where Swifty's friends raced around the track for oreo cookies. Really, that was what they were fed at the finish line. They were so dang fast that it was impossible for me to get their pictures. But then again, I was laughing too hard to get a good shot anyway.

After the show, the ring master (who did the most awesome job of narrating) took pictures of folks holding little Daisy, the sweetest little piglet wrapped in a towel. A long line formed very quickly and Celeste and I decided not to wait it out (besides which, we'd be the only adults unaccompanied by a child in that line!). So we walked around. I got an ear of roasted corn the likes of which I haven't had since I was a kid. As we walked past Swifty's, we saw that the line had died down. I zipped through the rest of my corn quickly and rushed in to hold Daisy. It's really hard to see, but little Daisy apparently smelled the corn (okay, the butter) and was licking my cheek. Awwwww. It was the sweetest thing Ever. Stay tuned for ... the Chickens!!!