Making a Composting Toilet and Chasing Pigs

Giant Ratons in the Papaya!

It was a shock going out for a shower last night and hearing a rustling in the papaya tree overhead. I yelled for Keli to come out and bring a camera - we were both amazed at the sight. Here they are called ratons - basically a big rat but I prefer to think of them as a not-so-cute racoon.

I had to laugh recently when a friend told me that they had bought a composting toilet for a thousand dollars. Right now I'm building one out of spare parts that I found around the farm plus a recycled 50 gallon barrel.

You just need some simple tools - a jigsaw, a drill, a measuring tape - and you can build your own.

This is my second - the first one has been filled. Very successful!

Anthony, our neighbor's son, really takes after his father. He is seven years old but swings a mean machete. He wanted to help me with the composting toilet. He was handing me tools, marking out lines and very interested in the tools I own. He had never seen a jigsaw before and immediately recognized it as some kind of saw. I let him go to it and he was sawing through the two inch PVC pipe with a steady hand, keeping to the line.

We had some real country excitement today. I was heading towards the farmhouse when I saw a pig sauntering across the road. I kept my distance because they can be ferocious if there are any baby pigs around. Then I saw 6 piglets and two other big pigs. It wasn't a welcome sight because they will dig up your landscaping and they leave large piles of faeces wherever they go.

Bambi is our neighbors dog. He doesn't like pigs but he respects them. I started egging him on, trying to get him to herd the pigs out of there. He looked at me like, "C'mon, give me a break, they're way bigger than me..."

But he finally started barking at them and mock charging them. As soon as they would look in his direction he would turn tail and run like lightening. But he always came back barking and soon they started heading the other way. A few times they really ran at Bambi and then he ran so fast he looked like he might disappear. They finally got tired of the game and ran back into the forest - with Bambi chasing but careful not to get too close. Everybody, the four neighbor kids, me and Keli were cheering, impressed with his courage.