Pigling Bland

Another flawless day of sunshine enticed me to the woodland a few miles away. Coed Pencelli is an ancient hunting-and-gathering forest that is now a nature reserve, home to rare barbastelle bats and dormice.
After several hours I emerged with my camera full of lovely scenes of trees, ponds, streams and woodland paths.
Leaving the wood you follow the lane down to where a small river runs across it and there's a smallholding right beside the ford. The house and a series of stone sheds and outbuildings stand all along the road with hens, guinea fowl, ducks, geese spilling out and wandering across (there's little passing traffic). Sometimes the ducks are swimming on the ford and the geese sunbathing on the tarmac. There are other animals too: a friendly black pony poked its head out of a stable door, several more were standing by a gate, I peeped into a byre and there were 4 calves munching hay. And in an old stone sty I found fellow and was smitten!
But no people, and it's been the same every time I've passed by. A variety of animals all looking happy and well-cared for in natural, non-intensive conditions, but human beings missing. I've often hung around hoping to talk to someone about the animals but the place always appears deserted. Perhaps it truly is Animal Farm.
This pig came grunting enthusiastically out of its inner sanctum when I looked into the sty. Its expression reminded me of Enid Blyton's illustrated story about the young Pigling Bland sent to market with his brother. He has a series of adventures, his brother is arrested, he gets lost in the big wood, kidnapped by a farmer with evil intentions, escapes and rescues a pretty young girl pig and flees with her "over the hills and far away". This pig looked too content to contemplate a break-out and whatever his fate may be, life seems good now.