Avoiding anthropomorphism of pigs is difficult. Even if you have not been introduced to characters like the movie star, Babe, or Charlotte’s friend, Wilbur, or, perish the thought, Orwell’s Napoleon (“All animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others.”), it is too easy to see ourselves in their little piggie faces.
Most livestock keep their distance, really only “connecting” with humans if there is food involved or if the water is broken — they just go about their daily routine and allow us to go about ours. Pigs, however, can be both as endearing and as flattering as a half-grown golden retriever. When you walk out to the fence line around their pasture, they come running, their floppy upright ears bobbing and a piggy grin on their faces. It does not take much imagination to create the impression that their happy exclamations translate into something akin to, “Oh! It is so good to see you. Thank you for stopping by!”
Pigs that are not factory-farmed are intelligent, personable, and clearly have a marvelous sense of humor. They are almost always up for an ear-scratch or just keep you company on their side of the fence as you walk along on yours, “chatting” all the way.
It is therefore no particular surprise that the keepers of said animals may have personalities in common. You do not have to spend very much time at all with Deena Parks to realize that she, too, is intelligent, personable, and retains a marvelous sense of humor. It is her joie de vivre that named the Parks’ farm “Chops Ahoy” and that has enabled her to accomplish both business and personal goals. It was a sense of humor that supported a marriage proposal at an agricultural fair, a jump start of the business that became Chops Ahoy using wedding money to purchase pigs, a start-up farm while living with her in-laws, and a move to The County into a former truck garage surrounded on three sides by pavement. Intelligence and hard work have created a successful business producing organically fed, pasture reared pork — pigs humanely raised and slaughtered, delivered directly to the homes of her regular customers from The Other Maine.
Both the business and the family are expanding. The Woodland farm now includes a small orchard, strawberries, blueberries, and high tunnels filled with early greens, carrots, tomatoes, and other garden treats much sooner than Aroostook soils and temperatures will otherwise allow. The family now includes two children barely 18 months apart and both under 4 (that sense of humor, again).
The personable part of the trifecta appears with every visit to Deena’s stand at the Presque Isle Farmers Market in the Aroostook Centre Mall parking lot on Saturday mornings. She is quick to tell jokes and stories, share ideas and recipes, and bundle up produce and sausage to take home to your own family. Stop by and say ‘hello’ — you will leave with excellent food selections and a guaranteed smile on your face!
This column is written by members of the Presque Isle Farmers’ Market. For more information, visit their website at https://sites.google.com/site/presqueislefarmersmarket/home.
