Donald Diddams
The Art of Digital Art
Of Pigs and Goats
Beer? Did someone say beer? -- 2010
This pig has achieved local fame as one of St. Croix’s beer-drinking pigs, a rain-forest “attraction” for tourists. He is eagerly awaiting his next beer while the remains of the last froth down his chin. As long as he keeps drinking, he has nothing to fear from the barbeque pit.
In contrast, most goats do have something to fear. Stew goat, curry goat and goat water (soup) are favorite local dishes. Of course, a few like the billy below have higher value doing their jobs in the fields. The pigs and goats, animals eaten and not eaten, remind me of my grandfather who loved his cows and even would name them — and yet every fall would personally butcher one for meat for the winter. “Good old Bessie” he’d say as he presented a plate of steaks to the family for dinner. And he was right. She was good.
Billy - 2010
Donald Diddams 
What a face! Yikes. You’ve got me remembering grandparent farm stories now.
“Billy” is holding a most wondrous composition. I hope this will maintain his hold on the land and the living. Same for pig…!
Excellent work.
I bet the top one is a good conversationalist. Certainly makes me smile glad he gets to stay and enjoy the party.
Enjoying the full spectrum of colors.
Thanks, Melinda! The composition for that old billy goat just jumped out at me. It was fun to work on! And the pig? Well, a face only a mother could love, I guess…
Hi, starlaschat. Not sure about that pig being much of a conversationalist, but he sure enjoys a can of beer now and then! Funny “smile” he has… Thanks for your comment, and for enjoying the pictures!
I find the pig’s lips, strangely hypnotic.
Which disturbs me.
Years ago I had some wild goat that had been shot and then roasted on a spit and it was that experience that taught me why goat is so often cooked in stews. I didn’t think that meat could be so tough. No kidding, I couldn’t bite through it.
Yes, razzbuffnik, you probably should be disturbed… I mean…”Hey you, with the hypnotic pig lips!”
I can’t imagine goat roasted on a spit. These are all “free-range” goats here, so to speak, and I’m sure they would be tough if left to mature very long. We have thousands of chickens running loose, too, and no one eats them, for the same reason I’ve been told.
Ok. That goat scared the bejus out of me. And, then, Razz says he find its lips hypnotic? So, I go back and look for a long time at those lips. Tick. Tock. Tick Tock. He put a spell on me!! And, I can’t for all I’m worth figure out your composition of the goat. Is that his front or rear? Seriously, beer billy’s spell must still be affecting me.
Oh my god, these are hilarious.
“Goat water”–that just doesn’t even sound appetizing.
I’m a vegetarian and so is my father but before he became one, he grew up as a good ol’ German hearty meat eater. But one time (shortly before becoming vegetarian, though not the actual cause; the actual cause was my stepmother) he decided to get three sheep. Previously, we’d only had chickens in terms of animals on our farm.He told us not to get attached to them because we’d be eating them.
…long story short, HE named them.
But still had them butchered.
But didn’t eat them. Couldn’t.
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Pretty funny, Pat, as is razzbuffnik’s response (great pick, razz!) with “I put a spell on you”! Nothing like pig lips and the eager gaze of a thirsty pig to stimulate some cretive responses!
As for the goat, you don’t really think I’d give you a picture of his rear, do you? I mean, that is his eye… I liked that curve of the horn and then discovered the strange almost distorted shape of his head where the horn, ear and eyesocket all seemed to converge. He was happily eating a bush.
Thanks Jala! I’m glad you found these entertaining! It’s so true how our tastes can change once we begin to think about where the food comes from. The old farm stories from earlier generations have plenty to teach.
Ok. That YOUTUBE of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins singing “I’ll put a spell on you” is without doubt bringing new meaning to “spell”!!
Seriously, could we have him go look for Bin Laden? That chopped off hand moving on the piano was a nice touch, don’t you think?
I’d hire this guy and drop him into Afghanistan and Pakistan and just wait for Osama to come screaming out of his mountain dacha/cave.
RazbufniK, I enjoyed the Put a spell on you video. Perfect! :+)
Just to keep the P.E.T.A. people from blowing the whistle on you, this spellbinding pig drinks O’ Douls’. Originally he did drink real beer, but thankfully, the switch was made.
It cracks me up to think that ” The Beer Drinking Pig ” is an actual tourist attraction on so many of our maps and visitor brochures. ( I’m all for the mention of Mamma Wanna but I’ll leave that to YOU to explain….)
Razz- I love your Screamin’ Jay Hawkins inserted video.
As I looked at the goat, I had to view it for a while before it’s content revealed itself. An abstraction of a goat.
PS- when I first read your title Pigs and Goats, I thought you did a post on Cloud. Those are her two alternate species titles…..
Thanks Bonnie! Yes indeed, the pigs are on the wagon with NA beer only. And the goat? He really is put together like that, perhaps as an abstract of himself.
Funny you should mention Cloud in the same breath as pigs and goats. When we showed our grand-neice a picture of Karla, our little dog with very much the same lineage as Cloud, she said “that’s not a dog, that’s a goat!” Had to do with the big ears I think. And of course, there are those days we call her a little pig (like when she gets into the garbage). So pigs and goats covers it well…
If you showed just the pigs snout and lips, it would look like a face … not a good face, but a face all the same.
My uncle was the same with livestock: petlike until Autumn, then to the butcher.
That ability of the oldtimers to separate the pet emotions from the food concept was pretty interesting…. So if I’d cropped that pig picture down to just his snout, would you feel pet-like or food-like toward him? Ha, ha!