Christmas in Sanctuary

Well it is snowing like crazy again and we are under about 24inches for sure now. Much of my time has been spent shovelling paths for short legged piggers and freeing up or hauling water for them. thankfully Paul and Jim arrived the day before Christmas to help me here or I for sure won't of been live today ha!

Being stuck in the driveway , stuck on the road, stuck at my sisters house , unable to go back up a hill and then get stuck again only to arrive here and get stuck all over again. Some times i think i have more guts then brains and that being said pretty well describes life down here right now LOL

Here is Penny's first Christmas here ( with mouth full) as well as Don Juan and Jacks. Look at that snow and the Christams Feast for the pigs

And so it is Christmas!!

I have just finished reading the thread from SnowandMud.Com where active sledders join up much like us animal rescuers do. No doubt you have seen it on the news by now that the horses are on the way out of there frozen living grave. Here is the site if you want a heart warming story that fuels my soul that a compassionate humanity dose and will exist. YES WE CAN !!! Here is the link where these hero's work together to dig a trail a kilometer long so save these abandoned animals in 6 feet of snow. I joined up simply to thank them and to let them know we knew how wonderful everyone involved was!! I can't wait to see the news tonight and more pictures of the horses coming out!

http://www.snowandmud.com/forum/f3/horse-rescue-up-renshaw-10308.html

Who said "Let it snow"?

First day off yesterday was spent with us all hammering out ice, pailing out water, shovelling snow , putting feed away, cleaning out the tool shed and adding straw to the piggy houses. Paula, Jim, Susan , Jake and Dayton arrived and we worked in the cold for hours.

Last night at feed time i knew the ice on waters wouldn't have had a chance to freeze as the temperature warmed up a little meaning we were getting more snow. Some one forgot to the leave the water running in the barn yesterday so when i got out there last night ice had formed , the hoses were frozen and the waters hadn't been done out there. I got in about 9:30 after feeding and working in the barn trying to Free up the hoses with pails of hot water without success. The faucet had been used instead of the main shut off and that was spewing water all over from freezing up. I had a heat lamp bulb so i put that in, dragged the water tub inside and hope everything is thawed this morning. Still, will need to call a plumber in for sure now!! Anyone know a good one who works for free.. lol i mean reasonable and on Sundays??

We got about 4 inches of snow last night so there will be shovelling to do again this morning and of course bringing out water to the pigs and horses again. I am sure my arms are also about 4 inches longer from packing water all week and here i go again this morning.

The pigs however spent the night deep in straw and when i ws outside working i could here the rustle of straw as they all rooted back under there nests. A formidable payment for this weary sanctuary care taker and with jack racing from the carpet to the barn making sure not a crumb has been overseen is the best medicine ever.

Speaking of Jack we had put all the pigs back in who wanted out after about an hour or more. It was too darn cold but when Jean arrived i let him out so she could meet him. After we loaded jeans feed and said out good byes it had been an hour or so when i realized Jack was still out somewhere. Anyone seen Jack i asked and out the back i went calling. With every call of "Jack" i hear a distant oof getting closer. I laughed when i saw my huge dog Buddy come rounding the corner from the far pasture with a little pig in tow.

Well its Mom birthday today , i don't' have one decoration up , nor one gift wrapped or all my shopping done. No groceries in the house, need cat and dog food and produce for the pigs. Can i do it all in one day?? YES but will i be coherent at Moms later ??? Unlikely LOL

ice wars four

I am whooped.. the end LOL

Ice Capades In the Snow

I got up early enough , fed the horses, the big pigs smashing ice out as i go and cleared the picnic table off for another feeding station for the wild birds. Got changed , warmed up the truck and off i go. Why I would take the back way is beyond me the hill was no match for the poor tires on that truck and i had to back up and go all the way around again. Thankfully i made it in time unlike two days ago when the guys had to come and get me cause i had a flat tire.

So i had to get tires and got a full set like new from Stave Auto Wreckers who delivered just in time for me to get the truck over to Bowers Auto Repairs who had them on within the hour. What a difference it makes with good rubber in the snow. $350.00 for tires with the new nubs on them still and 50.00 to put them on. Not bad!!~

I stopped and picked up two cases of apples on the way home and got to work out side right away. I had to sweep snow from door ways and clear enough room for the pigs to get the potty areas, water dishes and eat . Once i did that i went back around and did the waters. I did it different tonight and pigs were slurping down water when i went to the barn to take care of the horses. I did stop with the pails full for both farm pigs and they dived into the warm water like it was a bucket of food. With the snow it warmed up a little so there pools had water under the ice but boy did they ever drink that warm water down.

Forgot to mention that a new pigs friend stopped at work with a huge bag of hay for the pigs so i divided that in the farms pigs houses last night. Helps keep them busy, adds bedding and they can eat some of it too. I buy hay here of coruse but this was darn handy!

Well everyone has paths, fed , watered, hayed and appled got to go check on Penny and thats a wrap.

Well i am in a tad earlier then last night and Moms chili is calling my name.

Ice Capades

Last night after work my time out is always sitting here catching up on sanctuary news from other rescues. I knew what i had to do from the moment I left work as i drove to Haney Builders and picked up another hose to run from my laundry room in the house. All the hoses are frozen outside even though i kept them open on a drip into pails the freezing wind took care of that. I ran the hose out my window and found my water pail and took it around front to be ready and out to the horses i go.

It is hard for the horses to walk on uneven frozen ground and they labour towards there gates into soft footing into the barn. Dior's tub is cracked open from the ice so i go dig her old one out and the hose , thankfully that one is running fine. Both horses are wearing thick winter blankets now so they are all snuggy .

Jack is helping me out at the barn and he is such a good good pig and I treat him to keep him busy and fill up a small bowl of water for him as i know they will have had nothing to drink for 24 hours.

I know every water tub in every pig paddock will be frozen solid as i smashed out ice the night before which took two inches of water out with it. I can only feed then hammer out the ice one pen at a time. This takes quite a considerable more time. Once i fed one gated community i go to the house fill up the water pail and fill up there tubs and on to the next section to start the same process. Its brutal work when it is this cold outside.

I yelled out to the herd to go back in until i was closer to them as this was going to take a lot longer for me to get to them all. The farm pigs oblige but not before me hearing one of them drag one of there frozen water pools in desperation to get a drink. They will have to wait as there is an order of things and they go right back into there houses. Comet is the only one i hear. And as i go on my rounds I hear the slurps of water and it makes me happy as they will not get another drink until i get home from work again the next night.

Wearing a ball cap so i can attach one of those LED lights screws up your sight a tad and low limbs on trees are leaving there mark on my forehead. If i don't show up for work one day will some one come over here and see if i knocked myself out cold out there.I smashed my head twice tonight going in and then going out duh!

Last night it took two hours to feed and water but when i came in i had a few exciting emails as our Penny's Extreme Make Over blog fundraiser netted the full 1500.00 after a reader/rescuer gave us the last 192.00 to enable us to reach our/Jeans goal. Talk about wrapping up a brutal job with a bonus for the pigs like that!!!!!!! An incredible amount of cash raised for this rescue and i thank you all so very very much!

So tonight i only had to hand pail one bucket full as i was able to simply smash out the two inch thick layer of ice on each tub and there was enough water for them but tomorrow night I will have to fill everyone of them again.

Tonight;s miracle was my Mom stopping in at work today with a pot of chili for dinner tonight and i just ate in between typing this. Now where are my Advil LOL

Saturday Reflections

This morning arrived with a lighter load ahead of us as Paula spent the entire day down here Friday. She worked at her own pace in the pouring rain doing the barn and 10 of the 15 piggy paddocks. She did the potty areas, raking of messy straw at door ways and fresh waters.
Nancy ,Paula and Jim arrived at about 8:30 this morning and dived into what was left for basic weekly care and maintenance . Then Pam , Susan , Jake and Dayton arrived and joined in. The work is faster easier and a pleasure when there is 7 of us here.

Then we had a good discussion on where the new red shed would go. How it would get there, and how we would place it properly in conjunction with where our gate would go and in flow of feeding and working inside. The plan although a ton of work for them all was set in motion and is sitting pretty now i might add.

Penny's much needed carpentry skills were lightly discussed as well and the boys seemed really keen on doing all of this.

So often i am telling people how clever these pigs are so i am going off subject for a bit here and will return to the red shed in a minute. Hopefully the power won't go down as it is blowing like heck out here right now. Yesterday morning it was coming down in buckets and rounding Roses yard with breakfast i told her to stay there and i would feed her inside. To know pigs is to know that food is for sure a HUGE priority hungry or not the quest for food while exploring the acreage is unquenchable. So watching Rose do the two step at the doorway to her house while i opened her gate and walked to grab her dish and then place it in her house- well you have NO idea how much will power that would take for one very large farm pig. So know that when i am telling her to stay there I will feed her inside so she doesn't get wet is a feat worthy of speaking about here. Now please don't blow this off as i can tell my dog to stay so that's nothing , well Rose has never been taught to stay so this is something lol.

Add this brings me to talking out loud every night to both Carport Penny and Pebbles her nosey neighbor. Pebbles house is right back of the carport and there is about 6 inches of nose room there so when i am out with Penny , so is Pebbles nose. And i speak out loud to them suggesting how wonderful if you could both join up and keep each other cozy and warm at night. How both of them have names that start with a "P" and how they could be like two Pee's in a Pod. I tell them they should make friends with each other because they both are gentle like pigs inside as both of them are not fighters. I tell Pebbles then we would leave this little fenced in area up and she could be there too with Penny seeing Mom in the carport. Today while everyone was out Penny had already returned to her covers and was under a mound of wool blankets. As i returned to the carport for a hammer there was Pebbles inside Penny's little fenced off area and facing outwards as if she too lived inside . Of all the pigs that are out it is Pebbles who is in the carport.

I will leave you there to think about that as i go on now about Comet. The guys had set the shed in place and i came around to see how they made out . Out of no where is Comet who jumps in the shed checks it out and comes back outside. I reach down to him and he leans into me for his cuddle and i tell him i love him so very much. I whisper in his ear that we are doing this for him, that this will be his very own house. I tell him i am sorry that he may miss sleeping with the others but i must do this for Winnie as she is too stressed with his bossy giant self living with them. He is a huge pot belly and and has the mentality of a farm pig and uses his weight to his advantage. But i give him the positive which is now you can be right out front and see Mom when she gets home at night. Kisses and more kisses are planted on his white bristles and off he goes again. About 30 minutes later he returned to our work and again leaped inside and do i believe he knows this is for him oh yes i do. 16 pigs are out and only Comet has taken any interest and keeps returning to the little red house.

Gosh i do go on about the animals children's! Am i the typical mother who is showing off baby pictures and exclaiming how cute her babies are ??? Oh yes i am!! LOL

I am going to wrap this up now as i fear the power may go down. When i went out to feed tonight I walked into a bush that wasn't there before. Kind of had to shake my head for a second and get my bearings thinking i made a wrong turn some where hahaha. The bush is the top 15 ft or so of a beautiful blue spruce that has been ripped off by the wind and is blocking the path to the barn. I went back and grabbed some work gloves but it wouldn't budge as the weight is too heavy for me to muster. I hope there is no damage to the pigs area it is laying across on. And I will thank God it landed there .

I took pictures today and just deleted them all by mistake.. but that is my precious Winnie!!

Winter Whines needs Winter Wines

Well we made it to Wednesday without any big news to report. Bank rates are down and should I lower the price on my house one more time? Or should i put this to bed and think about Christmas instead.

I added a button to Vote for your fav shelter or rescue. If you click on the little red button it will take you to who i voted for. Please vote for your fav shelter , even us or refuge for Horses as i did . This is such a easy thing to do and it is a possible fundraiser for those who work so hard for the animals everywhere.

Its hard to keep this place clean in winter, there is simply so much more to do now. Giant dogs feets and coats to dry off or wash floor nightly. Horses are back in the barn for winter and stalls need to be cleaned up every night. And while i am doing this i try not to hear a starving choir of bellows and belly aches ,high pitched wee's and minor pushing and shoving matches between pigs readying to mutiny in "surround sound".

I have gone high tech in the feeding at night area by purchasing one of those clip on flashlights to the lid of my ball cap. Am I a redneck now?

Can you see my horse Lacy staring at me and bending her head around to get a better look while wondering what happened to my head and my eyeballs ? Its okay Lacy..this is "night vi son"

And Paula's return trip from Toronto netted me some very fashionable pink rubber boots and they are so darn cute... huh..rubber boots are cute?

Awwwwwwwww life in the peaceful country side.

Its Getting Colder

Its amazing how relieved i am once i know all the pigs have had there houses filled with straw again. I know no one is cold , and every one is cozy and like us they love clean and new. Back when it was just Willy and I when he would get new straw he always chose his outside house even though he had his choice to come in here. I remember one night he had gone into his shed and i had gone back out and closed the gate for safety. Later that evening Mark and I had decided to make popcorn. It was after the sound of popping i realized there was something else going on outside. Opening the patio door only to hear Willy weeingggggggg as loud as he could muster to be let back out so he could get back in here for his share of the feast. I remember the the feeling and the smile of that night oh so long ago. I wonder if they are sharing a giggle with me right now from there spiritual place.

Penny is doing well and on meds for a bladder infection and add Tortilla to that lsit as his eye infection was not clearing up and rather then take any chances at his age I have him on meds too.

Scout needs that one tusk sawed off this week-end for sure with everything going on around here i started to fret over that at about midnight last night. And one good fret leads into another and reaching for my Teddy Bear my Mom just bought me sent me down memory road and had me thinking about missing my real Teddy Bear and yet I ended up crying over Barney. I finally fell asleep way after 1:00AM with Peppermint Patty on my mind..

Little Jack came out to the barn with me tonight he is such a funny little guy. He gets so excited when i let him out. He races around me in a game and then tags me with his baby snouty as he quickly pushes into my leg and races off again. While i am getting the horses taken care of he is in the feed room cleaning up like a mini vacuum cleaner propelled by his waggy tail.

Heading back with my pails full and no lights on i am left to standing there in the dark calling him "here Jack" "here" and each time i get a OOF but i had to stop and go back up and give him a treat, then he raced to catch up with me.

Before i head in i always sit outside with Penny and encourage her to walk about. And the last thing i do before i make dinner is go back out and make sure she is totally covered up. She is snug as a bug in her wool blankets and i lay with her for a while and love on her, rub her back and gave her a kiss. Nose to nose Penny..nose to nose. If only all could be so loved.