Something old , something blue something new

Whew, the last week has really been awesome as far as getting some major chores accomplished. James has been here for 8 hour days and he really helped me a ton. Joe put a gate into Don Juan's paddock so that little pig has been all over the place. He is a rough looking little pig and he likes to hang out here at the big house. His visit was rewarded with cherry tomatoes, yum!!

All the wood is moved from the carport now and stacked neatly in the chip shed out back. The chip shed was damaged when we were flooded in 2007 and if i were to get a load of shavings in i am sure it would fall down. So until we move it is where all my lumber is now.

Christine came by and fixed us up with three huge pots of flowers and added some more to Willy's garden out front too. Christine is fondly called my water girl as she was once a regular down here until an unrelated injury flared up. We have tubs of yellow and orange pansies and in an old horse feed bucket is filled with blue ones.

This morning Wendy and I left here early to go up the street to check out a moving sale. We might score a few gates when this guy moves and another neighbor is going to lend me his lawnmower so i can do out front at the other side of the gates. Wendy also dropped off a new bird feeder and it felt good to be telephoned and invited out on a little excursion from the work here.

And another surprise was a new friend delivering a little cedar piggy house on the back of a borrowed trailer. He tells me it took them three hours to get it up and in there!! We are lucky indeed and Blessed no doubt about it. But i better not look at where i had them drop it and envision a fence around it. It is inventory Janice!!!

So for two weeks of no regular volunteers arriving the pigs and I were thought of by new friends and we are happy and grateful. Wendy also listened to me go on about our biggest obstacles here. Every one doing cat and dog rescue has a core or group of volunteers who stay threw thick and thin because they love the animals. Those of us who are in the forefront of these rescues are for sure known for being bitches and a few other things. I think we all share some of the same personalty traits or simply put we wouldn't be doing what we are doing nor would we be capable , and we are. But the difference between here and there is that because of there strong love of the animals that reside there is what drives the volunteers. They do it for the animals they love and in turn they accept who ever is running the place and for creating it for the animals they love.

Because pigs are so far removed from what most animal lovers are accustomed to or understand , we are and I mean the pigs and I are very much alone here in that regard. I do not have the luxury of having a tight knit group down here every week-end. Animal lovers who do not have a piggy companion have no understanding of them , no experiences. And the friends that i do have who have pigs are 100's if not 1000's of miles apart as i have stated before.

What i do have however is an amazing amount of support from afar. And for sure do not think i am downplaying the value of there (your) existence, i am just trying to say something else here.

Thankfully I have the support I do and from former volunteers who can no longer do the work here but still help in different ways now, and the only way that they can. These are my friends, they are the pigs friends. How can we not be?? They were here when i cried and they have been here for our successes. Volunteers who i spend countless brutal working hours down here threw harsh weather conditions are no longer volunteers to me. They are my friends, and for sure they are the pigs friends. So it is hard when they leave me...us..

What i yearn for the pigs is the same love i have for them to be met by someone who is working beside me. Who will take over for me when i can no longer do this? Who will love them for me??

But i am just like my pigs! I am stubborn and pig headed so i will carry on!! We never have a bounty but we are always provided for somehow and get what we need. Which brings me right back to how this post started , we are Blessed and frankly i can't wait to look at everything that has happened for the pigs tomorrow morning and revel in our accomplishments.

A door closes and a window opens..