Sunday, April 24, 2011

Our Easter Wrap




Long week-ends are normally pretty quiet and volunteers are busy with family and get aways. So Saturday morning when 9 am arrived and no one was here i wasn't surprised. As i got off this chair to get out there and feed the horses and then the pigs , there was a car out front!!! Carly and Sam had arrived and got to work right away. A few minutes later Erica and her boyfriend arrived here as first timers and that was a great surprise. Next came Carolyne our bunny loving friend and we were rocking out there!!!

What a crazy month it has been for weather , i woke up to snow covering the Grass one morning and by noon sunny and beautiful. Which was the case when Pam m from Sorrento came to visit. We didn't work our visit away this time we spent time talking past midnight and petting and treating the pigs all day.

Roxanne was away but remember our garage sale? She brought us a ton of great stuff and one of the bags she arrived with , while i was digging in i was so excited! She started to explain she had bagged these all up and that we might get so much a bag for them. HAZELNUTS .. oh my i couldn't help myself to say "pigs love hazelnuts" !!! So when Pam was here all the pigs were treated with those and hey Rocky your Panda Man crunches them down too!!! For a pig who couldn't eat an apple when he arrived he sure has come a long ways.

Donna our popcorn girl who we don't get to see too often supports us by coming to all our sales and with two large bags of popped corn. The pigs had there party too Donna!!

Saturday Lee and Laura always arrive and donate produce for us and arrived with pears and oven dried bread, bagels and fancy breads for the pigs. Laura was back again later with a car full of fresh buns so although not the most nutritional treat , the pigs love it!!! It also stretches our food budget , can you believe the price of carrots right now??

I have been busy net working for five baby pigs in North Carolina who fell off the slaughter truck and were scooped up by the police. Sitting in a shelter down there facing auction to the highest bidder . And a Sanctuary in Florida in a crisis trying to move 180 pigs to there new farm before the county steps in. I try not to stretch myself so thin but i must try and help these animals even if it is only networking and trying to pull people together to help them all.

All the animals are doing great and have been enjoying the sunny days and the tasty tender grass coming back again. The horses are looking a little rough and i really need to get a brush on both of them. Tippy the turtle has been out and about for the week as i need to do her tank and that will be my big job today.

Happy Easter everyone and keep the ham on the pigs please!!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Garage Sale Tally


Our Garage Sale was a total success!

We had some really great stuff , quality items both new and used and we have safely packed away everything left over for the next one.

Thank you so much to everyone who traveled way out here to bring us such great pieces and to those of you helped by coming to the sale, helping us set up and take down, selling , buying and spreading the word!! The pigs even have a popcorn treat waiting for them here. Friends of the pigs were back here at the farm doing waters and pen work while we were working the sale so it couldn’t of gone any better then this!

Some extra stress occurred Sunday when Moms 16 ½ year old dog wandered off in unfamiliar surroundings in our garage sale mayhem. We were setting up again before opening and all of a sudden it was , where is the dog? Nancy walked one way and i walked the other thinking she was just a few houses over. Then we jumped in our trucks , an hour later nothing. I suggested before we went out again we make signs and get them up while we are searching. We had signs up all over and thankfully a wonderful family had brought her to safety at animal control. The old pooch had her tags on but we were in Mission not at her Maple Ridge home. Moms little dog went to church!!! She must of just hooked up with someone walking by and kept on going. That family saw our signs after getting her to animal control and again reached out to the shelter to update them with a contact number. When she arrived back at the sale she was no worse for wear and seemed to be quite happy for her little adventure. A little dog who never would leave my Moms side , did, so we must never take things for granted as the “never would do this “ does happen.

We made 2x the average garage sale figure then we normally do and brought in over $800.00!!!!

The past week was a busy one with getting all of our garage sale stuff over to my sisters, the tables and in this rain. Also making sure i had all the feed and produce well stocked as there would be no time for running back and forth to town to do that too. I also had been contacted by the SPCA in Power River that a little pig was there and i got the word out on face book. Paula one of our volunteers who moved over to the island saw my post and luck would have it they were now ready for a little pig of there own. I came home to a great update that Leonard was safe and sound at his new home and that he loves peanuts!! Can't wait for pictures!!!

The picture is our Comet , taking a break last week before this rain front came in.