Love and Sunshine

Wow time flies when your spending nights at one end of the town and racing back here in the morning. Spent four nights at Jeans getting to know the herd that will be moved here soon. Such lovely little pigs and Jean must help me figure out who is who as i only can identify 6 of them right now. I brought out huge bags of popcorn, carrots and cheeses for treats. ;o)) It was exhausting for some reason going back and forth but in the evening when everyone was fed and safe i sat back in an outside chair in the dark and listened to an amazing chorus by the frogs every night. The stars are bright and the air is fresh . My last night there Jeans lone coyote was calling out for his pack across the street and then her cat racing around in the attic had me thinking a bear was up there.

Travelling back from Mission i go right by the Black Sheep Pub and walla the truck was there to grab the shed donated by Andrew the owner there. I haven't been this excited in a long time , it was all going to happen!! I thought what a good story about the community coming together this would make and called the Maple Ridge Times and hoped Amy could get down here! Every piece of this plan fell together as Shelly & I sobbed in happiness , Pete's crew from Superior Home Movers put all there equipment to work. This crew is totally friendly, professional and skilled at there work. And Amy took pictures of all of it !!

We had front page exposure in the our little local paper and a lady who read our article is going to donate 50.00 and another Annis has already been down here to help me here!

The big shed will need to be moved again , hopefully this week-end and then fencing around it. The crane could only go in so far with my power lines right there. A ton of work , i pray for a good turn out this week-end and good weather.

Shelly who orchestrated all of this has been back with her son and came with a case full of apples and a cheque to sponsor Comet. Can it get any better??? The garage sale has been one of great fortune for the pigs and I this time!

Stephanie is a 16 year old volunteer and after we all did piggy paddock clean up called her family to come and help take down the shelving in the shed and a steel security door yesterday. Way to go Steph!!! So that project is done !

I will have to get a load of hay in for the pigs and horses both for feed and bedding this week while the weather holds out. All the pigs need hay added to there houses . Do some measuring and see what i need in wire fencing material, a gate kit and measure the large opening in the new area for the purchase of a large farm gate. We still need access in there to remove all these sheds when i sell or for brush removal ect.

Once the new kids are settled then i must bring in a few units of bark mulch , dress the gates with new flowers and get this place looking pretty again now that winter is behind us.

Pigs need hoof work and Don must get neutered and then i better get back in the working world again!!

I am starving now, tonight i eat before they do and that doesn't happen that often!

So much work!!

Sunday my Mom and my sister returned early as with so much stuff left we decided to go a second day. With the ad in the paper and all my signs saying different I had to at least go find my signs and add Sunday to all of them. There was an estate Sale up the street so this would have the customers travelling this way again, now i needed a way to get them back down here.

Although i could barely walk from being on my feet so long that last three days i too wanted to go to the estate sale and see if there were any wheel barrows for sale. The nicest girls were working that and i was told to come back after there sale ended at 2:00 and i could have the carpets, all the blankets and the sleeping bags if they didn't sell.

We weren't as busy but we are all exhausted and by 2:00 Mom called Diane to come on down and get what she wanted for the Hospital Thrift Store and Nancy and i raced up to the estate sale.

Tortilla who is 16 years old now and like all hoofed animals is having trouble getting up in his house. Hard flat surfaces don't have any grab for hooves no matter how much bedding is in there and he just doesn't have the strength he once had. So a small roll of carpet will be divided today between Tortilla and Carport Penny that we netted from the estate Sale.

We came home with the carpet and a bag of blankets and half dozen sleeping bags, sheets that will be cut up for misc rags and wipes and i lucked out on three good barn coats .

By then it was time to start tearing down the sale and the four of us worked till 5 and until we could do no more. Dianne left with a car load , we have a load to go on the street for free and lastly one for the Women's in Need Thrift and nothing will be saved for another one this year.

Thankfully when Maggie and Jerry came yesterday they brought enough yams and apples for everyone dinner and today there is a good days work with what is left to do, take care of the two special needs pigs and get my feed and produce we need for the week.

There will be no time to waste here as I have 12 more pigs coming in and with there foster Mom visiting yesterday and hashing out options of where to build i have decided once again to put them up front. We need a shed STAT for these kids!!

I am still pulled emotionally with this bonded family and may have to revisit the sanctuary principles if we do get any fantastic people who want to adopt once they arrive here. The truth is we, who truly love pigs are rare and hundreds of miles apart. Finding any home is easy finding ones who understands pigs and love them for who they are is not. The SPCA with a huge net work and advertising know this too and since we opened the shelters have learned the pigs will only be taking up there precious space with no adoptions in sight and contact us immediately now.

Pigs like all animals deserve to be loved and taken care of no different from our cats and dogs. They like to be brushed, praised , treated and covered up at night. They wag there tails when they are happy and cry real tears when they are sad. But with that comes the fact they fear restraint and closed spaces ,will not stand on a vet table to be examined and yet need the same care as any animal does. This puts a whole different dimension on how you have two work with these guys and this is one of the pigs biggest threats to quality care when families adopt with out educating themselves totally first hand.

I am alone pretty well during the week and adding to the current herd by almost 25% will require a serious look at how I run this sanctuary. Another 50 lbs of feed a night, bigger shopping lists and 40 lbs of apples or 25 lbs of carrots a night will not be enough any more. I will have to adapt and my routine is about to change BIG time and so will everyone around me.

Well back out there i go , the farm pigs have been kept in there paddocks since Wednesday when i started setting up and today will be there day all day as i promised them!!

Garage Sale a Go!!

Quick note its late but i jsut got in and put up YARD SALE signs all over the place. Was I scared , in the dark by msyelf you ask..nope I had a hammer!!! LOL

I will check in when i wake to see if any one needs the address or directions but by 8:30 am I will be racing around here feeding and taking care of last minute things.

Tons of stuff , tables all over the driveway and something for everyone. And i don't plan on keeping any of this stuff after for another one so it is all priced to go!

Next week will be Operation Mission Herd , aquiring a shed, putting a fence around it and i need a miracle now!!

We need this!!!

With the Mission Herd coming in pretty quick i am looking at this on craigs lsit to buy. It is huge 8'x 28' and a pretty penny as well. It is my wish that we can afford it and while the herd uses it until we move it will then be turned into the medical facility we so desperatley need here.

A shed this size will allow me to move all my medical supplies and a safe quarantine for sick or injured pigs. This will also provide a sterile place for our vets when emergenices come up.

2300.00 plus transport , if any one out there can help with costs or transport please let me know!!