Smashing Pumpkins

It was Smashed Pumpkin Party at RASTA today

At the end of a productive afternoon at the sanctuary, there's always time for a little fun - and today it was Smashing Pumpkins.  No, not the rock group (though we did move a lot of rocks). Volunteers at RASTA sanctuary today had the privilege of smashing pumpkins for the pigs to eat - and for all the other critters too.
Watching the excitement of many hungry piggies running here and there with big chunks of pumpkin, chowing down on freshly smashed pumpkin, stealing each other's piece of pumpkin,  made for lots of laughter, picture taking, and ear-to-ear smiles (on the humans AND on the pigs)!  

Here's some of my favourite shots from today:

Nom nom nom....

This is SOOOO good! 

Why thank you nice volunteer!

Even Theo loves his pumpkin!

Delicious!

Benson the dog gets some too!

Toby's the only one who wasn't that interested.
His grazing muzzle had just been removed and he
was intent on scarfing down the green grass!

Every pig has his/her pumpkin

Thanks Lucie for the Great Pumpkin Party - there are few things more fun than watching well loved animals having fun!

A beautiful day for a hike!

Sally and I have known each other for almost sixty years.  Hers was likely one of the first families my parents met when we immigrated to Canada, and her mother and mine remained best friends for the rest of their long lives.  By virtue of our parents' friendship, and our mutual involvement in Guiding and church activities, Sally and I spent a fair bit of time together throughout our school years. Then we moved on to different places and different lives and kept in touch mostly through our moms.

Shortly before the deaths of both our mothers, I moved to the island and ended up living less than fifteen kilometers from Sally;  we reconnected and got together a couple of  times a year.  In a recent conversation, I mentioned the loss of hiking friends as well as my hiking dog, and learned that although Sally loves the outdoors and has lived here for much of the past forty years, she had not done many of my favourite hikes in this area.  So we choose a date, and today we went to Crofton Lake.  It was the perfect day - an overcast sky in the early morning soon turned into puffy white clouds and then beautiful blue skies, lovely reflections, and a glorious day for a hike.

The trail up

Reeds and Reflections

Looking across the lake

Fall colours against a blue sky

A view of the Salish Sea, Salt Spring Island, and the
North Shore Mountains
from the loop trail back down

We discovered we are well matched in pace and ability, and have already noted on our calendars our plans to hike again next Monday, weather permitting.

Down a Country Road

My friend Pat and I took the poms, Cosmo and Lexi, for a walk down a quiet country road today.  Along the way, we made some new friends. We saw some cows in a field, but too far off to introduce ourselves.  These three horses,  at least one of which had been rolling in the mud, only gave us a passing nod before resuming their interrupted afternoon snack.

Soon we saw a couple of donkeys who were as interested in looking at us as we were at them:

Hey! Who are those people?

They shared their field with some sheep, and soon they trotted over to say hello:

We better check this out!

The poms were on their best behaviour - they didn't bark even once!  The donkeys were quite curious about the little fluffballs on leashes:

Hmmm....what is this fluffball?

Meerkat?  Skunk?  

I dunno what he is, but that smells like Cookie Breath to me!

Lexi wasn't quite as enamored as Cosmo, but soon decided to say hello too:

Hello Mr. Donkey
Please don't eat me!

I took a few more photos of the sheep, with their lovely faces that always seem so full of grace and serenity:

Then it was back up the road, admiring the old farm buildings and the beautiful fall leaves:

Countryside in fall colours

The Courage to Rescue

RASTA, the nearby sanctuary where 13 pigs died suddenly in four short days this September, received the final report this week from the labs investigating the deaths. Neither the BC Animal Health Centre nor the specialized diagnostic centre at Michigan State University were able to identify the cause - necropsies, and thorough testing of blood and tissue samples, revealed no viruses, no bacteria, no poisons or toxins of any sort.  And so the deaths remain a mystery.  As I sat at my desk the day the report arrived, a quote above my computer became even more meaningful to me than it was the day I placed it there.  And so I penned this piece.  

The Courage to Rescue

(c) 2015 Jean Ballard

Tango and Romeo
RASTA Sanctuary residents

There is a saying pinned to the bulletin board above my desk, which reads:

Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow'. ~Mary Anne Radmacher 

Every ethical animal rescuer I have ever known  has courage.  It takes courage to carry on when worrying constantly about finances, about the animals’ shelter, and food, and health, and safety.  It takes courage to deal with the public, day in and day out, especially those who don’t understand your goals or don’t agree with the decisions you make or don’t take time to do even a tiny bit of research before getting – or giving up – an animal. It takes courage to carry on when faced with overwhelming despair at the sheer numbers of animals in need.  It takes courage.

Cher, Rusty and Natty
Rescued by RASTA

RASTA’s recent move to Chemainus took courage – to move, to rebuild, to deal with thefts and vandalism, to meet the public, to recruit new volunteers, to face financial challenges. Most of all, it took courage to cope with the sudden deaths of 13 pigs  - Daisy, Jengo, Hannah, Lola, Mortimer, Timothy, Zoe, Webster, Bella, Dolly, Guinness, Josie and Buster - from an unknown cause.  And it took courage to help Wilbur, the senior big pig, to also cross over just a few days after his 13 friends, due to failing health and quality of life issues which were unrelated to the other deaths. 

Rest in Peace,  Wilbur
I feel so blessed to have met you.

I am sure there are many times when Lucie, the owner of RASTA, wanted nothing more than to curl up in a dark quiet corner of the house (or more likely, in a dark quiet corner of one of the animal shelters, surrounded by her warm gentle animal friends) and whimper in fear and frustration and rage.  I am sure she often wishes the challenges and fears would abate, the money would magically appear, the constant requests from strangers to "Please take my pig/dog/cow/cat/duck!" would cease, and most of all that the sanctuary residents that traveled here this summer would all miraculously be alive and healthy and strong again.

Theo
Rescued as a discarded calf, now a  massive but gentle steer.

But like the other strong people I know who run sanctuaries and rescues and shelters, Lucie carries on.  That takes courage.

For all the Lucies and Sandies and Janices and Steves and Richards and Pennys and Karens and Carols in the world of animal rescue, sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying “I will try again tomorrow”. 

And thank doG they do.

A man and his best girl....

I spent all evening writing - in words - a post for today, and then realized I was too tired to edit, watermark, and resize the photos I wanted to use to accompany the piece.  So you'll have to wait until tomorrow for that post.  But as Mitzi says I should post something every day in November as part of NaBloPoMo, and to make up for not posting for thirty days straight last month, here is a shot I took at Chesterman Beach, Tofino, in September. This little girl was quite determined to get her dad down to the water's edge as fast as her legs could carry her!  I loved the bright colours of their clothes in contrast to the drizzly, foggy day.

A whale of a time!

On the aforementioned trip to the mainland, I was thrilled to once again hear the captain of the ferry direct our attention to the killer whales - orcas - swimming past the starboard side.  This is the second ferry trip on which I've encountered whales, and we have also seen them in the bay near my home.  On this trip, it appears there were just two - perhaps a mom and a juvenile, as this photo seems to indicate:

One day I hope to see one when I am better prepared and with a larger zoom.  But even this distant view brings pleasure and reminds me of why we all need to do our part to keep these waters clean.

NaBloPoMo and a trip to the mainland

Well, who would have thought it?  November is National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) - and here I thought it was just National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).  Google it - if you are a blogger,  it appears November is the month to celebrate our art and show our commitment by posting a blog every day. There's even badges and prizes and support sites for those that like that kind of stuff.  Strictly speaking,  the 'rules' talk about 'writing' a post every day.   While my blog is more photography than actual writing these days, I'm proud to have made it to day four.  My entries for this month aren't reflecting the chronology of my last month of not posting but more a reflection of how much time I had to edit a file of photos, and what particular  file appealed to me.

Two weeks ago I made a quick trip to the mainland.  I try to go over every October to see friends and family in case winter weather deters me from visiting for a while - I don't drive on snowy or icy roads. While there, I visited some friends I hadn't seen for a while and admired the flowers still blooming in their garden:

October flowers and a pepper

I also loved this wagon full of pumpkins and squash sitting by their door:

The next day I was meeting some family and friends for lunch and arrived at the restaurant with lots of time to spare,  so I visited nearby Deas Island Park.  It is one of my favourite parks - an oasis of pleasure in the midst of  Metropolitan Mayhem.  Wedged between the Fraser River and a lagoon, with trails through forest and meadow, it affords views that shift from nature to industry to cityscape to mountains.

Despite its proximity to urban areas, the park is always quiet - the few people I saw were, like me, quietly enjoying a moment's reprieve from the noise of the city.  This man, in his french beret, pulled out his camera to capture many of the same images as I.

And this woman with her aging mother reminded me of the several times I had brought my own mother here in the last years of her life. We'd walk the paths, she with her walker or, later, in a wheelchair, and rest at a picnic table where we'd share a thermos of tea and a snack.

Nearby, a maple called to me to photograph its fancy dress - the beautiful fall colours that are pure joy to behold even if they do tell us that winter is not far away. Gazing at the tree, I tell myself to live in the moment and not think about the dark drab days to come.

Today, for the first time this fall, I had to turn on the heat in my house.   And darn it, darkness came shortly after 5:00 tonight!  So winter is weighing heavily on my mind - it is not my favourite season. Yet when I look around me, there are still many flowers, and the trees are full of colour, and my grass is still growing and badly in need of a cut.  So I  remind myself it is still fall, and here on the island it will soon be spring - in just a couple of months we'll be seeing the first of the spring flowers popping up through the dirt. Winter, I shall ignore thee!

This blog has gone to the birds....

Continuing with the theme of birds, I took these shots of eagles while horsesitting a couple of weeks ago.  I often saw the pair of eagles, whose nest was on the neighbouring property, observing their world from  a tall tree at the end of the driveway.  No doubt they were eyeing the many wild rabbits, though I never saw them catch any.  Of course, I also left Mitzi indoors during these photography sessions, and kept her very close whenever she was outside with me and the eagles were in sight.

Two in a tree

Take off!

Eagle in the sun

Joy on a gloomy November day

From birds on the beach to a bird in the bush.  Well, not quite in a bush.  He was in a bush when Allie first spied him through the window, wet with rain, yesterday.  But then he hopped up onto the feeder.  There was quite a crowd out there - mostly pine siskins migrating through.

But they made room for one little splash of colour - You can see his yellow head peeking around from behind the top tier of the feeder in the photo above.  He's likely a young male American Goldfinch - this year's hatch - not a surprise as there were many goldfinches hanging around my yard from April to July.

Goldfinches in the yard
in spring

But yesterday's goldfinch was by himself, in winter attire, with just a gentle hint of the beauty he will become next spring.  With my camera focused through the pane of wet glass, our young friend decided to hop up on the shepherd's crook to afford me a better shot:

And then hung around until the rain stopped, to pose once more for me:

As the days shorten and the long dark rainy season begins, I am grateful for his delightful presence outside my window.  Stay safe, little bird, and please come back next spring!

Birds on the Beach

While visiting Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island in early September, one of the many pleasures was watching the little sandpipers racing hither and yon at the edge of the water, grabbing whatever goodies the waves left behind.  For such small birds, they showed great courage against the towering surf:

As each wave retreated, they scurried along the edge,  listening and probing for and slurping their catch:

At last, either appetite satiated or prospects depleted, in one swift movement they all lifted off and flew away:

Mitzi's Howlowhine

By Mitzi

Dear friends of my Mama Jean's:

Please don't nevah, nevah, nevah, let my
Mama Jean into a thrift store near Hallowe'en again.
NOT EVER!

Ah don't wanna be a frog who
turns into some stoopid prince!

Ah wanted to be a Princess!

The Paper Bag Princess, that is!
Ah even made mah own costume.
It's much more 'me', don'tcha think?

PS:  Mah Mama Jean is pretty silly sometimes.  She read about NaNoWriMo on another blog, and she thought it stood for National Not Writing Month.  So she didn't write for a WHOLE MONTH. Just in case you didn't notice (though at least a dozen of you did notice and have taken her to task for it).   NaNoWriMo is about writing every single day for a month - the month of November. There's a whole world wide organization dedicated to it, with websites and facebook pages and local support groups and everything! You're supposed to write a novel, but my Mama Jean doesn't do novels.  And she says she can't blog every single day.  But she has thousands of photos from the last two months, most of which she hasn't posted here, so you tell her to at least post a picture every day in November.  She should be able to do that.  And maybe write some too.

Love and kisses and get me out of this frog suit, 
Mitzi. 
XXXOOO