GUINEA PIGGIN' ON MT. BAKER

Dear Sweet Readers,

Please enjoy this first installment of "Guinea Piggin'" which will document the many adventures we enjoy, one of them being Nordic Skiing up on Mt. Baker moments before a white-out snowstorm in spring: oh, delighful it 'twas, too!

Undoubtedly more to come! Now it is bedtime for the guinea piggins, but we promise more pictures from Our First BigPiggin' Adventure!

Sweet dreams,

PANDA OUT!

THIS, TOO, SHALL PASS

I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE

" i spy with my little eye

a cockatoo-porcupine Haircut:

mom, why?"

-poem by PandaPig

MY LITTLE EYE

I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE

i spy with my little eye
the Passover Chickadee
dropping by

HUBBLEpIG DISGUISED AS BEAR ENJOYING CITRUS DROPLETS

WHAT KIND OF PIG, YOU ASK?! AND WHY HAS HE STOPPED EATING SO SUDDENLY? WE HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS!

WE INTRODUCE HUBBLEpIGS:

Note Bear's sudden, introspective demeanor: Any other guinea pig would be tearing into his fruit! But a HUBBLEpIG will stop -

EVEN DURING BREAKFAST! --- yes, even during breakfast,

To receive the newest transmissions from deep space, billions of light years ago, hinting which direction astonomical humans ought gaze to
find the ORIGINS OF THE UNIVERSE.

After which time, our HUBBLEpIG will resume munching on his
juicy fruit before napping cozily on his favorite, warm blanket.

WHAT GUINEA PIGS THINK ABOUT

HubbleSite - Gallery

ENJOY THE SIGHTS OF OUR UNIVERSE AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF ASTRONOMICAL GUINEA PIGS KNOWS AS HUBBLEpIGS. MOM WANTED US TO KEEP IT SECRET BUT WE
CAN'T RESIST SHARING THE INSIDE OF OUR BRAINS WITH THOSE HUMANS WHO DON'T
EVEN THINK WE HAVE ONE!

JOURNEY WITH CHILDLIKE WONDER AT WHAT GOES ON BEYOND EARTH IN THE LITTLE
BITTY BRAINS OF HUBBLEpIGS AND PREPARE FOR ASTONISHMENT BEYOND YOUR WILDEST IMAGINATION!

THE SECRET'S OUT!

and so am I. mom just gave us fresh hay. time for terrestrial pursuits!

PANDApIG OUT: FAR OUT!

MEET LOLA, QUEEN OF THE FOREST!

Dear readers,
from time to times we enjoy introducing you to new friends and Lola is definitely one! Just look at that face!
Mom met Lola and her dad and her dad's friend on her Walkabout and discovered that this precious Havanese puppy not only lives on a boat but loves to run so fast down the ramp before leaping into the air and onto the boat that her dad is seriously considering buying her a cape!
But, on this particular day she was ecstatic on terra firma, staking her claim with admirable aplomb. We salute Lola and her Dad! WE 3 GUINEA PIGS and  mom unanimously wish you both Happy Sailing when you head north to Alaska this summer on your boat, Lola's cape flowing majestically in the tradewinds while orcas swim merrily by.

BEAR ASKS FOR POGA CLASSES! - Seattle, Washington | Local & Regional

This yoga class is going to the dogs |
KOMO News - Breaking News, Sports, Traffic and Weather
- Seattle, Washington
| Local & Regional

Dear Readers,

We love our Runabouts. We run, we popcorn, we scamper, we slide (on the kitchen floor if we run off the towels and pretend to be skating) and we play with all the boxes, toys, and hidden snacks mom puts out on the floor for us. When working as a volunteer at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle she learned all about "enrichment" and we enjoy enrichment specific to guinea pigging!

Yoga we do not do.

Mom does yoga.

We watch mom do yoga.

We watch mom do yoga, relieved it is not something guinea pigs do.

This news story has done nothing to change our minds, and

if you have guinea pigs, we hope it does nothing to change yours.

If you have dogs, enjoy yoga, and are a crazy-person, we hope you

enjoy doga.

WE ARE NOT, NOR WILL WE EVER BE, POGIS!

PANDA PIG OUT!
(NOTE FROM EDITOR: The opinions shared by PandaPig do not reflect those
of every guinea pig
living here at PandaPigSanctuary.
YumYum has been squealing "NAMASTE!" at the top of his lungs
all day - so enjoyable, while Bear the Beaver Pig has been practicing
 forward stretches to reach hay
stuck in high places.)

THE PERFECT DISCIPLE

While visiting Chin-Sun-Kitty and her mom today, we discovered Chin-Sun has a disciple so humble we have never met him. Or her.

"Mom, can you find out?"

"No problem, PandaPig."

Meet The Perfect Disciple: humble. quiet. unobtrusive. never seeking
attention. serves with loving devotion. open, affectionate, kind face.
dressed simply. not materialistic, content with pretty green ears and
hand-painted brown flowers, orange eyes always seeking to serve with
a gentle smile. horns like a giraffe, and tail hanging gently down
towards earth; yes, earthy and modest. Childlike and innocent.

With enough faith
to stand
perilously close to the edge of  am's kitchen countertop
without an
ounce of fear. Wears a beautific expression of grace:
this perfect disciple!

PANDA PIG OUT!

VENERABLE CHIN-SUN KITTY

The magic of our venerable master
is that she
still finds sun
for
her chin
even when the sun isn't out

BEAR PREDICTS NO SUN ON SUNDAY

Yum-Yum woke up this morning, peeked out of his colorful, snuggly sleeping bag, asked Bear for the weather report,
discovered the sun might or might not make a surprise cameo appearance but a windstorm was definetely in the forecast,
and decided, "Why Bother?"

Indeed!

You stay tucked in, little fella, 'cause you're right where you belong until mom wakes up for breakfast.

And YumYum stayed right where he belonged until mom woke up for breakfast. (Our breakfast, of course!)

And, after her migraine, mom got a special surprise: time to visit her spiritual/art friend and neighbor, am,
and the Venerable Chin-Sun-Kitty! Who actually did find Sun!
HAPPY THEM. HAPPY US.

NOW WE WAIT FOR WIND.

PANDA PIG OUT!

IN LIVING COLOR

PACIFIC NORTHWEST PALETTE

Mom calls this "Detritus: Forest Floor with Sun" She didn't take it for the sake of art, just to demonstrate how quickly the light changes up here in the Great Pacific Northwest.











Mom calls this "Reflections on Water: No Sun"




















Same day. Same planet. My how a day can change the appearance of Reality through a camera's faithful lens!
Thanks, mom, for showing us what your Walkabouts look like. Because if it gets dark in here, you just turn on
the lights. Different outdoors, huh? We like being indoor guinea pigs but know mom likes being an outdoor girl.
Even if we move into town, we promise to pack your gear and camera, kick you out the door, and make sure the
Magic Lives On!

PANDA PIG OUT!

NORTH SHORE OF LAKE WHATCOM

THIS AND OTHER SIMILAR PHOTOS ARE ACTUALLY IN COLOR: PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLOR, THAT IS.
When mom headed out, she had the Sun predicted by Bear the Weather Pig. But when she headed back, the
weather changed and her color photos took on the color palette unique to the Pacific Northwest. Today Bear did
not predict sun. Accurate prediction, Bear. But, for those brief, shining hours yesterday, that bright thing did
dance in the sky and turn things green and people smiled again. It was glorious!

PANDA PIG OUT!

EXOTIC THAI RIDGEBACK DOG: WOW!

Dear Readers,

Yesterday, mom went Walkabout on the north shore trail along
Lake Whatcom and look who she ran into!

We have never even heard of Thai Ridgeback dogs before, and
this girl is still young and learning about America, and Bellinghamsters,
who do not keep their big, gigantic dogs on leashes while walking on trails specifically asking them to do so. For everybody's safety.

She was lovely but so many unleashed dogs rushed up and, excited by her exotic aroma, went beserk, that she really did not feel safe. And her mom had a hard time protecting her. 

Please leash your dogs, dear dog owners. For everyone's sake! Thanks!

PANDA OUT!

WE BANISH MOM TO THE WILDERNESS!

For the past several weeks, mom has been having a difficult time.

We have been deeply affectionate and loving, because we are saints, one and all.

We spent hours of lap time holding in our pee (because guinea pigs try not to pee on their people; it's part of our reputation as gentle pets) but last night my bladder nearly burst! Mom needed so much love. Whew!

So, this morning, following Bear's weather report of  :::SUN::: we convened an Intervention!

WE THREW HER OUT! SHE HAD ALREADY FED US, SO WHO NEEDED ALL THE DRAMA? ENOUGH ALREADY!

Mom's birthday is the same is her hero John Muir, who used to just HEAD UP INTO THE MOUNTAINS with some bread and a Sense of Wonder. We had exactly one more piece of home-made cornbread, some protein drink, and a bottle of water to pack her up and off she went to the North Shore Trail of Lake Whatcom. It was good for her.

It was good for us! And I got to pee whenever I felt like it instead of holding it in while she petted and held me and loved me, for hours. Get me a diaper, already!

We packed her camera and she met really cool, exotic dogs and their people, felt spring in the air, and even got to watch the Whatcom Fire and Rescue Team practice mountain climbing along slick, rock waterfalls in full firefighting regalia! COOL, huh?

And the eagle sat waiting at the top of her tree, greeting mom upon her return home.

So, we will be sharing photographs from Mom's Walkabout with you and hope that when the sun does
peek out, and you have a chance to head for the hills, you don't forget your cornbread!

PANDA PIG OUT!

MOM ESCAPED TO THE WOODS!

LAKE WHATCOM NORTH SHORE

BEAR CHECKS FOR SUN IN HIS MORNING WEATHER REPORT!

BEAR THE WEATHER-PIG!

Dear Readers,

It has been dark, gray, and drippy here in the Great Pacific Northwest (YUK!)
But, fortunately we have our own version of the Groundhog who predicts when spring will arrive:

We have Bear, the Weather-Pig!

He comes out in the morning, sniffs the air, feels whether or not
his nose feels warm or cold, then offers up his weather report!

He does this faithfully each morning.

And today he has great news: SUN! And yellow peppers for breakfast.

"I can smell 'em a mile away," says he. Sure enough: Fresh, yellow Peppers AND Sun! How bright is that?

PANDA OUT FOR BREAKFAST AND TANNING!

"ART INTERRUPTED"

Mom has been working on a rough sketch of Raven. For years, actually.

Now, her drawing hand doesn't work. She found out it wasn't just the two guinea pig bites, because it turns out other injuries were hiding in both hands, things she otherwise would have never discovered.

She may need surgery, after the move,
if we move, when we move, To wherever we move. One hand, maybe
both. Who knows? We're used to it.

The good part is how much she loves her medical team because they are all animal lovers who also rescue animals! She trusts them. And recognizes this process will take time. It may be awhile before she gets back to finishing Raven. But it's all right.  He's not flying away:  Ours is a patient Raven. And a faithful Raven. Besides, she drew friends for him to play with.

We feel a little sad watching her pack so much unfinished art.
So, we even offered to donate our Runaround Space in the new place for her exclusive use as an art studio.
Mom said wherever we move there will be plenty of room for all of us to play! Together!

We bid mom's unfinished art farewell for now, and promise that when we become hip, urban, bohemian, artPigs, we will share our creativity with all of you and invite you to share yours with us!

Raven, we will see you soon: we promise! We will finish drawing your wings so you can fly to catch Sun and bring more Light into our lives.
Good Raven. Good guinea pigs. Good night, art lovers. Good night, Creative Muse. Please come back in the morning!

PANDA OUT!

MEET YOUR EDITOR: PANDA-PIG!

"AFTER A HARD DAY'S WORK: CUDDLE TIME FOR PANDAPIG!"

Hard at work, writing, editing, doing all the photography: it's only me in the newsroom and much to do!

               Mom gives me a surprise foot massage because I've worked so hard on the blog this week!

                 Now, just melt into the warm embrace of a soft, fleece blanket while mom lulls me to sleep...

PANDA PIG MOST DEFINITELY OUT! SWEET DREAMS, DEAR READERS...SWEET DREAMS.