Panda's First Smile

Panda's First Smile
PandaPig's First Smile!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

HELLO, FRIENDS

 


Near and Dear Ones,

We think mom already posted this portrait collage but since all she does is sleep all the time now,
we wanted to put it back on our blog so you can see how wonderful we are and, perhaps...
consider adopting a pair of piggies to put under your tree this Christmas?

We wanted you to know that we are herd animals, so if you can adopt a PAIR of us and not separate
us, we would be so much happier; we get lonely for our friends, brothers, and sisters...even though
we will love you with all our hearts...and we will! And every time you pick us up and we are a little
bit tamer, a little bit healthier, a little bit prettier because you brush us, keep our extra-large
cage clean, and let us run about in a safe place on your floor...well, it will be like Christmas
morning every time you look into our eyes and our eyes smile back.

Just try not to be such a crybaby like mom!

WHO LOVES YA, BABY?

SOMEBODY OUT THERE YOU HAVEN'T EVEN MET YET, WHO IS WAITING FOR YOU, HOPING YOU WILL FIND HIM OR HER...
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Sunday, November 28, 2010

UPWARD FACING PIG POSE: YOGA CLASS WILL NOW COMMENCE

 



Well, Namaste and OM, friends and friendettes,

Yes, now that winter is here and we are eating a little more and running amok a little less it is time for
YogaMasterYumAnanda to teach the herd how to take long, deep breaths, and lean forward from the hips, and
stretch those piggie toes...to get to the wheatgrass mom thinks she has placed just
out of reach! MOM!
Seriously, do you think we can't get this? OMMMMmmmmYuuuuuMMMMMMmmmmm....

WHO LOVES YA, BABY?
PEACE OUT!
YogiYumAnanda
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Seattle Drivers in Snow: OY!



When you readers from other parts of the country read about our snowstorms described so dramatically, here's a very funny glimpse into WHY! GOT HILLS? GOT SNOW? GOT WHAT
SEATTLE DRIVERS GOT? WE HOPE NOT!

HEE-HEE! This isn't really funny.
Uh, yeah, actually it is.
We can hardly wait for Storm #2!

Love,
Four Foot Drive,
YumYum

Saturday, November 27, 2010

ONE SUNNY MORNING AT THE PEACE SANCTUARY! OR: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO OUR LIVING ROOM?

 
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LOVE HIDING UNDER MY THANKSGIVING LETTUCE!

 
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MAC-NUT-PIE'S NEW BEST FRIEND

 

Dear Readers,

Mac-Nut-Pie has cutified his way into the heart of mom's bff's husband, David, who now shares cuddles with the
little scamp formerly reserved only for me! To exact revenge, I gave them Sir Eric Blehm's book "The Last Season"
because David is one of the original founders of Marmot Mountain Works and served as a mountain climbing instructor
in Alaska...his wife now reports he has gone missing in the pages of the book...so there! Make friends with the Mac
and I will lose you in a book! No more time for little MacNut now, IS THERE?

Nobody ever said I was a nice pig, just a handsome one.

EVERYBODY'S REAL FAVE,

YUM-YUM!
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EVERY BREATH IS A GIFT

 
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GOOD BYE, DEAR CHARIOT, YOU SERVED US WELL!

 

 
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After years of faithful service, the recent snowstorm and bumpy ice ruts finally rattled every
last remaining screw loose...not unlike some of our brains...and our faithful, hay-carrying
chariot was unexpectedly replaced today by the Pharmacy with a new, shiny black one. This
photo was taken before we knew it was the Chariot's "last hurrah" so we bid you good-bye
and adieu and thank you for carrying things all over the place, including places you were
probably never meant to go: like the trails at Artist's Point on Mt. Baker...shhhh! Tell
no one! It was fun!

The snow has melted, our ice has thawed, and - for the moment - we are enjoying the luxury
of not shivering...

Hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Who loves ya, Baby?

YumYum LOVES YA!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

KINDNESS AT THANKSGIVING

 


"Kind hearts are the garden,

Kind thoughts are the roots,

Kind words are the branches,

And kind deeds are the fruits."

~Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj

This Thanksgiving we give Thanks
to every kind-hearted soul who
compassionately adopts a rescue animal,
offering hope and love
where once there was none.

~PANDA PIG'S PEACE SANCTUARY~
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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

WHO LOVES YA, BABY?

 


WHEN I WAS STILL A WEE LAD, mom got me this genuine alpaca hat from Peru just for days (or, in our case, weeks..
or possibly months) like these!
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CavyCam - guinea pig "Comol" (モルモットカメラ) on USTREAM: This show broadcasts my pets, guinea pig famliy. The biggest one "Comol" is painted with beautiful 3 co...

CavyCam - guinea pig "Comol" (モルモットカメラ) on USTREAM: This show broadcasts my pets, guinea pig famliy. The biggest one "Comol" is painted with beautiful 3 co...

HI EVERYONE!
We found a LIVE CAVY CAM broadcasting from Kyoto, Japan on UStream, and invite you MODS
to join us cavies while we watch cavies. Although we don't know why, because we already
have each other to watch. But you humans do it...so we will, too. But we don't know why.

Why not just come to Bellingham and play with us? It's closer than Kyoto...
YOU ARE ALL INVITED! Bring snowshoes...

WHO LOVES YA, BABY?

YumYum loves ya!

SLIDESHOW: Animals Play In Monday's Snow - Photos - KIRO Seattle

SLIDESHOW: Animals Play In Monday's Snow - Photos - KIRO Seattle <>
Hi Everybody,

Here's a tribute to the ANIMALS! Mom went off across the frozen tundra with the walker
and came home with our Thanksgiving hay, extra bags of food, lots of fresh, organic veggies,
and enough bedding and litter to keep us warm and dry because weThinks it gonna snow
again tomorrow.

We are the lucky ones who still have power, because we sneeze below 68 degrees, so mom
hath decreed that, should we lose power, we will be assigned sleeping bags according to who
gets along with whom and she will probably rue the day...and never be able to use them again,
but not rue the morning when we wake up warm, safe, and ALIVE! So we do have a power
loss emergency plan, and hope never to need it!

Here's to all of our near and dear readers and friends!

We love you all.

6 Cozy Arctic Cavies

OUR FIRST ARCTIC BLAST!

First snow of 2010-11 <PRESS HERE!

Dear Readers, we have survived the Arctic Blast of sub-zero temps, 60 mph winds, snow, and a small earthquake without losing power, so we are all snuggly, cozy, and
needing mom to head out across the frozen tundra to purchase more fresh veggies for us. Please enjoy these photos of how The City of Subdued Excitement remains subdued even
during this first of many predicted blizzards this winter. We especially enjoyed the photos of the guy walking his pygmy goats downtown on the sidewalk near here,
because even pygmy goats get cabin fever! And this is, after all, B-Ham! So, ice cream cones and pygmy goats on Railroad Street! Here's to Bellingham!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

OUR FIRST SNOWSTORM MAKES "HEADLINE NEWS" DOWN IN SEATTLE!


We are listening to George Winston's landmark CD, "December" while munching fresh, organic
Holiday carrots as the snow falls! Mom has loved this CD from her snowy holidays back in Iowa, so she is feeling nostalgic and peaceful while we take advantage of her reverie by interrupting with loud squeals for
fresh veggies which causes her to comply so we also become calm and quiet so she can return to her reverie.
Dunno what a reverie is, but we thinks we likes it!

Press above link to see downtown B'ham (us!)  make Headline News! We love being special
and The "City of Subdued Excitement" is pretty exciting tonight!

TRIVIA QUESTION: How do Bellinghamsters celebrate an Arctic Blast of snow and ice?
We head straight downtown to eat ICE CREAM CONES TOGETHER!
(Don't believe us little piggies? Then watch the news video above...we really ARE DIFFERENT HERE!)

Friday, November 19, 2010

THEY'RE BAAAAACK! SWANS HERALD SNOW!

Trumpeter Swan - BirdWeb

Dear Friends,

Today as our temps plummet and the north winds blow in madly from the Fraser River Valley in Canada,
mom saw our first trumpeter swans of the season! Unmistakable white sparkling wings flanking long, graceful
necks herald our First Snow!

Two years ago, when we were snowed in at the Audubon Wildlife Refuge for two weeks, we enjoyed the rare
company of a family of trumpeters, who - mom discovered - seem to enjoy talking amongst themselves about
every detail in their lives and surroundings with many variations in their subtly nuanced swan language.

Geese pretty much honk. Maybe they do more, who knows? But swans conversate! They got something to say
and they say it then another swan comments on that before a third swan adds, "Well, frankly, if you look to the
North just under the bald eagle's nest, yes, those cottonwoods over there, you will discover an entirely different
landscape and I prefer THAT ONE!" O.K. who knows, really?
Mom just found their ongoing conversations totally delightful and eavesdropped every chance she got.

To learn more about our swans, enjoy this link to Washington Audubon Society and stay warm!

Who loves ya, Baby?
YumYum & Raj & Taj Mahal & baby MacNut Pie & Erica & Coconut

whew!

WHAT IS SNOW AND CAN WE EAT IT?!

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RAJ MAHAL ENTERTAINS "DEEP THOUGHTS"

HMMmmm...am I in the mood for carrots, or would I prefer fresh wheat grass, THAT IS THE QUESTION!
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Thursday, November 18, 2010

COCONUT FEELING DA LOVE!


Even though I was dumped at an old feed and grain store because nobody wanted me and they thought I was funny looking
and no one would adopt us for the longest time, we have found our Forever Home and I'm thinking we could get used to this
"love stuff" real fast! Mom thinks I am beautiful, loves to brush me and watch my fur turn all "silky" and glitter and glow,
while I just learn how being loved feels...how being safe feels...how being wanted, really, really cherished feels...
and I'm pretty sure I like it!

Love,
Coconut, the Silky Love Cavy!
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THERE'S NO TIME LIKE SNOW TIME!

We here at Panda Pig's Peace Sanctuary eagerly await our first winter snowstorm (in town!) because it means more cuddles, even BETTER treats, and more reasons for mom to pick us up, wrap us up like "pigs in a blanket" and take us to bed under the covers where we escape and scurry about leaving little "raisin treats" for her to SURPRISE! Discover later when she goes to bed at night (hee-hee, we poo sometimes!)

Mom may enjoy snow-play up at Mt. Baker (pictured in background) and it is snowing EPIC amounts of powder up there right now, but our warm Sanctuary is everyone's new favorite playground and we promise to keep it lively this winter by installing our new CavyMade Espresso Machine! Who's ready for Happy Snow Feet NOW?! WhEEEeeeeekkkKKK! Wu-HOOO! Let it snow, let it snow, let it SNOW!

Love,
YumYum and the Cavies of Subdued Excitement
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Mom's New MOD Avatar


Our Local Hero, Apolo Anton Ohno, the most medalled Winter Olympian
in American history!
For all you's wise guys who think Mom's avatar is of a person slapping
hisself whilst falling down, think AGAIN!
Not to mention the photo is signed!
We are proud of our boy, he done good!
But we refuse to grow soul patches. So do not even ask!


Love,
YumYum
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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

MY PRETTY WHITE FOOT, AND MOM DISCOVERED THAT I AM AN AMERICAN SHORTHAIRED "SILKY" PIG!


OUR SWEET, LOVELY BABY "COCONUT"
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WHADDYA MEAN DON'T EAT WITH MY MOUTH FULL? WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN, SERIOUSLY?

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WE ARE WORKING ON OUR "FAMILY PORTRAITS"

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STUPIS WITHOUT BREAKFAST AND COFFEE SCREWS UP MY BLOG!

Dear Friends,

It's your friend, YumYum, and I am not including a photograph of myself because it would not be me
at my handsomest...mom has gotten online this morning, before breakfast, and done quite a bit of
damage, not only to my blog but also to our beloved MOD Blog: Friends for Life, where she seemed
to install something meant for our blog and, in deleting it, also deleted a post by another MOD!


Good for you mom: The MODS don't call you "STUPIS" for nothing, do they?!


EAT BREAKFAST AND GET OFFLINE ALREADY!


STAT!


love,
YumYum

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

LET US NEVER FEEL ALONE: FOR WE HAVE OUR MODS, AND WE TRULY ARE FRIENDS FOR LIFE!

Let us not feel alone as winter shortens and darkens our days and we struggle with health, finances, relationships, and
worldly-worldly woes.

Let us not feel alone as if teetering on the precipice of the mountain with no one to catch us should we slip and fall, as
we surely must in life -

Let us not feel alone when we cannot see through our tears, when the sky turns dark above us and there's troubles below.

Let us not feel alone:  let us reach Within our tenderly beating hearts before stretching out even one trembling hand, or two feeble hands, especially when our own candle barely flickers...For surely there is someone, somewhere, feeling lonelier, in more pain, more frightened than we can ever know. And in our desolation
we shall be led There. And given an opportunity to make a choice, not just to save another, but to reclaim ourselves through one simple act of Grace:

Let us reach out and let them not feel alone. Let us kindle their heart with our love, no matter how little remains within us...Then we shall never feel alone, for it is in giving that we receive, rekindling our own flickering HOPE from the brink, regaining warmth that flames back to life when we offer ourselves to brother or sister, animal,  child, starving bird freezing in winter's brutal storm.

Let us never feel alone. For as long as we can be of service to even one soul in need, we may falter, but we shall never fall so hard that we do not discover a gentle hand reaching out to keep us from ever feeling
alone.


Let us never be alone, for as long as we can serve another, there will never be ALONE.


{photo of Guinea Piggin' the Adventurer, skiing through storm on Mt. Baker, by 1SkatrPie}
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Thursday, November 4, 2010

YUM-YUM, THE CHIEFTAIN, WELCOMES COCONUT TO OUR HERD!

Dear Friends,

As official Chieftain for "The Herd That Hears" here at Panda Pig's Peace Sanctuary, please allow me to introduce you to the newly officially named "Coconut" who is our six-month-old baby girl rescue.

Thank you, Sanctuary #1 BFF, Kezia, for perfectly naming our precious Coconut and blessing our herd with your special friendship and that of your mom's! We are thrilled to welcome our first "Official Best Friends Forever: Kezia and Kestra!"

You may both take a bow!

Please look forward to portraits of flirty little Erica as soon as we can get her to stop standing on her hind legs during Runabout and sticking her pretty nose into our Guy Cages! She's a love and she knows it, but she is also beyond mating age and we are not allowed to touch her...which, in the Large Scheme of Things, seems SO WRONG!

But when females reach a certain age without having born young, their hips fuse and after that if they become preggers, they do not survive childbirth, so she is "Eye Candy Only and ALL PAWS OFF!"

...so not right, not right, so not fair...

Well, at least we still have beautiful little Coco---

(EDITOR: YUM-YUM?! YUM-YUM!)

Beautiful little Coconut, Best Friends Forever, and tomorrow is Molly the Owl Movie Night!
Which is exactly what I was ABOUT to say, mom!

WHO LOVES YA, BABY?
YUM-YUM AND COCONUT LOVES YA
with Horks&Hisses&GuineaPig KISSES!


ha! mom's friends really gonna KEEEEL HER NOW,  cuz they know! hee-hee!
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YUM-YUM, CHIEFTAIN!

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Tuesday, November 2, 2010

WHY RESCUE?

To see two terrified guinea pigs stuck in a cage too small for even one, without a house to play in, a cuddle cup to snuggle in, a wooden toy to chew on, only one food bowl and two water bottles, nothing else...knowing they are no longer wanted, maybe
never really were, strangers walking by one by one deciding they are not worth taking home...over and over they sit, close
together, paralyzed, terrified.

Then they are taken to a home. They are given fresh hay, natural, healthy food, vitamin-fortified water, and THEN...
one by one, they are removed from their cage, wrapped in a warm, soft blanket, given a fresh piece of organic lettuce,
and they are petted! At first it is terrifying but - wait! The lettuce, why they've never eaten anything fresh before.
They have only had the same dried pellets day after day...and that lettuce, why, it's delicious!

And the blanket! At first they are not sure because it is not anything they have ever felt before, soft, warm...cozy, they
can bury their heads, feel their fur become warm, their bodies becoming cozy, so they relax...

Until, THE HAND touches them and they freeze! Will it hurt them? Will they die? It is soft, too, it is gentle, it seems
to know where it feels good on their stunned bodies...they relax, and the hand finds the places where warmth and
gentleness begin to seep in, are allowed in, begin to feel - Safe?

Soon, they feel like they have never felt before, the warmth and softness of their blanket, the taste of a fresh vegetable,
and the hand that knows how to melt their terror as they settle into something foreign...what is this? Their guard is
disappearing and the terror in their tiny bodies and eyes drifts away slowly as they begin to breathe in something,
what is it? What is this thing? They hear the words, "I love you" but what? What?

AND IT IS GOOD.

Day 2. They are gently removed from their tiny prison and placed on the floor...they freeze! They have never been out of
the cage before! WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? ARE THEY GOING TO DIE NOW? WAS YESTERDAY TOO GOOD TO BE
TRUE? WE SHOULD NOT HAVE LET OUR GUARD DOWN, IT'S ALL OVER NOW!

The baby takes a few tentative steps and realizes those things attached to her little body, those legs and tiny feet actually
MOVE! She takes a few more steps and realizes she has a nose and it smells guinea pig smells...and she follows those smells
and her legs keep moving and her feet feel carpet and they like it so they begin moving faster and just a little faster and
THEN SHE RUNS! She never knew she could RUN! It's sooo fun! In and out of tunnels and narrow alleyways between
other cages with guinea pigs standing on their hind feet looking out at them, watching two little girls learn how to walk,
discover they can run, and experience PLAYING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THEIR LIVES! They run and chase one another
with wild abandon and popcorn with glee! (Popcorning is a term describing when guinea pigs are so happy they literally POP up into
the air or jerk abruptly in the midst of a wild gallop as if having a seizure, switch direction, then take off at an even faster gallop! Guinea pigs popcorn when their Glee feels almost like more happiness than they can endure: it is Joy Supreme!)

This is new. This is something altogether novel, this feeling safe, this feeling happy, this being ALIVE! The girls ARE happy! The girls FEEL safe. The girls KNOW WHAT BEING WANTED FEELS LIKE!
The girls feel LOVED.

AND IT IS GOOD.

Why rescue two funny-looking guinea pigs left abandoned at an old hay and feed store downtown?

So that while eating an almond butter, banana, and jam sandwich with a glass of soymilk for dinner,
a human soul can
experience two nearly inanimate souls spring to LIFE,  know joy and experience love for the first time
in their short lives. And the human who "rescued them" what about her? She gets rescued even more.

Why rescue? Because They save us! They return our humanity back to our lonely, aching souls.

AND IT IS GOOD.
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