Ohhhhhh Uncle Paul THANK YOU so much for making the three hour round trip 
to bring us all these nummy tomatoes
and cantaloupes !!!
Mmmmmm donated by a grocery store warehouse when they have left overs or short dated items. YOU might think an overripe tomato or a cantaloupe with a small soft spot is yucky, be WE think it’s DELICIOUS !!!!!
Love, the Pigs, Goats, Cows, Horses, Donkey, Sheep, Chickens, Turkeys, Geese, Ducks, Pigeons, Emus and Peacocks of Rikki’s Refuge
Good chilly wet morning ……… never forget … no matter the weather … the animals get taken care of … in the rain … in the dark ….
Katie uses the truck as an umbrella this morning !!
Nobody is happy with the weather today.
See how peaceful I am? 
All of our friends here who in other places may be thought of as a meal (like our cows, pigs, chickens and ducks and geese) feel just as comfortable and relaxed as me, cause they know they won’t end up on the barbeque or in someone’s oven! Isn’t that wonderful !!
Thinking about eating in a kinder and more gentle way? Why not start today on what we call Meatless Monday. Change one thing at a time. Make it a snack, make it one meal, use vegan butter instead of dairy, use non-dairy creamer in your coffee. When we change everything at once it’s too much and our intentions fail. Small changes add up! You begin to see it’s not that hard to eat kinder. Want recipes and guidance? Check out Rikki’s Refuge’s Opie’s Edibles on Facebook for thousands of great recipes.
Follow us for great plant based recipes at Opie’s Edibles: www.Facebook.org/OpiesEdibles
on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/RikkisRefuge
Right here on the WEB: www.RikkisRefuge.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rikkis.refuge.animal.sanctuary
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rikkisrefuge
Thank YOU pumpkin haulers !!! YOU make us HAPPY !!! Almost everybody eats pumpkins at Rikki’s Refuge. If you know of a patch that has left overs and would love to give them to us for the animals, let us know. mail@RikkisRefuge.org
Our volunteers were out all weekend ranging far and wide picking up from churches, garden centers, farm stands, etc !!! Thank YOU for supporting the animals of Rikki’s Refuge.
Brrrr started our day at 22 degrees (6 c for some of you) — HEAVY frost everywhere —
here’s what Cowvin has to say about that !
Well DANG !!! It’s empty. WHAT am I going to have for breakfast?
Would you send me just ONE can of food?
Love, Crybaby
You can feed Crybaby by sending a donation to www.RikkisRefuge.org/FeedMe THANK YOU !!!
Look what’s happening at Rikki’s Refuge today !!! We’re changing into summer clothing !!
it’s all in a day’s work at Rikki’s Refuge …. photos by those caring for the animals
(you can help support those animals at www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate)
4:07 am and our day starts – a little cool and breezy this morning at 45 degrees. But, 70 is on the way !!! Yippie !!!!
Fabio is living on the edge !!
Riley just wants one tummy rub. No one ever does it twice! If YOU know Riley, YOU know why …. and she’s probably had YOUR blood on her claws or fangs !
Breakfast is served at the Life Center
6:02 am these guys are still very very sheepy.
6:43 am The suns getting ready to start its appearance.
The sun coming up over Dahlia.
Nibbs can just have my jacket. He’s apparently called Nibbs or Nab for a reason !!
by 11 am we have our morning chores done, everyone is fed and cleaned and we head off to Deep Roots Home And Garden Center to buy feed for our hoofed and feathered friends. This pallet of feed, will last a week ….. every week, we pick up another !
If you’d like to help us, you can call and order a few bags of feed for us, and well pick it up next time we’re there!! Thank you … here’s the info.
Deep Roots Home and Garden Center
28284 Constitution Hwy, Rhoadesville, VA 22542
540-854-5093
Their hours are Monday – Friday 9 am to 6 pm, Saturday 8 am to 4 pm, closed Sunday.
www.facebook.com/DeepRootsHomeandgarden
Wrangler All Stock (sweet feed)
Cracked Corn
Senior Horse Food
And if you’re in the area, stop in, it’s a wonderful place, and ohhhh the plants !!!!
When we got back to the refuge to unload, we found a delivery at the front gate. Cases of fluids for our hospital patients, and our kidney patients. When you’re a life care sanctuary, it means caring for everyone no matter their age or issues. Many are given up and come to us in the later years, or with medical problems. And so many cats, if they live into their upper teens, will have kidney issues which are helped so much with daily sub-q fluids. They keep our medical folk very busy !!
Yikes … this invoice is for $819.31 ….. woowzer !!!! That’s over $2 a bag more than it was last time. How long can this go on? If you’d like to donate to help with our medical bills, we’d love you !!!
CLICK HERE to help with the VET DEBT
So the boxes were loaded up on top of the feed, and everything put away …..
And it was back to Deep Roots to buy the week’s supply of cat litter. Yeah !!! Another whole pallet full !!! 600 cats use a lot of litterboxes.
And back to Rikki’s to unload another truck full.
Meanwhile Mr Turkey was strutting about and showing off ….. it’s the favorite pastime of the male birds ….. especially in the spring when love is in the air !!
What a PURRFECT day for a picnic !! Hold on I’m coming !!!!!
WOW !!! Look !!! A surprise at the gate !!!!! Donations !!!
HIGH approval rating on today’s donations !!!! Even the empty boxes become pressies for the kitties to play in !!!!!!
Our parting shot today is the happy cows grazing on all this lush green grass !!!
Everyone lives happily ever after at Rikki’s Refuge !!
With YOUR help we can provide life long homes to well over 1,000 animals each & every day !!!!
www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate
Rikki’s Refuge, 10910 Barr Ln, Rapidan VA 22733 (shipping address for food, etc)
Rikki’s Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960 (secure box for checks, etc)
mail@RikkisRefuge.org
YOU are our family !!! Your kind and generous donations make it all possible !!
Thank you for tuning in and sharing our day !!
it’s all in a day’s work at Rikki’s Refuge …. photos by those caring for the animals
(you can help support those animals at www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate)
They’re circling round …. waiting for breakfast. Cats can be demanding. Insistent. When they arrive in schools circling round ….. you better hurry up with the mopping and get to feeding. Before they begin feeding on YOU !!!!!
230417-dd-02-LifeCenterCatsBreakfast.jpg
Ahhhhh breakfast at the Life Center !!! Usually the first of Rikki’s critters to be fed. Well before the sun is up and many others are still sleeping.
The Grumpy Kitty Award for this morning goes to Cookie. What’s the matter Cookie? Why are you sulking? OK, Daddy Doug will give you extra snuggles and let you have a can of Fancy Feast all to yourself.
Another beautiful day on the way !!
Doug’s got all the trash loaded up, so he’ll be ready to go when the dump opens up.
Beautiful big horses … they eat a lot …. and I bet you know what else they do a lot !
They say you’ll find gold at the end of the rainbow, but, this is all I find everyday !
Breakfast time for the cats of Feline Fields … and they are gathering …. waiting for someone with thumbs to show up …
Pre-school is out and here’s Madison letting everyone know the way to Rikki’s Refuge, her favorite place in the whole wide world.
This picture isn’t all grass. We’ve got thousands of volunteer pumpkins that come up from where the sheep ate them last year. Now if they wouldn’t eat the vines ….. if they’d just have some patience …. they’d get more pumpkins later this year. Do you think any vines will go uneaten and pumpkins make it to grow big?
Clarence started bush hogging at the Life Center today. It’s a non stop job all spring, summer and fall long. Then in the winter he gets to move snow !
A Canadian goose playing in a rain runoff puddle. Many birds, large and small, stop in for a rest on their migration paths every year. Headed north … headed south …. you’re welcome to drop in for a visit …. and a meal you snitch from our critters !!
8:16 pm and the day is coming to an end. This was such a beautiful day from start to finish! Thank you universe for smiling on Rikki’s !!
Everyone lives happily ever after at Rikki’s Refuge !!
With YOUR help we can provide life long homes to well over 1,000 animals each & every day !!!!
www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate
Rikki’s Refuge, 10910 Barr Ln, Rapidan VA 22733 (shipping address for food, etc)
Rikki’s Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960 (secure box for checks, etc)
mail@RikkisRefuge.org
YOU are our family !!! Your kind and generous donations make it all possible !!
Thank you for tuning in this morning!!