February 7, 2021 Sunday at Rikki’s Refuge

February 7, 2021 Sunday at Rikki’s Refuge

all in a day’s work …. photos by those caring for the animals
(you can help support those animals at www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate )

The day started gloomy with heavy snow clouds and the snow coming down. Mid day the snow stopped. It rained. The sun came out. The clouds cleared. And it ended an amazingly beautiful day !!! All in a matter of hours !!

All that snow may make for beautiful scenery. But it sure makes for a lot more work and makes all the work just that much harder.

It’s not cold enough to solidly freeze over. But cold enough that the slush builds up and must be removed from every water bowl and trough in every animals area all across our 450 acres.

If the ground was frozen hard, we could drive from one field to the next. But with the up and down temps we’ve been having, it’s mud below the snow and first 1/4” of frozen ground.

Even the 4 wheel trucks can’t get thru this. They just slip and spin wheels. So the hundreds and hundreds of pounds of food, must be carted on shoulders, or drug thru the snow in carts.

While those we serve sit by and watch the hoomans work.

The sheep have such thick wool they don’t even notice the snow piling up on top of them!!! It’s like us hoomans who have it piling up on our hats and coats too !!!! We’re adequately dressed. So are the sheep. And they don’t even have to buy winter clothes !!!

Why is Feline Fields so beautiful? Cus Ron cares !!! And he comes out and paints !!

We NEED YOU to come and help us with tasks like painting and fixing up. Many years Doggy Downs was beautiful too. Not it’s faded and leaning and in dire need of fix up and paint. The roof of the 9th Life Center has peeling paint.

There just aren’t enough of us to do it all. And caring for the animals must come first. Please come out and volunteer !!!! Message me at m.me/KerryHilliard to get started !!!

See the aviary type roof on Cat House #1? Many of our houses have protected outdoor play space like this. It keeps the resident in so they don’t get lost or harmed, and keeps predators out.

And they collect ice and snow. A light fluffy snow will fall thru. But freezing rain will stick, and then make the snow stick, and soon it can cover the roofs in a full blanket of ice and snow.

And ice and snow are heavy. Amazingly heavy. And roofs will collapse under that weight.

So when ice or snow are coming down, hoomans must stay alert and on duty, no matter the time of day or night, and constantly keep checking every roof. They have to climb up and clean them off if they start to sage dangerously. And when it’s ice – that is a HARD job. It can take everyone working on roofs all night to protect our animal friends.

Batman says, LET ME BACK IN !!!

He can’t figure out why the sundeck isn’t sunny, why isn’t this snooooo gone? He checked it out 3 minutes ago and it was just like this. He’ll want to check it out again …. 3 minutes after he goes back inside.

For lots of the animals, it’s out and in, out and in, out and in, all day long ….. till it really starts to melt and the sun come out !!!!

Even Beauty won’t do rounds today, the snow is just too wet all mixed with freezing rain.

And some of the residents refuse to even come in for breakfast !

So breakfast is delivered to them.

Not a pig in sight here

The snow stops … the rains stops … the sky begins to clear …. the sun starts to peek thru !!!!

Happy animals now venture forth !

First one emu

then two

One cat remains hesitant, peeking out of the wind tunnel

Every room of the 9th Life Retirement, Assisted Living and Psychiatric Center has a kitty door out to the day rooms, outdoor protected space.

When we first put them in ohhhh that north wind would blow right in at night, sometimes making the kitty doors stand straight out and chilling all of us to the bone. So a genius built wind tunnels. Now the cats have to take a couple turns and twists to get outside. But it’s stopped the wind from coming in!!!

YOU too could be a Rikki’s Refuge Genius !!! Just volunteer to help us out !!!!

Got a power washer? The north side of the 9th Life Retirement, Assisted Living and Psychiatric Center really needs one!

Like to brush pig teeth and tusks?

Our people just never seem to get around to it. Leaving it for the vet to do when he sedates piggies for nail and tusk trims. They say something about old so and so who lost those fingers trying once …..

YES !!! It’s melting into puddles ….

OH YES !!!! Everyone is getting happier as it warms and the sun shines !!!!

Ohhhh it feels good — sitting in the sun sharing a bale of hay with a friend !!!