Coke Makes Good Use of Floor Time

Hi, this is Coke reporting in!

 

You saw my brother, Fitz, in "camouflage" the other day, and I thought you might like to see me, too.

 

I'm not really in disguise, but here I am enjoying my Christmas cozy, which is also known as the Hollywood Bowl. I like to get into it when I have floor time. You can see my water bottle hanging near me. Sometimes I get all of the way into the cozy, and my mom can't find me, but on this day I thought I'd show her where I was.

 

Then I thought you might like to see my art project. Yes, I took my favorite sofa and set it on its end! My mom has no idea how I did that, but she grabbed a quick photo, thinking (probably correctly) she'll never see it that way again.

 

It was a one-time project, my assignment being to take a familiar object and display it in an unfamiliar way. Did I do a good job?

Why Fitz Is Mysterious

Fitz here.

 

My mom keeps saying she has trouble telling one end of me from the other, so she took a photo to show her perspective.

 

Personally I have no trouble knowing where my face is or where my butt is (Mom, is it all right if I say "butt"?). However, humans, you know, have to do their best.

 

I was eating when she took this photo. Is my mom the only one who is confused?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy and Healthy 4th. July from the Piggyville Girls,

Hello. We are the Piggyville Girls and today we are going to give you a history lesson. July 4th. is a special day in the United States of America. It is called Independence Day. On July 4th. 1776, the Declaration Of Independence was adopted. The Founding Fathers declared that the Thirteen Colonies were no longer under the thumb of Great Britain and were united, free and independent states. Needless to say, King George III was unhappy with the colonists for declaring their independence and not paying taxes to the British Crown. This resulted in the War of Independence that lasted until 1783.

General George Washington wrote that Great Britain would have won the war if the French had not come to the aid of the colonists. Over 90% of the muskets and gunpowder were provided by the French.

Most importantly, the French had developed a crude method to vaccinate against smallpox, a disease that killed over 30% of the people who contracted it and left many people blind. In crowded army camps up to 85% of American soldiers died from smallpox and other diseases rather than from combat wounds. Smallpox was so feared in armies that soldiers were known to "self vaccinate" by using the pus from an infected friend rubbed into a self inflicted wound. These soldiers were using themselves as "guinea pigs".

The great American statesman and scientist, Benjamin Franklin, had learned about vaccination when he was in Paris before the war. He blamed himself for the death of his four year old son from smallpox because he was afraid to have him vaccinated. He encouraged General George Washington to have everybody in the army vaccinated and the general ordered that all members of his ragtag and half starved army be vaccinated.

"With few surgeons, fewer medical supplies and no experience, General Washington conducted the first mass inoculation of an army at the height of a war that immeasurably transformed the international system."

So, today, let us celebrate our freedom by honouring the people who came before us who were willing to be "guinea pigs" for science in order to save their country.

Cheers! Tilley, Shannon and Ceilidh.

Happy Canada Day from the Prairie Pigs~

Hello everyone!  I am Arthur Pendragon, the newest, smallest, fastest and most handsome of the Prairie Pigs and I am here to wish everyone a Happy Canada Day.  It is our national holiday, and since the snow has finally all melted at long last, we are ready to have a party!!!