New friends for the Guinygirlz Linn and Coco!

 This was on 25 February, we, guinygirlz Coco and Linn, visited a shelter in the south of the Netherlands. There we met the black and handsome boar Beer and sow Muffin. Both are teddies, Beer is a CH teddy and Muffin a US teddy. Coco started washing Muffin's eyes and ears within 15 minutes of meeting her. Beer was happily rumbling away and love to lie down next to his girls, especially Linn!

We love the new cuddle cup mom bought at the shelter, there's usually one, two or even three of us inside it!

These are the new pigs shelter mugshots

They joined our crew because sadly our boar Stevie suddenly passed away in a wheekend, so we will remember him especially during upcoming Peter Gurney memorial on 9 March.

Mom tried her hand at needle felting a piggy, based on a tutorial on Youtube. This again got its inspiration of the series available on (dutch) Netflix: Pui Pui Molcars, do look it up it's so cute according to mom and dad, and the guinea pig sounds are spot on!

 Their favorite is the ambulance/police car sound.

Many wheeks from the guinygirls:

Coco, Linn, Muffin and boar Beer

Candle Lighting Day is nigh.

 Hello Readers. Bella Piggyfriend here.

 

 

 

Just a reminder that March 9th. will be Candle Lighting Day. Readers of the GPDD will have been bombarded by the organisers so they will not be allowed to forget but, for other people, this is the day when we remember our guinea pigs, other pets of any kind, and our humans, sadly no longer with us, by lighting a candle at 8pm. and leave it burning for an hour or as long as you like.

We, at Piggyfriends, hope that you will join us.

Two New Piggyfriends.

 Hello Readers. Let me introduce myself. My name is Rafael.

I came to live here at Piggyfriends on Valentine's Day along with my brother. Slave said that one of us just had to be called Valentine so that is my brother's name now.

Here we are together.

We are agoutis. I am a silver agouti and my brother, on the left, is a cream. If we are picked up, we are a different colour underneath so I am white and my brother is cream of course. Slave says that she loves agoutis so we are happy that she went to Pooh Piglets Piggy Rescue and brought us home.

We were very nervous when we first arrived here and Slave says that the next pigtures might make our readers laugh. We both tried to hide underneath each other and it didn't really work.

Now that we have been here for all of a fortnight, we are much braver and come running out for the plentiful veggies that are provided. We had never eaten grass before and when our Slave gave us a pile of it, we did not know what it was and we sat on it. Now we know better and clear up every blade! 

Slave says that lots of people can see these pigtures so that makes us very happy although we do not understand how that works. We are only seven months old and there is a lot to learn.

Happy Valentine's Day to all of our friends

 

 

 

Oscar Piggyfriend wishes a Happy Valentine's Day to all the lovely sows of his acquaintance. The lovely Piggyville Girls, the girls here at Piggyfriends, Lovely Rita of the Prairie Piggies and any other beautiful sows who happen to be reading this message not forgetting the crowd of gorgeous girlies at Surrey Squeakers.

 

 

 

 

Bella Piggyfriend wants to send Valentine Greetings to all those lovely boars out there, especially her friends from the Prairie Piggies and Scottie and his friends. Bella says that she will have news of two new handsome boars very soon. Watch this space.

OUR NEW FURNITURE

Hello all from Fitz, Coke, and Scottie!

We would like to show you some wonderful presents we received from friends for Christmas.

In the first photo, I, Fitz, am enjoying a very plush sofa decorated with reindeer. Two pads came with it, so if I want it even more plush, I can ask my mom to add a pad.

I, Coke, am in the second (but just as important) photo. My mom calls this our muffler, as it is open at both ends and is very warm. It also has reindeer on it. Oh, you might notice lots of shredded newspaper around. That is some of our bedding, but who needs bedding when they have a cozy muffler?

Last but not least it is I, Scottie, also enjoying the sofa. It is roomy, as I think you can see! This was the first time I sat in it, so you might be able to tell I am testing it out.

We all immediately explored our new furniture, and we use it each day. Yes, sometimes we even compete a bit for it.

It came just in time, because winter is definitely here!

Happy New Year 2023

 

All of the Piggyfriends want to wish their friends a very happy New Year 2023

We do not have fireworks as Slave doesn't like them ( and we would not like the noise either) but Bella has a few stars around her. Unfortunately the photoshoot had to be cut short as she decided that they might be edible.

Lots of love to you all from the Piggyfriends. xxx

Pavarotti at the Airport

Although Pavarotti and the Prairie Piggies are marooned at the airport, he managed to send us a Christmas photo on his phone. This is his friend, Lovely Rita. He apologises for the quality of the pigture but thought you would like to see it anyway. They are about to travel back home and better pigtures will be forthcoming in the future.

The Prairie Piggies say Happy Christmas to you all and hope that everyone and everypig is safe from the terrible snow and cold.

A message from the Prairie Piggies

 "Hey guys," says Peaches Piggyfriend," I have a message from the Prairie Piggies."

"Pavarotti says that they are all stuck at the airport due to the dreadful weather. The Pig Air pilot has told them that it is not safe to take off as the runway is covered in snow and they will not be able to make it to our party."

" That is so disappointing but maybe we can invite them all to a New Year Party instead."

Merry Christmas from the Piggyville Girls

 

"Hey Ceilidh! Wake up!" says Shannon. " Mother Christmas has brought us stockings full of gifts!" 

"What are stockings?" asks Ceilidh. " They are those fuzzy things that Mum wears around the house," replies Shannon. " She even has warm stockings that she puts on her feet when she goes to bed. But these are special stockings full of gifts for good guinea pigs."

"Ooh! Look at all the goodies that Mother Christmas gave us." exclaims Shannon.  "We must have been very good piggies this year. We are going to share some of our goodies with all the piggies and the people who love them, who have travelled far from foreign lands to find peace and safety here is Swannanoa, North Carolina."

Merry Christmas everyone! Dear readers please note that we did not eat the Christmas Pudding! It is only there as a decoration. Our Humans are going to eat it after their dinner.

Happy Holidays!

Scottie, Fitz, and Coke here!

We are very excited to be invited to a Christmas party and are busy preparing for our trip. I, Scottie, wanted to bring my snowman mug along with me, hoping there will be, um, libations, and I also packed some food in my Santa lunchbox. I mean, I packed food for all of us in our lunchbox. (You will see a pigture of Coke with it, too.)

Fitz said he wasn't going anywhere unless he could take Santa with him. He promises he has been a good boy this year, and he wants to make sure Santa knows where he is when presents are being delivered.

Coke said he's a bit behind in sending his cards out, so he's bringing some with him, and he hopes everyone will notice the lovely guinea pig on the towel we are using to keep our feet warm.

We hope everyone and everypig will have a wonderful holiday season!

Christmas Party!

 Hello Readers. Oscar Piggyfriend here. I am trying to organise a Christmas Party for our friends.

"Bella? Do you think that I have ordered enough food for our guests?"

" I am not sure that there can ever be enough food," replies Bella, "especially as I saw you eating the last corn cob earlier."

"Not to worry," says Oscar (eyeing that nice, juicy red pepper in the box ) "Slave's son is shopping this evening and he will bring more when he comes on Christmas Eve tomorrow."

"Slave has cut some lovely fresh grass and we can always send her out for more."

Oscar has sent invitations to Fitz, Scottie and Coke and they have replied but he has not been able to contact the Prairie Piggies. Pavarotti has bought a special costume for Christmas and the Piggyfriends are longing to see it. Their Slave has had problems with her computer for a long time so, maybe, they cannot send us a message.

Slave was watching the news and she says that there is terrible weather in the US and Canada so it may be that Pig Air will not be able to take off. 

We are all keeping our paws crossed that they are able to come but, if not, we will organise a New Year Party too.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Piggyville Girls.

 We do not celebrate Thanksgiving in England so the Piggyfriends have asked our US friends to help us out. This post comes from the Piggyville Girls in North Carolina.

" Oh no Ceilidh!" squeaks Shannon. "Mom has that silver thing that flashes lights in our eyes. She has also bribed us with lettuce so she must be up to something."

"It is a camera Shannon," replies Ceilidh, " and no matter how many pictures she takes of me, I will always look like a black blob but who cares, let us enjoy the lettuce."

"Wow! Mom has given us a pecan pie! What is the special occasion?" asks Shannon.

"It is because on Thanksgiving our humans celebrate all the good things in their lives and we are the best things that ever happened to them." replies Ceilidh. " However, I think that I will stick to lettuce and let Mom and Dad have the pie."

We both want to wish all the piggies and humans a Happy Thanksgiving. We all have so much for which to be grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving

Coke here, wanting to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate.

At the beginning of my photo shoot, my mom set out some small pieces of carrot and squash to make the photo look more festive, and, yes, to keep me occupied. Those photos didn't come out as well as she had hoped, so she tried again, without the food.

Can you believe it? But I decided to pose for her politely (having already eaten by then), and she decided the second set of pigtures was better.

I hope you will like this pigture. It was fun to sit with the pumpkin "sculpture," even though it was inedible. (It was actually so obviously inedible that I didn't even try to smell it. LOL.)

There is a lot of orange, which is now making me hungry, so I am dreaming of carrots, raw sweet potato slices, pumpkin pie ... Oh, my mom says I can't eat pumpkin pie. Hey, two out of three isn't bad.

Don't worry, I promise to share my holiday goodies with Scottie and Fitz!

Hallowe'en Party on the Prairies!!!

Like guinea pigs everywhere, the Prairie Pigs have been busy getting ready for Hallowe'en.  Slave had told us we could go out trick or treating if the weather was good, but that hope was dashed a week ago when we had an early snowfall. Some of it has melted, but there is still too much for piggies to get through without ending up with very chilly toes.  

So we thought, maybe a virtual party instead?  We are modern piggies with a Zoom account and lots of long-distance party planning experience, so we began working on the guest list immediately.  Since the Prairie Pigs and Cindy's Three Amigos all live in North America, we decided that they should be our guests of honour and sent out invitations immediately.  Scottie, Coke and Fitz are party animals just like us, and they RSVPed right away.  Let the good times roll!

                                      

Scottie sent us this picture of the decorations he is working on at his end. all specially chosen to coordinate with his gleaming tuxedo coat.  Nice work, Scottie!

And here is Coke, with his traditional pumpkin-themed decor!  You can't go wrong with pumpkins for Hallowe'en, plus Coke does have a dash of orange in his coat so it all matches beautifully.  As you can see, Coke is all ready to go out with a large treat bag which should hold enough "loot" for him, and maybe Fitz and Scottie too if Coke is feeling generous. (Apparently Fitz is still out shopping for a costume and will get back to us a bit later...)

The Prairie Pigs are busy getting ready for the party, too --- here is Arthur Pendragon, trying on a new costume Slave just bought.  We are not sure who he is supposed to be but it's red and gold and has shiny bits, which is always a good start for a costume...

Hmmm --- what do you suppose is going on here?  Looks like a top secret Hallowe'en party planning video chat between Scottie and Ernie from the Prairie Pigs!  Oh well, sometimes it's better for a piggy slave not to know what's going on when we're not around to "supervise"... Have a good time, piggies; just don't leave your carrot beer bottles lying around afterwards!

Happy Hallowe'en from the Piggyfriends. Arachnophobes beware!

 

" I have lived here for a very long time," says Bella Piggyfriend, "and, although Slave tells us that Hallowe'en can be a scary time of the year, nothing has ever happened to frighten us Piggyfriends.

Look out Bella! What is that behind you?

"Help!" squeaks Bella. " There is a big monster and it is eating my chicory."

Along comes Oscar to save Bella and the chicory from the big scary spider.

 " Take that," says Oscar as he flattens the spider. " How dare you frighten my friend, Bella!"

" Thank you Oscar," says Bella as she goes back to devouring her chicory.

Have a happy and safe Hallowe'en readers say the Piggyfriends.

Coke Explores Water-Drinking Techniques

Hello, I am Coke, and I have been asked to give a seminar (webinar) in drinking from a water bottle.

 

Pardon? I wasn't asked to give a seminar? How embarrassing. Nevertheless, since I've already begun, I'll make a few brief remarks.

 

Here you will see me during floor time eating pellets and using a very relaxed posture as I drink from a water bottle. I like this photo because it shows the rosette on top of my head.

 

Oops, sorry, this isn't supposed to be about me.

In this second photo, you will see I am much closer to the bottle. We guinea pigs are lucky that we can turn our heads like this and still remain comfortable. Comfort is very important to us!

 

My mom says there's a joke in here somewhere: Coke talking about water. I don't get it. Would someone explain?

Scottie Saying Hello and Enjoying His Hay

Scottie here! I often run off when my mom tries to take my pigture, but on this day I stopped and posed for her. I think it is one of the best photos to show how my stripe goes all around me, and I wanted to show it off.

 

I love hay. Can you tell?

 

In the background you can see my blue cozy. My mom got it for me a few months ago, but I have resisted using it, just to keep her guessing! She realized it didn't weigh as much as some of the other cozies, so she has added some thin cardboard under its "seat." I still ignore it.

 

She saw Coke in it once when he was borrowing my house. When she went to get her camera, he jumped out.

 

This is a fun game!

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.