February 14, 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 )
We were ecstatic to feel the temp go all the way up to 37 today !!! Even if there was not sun. Thankfully no more precipitation came down. Snow and ice melted slowly but steadily ..... until not long before midnight when it started drizzling ... AGAIN. Ohhh the MUD ... Oh the yuk !!!
I have to tell you a funny story about a sweet young lady who came to work for us once upon a time, many years ago. Now you don’t come to work blind at Rikki’s Refuge. You come for a long interview and we tell you all about snow and mud, and rain and sleet, and blistering heat, and to dress for heavy duty farm work, boots, quilted overalls, the works. We tell you about the 600 pounds of poop you’ll be helping us to clean up. We tell you about long hours, about sleeping over on bad weather nights. We tell you that you’ll be bitten, scratched, kicked, butted and leaned on by 1,500 pound animals. If the lengthy questioner you fill out looks ok and you still express an interest after hearing all about the job, and you can haul 50 pound feed sacks across fields and you can outrun sheep .... then you get to come and actually try it out for a day.
By the way, did I tell you we’re hiring? We are. So if you find what we’re doing fascinating and you want to be a part of our team, show up at our Life Center, 21410 Constitution Hwy, Rapidan VA 22733, at the corner of Rt 20 and Quarterhorse Ln and the Quarterhorse end of the rainbow bridge fence at NOON (don’t be late, cus we need you at work on time every day, so show us you can do that !) on any Saturday for an interview.
So back to the story. This lovely young lady (we do not hire under 18 per state law) made it thru the interview and desperately wanted to work at Rikki’s. So she was scheduled to come on the working part of her interview early the next morning. And the weather was just about what it is now. Totally icky, gross, wet, and knee deep in mud.
She showed up on time the next morning all excited and showed off her brand new pink boots, pink quilted overalls, pink jacket, pink gloves and long, delicious looking (to the pigs) pink stocking hat. We do warn everyone that working in the pig pen can take some getting used to. In the morning you’re rushed by dozens of hungry pigs weighing hundreds and hundreds of pounds who are pushing and rubbing on your legs just like little kitties do. You have to learn to hold your balance in all that. Or you go plop in the mud.
I bet you know where this is going! Yup, she got down to pigs, was so excited, rushed in, was rushed by the pigs, and went plop into the mud. She came crying into the office asking to use the phone (this was in the days before everybody carried one around) to call her dad to come pick her up and all upset she’d ruined her brand new “farm” outfit !!!!! I had to feel sorry for her, but oh gosh it was so hard not to laugh.
She was one of the many many many people who don’t make the first two hours of their working interview. Working at Rikki’s Refuge really is for a very few very special individuals. If you’re one, come on out here Saturday at noon !!!!
Now back to the muddy refuge on February 14th and see what we were doing instead of getting taken out to brunch or getting flowers or chocolates !!!
It started out icy and snowy from the past few days
And gradually melted as the temp slowly climbed
Turning into a wasteland of ice and snow by midday
Thank goodness delivery and supply could make it down the muddy potholed driveway !!!!
We use several hundred pounds of cracked corn, sweet feed and senior horse feed everyday. A little over half a pick up truck full. All to be lugged on shoulders across the muddy mess today !!! Oh we can’t wait till we can drive across the fields again !!!
And that was it for the day. Really, nothing very exciting here to report today !!!
And everyone lives happily ever after at Rikki’s Refuge, even if it is muddy !
With YOUR help we 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)
Thank YOU for making it all possible !
all in a day's work .... photos by those caring for the animals
(you can help support those animals at 
Icicles growing to 3 feet long !
Some of us opting to stay inside and dry
Others not phased by a little ice at all
And some of us are delighting at the icy muddy wasteland it’s become around here !
By 2 pm ever thing had at least a quarter inch coating of ice
Clarence says his hands are red and numb, but no matter what, the hoomans at Rikki’s keep right on doing the tasks the animals need them too. WHY? Because they truly love their charges and want them to be well fed and comfortable and happy.
Ol Man pulled the straw a Quality Control Officer today
checking off that every bucket of food going to be carried to every area is properly topped off. Everything will be hand carried today because with the ice and snow, it’s far too slippery to drive. Each load will be less than a person’s maximum carrying capacity too because they have to be so careful to avoid falling on the ice and mud. Quite frankly, it’s utterly miserable out here !!!
Our kitties are currently eating about 90 pounds of dry cat food a day. In addition to the hundreds of cans of food. The colder it is, the less they can absorb solar energy, the less they’re out running around, the more they need to metabolize to keep warm. Our average is about 80 pounds a day.
That means we need between two and three of these bags of food EVERY DAY. The very cheapest place we know to buy dry cat food right now is Tractor Supply’s Multi Cat. Right now it’s $18.99 for 44 pounds. You can buy the cats a bag or two at
May we see the sun again someday !!
Because YOU care there is a place called Rikki’s Refuge !
Because YOU donate the 1200+ residents will be well fed again tomorrow !!