Carolina Hills Farm Animal Refuge Inc

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Carolina Hills Farm Animal Refuge Inc

Welcome to South Carolina's newest animal refuge. Please donate what you can to help our furred friends.
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We are a non-profit organization formed to take in all unwanted farm animals and save them from the slaughterhouse.

08/09/2024

Mornin' y'all,

Well , it was nice while it lasted. Just in time for the weekend the heat is back. Yuck. That's right. After a few days of blessed relief the mercury is slated to reach back into the mid-nineties once again.

The past few days have been so much easier on the respiration despite the rains. That , in itself , is something of a mystery to yours truly.

I mean when it's raining isn't that an indication of 100% humidity? Yet , it's been much easier for me to breathe these past few sodden days than it had been previously. The why of it you can add to the list of things that I don't know and that list is mighty long.

My doctor's appointment of the other day was really just a waste of my time. The consultation with my oncologist was merely a pro forma visit , more for his ability to bill me than to convey any useful information to me.

After driving an hour and twenty minutes , signing in , waiting in the lobby , getting vitals checked and being escorted to an exam room I was "blessed" with the presence of the Dr for all of three minutes , if that.

All he did was ask me how I'm feeling. Period. And then could hardly escape the room quickly enough. Not interested in any details. Not interested in answering any questions. Nope. Doc:"How are you feeling?" ... Me:"Pretty good." ... Doc:"Great. We'll see you next month. Have a nice day."

Some good did come of the visit though. I now how an appointment for my next PET scan so that's a plus , although I fail to see why that date couldn't have been set last Friday when I was there for my treatment.

Today being Friday y'all regular visitors know what that means. Yup. It's feed run day. The highest item on our agenda for the week. That task and a few errands will take care of our chores for the day.

This evening we are anticipating a visit from and his girl. That will be nice and I've already taken the huge brisket that my cousin sent me out of the freezer in preparation for Saturday night's dinner.

That's it folks. We've got a dry hole here. Nothing more to dredge up for y'all entertainment. Not today anyway.

Finally , big "Thank You's" go out to John and Richard for their generous monthly gifts via CashApp and Zelle respectively.

Have a great day and please ... Give if you can. Share if you can't.

CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm
Zelle: [email protected]
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194
Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI
Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA

Help me spread the word about Carolina Hills Farm Animal Refuge Inc. Together we can make a difference.

08/08/2024

Mornin' y'all,

The storm has passed. The weather is cooler and the weekend is nearly upon us. These are all good reasons to be thankful on this 8th day of August.

Alas , they are all overshadowed by the fact that this day happens to be the 16th anniversary of the passing of my Dad. A better man , I've never known.

I've done several tributes to this man both here and on my personal page , particularly last year on the 15th anniversary , and so I won't subject y'all to a duplication of efforts.

I do not , however , have much else to say this morning. I find myself caught in an interlude of self-reflection and sentiment that is not something that I find myself able , or willing , to share with the general public.

My father was a public man and he lead a very public life , doing for his community that which most people eschewed. He was everything that I am not. How did a public man of his stature end up producing a hermit? LOL. Funny that.

He was the best. RIP Pop. You are missed. EVERY SINGLE DAY!

08/07/2024

Mornin' y'all,

How are y'all doing today? We trust that everyone has weathered the storm in comfort and safety. Here at the Farm all is well and despite copious amounts of precipitation we've no damage to report.

While the rainfall is not completely over , the next couple days promise two more inches , I think it's safe to say that the storm has passed. I , for one , am grateful for the much reduced temps that Debby brought along.

These days mercury in the eighties looks mighty fine.

Thanks to Mother Nature and her excessive "weeping" there has been very little activity around the Farm and that is unlikely to change before the end of the week so current reporting is liable to be somewhat sparse and monotonous.

My apologies for that. What can I say? Even life on the Farm has it's ups and downs but that doesn't eliminate the need to constantly be on the hunt for supporters and the financial aid that they bring to the table.

We count on y'all to help us keep the animals fed. Remember that this charitable organization operates with no overhead to speak of thanks to our personal efforts.

Carolina Hills Farm Animal Refuge pays no rents nor does it pay any salaries because all the time and space that is required to keep our efforts successful is donated by us.

That's how we keep our operating costs to the bare minimum but we cannot afford to donate the feed as well as everything else so please ... Give if you can and share if you can't.

Our August fundraiser is currently underway and can be added to via the post pinned to the top of our page or , if y'all prefer you can give through one of the links below.

Thank you and have a blessed day.

CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm
Zelle: [email protected]
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194
Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI
Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA

08/06/2024

Stormy mornin' y'all,

I guess we're in the midst of it right now. It's been raining here at the Farm steadily since noon yesterday. Nothing torrential just yet but it's been a solid , soaking rain up to now.

We've lost power twice so far including for a few hours from about 5 am until just a little while ago. I had to make my morning coffee on the side burner of my grill with my old standby , just for situations like this , aluminum percolator.

Everything old is new again. LOL. People laugh when they see my old , beat up coffee pot. Heck , my kids don't even know what it is , but who's laughing now , eh?

Anyway , with this weather there won't be much to report today. We'll be hunkering down and basking in these cooler temps that Debby has brought us.

That's one good thing we've got going for us. The ten day forecast hasn't a single day above eighty nine degrees. I can't say I'm sorry to be rid of 90's temps. Not at all. I know they'll be back but I'll take all of the respite I can get.

Before I bid y'all adieu I'd like to issue a hardy "Thank You" to BG for another of his most generous contributions to the cause of animal welfare sent to us via Zelle. Thank you sir and bless you and your family.

We'll close with our hope that y'all make it through the storm without any disasters befalling y'all. Be well and stay dry.

08/05/2024

Mornin' y'all,

Batten down them hatches. We're in for a wild ride these next few days. LOL. Actually the local forecast has gotten a bit better than it was yesterday. Not quite as much rain as they said initially.

We'll see about that but this looming storm should make the first week of school very interesting , for parents and students alike. Midday tomorrow looks to be the peak of the bad stuff so maybe y'all will get in day one of the school year before the first cancellation.

I realize that today I'm , once again , speaking of the weather but to be honest that's the talk of the town right now and I don't have much else to convey to y'all right now.

It's just as well that I keep this post brief as I imagine that most folks are going to be busy with storm prep today anyway. Here on the Farm we're as ready as ever will be. We spent yesterday preparing.

Including a trip to Walmart for some extra groceries for the larder. That was a huge mistake. I've never seen the place so crowded before. Between the swarms of people and the "renovations" it was a nightmare.

Speaking of the "renovations" , from what I saw yesterday the alleged "improvements" consist mainly of moving things around. WTF is that all about? What a nuisance. Now nobody can find anything.

Before the "reno" I could go in to the store , gather together my staples and check out , completing my grocery shopping in , oh , twenty or thirty minutes tops. No longer.

Now , since everything has been relocated for whatever reason , the shopping excursion takes at least twice as long or even more. What a PITA.

Oh well. It's so rough having to deal with these "first world" problems./sarc. If the worst issues we have to contend with are delays in the supermarket we should consider ourselves blessed.

That'll do it from yours truly for today. Rants on the weather and shopping conditions. What can I say? Lack of imagination strikes us all at one time or another.

Have a blessed day y'all and whatever you do , be careful and stay safe. Reach for the higher ground.

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08/04/2024

Mornin' y'all,

Happy Sabbath to y'all. Yesterday was a productive one here at the Farm. I felt really good for the better part of the day and consequently I was able to work outside for quite a few hours before surrendering to the humidity around 1 pm.

We got the grass cut all around the house in an effort to help keep the snakes away. A bit like locking the barn door after the horse has already escaped but perhaps we can avoid a repetition of the other evening.

Today we 'll be getting ready for the promised flood. According to the weather bureau we are going to be on the receiving end of the remnants of TS Debby starting tomorrow afternoon and much flooding in the area is expected.

Deluge type weather is what they're saying. Moreso along the coast where they predict total accumulations in the feet and not inches. In the Beaufort-Hilton Head-Bluffton area I've heard predictions of up to 26" of total rainfall for the coming week.

Here in Barnwell they say that tomorrow will bring an inch and a half , five inches on Tuesday and again one to two inches both Wednesday and Thursday. Wet , wet , wet. Lord knows we need the rain but not in so brief a period.

What's that saying? "When it rains , it pours." I guess we're about to see the truth in that old saw. We'll be fine here , at least in the house. The previous owners situated the home on top of a minor rise and the drainage is good.

The garage , on the other hand , is at the bottom of said rise and so sees much runoff from the surrounding areas directed towards it's wide open doorways. It'll be fine just the same. All that's necessary is make sure nothing valuable is left on the floor.

Another advantage we have here at the Farm is the very sandy soil in most areas around the barnyard. Being situated right on the border , geologically , between the Low Country and the Midlands we have a mix of sandy , Low Country soil with occasional spots of the red clay more common to the Midlands.

Fortunately the deposits of red clay are all far from the house and outbuildings so our drainage is pretty darned good overall. We'll be fine here although the looming weather will only please the ducks and geese. Maybe the hogs too. They enjoy the wet.

The goats now are another matter. LOL. They don't like being wet so they'll be spending the next few days huddled together inside their shelters waiting out the storm.

Enough of that. I hadn't intended for this post to be nothing besides a weather report but so it goes.

In other news my third round of Imfinzi seems to have been very benign , even more-so than round two so I'm particularly pleased with that. I'm feeling pretty good overall.

Before we part a big "Thank You" to Staci for another generous donation to the cause via Square. Thank you once again Staci your regular gifts go a long way towards keeping us solvent. Bless you.

That's all I can think of today y'all. Thank you all for visiting and showing support for our efforts. We wish you all a blessed day.

08/03/2024

Mornin' y'all,

First off I'm thrilled to inform y'all that Miss Ruby is going to be fine. Secondly I'd like to thank all of y'all that sent up your prayers , comments and well wishes. They were heard and answered.

The volume of comments ans prayers offered for my girl was just off the charts and rivaled only by our post of some months back when Spirit vanished from our lives. I tell you I just don't know what I would have done if I'd lost another of my best buddies.

Now , the details. Thursday night was like any other. It was late evening and time for the final walk of the night. I always walk all the girls on the leash late so that I don't have to stay up waiting should one decide to go exploring.

Ruby is always quicker about her business so she goes first , then when Loki's turn comes she can dawdle as is her wont. So I leashed up Ruby , turned on the porch light and opened the front door to exit the house.

Now just outside the door there is a patio chair and just as we walked through the door to the outside Miss Ruby stuck her snout under the chair , released a short growl and them immediately sprung up into the air in a move of acrobatic grace that I had seldom witnessed.

I mean she did a beautiful pirouette of 360 degrees , landing between the lawn chair and myself. Startled by her sudden dance moves , which had had the effect of pulling us both away from the chair , I looked down under the chair and became instantly aware of the two foot long copperhead coiled beneath.

During all of this movement Ruby never once took her eyes off the serpent , not until I pulled her off of the terrace and into the grass where she went about her business as usual.

As she p*ed I kept an eye on the snake and debated how to deal with it's presence right alongside our only ingress back to the house and Loki. Fortunately , before I could locate a branch or stick long enough to try and relocate the offending critter it decided to relocate itself and slithered off to the other side of the porch.

Thank goodness for that. I was really dreading trying to deal with the snake while having Ruby attached to my arm via the leash but there was nowhere I could have put her by herself while I dealt with Mr Copperhead.

Anyway , with the viper moved on we re-entered the house and I fastened the leash on Loki for her turn to use the facilities before turning in. Out we went once more , through the front door but the snake was apparently still close enough by that the smell intrigued Loki and she just wouldn't go potty.

After many minutes of trying , mindful of not leaving the light cast by the entry lantern mounted on the wall beside the door I gave it up. Loki was just too disturbed by the scent to concentrate on her own business.

Inside we went and I made the decision to leave the bedroom door open for the night thinking that if Loki really needed to p*e during the night that she'd choose to do so out of the room and on the tile floor of the entry hall.

After getting the dogs settled I noticed that Ruby had chosen to lay down on the floor instead of joining us on the bed per usual. That indicated an issue so I decided to give her a close examination but I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

Running my hands over her entire body yielded no yelps from her nor did I uncover any signs of swelling or bleeding so I originally thought that she was just scared and amped up from the close encounter.

However , after an hour or so of this same peculiar behavior and we're now talking about nearing the midnight hour , I checked my girl again and low and behold swelling was beginning to appear under her jaw line.

It was then that I decided to administer some Benedryl for lack of any better readily available treatment and started in with the prayers since no local vets were open and I did not have the financial means to go to Columbia where the last treatment for Spirit's bite had cost over two thousand dollars.

I spent the night praying and feeling awful that I couldn't provide her with immediate emergency care and all I could think of was that I'd wake up with yet another dear companion gone over the Rainbow Bridge.

I hardly slept because I felt so inadequate but through the blessings of G*d she made it through the night. He does answer your prayers.

We headed to Dogwood Animal Hospital as soon as they opened yesterday morning where Dr Miller gave her a complete examination and determined that Ruby would be fine. While it was not a dry bite her lightning quick reflexes were apparently enough to spare her from receiving a serious dose of venom.

On close examination the Dr couldn't even find the puncture wound and so surmised that Ruby's reflexes resulted in a very quick bite from only one fang with very little venom introduced into her bloodstream.

The vet administered more Benedryl , some antibiotics for the wound and some pain killers before sending us on our way with a very positive prognosis. Ruby will be fine. The swelling has already diminished considerably and she's acting normal. Hurray.

I know that I've droned on terribly while regaling y'all of this latest "event" from the Farm , especially long for our Saturday post which is typically little seen , but I thought y'all would like the full story.

Yet there is more. You see , I didn't realize it at the time , but in hindsight it's become apparent that Ruby took instantaneous action to save ME from being bitten. Looking back I can see how she threw herself between the chair and myself thus preventing the copperhead from striking my leg as we walked by.

Ruby is my hero. Dogs are the best friends one could ever have.

Have a great day. I will. Thanks to Miss Ruby.

CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm
Zelle: [email protected]
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194
Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI
Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA

08/02/2024

Mornin' y'all,

Sorry but no post today. Ruby is snakebit. A copperhead got her on the lower lip right outside our front door , on our own porch. I'm overwhelmed. Please pray for her.

Have a blessed day.

08/01/2024

Mornin' y'all,

One hot and steamy month down and one to go. Hello August. As far as I'm concerned September can't get here soon enough. I realize that a man in my position shouldn't be wishing for the days to fly by but I want to "live" again.

I'm mighty tired of being cooped up indoors every afternoon but the current heat and humidity prevents me from doing anything else. Of course getting to September doesn't necessarily eliminate the hazy , hot and humid days entirely. But at least they start to fade away.

Today is going to be our weekly feed day since I'll be busy tomorrow and might not feel to hot after my appointment with the oncologist.

Our delivery of the "Sweetness Shelter" has been scheduled to arrive sometime between 11am and 3pm today and we're pretty excited about that even though we've yet to resolve the "wall" issue.

I'm thinking of following a reader's suggestion and going to Tractor Supply to inquire as to whether they might offer some sort of discount to charitable organizations. Perhaps they have some "scratch & dent" items that might fit the bill.

I'm not optimistic in that regard but heck , it can't hurt to ask , right? I've never been one that was comfortable asking for favors though so that sort of thing doesn't come easy to me.

Anyway , there's not much for me to pontificate about this morning as life is exceedingly dull at the moment. That is both good and bad but for the purpose of divining entertainment value the bad rules the day.

Have a great day y'all and please ... Give if you can. Share if you can't. Bless you.

CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm
Zelle: [email protected]
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194
Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI
Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA

Help me spread the word about Carolina Hills Farm Animal Refuge Inc. Together we can make a difference.

07/31/2024

Mornin' y'all,

Here we are. The last day of July. In these parts , unlike up north where I came from , that means school is just about to start. After five years I still find that somewhat of a mystery.

Where I came from school got out right around the first day of summer (June 20th or thereabouts) and summer vacation ended with the Labor Day weekend. The following Wednesday would always be the first day of school.

I really do not grasp the reasoning for the nearly month's difference in the school schedules , although I have to assume that there is some specific reason for the South's way of doing things. Can anyone enlighten me?

Not that the drastically different "season" really makes any difference to an old retired guy who's children are all long done with any kind of regular school attendance. LOL

On the Farm front we've received shipping confirmation for the "Sweetness Shelter" canopy. It's currently on it's way via FedEx with a proposed delivery time of tomorrow afternoon. Yay!!!

Of course that doesn't get her a roof over her head. Not yet anyway as y'all are aware of the fact that we still have to come up with an additional $400 for the sidewalls to complete the enclosure.

To that end we'd like to give a shout out to Cindy , a regular donor , who became the second person to add to our coffers via our current fund raiser. Thank you once again Cindy. Bless you.

Finally for today , a brief return to the topic of my ongoing battle against the big "C". I know that I've been relatively mute on the subject in recent times , beyond the occasional whining about feeling less than great , but that's primarily because nothing is going on with regard to treatment.

Since my immunotherapy only happens once a month and my second episode with it was more or less uneventful , thank you Lord , there's just not much for me to say about the ongoing process.

Even in my own mind being that I'm only associating with the doctors once a month these days it's become easy for me to forget about treatment. Not the disease. I can't forget about that as I'm reminded of my "treatment" every time I take a breath.

It has become easy to forget that I am due for more medical attention in the near future and that lapse has caught up with me as I was reminded yesterday via a "confirm your appointment" text that I'm scheduled to get dose number three at the end of the week.

I'm not worried about it mind you , just surprised that a month has passed so quickly that I'm already fated for another round so soon. Where did July go? It seems like the last round was only a short time ago.

That's it for today. I'm out of thoughts , even random ones. Have a great day y'all.

PS: I neglected to mention that , for some reason , we again were on the receiving end of over one thousand views yesterday. Thank you all.

CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm
Zelle: [email protected]
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194
Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI
Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA

07/30/2024

Mornin' y'all,

Well now. What to make of the sudden spike in our viewership? We routinely amass a daily count in the neighborhood of between 3-400 visitors although for a week or two just after Spirit disappeared we were getting thousands each day.

But since that brief spike in popularity things have settled back to normal ... until yesterday when all of a sudden we once again had a day with over a thousand views. No obvious explanation avails itself.

Who knows what causes such fluctuations in our traffic? Don't worry. That was a rhetorical question. LOL. I don't expect any of y'all to have an answer and in the event I guess it doesn't really matter.

At the end of the day the surge in views makes little difference since it didn't increase our coffers by one red cent. Nor did it gain us a single follower so , while the uptick might look good on paper , it has no real meaning in the scheme of things nor does it help feed the animals.

Perhaps that view is too short sighted. You never know. One or more of those new visitors may ultimately decide to come back and offer some financial support. Any and all views are good but we could sure use some extra funds.

The "Sweetness Shelter" is ordered , although we have yet to receive a ship date. That gives us a little time to figure out how we can gather the necessary resources for the construction of the walls to make the shelter usable.

So far neither Craig's List nor FB Marketplace have yielded any leads on getting a hold of any used cattle panels. The few that we have come across have all been priced at very nearly the same as brand new ones available at Tractor Supply.

In the interest of saving money I've even considered taking a different route and building a three sided wall from standard construction materials to for the base of the shelter.

Unfortunately , even though I'm told that building material costs have lessened somewhat , the price I figured from Lowe's for the required 4x4's , 2x4's and sheathing amount to just about the same as three new cattle panels from TSC.

And that's without the sales taxes , the petrol to drive to Aiken and back not to mention all of the time and labor required for the fabrication itself. Not happening.

I'd sooner buy the cattle panels , if the funds were there , because at least that way the shelter could be up and usable in a no time at all without me hu***ng lumber , digging holes and laboring away for days.

One way or the other we'll make our girl's shelter a reality. All we need now are three panels like the ones pictured below so keep us in mind , will you? Thanks.

Have a great day folks and thanks for being a part of our world. The critters are very appreciative. Bless you all.

CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm
Zelle: [email protected]
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194
Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI
Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA

07/29/2024

Mornin' y'all,

It looks like we'll be blessed with a much cooler day for a change with a predicted high of only 85 degrees. Enjoy it while you can as the cool spell is destined to be short-lived. Yup. we're , once again , facing triple digit highs before the week is out.

Not that it seems to matter much. I've been suffering the past week even when the temps were lower. Despite the mercury dropping the humidity levels aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Before succumbing to the moisture-laden atmosphere yesterday the kids and I got a few chores and such done out in the barnyard including the recapture one of two prodigal goats that somehow got out of their pen.

You read that right. In spite of my recent best efforts at repairing numerous weak spots in the female's barrier Dixie and one of the young ones got out a couple days ago.

Since there is little threat from predators around the Farm and I'm physically unable to chase them down I ignored them , expecting them to find the hole that they escaped from once they got hungry enough as they have done in the past.

Unfortunately that wasn't happening , for whatever reason , so I had the kids help me with a bit of goat wrangling. Alas , we were only partially successful. Dixie , who is very gentle and trusting , proved easy enough to recapture but Fiona's young one proved too skittish and remains unconfined.

I'm hoping to snare her this morning before it gets too hot since she's got to be pretty famished by now. She was hungry enough yesterday to try and feed out of Sweetness's trough. LOL

In other news of the Farm I'm happy to report that we've collected enough additional funds to finally purchase the previously referenced shelter roof for Sweetness and that will be ordered today.

Unfortunately the issue of the walls still remains and although we've received some very generous donations we have not amassed enough surplus funds to lay out a separate $400 to buy brand new cattle panels for the walls and we've had no luck finding any deals on used ones either.

So , we are halfway there towards a "Sweetness Shelter". Please if any of y'all know of any old cattle panels gathering dust at a nearby farm feel free to contact us. We're more than happy to come and collect any material donations offered.

That's all for today y'all. Don't forget that we still need to have a regular supply of funds over and above those needed for our pony's shelter just to keep the critters fed and our new monthly fundraiser is awaiting some love. You can find it pinned to the top of our page.

Thank you and have a great start to your week.

CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm
Zelle: [email protected]
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194
Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI
Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA

07/28/2024

Mornin' y'all,

Yesterday I promised , right at the start , to be brief and then I droned on for a dozen paragraphs. LOL. Today I make the same pledge and intend to keep it.

My poor sleep and uncomfortable days continue and , truth be told , I'm feeling particularly run down lately. Not sure why but the lack of energy and ambition is palpable.

I've been blessed with a visit from my son and his girl who helped me get a few overdue tasks completed yesterday for which I'm very grateful.

But beyond that I have little to say right now. The world is going crazy if the opening ceremonies of this year's Paris olympics are any indication. I tell you , the events of the past few weeks are enough to make your head spin.

Exhaustion is the word of the day for me. Politically , culturally , physically and mentally I've hit the wall and unfortunately for me , my greatest form of therapy , auto racing , is at a lull for the next couple weeks.

At least I've got the Belgian Grand Prix to watch this morning but nothing more until mid August. There is no Indy car and no NASCAR today so I'm not sure of how to occupy my Sunday afternoon once the kids are gone.

The one thing I do know is that I've no idea how to offer y'all anything of value to read about today so I'm not even going to try. I'll spare y'all the waste of time.

Have a blessed day. Be well.

Address

PM Us For Our Address
Kline, SC
29812

Website

https://www.cafepress.com/carolinahillsfarmanimalrefugestore

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Videos

Mornin' y'all, Posting will be brief for the duration of this holiday weekend both in recognition of the solemnity of the time and the fact that no one much cares about trivial FB crap on weekends anyway and that's as it should be. A couple brief points though ... first I want to give a few well deserved thank yous. First to Kate for her most generous monthly gift of support and thanks are also due to both Norman and Laurie , two new donors that broke the ice yesterday to start our monthly FB fundraiser off with a bang. Thank you all and G*d bless you. Despite us all knowing the value of "what ifs" I can't help but wonder how different things here at the Farm could have been if even half of the nearly 32,000 , yes thirty two thousand , visitors over the past week had each given just a buck. Our operating budget would have been covered for two and a half years. Imagine that. No need to fund raise for two and a half years! But alas , that's only a pipe dream. It didn't happen. Since it's Saturday , which is our usual video day , here's an old clip of Spirit and Gracie ... one departed and one missing ... in their younger days on our boat having some fun. Bless you all and have a great day.

Mornin' y'all, I'm distraught ... Hope fades ... And worst of all is the realization that , when she needs me most , I'm not there for her. My heart is crushed.

Mornin' y'all, It's looking kind of dreary for today. Rain and some thunder & lightning off and on throughout the day. Maybe that'll help knock down some of the dreaded yellow peril. Thank you to Marie for breaking the ice on our most recent Facebook fundraiser. That's very generous of you ma'am and we appreciate your thoughtfulness. It's always nice to gain a new supporter. As y'all know I'm kind of busy these days but I got a very pleasant surprise yesterday when I , uncharacteristically , answered a toll free call on my cell phone. I seldom answer unknown numbers but I'm so glad that I did. It turned out to be Spectrum Communications and I'm pleased to say that their fiber optic service has now become active on my street. Yahoo!!! I have a site visit with a technician tomorrow afternoon. I can't wait. I am curious though as to what kind of expense will be involved bringing the line to my house. My home is not the usual , fifty feet from the street , overhead electrical service type home. LOL They'll have to trench five hundred feet or more to get the service to my house if they are to make me a customer and if that work isn't free then it's not going to happen. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. Here's hoping. That's all I've got in me today y'all. Sorry but I've got to get moving. Have a great day and please share or contribute to our fundraiser as you are able. Have a blessed day. CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm Zelle: [email protected] PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194 Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA

Mornin' y'all, Thank goodness this week is just about over. It's been a tough one. We're sure glad to see this weekend finally arrive. As an added bonus we make the time change Sunday morning. Hurrah. While we lose an hour's sleep , what's one more anyway , at least we'll be back to longer evenings which to us is a blessing. Yesterday we took care of our weekly feed run and a portion of our regular errands although we had to leave some tasks for today thanks to a severely aching lower back. That's OK. I know it goes against our policy of keeping the trips to town to a minimum in order to save gas but we have to revisit town today anyway to get an oil change and service on our work truck. Since we'll be in town for the mechanical service it's no big deal to split our errands over two days. That's why we took it a bit easier yesterday and avoided heading to Wallyworld , which we detest. But since we're due a trip to G & M meats to stock up for our weekly crock pot adventure we decided yesterday to save the trip to the west end of town for today after the vehicle service. This week's menu is going to be my old standby , a true favorite , my home made spaghetti sauce this time featuring hot sausage from the butcher shop. This will be our first time trying their sausage but we are unconcerned. The quality of all of their other products has been top notch so we see no reason to expect any less with their links. We awoke to a very pleasant surprise upon hearing the chime on our work phone at 6 am. Someone who apparently wishes to remain anonymous made a very generous donation through Square. Thank you whoever you are. Your gift is very timely and greatly appreciated. That's it for today y'all. Thanks for visiting and helping us help the beasts. Have a great day. PS: I'm including a video of Sweetness anticipating her breakfast. Unfortunately it's tough to get the timing right as she stops performing her dance if she gets sight of me. She often dances and pr

Mornin' y'all, The grand weather continues as do the less than restful nights. While the former should be conducive to fine storytelling the latter goes far in negating such. My imagination is mired in a fog bank of confusion and indecision that renders my ability to produce anything remotely entertaining to near zero. Although all is well with the animals and the weather is perfect for laboring away out of doors the energy levels required for productive work elude me. We are maintaining an income level sufficient to keep all of the animals well fed but cannot seem to develop any kind of surplus of funds that would allow for any structural improvements so things remain static. Today , being Friday , marks our weekly jaunt into town for feed , supplies and errands. The highlight of our week here at the Farm. To y'all just another day , to us it's a day out. It's amazing how little it takes to entertain a man when he gets on in his years. LOL Have a great day. It's going to be in the seventies , albeit maybe a bit damp. Enjoy. CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm Zelle: [email protected] PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194 Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA

Mornin' y'all, Despite the constant drizzle and potential rain storms of the next few days what's not to like about going from a low of seventeen degrees Sunday night to a high of maybe eighty degrees this afternoon? Works for me. Anyway , things are about as quiet as can be here at the Farm. The two new hogs are slowly finding their way into the hierarchy of the sty and the baby goats are getting friskier by the day. Beyond that I've little to report at the current time. Site visits are up so that's a good thing. We're averaging in the neighborhood of four hundred guests per day right now which is great , although we've seen no corresponding bump in donations. So goes today's Carolina Hills Farm news. Have a great day y'all. Enjoy the spring-like weather. Venmo: @CarolinaHillsFarm CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm Zelle: [email protected] paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194 Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA

Here is yesterday's post. Apparently it never completed the upload of the video and thus was never published. Mornin' y'all, Yesterday's post generated some interesting comments and suggestions. Thank you to those that thought enough to venture an opinion on our future path. The trail cam idea is a great one and I think that we will be pursuing that avenue in the near future. It probably won't come about until after the holidays but our new goal will be to have regular video views of the critters ... no matter how boring. Long time readers may recall that I once expressed a desire to install 24/7 cameras that would cover each variety of animal. These would allow interested viewers to tune in anytime and check out their favorite critters. Unfortunately , as welcome as that idea is , our internet signal cannot provide the bandwidth necessary for such an ambitious undertaking. Heck , it's hard enough for us to upload a simple three minute video to our page. Sometimes that can take an hour to accomplish. But I think that we can eventually get to the point where we can upload a brief daily trail cam view of the different pens and the critters within. It all depends on the video quality of the trail cam. If anyone out there in our immediate neighborhood has a trail cam that we could borrow to experiment with we'd be very grateful. Barring that does anyone have recommendations for one that might suit our purposes? That's it for today folks. We'll be back again anon. Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI Zelle: [email protected] CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA

Mornin' y'all, Happy day to y'all. It's going to be another lovely , sunshinie day today. Make the best of it. Clouds and down in the fifties again tomorrow. Meh. Still beats the forties which is the current weather back where I came from. We've little to report today as there is just no movement in the animal rescue world these days. Dogs and cats , yes. There are too many of those to possibly take proper care of but when it comes to livestock we're getting no calls. I think part of that can be laid directly at the feet of the present lousy economic situation. While there are plenty of folks that feel the need to unburden themselves from the grip of large feed bills by shedding critters most see dollar signs. While it might be desirable to lessen one's monthly feed bill by downsizing the herd most people today aren't satisfied with just getting rid of some excess stock. They figure they might as well try to make a buck on the transaction so they attempt to sell the critters. Can't blame them. Everyone is suffering these days and truth be told , given the current state of our fund raising , we really don't need any more mouths to feed either. But our doors remain open even though the phone doesn't ring. We'd like to let y'all know that our CashApp link is working just fine and our plea of yesterday to try it out was answered not just once but three times. By three very generous regular donors. Thank you Lori , Juanita and Henry. As always y'all are Godsends. After three and a half years of operations I find it dumbfounding that even with 750 fans/followers that we are still totally dependent on the generosity of only two dozen regular donors to keep the doors open. That's sad. But we will count our blessings that we have enough generous , regular donors to keep our guests bellies full , even if we are stymied in our efforts to make any serious capitol improvements or invest in any kind of advertising. Our critters eat every day and I guess that's the best w

Mornin' y'all, Here we are , once again at the start of a brand new week. After a very quiet weekend burnished by a wonderful visit from Kid#1 and once again it's up to me to concoct something of interest with which to regale y'all. Yet , as has become the norm in recent times , I've little dramatic experience from which to draw material. One fan , in reaching out to me via another platform suggested that I highlight with photos each of the critters. A sort of introduction to the "crew". Now there's some merit to the woman's idea but it seems to me that y'all have pretty much already met most all our residents at one time or another. I don't know how to make that idea seem fresh and new. We haven't taken on any new boarders in months and although we've received several very generous donations in recent months which we had hoped to portion out somewhat towards new infrastructure with the looming deadline of our FB fundraising we've been inclined to marshal our resources for the coming drought in the money supply. Thus we've no new capitol improvement stories to amuse you with either. No new animals. No new construction. That kind of equals no new tales of interest as well. Surprisingly , despite our current dearth of material , we got a pretty decent showing viewer-wise yesterday. Well over three hundred ... on a Sunday no less. Now in the overall scheme of things 300+ views is nowhere near our record , nor even a very good day , but considering how things have been of late it's a very good result , especially on a weekend. We'll take whatever views we can get these days , thank you. I'm running my mouth here without having much of anything of value to say so I'm calling a halt to this post ... abruptly I know but such is the way of things these days. Have a great day. Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI Zelle: [email protected] Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA

Mornin' y'all, Happy Monday to you ... if that can be honestly said. LOL. I know the day is not highly looked upon by many. But whether we like it or not a new week always begins. Ready or not. Yesterday here at the Farm was a true day of rest. The previous day's hijinx at the Tybee Pirate Fest took a serious toll on this old man's bones. It was an exhausting day all around ... but in a fine way. As promised yesterday I'm about to render my thoughts and opinions regarding the festival to "paper" for all of y'all's edification. Since the lion's share of my thoughts aren't exactly positive that is why I withheld them from yesterday's post. No speaking ill on the Lord's day , what. Let me preface my review by saying that , as a life long "pirate fan" I really wanted this event to be special. And I have much experience attending similar affairs up north where I came from. I grew up in a maritime , tourist dependent area very much like Tybee and fully understand the mentality involved in the local community hosting such events with the goal of extending the tourist season and helping the local merchants. I know first hand what it's like to have to try to make a year's worth of income in only a fraction of that time. It's a very difficult life trying to make all of your annual income in three or four months. That being said , I commend the people of Tybee for their goals. But I must say that in the interests of serving the local establishments they created a "festival" devoid of festivities. Let me explain. Up north two nearby towns held annual fall "festivals. The Whaler's Festival of Sag Harbor and the Maritime Festival in Greenport were two of our favorite fall events and both very much resembled the Pirate Fest in structure ... multiple day events , parades , music etc. The differences in application however are staggering. While all three shut down a portion of the public streets for a weekend the northern fests had many , many vendors of all kinds. Things o

Mornin' y'all, Happy first day of autumn. Summer is officially over and now the holiday season begins. My favorite time of year. The air is cooler and drier. Special holiday moments are right around the corner and precious time with family and loved ones comes to the fore. Yesterday wasn't such a great day. Lack of a good night's sleep left me feeling very lethargic and out of sorts , making for a very unproductive afternoon. The only highlight of the day , and even that was somewhat diminished by my lack of forethought , was giving Sweetness her new toy. A Jolly Ball for her amusement. Gifted to her by Kid#1 , she showed an immediate interest in the plaything but not enough to overcome her taste for eating and grazing. I'm not sure what possessed me to give it to her at meal time but that was a foolish mistake on my part. She was torn , as you'll see in the video , but ultimately the snack won out over the knickknack. Due to the overwhelming fatigue which in turn fostered a decided lack of patience on my part any and all attempts at dog training were postponed yesterday. Depending on how things go we may start today but our schedule for the weekend remains in flux. We'll play it by ear as the weekend progresses. Maybe we'll make a bit of progress towards a more mindful pup. Something need be done , that's for sure , because I certainly don't want Loki to be branded as an inside dog. Thanks for visiting. We appreciate our smattering of devoted supporters. Since our next to last FB fundraiser is quickly coming to and end having raised only $50 for this month please ... Give if you can and share if you can't. Have a great first Fall weekend folks. Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI Zelle: [email protected]

Mornin' y'all, Howdy neighbors. It's looking to be another pretty hot day today but hopefully the last 90+ degree day for awhile. That would be great. Yesterday , while beautiful in it's own right , was a rough one here on the Farm. Though not as hot as it has been the mercury still rose above the ninety degree mark with choking humidity. If that wasn't enough to deter our outdoor efforts add the fact that there wasn't a breath of wind. The mosquitoes were off the charts so even though temps in the shade were tolerable the constant swarms of bloodsuckers made even working in the garage untenable to us. Today is shaping up to be very much a duplicate of the previous day so we don't have great hopes for getting much accomplished around the Farm right now. We can look forward to at least ten days , upcoming , that will see much more enjoyable weather conditions for our sake and that of the animal residents. Nothing but low to mid eighties temps as far as the eye can see in the most current forecast. Once the cooler climate prevails we'll be easing our way back into the hard physical labor of construction by adding a pedestrian gate to the horse corral. Right now we have a sixteen foot gate at each end of the pasture but that has proved inadequate for taking care of the water troughs which need to be cleaned out every other day or so. The hundred gallon stock tank that is Sweetness' primary water source is a pain to drain and clean while reaching through the fencing and while nicely located near the hose bib is a long way from any of the gates. We'll remedy that issue with the pedestrian gate right near the stock tank and water source. This will also serve a second purpose ... giving us a nice , secure closely set pair of posts to secure Sweetness with two leads at bath time. The only issue with the construction is the fact that the three new vertical fence posts that need to be installed will have to be dug in by hand. The working space is not accessible to t

Mornin' y'all, Happy day to you all here in our little corner of the digital world. Though there is not much going on in our physical world right now we still make time each day to maintain an interesting digital presence. With mixed results. I find it somewhat ironic that while there have been repeated suggestions from some fans that I exercise more restrain in my verbiage and keep my posts to a more minimalist style that said results have actually come about through no effort of my own. On the contrary , the heat of the season has done far more to inject a level of brevity to my writing than I could demonstrate on my own. For better or for worse here we are. The words don't flow without ideas to spawn them and ideas don't form in a void so those wishing for more pithy , succinct daily posts now have seen their wishes granted without any conscious effort on my part. Things will "improve" as the weather cools , I assure you. I'm not done with my storytelling. I just need to do some living in order to have something to write about. Y'all can understand , I hope. I guess this is a fitting time for me to be drawing blanks on the imagination canvas since this time of year happens to coincide with a significant lull in viewership as well. Oh well. That's it folks. I've nothing more to blather about today. Be well and have a great day.

Mornin' y'all, Well , the first day of summer here at the farm certainly turned out to be a cure for the doldrums , that's for sure. It was an interesting day with several unique experiences , at least for us. We began our day by being greeted with a mass escape from the goats. Fiona was the leader of the gang and she wasn't shy about coming right up to the feed bins and trying to help herself , as the pics will show. Tomorrow. After recapturing the goats and getting them fed , along with the rest of our menagerie we decided to take advantage of the slightly cooler , less humid temps as well as the lower sun trajectory by getting some much needed mowing done. That proceeded very nicely and we got most of the common areas done before we ran into our second event/problem of the day. This mishap caused a brief wave of panic and resulted in us having to enlist our neighbor's aid. While mowing along the upper pond I was driving beneath a tree with some low hanging limbs when suddenly I felt my glasses being snatched off of my head. By the time I got the tractor stopped and the mower disengaged they were gone. I do not have a spare pair of my current prescription so I was quickly in a panic about the potential loss of my specs. I thought that I saw them hanging from the limb as I stopped the machine but by the time I got off to look they were not in the tree. After spending a few unfruitful minutes blindly groping around in the leaves and cut grass for a pair of brown , wire-framed spectacles I gave it up and went to retrieve my old , spare glasses from the house. They turned out to be very old. So old , in fact , that they weren't bifocals , only reading glasses. It's been many years since I only needed my specs for reading so the prescription was way off ,although at least with them I could see clearly from three feet away or closer. They helped a bit but I still had no luck in my hunt. Feeling desperate and unwilling to move the tractor for fear of either loos

Mornin' y'all, A new week begins. What on earth will it bring to the farm? After last weeks remarkable times , it's anybody's guess and we're not exactly off to a sparkling start. I regret to report that Bonnie , while in seemingly fine health herself , is no longer a mama sow. Sometime between 7 pm Saturday night when #1Son saw two pink piglets and two black ones in the pen with her and yesterday morning when feeding time arose all four babies vanished without a trace. All of the research I've done and the conversations I've had with local farmers would seem to indicate that the piglets have been eaten , either by their birth mama or one of the other hogs , but most likely by their mama. If the babies are stillborn or weak and sickly the sow eats them along with the placenta in an attempt to rid the habitat of the scent of potential food that might attract predators. It can happen if the mama is over-stressed or if the piglets are just not healthy. Perhaps the escape and recapture stressed Bonnie to the point that her babies suffered. Most likely we'll never know as there was very little movement amongst the babies after birth and it was difficult to see if they were healthy or not. Bonnie chose a very concealed and inaccessible spot behind the large shelter to give birth and it was very cramped. She may have inadvertently crushed the babies or they may not have been healthy to begin with. In any event , the joy of new life on the farm can to a screeching halt sometime shortly after it had begun. That should bring to a conclusion any pregnancies that originated off site. As far as we can tell none of the other sows are in a family way and we'll soon be to the point in time where any future pregnancies will have been domestically conceived. All the more reason to move forward with the transfer of the brood into their new , segregated pens. Now we just need to get a suitable small trailer to facilitate the relocation. What a week it's been. And you know