Letters from Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary

No jack-o-lantern here . . . our chickens wanted to eat the pumpkin right away! Remembering  Marion Weinstein , the Halloween Witch, and her wonderful cats who came to live at Sanctuary House. Safe and happy Halloween, everyone!

Martha the chicken is busy exploring her world - maybe there are bugs behind this little grate? Meanwhile, Possum has found a favorite toy - a whole roll of toilet paper! Oh joy, oh rapture, oh bliss! Have a great day whatever you're doing. . .

Remembering those killed in Pittsburgh yesterday: Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon; and say, Amen. May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity. Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen. May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen. He who creates peace in His celestial heights, may He create peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen. [Kaddish English text from https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/text-of-the-mourners-kaddish/]

Cindy took this picture of Willow inside the hay storage room . . .I suppose breakfast was too slow in arriving so Willow decided to help herself to hay! Possum had other ideas - after breakfast, he chose a toasty resting space near the bathroom heater. And  Buddy , the beagle, found a box of blankets - perfect bed for a morning nap!

Today was Rosie's first venture out to the pasture - she was calm and patient, although she might have liked to run in the mud puddles . . . that's for another day! Sonny and Titan greeted her gently. Willow was more interested in eating hay. Imagine was in her stall, probably a little annoyed that she could not chase Rosie . . . that's for another day, too!

Today is a big day for some of our younger chicks - they were able to go outside and join the larger flock! Cora (black and brown) and Dora (gray) stopped for a quick snack as they explored the chicken yard. Cora and Dora are Easter Eggers. Mitzi (below) and Martha (at the right), the brown Legbars, were more interested in looking for bugs. Louie thinks about baseball , although he's actually happiest playing with a practice golf ball or even a toilet paper tube.

Our cat Morley died early this morning. Morley was a big, gentle cat who loved other cats - he tolerated humans, but was most often curled up close to another cat. Morley and his brother, Nigel, came to Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary many summers ago when they were tiny kittens. Being black kittens, without so much as a single white hair between them, there was no adoption-centered rescue that would even consider them . . . they needed a safe sanctuary, and we welcomed them with open arms. Nigel was smaller and not as strong as Morley - sadly, he died of cancer several years ago. Morley was an energetic runner and jumper - the only cat to have knocked down a cat tower with a sudden leap! He loved to sleep at the very top of the tower. It is hard to know if Morley was hiding his illness or if kidney failure came very quickly. He lost weight, although he was always eager for breakfast, and traded his tower resting space for a blanket on the floor. The other cats, especially hi...

 The fallen tree removal was loud, to say the least. Titan sent the other horses to the back of the pasture and then stood guard between them and the fence. Little Rosie stayed in her stall, never making a sound. When the tree and the noise were gone, the horses lined up to check on her!    

Did you know that there are at least three easy and inexpensive ways to support Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary? 1. Join iGive.com - when you make purchases at many online stores, your chosen charity automatically receives a small percentage of the price as a donation. Here is our link: https://www.iGive.com/SanctuaryHouse. 2. When you shop on Amazon, choose Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary as your Amazon Smile charity. You can choose us by name or by using this link:    https://smile.amazon.com/ch/ 16-1482599 , When you choose us as your charity, Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary will receive a donation of  0.5% of the amount you spend. 3. Clip and send us coupons for Friskies canned cat food, Meow Mix cups, Milk Bone dog biscuits, and/or Purina Cat Chow - we use these products every single day, and having coupons helps us spend every dollar more efficiently. Thank you for your care and support - you mean the world to us!

Monday dawned cool and rainy - absolutely the best type of morning for a morning nap, and George, the beagle, wasted no time barking about it. Gideon "Giddy" , the cat, had a different idea. "I'm going to watch the rain," he meowed. . . a big cat, on a narrow window sill!

Happy 20th Birthday to our friends at  Rikki's Refuge !  Rikki's Refuge is a wonderful life-long sanctuary - they have saved thousands of animals who had no other place to go, including some animals who were not able to stay at Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary: geese, ducks, dogs, cats, rabbits, sheep, and chickens. At Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary, we include Rikki's Refuge and its founder, Kerry Hilliard, among our closest friends.  As Kerry says of the animals, "I believe everyone deserves life. Everyone deserves love. Everyone deserves respect. Everyone deserves trust. Everyone deserves a home. Everyone deserves to be important, simply for who they are. Everyone means the elderly, the differently-abled be it mentally or physically, the ill, everyone, without exception, no matter how many legs they have or how long their ears are." And Rikki's Refuge embodies Kerry's beliefs. . .  as you can perhaps imagine, I consider Kerry a good role model and w...

After a night of tornado and flood warnings, we woke up to fallen tree branches! Fortunately, no one and no buildings or fences were damaged. Cindy was able to get the fallen branches off the fence and out of the horse pasture - a tree removal company will come later to take the rest of the tree and some damaged limbs from other trees.  On another positive note, we seem to have gone from summer into autumn overnight - it was hot and humid last night, but chilly out this morning.    Happily, as you can see in the picture below, this huge tree limb missed the building next door as well as the gravestones and the hummingbird feeder on our property.    Stay safe everyone, and have a great day!

Our Polish chicks are beginning to grow their head feathers . . . by the time the chicks are full grown, long white feathers will completely cover their heads.  Sometimes it is even necessary to trim their head feathers so that they can see where they are going. Their body feathers will be entirely black. Polish chickens are very friendly and like to be held - even at this young age they jump right into (or on to) the hand that is feeding them! We'll post more pictures as they grow up, And yes, there is a puzzle today!  Princess Georgia -Pretty Girl "PG"

Yes, Jesse, we do love black cats! In fact, there are more black cats at Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary than any other color.  . . . our black cats don't exactly rule, but if they all vote together they make a fairly significant statement!

Another hot and sunny day in October - lots of cutting vines and trimming back forsythia! And discovering that Henrietta (and maybe other chickens) can definitely fly to the top of the 6 ft. fence . . . so we will be adding netting to the top of the chicken yard and in the meantime, the chickens have clipped wings! Back indoors,  Lucy  assured me that she knew the chickens could fly that high. "I see them through the window," she meowed, "and just look at my extra long whiskers . . . you can tell I'm sensitive and smart, too!" Sava was more concerned about who was napping on the top of the cat tower. "I don't pay attention to chickens," he said.

Yannah agreed to one photograph - "After that," she said, "I'm going to run right into this cat tunnel!" The chickens, on the other hand, were glad to assist with morning chores. . . especially when that involved new shavings. "Yep," Ory said, "this is the kind of shavings we like - fluffy and soft and low dust - perfect for a nest!" Blanche  wanted to help too, of course, "I'm a good supervisor," she clucked.

Blessed Feast of St. Francis!           Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord,  union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.[ BCP , p.833]

Congratulations to George Washington and his family from all of us at Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary! George Washington was chosen "Pet of the Month" this October by his veterinarian's office - we agree 100%!  He is a wonderful beagle and a great sibling for his cat brother, Evans, and sisters, Emma, Sookie, and Miet.

Cindy brought hay, every horse's favorite snack! We usually get ten bales of hay at a time . . . in the summer that lasts about two weeks - in the winter, when there is little grass, it will be just one week's worth. And yes, as you have probably guessed, we do have on-going need of dollars for hay. Each bale of hay costs $6 - any and all donations will be much appreciated! Titan, Willow, Imagine, and Sonny enjoyed their pre-dinner hay out in the pasture; little Rosie had hay in her stall. Rosie is growing healthy and strong - she has even out-grown her first halter. Soon she'll get to come out for a run in the pasture - keep watching . . . we will have pictures!