We began meeting and networking with other pig lovers and rescuers, and saw a huge need for a safe haven for unwanted pigs.

We saw that many, many people were obtaining potbellied pigs on a whim, never considering their needs, or the legalities of keeping them. Many towns and cities consider them farm animals, and therefore have bylaws against keeping them. Many a new pig owner was mislead about the size these "mini-pigs" would achieve, and when they grew upwards of 150 pounds, were frantically looking for an outdoor home for their pig. Still others didn't anticipate the intelligence of these creatures, and found themselves at the bottom of the herd order, being chased, nipped, and generally harrassed by their pet pig. Or they wondered why their pig was rooting up carpet, eating the wallpaper and tearing up house plants.

In January 2008, we moved to our farm, although it would be several months before we could actually see what we'd bought, due to the massive amounts of snow blanketing everything. There were certainly times before we purchased a snow blower, when I'd be leaning on my shovel in the long, long driveway, silence and white all around me, when I thought we had made a major blunder.

Spring did arrive, however, and happy times at Ruby Ranch. Spring brought us Willa and Harry, our very first farm pigs. The very next day, our very second farm pigs, Rosie and Delilah arrived.

At the beginning of August, Stormy the 4 week old farm piglet came to live with us. When he moved out to the garage/barn, we added Truly, a little potbellied piglet for company. At that time, we didn't know of any little farm piglets needing a home, but a few weeks later, we heard about Doc, residing in the Oakville Humane Society, so he came to join the piglet pack.

Other pigs that were rescued even before the ranch was a reality are Ruby, our first pig, Bart and Teddy, rescued from the same pseudo-sanctuary as Ruby, George, a Kune Kune pig, L.J. my baby still at 1and a half years old, and Stannie, a gorgeous silver spotted potbelly.

We love our pigs, and the joy they give us more than makes all the effort worthwhile.

I was working in the centre of London today, which basically triples my commute time. Sometimes, I only need go into town for a meeting and I simply catch a train to Waterloo from station near work and walk over Waterloo Bridge and along the Embankment and I feel lucky that have this practically on my doorstep. If the weather is really nice, I will go by way of the South Bank to prolong the pleasure.

However, today was an all day affair and as I typically do on these occasions, I walked to my local train station (getting a lovely text message from my bank reminding me that I have no money), took my normal train to Wimbledon and changed straight onto a District link train. I have a monthly season ticket on Oyster card that only allows me to ride a train to Wimbledon after which I need to buy a train ticket, so I find using Oyster card Pre-Pay much simpler than trying to buy a ticket to take me all the way to Waterloo. However, there is a gotcha.

To use Oystercard pre-pay, you need to touch in and touch out. Now when I get off the train I am already inside the ticket gates so I can walk straight from train to tube without using my Oyster card, and that is exactly what I did this morning. I was sitting (yes, sitting) on the the tube as it was moving off and and suddenly had that stomach churning thought, "I didn't touch in". Panic. Try and remember how much would be taken off my Oyster card when I touched out with touching in. Eventually, calm down and realise that I left the house quite early so I had plenty of time to get off my current train and get a train back to Wimbledon, touch in, and then take the next tube out again. I still made it in by ten past nine, positively early by London standards.

My mind was obviously still not where it should be at lunchtime as I managed to forget to get myself a drink. I should confess at this point that I am a terrible Coke addict (that's the brown liquid, hence the capitalisation), I used to drink several cans a day which is probably why my back teeth are slowly disintegrating, but I have now pretty much cut it down to a can at lunchtime. However, at the place I work when in town, I get a free lunch, including drink which happens to include Coca Cola on tap. (Are you still with me, I really write this for myself but I'm quite happy for you to read it.) So I missed out on free Coke.

I left work earlier that I really should have, but managed to get home when I would normally have (Thanks Transport for London) and had a very nice surprise, an old friend from college who I hadn't spoken to for years had sent me a message on Friends Reunited. The last time I saw her was almost 15 years ago and I had made several attempts to locate her. So some good news at last.

Later in the evening I decided to watch Sanctuary (ITV4), which I know would be on the PVR because I'd set it up as a series link, only it wasn't and the series link was nowhere to be seen. By a master stroke of scheduling it is repeated later this week, on  Wednesday, at 9pm, oh wait, isn't that when Heroes, Silent Witness and Greatest Cities of the World are on as well? Oh crap! (It is repeated a second time next Saturday, thank heavens)

Some of you know that this summer marked the publication of my first book, The Little Book of Sanctuary: A Beautiful Home is Simply a Choice. While it still hasn't been officially launched, it is available from the publisher, Our Little Books, and from a number of other outlets. 

I just got word of it being included in a "Sanctuary Gift Bag"  at the Urban Yogis website. How cool is that?

[caption id="attachment_40" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pub and its views"][/caption]

Chin to knee on the orchard wall, cooled with dew and cherries eating.

Merry, merry, take a cherry, mine is sounder, mine are rounder,

Mine are sweeter for the eater, when the dews fall, and you’ll be fairies all.”

-Emily Dickinson-

I’m going to rant about television for a bit, and then get to the important stuff:

I forgot to mention all weekend how annoyed I was with last Friday’s episode of SANCTUARY. I want to like that show, I really do. But Friday’s episode annoyed me. I disagreed with the way they twisted and diluted the legend of the Morrigan (not to mention the way they costumed them). I could understand if the villains had captured three powerful women of their time and manipulated them because they had the potential to be LIKE the Morrigan, but the Morrigan themselves were goddesses, and not under the power of these fruit loops. And they each had individual names, none of which were “Danu”, “Tatha” and “Caird.” The “Tuatha De Danann” is very specific to the Celtic Pantheon, but not part of this myth. There is an Irish goddess “Dana’ sometimes written “Danu”, but she is connected to Brigid and healing, not the Morrigan and war. There is an Irish goddess named “Caireen” – protective of children. Again, no association to the Morrigan or war. There is an Irish goddess “Taillte’, also spelled “Telta” – closest I could find to “Tatha” --- who is a goddess of the harvest, not connected to the Morrigan or war. And they were Irish, when according to the show storyline, this trio was discovered in a crypt in Scotland. Which looked like Vancouver.

Um, hate to break it to you, writers and producers, but Irish culture/myth and Scottish culture/myth are DIFFERENT. Just because they fall under the loose “Celt” banner doesn’t mean they’re interchangeable.

What, do the writers think none of us have any knowledge of Celtic myth?

I understand using mythology as a jumping off point for imagination, but this didn’t work for me. There’s nothing wrong with using “found goddesses” or morphing a myth in a way that’s believable, but don’t just ignore what’s already out there or get it wrong. It was beyond not working for me, I found it insulting.

And I keep getting ahead of the storylines, which annoys me. I liked the whole “freedom of choice” theme, but felt it could have been developed in a more believable fashion.

I lasted ten minutes into ELEVENTH HOUR and won’t be back. I love Rufus Sewell’s stage work, but in this, as good as he looks, as many interesting mannerisms as he comes up with, he’s always looking just past his fellow performers and it drives me insane. I find myself shouting at the television, “Look at the people you’re talking with! At least occasionally!!!! Connect!!!!” I can’t stand it when actors don’t look at each other when they work together. He connects with his fellow performers onstage, so I can only assume it’s some creative choice on someone’s part, and I hope it’s not his, because it sure as hell doesn’t work.

At least CHUCK is still funny, and LIFE is better than ever.

Muse Online Conference starts today. I hung out on the boards for a bit yesterday and posted the exercises for my workshops, so that anyone in international time zones apart from mine could start at THEIR midnight. I visited the forums of the courses I want to take; did some homework. In homework for one class, I had HUGE resistance – it’s a little psychobabble for me. Yet, BECAUSE I’m having huge resistance, I’m doing it, because I want to see where it takes me. I think I can get something good out of it by getting out my own way, and learn something new. I’m excited to visit some of the “rooms” run by the publishers and meet some new-to-me publishers. I checked the first batch of assignments, posted my assignments on the workshops I’m taking, asked some questions, etc. I’ll hop back on later in the day.

Wrote some short stories. One was over 2500 words, longer than I planned, but that’s how long it took to get it done. It had its own rhythm, and I had to respect that.

Pushed hard on the new ebook. Today, I need to proof it and finish the cover, then convert and lock the file, and I can upload it for sale. Don’t worry, it’s a low price point, only $1.29.

Even better, because I wanted to do another test run for the exercises, I have drafts of seven new stories. They need some revision, but I should be able to start submitting them by the end of the month. Of course, I’m taking a short story workshop this week, so I have to figure if there’s anything left in that creative well. Stores tend to come in bunches, and I thought I’d bunched out. I’d hoped the test stories for the ebook would run between 500-1000 words, but that rarely happened.

30 TIPS FOR 30 DAYS, the free Nano handbook, is again available for download. I’ll add it back to the bookshelf in the next few days.

I had a good morning’s work on The Big Project. Now, I’m off to the conference, then finish the cover and the publication of the ebook, then work on some articles. Busy day.

Devon

The Big Project – 14,617 words out of est. 75,000

14 / 75 (18.7%)

Devon’s Bookstore:

Hex Breaker by Devon Ellington. A Jain Lazarus Adventure. Hex Breaker Jain Lazarus joins the crew of a cursed film, hoping to put to rest what was stirred up before more people die and the film is lost. Tough, practical Detective Wyatt East becomes her unlikely ally and lover on an adventure fighting zombies, ceremonial magicians, the town wife-beater, the messenger of the gods, and their own pasts.
$4.00 ebook/ $6.00 on CD from Firedrakes Weyr Publishing.
Visit the site for the Jain Lazarus adventures.

5 in 10: Create 5 Short Stories in Ten Weeks by Devon Ellington. This ebooklet takes you from inspiration to writing to revision to marketing. By the end of ten weeks, you will have either 5 short stories or a good chunk of a novella complete. And it’s only 50 cents, USD. Here.

Writing Rituals: Ideas to Support Creativity by Cerridwen Iris Shea. This ebooklet contains several rituals to help you start writing, get you through writer’s block, and help send your work on its way. It’s only 39 cents USD. (Note: Cerridwen Iris Shea is one of the six names under which I publish). Here.

Full Circle: An Ars Concordia Anthology. Edited by Colin Galbraith. This is a collection of short stories, poems, and other pieces by a writers’ group of which I am a member. My story is “Pauvre Bob”, set at Arlington Race Track in Illinois. You can download it free here:

Personagens rasos e chatos. Atores que me lembram os protagonistas de comerciais aqui do DF. Cenários em CG que não conseguem sequer a ilusão de profundidade. Diálogos que parecem saídos de videogames antigos. Cenas de ação que não são nem mesmo ridículas, uma vez que nem risos conseguem provocar...

Por quê mesmo essa coisa fez tanto sucesso?

Sunday, October 12, 2008

After yesterday's awe-inspiring trail run in the Garden of the Gods, it didn't take much to get me motivated to get out and go again today. I didn't put in 10 - 11mi. like I did yesterday, but I was able to get in 6.5mi. through the brisk open space of the Garden trails. I felt like I could run again all day long, but life happens...... I had a deadline today to be home by a certain time -- responsibility kicks in, grocery shopping, house cleaning, and taking my daughter to find a Halloween costume.

Today, again, I chose to venture out into the esthetically pleasing trails of the Garden, and allowed my surroundings to completely draw me in....... It was a spectacular morning - the rain from last evening stopped but left a gentle dew on the leaves, the skies were crystal blue, Pike's Peak appeared as if someone sprinkled confectioner's sugar over the top, the birds were singing, the trees were in their most vibrant stages of reds, golds, and oranges. The air felt clean and crisp, and I felt so complete and alive.

I started out in tights, a tank, and a jacket, although even with the cold morning air - guesstimating low 40's, I shortly stripped off the jacket, and was wishing I had chosen to wear shorts. That's the one thing about Colorado; the weather is often quite indecisive.

So, I ran myself home - took care of my responsibilities, for the most part......... and, I was just craving to get back outside again. My family all had other things going on, so I decided to take a nature hike into the Garden. I run it so often, yet I rarely hike it. It felt good to take it slow, and simply appreciate the glory of it, just as the tourists do. I took my camera so I could take pictures of where I run so frequently. It is always so surprising to me that I don't see more runners or mountain bike riders on the trails. They are few and far between, which for me is a sweet luxury to have it all to myself, but it is unfortunate that others aren't taking the initiative to explore the most pleasing and pulchritudinous natural area in the city of Colorado Springs.

So I leave this blog with some pics of my most favorite place (of course, wouldn't you know it, my camera battery died. I got some good pics but not like these that do the Garden justice - can't take credit for these pics) ......... my sanctuary, my haven, my safe place --- The Garden of the Gods............

The schedule on each Trail Day event will be the same. RSVP hikes will be led by local natural resource experts at 9 a.m. Visitors must “RSVP” for these hikes. From 9 a.m. to noon, EEL staff and volunteers will provide information on natural lands conservation, recreation, and volunteering. At 9:30 and 11 a.m. there will be hour-long, guided hikes that will accommodate visitors on a first-come, first served basis. From 9 a.m. to noon, visitors can explore sanctuary trails on their own, speak to staff and volunteers, or participate in the children’s activities.

EEL Trail Days kicks off at South Lake Conservation Area, 4500 Lancaster Lane, Mims, on Saturday, October 11. The RSVP hike will be led by Dr. Ross Hinkle, EEL Selection and Management Committee chairman.

The second event will be held at Helen and Allan Cruickshank Sanctuary, 360 Barnes Blvd.,Rockledge, on Saturday, October 18. The RSVP hike will be led by Dr. Scott Taylor, EEL Central Region Land Manager.

The next event will be held at Malabar Scrub Sanctuary, 1501 Malabar Woods Blvd, Malabar,on Saturday, October 25. The RSVP hike will be led by Mike Knight, EEL Program Manager.

The final Trail Day will be held at Coconut Point Sanctuary, 4000 South Highway A1A,Melbourne Beach, on November 8. The RSVP hike will be led by Andy Bankert, Audubon Society birding expert. 

Participants areasked to bring their own drinking water and wear comfortable shoes for the hikes. To register for an RSVP hike, contact Brad Manley at 321-255-4466, or brad.manley@brevardparks.com.  

How many people knew that was originally a web-series?

I'll admit that was news to me.  If one judges success in this medium as the ability to move into other traditional mediums, Sanctuary is by far the most successful web series to date.  Quarterlife is the only one that has crossed mediums in the same way, and it's best not to discuss what happened there.  What is truly amazing is the production value of the original web series.  Something not seen very frequently.  Granted, it helps having a decent budget.  What this represents, in my opinion, is more important than the actual rating success of the show.  This demonstrates even further that the internet can be used as a farming system to grow creativity, shows and individuals.  I hope this is a trend that continues, but I also hope it is not the final destiny for this medium.  A farming system is only one facet of what is possible.

The Sci-Fi series remains very true to the original series, with a little restructing, reshooting, etc.

At this point, I'm still catching up on information regarding the show, so if you followed the series before it made the transition to Sci-Fi, let me know.  I'd love to hear from some original fans.

Here is the first chapter of the original web-series.  The channel has all kinds of Sanctuary goodies:

Just a note, the following may contain spoilers if you haven't watched any of these episodes yet, so if you haven't seen the episode yet and don't want to be spoiled, don't read on.

Smallville (E4) has finished (technically last week, but it was repeated this week so counts) and I am going to miss it. I've been watching from the start, even though I suspect I'm a little older than the target audience but then I am still more of a child in a man's body. It ended with Lex Luthor finally discovering the truth about Clark Kent and destroying the Fortress of Solitude (and I assume he now had control of Clark as that is what that device was supposed to do but that wasn't clear by the end of the episode). I can't wait to see what happens next and it won't be for long because Season 8 starts in November. Hooray!

A new show starring Amanda Tapping of Stargate fame started in ITV4 called Sanctuary. This looks promising, it has plenty of atmosphere and scary looking monsters creatures, a bit X Files-y. I'll definitely be watching this next week, even if the detective guy looks suspiciously like Daniel Jackson.

Heroes (BBC2) continues to entertain especially as they have got rid of the slow build ups. It's now a proper superhero series without costumes. I've only watched the second episode even though I have recorded the third from BBC3, as my wife doesn't want it to end too quickly. I'm sure they will show the season finale on BBC2 and make all the BBC3 viewers wait two weeks so she might have a point, but I'm recording from BBC3 as a precaution, just in case something stops us watching it when it's shown on BBC2 next week. While I can just about live with missing an episode of nearly every other show, I would really hate to miss a single episode of Heroes. Same for Doctor Who.

Also the same night was Silent Witness (BBC1) which concluded the following night and was very watchable, abeit a little confusing towards the end but I think I just about understood it. Not quite so scary as last week where the story centred on gangs in South London. As parents of small children that was very scary because you knew that it wasn't completely fictional. 

I would love to have talked about Greatest Cities of the World with Griff Rhys Jones (ITV) but I'm afraid if was beaten into third place by the previous two programmes and our PVR can only record two things at a time (still better than the old days before video recorders and even with video recorders the recordings were not that great quality). My wife and I visited New York at the very worst time possible, we had managed to visit a good bit of the city before the tragedy but for two days the city was pretty much closed and we just stayed in the hostel watching the TV until we were able to get on a train to Poughkeepsie. I would like to have seen Griff's take on the city. Still, next Sunday we will be watching Stephen Fry exploring the United States of America, including New York state as we did in our second week, so looking forward to that.

Secret Diary of a Call Girl (ITV2) is continuing to improve on the first series. I started watching because it was Billie Piper, who was in Doctor Who, being a little saucy. What's not to like about that. I continued watching because it was a smart witty drama although each programme was very much its own story. This series we see more of Hannah, in more ways than one (although it's a little too obvious that a body double is being used, shame), than her professional persona of Belle, and there is more continuity between episodes allowing for a deeper more involving story line. (Ooer, that's getting dangerously close to a review).

Finally, tonight I watched Little Britain USA (BBC1) which was as funny as always, particularly the guys in the gym changing room at the end.

Quite a bit slower in pace than the  webisodes which is to be expected when fleshing out a series from the web to TV (which is a first)

Amanda Tapping has a radically  different look which was conscious decision to try and have character as distinct from her SG1 character and maybe she got fed up with just having drab camo to wear. And she defiantly rocks as a brunette.(cue fan boi Squeeing)

There has been some criticism of Amanda's British accent (mostly from non UK speakers) but as the character is from a victorian era you would expect - and i'me sure if she had more modern posh British accent (ala an amped up Joanna Lumley) i'me sure they would have moaned as well.

Interestingly her daughter (the hawt blonde in tight leather ) has an accent similar to Sam Carters though its not as obvious in the tv show as posed to the webisodes.

To sum up an interesting start if slightly slow in pace and is defiantly in my to watch list.

The place I’ve longed to be

Refuge I’ve been dying for

I find myself received

Sanctuary in your arms

I never would believe

A hunger that has always been

Has finally been relieved

Restless heart has always been

The lonesome guide in me

Now I find I’m home again

I never want to leave

I don't watch the news and read very little of the newspaper.  I choose not to be part of the fear and lack that most news stories focus on.  That doesn't mean I don't know what's going on.  It's very easy to tap into the pulse of our economic times, political adventures and other news worthy stories because it's everywhere.  It's amazing how much I know without even trying.  And that's how I like it, I dip my toe into the flow of what's happening without jumping in and getting swept away by the current.  I am able to keep my focus on what makes a positive difference in my life and move forward without being caught up in the drama swirling all around me.  As I've gotten older, I find drama extremely fatiguing and chose not to engage as I am able.

Another factor that makes a huge difference in our lives, is that my husband and I created a living space that feels uplighting, inspiring, safe, and nuturing.   We incorporated chi enhancers with music, colors, smells, objects, furnishings and art that are chosen to create a vibe of health, abundance and well-being.  For example, in my office I have painted the walls a color that is very uplifting to me, hung art that I made myself, arranged the furniture to keep "chi" flowing easily, address clutter, play music while I work (when possible), light incense and candles regularly, added live plants, and placed meaningful objects on my office altar that includes a small fountain.  Over time, my husband and I did the same thing in our entire home. It's taken about eight years, and the payoff has been immeasurable.

The result of our diligent and purposeful creation of all our rooms, is we are refreshed and rejuvenated by our home.  Then, we are better able to be our best "out" in the world doing our work.  Our home supports us in every way, physically, emotional, mentally and spiritually.  It's like eating specific food in preparation for a running marathon.  The proper food provides the fuel in a vital, efficient way to best run in the race.  The same is true in our physical environments.  Our homes provide fuel for our bodies so we can operate efficiently and effectively "out" there.  I call that creating sacred space.  Creating space that honors our body temple on all levels.  Our sacred space can also provide rejuvenation, inspiration, etc. to all who spend time there.  It's a gift we give to ourselves and others.  Especially now with all the craziness happening all around us.

We deserve it and so do you.

The Sanctuary: A Novel is available at Amazon for $9.99. To Order click here
Amazon Product Pages contain a lot of other details on this product as Customer Reviews, Sales Ranking, Special Offers, Alternate products that customers are going for and much more.Want to read these details? click here

Want to get some other Format / Binding / Version? You can search for them from here

Other Products of Interest

• The Venetian Betrayal: A Novel (Cotton Malone)
• The Judas Strain: A Novel
• Blasphemy
• The Wheel of Darkness
• The Last Oracle: A Novel (Sigma Force)

Songs of Sanctuary is available at Amazon for $10.97. To Order click here
Amazon Product Pages contain a lot of other details on this product as Customer Reviews, Sales Ranking, Special Offers, Alternate products that customers are going for and much more.Want to read these details? click here

Want to get some other Format / Binding / Version? You can search for them from here

Other Products of Interest

• Adiemus II: Cantata Mundi
• Adiemus III: Dances of Time
• Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot
• The Journey: The Best of Adiemus
• Karl Jenkins Requiem

The strange thing is, I like the webisodes better.

Same writers, same actors, same producers. The story is changed a bit, perhaps to tighten things up, or maybe to spread some mystery across several episodes, but nothing drastically different. Using actual sets rather than green-screened backgrounds certainly grounds the actors better. Still, the webisodes, for lack of a better phrase, felt gutsier. The actors seemed freer to bite into their roles (although this could be the effect of having to essentially shoot the pilot twice).

I do love the idea of a ragtag group of adventurers trying to provide a safe haven for the monsters that are disappearing all over the world.

Sanctuary noun 1. A place of refuge.  2. A shelter from danger or hardship.

Finding sanctuary is not something most Americans think about regularly--the lucky ones of us don't need to at all. Some of us have found it already, and some are still searching. But for the majority of animals on this earth, farm animals, the idea of sanctuary--a place of shelter, protection, and safety, is but a distant dream.

Farm Sanctuaries are some of the most beautiful places in the world. They rescue animals who lived lives as machines in factories, and were in line to die as products being manufactured. Sanctuaries open their doors to animals who have lived through a more horrific hell than any one of us could begin to imagine, and provide them with peace and freedom from the incessant suffering and pain, both mental and physical, that had plagued their prior lives. Farm Sanctuaries are a glimmer of hope in an ice cold world.

I was given the opportunity to visit Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY this past summer for their annual Hoe Down event, and the animals I met there touched my heart in a way I never knew any creature could. It was my first time meeting a cow, and I nearly lost my breath at their patient, gentle characters. The saying "gentle giant" took on a new meaning, for never before had I experience a creature (or person) as gentle, nor as big, as those cows.

And to think, animals in factory farms don't even have enough room to turn around.

I was so moved my experience with these incredible animals that our society treats as commodities that I wanted to share my experience. As the president of the Case Animal Rights & Ethics Society (CARES) at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, I came back to school this year ready to organize a sanctuary trip for students. I found a closer Sanctuary in Ravenna, Ohio, called Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary, and planned a trip there.

The trip was fantastic. We took a 15 person Case van down to Ravenna and got to spend the afternoon with a farm full of incredibly friendly, not to mention playful, eager and nuzzley farm animals. Here's a little taste of the trip:

These gentle, beautiful horses were rescued from slaughter. Horses that can no longer be slaughtered in the US are auctioned off and instead shipped to Mexico for slaughter. The whole process, from auction to transport to slaughter, is incredibly traumatic for the horses. What a sad way to treat a spent horse that not only trusts you, but often would do anything for you.

The event was a huge success, and everyone that came had a fantastic and enlightening experience. Yearly trips to the Sanctuary will definitely become a CARES tradition. To all you readers, if you have never been to a Farm Sanctuary, I cannot recommend it enough. I guarantee it will change your life, as it did mine.