[Gpdd] PETER GURNEY CANDLE: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

[pat schuett]

My candle was lit last night out here on the windswept prairies of Saskatchewan.
Eight o'clock is about when I usually start the evening cage-cleaning, so after lighting the candle (a lovely beeswax one made by the bee-keeping family of my god-daughter), I swept out poops and changed wet newspaper and washed water bottles while telling my herd about the piggies that had gone before them, who had to take on the very large task of teaching me the fine points of being a good guinea pig slave (still very much a work in progress!).
None of my current little herd knew my first piggies, Daphne and Guinevere, or even the next pair, Doris and Audrey.   I think Floyd (currently my oldest piggie) was the only one who knew Olivia, but everyone would have known Virgil and Apple. They all had very thoughtful expressions on their little faces and didn't even complain that it was taking longer than usual to get to their bedtime blueberries (though I am pretty sure I heard some muffled snickers as I was forced to admit to some of my early misadventures with pig-keeping).
I think of all of those piggies often, but don't usually speak their names aloud --- it felt good to remember them in such a proper ceremonial way and to keep those memories alive. 
Thanks to Audrey for taking on the big organizational task of keeping the Peter Gurney candle-lighting tradition alive, and to everyone on the GPDD for taking part.  It's so nice to hear from so many like-minded souls and their piggies all around the world !
Pat and the Prairie Pigs