[Gpdd] Misc: Halloween 2019 part 3

Carol Riley bearkat1 at yahoo.com
Fri Nov 1 23:13:59 EDT 2019


I am sorry for the following errors: Bonbon is a girl, not a Mr. but she still looked mighty fine with her hair done up like a carrot; Bonnie should be Bonny; The Patriot Pigs, Lily and Josee did sneak in amidst the commotion, riding Willie's and Mr. Beasley's cats, Sweetie and Clover. I think they were hiding behind the boys so they could surprise everyone :) If I have misspelled or forgotten someone, please let me know.
Day 2 - Veggies are green...and some are orange!
Everyone was up early for the morning/afternoon adventure. There was chatting of where they might be going, but Avalanche and his mom weren't giving any information. "Oooh maybe it's a haunted house?" "Don't think so, not this time of day. Those are usually at night." "Maybe we are going shoe shopping, and then for clothes!" "Uh, NOT. This is going to be something for all of us, not just the sows." 
"Everyone into the bus please!" Avalanche's mom called out. "We have a short trip to a really nice place." There was some pushing and shoving trying to get one the bus, but everyone finally took a spot and settled down for the ride. The ride wasn't long enough for a nap or a decent snack, so there were a few grumpy pigs when they arrived at their destination.
"Windemere Farms and Apiaries" the sign read. "What's an apiary?" Chocolate Pudding asked. "It's all about bees," Binky told her. "Bees make honey, a sticky sweet gooey substance that humans and bears like." "Oh. Would I like honey?" "Maybe. I've never tried any myself."  "I bet I would like honey," Andrea said. "I like almost everything."
There was a little bit of walking to get to the meeting area, so Bella gladly gave rides to several of the elder pigs. Adreanna, Alva, Addison, Amaris and Ethan were joined by Marinella and Chap, and chatted along the way. "Oh look! Look! It's a big melon!" Alva said. "And look at that corn!" Chap exclaimed. "It is soooo green!" "MMMM parsley!"
When they arrived at the meeting place, a very pleasant looking human greeted them. "Hello all. We normally don't get a group of guinea pigs, cats, dog and bird for a tour, but I bet we can find something that would interest all of you today," she said. Sweetie and Clover snickered, until the woman said, "Hmmm...we DO have some lovely catnip growing this year." Sweetie and Clover went right up to the woman and started purring and rubbing on her legs. "That's a different way to beg. Think it might work for me?" Nutcake asked Lenny. "Uh I don't think so, Nutcake," Lenny replied. "You can purr but you would have a hard time getting up on mom's leg to rub it, ya know?" "Darn. I was hoping to find a way to get more green peppers."
"Did you say green peppers young man?" the woman asked. Nutcake was suddenly shy and hid behind Andrea. "We have lots of green peppers, and yellow, and red, and orange ones too! We have melons, corn, blueberries, pumpkins, well, we have lots of vegetables for you to enjoy today. BUT there is a contest that everyone has to participate in first." "I knew there was a catch" Casper whispered to Bounty. "It's not difficult. You are each going to carve your own little sugar pumpkin...with your teeth. The winners will be picked tonight at your Halloween Party." 
"Do I like pumpkin?" Pavarotti asked Sundance. "I don't know. I don't know if I like pumpkin." Carving a pumpkin with their teeth presented a problem for some of the guinea pigs. What if they didn't like the way it tasted? Bella was wondering how she could carve a pumpkin, as did the cats. Charlie figured he could peck pumpkin pieces out to make something. 
"To help you get started, we do have some nice fresh orchard grass for the guinea pigs, and treats for everyone else. That should help you all think better about what you would like to carve." While food and treats were being handed out, Nugget secretly went to a few of the pigs and whispered to them. "I got a great idea for you..." When he was done, he nodded to Avalanche. Avalanche went to Nugget and reminded him "You need to do this too." "I am ready." "'cause tonight...well...you know..."
Bonbon, Bella (the guinea pig), Miss Marple, Hazel, and Bonny were very concerned about this contest. It might just ruin their hair. What if they got orange stains on their lovely hair? That would just be too horrible. Luckily, Cookie and Bonnie McSmithers helped the pigs tie their hair back and had little shower caps for them to wear. "How ever did you know to bring these?" Hazel asked. "Well, I've had a few close calls with some sticky hair in the past," Bonnie said. It is important to always look good." "I agree" Cookie added.
Ralphy Lauren was quite interested in trying to carve the likeness of Sugar in his sugar  pumpkin. He thought that way he could take it home and think of her every day when he looked at it. Sugar said she would be happy to sit for the pumpkin portrait. When Mr. Beasley and Willie heard what Ralphy Lauren was trying to do, they had Josee and Lily sit for them to try as well. Carter said he wouldn't try because he could never get a pumpkin pretty enough to carve for his girls, Saoirse and Aoife.
As the pigs and Charlie started working on their pumpkins, the cats got some catnip from the woman who was giving them the tour. They rolled on it, in it, over it...well everywhere..  They look like they've been in the moonshine," Martin whispered to Picchu and Kiwi and gave a knowing wink. "So are we...?" "Yes we are," Magnus said. "I've already got some corn put in the bag I brought. Casper and Cosmo are working on some other stuff. Nugget said he and Avalanche will get some honey to make it sweeter when we get to see the bees. Edvard, Heathcliffe, and Jasper said they want to help too." "Fair number of you then this year," Ethan said, interrupting the little group. "Oh, hey. How ya doing Ethan? Uh, how's everyone in your group?" "Uh huh. Just don't forget me and the boys from the Misfits, ok?" "Sure. Sure. No problem."
After about an hour, the group was done with their pumpkin carvings. Some made likenesses of other guinea pigs, some made likenesses of their favorite food. Some of them even covered their pumpkins, saying they were going to wait until the party to show everyone. "OK everyone, please bring all your pumpkins over here so we can get something for lunch. You will pick them up when we are done," the woman said. Some of the younger pigs, like Tator Tot and Pavarotti, ran with their pumpkins so they could go eat faster. Bella (the dog) picked up several of the group that were tired and brought them over to the picnic tables for lunch.
What a feast! Just as the woman had told them, there were lots of vegetables. For those that didn't care much for vegetables, there was kibble, chow, and seed. They all ate like...well like pigs. When they were done, the woman addressed them. "We are going to the bee area next. Do not bother the bees. We are going to be away from them and you can all try some honey if you want." Once again their was discussion among the group, this time about whether or not they would like honey.
When the group arrived at the bee area, they were amazed. There were bees flying all over the place, not flying into each other at all. "How do they do that?" Sundance wondered. The woman brought them over to a table and gave them each a little paper cup with some honey in it. Pigs looked at each other, wondering about this new food. Finally, Alva said "Oh I'll do it" and stuck her paw into the honey and licked it off. "Huh, not bad. Not green but not bad." A few at a time dipped their paws in the honey and tried it. Most still were sure about it. Bounty snuck behind Bonny and stuck some of her hair in it. "You! You! You bad bad boy!" she cried. Carter gave Bounty the stink eye, causing Bounty to step back. "Uh, here. I'm sorry. Let me clean that up for you." Later Carter told him "Never, ever, ever touch their hair son." Most didn't notice, but several little cups of honey went "missing"....
After the honey tasting, it was time to board the bus and go back to the hotel for a long nap. the party was tonight and everyone was looking forward to it. Avalanche had dropped hints for something very special and they were all wondering what it might be.


More information about the Gpdd mailing list