farm sitting for my sister

I have to "farm" sit for my sister for ten days, while she and her family vacation in Costa Ricca. They bought a condo down there about two years ago. It appears to be a very beautiful place. The only thing(s) I worry about are, global warming, and that there is an active volcano there. I just wish they had done a bit more research on it, before they bought.

I call it a FARM because I have to feed 17 rabbits, one lamb (do you envision a cute two and a half tall creature trotting along Bo Peep when you read that? The truth is that sheep are called lambs until they are a year [two?] old. In other words, this "lamb" is almost as tall as me, and the sister has informed me that it is "psycho". Yaa!! I only have to bend down to get under the shade cover in the dog run where she keeps it. It stamps it"s large coven hoof at me when I go in, and the sister tells me this is a sign that it is planning to make a break for it. I hiss at it like a cat while waving my free hand at it and hurriedly grab the food container and rush back out. So far, so good. The lamb backs off and I emerge unscathed.) and a PIG. Actually the pig is quite nice, like a stout medium sized dog. He snuffles my legs when he goes out, just like a dog. I have to flip the wadding pool up and rinse it and refill (pig's drinking water) scoop up the pig dodo with a rake and then feed "Mister Piggy". He gambles outside the pen in the yard while I do this. He goes back inside when I fill his food bowl. My only grip with this is. . . Margaret's note said basically, "this is the pig food". Like, how much am I suppose feed Mister Piggy everyday? I left a note with the night girl and she said one can.

And then I have to feed the three dogs and three cats, bring in the mail, check out the level in the humming bird feeders and today water the potted plants on the patio. Fortunately I only have to feed the animals in the mornings. The second job prevents me from doing the evening feed. There are nights I get off at 11:30. That just wouldn't work. So my sister pays neighboring girls from the 4-H club to do the night feed. I'm always paranoid that they won't do it, flake out. This is because , when I was a child I noticed that the cat on the corner house, next street up was hungry. I did some investigating, and found out that the kid that the corner family had hired to feed their cat for the two weeks they were gone, had left on his own family vacation at the end of the first week. So I fed the cat for the second week. This has always amazed me. Why did his parents agree to let him do this when they knew they were leaving at the end of the first week? I have never been able to fathom that.