Well technically, I should probably call it “weeks in review” for the title since I’m covering two weeks this week. Life seems to really get away from me some days. Something about taking care of so many animals, while also taking care of four human beings, makes some days just fly by! So let’s see...what exciting things happened these past two weeks? Not much actually, and in the sanctuary world that’s a very good thing I think. No crazy surprises happening over here. We did have a quick COVID-19 scare when one of us developed a cough, but it turned out to just be a basic cold thing (or maybe too much dust inhaled while doing ranch chores). The week of the 8th brought lots of snow, but it didn’t stick around too long. We have everything pretty dialed in here I think, so a little snow doesn’t usually cause much chaos. (Knock on wood). When it snows, we just make sure paths are cleared, shelters are warm, and water and food are always accessible. We had a big snowstorm a few years ago and that was a little more challenging because the snow was so deep the animals couldn’t make paths in it. So we had to shovel and snow blow paths all over, to and from the barn to the food and water. This winter had been pretty mild compared to that, so it’s all good. We have a couple of goats getting up there in age, so they are always our biggest concern every winter, no matter how much snow we get. It’s harder for older animals to keep warm, so extra work can be needed, like coats if they need them and/or supplements for health. It’s not recommended to put coats on goats if they are healthy though. Goats have a two layer hair system happening on their bodies in the winter. The top layer is called their guard hair, while the underneath is called their cashmere layer. Both layers work to keep them nice and warm all winter! Speaking of staying warm, did you know some goats are sheared in the cold winter months just to get that cashmere under layer to make cashmere clothing for humans? If you ask us, that makes no sense at all and is cruel. Taking away an animal’s protection against the cold and having them risk death just to make clothes that feel soft isn’t very humane, don’t you think? Thankfully there are so many great cashmere alternatives out there, so you can get that cashmere feeling without harming any goats. I’m a fleece fan myself and in the winter I can usually be found under several layers. I’m an old goat of sorts I think. The art wall is up in our Art & Education Shed and we love it! I’m still in awe of all the great talent shown by all the kids that submitted artwork, and can’t wait for all our guests to see it too once we resume tours and classes. It makes us all smile here to look at that wall and see all the awesome renderings of our animals, so THANK YOU to those that helped us create it! Check out a pic of the wall below, and please visit our Instagram page for the video. And for those kids (or adults) that didn’t create anything but still want to, we’d still love to see your art too. Just click on ART in the menu bar above and it will give you instructions on how to contribute. So we mentioned last week Skeeter was our oldest resident, but do you know who our youngest four legged residents are (outside of the cats)? That title goes Lucky and Lucy - our wonder twin Nigerian Dwarf goat duo. They were both born on March 17th, 2019, so they are coming up on their 2 year birthdays. We’ll see if they let me take a photo of them with leprechaun hats on on their birthday. 💚 In closing for this post, just a reminder to be kind to yourself, and others, this week. We checked out of a couple of online groups recently because we felt like there was some unkindness towards folks happening, along with unnecessary drama. We aren’t big fans of creating stress where stress isn’t needed, and really couldn’t we all use more kindness and love in our lives right about now? So I’m honor of that, and of it being Valentine’s Day last week, here’s one of our favorite quote to end: “If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.” - Mr. Rogers Have a great week everyone!
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AuthorFour Roots Ranch & Animal Sanctuary |