Be Kind to Animals Art Contest Winners!

We are pleased to announce the winners of our Be Kind to Animals Art Contest!
 
Below we feature the winners’ submissions. The winners are:
Matilda Terrell, Age 11 for her poster submission (bottom)
Ave Copeland, Age 13 for two photographs ( left)
Haley Copeland, age 11, for her drawing and photograph (right)
 
All three have won the sponsorship of an SFC animal for a year. Congratulations to our winners and thank you for your submissions!
 
Matilda will sponsor our rabbit, Yetti.
Ava will sponsor our sheep, Mary.
Haley will sponsor our chicken, Kathy.
 
Sponsorships will be added to our website soon!

A New Life Walks onto the Farm

Life is Beautiful!

In today’s example of the beauty if life, I have to share a story. For the past couple of weeks, a doe has come down behind our house every evening and some mornings. She caught our attention because she always was looking for something in the grass and we assumed she had a fawn that she was looking for. But, come to find out, she was playing with our barn cats. She waits for them each night and we have found them waiting for her. We have yet to get a photo or video of this but she follows the cats around, even coming very close to the house when they come in.
 
Tonight, the moment we have been waiting for happened. She indeed does have a fawn and for the first time he/she was with her. As we ran to get the camera, she was once again looking around in the grass. All of a sudden she jumped and bolted after one of our cats, chasing the cat all the way into our barn. She even came up on the barn bridge. She was protecting her baby from the cat. We welcome our new little deer friend.

A Reminder That Life is Beautiful from Mary Beth

A reminder that Life is Beautiful:

 
From Mary Beth: “I find the most beautiful things in life can be very small things, but they make me feel so good inside. It can be just the rays of the sun shining through my window, filling me with warmth, and the knowing that life is full of warmth. I find beauty in what touches my heart. My human friends, my donkey friends, and all of the other various friends I have made here at the farm. All of them enrich me in a way that makes me feel beautiful inside. I can then take that beauty and share it with others who meet me. Maybe you can do that too. Find something that makes you feel beautiful inside and let that be the light that warms someone else’s heart.”

New Digs for Goats Clark and Snowball

For today’s installment of Life is Beautiful:

Our two little pygmy goats, Clark and Snowball, moved to their new summer digs in our newly built goat yard. This yard is complete with their own little shed. Now we are seeking to make them a play yard inside as well. Goats love to have their own play yard. Can you feel their joy?

 

Simple Beauty in Life

Life is Beautiful
 
Today, more than ever, we need to remind ourselves about the beauty in life and the connection we hold with nature, the planet, and each other. We can find beauty in the simplest of things. This photo I have shared is just a tiny space where I stopped to breathe for a moment while out on a walk. Look at the multitude of life and the depth of beauty in just that small space.
 
Today, if you can go outside and just stop for a moment and breathe. If you can’t go outside, then close your eyes and picture a favorite place outside. Close your eyes, breathe in deeply from your heart center. Just breathe a few nice deep breaths. Feel or imagine a time where you felt gratitude and love and connection. Allow yourself to feel that feeling and hold it in your heart as you breathe. Feel totally present in that moment. And then from that space, gracefully move on with your day, taking that feeling of love and gratitude with you.

Inner Vision

Meet Piper

We don’t have to have eyes to see inside one another. But in order to see another, we must first be able to look inside ourselves and understand who we are. Vision comes not from the eyes, but from within the heart. To be able to look at ourselves without judgment, allows us to reach out without judgment to another. We don’t have to see kindness to feel and know kindness. We don’t have to see love to feel and know love. The heart knows what the eyes cannot see.

We often look at an animal and say that their eyes look to their soul. But Piper teaches us how to feel to the soul rather than to rely on the eyes.

Piper was born without eyes and is amazingly adept at chasing toys, playing with his cat friends, and zooming up and down cat trees at great speed. There is nothing he cannot see himself doing!

Look Inside for Change

Today I’m sharing a message from an amazing horse who taught me so much and continues to do so from spirit. This is my reminder of beauty for the day. I look forward to more of yours.

From Deeteza: “The world can change in the blink of an eye when you realize the power you have to change it. If you want to change the world around you, you need to look no further than inside yourself. Find the beauty within you and that beauty will change the world. Find the peace within yourself, and that peace will change the world. Heart by heart. Breath by breath. Start within and you will see something amazing unfold.”

We will try to post each day something to remind us about the beauty of life. Let’s remind one another about the beauty all around us. Plants, animals, rocks, humans ….. all of life. Share what you find in your day that matters. And if you are feeling lost and in the dark, then go outside and find just one thing in life to look at and appreciate in that moment. Even if it is a blade of grass. Let your heart feel the beauty that is there for you. Hold it there in your heart for a moment and let it spread throughout your day. Step by step you will build back hope. Heart by heart we will bring back kindness. The human heart is strong and full of love and compassion. It’s time to free it from the chains that bind it. Let your compassion flow.

The Beauty of Life

Ok, folks, we are starting a new series to try to help us through the challenges!

There is no doubt that these are trying times. It also seems that something is trying to happen within the heart of humanity. Something is trying to awaken deep within us. A wisdom of the human heart is inching its way further into conscious awareness. The knowledge that we are all connected. We need each other now more than ever.

At the start of the COVID pandemic, we began posting an animal message a day to try to help us all through the challenging times. Now, we have a growing social unrest as the human heart comes into more awareness that indeed we need to work together. We need to remember the truth that we aee all connected an in this together. We need to respect each other and find the kindness and compassion that is our innate nature.

People ask me all of the time, “why do animals love unconditionally and humans can’t?” See, I don’t believe that premise is true. Humans have the same capacity to love unconditionally. But we have separated ourselves away from the wisdom of our hearts. It’s all still right there. We just haven’t been listening.

In the past few days, I am hearing people say that they have grown despondent now. Things are opening back up and people have already forgotten what they started to feel during the shutdown. There is fear that things will go back to where they were before … where we were less aware of our need for connection. Where life takes off in the fast lane and we forget again what that connection means. People are telling me they are watching the unrest and feel totally hopeless.

So, we knew we wanted to try to help again. Spring Farm CARES’ mission has always been about the human heart and our connection to animals and nature. Never before has our mission been more front and center. I went to the animals and asked them, “what can we do to help people not lose hope?”

“Let’s show them the beauty around here,” said Noah, donkey, “and then maybe they can start finding beauty around themselves too.”

“People must not give up,” said Mabel, donkey, “That has been part of the problem with you humans all along. You need to keep faith even when you think you can’t find it. When kindness is not evident, that is when it is needed the most. When compassion is lacking, that is when it is needed the most. The true strength of spirit is to be kind when no one else is being kind around you and to be compassionate when it is lacking most. All it takes is one light to shine to light the darkness. Just one. It is easy to be compassionate and kind when that is what is happening all around you. But what you are being called upon to do now is to create compassion and kindness in the face of hatred and despair. You can love your way out of despair and hatred. It all starts within you.”

So, today I am announcing a new series. I am going to post something each day that reminds us of the beauty in the world. It can be a photo or a story or a thought or a quote from an animal. And, we’re going to invite you to do the same in the comments section. Let’s remind one another about the beauty in the world. Plants, animals, rocks, humans ….. let’s bring on the beauty of all life. Share what you find in your day that matter to you. . And if you are feeling lost and in the dark, then go outside and find just one thing in life to look at and appreciate in that moment. Even if it is a blade of grass. Let your heart feel that beauty. Hold it there for a moment in your heart and let it fill your day. Step by step you will build back hope. Heart by heart we will bring back kindness. The human heart is strong and full of love and compassion. It’s time to free it from the chains that bind it. Let your compassion flow.

Let’s do this together. What beauty can you find and share in your day? We are looking forward to hearing from you.

(For those on Facebook, we invite you to share on our Facebook page where you will find these daily posts. https://www.facebook.com/springfarmcares/)