New Year's Blog 2024

The end of the year is a good time to pause and look back over the year, take stock of what happened, both good and bad, and then figure out what you want the next year to look like.

Paul and I sat down and made a list of things that happened over the last year (I'm adding 'keep a journal' to this year's goals)

2023

A lot can happen in a year!

We welcomed a number of animals this year:

• Niblet

• 3 goats (Josie, Evie, and Rebel)

• 3 Pekin ducks Huey, Dewey, and Louise)

• Mel

• Maple

• 7 baby bunnies were born after their parents both escaped their cages on the same night

Some other things from this year:

• piglets grew up (they were born in December of 2022)

• we moved animals around to better use the space 

• lots of tours, especially in the summer (we offer them all year on the weekends)

• we rent out cabin in the woods in the warmer months

• we submitted an application to become a registered charity

Animals we said goodbye to this year:

• Snowman (our white horse)

• Lipsy (alpaca)

• Runty (piglet)

• Cotton (bunny)

Much of our farm and sanctuary journey has been 'let's not do that again' or 'next time, we'll do that differently'. So we are always looking for ways to improve or do things differently.

Here is our brainstorm of what we want to accomplish this year:

2024

• Charity approval

• make the sanctuary sustainable and self sufficient

• create a new stay experience (inside the animal enclosure)

• monthly sponsorships for animals

• no new animal intakes unless we have more room

• improve rotational grazing plan

• increase the paddock size for the bottom barn by changing the fencing

• increase Wilbur and Mel's outdoor space

• move Maple in with Wilbur and Mel when she is big enough

• create climbing structures and shade for the goats, sheep, and pigs

• more shelters and improve shelters

• create camping spots

• attend/create more community events

• increase the wallow for the potbelly and big pigs

• post regular blogs, newsletters, and social media posts, including more reels

• create opportunities for business and corporate donations after our charity approval

• more fundraising

• more community involvement

• work on gardens and grounds maintenance

• create a memorial rock garden (we have a lot of rocks!)

The next step is to create a timeline and budget (for each item that needs it) and figure out how to accomplish it all this year!

Follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter to find out how many items we check off the list this year!