The following post is an archive of our GoFundMe campaign which began in 2020.
Hello everyone,
Spring is finally here or at least it’s just around the corner, and many of us take advantage of the sunny weather to spend some time outdoors, breathe in the mild air and soak up the sunshine. Just this past week marked the day when the farm was closed for an entire year. Even during this pandemic, time still flies, and while I know that the farm was closed and without visitors for a full year (after a shockingly short season of 6 days!) it still feels unreal. Something we never imagined to happen. Maybe that’s why I feel so strongly that it’s important to say “we are still here” and the animals will be coming back.
At the farm we’ve been busy with more cleanup and preparation to get everything ready for the arrival of the animals. With the unknown public health situation surrounding us, we have a hard time planning for this season, and in order to make it safe for everyone – humans and animals alike – we decided to have a late start of the season. That way the weather will already have improved, there will have been more time to proceed with the planned vaccinations and we can keep an eye on how the overall situation develops while we are working on making the best and safest plans to open the farm later. Since much depends on these outside factors that we can’t control and we don’t want to disappoint anyone, we’ve decided not to set a fixed opening date yet – we are however trying to have things ready for May or June. Once we know for sure, we will announce on our website and social media our opening date and include all necessary measures to keep everyone safe while visiting the farm. So please stay tuned, we’ll let you know.
However, we have slowly started to bring the animals back into town. We’ve seen many people walking by the farm and asking about the animals and now with spring break just started, we thought it might be a good time to bring some of the animals back. At least that way, you’ll have the chance to see some of your favourite furry friends through the fence. A small group of staff will be there taking care of the animals and keep on going forward with making further preparations. And we are always happy to answer questions about the animals and tell you their stories.
We’ll start out with a small group of animals: a farmer friend has already brought some of his momma sheep and babies to the farm. They are currently staying in what is usually the chicken area plus the added on run just outside the goat area which gives them access to a lot of grass. The lambs seem to have decided that the holes the chickens dug all around their yard make excellent comfy little beds. Our old alpaca boy Osmond has also been at Beacon Hill for a while because he required antibiotic injections for a possible dental problem. Poor boy, like most of us, he doesn’t really like the dentist. Luckily for him, we might be able to avoid another trip to the dentist as the swelling has pretty much disappeared. Osmond is in good spirits and eats well. Sometimes you will see one of the staff taking walks with him through the farm to find especially yummy patches of grass. This Monday (tomorrow) we will bring the first of our goats back, just a small herd consisting of a mix of different adults and some of them might be expecting. I’m sure when you walk by the farm and peak through the fence you might recognize some of them. And the next one to join us back in Beacon Hill is our big boy Maple. We haven’t set a date yet when he will arrive (he is a big and heavy piggy and will require a separate trip to bring him in), but it should be soon. He is a little hard to spot from the outside, but when the weather is nice you might be able to catch a glace of him in the first area close to the front gate. He likes to sunbath in his yard and usually you can hear his lovely voice in the afternoon when he sings his “Isn’t it dinnertime yet” song. All around the outside fence of the farm we have put up flags from Canadian provinces and territories as well as some other countries to help you keep a physical distance when stopping by to see the animals. Big thank you to Paul from “The FlagShop” in Victoria for donating these lovely flags. All the colours really brighten up the place!
I don’t think I can really express how good it feels and how happy I and all the other staff members are that spring is finally here and we have now started to “repopulate” the farmyard in Beacon Hill. It feels that, with the animals returning, the joy they bring into our lives will return as well and we are delighted to share that with you – even if for the moment from a distance through the fence. We are thrilled to be back with our farm family!
And it is really thanks to all of you that we were able to continue providing the animals with all the care they more than deserve. Every donor and every sponsor helped us to make it safely through this past year. Your continuing support along with all the positive feedback, encouragement and inquiries about the animals has been simply heartwarming.
For that, all of you deserve a huge THANK YOU and our greatest respect.
Stay safe and enjoy the sunshine,
Claudia
