When Visionaries and Dreamers Unite!

Hello friends :)  What an incredible week it has been!  In contrast to last week's state of mind, this week I am on top of my game again.   I find the weeks are actually flying by faster as the end of summer nears, but I don't recall a time I was ever THIS busy before either.  We have had many visitors coming to enjoy time with the herd.  We are seeing more and more families all the time which is amazing.  Our message is spreading!  This week I have some updates and information to share, as well as a massive announcement to make.   For that reason I am just going to jump right into it all and start with the updates.
The most pressing issue on the farm at the moment of course is getting all of the farm equipment serviced, running right, working out the kinks, finding the stuff that's broken and fixing it, AND learning how to operate it all.  The great news is that we now are almost 100% ready to go - thanks to the constant efforts of Fred.  I can't tell you the number of hours he's spent on all of this, but way more than me, I can assure you.  Thanks Fred, you're seriously the best!  Now we wait for the weather to cooperate.  Waiting for a good weather window without rain, to make hay is nerve wracking.  You have to trust the forecasters that are often wrong.  The past three days were calling for rain that never came - a window was missed.  The weather for the next few days are calling for rain as well, so we continue to wait.  I'm staying in contact with my neighbours who are also still cutting hay, so I don't miss another opportunity.  This coming weekend looks good and should see us in full swing.  If anyone is interested in volunteering to help us bring the hay in off the fields, drop me a line! :)  We love willing extra hands to make the job go faster!  You'll get plenty of free goat cuddles in exchange <3 

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For the past many months I have been feeling a strong desire to reach out to support the first responders that are continuing to work tirelessly for us all.  These amazing individuals put themselves at risk, each and every day they work to support their communities and have gone above and beyond for all of us during this pandemic.  What better way to help support my community, than by helping to support those that support us all?  Now that restrictions have eased we are able to accommodate larger groups on site at the farm, we can now start directly supporting these individuals.  So, now on Thursday afternoons, from 1-3 pm, we offer free time for First Responders on a first come, first served reservation system.  These free First Responder Cuddle Puddles are intended to help restore, ground, uplift and help de-stress.  My hope is that it will help to fill their cups, so that they can go back out into the communities they serve, having taken some time for themselves for some much needed love.  If you know of a First Responder(s) that could use some extra special goat love, share this link with them.  https://www.skyrivermeadows.com/first-responders-cuddle-for-free.html   I am offering space for 40 attendees each week to start, but will increase the hours and available spaces if the demand is there.   Help spread the word!  I am determined to reach as many as we can!

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This past Saturday saw the release of GOAT Episode 4, run by the Snow Lake Initiative, which was recently filmed here.  This episode featured Belleville performer Jen Cook, of Red Jenny and the Boys.  I was delighted to once again watch Jen in action with the SRM herd.  Her infectious laugh, amazing energy, positive vibe, and clear goat addiction are so fun!    I have a feeling we have not seen the last of Jen at the farm!  Be sure to check out her episode below.  Who will be next?

SRM Zeus (L) and SRM Hera (R)

Our 2020 babies are 6 weeks old today!  Zeus is thriving and continuing to grow exponentially compared to his sister.  That also means he will be getting fixed soon as he is quite the little buckling at the moment chasing all the females around and picking fights with all the males.  Hera in contrast, is still continuing to struggle and gave us another scare this past weekend.  It seems she is highly  into eating hair and managed to eat enough to make herself sick.  She  will likely continue to suffer ups and downs for the next several months, so she is always under a watchful eye.  I am so grateful to my team of volunteers who work tirelessly here to help me care for everyone.  Extra eyes, hands and brains are making all the difference these days, otherwise I would be missing things and the herd health would start to go downhill.  It feels good to have so much support and help here now.  I feel very confident in our ability to survive and sustain the next few years that we may all be dealing with CV19.  Although we are still unable to take the goats indoors to visit with seniors and others with our Goats on the Go!​ programs, we have adapted to this new business model that allows for more public access.  My followers have seen a lot of changes over the past few weeks to this website and many other things as I redesign SRM to keep us moving forwards.  Many more changes are ahead, and this actually leads me right into my big announcement...

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Sunrise over Woodfield Sky River Farm

For the past 6 years I have been on an incredible journey of personal healing and growth.  This literally all began when my husband Geordon passed away suddenly in 2014, and I was facing a brand new chapter in my life.  Simultaneous to his death, I met Mike Bradley, a visionary with an incredibly beautiful mission, who offered me a very rare and generous opportunity.  His offer would allow me to realize my life's dream of creating a therapeutic animal farm, in my beloved Muskoka, on his magical property where he was in the process of building and realizing his own dream.  This incredible place that he has been building is where my herd and I have lived for two years now.  The magic of this place is truly indescribable and I truly believe has been paramount to my personal healing.   These past 6 years have included some of the most incredible years and experiences of my life, and up until now have I been keeping a great deal of it quiet, while the Woodfield True Nature Family Campus reached completion.  This road I have been on to become a part of the Woodfield Village, has become bigger and more exciting than I ever could have first imagined.  My farm, Sky River Meadows has been invited to become an official part of the Woodfield True Nature Campus programming and shift will also come an immediate name change of my farm, to the Woodfield Sky River Farm!  The joining of Woodfield True Nature Family Campus with Sky River Meadows makes perfect sense to me, and to those involved.   Without the inspiration, generosity, kindness, guidance, financial aide and never ending support of Mike and his Woodfield vision, Sky River Meadows would not be what it has now become.   I plan to share the entire story of how I came to be here and all that is being created in the coming weeks through my blog, as I continue to share updates of all that is happening here.  You will also begin to see the name changes being implemented over the coming days and weeks as we work towards this new alignment.  I am so excited about this new direction and partnership as it will allow us to impact, assist and support even more children and their families.  When a visionary as creative, talented and capable as Mike Bradley, comes together with me, a dreamer who is able to powerfully manifest her dreams, the sky really is the limit!  Stay tuned :)

​With love ~ Angee

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