HOOF AND HEARTBEATS: The Spring Farm CARES' Animals' Forum

Ask Amber - November 2011

2011-11-27T17:14:00.000-05:00

Here are this months questions for Amber Donkey. Thank you for your submissions!

Q: My question is about reincarnation. I know in the past you have said that it depends upon what the soul wishes to learn as to what species it comes in as, but what I wanted to know is how particular you can be about coming back. I often look at domestic animals and think that I wished somebody had warned them to NOT come back as a pet cat or dog or cow – and wonder what they imagine their lives will be like if they “plan” to come in as a cow. It seems wrong to me that souls keep coming into bodies that are only destined for lives of misery and abuse. For a cat or dog, they may have a very good life with humans, or not. For animals that humans eat, they may have a short period of peace and happiness if they are cows grazed in paddocks, but the ending to their lives is always the same. For animals born into factory farmed species, it is hell. Do they know in advance, or are there too many variables to predict? I know that for humans, much supposedly depends upon good karma whether or not you have a good life. I am not sure if this is true, but if it is, is that the same for animals?

Amber: This is such a juicy question and one that I am thrilled to get a chance to take a stab at answering. However, please understand that I am answering in a very abbreviated version. Let’s start with the last part of your question first. That dealing with karma. And my first statement is that karma means different things to different people. But the way you asked it is the way most people understand karma. Live good and you reap the benefits by coming back in a good life. Do something bad and pay the consequences by coming back with a lifetime of struggle. Or some people see it as do something bad to someone and the next life you come back as the victim of the same treatment. It is not that simple. So for the sake of our conversation here, this is how I understand it to be. The soul, every soul, chooses what it wants to learn more about itself, or not. If you come into a lifetime to learn something and you do not accomplish that goal, then you will most likely choose for another opportunity to learn it again. Its not a matter of punishment but a matter of finding another way, to learn the lesson again. So if you as a soul were choosing to learn more about compassion, for example, and you end up becoming an abusive person and hurting others, and then you die. It is not that you now will come back as a victim of abuse for what you did. However, you may, in spirit, realize that you never learned compassion for yourself or others in that lifetime and you may then choose the opportunity to live a life where you are given a chance to learn that again. And you may choose to live it from a different angle, like coming in as the one being abused to learn compassion for the abuser. Do you see what I mean?

Part of my point here is that we, the observers, of an animal or human’s life, cannot pass judgment as to why they chose to experience whatever they did, because you do not know what that soul is setting out to learn, understand in another way, or experience for itself. It is hard for us to watch someone suffering and to think that they chose that for themselves. Yet, I tell you that each of us has a journey and that journey is set by us alone. As I was in donkey form, I could say to you, why would anyone choose to come back as a human? I wish I could warn them not to. Its too complex and dense. But you see, every form of life offers a unique and incredibly beautiful opportunity for a soul to express its true beauty and to learn and feel and experience what it has chosen to learn.

Why would a soul choose to come back as a factory farm cow? I don’t know. Maybe they are just looking for a short physical time on this planet. Maybe they are hoping to change how things are. Maybe they weren’t aware of what they were choosing because they are still trying to experience all sorts of things to then choose what they want to focus on. But none of us watching will ever understand it, and none of us can judge it from where we stand. Because we don’t know what they know.

Living is not a simple matter. It is complex, multidimensional, multi-tiered, and is unique to each and every soul. There are no absolutes. There are infinite possibilities. As a living being in the physical, you only feel you have access to one of those dimensions. But in spirit, you have unlimited access to the whole picture. There is no easy answer to this question. You will never find comfort or complete understanding of another’s life or their life path. Your focus instead should be on yours. And your life should not be focused on whether you will be punished for what you do or don’t do. It is far more complex than that. And far more compassionate. I hope this helps with your question or at the very least, gives you another way to think about it.

Q: I would love to find out more about all these earth changes that you have been addressing in several of your posts over the last year. You talked about the sensitivity of certain animals and humans to the earth changes – especially when you were asked about earthquakes and how animals experienced this. I am wondering about those sensitive animals – including humans – that are quite sensitive to energy, and notice this. I find that these energy changes to the earth can be quite difficult to deal with – ie extreme tiredness, feeling out of sorts, etc. How do the sensitive animals deal with the after effects of these energy changes to mother earth?

Amber: Indeed, the many changes that are occurring on the planet energetically and physically, and emotionally are going to be tugging at everyone. The most sensitive will feel it first, just like any energy or change. But trust me when I say that there is nothing living on the planet that will not be affected by these changes. And I also have to say that not all change is bad. Its just change. And change is often not easy to deal with. You are feeling massive energy shifts as both you, the planet, and all of her inhabitants, go through a major shift. The easiest way to go with any change is to go with the flow and to not try to fight it. So by doing what you can to stay balanced and healthy, you then will fare better. When you feel tired and drained, then rest and recharge, instead of fighting through and trying to pretend it isn’t there. The earth is responding herself to the changes energetically affecting her. Weather patterns are an example of this as is climate change. As with all change, you can try to deny its existence and pretend its not there, but in the end, it will still affect you. Adapting to the changing energy is the smoother ride.

Ask Amber - September 2011

2011-09-03T17:42:00.000-04:00

Q: My questions to you are regarding the earthquake felt along the east coast on August 23, 2011. I know non-human animals are very sensitive in being able to feel the earthquake coming ahead of time. Some humans felt the earth shaking during the earthquake and aftershock and other humans in the same location didn't. Does this mean the frequency of the earthquake was the same frequency of the humans who didn't feel it? Is there any meaning to the sensitivity of the humans who felt it versus the humans who didn't feel it? Did the non-human animals at Spring Farm feel the earthquake coming that day? Which animals were the most in tune with the earthquake coming? Were they able to communicate a warning to the humans there that day?

Amber: The answer to this question is not actually all that difficult. For any being, human or animal, there are various degrees of sensitivity or awareness. Sometimes its as simple as how much we are paying attention and to what degree we allow information to come into our senses. And other times it is based on just how aware we each are in the first place. All of us have the ability for acute awareness and connection to the environment around us. And that awareness includes earth shifts, energy patterns, weather patterns etc. It is all based on how we receive and process energy. In general, animals are more sensitive to energy because we do not allow ourselves to believe that we are not sensitive. Humans, by and large, have bought in to a mass belief that they are more cerebral and less sensitive to the subtle energy patterns around them. And you often are what you believe. Just as you can’t think your way through an emotion, you can’t think your way through feeling energy either. You feel it, you become aware of it, and you process that information. For animals, our survival in the world depends on our being able to process that information very quickly so that we can move accordingly. Because of that, we are more tuned in to subtle changes in energy. But that does not mean that humans aren’t. It just means that humans aren’t as aware of it.

Some animals felt the earthquake and some didn’t. Some felt it in advance of when humans felt it and some didn’t. Same holds true for humans. It depends on how much you were listening. And if you were listening, did you pay attention to what you heard/felt or did you ignore it? If an animal senses a sharp shift in energy, they generally will try to move away from that source of energy to a place that feels more quiet and peaceful. Out in the wild, that works. We move. Domestic animals cannot have that liberty, so many times we just seem agitated to you or out of sorts. Many humans also feel agitated and out of sorts during these events or for days or hours leading up to them. Some feel the energy and move out of an area, feeling strongly compelled to do so. Others feel it and do nothing. And still others don’t even feel it.

The simple answer is that it is a matter of awareness and awareness of your awareness. And then it’s a matter of action and what action you take with your action. It all comes from feeling and what feeling you feel free to feel. And that is the truth of it.

Note from Dawn: We are not aware of any of the animals here sensing the earthquake or giving us any sort of communication about the earthquake. None of us felt the earthquake here. This is not true however for Hurricane Irene. Many of the animals here sensed it was going to be a big storm and told us they felt it was going to impact our area greatly, which it did.

Ask Amber - June 2011 Part 2

2011-06-25T17:08:00.000-04:00

Since we had 2 more questions submitted this month for Amber Donkey, we decided to add another edition of Ask Amber for the month. We hope you enjoy them!

Q: Dear Amber, I am so happy to know that you still are with us, even when we miss your body and your greeting! Your answers always provide me with deep insights and often some good advice. Thank you for that!

I would like you to tell us more about your life in spirit - what do you do, besides your blog; what are you exploring and learning about (if it is not too indiscreet to ask).

When asking you this, I really feel like a child, like "tell me about heaven mum, I want to know." I've just a week ago been on Dawn’s workshop which was great. And it fuelled my wish to learn more - a strange situation because I know that I "already know", as all beings do, but have forgotten - as all (?) humans do...

In that sense, I hope you will answer.

Amber: I most happily will reply to your question! As to what I am now doing, it is hard to describe that to you exactly because I am doing things on multiple levels. You may say that I am multi-tasking. I am doing work within the spirit realm on my own continued spiritual growth and path. For this, I cannot describe it to you in any terms that would make sense to you. I still maintain a focus with teaching on the physical realm as well because this is what I chose to do. I love working within the framework of the physical realm and one day I will again return to take up residence again. Please do not ask when, where, what form, etc because I do not have answers to these questions and when I do, it will be my private decision. It is fair to say that I love to share from my heart and teach what I know. I am in clear pursuit then of adding as much new information and knowledge as I can. You may say that I am taking classes now and that would be an accurate statement. I am back in school.

As for what I’m exploring, it would be most appropriate to tell you that I am exploring more of who I am and how to represent that for myself. I am trying to become the best expression of my soul. This is an ongoing endeavor and learning experience. There is so much I’m doing. So much I’m experiencing. My soul is filled with happiness and delight.

And don’t be too hard on yourself for not remembering things about the spirit realm when you are in the physical realm. This is the nature of how the physical realm works and exactly WHY you chose to be there to experience the things you are. The physical realm offers you a space, or classroom if you think of it that way, to pursue great learning for your soul. There is much resistance in the physical realm due to the always constant presence of opposing forces. But this resistance is not an impediment to your learning. It is, in fact, the opportunity given to you to learn and experience things. Resistance offers you a mirror to see yourself better. The path of least resistance is not necessarily the most fulfilling or fruitful.

Q: I have a question about free will. I am currently studying with a spiritual school I consider to be very evolved in its teachings: it is a multi-faith school, there is no discrimination of any sort, it does not encourage celibacy or any other sort of self-denial or repression...BUT the teachers continually say that we humans are the only beings on Earth lucky enough to have free will, and therefore become co-creators with the Divine.

I do not understand this continual assertion - from my point of view, other beings are simply not as interested in interfering with each other as we humans are.

I wonder if perhaps I don't understand what free will really is. My gut feeling about this though is that it is just our poor self esteem causing us to find distinctions between ourselves and other creatures.

Would you mind sharing your opinion on this please?

Thank you.

Amber: I will share my opinion with you on this topic. The human need to hide is what fuels this sort of teaching. I know that it appears that it is the human need to be superior that makes them teach that humans are on the top of the chain of life and all else beneath them is inferior. But, it is my opinion from spending many lifetimes in loving relationships with humans, that it is not arrogance that causes them to feel they are different than all the others. It is fear.

Humans are the one species that has forgotten their connection to all of life. Instead, you have all talked yourselves into being different and not a part of the rest of it all. This dismisses you then from your responsibility and knowledge that you indeed are divine co-creators. Because if you as a species acknowledged that you are co-creating life, then you’d have to be more responsible. Instead, you can be victims to all else around you. You are a victim to the planets and the stars and their movements. You are victims to the weather systems and “natural disasters.” If you were to see that you are a part of creating all of that with your very thoughts and actions, then you’d have to do something to bring it into balance. Its far easier then to set yourself apart from all the others and that is what the human species has done.

You act as if humans invented free will and are so superior because you have it. Well, then I hope you are watching closely as to what you are creating. Because it is your higher intelligence that you think sets you apart. You think that humans are far superior because you can communicate at high levels. This is true. But you do not listen at all. Not to us, not to nature, not to spirit, and most of all, not to each other. That is something that the rest of nature remembers. Everything else feels emotions just as you do. We all create. We all have free will. But for you to admit that means that you need to live to a higher level of compassion. The true beauty of the human species is its ability to live within their hearts and to live from love and compassion. But the human species is only just starting to find that. When it is something that becomes more prevalent the world will change dramatically for the better because all will truly be creating from the divine energy of Life.

Ask Amber Donkey - June 2011

2011-06-03T16:05:00.001-04:00

Q: In my family we had quite a number of experiences that animal friends, mostly dogs, that passed into Spirit did return for another lifetime with us. Several times only a few months or even only weeks had gone by from the time of passing to the time of reincarnation. It seems that animals reincarnate after much shorter periods in Spirit than do humans, and also that some species of animals reincarnate sooner than other species. Could you share your insights as to whether this is indeed the case, and, if so, what influences the length of time a soul might be in Spirit before it reincarnates. Thank you for your wisdom.

Amber: What a magnificent question. It is great to experience the joy of reuniting with a dear friend when they return isn’t it? It is such a testament to the eternal relationship of heart connections. Before I answer this question though, I must first say that not all souls come back and not all of them will come back with you in this lifetime. Not all of you choose to travel in the same circles. To better understand this, just look at your lifetime now and think about the friends you have had and continue to have. You have friends or people who came into your life and have had profound impacts on you and your development and who then moved on different ways from you, eventually maybe even breaking all contact physically. Yet, their impact is still just as profound and your love for them and theirs for you is very real. And you have yet other friends who are new to you in your life toward whom you feel like you have known and loved them your whole life. You have friends who you’ve kept over the years and some who have even moved miles away but who still remain close to you. There are all kinds of connections. The same applies to those connections once one moves into Spirit. We can look at these connections over lifetimes instead of the span of one life and the same principles hold true. There is no one size fits all definition then for reincarnation or “how it works.”

Your question, however, is about the differences between humans coming back and animals coming back. Technically, if you want to put this into “how to” technicalities, there is no difference. However, in its application there is a basic difference. There is no hierarchy of life forms. One does not start out as a worm for example and then work ones way up through lifetimes until one gets the honor to be a human. That is not how Life works. A soul chooses a form based on what it wants to focus on and experience. The human experience offers a multi-level approach. It is a complex existence where many different aspects can be worked out in one single lifetime. That sounds wonderful and if multitasking is your thing, then being human has distinct advantages. However, with those advantages comes a whole lot of distractions and ways in which to forget why you are even here in the first place. Many humans spend lots of time just trying to figure out who they are and why they are here. That is not a negative thing. For any soul, the main goal of incarnating is to learn and experience itself. The human existence then offers enormous opportunity by having to really hold on to who you are and what you are about. It is not superior, however, to the animals or plants or trees, or any other life form. There is much to be learned. A soul is also larger than can fit in any one form and often is in more than one form during any given period.

But back to your question. Do animals reincarnate quicker? Let’s put aside the time aspect of this because, in human terms, faster is usually seen as better, and that is not actually the case here. But, yes, animals can have a quicker turn around time and here is why. Animals live shorter lives, and they are much more focused on what they are trying to learn. They have fewer distractions. When they move into spirit, they are able to process what they’ve experienced more precisely and quickly. So while a human lifetime takes longer to live, has more to process, and takes longer to assimilate all the aspects in spirit, the human lifetime actually can accomplish a lot quickly. However, it is also more complex. Usually, a soul lives both as human and animal to focus on different aspects of things under different circumstances. One route is neither better nor worse than the other. This same principle holds true when comparing one species of animal to another.

These are broad generalizations because sometimes the animal experience can be quite complex and sometimes a human experience can be more simple with less to process as well. Each life, each soul, each experience is unique unto itself. You may observe the life of a bug, for example, who lives for only a week and ends its life colliding with your car window and wonder what on earth that bug could have learned of value. But that bug experienced things you will never experience in 100 years of being a human. And I don’t refer to its ending on your window. And yet you will experience things being human that the bug could not learn or experience in 1000 lifetimes as that bug.

You can have a moment in your life of a chance encounter with another human that can take you an entire lifetime to process and understand and a long time in spirit to assimilate. You can also have eternal relationships that go on for many lifetimes, as many as you choose, where you help one another both in physical and in spirit to process experiences. That same is true for animal existences as well as humans.

Neither experience is better than the other. It simply is a matter on what the soul decides to focus on and under what conditions it likes to learn best. I, for one, find the human existence far too distracting to learn well. I was quite happy being a donkey. But, yet, I love to share with my human friends, and we can help one another with our experiences and form bonds and heart connections that sustain us both. That is the miracle of Being. Whether you are a physical being, a being in Spirit, or even a light being, it is all a joyous and amazing journey.

Ask Amber - May 2011

2011-05-22T17:49:00.000-04:00

Dawn’s note: I apologize for the long delay in posts. We have been extremely busy with animal needs on the farm. The following question was submitted weeks ago and while Amber has been ready and willing to answer, the human component was absent! However, I find this now timely in light of the predictions, by one group, of the world ending May 21st and here we are on May 22nd, still here. I heard just today on a major news network that the next doomsday prediction was for the world to end on December 21, 2012 according to the Maya prophecy. I want to note here that this is misinformation. The Maya prophecy does not say the world will end in 2012. They however do talk about a very important calendar cycle ending and a new one beginning. The date for the end of that calendar cycle happens to translate to December 21, 2012 on the Gregorian calendar. The planet has gone through many of these cycles. This one is a cycle out of darkness and into light. But this doesn’t just suddenly happen on one day. This is happening now and we are in that shift. It is from this understanding that Amber has agreed to answer this question.

Question: I would like to have you talk about, from the animals’ perspective, what will be occurring at the end of 2012 and beyond. How are the animals preparing? Will it be different for animals in the wild versus animals that live in close proximity to humans?

Amber: I appreciate how this question was asked by the person sending it in. But I want to address a wider human audience at the same time. It is almost comical that people are going around screaming about the end of the universe and the end of the planet. It is comical because if you really believe this or fear it or worry about it, then why are you not doing something about it? Its like having a terrible infection in your lungs where you can’t get air and you fear dying of suffocation, but then you keep smoking cigarettes. If you care about the health of life and the planet, and if you care about what happens, then be a part of the healing. And you do that exactly the same way you would if you yourself were ill or diseased. If you feel dis-ease then address it. Live healthier. Love more freely. Forgive what you dared not forgive. Trust in divine energy. And live from your heart. It sounds so simple but in actuality it is not or else you’d all be doing it. But I tell you, it is that simple.

Now on to your question of what the animals are doing to prepare. The animals feel earth changes way before you do. We are generally the first ones to notice subtle changes because we live far more in tune to the earth and our environment. In that respect, the wild animals have a much clearer channel to that than the ones living with humans. But we are not all preparing for a single day to come that will change life as we know it. This is about shifting and the energy is shifting already. The chaos you see and feel around you that seems to be intensifying is indeed the human response to this shift. It doesn’t mean it is a bad shift or that horrible disasters are coming. Yes, weather is shifting. Yes, humans are changing a lot of natural things to respond unnaturally. But humans also hold the key to changing that. They are not victims to this change, they are actively creating it. That is the part that we find frustrating. All that really needs to happen is that you need to understand that you are indeed the creators of your world, just as we animals are as well. If you want to create destruction and chaos you can choose to go against the natural balance of things, or, you can remain asleep and you will find the same result. But if you choose to wake up and realize the harmony that is around you and start creating from that harmony, you will find yourself in a much different world faster than you can ever dream. How do I know this? Because it is the way of the universe. It is the guiding force of life. It just is.

So what happens if humans don’t change this and don’t find the harmony? That is something I do not have specific answers to. However, you can look at the history of this planet to see what has happened before during these epic shifts to see that great changes can be difficult or they can be easier. It all depends on how the mass energy carries it. Right now, humans hold that mass energy on this planet. You hold the balance. How do you make humanity see this? You don’t. Your job is not to change humanity. Humanity is made up of individual humans and like any chain in the environment; the strength of the whole is made up of the combined strength of each link. You are a link, each of you, a vital link in the chain of life. You need only work on yourselves to be the healthiest most loving link you can be. It is, dear friends, the piece of information we know. What are the animals doing to prepare? We are each staying with our own understanding of our own light and helping you to see yours. And with each new heart that opens, with each new light that shines, we rejoice for life and we focus on the light and not the darkness or the fear of what could happen. We focus on what light we know is there and we do all we can to help it grow, within each of us, and within each of you. Life will not end. It’s a matter of who wants to participate in the balance, light, and love of it and who does not. That choice is up to each of you.

The Passing of a Great One - Amber Donkey

2011-03-03T21:05:00.000-05:00

From Dawn:

It is with sadness that I announce that Amber Donkey has left this physical experience and has returned to spirit today. She lived an exquisite life and died of old age. She was close to 50 years old. It is also with great joy that I announce that she has informed me that her blog and communications will continue. She will continue to take questions in her Ask Amber format, and she will continue to share her experiences with us all. For a complete memorial to her, please see the memorial page on our website.

Her first communication is one that I am most honored to share. For those of you who have taken my workshop, Embracing Spirit, you will completely understand the honor I had in being invited by Amber to escort her over into spirit. For those of you new to this topic, I can only sum up in a sentence or two the work that I have been doing for many years, indeed most of my life. I have been given the honor of walking with many beings, human and animal, as they have left their bodies and moved from physical to spirit. I am frequently “called” to help in this passing. But in Amber’s case I was invited to walk with her as a friend, not because she needed help, but because she wanted to share this with me. And I was told that this experience would be mine to share with all of her readers so that you could know where she went and what she saw when she got there. This will be the start of a new conversation. For many it will be the first time for you to experience this. This is a trip I have made thousands of times. It is a realm I am used to operating in, but always am in awe of the wonder of it all. Amber’s body began slowly shutting down over the past 10 days and we began to understand and get used to the fact that she would be leaving. We all cried. We held her close. We did all the things she loved most in the world to do. We tried to just stay present with her through our sadness. And typical to Amber, she supported us the entire time. She spoke to us about her time with us and her love for us. And when the time came for her to move on, we were able to assist her to make her physical passing easier for her. She thanks Dr. Leigh Lain for being here and being fully present with her and with Margot and I when she left. And right up to the end, she treated us to her humor, her love, her wisdom, and she held us in her heart as deeply as we hold her in ours. We have 11 yrs. of memories to cherish.

And now, I’d like to share with all of you the experience that Amber had upon leaving her body and crossing through the portal into spirit. As I am allowed to do for very short periods of time, I was allowed to enter the portal with her into the spirit realm, and she let me see who met her and experience her passing, before I was told I had to return. Amber knew I understood the rules of not staying more than I could and we understood in advance that we would not say good-bye as our journey together is not over and continues onward.

Upon crossing over into spirit, she was met by 6 donkeys. As I stood beside her and she saw them coming, I could feel her excitement. And she spoke to me through this whole process. “Ah, here they come!” she told me. “These are the girls as I call them. They meet me each and every time I cross from physical into spirit. They are my guides and fellow teachers. They always appear to me in whatever form I am in at the time. I am a donkey now, so they arrive as donkeys. If I had been a goat, they would appear to me as goats.”

All the time this was going on, I was filled by the incredible light, warmth, and love of spirit. And it was like I could literally share in each feeling that Amber was experiencing. It was as if her heart was open now to the space we were standing in and not contained in a body. All of her feelings were right there being shared with me. She was filled with such love and the full sense of returning home. I also understood instantly that these 6 donkeys were grandmother elders and that Amber was one of them. They were coming to welcome her back with them from a life well lived, and a job well done. The energy was vibrant and filled with a celebratory laughter.

And then, just as the six donkeys came closer to greet her, the form of a man appeared wearing a large sombrero and dressed all in bright gold. He radiated joy. Amber spoke to me about him. “Ah, good, you get to meet Maestro! I want you to be assured we are cared for here too. Maestro is incredible.” As he walked closer to us with a sense of excitement, he looked over towards Amber and said, “There you are old girl. Welcome back again!” I knew our time was growing short as I was not allowed to stay on this side for long. And admittedly I started to feel my own sadness of parting with such a dear friend. Amber sensed this immediately and flowed her love for me and all of us at the farm to me, flooding me with this incredible light energy that permeated every cell of my body. She turned and looked me in the eyes one last long piercing moment. A look that went straight to my heart and soul. “We always remember one another. Never forget that. You are with me in my heart as always and I will return to work with you again. You are a great friend. Take care of everyone in our barn, let them know I’m ok. Let our readers know all of this and teach what I share with you to teach. I must go now. See me off and then return to the physical realm where I need you to be so that I can reach you.”

With that, she walked forward and the six donkeys took up formation as if they had done this many, many times. One donkey went in front of Amber, one walked behind her, and there were two each on either side. She was totally enfolded in a huge circle of donkeys. And just as they began walking off with Amber in the center of their group, Maestro ran to the front and assumed his position. He stood before the donkeys and bowed his head to them. And then he turned facing deep into the spirit realm and the donkeys followed him in formation. And then, he stopped, and without turning around, he lifted his right arm high into the air and said, “Ladies, let the music begin!” And in unison, all seven donkeys let go a long, loud, beautiful bray that literally vibrated every cell in my body. As they walked off together, Amber turned one last time to look at me and said, “And now you know why we call him Maestro!” With her steps becoming lighter and lighter and more and more graceful, I watched her shed the limitations of a time worn body as she began her journey back into spirit.

To be continued……

For more information on the work Dawn does and her seminar Embracing Spirit, please go to our website.

Ask Amber Donkey - January 2011

2011-01-16T10:02:00.000-05:00

Source: The Courier-Mail
Photographed by: Nick De Villiers

Editors Note: This month's question comes from one of our readers in Australia regarding the devastating floods affecting their area. There has been catastrophic devastation and great loss of human and animal life. She also forwarded this photo that really says it all. This man saw this joey up to his eyes in water when, without giving another thought, he swam out to save him. This photo was taken as he brought him back on dry land. The joey survived. Many folks feel he was foolish to have risked his life for a kangaroo. But his young son asked him to do something, and without hesitation he did. He says he was raised to care for life and if someone is in need, you help. Below is the question, sent in by someone living in this area and trying to make sense of what this tragedy means, followed by Amber Donkey's response.

Question:

Dear Amber,

I live in Australia where we are currently experiencing our worst floods in recorded history.

The human death toll is rising, but there are also countless animals, both domestic and wild, that have lost their lives in the surging flood waters. One very distressing example is the stud farm where 80 thoroughbred horses drowned, much to the distress of their carers who were perched on the roofs of the buildings watching it unfold below them.

Did these animals know what was about to happen to them?
Did they put themselves through this to teach us humans anything?
Was their suffering mercifully short?

I have found all this to be extremely upsetting, and would appreciate your time and answer.

Amber Donkey: First I call upon all who hear this to join me. We all must send our prayers and thoughts to all of earth’s beings experiencing this crisis. The more of us who do so, the faster all can heal and recover. This is a simple and basic truth that is understood by all living beings. It requires a deep faith that your thoughts matter. That your heart contains an energy that expedites healing no matter where it is needed in relationship to your physical location. There is such power in your intentions and thoughts. Let’s harness that power now.

There are tragedies that happen on this planet every day. There is no such thing as a small tragedy for those experiencing them. But to the observer, some seem larger than others. In reality, it is merely your perspective that defines that. An occurrence that takes the life of one horse may not seem tragic to you, yet it could be an enormous tragedy to all who knew that horse. Humans tend to measure tragedies by numbers affected. But this is not about numbers. This is about feelings and lives. With that understanding I shall answer your questions the best I can.

Did the animals know what was about to happen to them? It is fair to say that certainly some of them did. Animals tend to pay attention more to the subtle whispers of nature and the earth. Did they know they were to die? We can’t know that. But it is with certainty that I can tell you that whatever trauma they experienced, they were given a chance to experience that however they needed to. This won’t make sense to many of you but it is the truth of life and death. Many of you have experienced traumas in your life such as accidents that you may have had. Many of you have the experience of almost watching it in slow motion as if you were outside of yourselves. And some of you experience it as though every second is happening with great purpose and awareness. We all choose to experience these things as suits us and our growth. Would someone choose then to experience great suffering? Yes, for reasons only known to them, they can do that. But we cannot know how these beings, human and animal, experienced it. Each one was individually decided by each individual. We can however send them our loving thoughts for whatever guidance they can use along their way.

Did they put themselves through this to teach us humans anything? The answer to this is again that they could have chosen that but most likely not on the larger scale. The time near and of death is sacred to each being. What they do or don’t do is completely up to them on their soul’s path. Animals do not exist to teach humans to be better humans. If we do that in the course of our lives, then that is a wonderful thing. Some of us choose to teach and offer wisdom we’ve learned over lifetimes. Whatever our roles, all of us live the lives we do with one ultimate goal, to further the growth of our own souls. Whether animal, human, plant, tree or stone, this is a universal truth.

As we witness these great disasters then, of either man made or natural causes, it is important to look within our own hearts for the love we hold for animals, humanity, the planet and to embrace that love with all of our life force and send it outward to the world. This is what we can do to help. We can look out and see that lives were lost, lives were destroyed, and feel hopeless. Or we can look and see that some lives moved on into spirit, others changed, and understand that we can send our love to those going through those transitions and know it will find them and comfort them. I am in no way minimizing these losses. But I also know that how I view them matters. It matters to those going through these hardships whether they are surrounded by helpless feelings or ones of love and hope.

To our Australian friends, human and animal alike, we send our heartfelt intentions for the flood waters to subside and for life to once again know a sunny day. We send them strength to heal through their losses. We send them love to comfort them in their grief. And we understand that what we send does help the healing. We are all on this planet together. None of us is alone. All of us can reach out and touch another.

The Importance of Friends

2010-11-12T15:34:00.000-05:00

Jack meets new friend Smiley

We recently took in a horse named Blackjack, or Jack, as he prefers to be called. Jack is 35 yrs old and came to us when his person could no longer care for him. Jack has lived alone for the past 5 years since his other horse friend died. Jack has had quite a history and has always been very loved. But now he just needed a place to spend the rest of his days. He clearly has life left to live. He is very thin right now but we expect he can put on some weight with the new diet we have him on, specifically to meet his senior needs. The first night Jack was here, we could feel a sense of relief and peace from him. I asked him what he liked best about Spring Farm so far. He said, “I am enjoying listening to the horses breathing.”

It was such a profound statement. Such a simple thing, yet a pleasure he hadn’t known for a long time. Obviously being alone was the hardest thing for Jack. There are so many things we take for granted in our lives. Yet when they are missing, it can mean a world of difference to us.

Relationships are so important to our animal friends. They do not like to live alone. They do cherish their friends. And many times humans interfere with that process tremendously without even realizing or paying attention to their feelings and heart connections. This happens in the horse world a lot. As horses are moved from one barn to another, they lose contact with horse friends who are important to them. Frequently, we humans don’t even notice. But many times they miss their friends so much that they get depressed, can’t concentrate, and mourn their loss.

For Jack, the thing we could give him that made his life brighter, was the sound of the other horses breathing. In other words, we gave him the opportunity for friendship. As important to our animal friends as food, water, and shelter is companionship.

ASK AMBER - September 2010

2010-09-12T18:27:00.005-04:00

From Dawn: I am sorry it has taken so long to get to these questions. We have been very busy on the farm and Amber has been hard at work doing meet and greets with visitors this summer. To catch up, I have included 4 question and answers in this issue. As always, thank you to all of you who have submitted questions for Amber. And from the depth of my heart, I thank my friend Amber Donkey for her wisdom, honesty, and direct way of answering these questions.

1. Q: We always talk about humans who abandon animals but we seldom talk about our animals who abandon us. I was living in the country with three cats, Macou, Sophie, and Fimousse. Last May I moved to the city. It was not to Macou’s satisfaction, so he left. He crossed the swamp and walked to a farm nearby and decided to stay there. I know this because I can communicate with animals so I communicated with him. Now here is my point of view. He abandoned me. He left me. I love him. I miss his tenderness, the nearness of him, he is full of love. And I don’t have that any more. Tell me, how do I emotionally deal with his loss?

Amber: First let me say that I do feel sad for your loss. I, too, have lost friends and have felt sad. Feeling sad when we miss someone is natural and normal and is one of our emotions. I think it a blessing to be able to say that I loved someone enough to miss them when they are no longer with me. But your question also begs for a deeper answer. Because you say it directly in your statement when you write “here is my point of view.” It is important to really understand that your feeling abandoned truly is YOUR point of view. But it may not be your cat friend’s point of view at all. I cannot speak for your cat or analyze his actions, but I can speak in the generalities of life. Our intentions truly set the tone for all of our actions. This is so important for all of us to remember. The intentions behind any action by anyone, really is at the base of what that action represents. So was your cat sitting there with you one day and suddenly look over at you and think to himself, “I intend to abandon her now and leave her so that she misses me.” I can guarantee you that if you look into your heart, you know the truth is that he didn’t set out to hurt or abandon you. Now, the fact is that he left. His intention may have been that he needed to find a piece of himself that was missing. It could be that he couldn’t deal with the city life and needed to be out on the earth. Or it could be that something deep inside him told him that he needed to find something for his own growth. Or it could even be that the two of you had given each other what you met up to give one another and that chapter was complete. It could be many other reasons as well. But from your perspective, he left. It was YOU then who felt abandoned. But he did not abandon you. So, how do you emotionally deal with his loss? Hold him in your heart. Hold his love for you and your love for him right there in your heart. Because no matter how long you were together, or if you may or may not even see each other again in this lifetime, you will know that your heart connection is totally real. You see, it is an illusion that he abandoned you. He connected hearts with you and that he never ceased doing. I’ll bet you anything that if you look inside your own heart, you will feel him, and know that what I say is true. And if you embrace his love, you will feel him within you, where he never ceased to be. And you can be grateful for the gifts you gave to one another. You both were enhanced by your love you shared. Your souls grew, each in their own way. That is cause for celebration. He didn’t leave you. He just moved into another situation where he was drawn to move. Miss him, that is fine. But find the blessing he brought to you and that you gave to him. And when you do that, he will feel you with him again too, and neither of you will be lost from the other.

2. Q: How do animals feel about killing one another, be it in a fit of rage, or for dominance, or food? Several months ago, a situation arose with one of my German Shepherds. She attacked the others without reason (or a reason that I could see). I had a decision that either I would allow her to kill another Shepherd (who is much older) or kill her. I chose to kill her. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her, send her love, and wish she was still here. I took another life and I really have trouble coming to terms with that.

Amber: I am going to start this answer by referring to the above question and a statement I made in there. It is important to remember that our intentions truly set the tones for all of our actions. This is critical to this discussion. Life is sacred. And death is a part of Life. The intentions of those taking the life of another, for any reason, is what matters. It matters to the soul of the one taking the life, as much as to the one whose moving from physical into spiritual. This includes the most heinous of deaths, the most tragic of accidents, euthanasia of otherwise healthy animals, the euthanasia of the ill, or the killing of another for food. All of these involve different intentions or motives. But where the one making that decision to take a life is, in their own heart, changes the whole process. If you think that you or anyone else is making that decision alone, you are sadly mistaken. You are never totally in charge of taking another’s life even when it looks like that is not true. It is fully a participation of the being who is leaving as well as the one who is staying. There is a relationship between the two entities whether long term or brief. In the case of your dog, you made that most difficult decision out of a long term relationship. From that context, your dog fully participated with you in that decision. She understood that you sent her onward, not from anger or hatred, but out of love. You did not make that decision alone. It may not make sense to you to see it that way. But if you were to connect with your dog friend in spirit, I will bet that you’d find that she understands exactly why she needed to move on at that moment. I encourage you to explore that for yourself so that you can find peace with that. Because I can tell you that she has found the peace that she needed.

I have answered the meat eating question in other previous columns but I will just say that when a predator animal takes the life of a prey animal, they do so out of total respect for, and in relationship to that life they are taking. They remain present with the spirit who leaves and understand that they are in relationship with them for the sustenance of their own lives. If humans would eat this way, they’d find a whole new relationship with their food and animals would not suffer at their hands in the process. Suffering comes when one is out of relationship and forgets the sanctity of life.

Your dog would not ask you to hold on to guilt for her passing. She instead would invite you to see where she is now on her journey and to understand that your relationship helped her to move onward.

3. Q: In your July answer, you point out that most humans are closed off from their hearts. I know I am closed off from my heart as well and I am desperately in search of a way back to my heart. Could you please tell me how I can find it?

Amber: My friend, your heart is totally safe and accessible to you. You simply need to believe that this is true. The only thing blocking any of you from your hearts is that you don’t listen to what your heart is telling you. You do hear it just fine. You just question what it is telling you. You look to logic to make sense of what your spirit speaks to you through your own heart. Why do most animals not have that problem? Because we have had no one telling us that we shouldn’t trust our hearts. No one came in to our lives and told us that we should not listen. It is the way of all nature to listen to our hearts. Each living thing is born able and with the knowledge to listen to their inner voice. But humans are taught early on, and then spread it from generation to generation, that your inner voice is not to be trusted. It is based not on any experience but just because someone told you that. Listen within to your inner yearnings. Just take something simple and trust it. You will see how easy it becomes. It is only difficult because you believe it will be. You see, I believe you can do it. Why? Because I see human after human reach deeper within themselves when they come to visit our farm. They find that heart within themselves because we surround them in the knowledge that their heart is alive and well and speaking to them. Surround yourself with the belief that you can hear your heart and you will hear it, and the more you listen, the more you will hear. The more you hear, the more you will follow it. The more you follow your heart, the more you will believe in your path. And you will find the lighted path before you that your heart has prepared for you from your own soul. I believe in your heart even when you don’t.

4. Q: I for a long time have felt a connection with animals, but as an ever doubting human (you animals are so lucky that you seem to understand more of the world than we) I tend to not always trust my feelings and connections and write them off as just my imagination. So with the connections, I’ve tried to ask my dog to do something simple, like lick my hand or to walk forward if she really understands me, but I don’t always get a response from her. Why is this? Is this stuff really just all in my head?

Amber: Oh you silly humans! (And I say that lovingly.) First of all, let me say that we animals are not in awe that you humans can hear us. We know you can hear us just fine but that you usually are not listening. You are the ones that seem to think its an anomaly or a miracle that you can hear us. So let’s assume a scenario where a human enters your environment who for some reason is convinced you can’t understand them when they speak. They say to you, “Do you understand me? Can you hear me?” And you answer that you do understand them and hear them. But they just cannot believe that would be true so they try something else to be sure. They say to you, “Ok, if you hear me now, raise your right hand.” Now you may at this point decide to go along with this person and you raise your right hand. But now this doubting person thinks it was a coincidence that you moved your right hand, so they try again. “Ok, if you hear me now, turn around in a circle.” But now you’ve had it with this game. This person is just not getting it. So you may decide to just walk away out of frustration.

Your animals feel the same way! Some of them will humor you and play this game, others won’t even play the game. Try to ask them something more meaningful and pretend you hear them. If it feels like it is your imagination, so what? Don’t worry what it feels like. Just follow it and see where it takes you. But if you keep doubting everything they tell you, they will stop telling you. You would do the same.

That's it from the mailbag for this month!

Do Animals Have Souls - A Question for Amber Donkey

2010-07-11T17:53:00.005-04:00

A reader submitted question for Amber Donkey.

Q: Hello Dear Amber - I have been puzzling over something for quite some time now.
Do animals have souls and do you have a concept of a creator? Thank you for
your words of wisdom.

Amber: My dear friend, what a fantastic question you have asked. I hope you are ready for my answer because I could just answer this in one word – YES. However, I could also answer it with this question – WHY DO YOU NEED TO ASK?
So lets take a walk together now into this vast question.

You see, there isn’t an animal or tree or plant that would ever even think this question, let alone pose it. This is a human constriction showing itself to you. Humans have ordained that they are the experts on souls and who has them and what happens to them. Some humans have even made themselves the regulators of souls. And they tell other humans where souls will go and which souls are eligible to move forward, which are destined to live in limbo, and those poor unfortunate souls who fall from grace forever into darkness.

Let me be brave enough to venture into these deep waters and tell you that humans know precious little about souls. Because any of you who could look into the eyes of anyone else, animal or human, and not feel a soul, is living a lie. The problem becomes what your definition of a soul is I guess. So let me tell you my definition for this conversation. A soul is the core essence of any being. It is the ultimate source of our energy. There is not any being, including the grandest of humans, whose soul could even completely fit in one form/body/experience. Your heart is the direct connection to your soul. The same is true for my heart and my soul. There is no hierarchy of souls. I know that is inconceivable, but all souls are created equal. Yet, what each soul chooses to do or focus on, then becomes that soul’s quest to experience its mission to the fullest. Some souls are older, some younger. Some have more experience than others. Some are quieter. Some are louder. But none of them are greater than any other and all of them know that. All of them understand that they are all a part of the creator - of All That Is and All That Ever Will Be. All of them are a work in progress. And all of them understand the universal language of love. For it is love that is the language of the soul. This is not just a lovely statement, it is the ultimate universal truth.

Now a soul can inhabit many forms at one time. A soul could be expressing itself as an entire school of fish for example. It could be a human while at the same time a piece of its energy is also being a dog. The energy of the soul is vast and you and I are just a piece of its expression. But each and every piece is loved and experienced equally by the soul. The soul’s key mission is to define itself. In other words, that is also your mission and mine and every other life form. You are here to learn as much as you can and to move forward on your soul’s journey. You are your soul, but you are much bigger than you can comprehend. The human experience though is interesting for all of us to participate in. To be an animal who is either thought of to be inferior or worse, to have no soul at all, affords me an opportunity to more clearly define for myself who I am. There are millions of animals on this planet right now who experience great suffering at the hands of humans who are ignorant of the fact that we do have souls. But I assure you that it is those humans who are also suffering in the darkness as to who they really are and to the beauty and light that they carry deeply hidden within them. It is their journey and their struggle to wake up and walk into the light.

It is actually all of our journeys. Each of us enlightens our own souls and that of one another. Each interaction we have with one another affects not just ourselves but everyone. What you do to one, you do to all. None of us lives in a vacuum. We live in an environment of constantly flowing energy. Literally every moment of which is an opportunity to grow.

Do animals have souls? I could also answer that with another question. Do humans have hearts? Because humans are more closed off from their hearts than any other life form on the planet. They have great intellect and mental capabilities that separates them from all other life forms. And that is indeed exactly what it does – it keeps them separate from all else. Connect to your hearts, look in our eyes, and ask yourself if we have souls. The answer will fill your heart with a profound truth. It will be a truth about me, all other animals, but mostly – it will be a truth about yourself. If you look at all life around you, you will understand that there is nothing that does not have a connection to higher source. And you will find that the connection to that higher source is right within your heart.

From my soul to yours, I thank you for asking the question that many of our readers have wondered but not asked, and many have found but not shared, and many who have hidden to not ask the question at all. To all of you then I ask, what are you afraid of to know that all animals have souls; all animals have emotions; all animals have thoughts? Why does this thought challenge you so much? That is the question you need to be asking next – not of me, but of yourselves.

Ask Amber Donkey - June 2010

2010-06-15T16:10:00.004-04:00

The following questions have been submitted by readers for Amber Donkey to answer.

1. Where I live there is nature all around me. I have acres of land to offer the wild animals and domesticated animals. They can come and go as they please. For the past few years in the spring/summer I feed the humming birds and in the winter/spring I feed the birds/deer/turkeys. This means other wild animals are coming to our land. Example coyotes, black bears, snakes, many kinds of birds/woodpeckers and mice/squirrels to name a few. My husband tells me I am playing with mother nature. The saying at our house is no one eats anyone else. We never touch any of the wild animals. I am strictly feeding them through the tough time of the season. I have asked the animals myself and they say they come since they know they are safe on our land . Am I playing with mother nature since I am calling these animals to a place they might not normally travel for food and safety? I do not want to harm or hinder the circle of life.

Amber: It seems to me that there is no problem with this as long as you understand that an open door is an open door. And as long as you understand that the circle of Life is just that – a circle. So a feeding station brings predator and prey. Those looking for food from your feeding station, and those looking for food – meaning who are at your feeding station. That is no different than any other feeding station in nature. A pond offers a place for bugs to hatch. Fish eat the bugs, birds eat the fish, something eats the bird, and on up the chain it goes. If you put seed out for example, the mice will come eat the seed, and you can be sure that something will come to eat the mice. The question then really is, can you accept that circle of life, or will you try to control who eats who? The animals understand this chain of life. So they do not look at your feeding station as a safe place nor do they see it as a dangerous place. They simply see it for what it is, a feeding station. Just like a field of grass is a feeding station or a crop of corn, or a pond. They do not look to you to change the course of nature, just because you put food out for them.

2. Any tips on how to handle all the new energy coming onto the planet at this time? How are you animals doing it? What can we humans do to integrate it more easily?

Amber: There certainly is a lot of energy swirling around right now isn’t there? It’s a time of great shifting and as anything changes, if there is going to be chaos, and there always is, then it is strongest closest to the shift. Uneasiness and anxiety seem to peak just as the forces reach their strongest to move and shift any energy. But energy that has been stuck for a long time, requires even a bigger force to shift it, and that is exactly what is happening now. Resistance adds strength to chaos while acceptance brings peace. Finding that balance is what this journey is all about. We animals are doing all we can to add to the peace side of the equation. Many humans are feeling overwhelmed with the chaos/resistance aspect. How we try to help is to just keep everyone in tune with their hearts. Its really quite simple. The heart is the path of least resistance. The mind is the path to most anxiety. We just try to stay connected and hold everyone around us to the earth as much as we can. We all have different ways of doing that of course.
3. How do you work with the trees, flowers and other plants?

Amber: First and foremost, I am alive because of them! But I do know you meant something deeper than that. But because I live off of their nourishment to survive, I have a deep and profound respect for plants, flowers, and trees and all they offer. Many of these fine species hold energy of this earth that is ancient. Their ancient wisdom is there like a vast library of knowledge and understanding for all of us to be nourished from. Plants and trees and rocks are the place keepers of the Earth. What does that mean? Well, it means, that they hold the history and the understanding of the original concept of life and all of the changes, shifts, deepening in understanding, and everything that the Earth herself has seen, felt, and known. All of that are held deep within roots and seed pods and beads of nectar. And all of it reaches out to all of life so that all of us remember who we are and the Earth who sustains us. When I admire them then, when I savor their smells, or when I taste of their fruit, I am mindful of the eons of love and guidance that the Earth put into each blade of grass, and each petal of every flower, and every cell in every tree and rock, so that I too may live among them. And you?

4. I have 4 rescue dogs. One came from a horrific Missouri puppy mill and was the most traumatized animal I have ever seen. In the 3 years I've had him, he has come from flinching every time I touched him to occasionally seeking me out. He even loves treats now and wags his tail. Would you suggest anything that I might be able to do to let him know that he is safe with me and that he won't be hurt any more?

Amber: I happen to live with several rescue dogs myself and consider myself to be a friend to dogs. I like dogs. I understand them, and I have learned a lot about them. Dogs live very closely with people and work very much at the heart level with them. But that is not to say that they also don’t have their own choices and decisions and difficulties just like everyone else. At Spring Farm, we see many animals who first come here as scared, shaken, and traumatized. But the first thing you need to know is that they do understand that they are safe once out of that situation. But just like with you or me, they still need to process their memories and their fears and their worries. You cannot just hug them and tell them its ok now. They have to learn this, remember this truth, and then trust it. That is a process that all beings go through. It is how we learn and move forward on our spiritual paths. Love them, hug them, and most importantly, let them grow. Your dog went through a very difficult time, but it does not define him as to who he is. It is simply where he’s been.

The Animals' Turn to Ask Amber Donkey

2010-03-22T16:08:00.006-04:00

Amber Donkey: I have noticed that, when we opened up the blog for questions, people always ask about animal behavior. Mostly they wanted to know how or why animals could be forgiving. I think we should do this differently. Let’s try asking some of our animal residents if they want to ask questions about human behavior. I will pick a few of my friends on the farm here and ask if they would like to pose a question or two.

Onyx (female pygmy goat): I have wondered why people seem so confused about things. They don’t seem to be able to be clear with what they are feeling and sometimes just don’t make any sense at all. They don’t seem to listen well to each other I think. Is there anything we can do?

Amber: My little friend, you are very astute. Its really not that they cannot hear, because they for sure can. But they fail to really listen to each other. They seem to get lost in their seeming intelligence. They have great intellect but very little experience at expressing their true emotions. They think it amazing that we can be forgiving, because they fail to forgive one another. They find it hard to believe that we can live without judgment, because they can’t find that peace for themselves.

Jeremy (Arabian horse gelding): Yes, Amber, and they seem so burdened with anger and misgivings at times. They always seem to be looking for who is out to get them or to get someone else first. And when they get angry, why do they stay angry for so long? I have never understood that.

Amber: Humans are complex creatures. They have only been on the planet for a short time, yet have had such a major impact. But don’t think that is all negative now. There are very many positive things that humans have brought with them. The problem is that they try to conquer everything around them instead of participating with all around them. They started to see themselves as separate and unequal. They don’t really know how to deal with that, even now, after all these millennia. We donkeys have been with humans for a very long time. We have carried their burdens and I mean that in many different ways. But they do not see us as brethren. They see us as subordinates. In their confusion about who they are and how they fit in with the rest of nature, they deny themselves their understanding of their own emotions. They focus on their brains but very little on their hearts. Humans have great capacity for love and peace. They are brilliant in their emotions. Yet when they don’t use it or focus on their heart connections, they then get off balance. They even start killing one another, not to mention us. They become seemingly disconnected from Life.

Shawnee (Quarter Horse paint gelding): How can we help them? I love humans. To see them this way is painful.

Amber: The answer is very simple. If we just keep being who we are and keep loving them for who they are, then maybe, just maybe, they will get it. They are intelligent creatures. And they have tremendous capacity to love. It is why animals befriended them so many eons ago. We saw in them the potential to be one with us. In fact, they used to enjoy such relationships with us. There was a time that they understood their connection to the trees and grass. They felt deep affinity to the animals. And they listened to the moon and stars and the sun and earth. But then they thought about it too much and questioned who they were. They set out to find themselves, only to lose themselves in the process. We can help them most by just loving them.

Onyx: But when we do that, they don’t seem to hear us or trust us.

Amber: I know. It is why they keep asking me over and over again how animals can be forgiving. It is because they haven’t learned to yet forgive themselves and move on.

Jeremy: Do you think they will now ask us more questions?

Amber: We shall see. They’ve been very quiet lately.

The Flow of Joy – Memorial to Tangene

2010-02-20T14:21:00.002-05:00

Sometimes there are things that happen in life that just don’t seem to make sense. Sometimes I think things happen that are not ours to understand. This is one such story. We are sad to announce that Tangene, the duck Wizard (see the post below) passed away very unexpectedly. We were all devastated by the loss of such a magnificent being.

I was just getting to write a blog update that he was doing incredibly well. He had surgery on his leg last week and it was very successful. A pin was put in and it was thought that he’d heal well. However, there were complications that occurred between his initial exam at Cornell and his appointment with the exotic animal vet who later did the leg surgery. We do not know if these complications led to his death or not, but they certainly made his healing a bit more of a challenge. But Tangene stuck it out and chose to make a run for it to live. He was a trooper and we were all celebrating the success of his surgery and how well he looked and acted right up until his passing.

Yesterday morning, the staff who cared for his every need, came in as usual to clean up his rehab pen and get him situated for the morning. He was his normal cheerful self. And when they set him back in the pen, he gave a healthy flap of his wings, which ducks so often do. It is a joyful flapping almost announcing their joy of life. And as Tangene did that, he suddenly just fell over on his side and was gone. It was a shock to us all and seemingly to Tangene as well.

My conversation with Tangene after he left was so similar to all the ones I had with him when he was alive. He was direct and to the point.

Dawn: Tangene, we are so sorry. What happened?

Tangene: I had no idea I was going to die today. It was such a surprise. But you must see that I am still the wizard I was before. I just shifted energy places. I was flapping away and just filled with joy and suddenly I just decided to flow with that joy and out I flew. Up, up, up and away above the farm. I just filled myself with the love of the farm and my friends, human and animal alike, and I went deeper and deeper and higher and higher into the joy. That’s when I realized that I had disconnected from my body. That body suddenly just seemed like a heavy lump laying on the ground. The body I now inhabit is so much lighter. I just moved with the energy. That is all. Flap flap flap. The sound of a happy duck. That is who I now am. I am still me, just in another form. Don’t lose sight of that.

All of us will miss this most amazing duck being in our physical world. Of course, he will live on in our hearts. The Indian Runner duck who taught us all that life is worth whatever you make it.

What Value has a Life?

2010-02-07T14:51:00.019-05:00

Tangene is a male Indian Runner duck. When he came to the farm in 2007, we thought he was a female and one of our staff chose the name that has stuck with him ever since. At first glance, Tangene may seem like the most unlucky of ducks. He has had several major injuries in his lifetime. Yet, Tangene, sees life differently. He arrived at the farm with a severely broken wing that had to be amputated. We nursed him through that and he did great. He didn't fly anyway, so, as he later told us, it didn't really impact him. Then, one year later, we found him limping around the barn. We do not know what happened but somehow he broke his ankle. Luckily, a splint applied to the joint was all that was needed and he fully recovered from that injury as well, with not even a limp to show for it. Then, yesterday, life took a sudden turn for Tangene when he was stepped on by one of our horses. Our vet just happened to be on site and determined the leg was indeed broken.

It being a Saturday, we could not find a veterinarian who works on exotic animals to look at him. In fact, no one was available until Tuesday. We couldn't let him sit there with a broken leg without any help. We were suddenly faced with two choices - euthanasia or a 4 hour round trip to Cornell University to get him some help. We knew this was going to be a very expensive trip. As we weighed the situation over, Tangene sat wrapped in a towel on the lap of one of our barn staff. Everyone loved Tangene, and we were all huddled around him, knowing this injury could be fatal for him if we couldn't get the appropriate help.

Tangene looked at me cautiously, his life resting squarely in the next decision we would make. He looked up at me and said, "Well, if you are asking me to weigh in here, I say we fix it. Just put a stick on it, wrap it, and let me heal." Of course, it wasn't that simple. But it was clear he was not voting for euthanasia. We called Cornell.

On the two hour drive, Tangene and I had a conversation about his life and about Life in general. I explained to him that we were trying to help him and how I honestly didn't know if the doctors could do anything for him.

Tangene: Its just my leg. I'm fine everywhere else. They will just fix it and I'll have to go through rehab again. Oh, rehab, how that gets so boring. But I can do it. We've done it before you know. You will help me and I'll just move along until I can walk again.

Dawn: But I need you to understand that the vets may tell me they can't fix this. And we could be faced with you not being able to survive. I'm not sure what they will say.

Tangene: Well it seems obvious to me that I need you to properly represent me then. Seems like you are the one to set the tone here. I'm not just a duck you know. I'm me. Let me tell you about my life. I am a wizard of sorts. I hold a space in the barn for everyone. I am wise.

Dawn: I'm not questioning your intelligence here, but look at you. You are missing a wing, a toe, and now this major leg injury. You are one very expensive duck!

Tangene: No, I am one very lucky duck that I am with people who don't question the value of a life. When you take me to these doctors then, you need to tell them about me. You just need to ask them to help me. Then we'll do the rest. I think, after all, that this is my call, not yours. All you need to do is show them who I am and they will act appropriately. I am not dying today.

Admittedly, this trip was hanging heavy on me. It was clear how Tangene felt, but the reality was that if this leg could not be saved, the only option left was euthanasia. He was so sure about all this. I didn't want to disappoint him.

When we got to Cornell, they gave me the usual talk about the estimate for treating something like this and was I aware of how much money could go into this. Tangene looked at me from the carrier. His life was momentarily in my hands. "I need to explain our philosophy at our sanctuary." I told the vet. "If an animal is with us in our care, then we believe that we are responsible for their care. If something can be done to save this leg and his life, then we need to do that. He is a wonderful duck." The vet looked at me and smiled and looked in the crate at Tangene and said, "well you lucky duck, let's take a look at you then."

Tangene looked up at me and said, "Thank you. You see, they see me for who I am, a lucky duck."

As it turned out, the leg was broken in two places, but they think he may have a chance to heal. They stabilized the leg, gave him pain killers, and sent him home with us to have our avian vet look at him in a few days to see if surgery is needed. Still groggy from anesthesia, I loaded Tangene back in the car for the drive home. There was just a quiet stillness in the car. Then about half way home, he gently clucked from the crate.

Tangene: I am a lucky duck indeed. The value of my life isn't in a vet bill. It is in the heart that you just stood up for. It is in the bravery we showed together today. It is in the love for my friends back at the farm. It is for the vet who will think about me at the end of her day and realize that we just taught her about the value of a life, and that she helped save mine, and that it meant something to you. She saw your smile when she told you it might just be able to heal. She knew it meant something. She knew I meant something. She knew I am loved. And she knew she was now a part of my life. That is the value of a life. My life has touched so many more than you know. This was a good day.

I couldn't resist one more question for him. "So what is this about you being a wizard?"

He clucked from the back of the car. "Its funny isn't it? Oh well, we'll figure it all out someday."

Dare To Dream

2009-12-19T17:40:00.014-05:00

When your reality seems less than what you want it to be,
When fatigue seems to seep down deep within your bones,
When you think that its time to give up –
Dare to dream.

When the world seems darker than the day before,
When the path isn’t so clearly marked,
When the obstacles are all you can see –
Dare to dream.

It is the dream that becomes the reality you seek.
It will replenish your soul, and bring clarity to your heart.
And nothing will get in your way to following your path.
Dare to dream! The time is now.

Deeteza, Arabian mare

From Dawn:

Over the years, I have been accused of being overly optimistic or a dreamer. I truly have a belief that humanity can and will rise above itself and our image of ourselves. We are bigger than who we think we are. That is true for each one of us. I have watched countless animals over the years aspire to overcome obstacles that they came into life with or that were dealt to them by the hands of careless humans. And I have had a front row seat to miracle after miracle. Follow our website page on Miracles to read first hand about some of these amazing beings. The miracles are coming more and more frequently now. Just when we think an animal has come in and set the bar for miracles on this farm, another one comes and raises the bar higher. There’s Ramone, a cat with a broken spine and 90% impaired spinal cord, who came to us totally paralyzed in his back end and bowel and bladder incontinent, who now runs and leaps and climbs 6 ft. high cat trees, is totally continent, and is making great use of the 10% of his spinal cord he has left. And Mack, a 5 yr. old Border Collie with a broken spine at his tail causing total bowel and bladder incontinence when he first came here, and who now is regaining control again. And then there’s Rachel, a cat who was found collapsed on the side of a highway, so emaciated we didn’t think she’d survive, but she proved us all wrong, defied all odds, even when her liver was shutting down. This is something that cats frequently cannot overcome. But now she is the picture of health and as happy as can be.

But this story is about Grace. For the full story of how Grace came in to our lives, please see the website about Tucker and Grace. Grace came to us with her brother Tucker at just 4 and a half weeks old. Not even able to eat on her own without help, we soon noticed that she had something very wrong with her. She couldn’t walk well, would fall over, and was very uncoordinated in general. We found out that she had a problem with her cerebellum. This was an irreversible birth defect and potentially could get worse until she would die. Now, at 6 months old, we are happy to say that Grace is not only still with us, but has dramatically improved in her coordination. Although still not normal, she can live a normal lifestyle. This is a story about how Grace dared to dream and how that dream became her reality.

Ever since Grace was old enough to go up the hill with our 9 dogs for their daily run, she would watch our Border Collie, Shayna, run and she’d say to me.... "Someday, I'm going to run like that with her."

I'd always feel a lump in my throat when she said that. She couldn't even walk more than 3 steps without falling over, let alone run. But almost every day she would say that to me when she watched Shayna take off and run like the wind. Shayna is one of the fastest dogs I've ever seen. She is incredible to watch. It brings tears to my eyes some days to watch her do a loop around the whole fenced in field where we let them run twice a day. There is no one who can catch her, or keep up with her.

A few weeks ago, I saw something amazing. Grace just idolizes Shayna. She is her hero. And I caught an interaction with Shayna that stunned me. As Shayna bolted out the gate and ran into the field, she slowed way down, turned her head over her shoulder toward Grace and said, "Ok, kid, if you're going to run like the wind you've got to start learning."

Grace leaped in the air for joy and bounded after Shayna. There was no way she came close to keeping up. But Shayna circled back and got her going again. I couldn't believe my eyes. Shayna understood totally what Grace's dream was and she started to help her. Every morning for the past few weeks, she has done the same thing with Grace. And every morning I quietly tell Shayna what a magnificent being she is and how much I admire and love her for what she is doing.

Grace gets faster each day. She never falls over anymore. She can do sharp turns, leap in the air, etc and not fall down. Her run is not like the other dogs. She looks like a large cat running full out, legs extended to their max. She is gorgeous when she runs. And the joy that fills her being comes bouncing out in a bold, joyous bark as she runs. Yesterday morning Grace was ready to go at the gate, standing next to Shayna for the big take off and run. Usually, she makes it about half way through the loop that Shayna does. But I'd noticed the past few days that her stamina was incredibly improving. Shayna tore out of the gate as I opened it. And like always, she looked over her shoulder to be sure she was just slow enough to lead Grace on but not slow enough for her to catch up. But not far out of the gate, Tucker crossed Grace's path and she bumped into him and fell. Shayna saw it and immediately came running back and circled around Grace in a loop.

"Come on kid, get up and let’s go!" she chided her.

Grace, undeterred, jumped to her feet and took off into the fastest most incredible run I've ever seen. Shayna noticed and gunned it. Grace was right behind her as Shayna started her big loop. About half way through, I couldn't believe my eyes when Grace was still going strong, and then, tears started from my eyes when I watched the most gracious gesture of all.

Shayna knew that Grace was tiring, so she slowed up a bit and continued at a pace that Grace could handle. Grace was right behind her at her heels, giving it all she had, and she completed the whole loop with Shayna. Shayna brought her up to me and stopped. Grace came to a halt, looked up at me with the most phenomenal look of joy on her face.

"I did it!!!! I flew just like Shayna."

Shayna walked over to her and said, "You did great kid, see!"

Grace leaped into Shayna’s space and licked and licked her entire face. And uncharacteristically Shayna let her do it. Then Shayna looked at me with a look of total joy and contentment.

These dogs totally understood what just happened. They totally got it. And I witnessed the strength, brilliance, and heart of the Border collie right before me. Every step of that run was calculated and planned to help another being achieve something she wanted so badly in her life. The shift in Grace that day was enormous. There is nothing this dog can't do and she knows that now. It was like I watched her find her heart and her purpose right before my teary eyes.

The dog who couldn't walk, couldn't eat normally, and was so uncoordinated, understood that she could dream. When she couldn’t make her body move in order to run, she did it in her mind and in her dreams; until with a little help from her friend, she achieved what we all thought would be the impossible. She was now flying like the wind, totally coordinated and in control of her body.

Dare to dream!!!

Thanksgiving Messages from the Animals

2009-11-26T11:51:00.003-05:00

Each year it is a tradition here to ask several of the animals what they are most thankful for. We humans do the same, and invite any of our animals who want to chime in to share what they would like to share. Here are this years quotes. We hope you all enjoy and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

The question posed to each animal was: What are you thankful for?

Amber Donkey: The sun. I am thankful for the sun because it warms my joints, fills my heart, and makes me dance with joy. The other fine thing about the sun is you can be sure it will be there each day. Even on days when dreariness prevails, you can know that above those clouds of despair, is the sun. If you doubt that, just ask the birds to fly high enough for you and let you know what they see. Above all clouds is blue sky warmed by the sun.

Mack: (Border Collie, recovering from a broken spine at his tail and bowel and bladder incontinence.) I have so much to be grateful for that I would not be able to list it all. The people who love me are valued by me beyond all else in my life. Second to that would be the wind. I love the wind. It brings great news and reassures me of my place on the earth. The wind is my friend. My toys. I am grateful for all toys, mostly because attached to them is usually a human friend ready to laugh with me as I play with them. Over the past year, I have found many treasures, and healed several things. The one that is most meaningful to me is my tail. I have not been able to wag it for many months. But now, it is starting to move when I want it to. I want my human friends to understand that I am happy. And I am most happy when they share with me the parts of them I love most, so that we can dance together in laughter. And my hope is that they will hear this.

Merlin: (African Grey Parrot) – My friends and the ability to remember them and feel them even after they are gone. I most miss my friend Phoebe duck. She and I shared many thanksgiving messages together. We both understood life in similar terms. Neither of us could fly in the wild, both of us started from and egg, and we love the humans who care for us. Phoebe lived to be very old. Although she is not here this year, I am grateful that she is still my friend.

Barak: (semi-feral cat badly injured when brought to us and now fully, miraculously recovered) I am thankful for the help I received to know a body filled with life again. I am grateful to be offered a different life now with so much more to learn and grow.

Jeremy: (Arab gelding, mid 20’s) I am very grateful to know love and feel peace. I love my barn, the space I am given to be a horse on the earth, and my friends. I miss my friends who have left before, but I am blessed to know they are still here and to feel them in my heart, AND in my barn. And I am grateful to an old donkey lady (Amber Donkey) who has breathed her wisdom into our herd. She may be loud, but at least she has wise things to say.

Ducati: (rabbit) I am grateful for my life and the ability to share that with those who need me. I just love to share all of who I am. I am not complicated. Life need not be so. Just live it. That’s what I say. Live and give. The rest just hops into place.

Dinah: (36 year old Quarter Horse mare) These days I am happy to discover each morning that I am breathing! Life is precious. I am grateful and thankful for each second. And that is the truth. I am also grateful to all who help me get up when I’m down and to know I don’t have to worry about that. My friend Chops has stood by me for years and I am grateful for her strength and caring. She is a gentle soul.

Addie: (Quarter horse mare – mid 20’s, new here this year) I am grateful to be asked this question! I am particularly thankful for my entire life. I love my new herd and for the people who are new to me as well as the ones who have looked after me my entire life. I am very blessed. For this I am thankful. Oh, and my peppermints. I am eternally grateful for peppermints, just had to add that.

Sage: (goat abandoned with 2 female kids and a young male goat and brought to the farm this year.) I am thankful for a home. I am most grateful to know safety. It was hard to believe at first, but now I understand it. We have a home. We never had one of those before.

Grace: (Border collie/golden retriever mix, 5 months old, born with brain abnormality) This is an easy question. I am grateful for my brother Tucker who brought me here. I have leaned on him when I couldn’t stand. Eaten with him when I didn’t know how to do it. Played with him when I felt joy. And beat him up when he needed it. He brought me to my home where I know love like I couldn’t have dreamed of. They have given me certain footsteps when I couldn’t find them. They have given me direction when I couldn’t find it. They fed me when I didn’t know how to eat. And now, they have given me the chance to think and to grow soundly. They love me for how I am. They allow me to bark with joy when I have to. And they love to see me run as fast as the wind. Just like Tucker told me they would. Life has turned out to be something I want to live and for which I am very grateful.

Ask Amber - November 2009

2009-11-08T19:31:00.003-05:00

Once again I have to apologize for the delay in a post. Things are very busy on the farm and those of you on our mailing list, should be getting a newsletter in the next 2-4 weeks. It is at the printers now. In the meantime, here are two questions submitted from a supporter in Denmark.
Dawn

Dear Amber,
I was very happy to read on the website that you have moved to the smaller stable where it is warmer in the winter. And I was even happier to learn that you enjoy being with new friends and still keep in touch with your old friends.

Your blog means a lot to me. Thank you for your patience with us humans. I feel there is so much to learn and understand about how you animals look at and understand the world. Lately, I have become quite interested in understanding how everyone (human) is conditioned – socially, biologically, culturally – all these conditionings influences our way of thinking and perceiving the world. And I understand that – in relation to you animals – my thinking is conditioned by being human. But I find this last point hard to explain to other humans, as many don’t acknowledge that there is only one consciousness – which manifests in both animals, humans, plants and everything. So all your answers are very precious to me, as they help me to broaden my understanding, and break up my conditioned way of thinking.

I hope you will help me with these two questions.

1. I live with my 4 cats on the countryside. They are all very good hunters, and I understand that it is their nature to hunt, even though they are fed by me with plenty of food. However, when they “play” with mice, frogs, and birds, I always wonder if they really don’t care about how the mouse, the frog, or bird feels. Don’t they care about the fear, or pain of a fellow creature? I must admit that my ability to communicate fails at that point because I get very involved emotionally. I would like to understand my cats, and I would like them to stop playing with their prey and causing more fear and pain.

Amber Donkey: This is a very interesting question. First, let me tell you that the answer lies within your very question. Just as you said above, there are many factors that come into play and influence our way of thinking and perceiving the world. That is not just true for humans, it is also true for animals. Animals also can become separated or more distanced from their nature. In fact, the more we are around the energy of humans and the culture and social structure of humans, the more affected we are by that. That is not a negative statement about humans now either. It is just a statement of fact. You could say, the more domesticated we become, the further from our natural instincts we get. So your cats have all the instincts to hunt but they don’t need to for their survival so their actions become tainted or skewed. They are not deliberately torturing the prey animal. But they are also not wholly honoring their relationship either. You see? Its not totally balanced as it would be if they were in the wild and they were hunting for food. In the wild state, they would remember the quick release of their prey is important. But when their lives don’t depend on hunting, and food is handed to them, they lose that part of the relationship, just like humans. There is no easy way to work around that. It is their state of current awareness and relationship. Their intention isn’t to harm or torture, it is to play. They have been numbed in a way to the emotions of their prey. It is no different for humans and their food. Or humans who watch a lot of violence and then seem indifferent to violence when they see it for real.

2. I often tell other people about Spring Farm CARES, about you and Dawn and everyone else I’ve met or heard of on the farm. Some humans become very inspired; some find it hard to believe what I tell them. When I told a friend that you animals are very well informed about what is going on in the world, she wondered, “what does a horse (or donkey, or any other animal) do with this information? They don’t take action, they don’t vote, they are dependent on our actions and decisions. So why should they know about what is going on in the world?”

Anne

Amber Donkey: Now there is a very human response. Imagine how it would be if we animals asked, “what does a human do with the information we give them? What do they do with all the information that nature provides them? They don’t seem to take action and just keep making the same choices over and over again, even when it is obvious it doesn’t work?

You see, Anne, it just depends on what side of the coin you are looking at. By the way, I have often told other animals about Spring Farm and the humans here and they have found it hard to believe at first too! But I digress.

The truth is that all living beings strive to find out what is happening in the world around us. Because we understand that what affects one, affects all. What is happening thousands of miles away from this farm, can and does, affect this farm. Humans think they have the monopoly on communication. They just have a piece of communication technology. But where you rely on technology, we animals understand it is simply about listening. We don’t require technology to communicate. You don’t either, but you have forgotten that. Its ok. Eventually your technology will come back around full circle and catch you up to what you already knew how to do anyway, if you hadn’t separated yourselves out of nature.

I thank you for your wonderful questions!
Amber

The Joy of Retirement

2009-09-26T15:13:00.006-04:00

By Amber Donkey

It is now official, I have retired from my duties of head greeter in the big barn. However, my role has merely shifted, not gone away. I have actually moved closer to Dawn’s computer now, so there is sure to be more writing activity going on!

Last winter was really hard on my old bones. My teeth have seen better days as well. I have enjoyed an incredible summer with all the great care my human friends have added to make me even more comfortable. However, the cooler nights and the thought of winter chill, admittedly began to worry me. Dawn told me there was a second option but it would require moving to another smaller barn attached to her house. I was a little skeptical at first, as I truly love all my friends in the big barn and they need me. My goat herd needs me the most. But Dawn informed me that I could still go out with my goats on nice days and it wouldn’t be any more of a walk than I already manage. And Dawn and Margot both promised me that I would still see all my human friends and could still greet visitors, although it is by appointment now.

I thought that whole idea sounded dignified. I mean, being seen by appointment is kind of special actually. But the most important thing is that I am not without a job. That is not what retirement is all about. Retirement isn’t a time for doing nothing. It’s a time to reassess what it is we are here to do and to spend more time doing that, rather than being distracted by work and other busy kind of things. It’s a time to look inside ourselves. At least for me, that is what I’m doing.

My new job is a big one. First of all, my new friends now consist of a herd of geldings. As soon as I stepped into that barn, I knew my work was cut out for me. They are badly in need of a female to help guide them. There is young Shawnee, a 4 year old paint gelding, who seems to be quite smitten with me actually. He breathed new life into this old sagging body. Then there is Jeremy who is the leader of this band of orphans. I call him Prince Charming. He is quite magnificent actually and I find his energy to be very refreshing. He is strong and noble and very gentle and soft spoken. I like him very much. And he welcomed me to his barn. And then we have the two donkey boys. I have heard them on the farm for years now, yet we have never met. They call me the wise donkey. And I now call them the wise guys. They are badly in need of donkey supervision. Its not their fault. Neither of them had their mothers with them for long and they did the best they could by relying on the wisdom of the horses. But donkey wisdom is different. They are for sure my project.

I also have another herd of goats now to tend to. There are three of them, and one of them has a special stall at night right next to mine. I find great comfort in goats. They bring with them the calmness of the earth and the laughter of the wind. There is nothing as good as a goat to lift your spirits on a dreary day. They demand laughter from their friends and I am the first one to sign up to be their friend.

So, although I have retired, I have a new found purpose. I have actually always wanted my own little barn. They tell me I will be so much warmer for the winter and I have to say that is very appealing to me. I still have all the same staff caring for me which is great, because I care for them too and I would have not opted to move up here if I had to leave everyone. And then there is the writing. Now that I’m retired, I think we’ll have much more time to write. I’m just trying to explain to Dawn now how that all works. She still gets caught up in this time thing. Stay tuned, there is more to come about all that I will now learn from my new friends and family.

Please come see me anytime, but by appointment only!

Season of Change

2009-09-01T16:02:00.003-04:00

It is incredibly hard to believe that it is already September 1st today.
Here, in upstate NY, there is already a scent of fall in the air. The nights have been chilly, the days fairly cool, and the apple trees are starting to bear their fruit. Soon the leaves will be changing color and the magnificence of fall in upstate NY will be out in full force.

Fall is my favorite time of year. It brings with it the promise of slowing down and settling in for the upcoming winter. Right? That always seems the way it should be. The rest of nature seems to abide by that cycle. But humans somehow don’t necessarily fit in that routine. I laugh each year as I think winter means a slower time. A time to hibernate and rest and reflect on all that has occurred the seasons before. Yet, instead, we find ourselves wearing layer upon layer of heavy clothing so that each time we go out to do anything, it takes 5 minutes of gearing up before we even go outside. Then we have to continuously move snow around. Either by the shovel full or the tractor bucket full. The snow falls and we move it. Only to have the wind come up and put it back where we moved it from. It becomes an endless cycle of moving piles back and forth. That is winter in upstate NY. Gorgeous, but labor intensive.

But winter reminds us that spring is not far ahead. Days start getting longer ever so slightly and by February we are all eager for warmer days and green grass. We forget though that it will be May before we see flowers blooming and the world turning green before our eyes. And then summer once again comes our way.

I was thinking about this as I walked into the barn last night to check on all the equines, goats, sheep, ducks, and chickens, and of course the two barn cats Bella and Izzy. It seems I have slipped into this routine of being the weather person in the barn each night. The animals are so quickly affected by the weather conditions. Our horses with asthma do not do well with high pollen counts and heat and humidity. The older horses don’t do well with the rain and the cold. And none of them do well when the weather is such that they cannot get out and enjoy their day in the pasture. When its too hot, the flies bother them. Too windy and they get nervous and want to come in. Weather is a constant part of our days on the farm and something that can dramatically affect the lives of the barn animals. If we have too much rain or not enough rain, we can have a bad hay crop and the food supply is immediately affected. So much depends on the weather.

So when we have several hot days in a row (which only happened once this summer but it was difficult), I go down to the barn and reassure the animals there that cooler weather is coming soon. When its been raining, I let them know when its supposed to be dry. When its windy, I let them know when things will quiet down. And when its cold, I let them know when it will get warmer. But this week, we have been blessed with absolute perfect weather. The days are 70-75 degrees, and the nights 45-55. And we have abundant sunshine with bright blue skies. When I came into the barn last night, the weather wasn’t on my mind, because it didn’t have to be. And that’s when it was called to my attention about my role in the barn with the animals. I was met by Amber Donkey who had the following to say to me.

Amber: Well, Miss weather forecaster, what say you today? What’s it going to be tomorrow? More of today? Less of today? Today all over again?
I’ve noticed that when things are calm, you never tell us that its going to change soon. Yet, you know it always does. The world was not meant to be without change. Perfection is not to be without change. Perfection is to understand that change happens moment by moment, but perfection is also staying present in each moment. You are always looking to see what is going to be in the next moment. We just smile and know you gain comfort in knowing what the next day will be like. We like to share that with you each night because it is what you do. But the fact is that nothing ever stays the same for long. If it did, we would never learn anything. We’d never be able to find out anything about ourselves. We’d be like a white spot on a white wall, never to differentiate ourselves from what is around us. You see, change is perfection itself. Because in change, you can always find permanence. In change, you can always rely on forward movement. It is change that brings you all the wondrous, miraculous things in your life. Change makes the caterpillar into a butterfly. Change makes the rain turn into the rainbow. Change makes my hair go from short to long and then to short again. It makes me look out my door here and know that soon it will look different. It is never the same two days in a row. Change lets us know we are alive and that we are a part of this creation.

So each night you come in here and tell us the weather forecast, we honor that because we know it is change. Even though you don’t realize it as the gift for which it is. The success of any being is to stay present in each moment of change. Because the very idea of a moment, is all about change. One moment is never permanent. It simply morphs into the next moment, is built upon the last moment, and only can be experienced in the present. That is what life is all about.

Testiomonial of Growth

2009-08-03T14:46:00.003-04:00

Running a website and maintaining a blog sometimes becomes a busy task in the bustling days of the Farm. Being in charge of 250-300 animals daily, 30 human employees, and all of the other desk work that comes with all of that, as well as doing animal communication consultations can many times be challenging enough. So when Amber Donkey suggested we start a blog I was not all that excited to start with. She actually requested a "forum where people could write in to me and we could answer their questions." I of course then determined that sounded like a blog.

Opening the daily lives of the animals and my relationship with them up to the public was a difficult decision. Its sort of like inviting a whole lot of people into your living room and saying to them, "hey, ask me anything you want." It can be exhausting, and as you see, I don't always keep up with it as frequently as I'd like. And there are days I have wondered if we are even reaching anyone. Is anyone out there? Does anyone really care? Sometimes, it is just dead silence in the ethers of the blog space. Friends tell me it is because people are thinking about what the animals are sharing. They are processing things. But sometimes even that would be helpful to hear. I don't have time for Twitter tweeting. I don't have time to do daily blog posts. But I have always intended for this blog to be a window for the wisdom of the animals to flow through and to get many of you to see things from a slightly different perspective.

Recently we got this letter in our email box from one of the people who submitted a question for Amber and whose life has changed from Amber's response. Amber was so touched, that she asked me if she could respond to her. That person has given me permission to share her experience and Amber's response to her with all of you. We thank you Anna!

Dear Dawn & Amber

Can you pass this on to Amber.

I just want to thank both of you and everything you are doing to help all these beautiful animals. Several months ago -April 2009, I wrote to Amber regarding how can I send someone love and pass no judgment for doing horrific things to animals.

She explained to stop the wheel of hatred and judgment. Back then, I couldn't understand why I would want to do this, because I felt so bad about these animals being abused and hated and judged the person or persons doing such a thing.

Not too long ago, it finally hit me! I don't know what happened, but something came over me that this is the way I should feel from now on. To this day I don't judge, hate or dislike anyone that does this. I actually send them love, compassion and bless them AND the animals that are involved.

Thank you for helping me be a better human and to stop the wheel of hate.

Sincerely,
Anna

Amber's Response:

Hi Anna,
I just wanted to thank you for all that you are doing in this world to end the wheel of hatred and judgment. What a fine human being you are! Because of you and the conscious shift you have made, many more humans will benefit and grow, and many more animals will find peace in this world. Mark my words, it is how it all works. It is great to know you are out there.
Blessings,
Amber Donkey

Animal Wisdom

2009-07-12T14:23:00.005-04:00

Ever notice how time just seems to be getting faster and faster? We started this blog to keep up with news on the farm, yet we often spend our days just keeping up with the farm itself. Managing the care of the 250-300 animals on the farm, plus the 30 member staff who care for them and run our programs, can be an incredible endeavor. The challenges we all face in our daily lives also affect the farm and all her inhabitants. This is a time of great growth and change for the planet as a whole, and certainly the farm reflects that as a microcosm of the larger whole. As with all change, it has its moments of wonder, its triumphs and joy, as well as its challenges and sometimes hardships.

Currently, we have the challenge of orphan kitten season in full swing. Adoptions are down and the need of so many helpless animals is increasing. All of us here feel the strain, not just of the 50 orphaned kittens we currently care for, but also for the ones we cannot help. Our phone rings off the hook continuously with people asking us to take in their animals that they no longer can keep, or about the stray they just found on the side of the road, or in their garages and gardens. We have to say no to most of them, and try to offer what we can to help. Each year we look for that ray of hope that lets us know that maybe, just maybe, our spay/neuter program is working. We look for that sign that shows us that humans are starting to take more responsibility for their actions and for the welfare of the animals in their care. We look for any sign of hope that we can. There are signs out there, but some days they are very hard to find.

As I was closing down the barn last night, making sure that all the horses, sheep, goats, ducks and chickens were settled in and safe for the night, I was consumed by my own thoughts of calling in the angels to help find wonderful homes for these kittens, and some other things on my wish list for the farm. My routine is to stop at each animal and just be with them for a short check in for the day. They all felt my weariness and as they are wont to do, they began feeding my heart and soul with their love and wisdom. One of the horses said to me, “Look around you in this barn and see what hope has given us. Your belief that it could be better created all of this, and in turn gave each of us a place to rest and be alive and safe. If you hadn’t believed, then we wouldn’t be here. We’d all be dead.”

Each horse came to their stall door as I approached, as if to underscore what the first one had said. Then, each one, shared with me something personal of what they experienced with me and the farm as a whole. It occurred to me that they often take time out of their day and out of their lives to thank us for what we have given them. They have thanked me for what we share together and for communicating this with others. And I began to notice how often I come into their space, their home, their sanctuary, with my own thoughts of doubts and misgivings, without stopping to thank them for all they have given to me. So, last night, as I went around to each one of them, I paused just for a moment and felt my love for each one as I stood with them. I thanked them for what they brought to the farm, what they brought to the many visitors who come to see them, and for what they continuously give to me. Life hasn’t been easy for them. Their path here, for many, was troubled and difficult and painful. I have watched them unravel layers of pain received at the hands of humans who were supposed to look out for them, and I have witnessed their journeys of healing. And I learned from them as I saw each of them unplug from a life of tragedy, to sign on to teach about a life of hope. If you knew their stories like I do, you’d be amazed that some of them could find a life of hope. Yet, each of them has. From each of them, I daily can feel their gratitude, appreciation, and love for what they now have and for where they now are, and I realized that if all of us did the same thing, no one would ever give up on hope. We’d all realize that hope is all around us all of the time. And no one would ever treat an animal the way that so many of these animals have been treated. How ironic from the human perspective. The “victims” are the deliverers of the healing. They stand here and show us daily a better way to live and a more sacred way to be.

As I left the barn, I stopped at the gate and said “I’ll see you all tomorrow.” And Amber Donkey gave me one last look and said, “Yep, we’ll see you tomorrow, just like we saw you today. The question is, will you see yourself tomorrow? We’ll see.”

Ask Amber Donkey - June 2009

2009-05-24T16:56:00.005-04:00

Here are three questions for this month's posting of Ask Amber Donkey. Thanks to all who submitted questions. Anyone wanting to submit questions should do so at Dawn@springfarmcares.org .

Question: I noticed when my husband and I travel we see more and more people traveling with their pets. The animals are treated as part of the humans’ family and sometimes the animals have clothes on. When I talk to my dog I refer to her as my baby. I even say she calls me "Mommy" and my husband "Daddy. Is this the balance the animals are looking for or has the human race gone the wrong way? Another part of this question is to do with research. (This part is new). When I was young I remember animals being used in labs for testing of products. Through the years I thought research found other options to provide them with the results they needed. In my current job I am finding this is not true. We sell products that could be used in a laboratory setting. Because the labs need to discuss the usage they sometime reveal how our product will be used. I was surprised to hear chimpanzee's are still being used. The first thing that comes to my mind is the lady in the news that had a chip that attacked her friend. She even stated when she was stabbing him with the knife he looked at her and asked, "what are you doing?" I know directly this is not what I am doing to these animals yet I feel I am not doing them justice by selling these labs our products. Are these animals where they choose or did humans put them in jeopardy?

Amber: At first these two parts of your question seem to be two different things, but they are not at all. Problems arise when humans try to make animals fit into their own image. While both humans and animals live on the same planet, we are vastly different in many ways. We all have feelings, emotions, thoughts, souls, hearts, and we form relationships. But what we do within those things are quite different. You could say that we come from different cultures. But when you try to make us into humans, then you are denying us our true being, and denying yours as well. When animals are treated by humans as humans, then they start to lose their own identities and take on those that are assigned to them by the humans. Yet, the two worlds don’t easily mesh at times and trouble can occur. The animals then start to take on all the same troubles of the human psyche and culture. They are not prepared or fit to deal with those things and they become imbalanced. This is true whether we are talking about your pets, lab animals, or any other situation. Animals are animals and humans are humans.

It is quite the human experience to try to justify treatment of others by making them different from yourselves. You often dehumanize other humans to justify treating them less than equal. Then you will try to humanize non-human friends to justify feeling for them or being in relationship with them. Your relationships with animals will not be the same as your relationship with humans. In fact, I dare say, that most of you let animals in your hearts far deeper than other humans.

How does this answer your question? It is my opinion that humans don’t even treat each other with respect of your differences let alone those of the animal world. Animals usually accept others with all their differences, even our human companions. You do not see us dressing you up to look like donkeys now do you? Yet, to justify loving your animals, you frequently try to make us look like you. Its just something humans should think about. If you treated all of Life with complete respect, the answers to how you treat each other, and how you treat all animals would become very clear to you.

Question: I have read and heard that we all came here on earth for a reason, because we have something to accomplish. How do we know why we came here? Do all the living things except most humans know what their path is? Thanks a lot for your answer.

Amber: Thanks for your question! It is true that all beings come into the physical realm for a reason and to accomplish something. But not all of us know what that path is on a conscious level. Many animals do understand their paths and very consciously know what they are here to do. And so do many humans. Many humans are not at all conscious of their paths or what they are here to do. And the same is true for many animals. Sometimes, finding that conscious awareness, is the all important step on our path and what we are here to do. Some of us (and I use the word “us” to mean all living beings) find our purpose and some seemingly do not. Some of us find our true greatness near the end of our lives, some in the middle, and some come into this physical plane with their true greatness in tact and ready to roll. It just all depends on our spiritual awareness and what we are here to do. Some of us come to teach, some come to learn, but no matter what side of that equation you are on, you always learn from and teach others. That is the sharing of life. In the physical realm, our purpose is never as clear to us as it is in the spiritual realm. It is just the nature of the two realms.

Question: I’m not sure how to phrase this, but are some animals more empathetic than others? One litter of pups born here more than three years ago now, and I can only describe the majority of them as empaths. Not just soft dogs, but aware of the energy around them in a different and more profound way. Can you help me understand this a bit more?

Amber: Just like as with humans, animals also come in with various degrees of awareness. Some are very sensitive to energy and some not so sensitive. It is probably true that animals on the surface seem to many humans to be more sensitive to energy and shifts in energy. However, it is not that humans do not have the same abilities to do so. It is true though that humans have many more distractions that they have created and surrounded themselves with and that is what gets in the way. Animals in general are less cluttered.

Many animals are very tuned in to the emotions of humans and have signed on to work closely with them. Dogs are one such species that has chosen to work very closely with humans. Horses, or shall we say equines so that we include our pony friends, and of course, donkeys too, also work very closely with humans. We resonate well with the human heart and strive to help humans find their own hearts through ours. Some animals are also healers as well. Just like with humans, there are all sorts of variations and skill levels.

A Coversation with Dawn and Gypsy

2009-05-19T18:21:00.004-04:00

Amber Donkey suggested that in this blog I should periodically interview one of the animals because it would be insightful to how they see their lives. I set out to interview Gypsy, one of our horses, only to have her start interviewing me. So, it became a conversation instead.

Dawn’s Conversation with Gypsy, Thoroughbred mare, age 27 years.

D: What means the most to you in your life?

G: My friends. I have always cherished my friends. I watched my best friend Babe die when her leg broke running up the hill in our pasture. None of us could believe what happened and we all forever remember that tragic day. We had been together since yearlings and then came to SFC together. I also had my friend Bo with me. She was already here at SFC when Babe and I got here, but she was with us as yearlings as well. It was kind of funny that we all ended up spending our lives together. But now I am the last one left. I had a daughter, Mariah, who lived her whole life with me. We were together for 18 years until something went wrong inside of her and she suddenly died. Bo and I took care of Mariah when she went blind a few years before that. We were very good friends. And, now sadly, I have lost my best friend Bo two weeks ago.

Bo left me in charge of taking care of Smiley who also is blind. He now is in Bo’s old stall right next to me and I find comfort with him there. Together, we remember our old friends and also cherish the ones we still have with us. The solidity of our herd is very important to me.

D: What is most enjoyable for you in your life?

G: I love being outside in the sun on a cool day with no flies. That is the absolute best. I love to roll in the grass and roll back and forth over and over again and feel the earth against my back. I love to run with my friends. And I also appreciate my stall in the barn too. When I’m tired, I find safety and peace there.

D: What do you dream about?

G: About anything that comes up I guess. I dream of all different things. Not just things like running. I don’t dream about racing. I dream a lot about eating. And I also dream of being with my friends.

D: What is your purpose in life?

G: To live each day looking to see what its about. Its not very complicated really. What is yours?

D: Cute. How about to live each day to see what it is about.

G: That’s too easy, you just copied me.

D: Whose interviewing whom here?

G: Well, I think after all these years together that you know me pretty well. So these questions aren’t very exciting. We’ve explored a lot over the years together. When I first met you, you were still young and head strong. Now you are graying and more calm and centered.

D: Thanks, I can say the same about you too!

G: Yes, you can. So let me tell you what I learned about our purpose in life. Because we both came to the farm around the same time. We’ve kind of grown up together in a way. We’ve shared a lot. You are part of the herd you know. Its not just horses we acknowledge in our group. Sometimes you didn’t own your place in the herd. Sometimes you did. But you’ve always been kind and you’ve always been honest. We like that about you. All of us always trust you to not just care for us but to listen to us. I would say we each learned to listen to our own hearts by hearing one another. The best way to hear your own heart beat is to feel it against anothers’, don’t you think?

D: Wow, that is profound. Yes, that is so true isn’t it?

G: It is what life is all about. When you were young you had a restless heart. You never let it get out for a good gallop. I, on the other hand, galloped a bit too much and didn’t take things seriously enough. I also didn’t want anyone too close to me. You showed me a different way of being. You taught me to coexist with my friends and to open my heart more. You’ve given that to many of us. And as you did so, we watched you set your heart free. The spirit of the horse is to fly in the wind. You don’t need to be on our backs to fly with us. You learned to fly with us in spirit and there isn’t a one of us who holds back in taking you there. That’s what I like about being here. You were going to ask me that question eventually so I thought I’d just answer it. This is a great farm. It is the seat of the heart of the horse. Think about that. That is what you invited in. That is why you can feel the horse spirits gather here sometimes. It is the magic we all created in a space you help hold. You are my friend too, a herd mate, just like Bo. Bo found a wisdom that was very deep within her. She found it by being here on the farm and by being recognized for who she was and nurtured to grow. You helped with that. And now she is helping you too. I feel her around you each night you come to the barn to check on us. You walk with a herd of spirit horses when you come into the barn. They are all working with you, walking with you, and you are flying with them. So, to answer your question, I guess today, part of my purpose was to tell you that.

D: And, today, part of my purpose is to thank you for all you give.

G: All of us on this planet share in this journey. It doesn’t belong to just one of any of us.

Ask Amber Donkey - April 2009

2009-04-01T18:19:00.003-04:00

Editor’s Note: Ask Amber was a page on our website where Amber Donkey would answer a couple of questions a month. We are moving this monthly feature to this blog now instead, giving others a chance to comment on topics. Normally, we will choose about 2 questions per month. Seeing that Dawn was out of commission with a surgery and recovery for several months, this column has not been updated since August 2008. For this month, we have chosen 4 questions to make up for lost time. Plus, Amber seemed to have a lot to say after a long hard winter! To submit questions for consideration, please send them in an email to Dawn@springfarmcares.org .

1. Dear Amber,
One of our dear cats passed on a few months ago; we were extremely close to him. We still had four cats, but the house just didn't feel right. We realized that no one could ever fill our dear one's pawprints, but we can care for five kitties quite easily and so many are homeless, so last week we adopted another cat. In the past, even though I always take great care with introductions, it has always taken quite a while for the household to adjust to a newcomer. This time it's like magic: the new little girl has been accepted wholeheartedly from the very first, and acts completely at ease—as if she's always lived with us. At first I thought she might actually "be" our lost cat, but I don't really think so. I'm wondering if perhaps he sent her to us. Have you ever known passed-on animals to do that sweet favor for their families?

Amber: It is sweet to feel the gifts from old friends isn’t it? Yes, we have seen that here at the farm a lot too. Frequently our ghost brigade of horses will send someone our way who they just know we would love to have with us. Many times your beloved animal friends who pass into spirit want to be sure you are taken care of send in help. It is a loving gesture and a special gift to receive.

2. Dear Amber,
Please help me with this. I've read your responses on different issues regarding abuse, neglect, etc. How can I forgive and send love to the people in Korea that skin dogs alive and torture them for food. How do I send someone forgiveness regarding a hog farm in Iowa where little piglets were thrown against the wall and the mother pigs were tortured to no end and on and on. Animals are so helpless, they depend on us to take care of them.

I just cannot feel good about this, let alone send love to these people or any person that tortures animals or other humans. I can't get myself to send love and forgiveness to someone that does such a horrific act. I think it's about time not to make excuses for humans anymore. I feel it's about time that people take responsibility for their actions. They have to know that this is so wrong what they are doing.

My other question is: Why do these poor animals keep reincarnating to these horrible conditions? Why would they choose this?

Amber: This is not a simple question and one that I could take an entire book to answer and still not completely fulfill all the questions that people have on this topic. The answer is complexly simple. It is because it is literally a circle. I am not suggesting that anyone feel good about this sort of abuse, neglect, or torture. And that is what it is in many cases – torture. There is a difference in intent when an animal is maltreated out of ignorance and when it is thought and planned out in advance, or for when ignorance is replaced by knowing it is inappropriate, but continuing to do it anyway. The intention of the human is completely what drives the answer to this question.

But I ask you to look at the circle of repercussion that comes from judging others in general. You see, I’m not saying you should go out and love the people who do heinous acts against anyone. But what I am saying is that if those people had felt loved in the first place, they’d have found a place inside of themselves that would have never allowed for the torture and mistreatment of any other living being. A cycle of judgment just keeps moving round and round and round. If humans could understand truly loving who they are, loving one another for who you are, and judging nothing, then there would literally be no abuse. Judgment perpetuates judgment perpetuates self-doubt, perpetuates lack of self-worth, perpetuates dominance over something lesser than you feel, perpetuates abuse, which then comes back to being judged and finding the exact validation that you started with. It’s a big wheel. Somewhere this wheel needs to stop turning. Somewhere it needs to stop perpetuating violence and hatred and judgment. Somewhere every being needs to understand the love that they are and the love that exists in every thing around them. Can’t happen you say? That’s what we hear all the time. Until enough of you think it can, it won’t. Its time to stop making excuses for why this can’t be so. It is the way of all nature to be loving and forgiving. Anything else has been created by man.

The last part of your question about why an animal would choose to come back in to horrible conditions such as these is one that I cannot really answer. The reason is that the choices that each soul makes is solely dependant on what it is choosing to experience, or learn, or teach. To an onlooker, many times these choices do not make sense. In our physical experience, we cannot always make sense of soul choices because we cannot put them into the overall framework and experience at the level of the soul.

3. Dear Amber,
I wonder how you and the other animals respond to Allergies. Both my husband and I are allergic to cats; yet we live with 6 of them (the allergist says we have developed immunity to ours). I have a hard time understanding how people dump or get rid of animals (cats, dogs, gerbils, rabbits, etc.) because they say they are allergic. I understand the severity of allergies and asthma and have had trips to the hospital to help me breathe. But I won’t give up on the love I share with my feline companions. I am also allergic to trees, grass, pretty much everything outside, and I refuse to live in a bubble, but rather work on why I have these allergies and how I can overcome them.

But can you and the other animals help me with my feelings towards others who say they are allergic? How does a cat feel who is dumped because their ‘family’ is now allergic? Does the cat understand?

And how can I answer other humans when I know they are using the ‘allergy’ as an excuse really not share love and not to open their hearts?

Amber: Not everyone is ready to open their hearts as you have. Again, we cannot judge others for the choices they are making. We have many cats here at the farm who have come because their people are allergic. Many of them are devastated at first, but some of them view it as a means of moving on to their next thing in life. Imagine if animals would be allergic to humans! And whose to say we are not? Each situation is unique to each human and each animal involved. I cannot answer this question other than in general terms because of that. Achoo!

4. Hi Amber,
It is my understanding that we are all spiritual beings and that each of us comes here for a specific purpose. Whether it is to experience something, learn or share something or to help others and so on.

What I want to know is even though we may not know what our purpose is, when we have fulfilled it what happens? Do we spend the rest of the time in our physical bodies on a ‘spiritual vacation’ or do we leave soon afterwards?

Amber: Whatever you wish.

Editors Note: I asked Amber if she wished to elaborate on her answer at all. She replied, “what more can I possibly elaborate on? There is nothing more to say. Those three words precisely answer the question in a most profound way!”

Moose

2009-03-25T20:48:00.004-04:00

From Dawn:

With great sadness we have to announce that Moose was only with us for 4 short days. His injury/illness had caused him severe neurological issues that he could not recover from. Although only with us for such a short time, we are all grieving as if we had known him his whole life. He left an incredible hoof print in our lives and in our hearts.

To view a memorial for Moose on our website, please go to www.springfarmcares.org/memorials.htm

The Circle Completes - An Old Friend Leaves and a New One Arrives

2009-03-22T09:29:00.006-04:00

From Amber Donkey:

This week we are all saddened in the barn to have lost one of our dearest friends – Yoda. Yoda was an amazing goat with a love of life that was so vast and deep that you couldn’t be around him without feeling it. He and 3 other goats were my pasture mates. He was the head goat and I was the head donkey. As a donkey, one of my jobs is to be a shepherd and to watch over and protect my flock. I never really had a flock before though until the past few years when I was put out to graze with these goofy goats. They really didn’t need me to guard them of course. But I did keep an eye on them and watch after them. On certain days, I was even known to play with them.

Yoda was a first rate clown. He was the tallest of all of the goats and he would climb up on the trees and pull the branches down and hold them for the smaller ones to nibble on the best leaves. He could make us all laugh, humans and animals alike, with his large ears and his ability to move them around when he needed to. But most of all, Yoda was kind. His heart was as big as his soul and he held all of us within it. He never was mean or took advantage of his height or stature over the smaller or younger goats. He had spent a lot of time with the llamas when they were still alive and was mentored by Gulliver in particular. He loved to make people laugh, especially when they were taking themselves too seriously. He also had an opinion on just about everything.

We all will miss him greatly. But I think I will miss him most of all for the joy he brought to my day. This was a difficult winter and many of us started to have trouble. Old bones ached a little more than usual, old joints seemed stiffer, and it was hard sometimes to remember that spring would indeed be coming. We had all hoped that Yoda could taste the spring grass again, but his body couldn’t make it. The people here tried everything and took great care of him as always. I love the folks here that care for us. They have been taking care of my old teeth and old bones too.

But just as our sadness came for the passing of Yoda and our feeling of loss for his large presence, we welcomed a new friend into our family. He arrived today and in the same way that Yoda had a big presence, this horse is the goat equivalent of huge. His name is Moose, if that doesn’t tell you something right there. He is magnificent. We all could feel his presence before he even came to the farm. He also has a physical problem right now but we are all hoping that he can heal and live with us for a long time to come. He is a gentle and quiet soul and we welcome him to our home.

If we have learned anything here at this farm, it is that faith can indeed be the bringer of miracles. We have enough faith here in our barn to go around many times. We have seen miracles happen and have helped them to happen. We recognize each being that walks into our barn as a brother or sister of spirit. We may never have met before, but we will now know each other forever. That is the excitement in welcoming someone new. And it is the same knowledge that allows us to move on when one of us leaves. We know in our hearts that we will forever share their love and energy in our lives and beyond. Today, while we are still sad for our loss of Yoda, we can also rejoice for the arrival of Moose. We can know the sadness of a parting and recognize the chance for a new friendship in the making. It is the circle complete. It is life being lived. And it is hearts being shared. It is what makes me realize how lucky I am to be here in this place and to rejoice once more in the circle of Life.

See you later Yoda! And welcome home Moose!

The Winds of Change

2009-02-12T17:05:00.001-05:00

From Amber Donkey:

Today on the farm, we are experiencing another weather system moving through. The wind is lashing at the barn as it stands resolute in its being our home, our energy holding it strong. The trees outside the barn are dancing lightly in the wind, knowing when to bend, when to give, and understanding that change is simply a movement and neither an ending nor beginning. It is winter in this great land we call home. It has been a cold winter and one with lots of snow, and yet, we weather this with the understanding and gratitude that we may feel the energy of the earth moving across her great expanse. The wind that comes today brings with it the energy from far west. The snow forms uniquely from our own water sources, but the wind brings with it a history. It is both old and new combined into one system. It is earth and sky. It is past and future.

In places before us, this same wind brought damage as things broke beneath its force. People died. Animals died. Trees died. Yet, the wind is not the bringer of havoc. It is simply the force of life moving. When that force meets constraints and gets bottled up, or bunched up, the force turns inward, spinning on its own energy, yet still seeking to move forward. All of life, every energy, every force, strives to move forward. Movement is the natural force of life. When energy ceases to move, it no longer lives on the earth plane. Constrained wind force then becomes very powerful on its path. Once it finds its way to move free again, it spreads out in its enormity and weakens in its focus. The more open focused we all can become, the less we will see these bottled up weather patterns emerge with ferocity. Whether they be over land or sea, the effect is still the same. Energy is energy and it will always flow. The conditions for which it moves though can be affected by all of us. As we expand our awareness, and as we encompass the rest of life within our circle, we will see these weather patterns follow suit and spread out as well. The more they spread out, the weaker the force that hits the ground. Violence is always the gift of beauty turned inside out until the force becomes unrecognizable and the effect the polar opposite of its natural expression. It is the same force that turns the gentleness of a breeze into the force of a deadly tornado. Be aware. Your energy affects everything around you.

Talk to the wind and become friends with the force for which the wind travels. Embrace the energy of the life force and that force will comfort your heart. Let the wind move the change you yearn for into or out of your life. We can look at the snow fall and feel great coldness and the still of winter. Or we can look at the flakes for the unique beauty that each one brings as it creates itself anew from a water droplet. We can wrap ourselves in that beauty or we can curse the cold until the warmth of spring. Every season is a breath of the Earth herself. Each breath brings life and a moment for the Earth to take what she needs for nourishment. Curse neither the season nor the gifts each brings. Welcome them and you will reunite your heartbeat with that of the Earth.

This is living life awake and as a participant. It is being a part of the family of the Earth.

Keeping The Vision for 2009

2009-01-20T17:59:00.002-05:00

As we look to this new year of 2009, we take another look at the vision of Spring Farm CARES.
(From our website, www.springfarmcares.org )
By Dawn Hayman

We welcome this new year and this new season of Hope for humanity! We are looking forward with eager anticipation to all the changes and opportunities that lay ahead, not just us at the farm, but for all of mankind. This is perhaps the grandest opportunity for greatness that man has ever faced. We have crossed the threshold into a vision of a new world. And we, all of us, are the keepers of that vision. We are the creators of that experience. We are the dreamers creating the dream and bringing it into reality as we awaken. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for to save us, and our earth, from destruction. That moment is now. The heroes are right within each one of us.

At Spring Farm CARES, we realized the importance of reaffirming our vision for the work we are carrying forward. A vision that began forming 18 years ago and has not dimmed but has grown brighter, stronger, and more resilient over the years. Someone once told us on our ten year anniversary that they remembered talking to us with a group of leaders of other non-profit groups and asking us what our goals were back in our first year of operation. She told us that when they walked away from the meeting they all felt sorry for us at how delusional we were. “A couple of dreamers,” they said, “wait until reality hits them. They won’t last more than a year.” Ten years later, that person said to us, “Ladies, not only are you still here but do you realize that you have accomplished every goal on your list at that time? We once felt sorry for you, now we are asking how you did it.”

This is a powerful reminder about the importance of believing, trusting, having faith, but most of all never giving up on the vision coming from our hearts. It is not just about the farm. Not just about the organization we founded. This is about all of humanity. From the beginning, our grandest vision was to help reconnect mankind with all of nature. It was to be a part of the Oneness of Life. Yes, certainly it is about helping animals. But it is also about helping people. Because the animals taught us very quickly that humans were the ones that most needed to shift and that is what they wanted to do and who they wanted to reach. We then wanted to give the animals a place to work their magic and then we wanted to reach more than just those of you who could come to the farm. Our vision is so much larger than any one of us. It is greater than the combined efforts of the humans and animals who call this farm home. It comes from our hearts, human and animal alike, and it comes from the sacred land of this farm. The greatest compliment given to us is that we are a group of dreamers. Because dreaming is the language of the heart and soul. It is the power behind every vision and the secret of every visionary. And if we do this right, the dream will forever be new and fresh and recreated in all that we do.

We are in hard times right now. But adversity is always dimmed by hope. In spite of the current economy, the decrease in our income, the increase in expenses, we chose to continue to hold on to the vision. We are looking at our budget and cutting back where we can. We see now even more than before the importance of our being as self-sufficient and as light on the Earth as we can be. We will continue to pursue that way of life.

We strive to continue the services and programs we have in place to help so many animals in need. We have helped pay for the spay/neuter of nearly 65,000 dogs and cats in our area and still we are experiencing the pain of animal overpopulation. Over 100 orphaned kittens came to us in 2008 alone. But we must keep the vision and the hope and faith that this will change.

We strive to continue to offer sanctuary to the 250 animals in our care. Animals who are reaching out to thousands of people every year with their hearts and wisdom. We will give them the best care we have to offer, as they give back so much to all of us.

We strive to continue the magnificent work of our Nature Sanctuary, a 200 acre microcosm of the Earth, and a working example of the healing that can be done if only we listen to nature around us.

We strive to continue to reach out through education to the children in our area to teach them about what the animals have to say. The children get this information readily. They have been reaching out to us in record numbers offering all kinds of help and assistance. It is one of the most heartwarming things we have experienced. The children get it. They are our future.

We strive to continue to network with other organizations who are also working on the issues we deal with. It is through networking that the web of life operates. People are starting to realize this more and more. We see the miracles and magic of many hearts linking up with a common goal here all the time. Whether it is to help just one animal in need or a whole community, the power of joining together cannot be under estimated.

And we strive to keep the communication lines open between animals, nature, and humanity. We hope to continue to be the source of inspiration that many of you have found. We want to keep the connection between spirit and heart alive and flowing. And we want to share all we can.

The reality is that it costs us about $2,800 per day to keep our operation going. The 250 animals in our care depend on us to be here. But more than that, are the many thousands more we help each year through our outreach programs. It is enormous the number of lives we touch each year. Our education program reached well over 5,000 children in 2008 and is growing each year. Our office fields endless calls each day with animals in need. Horrendous stories that rip our hearts out. We can’t always solve the problem but every one of those phone calls gets help from us in some way. Help has never been denied to anyone, even though we often can’t take another animal in. We are also the employer of 28 people who depend on us to be here for their livelihood.

We want to continue to be here and do all the things that help us toward our ever evolving vision. We understand that no dream is too great. No mountain is too high to climb. No matter what it may look like on the outside, the strength of our destiny is the vision we each hold within our hearts. We hold tight to that vision no matter what. And we also know that the strength we have, the secret weapon that makes the miracles become reality, and breathes life into the dreams – is all of you who believe with us and join us with your help. Each of your thoughts sent our way or hearing the messages that the animals are sending out, moves us one more step down that road. Your thoughts, prayers, volunteer hours, and donations sustain us through the toughest of times and remind us of the largest truth of all – that we are all One, and we are all in this together.

Blessings to everyone for the new year ahead of us. Keep your visions. Dream your dreams. And NEVER give up hope.

What Christmas Means to Me

2008-12-20T17:23:00.006-05:00

From the animals and humans of Spring Farm CARES, we wish all of you a very happy holidays. The animals asked to be able to tell about their story of Christmas, and we couldn’t think of a better message than that. Thanks for sharing in a part of the lives of these amazing beings. The message below is narrated by Amber Donkey, but she is speaking for our animals as a whole. ---- Dawn

From Amber Donkey:

We start our story of what Christmas means to us in the barn, where your story of Christmas begins too. Christmas, as you know it, is so different than how we know it. For you it is a holiday, a tradition for some, a spiritual time for others, a commercial event, a time for Santa and talking snowmen and of course the flying reindeer. How do I know all this? You cannot possibly be alive on this planet and not know about Christmas and how it is understood and celebrated by humans. But we animals also understand about Christmas. There is an energy on this planet that signals to us when that special time is near. It is not about Christmas music, colorful lights, or gifts under the tree. It is about the life force energy that comes out of the cold, up through the snow, from beyond the crispness of the winter stars. It is the solstice and the movement of the sun and the moon. It is an energy of oneness and hope, of compassion and giving, of sharing all we have together so that we can join together to help one another. It is about joining one another in the common cause of living on this planet. It is about trusting in renewed faith that another season of growth is coming after this period of short rest. It signals a time for going within to understand our own gifts, our own warmth, our own ideas, and to let them grow within us so that they may sprout anew in the next season of growth. It is about remembering the things we are most grateful for. It is about sharing those gifts we have within us with our friends. And it is about trying to understand with compassion those who we think we can’t understand. It is about planning and creating and visioning. And most of all, it is about renewing our faith in Life itself and understanding the miracle of creation. This is what Christmas is for us. Whether you live in a barn or a high rise in a busy city, there is a quiet humbleness about Christmas that is there for you to find. It is not in stores, it is not even in places of worship, but it is within your very own heart. A compassion and a love for all living beings, and an understanding about the spiritual world within and around us – that is the meaning of Christmas.

On Christmas morning when you awaken, remember about the animals on the whole planet who also are understanding the energy of the day. It is a time when around the entire planet, people stop to share a common moment. Your turning of the new year holds that same energy and is literally shared by all, regardless of spiritual faith or beliefs. It is a time of common energy and focus. It would be a very powerful time to create and move change forward if everyone harnessed that moment. We animals understand this crucial time. We do not celebrate a holiday. We celebrate Life and the love within it. We celebrate the joining of hearts, the notion of giving, the gift of compassion, and the understanding of our oneness. We look to the stars, we look to the earth, and then we look to one another and we say to each other, “I recognize you for all your beauty.” Christmas is a time to acknowledge the gifts we are in each other’s lives.
From that perspective, we wish you all the joys of Christmas and the unity of the new year.

Thanksgiving Messages from the Animals

2008-11-26T11:05:00.003-05:00

As has been the Spring Farm tradition now for many years, we take a moment from our daily work each Thanksgiving morning and make a list of all we have to be grateful for in our lives. Each year, we also give the animals a chance to voice their special thanks as well. Back by popular demand, here are the offerings for this year. All of us at the farm wish you and your families a happy holiday.

Bo: Thoroughbred mare – I am so grateful for all of my friends. Not just the other horses and donkeys but also the ducks, chickens, cats and of course our beloved humans. It gives me great pleasure to be a part of such a loving home where we know respect and camaraderie with each other and with the humans who are in our hearts everyday. Naturally, I am also thankful for having known and to miss those who are no longer with us.

Amber Donkey: I am incredibly grateful to see the sun rise each morning. Every day that I see that, I know that there is a chance for a new beginning. That this day won’t be like any other day. Even if my routine stays the same, my thoughts change every day. Each day I am grateful to have new thoughts. In this way, no two days are ever the same.

Nutmeg: Pygmy goat – I am grateful to have a home that I love. Its not the barn that makes my home but the friends I share it with. Each morning when we hear the first footsteps of the first human to arrive in the barn, I am filled with eagerness for food, but happiness that someone who cares is here to bring it to me. I love to see their faces when they walk in the door.

Bella – female barn cat – I am eternally grateful for warmth, food, and most of all, everyone who loves me. I have such an important job in the barn. The horses depend on me to tell them what is going on outside when they are inside. The people depend on me to be here when I’m supposed to be or when I need to give a tour to visitors. And the greatest thing to be thankful for of all is my sister Izzy. We came together to be together and it has stayed that way by choice.

Bobby – male beagle mix – I only have 3 legs and sometimes people feel sorry for me. I don’t feel sorry for me. I am extremely grateful for the 3 legs that I do have. Someone shot me and left me in the woods. I was very scared, in a lot of pain, and very angry at humans. I questioned why I didn’t just die there. But then I ended up here. And even though I’ve bitten a few times, they seem to still like me. So I’ve had to try to learn another way of being. I don’t always understand these humans, but I have a job to do while I’m here. People say I’m cute. I think that is really cool. I shouldn’t be known as a dog with a missing leg but should always be remembered for a dog who found his heart again.

George – black and white Main coon mix cat – (from spirit - George just passed away the eve before our asking for these messages.) Even though I’m no longer with you in body, I am always there in heart and spirit. I have so much to be thankful for that I wanted to be included. I was thankful for a life filled with living. I lived every second of that life. I was thankful for all my friends, the cats, the dogs, Phoebe duck, Merlin the African Grey Parrot, and all my human friends. I had so many of them. I was able to live my life right up until the second I began living in spirit again. For all of the love I received and brought with me to where I am now – I will forever be eternally grateful.

Choco- male rabbit – If ever there was a lucky rabbit in this world, I am it. I hear people say that a rabbit foot is lucky. Well….I am 4 times lucky! I am grateful for extra veggies, for people to feel how soft my fur is, and most of all, I am grateful to have a safe place to stay. People may not know this about me, but I am most grateful to look into people’s eyes and see who they are. It makes me very hoppy to be alive! That is rabbit humor.

Isabelle – female all around gorgeous long-hair grey and white cat – It took people a long time here to figure out that the farm is my whole reason for being. They kept adopting me out and I kept finding ways to come back until FINALLY they got the message. THIS is my home. I am grateful for everything I have every single day. Before I came here, I ended up at a shelter where I was scheduled to die the next day because I peed on someone’s sofa. I peed on the sofa because I thought they didn’t understand me…. And you see, I was right. One pee on the sofa, my first indiscretion, and off I went to die. I don’t understand humans when they get so drastic. But each time they adopted me out from here because they weren’t listening to me either, I just got better at perfecting the pee thing. Luckily, after that first time, it got easy. I’d just pee on something meaningful and then I’d get returned here. Finally, they got it. They thought they were trying to give me something better than what they were giving me when all I ever wanted was to be here, where I was heard and understood and could just work with people on that. I am thankful every day to be able to be HERE.

Hannah – female Pit bull/beagle mix – I am thankful for being given a second chance at my life. I made some big mistakes because I was very confused. But people here taught me what it felt like to be loved and when that happened, my confusion slowed down and I was able to think and learn again. I wanted to live but thought it was useless. But I learned that they would give me a chance. I never want them to not trust me again. I am very thankful to have had an opportunity to be worthy of being trusted. I have learned so much this lifetime.

Felix – donkey – I am always grateful to be alive. I was with my friend Leo at a place where we saw a lot of our friends starve to death and we almost did too. But our friends took us in here and fed us and loved us. We were just little babies at the time and were so close to dying. Now we have our whole lives ahead of us. That horrible experience will be a small part of who we are because we have known such love and comfort in our home now. But while we are grateful to be here and be together, we know that there are many many more animals that are currently living like we were. We hope that they one day soon have something to be thankful for too.

Special Memorial from Bo

2008-10-31T09:51:00.004-04:00

Note from Dawn: Today is the 15th anniversary of the fire that took our entire barn which housed our small animals, our offices, and our living quarters. We lost everything we had in just 20 minutes. Many of you have read about the fire in our book IF ONLY THEY COULD TALK: The Miracles of Spring Farm, by Bonnie Jones Reynolds and Dawn Hayman. We lost 24 animals in the blaze started by an electrical spike caused by a car hitting a telephone pole during a freak snow storm. The horses were stabled in another barn separated only by 12 feet at one point from the inferno. The firemen managed to save the stable from burning, and we managed to get our 30 horses out before the smoke killed them. As Bonnie and I regrouped after the last horse was safely out, we came back out front to see the last wall of our beloved home collapse into a heap. We turned to each other and said, “somehow this is all going to be all right.” In those immediately spoken words were the first sparks rekindling the passion, the understanding, that we must not give up but instead move forward. The animals who died would have wanted that. And on tough days, when it felt like we couldn’t go on, I remember thinking that we do it for them. All that was left the next day were burning embers and a mountain of ash. Because of the still smoldering remains, the horses were not able to return to their barn for 2 days. Although we didn’t lose any horses in the fire, and the horse barn itself was saved, their lives were also forever touched by that night. For years, the horses have been the ones to say to us, “let’s remember those we lost that night.”

On October 29, 2008 we had almost an identical snow storm hit here. When I went to the horse barn to say good-night and be sure they were all safe and warm, Bo, (24 year old Thoroughbred mare) said to me, “we remember a night like this many years ago and I bet you do too.” She was right. The timing was eerie in a way and I did take a closer look around the barn than usual. It was hard not to be affected by that. And then Bo said, “we, the horses, would like to do a memorial for the animals we lost that night. Let us do something for them this year.”

From Bo:

Sometimes opportunities in life come to us in various disguises. Following Amber’s discussion of Halloween then and tricks and treats and costumes, I can only use that as the perfect example of what I mean. The fire that is part of our history here on this farm is a living force of the farm. It is not something that happened to us all. None of us were victims. It was a force shaping a path. It was not a darkness but it was a light bearing event. The fire happened on Halloween when many people were dressing up in costumes and looking like something else. The fire did the same thing. At first look it seemed to be a great tragedy. But underneath that disguise was a great opportunity. So often we miss the meaning of gifts being handed to us. As we were all ushered into the darkness and snow that night, we were all scared. As the fire started raging, some of us tried running back into the barn where we felt safe. Pretty soon the darkness of night was replaced by the glow of the fire and we understood the enormous loss affecting the farm. We were scared. We knew our human friends were helping us out of the barn but then we lost track of them. Some of us worried they had died too when we didn’t see them. They were worried the same thing about us. So at days first light, we were so relieved to see them come out to us. At least we all still had one another. Some of us offered Bonnie and Dawn our stalls so they had a place to sleep. As it turned out, they didn’t need that. But we would have given them that space. Even with all that they were going through, they still came out to hug each one of us and to feed us and check on us. We all knew how lucky we were to still be alive. And we all were incredibly aware of the 24 who didn’t wake up with us that morning. We also knew something else. We knew we were starting a new day. And we knew we needed to be sure that Bonnie and Dawn saw that too. They did.

We horses asked to hold the memory of those 24 who died that night as part of the living history of the farm. What this means to us is that their energy still lives on in all we do. We are the keepers of that understanding of a new day. We will always hold that space on this farm. Its not just remembering them. Its keeping who they are as a part of the daily functioning. They’d have liked that. Its not that we even think of them every day. They just are here. The fire ruins are sacred. There is always a duck who stands guard at that place. There is always life that stands among and springs from the ashes.

For as scared as we were that night to be out in the dark, cold, stormy night, after the fire burned itself out, the farm was filled with angels soaring over the pastures, playing with the horses, and blessing the farm we call home. We knew then that what happened was all for good. We knew that the ones who left us that night were a part of the new beginning. And we vowed then and there to the angels to always hold that memory and to remind anyone who wanted to listen about this truth. Always look for the disguise in tragedy, and always understand the opportunities you are given.

Tricky Humans

2008-10-30T14:31:00.005-04:00

From Amber Donkey:

Now this is a particularly funny time of year. There is this very odd human tradition of dressing up in costumes and looking totally ridiculous. Some of the humans around here have gotten carried away over the years and tried to drag us animals into this festivity. We don’t really get it. They get all dressed up and then go door to door begging for treats. Then they think if they dress us up and drag us along that they will get even more treats. I’ve spoken to some animals who participated with this silly game before. And clearly, the animals have gotten no treats whatsoever out of the deal.

Now here is the clincher. I’ve seen it myself, right here in my own barn. They come dressed up mostly like animals. Yep. I’ve seen them dress up like cats, rabbits, even a moose. But when they dress us up, they try to make us look like humans. Famous humans sometimes. At Christmas, I get dressed up like Santa. They call me the Santa Donkey. It was fun the first year as the kids really loved it. But soon, no one noticed anymore. So what is it with you humans? Why do you insist on making animals in your own image? And why on earth do you try to look like animals? I think you owe it to yourselves as a species to really look into this.

The other thing some of you try to do is to make the spirit world scary. You dress up your kids as ghosts and creepy looking things to try to be scary. These little kids then walk around being scared to death of each other. But worse than that, they become afraid of “ghosts” or spirits. I can tell you one thing. I’ve never met a spirit that looked like a limp white sheet with holes in it. Something is seriously amiss.

If you want to be more like us, then you don’t need to dress up, you just need to act more like us. Its not what you wear, but how you wear it. Its not what you say, but how you mean it. Its not what you do, but who you are. Its not about your superior intelligence, its about opening your heart. Take the focus off your brains and try to live from your hearts more, and you would end up being more like us. And no matter how you dress us up to look like people, you will never understand us more by doing so. You will never appreciate us more. You will never be like us at all. Until the day comes when you understand that we are all in this together. That your superior ideas don’t make your ideas superior. That the one thing we care most about is your hearts, your feelings, and your compassion. Costumes don’t get you there. It would be far better to knock on a door and give a treat then to keep on knocking and expecting one. No matter what you wear, its who you are that we care about.

New Hope

2008-10-18T17:45:00.004-04:00

From Dawn:

This morning I stood in our yard and watched the sun rise behind the windmills. As I looked up the newly built access road to the windmills, which I was told by the spirits of the farm to name New Hope Lane, I realized that I was looking directly into the future of the farm.

A horse in a paddock adjacent to our yard softly nickered and my heart instantly felt filled and comforted. For those of you who know horses, you will understand this. After spending the last 22 years intimately with horses, their sounds, both vocal and also from their breathing, are like an old friend. Every nuance of each breath and nicker is understood in my heart. When you’ve been around horses for a while, you learn to listen and read the subtle communications of their daily lives. Horses have a very specific nicker that they reserve for very special occasions. It is soft, gentle, loving, and it comes from the depth of their souls. I will share with you some of the occasions I have heard them use this sound and you’ll understand the meaning. In every horse birth I’ve witnessed, it is the first sound the mare makes when she turns to see her newborn foal for the first time. She reaches around, touches noses, and then nickers to them. It says to them, “you are safe, welcome to this world, what joy!” And the foal knows that sound instantly and responds. I always have thought what a beautiful sound that is to be the first sound you hear in this world. In the same vein, I have also heard horses utter this nicker as the last sound they make before they leave their bodies. It has not been at every passing that I’ve experienced this, but it has been at several. And when I hear them make that sound, I know they are seeing into spirit and are hearing, “you are safe, welcome to this world, what joy!” Many times when I’ve heard a sound in the middle of the night and worry something is wrong in the barn, I tiptoe down, open the door, and inevitably one of the horses will do that nicker. And they let me know “all is safe, all is well, rest easy.”

So this morning, standing with the rising sun, looking up New Hope Lane, and to the windmills that were just erected yesterday, I particularly took notice to the mare who gently nickered in the quiet of the morning. Her soft nicker echoed around the farm as the only sound that could be heard. It was like a tuning fork to my soul, reminding me where to focus my energy. I turned to her and she saw me as well. Nothing had to be said out loud. Our hearts were communicating in the moment. She said to me, “Do you feel the energy of the farm this morning?” I did feel the energy. It was of great hope and the promise of a new day. And like a movie playing from my memory, a flood of messages came in from so many animals who have blessed this farm. There was Tara, Arabian mare, who took me for a walk one day way out in one of our hay fields. She was so determined to go near the top of the hill. “This place right here is where I want to be buried when I die,” she said to me. I told her we didn’t need to talk about this just now. She turned to me, nuzzled my hand with her nose, and said, “oh, but yes we do dear.” The next morning she died. With great hesitation we buried her on that far off hill and it didn’t seem right putting her so far away from the barn. When I asked her why here, she replied, “this is where I will forever be connected to you and where I will see the future of the farm. Right from here.” Twenty years later now, that burial spot is directly in my backyard, right where I was standing this morning. And as I stood there, Tara came to me and said, “you see, from here I can see the entire farm. I can be closest to you. And from here you can look to the future of the farm. Never give up on hope.”

Then I remembered a morning a few years ago where I stood in this same spot and saw our goose Annie Perry and several ducks standing in the horse paddock in a row facing the rising sun. It seemed so ritualistic and important and I asked Annie what that was about. He said, “This is morning promenade. You always must give thanks to the rising sun. It is the hope and promise of the new day. You give thanks in advance for what you will receive. In the evening we have evening promenade and we face to the west and we give thanks for all we have received and look once again to the light and hope of the next day. Always we do this.”

So as I stood this morning, now years after Annie Perry has passed from our farm, I looked over to the horse paddock again and there was the morning promenade of ducks, all facing east, watching the sun rise over the windmills as I did, and welcoming the new hope of a new day.

My heart was filled with this message: Today is a new day of the future of this farm. This is the new day of hope. Not just for the farm but for the planet. Each morning as you watch the sunrise over these windmills and you gaze up New Hope Lane, let your joy of life flow free. Let the wind move your soul as it moves the blades of those windmills. Let your hope and vision spread from your heart to the world. The animals will be doing this with you. And if more and more of you do this, then hope will spread across this earth just as the wind does. These windmills are moved by the wind and power this farm. But hope is what they really spread. It is the power that comes from your hearts and empowers the world. Let your hope be the wind that stirs the trees. Let it be the vision that is enlightened by the rising sun. And let your hope be that energy that this farm sends out to the world.

Just after receiving that message, in the still quiet of the morning, the mare nickered again. And my heart understood, not just for me, not just for the farm, but for the planet she was speaking to: “we are safe, welcome world, what joy! All is safe, all is well, rest easy.”

For more information on the Spring Farm CARES alternative energy project, go to our Alternative Energy Page.

Playtime!!!

2008-10-08T10:15:00.020-04:00

From Dawn:

We have had a lot of losses lately at the farm and it is easy to get side tracked with sadness while life is continuing on with great joy all around us. I think this is why we were blessed with the arrival of these pygmy goats and the birth of little Luna, the most precocious kid we’ve ever known. If ever there was a being who came to this farm with a mission it is this gal. Every minute of her life is spent in joy. If things are too serious, well, then she finds a way to lighten them up. If the adult goats won’t play or they get butting each other around, she just jumps on top of one of them and stands there like a surfer riding a wave. Any inanimate object is an immediate piece of playground equipment. No matter what it is, it cannot possibly be too tall to be climbed or to slippery to be jumped upon. We have provided the goats with some fun things to play on in their yard and Luna was the first one up. All of 7.5 lbs now, she can jump 3 ft vertical with no trouble at all. It is just like her legs are little springs and that she is attached on this earth plane by a bungee cord. She is fearless. She is trusting. But by far the most endearing and amazing characteristic she displays is her desire and insistence on cuddling. She loves to be picked up and she snuggles right in and cuddles for as long as we will stand with her. And if you don’t pick her up when she wants you to, she stands there and paws at your leg until you absolutely must oblige. No day is too busy, no excuse for not taking time to snuggle is accepted. She is precious.

She also is starting to contemplate life. I kind of knew this was coming as I could feel the energy of this being moments after she was born and I knew she was sent here to stay with us. It feels like she knows us. She has been here before. And who she was before is not important right now. She wants us to focus on who she is now and what she has to share with us. She has come to share. She is focused. She is a straight talker. She is confident. You will be hearing more from her I’m sure. But for now, here are some of her thoughts about life and playing.

From Luna:

Here is what I say:

Find a warm place to stand in the sun and soak it up.

Find a friend to play with and play with all your might.

When you meet someone bigger than you, approach them with interest and kindness and they will approach you the same.

When you see something higher than you think you can reach, just jump for it and know you’ll land where you are supposed to. If you slide off, just jump a little higher next time. Don’t give up. If you can’t reach at first, find a friend to lend you a leg up.

And never ever forget the importance of touching with hearts. A good snuggle not only feels good to you, but to the one who snuggles with you as well. Never forget to take time out of your busy schedules to stop and just snuggle with another. Your heart will be filled with joy.

The Passing of Holly - "I Will Miss It Here."

2008-09-28T10:07:00.004-04:00

From Dawn:

On September 27, 2008 at 2pm, we had to help our dear horse friend Holly on her way. Cancer had ravaged her body slowly over the past several months and we knew her time with us was drawing to a close. Holly was a 28 year old Morgan/Quarter Horse mare. She had been with us for over 20 years.

Holly came to Spring Farm when her beloved human companion, Carol, passed away unexpectedly. Some of you may remember reading about Carol's visits to Holly in spirit form shortly after Holly arrived at the farm, in our book IF ONLY THEY COULD TALK: The Miracles of Spring Farm. There were several occassions where I would see Carol standing at the fence line reaching over and grooming Holly. These were such clear experiences and not dreams or visions. About 3 weeks ago I happened to look out one of the windows from my house/office looking over the farm and saw a woman sitting on our fence holding a halter and lead rope. I saw her out of the corner of my eye and thought - "oh, there's Margot sitting on the fence." Except I couldn't figure out why Margot would be sitting on the fence and when I looked again, no one was there. This happened more than once. The third time I saw this, a chill went down my spine. I realized it wasn't Margot I was seeing at all, but it was Holly's old companion Carol. Carol and Margot have very similar phyiscal features. I knew then that Holly's time was drawing near. I connected with Carol and asked her if she had anything to say. She said, "You've taken great care of my girl all these years and now soon I will take her back from you again. Once again it can be my turn to care for her. She will be fine with me. Its not time yet, but when it is, I'll be here."

We knew Saturday morning that the day had come to help Holly leave this body. She told us that as long as she could eat, enjoy time in her pasture, and still be seen as the beautiful being that she was that she wanted to stay every second that she could. Although she still could eat some, she could no longer eat enough to support her body and we prepared all of her animal family that the time had come. We knew Carol would come and get her, of that we had no doubts. I couldn't be with Holly as I have been laid up for several weeks and am recuperating from minor surgery on Friday. It bothered me not to be able to be with Holly physically to say good-bye, even though I knew our hearts could still connect "long distance." As I was told the vet had arrived, I connected with my friend and very clearly got one strong communication from her. "I will miss it here!" she said. I immediately began to cry. "Don't be sad for me. Just know I will miss it here. There is no greater message I could leave you with at this moment."

And then Holly gave me the following message as she peacefully passed from our embrace back to Carol's loving care.

From Holly:

I will miss it here.
I always wanted to be able to say on the day I died “I will miss it here.”
For to reach a statement as simple, as pure, and as profound as that, is proof that a good life has been lived.
Indeed, I will miss it here.
Today it rains. Some may say what a dreary day to die. However, this morning I got to stand out in the rain and know that I will miss it here.
All last week it was sunny. It was warm but not too hot; it was cool but not cold. And I felt blessed to be alive.
I have never feared and do not fear now where it is I’m going when I leave this place. But to be able to love this life so much that I can say from my heart that I will miss it, is far more important to me than the spirit home I know for sure I will find when I leave.
I have no fear, no remorse, and no sadness. I simply leave with a longing to return. And the knowledge that I can and will be back.

In this body, I was loved not for what I did but simply for who I was. Unrideable from a very young age, it would have been easy to find hardship, strife, misuse, and turmoil. But instead I found a heart who saw me as a beauty and loved and treasured me. When that kind human moved on into spirit, once again I was bound for possible trouble. Yet, this farm was then found where once again I could live my life to just be me. I could live my passion – to be a horse and love the land. That is what you let me do and helped me to achieve. For 20 years I was a part of your lives. Even for a time when I lived off this farm, loved and cared for by another as my friend, you were always here watching over me. It is not with sadness that I leave. For I know that my friend Carol is waiting for me on the other side. The place I go is back into her loving embrace and back to a home I will welcome in an instant. But I leave here wanting you, who loved me and saw my beauty of truly being who I am, to know this one last message to all of you as I now go.
I will miss it here.
Keep a space for me in your hearts where you will find me to be with you again.

For more information on Holly: Visit our the Memorial Page on our website.

On Petting Zoos and Game Farms - New Arrivals to the farm

2008-09-20T17:47:00.011-04:00

Amber Donkey: Oh did we have some excitement around here this last week! The barn was a swarm of activity when we unexpectedly became a refuge to 8 pygmy goats and 6 hair sheep. Now I had never seen either of these species before, although we do have goats and sheep here, these guys were different. And boy were they scared. It took all of us horses at least 2 days to reassure them that they were safe with us. We felt so sorry for them as their lives were turned upside down. Their family had gotten separated and split up and they were sad, scared, and in shock. But we told them all about the farm here and what we do. Just as things were quieting down a bit, someone came and took 3 of the goats. We know not all of them will stay here but we also told them that even if they leave, they would be going to safe places. The sheep can't stay here as they are known to jump fences and we are on a highway here that would be very deadly if they jumped a fence. But our folks will be sure they all stay together and go to a very nice place.

Then on Monday a miracle occurred. All of us were so excited. One of the little goats gave birth to the teeny tiniest little goat baby I had ever seen. It was about the size of our barn cats here. Unbelievable. For now, the goats have been moved to the smaller barn where they can be safe and have a pasture all to their own. Plus, they have two other donkeys looking after them so I know for sure all will be fine. The reason these guys were suddenly homeless is a very sad story indeed. One I had never heard of before. And this old donkey has heard about a lot of things. We'll let Dawn take it from here.

From Dawn:

Last week we became sanctuary to 8 pygmy goats and 6 hair sheep all of whom were headed from auction to the meat truck. Each one of these animals was sent to auction by a game farm/petting zoo. So many of us have fond memories as children of being taken to a petting zoo or game farm and being able to see and touch all the cute animals, many of them babies. Maybe some of you still take your children and grandchildren to such places. For sure, not all of them are bad. However, most people have no clue that a great majority of these tourist attractions exist not for the welfare of the animals but for our entertainment and for the profit of those who run them. By far, the biggest attractions are the baby animals. To have baby animals in abundance, many of these places over breed or allow indiscriminate breeding so that they are assured a nice supply of cute cuddly young ones when the crowds arrive to greet them each summer. Have you ever wondered though what happens to these babies? You can go back the next year and lo and behold there are all those cute babies again. But few stop to wonder where the babies from last year went. What most people do not know is that many of these petting zoos and game farms liquidate their “assets” each fall after Labor Day and when the crowds are gone. Now these same babies that you all loved and touched, and fed in some cases, are no longer an asset but a liability for the winter. Off they go to auction where they are largely sold for meat or for canned hunts.

For those of you who are not familiar with canned hunts, these are places where animals, mostly exotic types that have been hand raised at game farms and the like, are set loose in a completely fenced in area and then shot by people who pay to come and shoot them. Like a petting zoo only with guns. But instead of getting their heads petted, they get to be mounted on someone’s wall as a trophy. Canned hunts are legal in many states. And they love to buy the liquidated assets of game farms and zoos from auctions because they are generally extremely tame.

The sheep and goats that have found sanctuary with us will be assured that they will not end up in the meat truck or in the hands of the canned hunt people. A group of animal lovers and rescues bought up those hand raised animals that were certain to go for meat from the auction and they are being placed in homes by various sanctuaries and rescue groups. Spring Farm only took in a few. Just to be clear, there were over 40 pygmy goats and over 40 hair sheep that were just among some of the animals that were liquidated that day by one game farm at this one auction. There was even a baby camel, a couple of tortoises, 35 pot bellied pigs and many more, all from the same game farm. Many of the goats and sheep are pregnant. So many more lives were being auctioned off at the end of this tourist season than we will know. We will be placing the herd of sheep all together soon at another facility where they will be safe. Some of the goats have been placed and some will stay here with us. Some of the goats were ill so we are giving them time to settle in, to be sure they are healthy, and to see who is pregnant and who may not be. But just this week, one of the goats delivered an amazingly cute little kid. At less than one week old, she is out bouncing around with the other 5 remaining adults and learning about life. Born on a full moon, we named her Luna. She is feisty, determined, and very smart. And she hopefully will never have to feel the sting of betrayal of being born to get to know, love, and trust people, only to then be discarded with the trash at the end of a tourist season. She will know she is not a commodity but that she is a treasured being for her entire life and not just for when she is a cute youngster.

Our intention is to keep some of the goats to use in our humane education programs and to just let them be goats. I just wish though that the same tourists that spent their summer feeding and petting these adorable beings could have seen the look of terror and confusion in the pens at the auction, waiting for their uncertain fate, and being separated from their friends and families. And if you think they don’t care about those connections, if you think that they don’t understand where they are being sent off to and understand what the kill pens are, then I wish you could have seen it for yourselves. The look of fear and terror, the screams to each other as they were divided up and separated, and then their gradually learning trust that they have found safety again. Little Luna only knows that the sun feels good, people are friendly, and that Life is waiting for her to explore. She has the complete innocence and trust of all newborn beings. It is up to us now never to betray that.

When animals are used for our entertainment, it is up to us to be sure how their lives are being spent and what happens to them when the doors close for the season and the show is over. Are they just a seasonal commodity, bred to make a few bucks while people gather to see their beauty, only then to be discarded as a worthless liability? Or, are they truly loved, honored, and cared for, even when times are tough and the doors are closed? It is up to all of us as “consumers” to find out the answers to these questions before we promote them with our dollars. There are probably not many of you who would get a baby animal for your child or grandchild just so they can see it be young and vibrant and then send it off to a meat auction when fall comes, yet that is what we all unknowingly promote and condone when we financially support these operations. Ask questions. Life is too precious to waste. Ask Luna.

Friendship

2008-09-06T17:59:00.005-04:00

Amber Donkey: Last week was a very sad week here in the barn because we said good-bye to two of our good friends. I personally knew them both. First was Angel, a wonderful sheep and mother to Michael and Gabriel. And then there was Orion, a very handsome horse. Orion lived directly across from me and I spent many hours everyday with him. I knew him very well and we had many conversations over the years that I’ve been here. Orion was here long before I got here. But he was the first one to greet me when I walked in the door of our barn. The first thing he said to me was, “Wow! Look at your ears!” Evidently he had never seen a donkey before. And when I let out a loud bray right next to his stall, he almost jumped backward. Never before had he heard a sound like that! Orion was a guy with a lot of gumption and character. I adored him actually. Our friends are important to us. Friendships are as much a part of our lives as they are of yours. I’ve asked a few animals here if they wanted to talk about friends and a couple of them have asked to be included. The first one was Orion’s best friend TJ. TJ is blind and Orion was his eyes for him when they went outside together. They trusted one another and that is the greatest bond any two hearts can share.

TJ: (Quarter Horse gelding – mid20’s) I may not have been able to see my friend Orion, but I knew him at the level of his heart. I understood him probably more than anyone else. He was a beautiful soul and a great friend to me. I always felt safe when I was with him, even though I can’t see. He was solid, always letting me know he was there not just for me but WITH me. I needed him and he always showed up to answer that need. He understood that I just needed to know he was there with me. That’s all. But that is the greatest gift one being can give to another. Just being there, steady and solid and trustworthy. It is also true that he is no longer standing beside me. But before he left, he also understood that I have another friend now to help me. And he understood that I would always carry him within my heart. He didn’t need guidance where he was going. But we all know that someone was there to greet him on his journey. And I know that someday when its my turn to make that same travel, he will be there just as I always knew him to be when I couldn’t see but could only feel him there. For me, I almost have it easier than those who miss him because they can no longer see him. I never could see him, could only feel him, and know that I still can. Sometimes vision is an impediment to the ways of the heart.

Hero: (male cat with Spina Bifida) I was so thrilled to have had my most special friend Helen of Troy. Helen was a wonderful kitten who had spinal problems just like me. However, our condition kept neither of us from romping and playing and snuggling and cuddling together. She was not here for long with us but my heart will be forever filled with her laughter. Helen understood about having fun. She helped me to get to play more. She helped other people to see that although our bodies are different than “normal”, we still can enjoy life and be thankful for each other. I knew she wasn’t going to be here for long. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t the length of time we had together but the heart bond that we formed that truly mattered. She taught me to love life anew. What a gift her friendship was to me. I see people everyday here just plain ignore each other or be less than kind to one another sometimes. I feel their judgment that they carry. It is far more crippling to their souls than my condition is to my body. My body may not be as agile, but my heart is very fit. Helen helped me to better understand that. And now I can share the gifts she gave to me with everyone I meet, and she will still be touching them with her spirit, even though her body is no longer here. Friendship is the greatest need we have from our souls. And when freely given and shared, it is the most healing power of all. Be a friend, a true friend. And your heart will know the greatest healing of all.

To read more about the lives of Orion, Angel, and Helen of Troy, visit the Memorials Page on the Spring Farm CARES website. To read more about Amber, TJ, and the other barn animals of the farm, visit them on our Horses Page.

Welcome!

2008-09-01T11:35:00.000-04:00

Welcome, welcome, welcome! All of us animals here at Spring Farm CARES are so excited about this blog. I am Amber Donkey and I will be the main editor for this endeavor. This will be our forum to talk about different observations we may have about life on the farm or Life in general. We also will look forward to hearing your comments. No, I don’t have a computer in my stall nor do we have internet access in the barn. So let’s make sure you understand that this is real life and not make believe. Dawn will be doing all the typing and translating and filling us in on what you have to say.

All of life converses all of the time. Horses talk to ducks who talk to frogs etc. We communicate freely with all there is around us. This includes the plants and trees and all of the elements of the Earth. Humans have the ability to do this as well but many of you have forgotten. At Spring Farm CARES, we have Dawn Hayman who teaches animal communication and has done so for years. She has talked to more animals than I have! So we may even call on Dawn for some anecdotes from time to time. Let me just be sure that you understand then that the entries in this blog are not our human friends making this up for fun. This is work that our human friends are doing to listen and convey our messages to you. This is our reality. You have the choice to believe it or not. Let your heart be open to what you hear and let the wisdoms that are meant for you to understand be yours to know. Some of what we say may be very educational. Some may seem to be a stretch for you. Some will leave you laughing. Some will leave you crying. And some will leave you thinking and looking for more truths. But our sole purpose is to start a conversation. These are messages and observations to be shared. You are not separate from us. We are all one and we are all part of the same Earth. We are friends and we look forward to sharing many things together as we go. We look forward to hearing from you too!