Santuario Cielos Azules

17/04/2023

Hora de decir adiós. Un recuerdo de 2017 (English follows)

Todos los años tenía que regresar a Canadá por 5-6 meses. El año anterior en mi último día, estaba parado junto a Canela en su pradera y le explicaba que me iba de nuevo por 5 meses. La había dejado una vez antes. Durante ese tiempo, tuvo cuidadores amorosos y concienzudos en el lugar para que ella y los otros caballos nunca estuvieran solos. También hacía videollamadas cada dos semanas.

Esta vez, cuando me despedía, Canela se acercó y me mordió con fuerza en la parte superior del brazo. No me sacaron sangre, pero me hizo gritar de dolor y sorpresa. Nunca me había mordido antes, o desde entonces. Le pregunté a Hector, que estaba mirando, qué pensaba de ella de repente mordiéndome. Dijo sin vacilar ni dudar "Ella sabe que te vas y no está contenta".

Este año me paré fuera de su pradera al otro lado de la cerca cuando me despedí. Mi voz es triste porque las despedidas son duras. Ruberto, Ángela y Estrella se acercaron a la cerca para despedirse. Canela me ignoró por completo, apenas levantando la cabeza para mirarme, fingiendo que estaba demasiado ocupada comiendo. Incluso Valla, que odia a los humanos, reconoció mi adiós. Se acercó con su potro recién nacido, se puso de pie y me miró. No Canela. Ella me ignoró deliberadamente.

Entiendo. No es como si pudiera enviarme un mensaje, o decirme cómo se siente... o morderme.

Ercilia, Héctor y Lorenzo los amarán y cuidarán mientras yo no esté, pero los extrañaré mucho y creo que, a su manera, ellos también me extrañarán a mí.

Time to say goodbye. A memory from 2017

Every year I had to return to Canada for 5-6 months. The previous year on my last day, I was standing next to Canela in her pasture and explaining to her that I was leaving again for 5 months. I had left her once before. During that time, she had loving , conscientious onsite caretakers so she and the other horses were never alone. I also did video calls every two weeks.

This time, as I was saying goodbye, Canela reached over and bit me hard on the upper arm. No blood was drawn but it made me yelp with pain and surprise. She had never bitten me before, or since. I asked Hector, who was watching, what he thought of her suddenly biting me. He said without hesitation or doubt "She knows you are leaving and she is not happy".

This year I stood outside their pasture on the other side of the fence when I said my goodbyes. My voice is sad because goodbyes are hard. Ruberto, Angela and Estrella came over to the fence to say their goodbyes. Canela totally ignored me, barely lifting her head to look at me, pretending she was too busy eating. Even Valla, who hates humans acknowledged my goodbye. She came closer with her newborn foal, and stood and looked at me. Not Canela. She studiously ignored me.

I understand. It is not as if she can message me, or tell me how she feels… or bite me.

They will all be loved and cared for by Ercilia, Hector and Lorenzo while I am gone but I will miss them so much, and I think, in their ways they will miss me too.

09/10/2022

So I asked Elon Musk on one of his many online profiles/pages for a discount on internet access for the sanctuary. No answer.

09/08/2022

Instead of paying attention in class when I was a child, I was lost in thought looking out the window. When I couldn't name the animal in the poem that the teacher had just recited, she made me memorize the whole poem. I never forgot it. And when I saw Canela standing in the meadow and that clear calm light in her eye I remembered this poem again.

Nicholas Nye
by Walter de la Mare

Thistle and darnell and dock grew there,
And a bush, in the corner, of may,
On the orchard wall I used to sprawl
In the blazing heat of the day;
Half asleep and half awake,
While the birds went twittering by,
And nobody there my lone to share
But Nicholas Nye.

Nicholas Nye was lean and gray,
Lame of leg and old,
More than a score of donkey's years
He had been since he was foaled;
He munched the thistles, purple and spiked,
Would sometimes stoop and sigh,
And turn to his head, as if he said,
"Poor Nicholas Nye!"

Alone with his shadow he'd drowse in the meadow,
Lazily swinging his tail,
At break of day he used to bray,--
Not much too hearty and hale;
But a wonderful gumption was under his skin,
And a clean calm light in his eye,
And once in a while; he'd smile:--
Would Nicholas Nye.

Seem to be smiling at me, he would,
From his bush in the corner, of may,--
Bony and ownerless, widowed and worn,
Knobble-kneed, lonely and gray;
And over the grass would seem to pass
'Neath the deep dark blue of the sky,
Something much better than words between me
And Nicholas Nye.

But dusk would come in the apple boughs,
The green of the glow-worm shine,
The birds in nest would crouch to rest,
And home I'd trudge to mine;
And there, in the moonlight, dark with dew,
Asking not wherefore nor why,
Would brood like a ghost, and as still as a post,
Old Nicholas Nye

03/08/2022

To celebrate my birthday this year, please become a member of my ‘other” page, even if just for one month. My passion is the animal sanctuary, Santuario Cuelos Azules, and membership fees help me to care for the animals at the sanctuary. For as little as the cost of a cup of coffee once a month, you will have access to my original short stories and an open invitation to visit the 26 animals whose lives were changed by finding a home at the sanctuary.
There is no board of directors, no advertising budget, no marketing team… just me and the caretakers. You can cancel at anytime, but I hope the stories will transport you to a kinder, gentler world that you will look forward to visiting.

The next true tale that will be featured on my “other” page (link still in first comment) is the story of Canela, the horse that rescued me. After that a short riff on decisions and then, a new creation...The Heart of a Chipmunk

In the end, all that matters is kindness.

01/06/2022

Welcome to my Patreon page !!!

It will feature my original short stories; a diverse collection of small epiphanies and brief moments in time that tweaked my perception, illuminated my path and shaped my life. I hope they will elicit a smile, a soul recognition, or a sense of wonder from you. All these tales are true. I have not yet mastered the art of fiction.

All members can preview them before they go into the book. Of course I want your opinions, and any grammatical corrections or creative suggestions.

The small monthly membership fee on Patreon will help me pay for food, vet’s bills and caretaker’s salary (I am too old to repair fences or build a horse stock) for the 9 horses, 5 dogs and 7 cats who live at the sanctuary, Santuario Cielos Azules. All Patreon members are invited to visit the sanctuary and meet the animals they are helping with their monthly support. The animals would love to meet kind humans.

All of the kind wonderful humans who donated to the sanctuary before April 30, 2022 will receive every short story by email. If you donated and do not receive the story by the end of today, please message me.

Here is the first story I am posting on Patreon. It is part one of a trilogy about a quirky family of chickens who taught me about their world.

Please tell me if there are any glitches in the website, it is a learning curve for me.
https://www.patreon.com/SharylThompson

Become a patron of Sharyl Thompson for El Santuario Cielos Azules today: Get access to exclusive content and experiences on the world’s largest membership platform for artists and creators.

31/03/2022

2015 Mookie, me, Canela, Xena and Casper

06/03/2022

A recently described species of octopus needs a name, and it's so cute scientists Might Name It ‘Adorabilis’. What do you call an octopus that's got stubby little tentacles, is bright pink, super squishy, and looks like a Pac-Man ghost? Why not Adorabilis, suggests its describer, Stephanie Bush,...

05/03/2022

For now, memories will have to do. This one is from 2015.

A New Arrival

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting by the bay window reading when I heard a sound like a cat meowing. Since Cali, our anti-social orange cat was on the patio getting some sun, I thought maybe it is a bird who sounds like a cat. My brilliant leaps of deduction.

When the sound continued, I went outside to find the source. Walked down the long driveway to the road and the meowing was louder. Finally found the source. A scrawny, malnurished, dirty little kitten was peering out at me from the lower branches of a tree. It was eye level with me, and desperately trying to get me to understand its plight. I carefully removed it from the tree and cradled it in my arms as I walked back up the driveway.

Xena, our alpha dog, also a rescue, was the first to investigate. I crouched down to her level and showed her the kitten. After sniffing the kitten from head to toe she gave a friendly high pitched bark of approval. Xena is about the size of a large cat so she saw a potential playmate immediately. I went through the same process with Casper and Mookie and Perujah, and all the dogs approved after carefully sniffing the kitten. Meanwhile the kitten was meek, weak and accepting of the dog's noses.

After it passed the canine inspection, there was Cali. Cali hates all other cats so she hissed and yowled and walked away in a stiff-legged huff. Well, I will give the ill-tempered Cali (short for Caligula) a few days to get over this, I thought. The new kitten was defleaed and fed and given water.

It is a few weeks later and the kitten has beguiled its way into all of our lives, effortlessly scaling all of the barriers of Cali . It has a totally charming personality, playful yet acquiescent. When you hold it in your hands it is so malleable, you can turn it upside down and it will lay there limply, like a wet noodle, totally trusting you will not harm it. In fact, I think I will call it Noodle.

Here is Noodle.... three weeks later being a limp noodle.

27/12/2021

from December 2018

Intervention. On the morning walk, Bengal tries to tempt gullible Rocky into the ravine. Twice Bengal taps Rocky on the back and races down the hill. It will be too difficult for Rocky to crawl out with his short puppy legs and that will make Bengal laugh. I intervene.

https://www.facebook.com/sharylt2/posts/10155643166656205

26/11/2021

From 2015. Now there are 9 horses, 6 dogs and 7 cats at the sanctuary. We still need your help.

Some of you asked what I do with the money that is donated to the sanctuary. I offer food, shelter and a safe place to abandoned dogs and cats. They seem to find their way to me. I also try to save horses from slaughter and let them live out their years in peace and safety at the sanctuary.

This is the animal auction. After years of working tirelessly for their human owners, too many horses are sold to slaughterhouses at the animal auction.

It is heartbreaking that I cannot rescue more but I can only pay what my pension can afford. Usually I am bidding against butchers so every penny you send will save a life. You are all welcome to visit anytime and see the animals you have helped rescue. These two videos were taken today. I have to return next week with the prerequisite documentation, and then I hope to rescue one, and maybe two of these beautiful creatures and help them learn to trust again and live without fear with lots of open space to run and graze and commune with other horses.

If you haven't yet donated, just imagine for one brief minute if you were born a horse instead of a human and you were terrified, cramped in small pens with other terrified horses, screaming, panicking, sensing danger and death. You would want to be rescued, wouldn't you? We are all connected. Please help save a life today. Below is the donation link. Every little bit helps. It may not make a huge difference in your life but it will make a huge difference in theirs. If you are in dire straits and cannot help, please share. Thank you from them and me. ❤

https://www.gofundme.com/f/animal-sanctuary-seeks-funds

https://www.facebook.com/sharylt2/videos/10153111502476205

My dream has always been to give a forever home to unwanted or abandoned animals. I ret… Sharyl Thompson needs your support for Animal sanctuary seeks funds.

17/03/2021

March 2017 *Do not read while eating*

An adult female greyhound arrived at the sanctuary 6 weeks ago. She had a softball size tumor in her ge***al area and it was oozing blood and pus. Probably used for breeding and when she got infected her owner threw her away. Vet said she had venereal cancer and it was highly contagious but there was a treatment. For the 8 weeks of treatment she would have to be isolated from the other dogs. The vet was not sure she would recover and survive the treatment, considering the size and condition of the tumor… but she did. The tumor has shrunk, it is no longer an open wound. Her name is Onyx. She is on a chain in the photo because she was highly contagious and I had to keep her separate from the other dogs. Photo of tumor in comments.