What a night. Everyone is exaustedš
Last night we had a major wind storm or ābomb cycloneā as they called it with winds as strong as 50-70mph in some areas including ours. We prepped the farm and the animals as best we could but I donāt think anyone really knew the extent of what to expect. As the night went on, things got worse so I decided to evacuate my home which is lined with a massive wall of trees and hunker down in my neighbors/best friends house next door. We watched trees and branches come down left and right through the window, and sirens blaring by every few minutes. Around midnight I went to check the animals and found five of our temporary shelters (which we very securely posted into the ground on all corners before the storm) absolutely demolished. Panels bent, broken boards and three pastures of fencing ripped away. With the help of my amazing partner we managed to get the horses moved around to different paddocks safe for the night. The donkeys shelter was also obliterated and they were loose in the front yard, but for a split moment my heart sank when little Charlie (the formerly sick 7 week old donkey) wasnāt with the herd and was no where to be found. I was so worried he was stuck or hurt but luckily we finally found him tucked behind one of our sheds and reunited him with the others. As of this morning everyone is doing well and resting since no one slept last night. As for the shelters, we are working on cleanup duty major of the day. I donāt usually ask for funds unless itās somewhere we truly need for the animals, however this is likely going to be $2000-$3000 of damage between all the shelters, panels and fencing carnage. I am hopefully to gently put it out into the universe, if anyone would like to help send a donation towards new shelters for the animals it would be so greatly appreciated.We have several different platforms for donating, thank you all so so much for your continued love and supportšVenmo/Paypal: @ Kataluna
Watch as the winds get stronger and eerier throughout the day todayš Thereās a supposed ābomb cycloneā visiting our beautiful state of Washington tonight, but rest assured all the animals are tucked away safe and sound for the evening. Iāll be going out in a few hours to give an extra bit of dinner to everyone just to keep nerves settled. So far itās been minor compared to what weathermen predicted but will continue into the night. Neighbors already have power outages and downed trees blocking roads but we are still doing alright hereš¤
Our sweet Aurora, when she first arrived to Kataluna we had no clue what her outcome would be. Itās been a lot of ups and downs in the process but right now in this very moment, she is enjoying life. And enjoying life for *her*. I had several people reach out to me initially when we first brought Aurora in, requesting to be on a waiting list to adopt her as a riding horse or a work horse. This was before we even knew what was going on internally, and as for all our animals, their needs come first. As we started to learn more and I started to share the extent of her situation, that potential adopters list got smaller and smaller until it completely vanished. I understand completely when people have dreams and desires for their equestrian journeys and we support that for horse and human best we can, but it saddened me a bit for Aurora because I knew thatās how sheād been viewed likely her whole life. A tool, for someone elseās desires despite what she was going through. So when our volunteers take the time out of their busy days to come give her love and cookies *for her*, and our herd invites her to join them in the pasture *for her*, and our vet and farriers work their butts off to find ways to keep *her* comfortable, despite the outcome, I know sheās found her place. Sheās happy. Thatās all I could ever ask for.
Today marks a hard day, to put it lightly. Seven years ago today I had to say goodbye to the most special man in my life, my father. And just a few years later, on this very same day I had to say goodbye to the most special horse in my life, Luna. November 9th, my hardest day of the year. Not only are we marking seven years without my dad, but this is the first whole year without Luna. One whole year. Honestly itās still hard for me to believe itās been that long without her presence on this earth. In my head, I wanted to make this big tribute video for you Luna. I had an entire year to put one together, but I couldnāt. I couldnāt look through our memories without my heart hurting so much, and when I did, I kept going back to these moment. These moments right here when time was frozen except for you and I. Nothing else mattered in the world as long as we had each other. I think about these moment a lot. I knew there would come a day your body would not be here, but I had no doubt Iād still feel your heart and soul every day moving forward, continuing to be my guardian angel like you always have. I miss you immensely Luna, but I see your signs. I feel your love from our heavenly herd and family up there with you. Itās that love that keeps me going. Thank you for that.
I cannot thank you all enough for everyoneās support this weekendā¤ļøāš©¹ This was definitely a weekend filled with every type of emotion you could imagine. Iāve been trying to update our stories as often as I can, but we definitely hit the ground running full speed yesterday. I am headed out this morning to feed everyone breakfast and regroup with the herd, and then I will share more about who came home with us this weekend. For now, just know because of you guys, we managed to bring home *seven*. Seven lives changed forever. Here is a video of the first three. Our three little babies with leg deformities, bred for color and profit, but pulled from their momās way to early and dumped at auction because they were āimperfectā. They are home and settling in well. We love them so much already. Youāre safe little ones.
If thereās one things this valley has taught me, it is to be the one who sees the rainbows in all the rain. To live a colorful life that may not look like everyone elseās. To bring unexpected joy in times where someone might need it most. To live in this very moment which we cherish so dearly because we know it wonāt last forever. Be someone others can look up to. But most importantly, be true to yourself because although not everyone may see it, when you let just enough light in, the magic of our own beauty can shine so brightly its radiates across entire skies.
ā¼ļøURGENT FUNDRAISERā¼ļø
ā¤ļøāš©¹FUNDRAISER STARTEDā¤ļøāš©¹ šØPregnant Donkeys & October Auction SavesšØGoing into winter, we havenāt taken in any new rescues as weāve been focusing on rehabbing the ones we currently have in our care, as well as working day in and day out to prep as best we can for our winter rain season. With everything under wraps, itās time to jump back in. I was contacted by an auction yard in Texas about seven mini donkeys coming into their weekly sale on Wednesday. Four of which are heavy bred, one is a mama with a 3 week old Jenny foal, and one jack whoās been running with them. We see a lot of mini donkeys who sell at auction for higher dollar amounts because horse flippers know they can bring in more money elsewhere. Moving them from auction to auction which is no life for any animal, especially carrying a foal and being so close to delivery. Having Beansly and Prim born here on our farm, it just breaks my heart wondering what would have happened to them had their mamas not been rescued. So we want to do the same for at least some of these donkeys where we can. We are working to collaborate with another sanctuary on the herd, but our funding efforts will really determine how many of these little pens we can bring in. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE, I promise every single donation matters, no matter how big or small!ā¤ļøVenmo: @katalunahorserescue_ ā¤ļøPayPal: @Kataluna Horse Rescueā¤ļøZelle: [email protected]ā¤ļøCard/Apple Pay: link in bio (donorbox.org/donate-today-257) ON TOP OF THATā¼ļøWe have decided to attend a new auction out of state at the end of October. Iāll be sharing more details on this soon but this auction tends to have 200-400 loose sale horses on average *every month*. Thereās a lot of reasoning as to why I am feeling called to visit this auction in particular, but we truly hope the outcome will be change the lives of a few horses that we can. For now we will focus on getting our donkeys home and I will
Sometimes the videos arenāt extreme or extravagant. Sometimes thereās not many words for me to share. Most the time, to really *feel* whatās going on around us, we just need to pause, and listen. One breath at a time, focus on the moment thatās right in front of you. Life happens too quickly to not appreciate each moment for what itās worth.
Just as a little happy Tuesday reminderš Baby Prim is getting so big and absolutely loves to play with her new best friend Mrs Soccer Ballš„¹ Can you believe sheās four months old already??
