A lot going on today. One big request.

Fierce!
Photo copyright Wings, 2014; all rights reserved.

So, I am indescribably glad that this particular weekend is over. More about that later. Maybe.

For now, gratitude, a to-do list, and one big request.

First, the gratitude: that Fineena has met her goal and is going to have a roof over her head again, reunited with her beloved four-leggeds.

Second, the to-do list: It starts this morning when we head down to Santa Fe to dismantle Wings's show and haul everything back up here. [Lots of gratitude involved in that, too, actually.] We'll be taking Griffin with us again, because of his condition. And then tomorrow and Wednesday are taken up with farriers' visits, next steps for Cree, and various and sundry appointments of different kinds. And if the weather cooperates later this week, getting the garden in — but since we're supposed to be getting rain and snow through tomorrow, that may have to wait yet another week.  Climate change; gotta love it. 

Third, the request, and it's a big one: While I'm out today, I hope everyone who reads this will promote our friend Bobby's GoFundMe page, set up to save the farm he and Juan shared that is the refuge for all their rescued animals. Out of an overall goal of $12,000, he's already raised $1,535 in three short days. There's no question in my mind that we can do this, provided people send it viral. Later this week, I really want to recruit someone to offer a challenge for matching funds to try to leverage the donation rate. If you're interested, let me know. Even if you're not in a position to give, you can promote his fundraiser by sharing this link with all your networks, on- and offline. Share and Like it on Facebook, Tweet it, Pin it, send it to all your e-mail contacts and your listervs and your GoogleGroups and your blogs and your Web sites and your other communities, repost it/cross-post it, print it out and give it to people, share it word-of-mouth.  PLEASE.

Fierce Little Fledgling Dude up there wants you to do it. And since he and his sibs survived being laid/hatched/fledged a full two months early, in the midst of drastic and extreme weather fluctuations and snow and sleet and single-digit wind chills, I think he should get what he wants, don't you?

Chi miigwech. From me, and from little apishi-gaagaagiins up there, too.

Saving a Family, and a Farm — Already More Than 1/10 of the Way There

Photo copyright Bobby and Juan; all rights reserved.

Note:  This was supposed to post much earlier, but my day and evening got hijacked. I'm posting anyway to catch any overnight surfers and my early morning peeps.

I wrote last night about the situation my friend Bobby is facing, and his efforts to save the farm he and his late husband Juan shared with their many beloved rescue animals. He has created a GoFundMe page, with an overall goal of $12,000. This will allow him to save the farm, get their animals back home where they belong, and make it until he begins his new job. 

In just over 24 hours, he's more than a tenth of the way there.

For one day (and the end of the workweek, too), that's nothing short of phenomenal.

But this means that 9/10 must still be raised. So we have work to do.

If you can give, wonderful. But I know how tough times are right now. So even if you can't, please share the link to his GoFundMe page, with everyone you know. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, news sites, listservs, GoogleGroups, e-mail, word-of-mouth, print-outs shared by hand — please share this every way you can think of, with every single person you know. You never know who will be in a position to give generously and will be moved to do so.

I'll be back tomorrow to promote it again. Yes, you're going to have to listen to me for a while. Sorry about that. Well, not really, but you know what I mean.

Here's that link again: Bobby's GoFundMe page. You know what to do.

Chi miigwech.

Who will save your soul? A horse named Ana, and her family.

Photo copyright Bobby and Juan; all rights reserved.

Sometimes, even a sanctuary needs a little salvation. And saving a sacred space is something that, for me, anyway, feels like it might just help save my soul a little, too.

At the very least, it'll bank a little good karma.

And I can't think of any space more sacred than one that serves as a refuge — more, as a place of safety and of sheer unbridled joy — for our four-legged and feathered relatives. So I'm in. So is Wings.

Here's the deal.

Last night, I posted a squib based on Sara R's diary for my friend Bobby, who has lately suffered the kind of losses no one should have to endure. Juan, the love of his life, gone last month, far too soon, after repeated valiant battles with cancer. The loss of the restaurant they opened together, where Bobby was chef, because he needed to take care of Juan. Now, the impending loss of their beloved family members, the animals they rescued and whose love they shared. And, ultimately, the loss of the farm itself — and if the farm, which is itself a sanctuary, goes, there will be no hope of getting their animals back.

Bobby needs to raise $12,000. There's a little time to reach the entire goal, and yes, it's a big one. But it can be done. In amounts large and small, big donations and widow's mites.  We're in for $50 to start things off. There'll be more down the road, but that's what we can do right now to get the ball rolling. 

Can you match it?

If you can, can you give more? If you can't, can you give $25, or $10, or $5? If you're reading this, there's one thing I know you can do, and that's share the link to bobby's GoFundMe page.

So please: Go to his page. Read it. Read the whole thing. It will make you weep, but it will also make you laugh out loud, and it will touch your heart and sear your soul with the love and beauty in it — so much love, and so much beauty, that it's almost physically painful to witness, and yet such a blessing. Something sacred.

And then send it to every single person you know. Daily Kos, other blogs, Facebook, Twitter, other social media platforms, e-mail, cross-posting, reposting, word-of-mouth. All of it. And, of course, give if you can. 

I'll be flogging this until the goal is reached, of course.

Please help me help our friend.

Here's that link again.

Chi miigwech.