The hardest part about working with animals is having to say good-bye. Sometimes they pass away, sometimes they retire to be only pets for loving homes, and sometimes they move on to a different farm that better fits their needs.
Lucy
Lucy arrived at our barn February 11, 2020. She came from a family in Geneva, FL. Lucy is a registered appaloosa, with all registered quarter horses in her parentage. Lucy is a chestnut colored mare born January 25, 1998.
Lucy moved to a friend’s barn only 2 miles away in February, 2021. She told us in her own way that it was time for her to enjoy a full retirement and spend her days grazing grass in a pasture.
Frankie, the gopher tortoise
When we moved to our property in July 2016, we were welcomed by the existing resident, Frankie the tortoise. It was always so nice to stop and say hello to Frankie on our nature walks. Frankie even had an overnight visitor once, and I created a moving video, with a soundtrack.
Sadly, in the fall of 2020, Frankie was no longer moving and I asked my friend and neighbor, Ariel, to come take a look. She is a biology teacher who (literally) wrote her masters thesis on respiratory infections of gopher tortoises. She helped us take care of Frankie’s shell. She was estimated to be around 80 years old!! She died of a respiratory illness common to Florida gopher tortoise. We miss Frankie.
