Winter Disaster Recovery

Hello! Some of you may know our small human family of 4 and our 4 legged squad of rescued extended family ❤️ but for those who don't, We are a private family owned farm located in the Kawartha Lakes who are dedicated to providing loving and forever homes to animals in need by a family who loves with them with their whole hearts!

This winter sadly came with its struggles, the biggest of which, being the collapse of one of our barns during the 3 day snow dump that hit Southern Ontario. The collapse of this barn is more than just a financial loss for our family, it is a piece of farm history lost. It was the oldest building on our property, built in 1901 by my grandfather and has since held powerful memories. Our hopes are to preserve and salvage as much timber from the original structure as possible and to then one day incorporate it into hopefully, a future build.

Please note that NO animals or beings were injured in the collapse of this building and for that we are most grateful. However, it did collapse on our smaller tractor, as well as our newly purchased bush hog causing significant, (terminating) damage. In the collapse of the barn, the closest hydro pole was also broken and extensive electrical damage was done, including an electrical panel being destroyed. All damage requires repair/replacement. We were given a quote for the very BASE repairs that would include the replacement of the hydro pole (this runs power to our main barn which is then responsible for heating the majority of our horses water sources/electric fencing, etc, a necessity to our farm and our animal family) and fixing/mounting/redirecting all cabling. We were quoted $3955 for just these repairs.

We have also had a very kind professional gentleman/friend of the family step up to offer his help and dedication in building us a new barn for just his cost for supplies. He feels that with budget of $20,000 he could do a nice rebuild for us that would greatly benefit our farm and animals as a whole!

As for our equipment, tractors are not cheap, but they are one of our backbone farm tools that we can not go without. We are extraordinarily thankful for the kind soul who is temporarily lending us theirs for the time being until we can find a reliable replacement. This tractor is used to feed our horses hay, remove and manage waste, along with working fields/planting hay, pasture maintenance and more. Recovery for this loss alone could amount to $10,000+ for a reliable used replacement.

Insurance has been incredibly difficult to work with on this unexpected disaster. They are offering us only $10,000 in coverage and sadly, this won't come even close to covering all the damage that we incurred. Unfortunately because another claim was made under 12 months ago for flooding in our newly finished basement (caused during a severe thunderstorm/power outage) resulting in significant damages, insurance has also advised us against making the claim at the moment.

What we've lost? A 20ft×60ft barn, a tractor, a bush hog, multiple power tools, an electrical panel and access to any power to all the newly installed points running from that panel for our animals, but also lost a piece of family history and hearts.

We are reaching out to our community, whom have been so uplifting during this challenging time, in hopes for help. Help to recover this loss for our family. Be that through donation of items/equipment, supplies for a rebuild, monetary donations, providing helping hands, or uplifting verbal support as we navigate this. All monetary donations are being put directly towards the repair of the hydro pole/electrical work required, the replacement of Tractor/Equipment lost in the collapse and the construction of a new barn. If we surpass the goal set, all additional funding will be put towards beneficial barn and tractor upgrades. While we recognize that we might not meet our financial goal and that we may not recover our losses from this unexpected disaster, any amount and support will go far in helping us in a forward direction.

Updates will be posted along our journey for all who choose to follow.

Thank you so much for following us this far, and for your continued love and support