Water Lily arrived at the Anipal Sanctuary to reunite with her good friend, Thumper.  I told you she was white with blue eyes…it is true…she is delicate, sweet, and tiny.  She does have a big appetite for such a small little Princess.  She has a “big” secret that no one knows for now. I decided since Thumper and Water Lily would live now in a Hoop House, they should have the honor of being christened…Chief Thumper and Princess Water Lily…Adventurer and Adventuress. Princess Water Lily and Chief Thumper are now going to begin a great adventure that they can share with you whenever you come to “All Things Adventure”.    Through their adventure, you can learn about the Native American way of life.  A life that was rich with growing food, learning how to survive in all kinds of weather, and making goods to barter. So, before I tell you what happened when Princess Water Lily arrived, I want to share my thoughts with you on a Hoop House…that is where Princess Water Lily and Chief Thumper will live very soon.  We are currently building their new  “house” which arrived yesterday.  Their new house will be placed in the Hoop House. … Continue reading →

I will start here with another saying …  “What’s Good Today is Bad Tomorrow” and “What’s Bad today is Good Tomorrow”  Tomorrow is here … and, Yes, I know … Thumper was not supposed to come to the Anipal Sanctuary … but miracles happen … and  Thumper is here … and  What a great, little guy he is:) I guess you know what this means…?  Thumper will join the “All Things Adventure” in a series of stories so you can read about him and his adventures in the Hoop House.   What is a Hoop House?  Some of you may already know … If not, you will find out because that is where Thumper lives now … Thumper already has something to share with all those who would like to follow his adventures and that is … Water Lily is coming at the end of next week …   Who is Water Lily?   Well, I can’t say at the moment but you will definitely want to know more about Water Lily … She is very special, too …   She is Polish and has blue eyes … Yes, it is true and that is all I am going to … Continue reading →

“Do You Have Time to Be My Friend” is the first of four musicals born out of the Dreamland Carousel of Seasons. Winter White’s musical was first performed on stage with 100 children in ballet several years ago. A large portion of the proceeds were donated to a Women and Children’s Shelter in Ludington, Michigan. The story was born from a true-life tragedy of suicide in my family, but came alive again as hope through a dream. The Winter Musical tells the story of a Snowman who longs to express what is really inside him before he melts away. The story is about looking deeper than the surface, capturing the present moment, taking time to be someone’s friend and learning to express the joy and love that is sometimes hidden inside us. Even though it is difficult for the Snowman to speak…he struggles against his own nature of being unable to talk and catches the children’s attention just before they turn away to go and play. Snowman shows that even though he melts away in Mr. Sun’s warm sunshine, he will return again in more snowflakes in another place and time to dance and sing with the children once more. … Continue reading →

It is with great sadness that I write a memorial to one of our beloved Caucasian Anipals. Caucasians are Guardian Dogs originally from Russia.  They are very large and can look like bears or wolves.  They attend to herd animals or act as Guardians to humans. Zeila Uta came to our Sanctuary a few years ago when she was re-homed from New Mexico.  She was a beautiful girl who ran like the wind.   Zeila had been from the beginning very untrusting and afraid from her previous experiences so it was a challenge to earn her trust.   We did earn her trust, however, over the years.   She loved us and we loved her with all our hearts. Zeila Uta became confident and grew into her own presence with grace and good behavior.  She resembled a large grey wolf.  She was so much fun to see bounding around sparring with her other Caucasian friends. To our shock, as she was only 4 1/2 years old, she developed a spinal problem that paralyzed her overnight.  She was so brave as she tried to show us she could still come out of her overnight pen using only her front paws to … Continue reading →

Today was an unusual day for me in many ways.  I woke up and realized that something I had worked on for years was finally out into the marketplace to find its way in the world. Besides the creative writing and music I have done for 27 years, I have a 501 (c) 3 Animal Sanctuary with many animals both great and small.  I have been writing many of their stories for years now. One of the “All Things Adventure” in the near future will be “The Adventures of the Ani-pals” that live here at the Sanctuary. I plan on a complete series entitled “The Great Mother Storybooks” …   You might wonder why I call them the Great Mother storybooks? … All my Ani-pal friends see me as their “Great Mother” because I feed and care for them everyday in every way …   That makes me great to them:)   I bet all of you have a “Great Mother” also … These storybooks will be about all the adventures I have had over many years with all my special Ani-pal friends.   Many of my friends have gone on to greener pastures … Many still remain …  None … Continue reading →