The year 2025 at the Meadow

Tomáš saw in New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at the vet with Riky, who had developed urinary stones. He had to undergo a demanding operation and then a long recovery. It was tough, but he pulled through — our little champ.

At the same time a new resident and the biggest sweetheart arrived — the ram Eda. We also set out on our first walks together.

We renewed our cooperation with the Nakrm nás and ClickAndFeed.cz initiatives. Thank you for the full tummies!

It's wonderful support for our dogs and cats, and we're very grateful for it.

In early March we held one private and, a week later, a public walk with the animals, and we organised a spontaneous work day. Thank you for coming and for your support.

Tomáš started building a polytunnel out of a former bird aviary.

Our mare Zorinka fell ill… well, she's getting on in years, our girl. We're preparing her a special diet, because she can no longer chew properly.

In April we brought in hay again.

We got mats to firm up the ground where the big animals are. Installing them was hard work, but our big animals had earned it.

In May both Kateřinas moved away at once, and so a new chapter begins… Tomáš is left at the Meadow on his own. But both will drop by to help out now and then, as will Tony.

We're finishing the enclosure by the caravan and expanding the yard, which gives us new pasture for the cows, Karel and Zorinka.

The wood-decay mushrooms donated by mushroomplanet.eu started growing beautifully.

In June, with the help of Natalie and Jarda — who came to us for a „Live the Meadow“ stay — we sheared the sheep. That help really came in handy, and for them it was a real experience.

We launched a hay fundraiser on Donio. In June we also arranged a mutual help agreement with the municipality — we mowed the surrounding ditches and in exchange got a little extra hay for our animals. Mowing the ditches ultimately gave us about 3 bales of hay.

And at the end of June we brought in another batch of hay — thank you to everyone who donated on Donio!

On 11–13 July we held our first summer work camp, which in the end drew a lot of wonderful people and got a lot of work done. Maria took part too — she found us through an interview for the show Hovory ze Země, and the Meadow called to her. In the end she decided to move in with us in the autumn together with her dog Kesu and to co-create this place with us.

At the end of July Tomáš helped lead a camp at Farma naděje (Farm of Hope) — one night he and the kids came over to our meadow and slept under the stars. The children were, of course, absolutely thrilled. It's a joy for us to share our life with the younger generation and inspire them toward a compassionate life in harmony with nature and animals.

To grow and let grow — to do all we can to save them, but when the time comes, to let them go.

At the same time we welcomed another wonderful being into our sheep gang — old Lucinka, who had lived a lonely life and had never seen another of her kind. She quickly joined our flock, though, and now she's the cheerful, curious chief explorer of the whole meadow.

The second Loukáda, this time all about stocking up on firewood.

In early August we took in more companions — the beautiful sheep Anaya and a 3-month-old baby, the mouflon Yakkul, brought to us by the women from a rescue station in Prague. He was born prematurely and had little hope of being accepted by a herd, so he came to us. And here he became a great companion — so far mostly of the dog and human pack — but he's a wonderfully clever explorer and a little boss.

Pumpkin season. As every year, we took part in Dýňový svět (Pumpkin World) at the Pipek family farm — our annual hectic stretch when we work, run a stall and keep the meadow going all at once. It was hard work, but together we managed it. Maria and both Kateřinas joined us. At the end we filled the store with pumpkins for the animals.

In September Listík went missing. We combed the area, put up flyers in the nearby villages and posted everywhere online. Sadly, he hasn't turned up so far. We miss him dearly, because he was a wonderfully cheerful and wild companion; he brought lovely energy here and was a great support to Tomáš in hard times. But we believe he's happy wherever he is, still spreading his amazing energy.

We again joined the nationwide ANIMAL DAY 2025 fundraiser organised by Běhejme a pomáhejme útulkům (Let's Run and Help Shelters). 160 shelters take part and the fundraiser ends in January. The amount raised already far exceeds last year's. It's amazing to see the solidarity growing here in our country.

At the end of October we drove to Prague for an operation with Princezna (our pig). Her condition had been worsening for a while and she was in pain. In the end they removed a huge tumour from her uterus. She came through it wonderfully and soon began to bounce back — now she's in her element again. She'll probably face another operation, though. Even the first one was demanding, so we're immensely grateful for the support of all the kind people.

In November we had to cancel the planned work day and walk because of the health of some of the animals and human members.

Our hope that Listík would return began to fall away like the colourful leaves. He was a bright, mischievous little flame to us (and especially to Tomáš) at a time when there was less light. We're grateful to you for everything, and hopefully we'll meet again.

We expanded and improved the animals' shelters, repaired the kitchen and covered its terrace. We continue to work with Nakrm nás, through which gifts for the animals come to us from our supporters, and at the end of the year we're again joining the Click and Feed initiative.

In December we held a walk with the animals, which somewhat rounds off our year.

This whole year was deeply transformational for us — full of change, farewells and arrivals, falls and new hope. Tomáš was alone at the meadow for a long time, and keeping a sanctuary running single-handedly with about 100 animals really isn't easy. He didn't give up; he held on with hope and surrender to the process… and so new people could come with new energy and a shared vision.