Well, we’re wrapping up another year. Where did the time go?! This year has been a whirlwind of activity as we expand and grow in ways I’d never imagined. I have to admit I’ve been lax on posting updates and keeping “a visible presence” online. Please forgive me as I continue to stumble and fumble my way through operating our little endeavor. Can I be candid? I never intended to start a business. I’m simply meeting needs (where possible) and hanging on for dear life.

Say it with me: “supply chain.” I can’t tell you how many panic attacks I’ve had trying to keep things in stock! It’s been especially challenging dealing with my vendors who can’t provide supplies or whose prices have skyrocketed. I even had one of them adding a surcharge. Ugh.  In some circumstances we’ve had to temporarily remove some of our store items until the market settles. Regardless, I have done my absolute best to keep my prices stable and have taken the financial losses personally.

All of this has served to motivate me to work harder to turn our new property into the bountiful Eden I had intended. We’ve had to implement a no-weekends policy for our availability for adoptions and surrenders as weekends are devoted strictly to farm operations. By doing so, we’ve managed to clear some areas of the property and finally got our mulberry orchard in. Currently we have about 50 or so individual trees with room for another dozen. Some of the larger trees that we “temporarily” planted in our old location took root with a vengeance. We finally wrangled the last of the transfers yesterday. Having our own mulberry orchard will give us pristine new growth for our chew toys and leaves that we can harvest and dry at their peak. It will be nice when we can produce all of our necessities directly from the property. Apple, pear and pecan orchards are still a work in progress.

My pride and joy this year, however, has been our trellis system! We used 4’x6’x8’ posts set 3 feet in the ground with concrete. We attached livestock wire for the support walls and arches. The system is set up near two water hydrants that will allow us to irrigate if the weather is too dry. Our trial run started a bit late this year, but we managed to produce some beautiful loofah.  It was a glorious sight. Additional trellises and/or fencing will support kiwi vine, grapevine and raspberry.

As you can imagine, farm work is hard work. But it’s immensely satisfying. Even still, those weekends that are supposed to be chinchilla-free are actually devoted to stuff… for... the… chinchillas. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Good bye 2020. Hello 2021

It’s January 2021 and it appears we’re still seeing 2020 complications overflow and taint our novel year. The global pandemic situation hasn’t changed at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. It’s been a long time since we’ve had an update. Don’t hate me when I say, hindsight is 20/20. The year was a remarkable one and we’d like to share some thoughts and maybe a couple of rants.

The stay-at-home mandates gave people insight as to what it was like to be caged. We learned what it was like to have every decision dictated. We experienced what it was like to be controlled.

Surprisingly, it was a fantastic year for pets. Pet surrenders were very low. Animal adoptions were extraordinarily high. And quarantine snacks, toys and new cage layouts became things of great importance. Needless to say, we’ve been busy keeping up with everyone’s needs. I wish I could say the same for some of our suppliers and the USPS!

With regards to shipping, we’re hearing from folks who placed orders at the end of November and still haven’t received their boxes of goodies. Word is that 30 postal service workers in the Richmond hub walked out on the job over the holidays. As the majority of our boxes go through the Richmond hub, this has caused some displaced frustration. On business days, we ship out orders almost immediately upon payment receipt. We’ve begun to include tracking information with all orders and encourage y’all to contact USPS first with your concerns about late or missing deliveries.

In 2020 we had more adoptions than surrenders. Many chins who had been waiting since the year prior for “their people” finally went to new homes. For the first time since I can remember, we actually have a waiting list of folks who want to adopt. The wait list has been helpful for weeding out those who contact us on a whim (no pun intended).

Considering a certain percentage of those on the waiting list either fade away or do not meet our adoption requirements, our availability has been a limiting factor too. Operating the rescue and web store is a full time job. It entails answering emails, arranging and overseeing pair bonding and adoptions sessions, keeping supplies in stock, creating blog and social media posts (HAHAHAHA, I’m failing on that one…) and growing, tending and harvesting our natural resources. It’s not unusual for Whimsy to work from sunrise to sunset and beyond. For this reason, we do NOT offer evening hours and strongly defend weekends as time allotted for farm and family. I hope you understand.  

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Now that we’ve got that bit of housecleaning out of the way, lets focus on the fur babies, shall we?

Right before the year’s end we were called upon to retrieve 6 chinchillas from a multi-species hoarding situation. The one male is in great shape, but appears to not play well with others. A trio of girls came in fair condition where just one had some large fur mats that were carefully removed with a chinchilla grooming comb. But it’s the girl pair that broke my heart. They are thin, severely fur chewed, and stay huddled together tightly. It just goes to show that some chinchillas in the same situation can be resilient while others are more fragile. Our goal is to soothe the pair to the point where their fur is no longer their primary chew toy. The scary thing is, these chins seem so familiar… I wonder if they have been through Whimsy’s before.

Animal rescue is not for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of work, a lot of money, and a very thick skin. Fortunately, we have an awesome support system. Many of you are regulars who have been with us since the humble beginnings. Some of you are new chinchilla owners who are eager to learn. And of course, we have our very own groupies who seek to pirate Whimsy’s design ideas.

We are now going into our 13th year as Whimsy’s Menagerie. So, I guess we’re still doing something right. Thank you everyone who spreads the word about our website. We humbly hope to continue to serve and seek conscientiously to improve.