Wednesday 8 April 2020

MAYA: ANIMALS ARE MY LIFESAVER!

Animal-lover Maya is a real-life version of Coco from my Chocolate Box Girls series! She found a very different way to pass the time in lockdown... spending more time with her gorgeous animals!

Maya says:
I’m fifteen and I live on a farm in a village in Scotland. I am in lockdown with my mum, my sister and my dad... and also with my ponies, my dogs, my pet sheep, my hedgehog and my cat! And they are now getting all the cuddles they can possible get! Lockdown has been frustrating for lots of reasons but I’m trying to see the bright side of it and see what I can do with no school to get in the way!

One of our ponies, Stew, is a little rescue pony we bought a few months ago. He was horribly mistreated and for a long time couldn’t be separated from the rest of our ponies. He is still a little nervous but now we have built up a bond and he is the sweetest little baby I could have ever asked for... he loves cuddles and kisses and sunbathing in the summer!

I love being creative and I love being with my animals, so the perfect lockdown project for me was to  combine the two to make a model pony and have some fun! I have started doing photoshoots with all  of my animals, and the fall is my favourite time of the year so I thought with Stew's colouring he would be perfect for an autumn themed photoshoot.

I started off by making paper cutout leaves that I painted, but unfortunately these were too flimsy to stand the rain, so I ended up recycling some leaves that were bought from a crafts store. I cut two small lines and put yellow wool through the leaves and tied them to plaiting bands on the back of the leaves, weaving them into Stew's mane and tail. He also wears little ribbons on his plaits!

Stew was very sweet and patient whilst the leaves where going in, he stood perfectly still and even let me put leaves in front of his eyes into his forelock. He didn’t bat an eye he was such a little doll. He was also very patient when I took the plaits out and the leaves and his hair was beautiful and curly!

Having my animals is my life saver! There’s nothing like relieving the stress and worries by with cuddling my ponies or chilling with my sheep. The hedgehog always appreciates a good chunk of pepper and the dogs are loving all the long walks they are getting, plus the cat has regular naps on my lap. Anytime I feel stress, the kindness and beauty of animals always quells any worries I have. I just love being around them, any opportunity I can get to snuggle the animals I will gladly take it!

To all my fellow animal lovers out their, lockdown could be a opportunity to spend all your time with your pets and teach them al the tricks you thought you would never have time to do! I’ve just taught my sheep how to jump and do little courses! And for all the people who don’t have pets but really really want them? Do some research on the pets you want, and do some non stop parent pestering! They can’t leave the house... so they can’t ignore tour argument! Good luck!

Cathy says:
This is such a lovely, joyful post, Maya! It's definitely taken my mind off lockdown and I hope it will do the same for all DREAMCATCHER readers! I totally agree that animals can help hugely at a time like this... my dogs Finn and Ziggy, and Mary Shelley the tortoise, of course, are helping to keep me sane! Do YOU have pets? COMMENT BELOW to give them a lockdown shout-out!

2 comments:

  1. Soo cute, I love the leaves as hair accessories!!!xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. AWWW! I love the leaves! Horses are so beautiful! <3

    ReplyDelete

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