Celebrating Spring With Our Furry & Feathered Friends

Apr 21, 2021 | News, Newsletter

Dear Friends of The Sunny Center:

A lovely view from our window.

With spring well underway, we thought it a great time to update you on how all of our friends at the Healing Center are doing! Activity is picking up as the temperatures rise. Take a look below for all the fun!

Our new hens, who you were introduced to last year, are laying more frequently. We even send our volunteers home with eggs because there are so many! Here they’re exploring the polytunnel beds (and adding a little fertilizer).

Our feral cat Queen is very pregnant and looking for a place to have her kittens. She’s seriously considering the polytunnel. It would certainly provide her with a protected place to raise her kittens and let them explore safely, but I worry that they would fall off of the taller garden beds.

Barney is our stalwart protector, staying close by whether we’re inside, meditating, or working in the garden. He misses his friend Blister, who crossed the rainbow bridge last year at age 19.

Of course, Bogey, now 13 years old, is the king of the castle. Here he’s surveying his kingdom.

Being in one of the most beautiful natural spots in the world, and near a commonage, we get lots of visits from our four-footed neighbors! Three new donkeys come to get treats like carrots and apples almost every day.

These lovelies are Connemara ponies out for a stroll on a sunny day!

The local herd of cows often graze near our garden. Here’s a young bull peeking over our wall, trying to figure out a way to get to the sweet green grass in our garden!


You Can Make A Difference

The Sunny Center really is a place of healing. When Exonerees stay with us, they get to experience all the beauty of the wild countryside around the Healing Center. They respond so positively to our hens and cats and our dog Barney – who hops right into a visitor’s lap so he can get his ears scratched!

Animals are our partners in the healing process, as are all of the green, growing things in our garden and polytunnel. We love sharing these things with our Exoneree guests.

As vaccines for Covid continue to be given, we know it will not be too long before we can begin hosting Exonerees at the Healing Center again.

Your help is so needed and appreciated at this time. Please consider making a donation to The Sunny Center at the link below.


Help for Exonerees

Exonerees, you are not alone. The Sunny Center is here to help. If you need help finding services, or just need someone to talk to, please contact us.

If you are a woman Exoneree interested in joining SUNDAYS WITH SUNNY, contact us to learn more.

Peace and Love,
Sunny and Peter

Remembering Peter

My dear Peter is gone.
We sang him home on the last day of the year, gathered around his bedside as we had done for so many days before.

‘Send them green.’ A special message from a Sunny Center supporter!

“I had the wonderful opportunity to be a guest at the Sunny Center this past July. My first trip to Ireland, it always is a magical moment to visit friends who live overseas…”

Exonerees are succeeding, thanks to you!

Helping people exonerated of crimes they did not commit, setting them back on the path to a fulfilling life, is a monumental task that we depend on the dedication of volunteers, both near and far, to achieve.

Even in summer, the work doesn’t stop

We’re in midsummer now, with its long days that stretch until 11 in the evening here in Ireland. It’s a busy time for everyone and everything.

The power of art to heal and renew

Did you know that Peter was a woodworker and an artist? He created so many things. But more importantly, he taught those skills to other Exonerees when they visited the Center.

Looking for green shoots

Photo by Samantha Bookman. Peter and I chose to situate the Sunny Healing Center here in this beautiful location in the west of Ireland. A newcomer may at first see only a barren, rocky, windswept landscape. But, put your hand on the earth here, and you can feel the...

A message from Sunny about Peter

The time has come to say farewell to our dear Peter, who is in the process of transitioning from this body and this plane.

Finding Peace, Joy and Hope

The events in Ukraine over the past several days have been ever-present in all of our lives through the daily news and constant social media. These times can be especially difficult for Exonerees because of the traumas they are working to overcome.

Love Is Always the Answer

Winter is always a little bit quieter than the rest of the year. After a long day spent maintaining the Sunny Healing Center and getting it ready for visitors, it’s time for us to cuddle up with the kittens and, of course, Barney, on chilly winter evenings with a warm fire in the hearth.

A Happy, Healthy and Healing New Year to All

Love has no barriers and no limits. And neither does our gratitude for your continuing support and friendship. Know that you are never alone, because you are part of our family.

Happy Holidays to Our Friends Near and Far!

These are extraordinary times. And you’ve all been extraordinary supporters. Thanks to you, we’ve been able to keep helping Exonerees in the midst of a global emergency.