Giving Back and Surprise Giveaway to Come!

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I've never been a big donator, aside from public radio/tv and the occasional political contribution. I always thought, "You know, I really need the money myself. Besides, although there are a lot of worthy organizations out there, I don't feel strongly enough about any of them to donate on a regular basis." It's not something I'm super proud of, but I just never felt a strong pull to do it.

Call it a midlife crisis, but I'm suddenly realizing that I won't be here forever (shocking!) and I'd like to do my part before I depart for wherever it is that we go someday. I know I have a while, but judging by how much more quickly time goes by lately, I figure I should get started now. My great-grandfather Boppie used to say that you should always leave a place cleaner than you found it.  My Grandma (his daughter) and Grampa followed his advice, and would always bring a trashbag on their daily early morning walks in the woods and in their neighborhood so that they could make everything nicer and safer for all beings. My father and stepmother volunteer on so many worthy projects in their town, and my Dad started volunteering his time in the last couple of years clearing small footpaths for hikers in the protected town woods behind his house and throughout the neighborhood.  (It's amazing.) So my turn is long overdue.

I suddenly feel very anxious to give back and to try to make this world better for all animals, not just human ones. Such small amounts of our money can do so much good for organizations that depend on our interest, pun intended. So many people out there are doing incredible work. I make a small contribution as a third-grade teacher, yes, but there are many many others who do things that make me shake my head in admiration. It's easy to watch the news at night and lose hope, but there's a hell of a lot of good stuff happening in the world.

Last night, I had a bit of an epiphany. What if I could use this website as one (of many) ways I could give back? I'm always recommending books and movies anyway, so I checked out the Amazon Associates program. In short, when you have your own "Amazon store" on your blog/website or when you make links to Amazon, up to 15% of the money on purchases made through your site goes back to the blogger. This would be the perfect way to give monetary assistance to our local animal sanctuary, Maple Farm, to help rescue, feed, and shelter the animals that have been abused, abandoned, or diverted from slaughter. When we visited last month, they had just gotten a shipment of chicks that were rescued from the post office, of all places. Someone had ordered a box of chicks - presumably to raise them for eggs and meat --  and never picked them up. The postal workers were going to kill them, but one guy there got upset and said he'd find a place to bring them. Somehow he found out about Maple Farm, and there they were, in their own little clean stall, with a warm light, water, and plenty of food, all huddled happily together in a big heaping pile of cuteness. The farm owners were even teaching them how to eat. (You tap your finger on the ground and that replicates the mother hen's plucking food off the ground. When you do that, they instantly start to pluck at the ground too. It's pretty frickin' adorable! I got to try it, and it worked like a charm.)

So you'll notice that I have my new store at the bottom of the page and that many links in my posts connect to Amazon. I'm picky about what I recommend, however. There are many many books out there that I've either read and wasn't crazy about or that I simply haven't read yet or know very little about. I'm in the process of gleaning the good ones. If you plan on buying any of these books, consider doing it through my store (it doesn't cost you any additional money), as 15% of that will come back to me in $10 increments, which I'll just send that directly to Maple Farms. While this won't garner a lot of cash at first as the blog is still relatively unknown, I do have a fun plan forming. (And I believe that if you go through my link to get to Amazon to purchase other items not in my store, the 15% still goes back to me/Maple Farm. I have to check on that, but I think that's how it works.)

Giveaway Coming Soon!

Once I have twenty "Followers" I plan on doing a giveaway that is pretty cool. Giveaways tend to increase readership dramatically and they're just plain fun! (I've entered a few and haven't won yet, but it's always a thrill to try.) In ultimately increasing the readership, I hope to not only raise money for Maple Farm, but to mainly be a voice for the animals in a way that is non-threatening and friendly. Folks may even make small (or big!) changes in their lives that can 1) make their own lives better and healthier, 2) make the lives of the animals WAY better and 3) improve the life of the planet. Lofty goals, but I sense that's what we're all here to do. Let's get lofty!

So, if you aren't a follower yet, consider becoming one and encouraging friends to follow as well. Once we have our twentieth follower, I will have the big fun giveaway! (It's not Oprah-esque in scale -- no trips to Australia -- but it's still sweet.)

"Don't you speak American?"

So this has been on my mind since we went to the wonderful Maple Farm Animal Sanctuary Farm Fest last weekend.  The farm does a fundraiser once a year to help pay the costs of caring for the animals who have been rescued and brought to them. It's a remarkable place run by remarkable people. (The link below is a movie that has the couple that run it. They are the couple you see with the goats.)

We were really excited to go, mainly to see all the animals and hear about their stories, but also to meet other like-minded folk. What struck us both when we got there was how very earthy-crunchy it was. Which isn't to imply that there is anything wrong with earthy-crunchy. I grew up in a commune and couldn't imagine a cooler way to experience the world as a kid. All the adults were such fun -- there was always an adult around to play with or draw pictures with! I became a lifelong fan of molasses, and I'd heard the whole Lord of the Rings series at bedtime by the time I was five. Top that!

But -- both Ryan and I talked about this afterward -- it was really hard to connect to a lot of people there because the majority of the fair stands there were New-Agey, which I find interesting, but it's not quite my thing. I do yoga, yes. I've had acupuncture done and was amazed at what I felt during my sessions. I'm crazy about the Beatles and love-love-love Rubber Soul and the White Album. But I have no unusual piercings, tattoos, tie-dye, etc. Patchouli's not my favorite scent. I had a pair of Birkenstocks about ten years ago when they went a bit mainstream, but that's about as hippy as I've gone.

I'm still sorting all this out in my mind, so forgive me if this all comes out wrong. I mean no harm. But I kept thinking, "No wonder people think veganism is weird. These people are the only folks that meat-eaters probably notice as plant-eaters." Which is, to me, a pity. If folks saw that this diet change as something do-able by ordinary folks -- and yes, I'm lumping myself in there. Feel free to make jokes and comment. I'm walking right into this one -- then maybe it wouldn't seem so fringe and out-there to some people. It definitely used to seem very extreme and unhealthy to me and I dismissed it as a activist-tiedye-thing. But my perception changed when I started noticing ordinary-looking people adopting that food lifestyle and I wondered if there was more to it. It suddenly seemed interesting and worthy of checking out, though I still truthfully never thought I'd actually go there. But the majority of meat-eaters (I can't think of a more original term) don't notice the ordinary veg*ns, because the folks with the dreadlocks are much more visible.

I should note too that there were indeed middle-of-the-road people there at the Farm Fest, but they were harder to notice amongst the bell-lined skirts and lip-rings and a few starry-eyed folks who were most definitely on something.

It was similar to my experience living in France years back. I was in a small city with relatively few English-speakers. All of us students tried to blend in and fit in and get to know the French culture. (We didn't actually blend in, I'm sure, but we did try!) Months later, I went to Paris to pick up a friend and all I could see around me were those ugly Americans that make the chill-Americans cringe. The ones who walk up to people loudly and yell, "Do you speak American?!?" and complain about everything and insult the French way of doing things.  "No wonder they say Americans are obnoxious!" I realized. I hadn't understood it until that moment. But the loud people were the only ones that stood out. In truth, there were very cool Americans all around, but you just didn't notice them because you couldn't take your eyes off the loud ones.

So I guess I'm comparing the earthy-crunchy folks to loud Americans. Boy -- I'm getting myself into heaps of trouble. Dig deeper. But it's unfortunately the best analogy I can come up with right now.

Another thing I noticed -- and this was just one person so it is by no means a generalization of all the people who were there -- was this one woman who gave Ryan a look when he made a funny and very benign joke. There were a bunch of llamas there by the fence where we were standing, and Ryan and I were discussing with a fellow our age whether the llamas liked to be patted. Ryan quipped, "I think they like very sudden movements!"  Clearly it was just a light-hearted joke. But this woman turned around and glared at him (he had his back to her so he didn't notice) and all I could think of was "Come on, lady! He wasn't joking about eating the llama, for crying out loud!"  I kept my thoughts to myself, because I've heard it's in bad taste to start a fistfight at a festival based on compassion. I know that what some of these animals have endured is serious stuff, but giving people the vibe never makes them open to your way of thinking.

So my point? I think we middle-of-the-road veg*n folk need to be more vocal. Not necessarily in your face. (Though that can have its place certainly ... well behaved women/people rarely make history, after all.) But just be proud of the choice to abstain from eating animals and their secretions and more willing to talk about it with a sense of humor. I've already had a few people come up to me and say, "It's not something I think I could do myself, but I'm really curious ... " I think those conversations are fabulous. Even if those people never give up eating animals or lessen their consumption, it might change their perception of animals and, at the very least, be food for thought, pun intended. I've always loved it when someone can make me look at something "normal" in a whole new way. If nothing else, it's a great workout for your brain!

So are hippies bad? Of course not. I love 'em. Don't always understand them, but I love them. They are not ugly Americans. I think you follow me here, right? I think we all need to speak up for what we believe in, be open to listening to others, and to have a sense of humor. And learn some frickin' French.

Peaceful eating!
~Katrina

Sweetness Abounds this Sunday!

 

I am so excited about this Sunday. Nope -- ain't goin' to church. It's the Maple Farm Sanctuary's Farm Fest on June 4 from 12 - 4 pm! It's going to be a free admission, with farm tours, games, face-painting, raffles, food, and kids crafts. All the proceeds will go towards supporting the animals in their care. I'm just looking forward to hanging with all the sweet animals.

Maple Farm is a forever home to creatures (mostly farm animals) that were abused, abandoned, and unwanted. Some of them were on their way to slaughter and were brought to Maple Farm instead. I went there a few weeks ago to check it out and it's a remarkable place. The goats were too cute to be believed! The residents there have some incredible stories and I can hardly wait to meet their new baby goat, Bentley... (see below)

If you're in Massachusetts, please consider going! The weather is supposed to be great, it's an incredible cause, and you'll have a blast, I promise. If you're not in the area, there are amazing sanctuaries all over the United States, and many abroad, I'm sure, though I haven't had a chance to check that out yet. They're very happy places and can lighten your heart instantly. (California seems to have a huge number of them!)

Anywho, I hope you all get a chance to treat yourself to one of these incredible places ...

Peaceful Eating!
~Katrina