Well. I just spent an hour editing photos from our tour of the Catskill Animal Sanctuary. There are a lot of them, so I think I’ll do this in a couple of posts.

I cannot tell you how meaningful and inspiring yesterday was for me. I’m still thinking about it. So is Don. Believe me, I’m going vegan. It make take a while, but that’s where I’m headed. If you had been with us and heard the stories about factory farming and the routine abuse of animals in the dairy and meat industries – I think you would be considering it, too. My aim in these posts is not to lecture. You know I don’t eat animals and haven’t for many, many years. But the dairy industry and what happens there on a daily basis is new information for me. Yes, I’d heard stories, but yesterday opened my eyes in way they hadn’t been before. I’ll leave you this link to the Catskill Animal Sanctuary to learn more.

We arrived early so we walked around the parking area, which is surrounded by birds and sheep and goats and pigs. Heaven.

As we waited for our tour guide, Lesley, we wandered around taking pictures. We were immediately greeted by Delores the goat. Delores turned out to be funny, quirky, mischievous, and non-stop curious. (Don’t tell anyone, but she was my favorite.) She came up to me, let me pet her, gave me a little head butt and we were friends.

There she is, peeking out from under the truck.

On the move.

There she is again. That girl gets around.

She climbed into this jeep and had a great time exploring and, yes, chewing.

She found something she wanted to play with and was having a great time.

I turned away for a short time to watch and pet Sister Mary Frances, a pig.

Sister Mary Frances is a hoot. She wandered close to the road, so a staff member slowly herded her back down and Mary Frances was vocally complaining all the way. Apparently, she’s very dramatic. We got to pet her and she’s a darling.

Then I turned back and saw this:

Delores had jumped in a truck that was delivering feed. This particular feed was not what she was hoping for.

Our tour guide was Lesley and she was wonderful. Along the way, she shared stories of some of the rescues. She also shared information about the way animals are treated on factory farms. Some of that I will share with you. Some of it I won’t.

There were chickens and roosters everywhere.

I got to stroke the feathers of this beauty.

This guy was very mellow. He was in this position when we arrived and when we left.

Beautiful.

That’s Oreo, the cat. There are a few other cats around, though the Sanctuary doesn’t rescue dogs and cats. It rescues farm animals. But sometimes a cat comes along with a rescue of farm animals.

Nubian goats – they were very gentle and loved being petted. Delores on the right.

All of the goats being herded back after straying onto the hill in the background. Right after this photo was taken, they started running and we were too entranced and delighted to take a picture!

I have lots more.

It’s important to know that rescues come out of all sorts of situations; factory farming, animal hoarding, abuse, abandonment, and the imminent danger of being slaughtered. The Sanctuary is huge. We only saw a small part of it. Pliers and Ashley are currently off-site, being taken care of until they get acclimated and are ready to be moved onto the site. We hope to see them soon.

Becoming members of The Catskill Animal Sanctuary might just be the best thing we’ve done in a long time.

More tomorrow.

Happy Saturday.