From the Deep Quiet

Thanksgiving and Turkeys

A and I have a tradition (are traditions made in three years?) of spending the Saturday before Thanksgiving at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary for their annual event, Thanksgiving with the Turkeys. There is something really wonderful about spending a day with a couple hundred people who come together to celebrate the wonder of animals and to eat amazing vegan food together.

Simon is a particularly cuddly chicken who prefers laps to the ground. I held him last year, and this year I noticed that he was purring (in a chicken sort of way) while I was holding him.

Yes, folks, it was cold today. Yesterday I bought long underwear just to make sure I'd be okay. I didn't want to miss this just because it was going to be cold.

He fell asleep in A's arms:

You can't see that his eyes are closed in this picture, but they are. He was purring for her, too.

and here he is in all of his regal beauty:

He's a lap chicken! What can I say? Chickens are really wonderful when you get to know them. As are all animals.

Ah... but here come the guests of honor:

They are all rescue turkeys. Three of them were rescued by the Humane Society when they were found outside a restaurant being fattened up for dinner. Fortunately for the turkeys, as we were told today, it's illegal to have live poultry in the city of Washington, D.C. They now live free of fear of being someone's idea of thankfulness, lying dead and cooked on someone's table.

Here they are, having their own feast:


After everyone watched them eat for awhile, we enjoyed an amazing vegan potluck. Afterwards, the pumpkins that were placed by each table became dessert for the pigs.

We decided to begin sponsoring one of the pigs. Pigs are amazing. I don't know how people eat them.

A great day.

Happy New Year!

I guess it's a little late to be wishing folks a Happy New Year! But since this is my first post of 2008 I think I can get away with it.

As I was waiting to meet with my rabbi recently, I found the following poem in the back of our siddur:

New Year's Day, by Kenneth L. Patton
Each year should be the best year we have yet lived.
Each year we are more learned in the ways of life.
Each year we are wiser than the year before.
Each year our eyes know better the sights to seek.
Each year our ears listen with a finer tuning.
Every happening is a jewel, wrought about the fancy of time.
All that we understand of the universe is the setting for each sight and sound of day.
The child looks with gladness each year to be one year older.
Should not this welcome pursue us all our years?
The piling of the years is a richness like the piling of gold.
Our years are coins with which we can purchase more wisely at the bazaars of each new season.
Our love is more pliant and patient having been taught by time.
The New Year is one year older than the last.
The earth is more abounding in its growth.
The creatures have moved another step in their unfolding.
Humankind has left us one more year of art for our contemplation.
History is one year more resonant with lessons.
The sunrises are one year more familiar and promising.
The sunsets are one year less fearful, and the peace of the night is one year closer.

from Kol Haneshmamah: Limot Hol/Daily Prayer Book, p. 478.

I appreciate this poem. It says what I mostly feel. I want to start my year looking at the world in this way. I want to get back to feeling the "deep quiet" that was me at one time in my life. Last year I kept finding myself feeling as if I was always behind. Too much work, not enough time to be quiet. I took the first week of this year off from work and have vowed to take more vacation time. It does no one any good sitting in a pot waiting to be appreciated.

A and I joined the Y and we're both loving going to the gym several times each week. Our Y is a beautiful new facility that has tons of machines, a pool, even a climbing wall (oh, man, how I wish I could play with THAT thing!) Though I pushed myself a little too hard yesterday and am paying for it today with sore muscles, I'm happy. I have more energy. I'm going to lose weight and get back in shape! I'm sure it will also help me to, more easily, get to that deep quiet place on a regular basis.

LC wishes everyone a Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving WITH the Turkeys!

The Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary has a fundraising event every year called Thanksgiving With the Turkeys. Abby and I went last year for the first time. I think we've been looking forward to doing it again (today) ever since.

Imagine this: four separate folding tables with tablecloths but with the legs folded up, covered with corn, grapes, cantelope, bread and other assorted turkey snacks. The tables are spread out among the turkeys and chickens so that they can have a wonderful feast. And they are served first. It makes me cry. Hundreds of people (approx. 4-500 this year) are milling around watching them.

After the turkeys have eaten for awhile, the humans get into line for the biggest vegan potluck one will ever see. Even though we were at the back of the line, there was plenty of food. The next time someone says, "so, if you're vegan, what DO you eat?" I'll describe that line.

The potluck is great, but my favorite part is the time we spend with the animals. All of them have been rescued from places where they were being abused or from their eventual death by slaughterhouse. One goat (I think her name is Jasmine), was rescued from a property where the humans left and left her behind. She was there by herself for approximately nine months before someone found her and brought her to Poplar Spring. As a result, she's crippled. She has a hard time walking on her front feet and will immediately get down on the elbows (knees?) when she gets to where she is going. She was all by herself in the goat/sheep area today.  Rudy, a goat I held in my lap when he was just a baby, was butting heads with another goat today. He has his horns now. Last time I saw him, he just had little buds.

The pigs were excited to receive the pumpkins that had been scattered around the table while the humans were eating. Some of the visitors brought their pumpkins from Halloween to share with the pigs. Every time I visit the pigs, I'm reminded of when I was a little girl and I held my uncle's piglets in my arms. I'll never forget how horrified I was to find out that they would become pork for someone when they grew up. No, I was a LOT older when the disconnect was finally reconnected. The pigs at Poplar Spring will never find their way to anyone's table. Thank God.

This time I held Simon, a chicken who has a cold. He wanted to be held the whole time, so I was happy to help with that. As I held him in my arms, there were moments where he seemed to be looking into my eyes. Chickens are really amazing. They love attention.

When watching the turkeys, one of the things that is truly sad is watching what a hard time they have walking around. They've been bred to be nice, fat, Thanksgiving turkeys. Lots of white meat. But if they turkeys live past the FOUR MONTHS they are supposed to live before being made into someone's feast, they can hardly walk. Their beaks and toes have been cut to make them easier to be compacted into a too-small space. It makes me angry.

The only turkey who will be on our Thanksgiving table this Thursday is a paper one. For me, it's an acknowledgment that NO animal will be harmed for our dinner. Turkeys are much smarter than they are given credit for being. And they are really beautiful.

23 Things: Thing 19

Web 2.0 award winners.

When my partner and I moved into our apartment two years ago, we used Craigslist for: a red Ikea couch, a black futon couch (for the visitors, don'tcha know), a moving service to bring the red Ikea couch to our apartment, and a cat (see upper left corner of this blog for photo of said cat). When you're having trouble sleeping and you don't really feel like curling up with a good book, "The Best of Craigslist" is a great place to pass the time. Might not put you to sleep, but it will certainly entertain you!

Etsy is a fun place for anyone who's crafty. It's eBay for anyone interested in handmade items. You don't bid on things, though. Just buy them.

I actually played with several of the listed. Check it out!

Who knew?

      

Your Score: Lion Warning Cat

      

71%  Affectionate, 53%  Excitable, 28%  Hungry

      

      

      You are the good Samaritan of the lolcat world. Protecting others from danger by shouting observations and guidance in cases of imminent threat, you believe in the well-being of everyone.

To see all possible results, checka dis.       

Link: The Which Lolcat Are You? Test written by GumOtaku on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

A Walk Through the 'Hood

The Bolton Hill neighborhood of Baltimore is still a nice place to live, but many years ago it was THE place to live for those intellectual types like Gertrude Stein and such. It's also the neighborhood where several old synagogues are still standing (though, sadly, none of them are home to Jewish congregations anymore).

Baltimore Hebrew was the first synagogue in Maryland. Their original home was on Lloyd street, but in 1891, this was built. Since 1951 it has been the home to a Seventh Day Adventist church. The synagogue moved to the 'burbs like all the other shuls around here.

Last night we decided to take a walk and saw it in the distance. I was pretty sure it was the shul we'd happened upon once before but it had been awhile. It's such a beautiful building.

Here's a shot from the side. The sun was going down, so the photos are a little dark.

There is another former shul that's just up the street from our apartment. Now it's a Masonic Temple. I wish they were both still synagogues. It would be nice to be able to walk to services rather than having to drive for miles.

The buildings are so amazingly beautiful. Seems that they were built to last forever.

Meet Marge!

Marge joined our family a month ago after my trusty mechanic warned me that Ruby was nearing organ donation status. Rather than having her die by the side of the road, I decided to allow her to go painlessly. I hadn't thought I would buy on the spot the first time I entered the car dealership, but I mostly knew what I wanted and the guy we worked with at Timonium Toyota was wonderful. Now I'm driving the newest and coolest car I've ever had (it's only a year old). I'm actually having fun driving to and from work! And my gas consumption has gone down, which makes me happy for all sorts of reasons.