dreaming in a field of clover

I am embedding a slideshow of photos from the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary taken this June while I was visiting to photograph a vegan wedding. I just got to editing them a couple days ago, and it was like finding a little treat that I had hidden for myself.

As fate would have it I am here now, after another vegan wedding, sitting cross-legged on a bed in one of the lovely guest rooms. Some kind of allergen has caused flooding in my nasal networks, making breathing through my nose nearly impossible.

Tomorrow at 10am I will be practicing my pranayama breathing at a Jivamukti yoga intensive. They are being held every day this month at the Wild Woodstock Jivamukti Ashram, a “76-acre forest preserve in the Catskill Mountains. It is a sanctuary for deer, black bear, raccoons, opussums, coyotes, birds, fish, frogs, snakes, insects, trees, flowers and numerous species of fairies and elemental beings.”

The founders of Jivamukti, Sharon Gannon and David Life, are scheduled to be there. They are supporters of Woodstock Sanctuary and Sharon even rides her bike here sometimes. Sharon also wrote the book Yoga and Vegetarianism: The Path to Greater Health and Happiness. I have photographed them at events but this will be my first class studying with them, so I should really be in bed right now. I studied Jivamukti in New Orleans and did a Vegan Radio podcast about the experience, which resonated with a lot of our listeners.

I could wax poetic for hours about how amazing Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary is, but I have pillows to drool on and dreams to dream. For now I will just say it is nirvana here and I bid you Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu.

Turkeys like to eat their greens

Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary traditionally holds its annual Thanksliving event in November to coincide with the turkey massacre we know as Thanksgiving. They rent a huge banquet tent and heat it up nice and toasty for the hundreds of guests, who get to eat a wonderful catered vegan meal and listen to interesting talks by renown animal rights activists and vegan advocates. The highlight of the event is meeting the animals on the farm and feeding the turkeys a feast that contains squash, cranberries, lettuce, and other yummy whole foods that any turkey would enjoy. As you can see in the photo, the turkeys really enjoy this part of the event. The only down side is that in Woodstock NY when it is the last week in November it is usually pretty cold, it gets dark early, and it is even likely to snow.

This year the organization decided to have the event a month earlier so that there was a better chance of good weather. It was a great plan, since there would also be luscious fall foliage as a backdrop, and some extra daylight to enjoy. Leading up to the event it looked like it was going to rain and be crappy, but luckily Mama Nature came through and although it was a little overcast it was lovely, and the heaters inside the tent kept it warm enough where a working photographer would be fine in a tee shirt.

Turkeys forming a heart shape to show their appreciation

The event was well organized this year, and although I heard rumors of some near misses to me it seemed smooth like vegan chocolate syrup pouring into a soy mocha latte. The ever weird and witty comedian/comic/board member Dan Piraro MC’d the event. He projected strips from his syndicated comic Bizarro onto the wall of the tent and made random deadpan comments about them, weaving us all into his surreal twisted worlds as soymilk sprayed out our nostrils.

The featured speakers were Nathan Runkle of Mercy For Animals, John Phillips of the NY League of Humane Voters, and sanctuary cofounder and director Jenny Brown. Also in attendance were Sharon Gannon and David Life of Jivamuki Yoga and Joshua Katcher of The Discerning Brute. The amazing and effervescent band Ida played a couple sets as well, on a stage that seemed to be made of hay bales.

The highlights for me were getting to visit with old human and animal friends, eating the hearty vegan food, being brought to tears once again by Jenny Brown’s keynote, and winning a Comedy Central DVD set in the raffle. The vegan pumpkin cheesecake by Vegan Treats was freaking amazing too… all in all I think it was the best Woodstock Thanksliving so far.

duck by new duck pond	giving a turkey some love
kissing pigs	Ed Coffin from Vegan Drinks Philly
Chocolate Cake and Pumpkin Cheesecake by Vegan Treats	Jenny Brown and Doug Abel receive award from Ulster County Legislator Brian Shapiro
Dan Piraro talks with his mouth full	Sarah Peters and Gena Hamshaw volunteering
Dylan shows off his fancy steer tongue	Zaac chasing me around the kitchen with mushrooms
Hiding a lollipop from the turkeys	John Phillips of the NY League of Humane Voters

These photos are from my recent visit to Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary with my wondrous girlfriend Monica. It was her first time visiting the farm, and she was in vegan paradise! We picked a good weekend to go, as there were some new rescues who are both extremely lovable and ridiculously photogenic.

Anne the baby goat

One of the Valentine piglets

A man in western New York purchased 4 young pigs from an Amish farmer to raise for slaughter. He kept the pigs in a small, unheated garage, and one morning discovered that one of the pigs had given birth during the night. Twelve tiny piglets lay next to their mother, wet and covered with excrement. Eight were already dead and four others lay shivering and barely alive.

The Rehabilitator, Shanon Rumbugh, received the call on New Year’s Eve and she rushed the piglets home. She tirelessly nursed them back to health—but it wasn’t an easy road. Once they were stable, the original owners had the gall to ask for them back to raise for slaughter along with the others.

baby chicks march 2009

As happens frequently around Easter, we received a call from a school teacher looking for a home for 5 just-hatched chicks — the living, breathing result of a classroom project. These fuzzballs quickly grow into larger hens and roosters who have a lot of space, temperature and care requirements, and can live for over a decade.

As soon as the novelty is over, assuming the chicks or ducklings can survive the unnurturing classroom environment, the teacher or parent has to find a “home” — more often than not the end of the road for those animals. The takeaway for the kids is less about biology and more about the disposability of life. If you’re a parent or student who hears of an upcoming hatching project, please encourage that teacher to consider more humane alternatives to hatching.

Jenny Brown, Doug Abel and the baby goat named Anne

Monica, Ann and I

Check out www.WoodstockSanctuary.org to learn about ways you can help out and to see more of my fabulous photographs!