Day One

The drive up was 3 hours, but went by very quickly.  The scenery was beautiful - I've never been North up Route 5 before.  We passed through tiny, surreal-looking hills covered in butter yellow grass, and an isolated mass of craggy peaks shooting up in the middle of the flat bottom of the valley.  Thick, dark white clouds loomed over tall blue mountains in the west, and crop fields stretched as far as the eye could see.

Once we arrived in Orland, we stopped at Alta Marie's Bakery and Soup Shop for lunch.  I would highly recommend stopping off here if you are ever in the area.  The place is cozy, and all the people are extremely friendly and helpful.  The owner was very kind, and made every effort to make me a delicious vegan lunch - best vegan pattie ever!

The drive from downtown Orland to Farm Sanctuary lasted about 10 minutes, and was gorgeous as we moved towards the buttes that are in the area.  The shelter is located in golden hills, and we have spectacular views of the buttes.  There is an osprey nest on top of one of the telephone poles - I can see it from the sanctuary.  The Black Butte Recreation Area has a lake - the birds must fish out of there.

After putting my stuff down in Vegan House, and meeting my housemates, all of whom seem very nice, I headed down to the People Barn for a tour.  There was a small herd of sheep by the porch when I went outside... I knew then I was in the right place!  I'd recommend the tour, as well - we were able to visit with the animals.  On the tour, and later on by myself, I became acquainted with some of the shelter's residents.  I met a sweet old Jersey steer named Boris, and ADORABLE little steers named Elliot and Sixer.  I rubbed Kiwi the pig's tummy, and evaded being climbed on by Scribbles the goat.  This place is beautiful, and the animals seem so content and peaceful here.  It's lovely to see that the turkeys who have been debeaked, the cattle who were deemed worthless, and all sorts of other creatures who have suffered are able to live out the rest of their lives in safety.

Read about Farm Sanctuary here.

An Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my blog, Summer on the Farm!

I don't know if anyone who doesn't know me already is reading this, but just in case:  I'm a 20 year old student at UC Davis — I'm studying Animal Science with an emphasis on animal behavior.  I want to work in animal rescue, hopefully using behavior to do emotional rehab with them.  I first learned about Farm Sanctuary when I Google searched "farm animal rescue," and Farm Sanctuary was one of the first results to come up.  I applied in January and was lucky enough be accepted to their internship program.  I'll be spending two months at their Orland, CA shelter starting this coming Saturday.  My reasons for wanting to go to Farm Sanctuary stem from two main causes:

First, I spend a lot of time with animals at UC Davis — cattle most of all, though this past year I got to work with sheep, goats, and pigs as well.  Fortunately, all the animals there are protected and treated well.  However, most of them are part of the food industry, and my own personal beliefs are not in agreement with using all of these animals for human consumption.  I enjoy getting to know them so much, and their individuality is so fascinating to me —  I would much rather interact with them, care for them, watch them, and learn about them than eat them.

Second, my family's dog, Sally.  It has been a little over a month since we lost her.  The loss is crushing and incomprehensible.  But on the other side of those feelings is the complete love and joy I experienced for almost 13 years in her presence.  Sally taught me how to love selflessly, and how to be compassionate.  She taught me that, while not all creatures are human, they are all "people" — individuals, with thoughts and feelings of their own.  She taught me that all animals are capable of great understanding, each in their own way.  Most of all, Sally taught me to listen to those who lack a human voice.

The differences we humans see between us and all other animals are created only in our own minds.  In reality, I believe they are not as great as we make them out to be.  My relationship with Sally taught me this.  I have always, and will always, view her not as the pet of the family, but as a sister and my greatest friend.  When it came to her, it never mattered that she was a dog and I was a human.  She was Sally and I was Lauren and that's the only thing that mattered.

I cannot wait to meet the animals at Farm Sanctuary: I hope to learn about them and their stories, as well as about how I can help them and others who are not yet so lucky.   What Sally showed me makes me so intrigued by all of the animals I meet.   They each have a story to tell, if we only take the time to understand.

Hopefully I will be able to persuade myself into updating this blog everyday once I am in Orland... I've resolved to do this before, and it hasn't turned out well... my other blog has about 11 posts to show for almost 2 years' existence.  However, I am more hopeful for this blog, as I've never had such an exciting thing to write about before!

Sally in the woods by my house, enjoying a walk.