farm sanctuary walk

Well the farm sanctuary walk was quite lovely. i believe my favorite part watching people in their animal customs doing morning yoga. it was nice to see some many people come out in the name of compassion. 

here is some info about what they are working on now.

Current Campaigns

Across the U.S., animals raised and killed for food are subjected to intolerable cruelty. They are routinely packed inside factory farm warehouses, barely able to move or engage in basic natural behaviors. More than 9 billion land animals are slaughtered in the U.S. every year, and millions more die before reaching the slaughterhouse.
Farm Sanctuary confronts agribusiness on all issues affecting farm animals. We work to end cruel factory farming practices through investigations, public education, legislation, and litigation. Listed below are some of our key campaigns and efforts for farm animals.

Anti-Confinement Campaign
The animal agriculture industry views farm animals as mere commodities. This mentality has led to widespread institutionalized cruelty, culminating in the advent of three particularly abhorrent confinement systems (battery cages, gestation crates and veal crates) that Farm Sanctuary is working to eliminate through public education and outreach, legislative efforts and the ballot box. Learn how you can get involved.
 
Truth Behind Labels Campaign
A growing number of meat, milk and egg product labels suggest that the animals they came from were treated “humanely.” Our Truth Behind Labels Campaign educates the public about what these labels really mean when it comes to animal welfare and exposes misleading marketing schemes that give people a false sense of compassion. Learn more and get involved.  

Veg for Life Campaign
From former cattle ranchers to Hollywood celebrities, more and more people from every corner of America are recognizing that veganism is good for our health, the Earth and all animals. Our Veg for Life Campaign encourages people to make this important transition and provides them with the resources they need to successfully make the switch.  We also reach out to national restaurant chains and ask them to include vegan items on their menus, as well as encourage activists to approach establishments in their communities about doing the same.  Learn more and get involved.

Green Foods
As the undeniable links between meat, milk and egg consumption and environmental devastation are uncovered by science and find their way into the mainstream consciousness, more and more people are learning about the importance of eating lower on the food chain and adopting a vegan diet. By introducing a Green Foods Resolution in your city or town, you can create a media platform for these important issues to be considered more widely and also influence future legislation affecting your community. Learn more and get involved.

No Downers Campaign
The No Downers Campaign seeks to prevent the suffering, marketing and slaughter of all downed animals (animals too sick even to stand or walk) through legislation and policy change. Learn more and get involved.

 

farm sanctuary tomorrow!

Simone Bogode

Kevin & Simone

Welcome to my Walk for Farm Animals page!

For 25 years, Farm Sanctuary has relied on the Walk for Farm Animals to support its life-saving mission to protect farm animals from cruelty, inspire change in the way society views and treats farm animals, and promote compassion.

I am walking with Farm Sanctuary to give animals a voice and to challenge the cruel practices of the factory farming industry. Please support my participation in the Walk for Farm Animals by making a donation today!

Walk for Farm Animals
Farm Sanctuary
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a day off

here's the truth of it.... i work a lot and make very little.
today was my first day off in a month. well,  unless you count the day i took off to go to the doctor to find out that i had viral bronchitis.

i have had a very emotional week concerning my job at rei. my supervisor pat has transferred to another store. pat surprisingly grew on me, a lot. every time i saw him i wanted to hug him and every time i heard his voice on the intercom i would crack up. i miss him terribly and he's a wonderful human being. also i can't really talk about this but we have lost our store manager tommy. he was one of the best bosses i have every had the privilege to work for and the entire store is in mourning. it feels like someone died.

furthermore i have said good by to my friend lauren who moved out of chicago on friday. mama be joy is packing up the fam and they are moving out to washington state. this has been a long time gole and dream of theirs.  i have become very close with her over the past two years and have known her for over eight now. the only relief is the fact that we will see them when we are out that way for the winter holidays. i can't wait.

so today was a much needed day off. it was glorious. k got me up out of bed much earlier then i wanted to get up on a day off. however i'm thankful he did so. we rode our bikes over to his neighborhood. i was grateful to have thought to wear boots in my sleepy uncaffeinated state for it was a cool and windy fall morning. we got some coffee at new wave which i haven't been too in a long long time. that's when i finally stopped being cranky.

next we went to the logan square farmers market for their last day outdoors. they will be moving indoors to the congress theater starting next week. i really enjoy the feel of an outdoor local farmers market. it brings the community together. it does not get any better then fresh locally grown foods and buying them from the farmers themselves. these are the people we should be supporting.

my favorite thing about a farmers market is the colors. i love seeing the color palette change from the start of summer into fall.

 

   

 

after that it was time to go support our friend jeremy karpen. jeremy has been a friend for a few years now and is running as the green party candidate for state representative of the 39th district in illinois. the 39th district includes logan square. elections are on november 2nd. i believe that il has never had a green party rep and it's looking like jeremy has a good chance at being the first. 

jeremy is a professional counselor and works as a supervisor for at-risk boys at mercy home for boys and girls. this is a residential home for these kids. he also volunteers at the center for domestic peace where he works with men who have committed acts of domestic violence to enhance accountability and work toward overcoming violent masculine gender norms.    

i support jeremy for his views not just due to the fact that he's a friend. he believes in education, green jobs, non violence, and marriage equality. "As a counselor and community activist, I believe access to quality health care, quality education, and safe and affordable housing are human rights. Families in the district need real leadership in Springfield on these issues. It is time for economic policy that invests in the people that make up our community."

furthermore jeremy is just a cool guy with lots of creative energy. it really showed today. we had a green ride... or a political mass if you will. when was the last time you saw a political candidate riding a bike with a group of their constituents around their district? that's right.      

we all meet up at the logan square monument in the middle of logan. this is one of the more prominent monuments in the district. this really amazing mariachi band called mexico viva got us pumped up and sent us on our way. there is a lot of mexican heritage in the district and it was quite powerful to see them performing in front of the monument.

 

 that would be me in the hood

im pretty bummed that my camera batteries died on me during his speech. 

did i mention that it was halloween? it's getting late and im getting sleepy. i will have to tell you about the rest of my day in the next post. my eyes are closing and words no longer make sense...... it has been a wonderful day off!

this is a mama kitty pumpkin k carved.

b&b and r&r

city life is demanding and overwhelming and once in a while you just need to put the break on. away from friends, phones, internet, tv, and jobs. away form the 100 some odd things we feel compelled to do every day and if we don’t we feel unproductive. getting away is far more then a breath of fresh air, it’s good for the sole.

k and i made a break for it to celebrate our three year anniversary. just a quick two day break and then back to work. i did the planning this year and as we sat in bumper to bumper traffic trying to get out of the city on a holiday weekend, my best friend of three years was unaware of where the day would take us. now im bad at surprises, i get to excited and want to spill the beans and i was bouncing with anticipation.

now i must thank my amazing parents for letting us barrow a car. unlike the first time our car was stole then found, this time around it is yet to be found.

soon the city was far behind us (well not sooo soon with all the traffic) and when we took our exit off of 57 i felt as if i had arrived in another world. farm land of corn and soy as far as the eye can see. yes sadly i am sure that most of it was gmo’s of monsanto or something or other (90% of soy grown in the illinois are) but that did not stop me from enjoying the view and feeling a sense of calmness.

our destination for the evening was the greenhouse bed and breakfast in kempton, il. now i had never been a guest at a b&b and did not quite now what to expect and if you know me you would know that i always need to make things interesting. the green house is not your average b&b but an organic permaculture b&b. lots of people that come to stay come and learn about permaculture from mark who for a long time was involved with csa and is an organic farmer and bee keeper. i found him to be extremely knowledgeable, open, sharing, and very hospitable. in fact guia and mark are remarkable people and a joy to be around. both talented gardeners and guia is trained in culinary arts.    

i came to know about the greenhouse through mama be joy. she gets her beeswax for her organic skin care business from them. 

the day found us pulling into the drive way at about four pm. we were greeted by some very cute and happy doggies and some squawking chickens. i must say again that these dogs were so happy. they had the life, not a care in the world! i became very attached to the 8 month old puppy pixie. she had spent most the time we were there fallowing me around and wanting to play and be petted. in fact when we were leaving guia asked me jokingly if i wanted to take her with!

the next thing we did was ask mark for a tour of the house, garden, orchard, chickens (and 1 month old babies), well everything. did i mention they have guineas? i had never seen one before!

then k and i proceeded to lay lazily in a hammock with books but not really reading. the sun was shining in our faces and the trees were filed with singing birds and i relaxed and was at peace. when was the last time i laid in the sun and read? i need to do it more often!

around seven guia called us in for a amazing home cooked meal with veggies grown in their yard. for desert we had berries, most from their yard, with vegan sour cream. the flavors were fresh and it tasted like summer. after dinner k and i sat on the front porch and watched the sunset over the farm land through the flower garden. next we laid in bed with our books and waited for the stars to come out.

come out and shine that night they did. mark armed us with cups of tea and a bowl of popcorn and we sat on the back porch wrapped in a blanket. it was nearly a new moon and not a cloud in the sky. the stars were bright and crisp each constellation could be made out and we could even clearly see the milky way. you don’t get stars like this in chicago. the fireflies came out and did a little dance like they were from the nutcracker and pixie could be heard running through the tall grass and barking a cows.

we slept well that night.

in the morning guia fixed us a amazing breakfast and packed up our lunches for us. i purchased some honey from mark and k laid in the hammock for one last time. sadly it was time to go.

the next part of your anniversary adventure was about to start. after a forty five min drive we pulled up to reed’s canon rentals  where we were loaded into a van with the two kayaks we had rented and were dropped off at the kankakee river. our twelve mile trip would take us through kankakee state park on the river. this so happened to be some of the cleanest water in il!

we took our time and starched our trip out to be about five hours on the water. we made frequent stops and explored Indian caves, picnicked and ate the amazing lunches guia had prepared for us, and most importantly spent time with each other. the kankakee for most part is a very clam river and at points we stopped peddling healed hands and gently floated. it was peaceful and dragonflies and butterflies danced on our kayaks.

this trip made thankful for my life and the people in it. it made me thankful for my relationship with k and the three beautiful years we have shared together. he is my best friend. we work hard and we may not make a lot of money but we have a lot of love and know how to have a good time.