living unity: 2011

Friday, June 17, 2011

6/15/11 hike in photos

the season's first Salmonberries! a sign of delicious berries to come.

the slugs have arrived as well

cedar

being a lab

the first salmonberry I ate this year. delectably bitter!

not sure what these little guys are. time will tell!

bleeding hearts

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on the drive home. hi guys!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Meet Bessie, a spent milker rescued as a heap of skin and bones from an auction. Her udders were swollen and infected and her spirit was broken. Her fate was to be sent to slaughter; killed and processed into low grade meat products. She now lives life as a sanctuary cow; full of cow friends, grazing, and peace.

Dairy cows are kept constantly pregnant to ensure a constant supply of milk. Aside from the emotional pain this causes both the mother and the baby, the physical burdens are enormous. As pictured in the photo, it is not uncommon for pregant and lactating cows to be confined to cement with no bedding or mental stimulation in both factory and family farms.

Male cows are worthless in the dairy industry, and either are killed for veal, or on the spot. Pictured above is a mother looking over the dead, cold, and lifeless body of her baby. The bellows of mother cows and cries of babies on a dairy farm are haunting.

Calves are deprived of grass to graze, mental stimulation, and most important their mothers.

Make this Mother's Day for the animals. Cows are gentle, social beings who deserve to be loved, not tortured. Cow's milk is made for raising cow babies...not humans!