Catskill Animal Sanctuary recently launched the New Leaf Vegan Mentor Program. It's free!  Sign up as either a mentor or a mentee. With both an online platform and a smartphone app, it's easy to stay in touch. This is a groundbreaking initiative!

Website:  https://www.newleafvegans.org/

Chef Sara Boan co-created a new vegan cookbook with Chef Linda Soper-Kolton and sanctuary founder Kathy Stevens at Catskill Animal Sanctuary. We had a fun chat about recipe creation and using plant-based ingredients to make delicious meals.

Compassionate Cuisine Cookbook is available in May 2019.

You may order your copy from https://casanctuary.org/

This is a story about compassion for our feathered friends.  As a child, I sat by my grandmom as she taught me about songbirds. She would say: "Listen, Dee... that's a cardinal." And she sang back to the birds as they visited her South Carolina yard. Bird lovers know how extraordinary and intelligent our winged friends are. This story comes from my heart - forged from the gratitude of many precious years with grandmom. It's my story of compassion for the bird community.

Recently while Googling Susan Cain, who is the well-known expert on Introverts, I found her interview by Tim Ferriss (his podcast episode 357). I was enthralled by the questions Tim and Susan ask each other about their own Introversion. This is a fascinating hour and a half long conversation. Very helpful for both men and women to hear how others handle living in an extroverted world. Also excellent discussion about their writing process and their individual strategies.

Animals. Let’s visit with the animals!

Come with me and I’ll introduce you to the big family of rescued-farmed animals of Catskill Animal Sanctuary.

Located in the Hudson Valley of New York, rolling hills and 148 acres are the backdrop for over 300 rescued animals who live here surrounded by love, safety, and friendship.  I saw it for myself in 2018. This place is real. This is a healing place.

Let’s start with the Underfoot Family. This is unique to Catskill Animal Sanctuary: a small group of animals is given free-range privileges during the day.

Kathy Stevens, founder/executive director, realized early on that some personalities demand larger freedom. Many of the Underfoot family were rescued from small, filthy, and overcrowded spaces. Many became claustrophobic during their previous years of abuse and abandonment. They were not comfortable unless they could roam.

Delighted to have Michael Harren on my show. He is a multi-media artist, musician, podcaster, vegan and animal advocate. His book, The Animal Book, is a wonderful introduction to advocacy. His Mikeypod podcast is a delightful collection of diverse and compassionate folks who are helping to make our world a better place. 

http://michaelharren.com/

As an animal lover, and now an advocate for animal rights, I've always been interested in the peaceful protest and street activism. However, as an introvert, that is not a place where I am comfortable.  Yet I'd like to share a group called Anonymous for the Voiceless.

They have a peaceful, I don't even want to say a demonstration, it's more of an educational event. They call it the "Cube of Truth."

While researching the topic of advocacy last year, I found a 190-page toolkit produced by an organization called Disability Rights Wisconsin.

I’ve posted a direct link to this group’s download page. Yes, you may visit my website and click on the Resources page. The link to this awesome toolkit will download to your computer. Or you may go directly to the Disability Rights Wisconsin site and download from there. It is FREE to the public.

What a year!

It seems fitting that this was my fifth year as an advocate. I increased my efforts each year for five years. This year, I took the biggest leap of all: I started my podcast and blog.

This creative effort required several things of me: 

1. Be brave
2. Use my talents and skills
3. Speak my truths

And oh, what a glorious and magnificent feeling this is! I wish you could feel the gratitude in my heart.  Oh, wait! But you could!

You ask how? Well, my answer is this: You have deep inside a creative soul wishing to soar!

During my visit to Catskill Animal Sanctuary, I had a chance encounter with the Underfoot Family of Sheep. This is one of my favorite field recordings from September. You should visit:  CASanctuary.org