Sharing the Love on Mother’s Day!
Habibi as a young calf at Maple Farm Sanctuary in Mendon, MA
The unconditional love of a mother and her babies is a bond that is shared by all species. In this way, we are all are alike. Compassion Arts celebrates this special love by sharing some creative ways we can nourish compassion on Mother’s Day. Part 1 of this blog shares some delicious vegan options for Mother’s Day brunch in “May the Fork Be With You!” and then Part 2 closes with the story of Habibi at Maple Farm Sanctuary and other info in “May All Beings Be Happy and Free”.
First, for Part 1 of this piece, we will focus on what’s for lunch. In this “May the Fork Be With You!” section we are most appreciative for the contributions from culinary artist Nina Vecchi, formerly of Peaceful Plate TV. Nina has compiled a list of recipes for creating your own cruelty-free Mother’s Day brunch, selected from websites that offer creative ideas for plant based foods. Choosing a menu from vegan recipes can be an inspiring and rewarding form of making a difference for animals, people and the earth. It is not only kind, it is also delicious. This Mother’s Day you can celebrate with a menu that shares the love and increases the peace in every step, or rather, every bite.
May the Fork Be With You!
Vegetable Frittata
Tiramisu Pancakes
Fruit Salad in an orange bowl
Soy Free Benedict
Smokey Maple Sausages
Asparagus crepes with white sauce
Sweet Potato Hash
Watercress, Avocado, and Tangerine Salad
Tea Sandwiches
Tropical Raspberry Lime Zinger
Chocolate Pots De Creme
Berry and Lavender Scones
Coconut Layer Cake
May All Beings Be Happy and Free
It only follows that when talking about Mother’s Day we should include other species and also look at the stories of people working to create a more compassionate world for all. For this Mother’s Day tribute we wish to close with Cheri Ezell Vandersluis' story of Habibi and Crystal at Maple Farm Sanctuary in Mendon, MA.
Left: Crystal when she arrived at Maple Farm Sanctuary, Top right: Maple Farm Sanctuary co-founder Cheri Ezell Vandersluis bottle feeding Habibi, Bottom rIght: Cheri and Habibi
In sharing on this moving mother-daughter story and the rescued animals at MFS, co-founder Cheri writes:
“When Crystal (Habibi's mother) arrived at Maple Farm Sanctuary we thought we were rescuing an old skinny cow with inflamed organs which caused her stomach to stick out. Not only was she very ill but also pregnant. Her prognosis was grim, but we hoped with the help of our vet to turn her condition around at least long enough to deliver her calf.
Unfortunately, Crystal’s health began to fail three weeks before her assumed due date. Our vet came to anesthetize her and open her belly to deliver the calf. Seeing little hope in his eyes, I reached in and helped him pull out a small limp calf. Seeing her lip twitch, Jim and I took the newborn calf outside and “cuppaged” her rib cage to loosen fluids and stimulate her to breath. Twenty minutes later we heard the weak but precious sounds of life. At the same time, our vet euthanized Crystal and closed the incision. Our hearts ached from this loss, but we now had a beautiful little girl to take care of. We called her Habibi.
If on a farm, Habibi would have had at most one or two feedings from her mom or been removed immediately from her. She would be raised to be a dairy cow, for veal or sent to slaughter. Being the only mom she knew, I instead bottle fed her cow colostrum for three days and then she was raised on cow milk replacer. Today Habibi is the “queen bee” at Maple Farm Sanctuary and bosses around other cows, llamas, goats and us! She enjoys the freedom to live in peace and tranquility as all beings deserve.”
Habibi enjoying the sun at Maple Farm Sanctuary
To learn more about the story of how Maple Farm Sanctuary changed from being a working farm to being a sanctuary, you can explore the Tribe of Heart documentary “Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home”. In this award winning film, the candid and true story narratives of several people reveal their intense personal journeys at a crossroad in their lives and work, including Maple Farm Sanctuary founders. The Peaceable Kingdom documentary shows how assumptions and perceptions about animals and inherited ways of life led to major change. The film sheds light, through strikingly honest interviews, on the amazing connections shared with animals, inner conflict, social and economic pressures, dismantles stereotypical notions of farm life and reveals the emotional lives of the animals themselves.
We wish to celebrate and acknowledge the creative artistry of Tribe of Heart for using their art and storytelling craft to create this film. We also celebrate and acknowledge the creativity and work of farm sanctuaries and individuals working in humane education for helping provide true freedom of choice for the kinder world we want to co-create. Below is a short list of local farm sanctuaries in the New England/New York area in alphabetical order. If you know of any who we might like to learn about that are not listed here, please email CompassionArts@gmail.com. Thank you for sharing the love!
Catskill Animal Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary
Maple Farm Sanctuary
Sunny Meadow Sanctuary
VINE Sanctuary
Woodstock Sanctuary