Welcome to the Hullabaloo Farm Sanctuary Blog! Every Superhero (including our sanctuary residents) has an origin story, but so does Hullabaloo Farm Sanctuary itself. This blog will be where we share that ongoing story with all of you. Our social media pages are focused on the rescued animals we have on the farm, but this blog will offer more of a “behind the scenes” look at the day to day operations of the sanctuary and how we came to be.
Hullabaloo Farm Sanctuary (HFS) was was created when a love of all things geeky (superheroes, comics, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, etc.) merged with a dedication and passion for farm animal welfare. I’ve been vegan or vegetarian for over a decade and have spent part of that time volunteering for Farm Animals Sanctuaries. I knew that I wanted to start my own eventually, so when both luck (in terms of the housing market) and motivation (in terms of pandemic-inspired life reflection and assessment…Thank you, COVID) aligned, we started the search for a suitable property. That search resulted in us landing clear across the country from our original location in Oregon and in upstate New York. I’ll save more about that story for another blog issue. 🙂
Like a new comic book series or even a new, fledgling Super Hero, HFS is at that precipice of potential. There’s so much we can see in our future, but the patience to do it right is a difficult commodity to come by. Starting a non-profit takes so many resources and not all are in a material form like money or fencing supplies (although the need for those definitely exists as well). It takes just as much in time, effort, red tape, and determination. We started this journey when we realized we could feasibly turn the dream into a reality just about a year ago and have come so far and cleared so many hurdles since then, but the road ahead to achieve (and hopefully surpass) the vision we have for the sanctuary is still a long way off. Like any good story arc, there has to be a beginning and I’m constantly reminding myself that’s where we’re at currently. I’ll be honest, it’s not easy. It’s heartbreaking to know you’re going to have the capability to save so many lives, but you aren’t there yet. It’s difficult to resist the urge to say yes to every plea and every potential rescue right now knowing we’d be trying to piece the necessary infrastructure and funding together with pixie dust and duct tape. It’s not just about saving the lives, but also about giving those lives a safe, forever home that can provide for their every possible need. We, without a doubt, have that vision, potential, and drive. We just aren’t there yet, but we will be.
I walked out to one of the far corners of our property the other day. A corner that we haven’t been able to access since we arrived because of the weather and overgrowth. The snow has since melted and, thankfully, took the teeth out of the overgrowth with it, so I strapped on my rainboots, put a leash on one of the dogs, and hiked up the hill. It’s the highest point of the property as we’re on a bit of an incline and that one corner is at the top of the slope. After a long first winter here that was primarily spent indoors, it was good to get outside again and continue to get to know our land. Most of all, it was good to remind myself of its potential again. To remember what we have planned and be able to visualize it in person. It’s so easy to get caught up in the small steps you try and take every day and forget to step back and see the bigger picture and the end game.
I took a panorama picture while I was up on that hillside. From the outside perspective, it just looks like a lot of trees and empty fields. But to me, it looks like a very bright beginning.
The plan is to post a new blog issue every Thursday. If there’s something about HFS, in particular, that you’d like to learn more about, please leave a comment below and let me know.
Until next week,
Tiffany