Catching Up For REAL This Time!

Ummm, yeah...so...I mentioned last week that I was going to do multiple posts most days last week to CATCH UP and that sooooo didn't happen.  So...now I have twice as much to talk about, I suppose!  Oops, sorry, my bad!  Another LONG POST AHEAD!

I'll start back to the weekend before last, I guess.  We spent the weekend in Salamanca, NY, at their Falling Leaves Festival.  The weather was rainy towards the end of the day on Saturday and it was kind of nice on Sunday.  There IS a reason they call it Falling Leaves.  The leaves were CERTAINLY falling EVERY WHERE!  It was neat, tho!  Sales could have been better but overall it was an 'ok' event.

There was a Bird Rehab Center there as well as a Petting "zoo" with rehabbed animals.  One of the animals was this large rabbit that was so cute and soft!  Then I was able to spend time with some of the goats that I met last month at another event.  This one came up and gave me 'kisses' and nudges, even!  LOVE them!

Elvis was there!  Well...it was an Elvis Impersonator, actually, but he was pretty good!  He drove in on a Motorcycle!  He seemed like QUITE the crowd pleaser, too!

On Sunday there were Puppies/Dogs/Kittens from a local no-kill animal shelter.  They were adorable!  I swiped these photos off the website, actually!  The Reddish/Brown and White one is Atlas and the Black and White one is Lexi.  Atlas came to them from a Kentucky "kill" farm of sorts.  Apparently they arrived at the facility and they had to 'sell' them and if they weren't 'sold' in 5 days or less they were destroyed.  How awful!

My father fell in LOVE with Lexi right away!  He said she reminded him of his dog when he was 9.  A few days later he woke up and told my mom that he had a dream about Lexi the night before.  Last Friday My Mom & Dad officially adopted Lexi and my sister and her husband officially adopted Atlas!   I will have more current photos this week or maybe even later today!  They are amazing dogs!  Atlas is a Beagle/Pointer Mix and Lexi is a Retriever/Collie Mix.

In other news...Amherst, NY, my old stompin'-grounds finally has a Trader Joe's!  It opened this past weekend and I wasn't able to go YET but I will soon...FOR SURE!  Here's a photo I found on Facebook of the store!  It looks awesome, doesn't it!?

I've been snacking on Flax and Chia Crackers a lot lately!  I think this latest spur of interest is because of some of the dips and spreads I have been creating!  I have so many products I need to review - it's CRAZY!  Here's one of them!  Chipotle Chia Crackers from New Earth!  These are VERY VERY crunchy.  Crunch with Caution, I like to say!  These are powerful RAW treats!  Check out the ingredients:

organic sprouted buckwheat, organic red bell pepper, organic chia seeds, nutritional yeast flakes, pure water, wild-crafted Himalayan pink salt, organic chipotle powder.  Other ingredients: Joy, celebration and fun!

At first bite I was not a huge fan of the texture but after gnawing on them I quickly changed my mind because they were tasty and somewhat addicting!  They are VERY power-packed with 22 grams of protein per bag!  YAY!

Another thing I wanted to share with you was my new favorite food attempt!  Almond Cheese!!!!  I have been LOVING the Whole Foods Co-Op in Erie's Cashew Cheese and this is darned close!  I will certainly be making this A LOT it's so good!

I used:
1 C Almonds
1 C Water
3 T Lemon Juice
2 Cloves Garlic
Pinch Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

As you can see it's awesome for dipping!  And spreading on things!  It thickens in the refrigerator over night.  YUMMO!

Another Raw Vegan Food Idea and Snacking Idea! 

The English Muffins are Sprouted from Ezekiel Bread.  The Flax Crackers are from Foods Alive.

Cuties From The Weekend

This past weekend we had a Wildtree Display at a Corn Festival in Youngsville, PA.  We've done this event in the past and it's been great sales-wise.  This year...not so much.  But there was a lot of stuff still going on and there were MORE people there Sunday VS the day before but the sales just didn't happen.  The weather was amazingly comfortable and the park was nice but some what out of the way.  They had it in the park this year because they are doing their Streetscape Project in their downtown area.  The City went thru that years ago and it really messes with everything that the community organizations and businesses TRY and do!  Been there - done that - TOTALLY feel for the organizers and local businesses!  So I 'do' understand why things were different this year.  Having said that...I did enjoy my time with some animals that visited the area yesterday.  I originally met the guy at another event last year and he really loves his animals.  Most of the animals were 'saved' from questionable circumstances, adopted, or rehabilitated in some causes, I believe.  My father and I have always LOVED Prairie Dogs - and years ago when I was more active in Care2 issues and activities I read that some states are having Prairie Dog 'hunts' because of over population.  This breaks my heart!  I mean look at these cuties!  They remained snuggling like this for at least 15 minutes!

  
There were sheep and goats there, too!  The sheep were VERY friendly.  Actually ALL of the animals were VERY friendly.  There was one goat that must have been the 'grand poobah' or even the bully of the bunch that was trying to steal everyone elses food, tho!  This goat on the left was so cool!  He was quite the ROCK STAR with his Salt and Pepper Shaggy Hair!

Some of the goats gave me love nibbles as I fed them!  I'm not going to lie...I loved every minute of it!

This Trio of Cuties were hanging out in the corner of the large pen area.  They loved eating the grass and playing.  The guy had an Old School "Fisher Price" type house that they LOVED.  I remember it from last year, too!  They all played in it and around it.  Some of them even liked to jump on top of it and stand or sit there and show off a bit.

I don't really know what this little guy's name is but my mom and I were calling him "George".  He was roaming around the grounds totally free!  He was quite the grass eater!  He let me pet him for at least 10 minutes. 

All of these cuties were extremely clean, playful, social, and adorable. 

There were some really LARGE rabbits, too, and they were so soft!  They all had access to grass, food, water, and play area ALL day!  There was a cute turtle as well as a few other animals of interest! 

I believe the gentlemen visited school often to teach the children about the different animals as well.  If he's at the one event again this year - like he was last year - I hope to talk to him more.