128 Annual Tradition in Pasadena, Calif.
The Gentle Barn: A Safe Haven for Animals Big and Small
Founded in 1999 by Ellie Laks, the Gentle Barn, located off the Sierra Highway in Santa Clarita, Calif. and is home to a variety of animals including Horses, Cows, Goats
, Chickens, Turkeys, Pigs and many more. Her mission is to provide for, protect and rehabilitate animals who need special love and attention as well as to “teach people kindness and compassion to animals, each other and our planet.”
The barn is open to the public Sundays from 10-2 and for a small donation, residents of all ages can see the animals and begin the healing process as they show love through stroking a chicken and hugging a cow.
For more information about Ellie Laks and Her Gentle Barn, click here.
The Lotus’ Return To Local Park in Los Angeles
Put on by the City of Los Angeles, Department of Recreation and Parks, the free festival was held on July 12 and 13 from 12 til 8 at Echo Park Lake, near downtown Los Angeles.
Apart from the festival, residents could also rent pedal boats to further enjoy the beauty of the lake.
Echo Park Lake is open every day from morning until dusk.
31st Annual CA Strawberry Fest in Oxnard Calif.
As Previously reported last year, the California Strawberry Fest brought hundreds to Oxnard California for the two day festival in the Strawberry Meadows. New recipes were introduced and great fun as the beloved strawberry was celebrated.
For more information, watch the video below.
A Race for the New Year
On Saturday January 4, 2014, over 6 thousand runners came out for one of the only night races in the country and had the opportunity to run in Downtown Los Angeles. The race started at 7 p.m. and half marathoners ran from Pershing square down around Dodger Stadium and was welcomed back to the Staples Center with a Drumline that had came out for the momentous occasion.
There was also a shorter 5K that others took around the immediate downtown area. Both finished at Dodger stadium in as little as 3o minutes for the faster runners. The race was divided into 16 sections with the faster runners up front and the slower runners and walkers bringing up the rear.
Watch the video now and see how residents felt about the race through the beautiful city that officially started off the 2014 year.
This was the 2nd year the city of Los Angeles allowed the race and it looks like it is becoming a tradition that will continue for future years.
A Free Disney Attraction in Calif.
In the heart of Los Angeles, a hidden gem is located in Griffith Park. Located near Travel Town, Carolwood Barn is open on the third Sunday every month at no charge. The Barn was Walt Disney’s Original Barn that he built to be his workshop while he was still alive. His daughter had it transported to the location over ten years ago to keep Disney’s dream alive for all generations.
For more information including directions and hours, go to the Carolwood website.
Monthly Full Moon Hikes in Southern California
Once a month, Los Angeles County residents and visitors have the opportunity to stroll through Coldwater Canyon Park located on the ridgeline between Studio City and Beverly Hills and view the beauty of the city in a rural setting. For just five dollars, people of all ages and skill levels can walk along a choice of three different trails: a kids hike for those who just want to enjoy the scenery, a medium hike for the average hike and an advanced hike for those who wish to challenge themselves with an hour long hike up and down the side of the mountain.
All hikes are under the supervision of a trained associate of TreePeople, an organization celebrating 40 years of its work and dedication to preserving the environment through education and restoration of the parks and recreation.
For a full list of monthly activities including Hiking under the Harvest Moon, visit the calendar section of their website.
Planet Venus says, “Hi” To Earth
On June 5, 2012, Venus is spotted going across the sun in a six-hour transit that has Southern Californian Residents captivated.
View a once in a lifetime experience that took place the first week in June as Residents had the unique opportunity to learn about and experience science in action at the Griffith Observatory.
Animals stars or Animal Exploitation? Should animals really be working or is it cruel to keep them from being a “Regular” animal?
It’s been debated since animals first started being used in movies in the early 1900’s.
Peta (or People for the Ethical Treatment of animals) is an animal rights organization, dedicated to investigating the unfair practices and abuse of animals.
This includes the use of animals for…
- 1. Food
- 2. Clothing such as fur or leather
- 3. Experimentation or animal testing
- 4. Abuse of any way
- 5. And, use in the Entertainment industry.
Peta Investigation into Ringling Brothers’ Treatment of Elephants
(Video courtesy of Peta website)
One of the forms of entertainment is in the circus. An investigation by Peta was done on Ringling Brothers, and found the elephants were repeated beaten with bullhooks prior to performing. Additionally Peta is also against Animals being used for entertainment, such as Greyhound Racing. The Greyhound Racing Association of America says the breed loves to run and thus are breed at a early age. They say the dogs are well taken care of and most live to the typical age of 12.
But The ASPCA argues. They say “each year thousands of young, healthy greyhounds are killed due to lack of racing potential or being injured or no longer competitive. ASPCA say, the living conditions of a typical greyhound is massively small, with little or no social contact.
Other less conspicuous groups like Animal Actors of Hollywood are more responsible and actually adopt most of the animals that are used for work in the TV and Entertainment Industry. The Trainers say, all of the animals are placed in loving homes, both during the animals work schedule as well as upon retirement.
Just the same, no matter how well their intentions are, there are always Peta groups to insure that all animals are treated right and justly so. According to a petition done on change.org, the following findings were reported.
- 10 billion domesticated land animal are slaughtered a day for food, including 250 million chicks and five and a half million calves
- Between 25 and one hundred million animals are used in testing in the U.S. each year
- Six to eight million dogs and cats enter shelters and half never leave alive
- 80 percent of purebred, AKC puppies are born in puppy mills and sold at local pet shops
- And one hundred percent of all circuses have been cited for animal cruelty
Only Child Syndrome
People think being an only child is the greatest thing in the whole world. Well, coming from an only child perspective, I have a different take on this who idea.
Let me tell you being an only child is not all it’s cracked up to be. People think being an only child, you get all the attention, but at the same time, you are also by yourself nearly all the time, except when you decide to call friends or go over to their house, but half the time at least while you are young, you can’t just pick up and go over to a friends house unless you live right next door.
You have a lot of time to imagine what life would be like to have a sister or brother and you create fake brothers and sisters to play with, pick on and just talk to.
One thing I loved to do when I was a little girl was go out to my back yard and pretend that my yard was a magical kingdom and each item had a different magical power: my thinking rock helped me come up with new ideas and my singing tree helped me climb to the top of the tree to see God’s amazing glory from it’s roof top, even though I never climbed that high and when it would snow, I’d take my sled and go out to the little hill in back and sled down it, protecting my hands from the coldness and having all the fun in the world. It was the life, but what I wouldn’t of given for a sister or brother to share my experiences with.