It doesn't take long to understand that the Heifer International Ranch is a special place to live. Besides being located in a beautiful area of Arkansas, surrounded by mountains, woodlands and water, it also bolsters a strong community of people and animals.
The ranch is a learning center intended to "help end poverty and hunger and heal the earth". Heifer offers a program intended to create an opportunity to live in an impoverished area to experience, briefly, the lives of those who receive Heifer gifts. The site also allows visitors and volunteers to gain first-hand experience with exotic animals and sustainable agriculture.
Volunteers in livestock, farming, and education live, work and eat together every day. The gardens are nourished by the waste of animals, the volunteers nourished by the gardens and animals and visitors learn about the importance of interconnectedness and why it nourishes the earth we depend on. The ranch provides an opportunity for people to learn and grow on a small scale, while contributing to an organization that contributes globally.
This afternoon Gizmo the lamb was arguing with the turkeys in the "Show Barn". Gizmo was born at the beginning of the most recent lambing period, She bore an uncanny resemblance to the character in "Gremlins". We had moved her away from her mother due to nursing issues and bottle fed her in the hopes of getting her weight up. She would bleat woefully and the turkeys would respond from the next stall.
I felt a strong connection to this little creature, being so far away from home and being lonely in a new place.
I fell in love that night, with the man who sat in the stall trying to feed her. He held a bottle for her and called her darlin'. It was dark when we left and walked home under the stars.
I cried the next day, when I was told that she died. I was mixing her formula when he called me.
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