I Need a Hunter

For two days now, the horses have hesitated to come up for feeding.  That has never ever happened before.  There is always a joyous race to the stables, usually a competitive race. There is nothing in the pastures,  so I am feeding twice a day, both complete feed, and a generous to go out and actually walk them in this morning, I knew something had to be wrong.  I examined all them; there were no wounds, no signs among them of illness, and as I  turned, all of them followed me very slowly, as close as they could get to me without stepping on me.  When we got to the stables they all seemed to want affection rather than to eat...  I had already put their portion of feed in the feeders, and thrown out four bales of hay.   Those girls love to eat,... really love to eat.

I started thinking, both yesterday and today they have been standing just beyond the tree line of the woods on the side where I have heard the night noises, and this morning they were unwilling to walk past the tree line without an escort.  The fields are so muddy, they can't move as fast as they usually can, or kick as freely without slipping in the mud.  Their only natural defense is slightly compromised in the thick, black mud, which is known around here as "black gumbo."

They have always come up at night and sheltered under the stalls for the night.  I had noticed they were staying way back at the back of the pasture for several nights now.  I didn't think much of it. There is a sense between the horses and I, a communication that doesn't include human sounds, nor horse sounds to be in the same language, we are both bi-lingual.  Once when I was really having a loneliness for my husband, who was deployed to Afghanistan, I went to the pasture for the comfort I knew they would bring.  I began to cry, and Three Chicks, the quarter horse responded, and she is the one most sensitive to my moods.  She came and hooked her head and neck over my shoulder, began her little sounds of affection, nibbled softly at my arm, and I just leaned into her, and let it flow.  It did not bring out distress in her, she just steadfastly murmured her comfort and understanding of my inner pain. They always know when something is wrong with me, and  I always know when something is wrong them, there is an edginess, which can display itself in different tones.

I can tell when there is a personality conflict among them, and they are all female except for one poor soul, good old Rocky.  Sometimes they act like a bunch of eight grade cheer-leaders and the haughty can catty comes out in them.  I am not tolerant of that.  If one of them is ailing, they will surround that one, and there is a certain edginess about that behavior that has its' own flavor.  I can tell when one them has their feelings hurt, and yes, they do get their feelings hurt. 

 Never have I encountered the mood in the horses that I did this morning, this edginess is caution, fear, mistrust, and I am afraid there is some experience that goes with this edginess.  Last night Patti made one fierce bark from the porch.  When I went to see  what it was, she began fiercely barking, right after she ran behind my long skirt.  She would peek around in the direction of the woods, and she became so agitated that she peed as she barked.  She hasn't done that in a since she matured past her puppyhood. I got the 410 shotgun, fired three rounds in succession in the air, as she shook in terror.  I thought it was coyotes, but then again, I began thinking... I haven't heard a thing out of the coyotes in the past few nights... There is definitely something out there in the woods... I can not harm an animal,  I need a hunter willing to stay up all night, before something really bad happens.

There is Something Out There In the Woods...

I was going out to feed the horses for the evening feeding, and I had let it get dark, not a problem, I put on my headlamp, put on my thigh strap for the Glock 9mm, and confidently started for the tack barn.... then I heard it, not 15-20 feet over the fence line... My nearest neighbor is over 6 miles on that side of the fence, and there are not any cattle over in that pasture right now. I could tell it was moving parallel to me as I moved on toward the tack barn and I thought to myself, shoot, I am going to have to fill out a bunch of paper work, because I'm probably going to have to shoot someone in the woods.... I have lived in the country a long time, and I know every sound, at least approximately how large whatever it is that is moving is.  I figured it was a person or a deer, but then I dismissed the deer and settled on having to do paperwork. . But that wasn't what it was... because just as I got about even with the chicken coop, I pulled out the glock, and then it made that unmistakeable sound... evidently those ducks and geese that are missing are not being eaten by the coyotes... if you hear it even one time, you will never forget it.  I guess she is back for the winter, those sounds always start in early November... and long about April or the first week of May I don't hear them any more.  I am determined to get some pictures this year.... I have a "critter camera" which I am going to set up. The sound is somewhat like a woman screaming, only a bit lower... I have only seen it one time... The mountain lion is back for the winter...  The horses will have to wait until daylight tomorrow morning... there is something out there in the woods... and it is not afraid of me and my Glock.  Got to get a bigger gun...

Really Good One Courtsey of William Brass

When life gives you lemons, and you try to make tomato sauce, you will eventually know you have done something completely wrong.

SENSELESS HATRED IS THE GREATEST THREAT TO HUMANITY

                 
                                                         

     

 I guess I should tell you, you will have to be patient and read the whole thing to get to the hatred part of this blog post, but there is a method to my organization here.  I have to establish my credibility in the area of my valuing animals with my target audience.  Let me say up front,  I love animals, always have, it is a heritage from my sweet parents, and I see in animals an expression of the wonders and magnificence of the Almighty, what a gift they are to humanity!  I cannot even bear to put out a mouse trap.     
                                                                                                   

In this picture, Blue, our Blue Roan, had watched children playing on this swing set one afternoon, standing at the fence for hours.  People say I am imagining it, but I am certain, when she jumped the fence and became entangled in the swings, she was trying to learn how to swing, because it had looked like so much fun.  She stood perfectly still while untangled her after seeing her from the kitchen window.

                                                        

Three Chicks Native is our quarter horse,                                                      This is Chief, our Polish Top Hat rooster.
and she likes kissing boys!

Of course, everyone has heard of our famous little miniature goat named Rocket, who is a star in her own right.  She has been on Fox News, Red Eye Edition, and I am told Ellen DeGeneres just loves all her videos.

 
Two beautiful dogs, one which I am really not certain is a dog live with us.  I believe  it is possible that it is an angel of protection for my husband, which inhabits a dog and gazes out at me from those eyes now growing feeble as she approaches seventeen years old.  Once a young friend of our family was staring at Ginger, and she was staring back, (yes this dog will not only stare you in the eye, she likes doing it,) and he remarked, "I don't think Ginger is a dog, I think she is a human trapped in a dog's body.  I can tell you, I have seen the very Hand of God in the life of that beautiful animal, and miraculous things happen around her. She befriends everyone, loves everyone, with the exception of two people she has come across.  Once, when we were living in League City, an electrician came to make a repair, every hair on her body stood up, she followed him, growling softly, never taking her eyes off him for a second, and she kept walking between me and the man whenever he approached, planting her paws, and barking with a viciousness that startled me.  The other man was at one of the units in the Army my husband has commanded.  Randy retired after thirty years in the Army, and his last four assignments were command positions.  

We had always taken Ginger the Wonder Dog with us to the each of the commands on Randy served in on different occasions, except of course Afghanistan. Ginger loves Soldiers, and Soldiers love Ginger.  At one of those units, Ginger actually spent two weeks in the unit with us as I worked in the Family Readiness Office as the Group Leader, and my husband worked down the hall.  She was such a friend to the Soldiers of that unit, that when two years later my husband deployed to Afghanistan, they presented her with a feeding dish as an award for her "service to the unit."  When we first arrived there was an NCO of advanced rank who attempted over and over to befriend Ginger. She would not let him near her.  Again, all the hair stood up, she backed away from him, and yet every other Soldier, and there were many, was petting her.  In fact, she was eagerly begging for attention from each of them.  It kind of puzzled my husband at first and he kept apologizing to the Soldier, and some of the Soldiers were even teasing him about it.  Then about two months into the command, the Soldier had to be dismissed from the Army after it was learned he was embezzling money from the unit.  Ginger has a very special sense about the character of people, all of the details of it are really quite amazing.

She is waning in life, I have to frequently get betamethason shots for her, because her poor old body is wearing out, but what a life she has lived.  She is spending her last days where she loves most, and with those who love her most in careful attendance, and quite frankly she gets whatever she wants. 

Pati is our other dog, and she is such a naughty, wild and free adolescent puppy, so full of energy, I have to be careful she doesn't cause me to trip or fall.  I found her in the rain and the cold in front of a local restaurant after church one Sunday, along with two identical siblings.  I could hardly eat lunch, I was so worried about her.  The other two puppies were taken by a shelter worker and her husband.  Pati is her nickname, her full name is Patriot, she is a mess, and proving difficult to train, but we will get there, it just takes working with her every day. 

 In these two pictures, Pati is eating jalapeno peppers, I had thought just letting her taste one of them once, would break her of it, but oh no! I had to fence the garden once she got  a taste of them, because she kept stealing them.

                                                                                                          Pati the day of her rescue

Of course, a little paint donkey that was going to be euthanized by a neighbor, because he thought she was killing his cows by kicking them, is one of my best friends, and the one I confess all my secrets to. (She has large soft ears, and she loves to be whispered to.)  When the neighbor asked if we wanted her, because otherwise she was "going to get lead poisoning," my husband, who was on leave with the United States Army from his assignment in Afghanistan, glanced at me.  I saw a little flash in his eyes, and I knew we were now the proud owners of  a little paint donkey.  I have written extensively about the beautiful little donkey we named Donkey.  She has the ability to soothe the soul.  She always wants to be petted before she is fed.  She just loves to be loved.  Those big brown eyes look so deeply into a person. 

We just released a squirrel, we named Traveler, which we acquired while on vacation in Branson Missouri, in a travel agency. (I really didn't want to release him, but he was ready, and he probably wanted and deserved the squirrel's life he was born to, but I cried and cried, I got a little too attached, in fact as I write about him, a tear or two is sliding down my cheek.  
A very nice woman had tried to rescue this tiny creature and was failing.  The little fella was profoundly dehydrated, and too cold.  (Squirrels need to maintain a body heat of 99, when then are as tiny as this one was, they cannot do that on their own, in fact they cannot even digest their food if they get too cold.  So we got a heating pad, and proceeded to  bottle feed every two to three hours around the clock, there were a couple of "ify" nights but he soon grew healthy, fat, and adorable. 

                                                                                                       
There is such a specialness about the animals here at our ranch, and I think it is because of God's ordination.  My husband and I have a heart for those in the military, their families, and those who have served.  Some of these men and women suffer from what is known as PTSD, (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.)

We aren't professionals in psychology, but both my husband and I have had  training concerning PTSD.  But that is not where our conviction that interacting with animals can be a therapeutic comes from.  Watching those who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder relax, and tension melt from their countenance as they interact with the animals here has convinced us.  The relaxation that never fails to melt over us as we interact ourselves with the animals on our little ranch also brings to our hearts a confirmation of our beliefs in the benefits.  Even the wild animals here who share this home have a calming effect upon stress levels. 
   
                                                   
                                                         
I know, I didn't title this blog post the animals of Soldier's Heart Ranch, or something about their value,  I mentioned hatred.  I have described our home and relationship with the animals here in an attempt to establish some common ground concerning an accusation of animal abuse in Houston.  I am trying to communicate with those commenting about the woman who is accused of the abuse.  They obviously all really deeply value animals. 

I immediately had concerns about the validity of the accusations against the principal who was arrested in connection with two legs rotting off her dog before she noticed it.  I know that is horrific sounding, and if indeed she is guilty, she should pay the price.  However there is so much of these accusations that does not fit.

In the Middle East senseless hatred wrecks havoc everyday, and takes the lives of innocent people.  I can't count the number of times I have heard Americans state how worthless the people of the Middle East are, and how they are just going to keep slaughtering each other like they have for thousands of years.  However, last night in Houston, Texas, someone burst into a party, murdered two people and wounded 18 more.  There is story after story of such behavior, and they seem to be growing in number everyday. We have some serious hatred going on here in our own country as well, and it is about every topic in the world.  Hate speech against everyone from our President on down is everywhere.  I didn't vote for Obama, and I disagree with most of his policies, but I don't hate him or anyone who in their own good conscious voted for him.  In most of my lifetime, it was not acceptable to publicly make graphically disparaging remarks about anyone, much less the President, in decent company.  Nothing is held as not to be said to, or in front of a woman anymore, probably because I see young mothers in Walmart using vulgar language to loudly correct their children.  At any rate that respect has just gone away in many public venues. 

I think the Internet and the opportunity to remain anonymous has fueled a great deal of the hate speech that now is everywhere, concerning everyone.  Many Americans seem to be in a constant state of rage.  I think that is why we have so many random shootings.  Bombings around the world are also prevalent, and seem to be the calling card of those wanting.

The comments concerning the woman who is accused of animal abuse included, before they were deleted by the moderator statements about "hitting her up the side of her head with a baseball bat."  Many suggests different form of tying her up with water, having her fired from her job, tortured, etc.  These conclusions of her guilt and need for harsh punishment were  based on two very short articles by the Houston ABC News Affiliate.  There were adorable pictures of the dog who had obviously suffered terribly, but I happen to know there is another possibility concerning this condition, I even think it is a pretty good possibility.  At the suggestion that this woman might not be guilty, the attackers turned on me.

The hatred and positivity of the woman's guilt, along with the descriptions of what should happen to her, are words which a child should never hear.  All the while, since the woman is a principal at a private school in Houston, the calls for her to never be around children ever again were numerous.  Vile words full of hatred, with ethnic insults present until the moderator took them down as well.  A tirade that began "stupid Mexican," is one I will not complete.  Unbelievably, a person chimed, well I am Mexican, and I agree with you, and that person began running down Hispanics as a group.  The woman who is charged with the abuse is named Rosa Martinez.

Words matter, spreading hatred toward anyone or any group of people based on bias or assumptions, divides our country, and our country is in peril as it is.  I have been attacked verbally for defending this woman, suggesting that this scenario does not make sense.  My husband and other members of our immediate family have been at war along with many other military folks defending our country, and the Constitution of the United States of American, and the justice system that is the cornerstone of of personal liberties.  I strongly believe in innocent until proven guilty.  I can tell it will not matter to a great many people even if this woman is found not guilty, as these folks will think she just got away with it.  That is such a shame, because this woman will never completely recover from what I view as senseless and irresponsible charges which were leveled against her in a reckless way.  There are so many facets of wrong doing I can see, that if really makes me fearful of what can happen to anyone.  That tells me the sacrifices of the past twelve years have not been well guarded.  I will be writing more on this case and the response of the public, as well as the developments.   On Friday, the 8th, there was to be a court appearance, I can find nothing anywhere in the way of follow up on a case that had been sensationalized all the way to the national ABC News.  I also reported this to LUlAC, thinking it would be on interest to them, and the organization would rally to support this woman, and ask for more information concerning the indictment.  Not a word on anything on Friday that I can find, .. so America, stay tuned, whether you know it or not, your rights stand in jeopardy as well.

FOR BECKY AND BRIAN

If we live long enough we all face the grief and loss, the searing pain of a loved one leaving this world for their next existence, and it is indeed staggering enough to bring the strongest of us to our knees.  How powerful it is to be confident of a loved one's faith in God when they pass from this world to the next.  That eternal hope of being together again in heaven, in the presence of the Lord, bears the Christian through a dark place.

 C.S. Lewis is the famous author of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, which is a part of his children's collection, the Chronicles of Narnia.  He also was a famous atheist, profoundly wounded as a child, when at age nine his mother died.  Lewis had decided in the pain of his child's heart that God did not exist.  It is said that his friend and colleague, J.R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings, was an influence in his conversion.  Lewis told, in his autobiography, of his conversion, which happened as he rode in a motor cycle side car with a friend for a visit to a zoo, and pondered the wonders of our world.  I think very little stirs thoughts of the wonder of God more that the consideration of the creatures which he gifted our world with. C.S. Lewis filled his books with these creatures.

A theme of Lewis's life was the pursuit of "joy."  He longed before his conversion to understand and possess joy.  The following is a quote from Lewis on hoping for something more: 

"Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world.  There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise.

At present we are on the outside... the wrong side of the door.  We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure.  We cannot mingle with the pleasures we see.  But all the pages of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so.  Someday, God willing, we shall get "in."  We will put on glory.... that greater glory of which Nature is only the first sketch.

We do not want to merely "see" beauty-though, God knows, even that is bounty enough.  We want something else which can hardly be put into words-to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it."  C.S. Lewis 

Paul spoke the thoughts of God's heart on love in 1st Corinthians 13  That longing, that God shaped void within us that can only can be filled by God's  love is the most powerful driving force in the Universe, for the definition for that longing inside us all is love. "God is love, " and the source of this, attainable by all,  forever thing, whose value exceeds all other things.  When we leave this world with our heart right before God, because of the gift of salvation, only available through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we leave to bathe in those waters Lewis spoke of.

21st Century King James Version (KJ21)
1 Corinthians 13
 1.  Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become as a    
      sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.
 2.  And thought I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and 
      though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
 3.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, 
      but have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
 4.  Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not, love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up;
 5.  Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
 6.  Rejoiceth not in inquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
 7.  Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
 8.  Love never faileth.  But whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues,
      they shall cease: whether ther be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
 9.  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when
      I became a man, I put away childish things.
12. For now we see through a glass , darkly, but the face to face.  Now I know in part, but then 
      shall I know even as I am known.
13. And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.

You can read more of the life of C.S. Lewis, who from a non believer became one of the greatest theologians the world has known.  This is a good link, but nothing will tell you more than his own autobiography, Surprised by Joy.

 One of C.S. Lewis's quotes that I really love is from his book, A Grief Observed.  Lewis knew well the song of grief in his life.  He speaks of the testamentary that each of our lives is before the Universe concerning love, the kind the world refers so often to, which is a cheap fake, and of that soul searing kind that makes us what God designed us to be.  The thing about love is, it is so much more discernible under great adversity.

"God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality.  He knew it already.  It is I who didn't.  In this trial He makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, and the bench all at once.  He always knew that my temple was a house of cards.  His only way of making me realize the fact was to knock it down."

C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

Read more about C.S. Lewis at: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/bible-verses-about-hope-20-uplifting-scripture-quotes/#ixzz2kFXy44SK

FATHER, THANK YOU!

I never fail to marvel at the wonders I observe from my back porch!  This morning the Lord did a slide show of His work.  I took the time to sit and watch from the yellow rocker on the porch, with my hazelnut coffer, I am blessed.  I will send these to my husband, who so loves the view from our back porch.

 

Father, I think this is some of Your best work lately!

I seem to think that every day!

TEARS