Check This Out

For all you horse lovers check out this movie trailer for “War Horse” which will start around Christmas this year.

Fire Sunrise

Everyone probably knows about our fires here in New Mexico.  Here’s the sunrise from yesterday.  It’s actually rising above the smoke from the Los Alamos fire.

Sometimes You Just Gotta Trust

I’ve said, and I’ve heard other horse people say, they want a partnership with their horse.  That’s not a bad thing depending on how you define partnership.

This past Monday we got out early to ride – still hot – and there was a big digging machine (how’s that for a technical name) roaring in our neighbor’s back yard.  It was huffing and puffing and throwing dust up into the air.

She has been having some work on her septic tank and the machine was out there last week and we knew it was supposed to come back today.  So, we weren’t surprised.

We saddled up the horses, did our usual desensitizing routine and worked with them a little in the back.  They seemed to be OK with the machine working next door.  They were aware of it, but didn’t seemed too concerned about it.

Since it was another hot day we decided we would ride over to the arroyo that’s South of us.  It’s a nice ride with a good view of the mountains and only about 40 minutes so we could get back before it got too hot.

We headed across the street to walk through our neighbor’s driveway to get to the arroyo.  Betty was on Morgunn in front.  About half way down the drive Morgunn stops and won’t go another step.  It looked like he was seeing something but we couldn’t see anything.  He wasn’t being obstinate or trying to return home he just didn’t want to go any further.

This is very rare for Morgunn as hardly anything bothers him and we’ve gone through this spot hundreds of times with no problems at all - ever.

I asked Sugar to go ahead and she moved OK until she got to the same spot and she did the same thing - the exact same behavior.

After talking for a few moments we decided it didn’t feel right so we took them back to our back lot and worked with them there with the machine still working next door.  So we accomplished something in getting them more exposed to that kind of heavy machinery.  Any day riding is better than not riding.

In my earlier riding days my attitude would have been, “Nope, you can’t balk like that.  We’re going ahead.” And I would have forced the situation.  You got to be the leader.  You can’t let the horse win, you know.

Well, over the years I’ve changed my thinking.  Morgunn is Betty’s partner and Sugar is my partner.  On this particular day there was something bothering them about what we originally wanted to do.

We still don’t know what it was, but, instead of forcing them through it, we decided to listen to them and trust their instincts.  Sometimes you just gotta trust.

Monday Video–Grand Kids

Here’s a video slide show of our recent visit with our kids (Wade Daniel and Marie) and grand kids (Juliet and Leah).  Being with them is one of our great pleasures.

Sunday Reflection–I Don’t Understand

(I got this from a friend at church.  It’s truths are my truths.)

A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner, The people were in and out of the cold.

The little boy was so cold that he wasn’t trying to sell many papers.

He walked up to a policeman and said, "Mister, you wouldn’t happen to know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep tonight would you?  You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and down the alley and its awful cold in there for tonight.  “Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay."

The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, “You go down the street to that big white house and you knock on the door. When they come out the door you just say
John 3:16 and they will let you in.”

So he did. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door, and a lady answered. He looked up and said, “John 3:16.” The lady said, “Come on in, Son.”

She took him in and she sat him down in a split bottom Rocker in front of a great big old fireplace, and she went off. The boy sat there for a while and thought to himself: John 3:16…. I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm.

Later she came back and asked him “Are you hungry?” He said, “Well, just a little. I haven’t eaten in a couple of days, and I guess I could stand a little bit of food.”
The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn’t eat any more. Then he thought to himself: John 3:16… Boy, I sure don’t understand it but it sure makes a hungry boy full.

She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bathtub filled with warm water, and he sat there and soaked for a while. As he soaked, he thought to himself: John 3:16 … I sure don’t understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean. You know, I’ve not had a bath, a real bath, in my whole life. The only bath I ever had was when I stood in front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out.

The lady came in and got him. She took him to a room, tucked him into a big old feather bed, pulled the covers up around his neck, kissed him goodnight and turned out the lights. As he lay in the darkness and looked out the window at the snow coming down on that cold night, he thought to himself: John 3:16 … I don’t understand it but it sure makes a tired boy rest.

The next morning the lady came back up and took him down again to that same big table full of food. After he ate, she took him back to that same big old split bottom rocker in front of the fireplace and picked up a big old Bible.

She sat down in front of him and looked into his young face. “Do you understand John 3:16?” she asked gently. He replied, “No, Ma’am, I don’t. The first time I ever heard it was last night when the policeman told me to use it.” She opened the Bible to John 3:16 and began to explain to him about Jesus. Right there, in front of that big old fireplace, he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there and thought: John 3:16 … I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe.

I have to confess I don’t understand it either, how God was willing to send His Son to die for me, and how Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I don’t understand the agony of the Father and every angel in heaven as they watched Jesus suffer and die. I don’t understand the intense Love for ME that kept Jesus on the cross till the end.  I don’t understand it, but it sure does make life worth living.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Begotten Son, that whosoever believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Happy Birthday, Marie

Quite a few years ago we were living outside of Cincinnati, Ohio.  We were preparing to go to Kentucky for our nephew’s wedding and our sons, Wade and Chris, were going to join us as they are very close to their cousins.

Wade was at Colorado State in Fort Collins and we had bought him a ticket to fly home and drive with us to Kentucky.

About a week before the wedding Wade called and asked if we could pay for a plane ticket for his new ‘friend’ to come with him to meet us and the family at the wedding.  Her name was Marie Davis.  I remember very well Wade’s words in that phone call:

“Mom and Dad, I know you will like her.”

And, he was right.  We not only like her, we love her very much.  Three years later they were engaged and then married in 1998.

We have been very blessed with our two daughters-in-law, Marie and Tracy.  They are both good, honorable, loving, capable, Christian women.

Happy Birthday, Marie.

Allowing

Betty and I rode Morgunn and Sugar out for the first time yesterday, Wednesday.  On Monday and Tuesday we worked with them in the back as we haven’t worked with them for almost a month because of our recent travels.  We needed to reconnect and check out where they are.  We also needed to get our heads straight and stretch some muscles that have not been stretched for quite a while.

Our ride on Wednesday went great.  Both horses were calm and relaxed, even when we rode somewhat close to some large construction machines working on a new road behind us.  Sugar was aware of them, but her energy level stayed level and she did fine.  Morgunn is always the calmest of the two and was no problem for Betty.

During the ride I was aware of something I had read in a blogger friends last post about ‘allowing.’  Here’s a quote (I hope this is OK, Kate) that sums it up for me:

“First…how important it is to be able to allow the horse to move - directing and channeling the energy rather than just controlling it or bottling it up; and second, how important it is when teaching a horse to focus on getting one thing right at a time and not expect everything to be there at once - as one thing comes right then another element can be added and then another - you can't get it all done at once and it's okay to allow the horse to be imperfect.”

Kate is an excellent horsewoman and I have learned a lot from reading her blog.

As I rode Sugar I was conscious of whether I was allowing her to move in her own energy with just my guidance or was I trying to force her to do something or move in a certain way.  Also, Betty and I used the second part of her thought about working on one thing and not expecting perfection.

Perhaps my attitude was part of the reason Sugar was so relaxed during our ride.

After reading Kate’s post I also thought about my time as a father when our two boys were young.  I was often guilty of trying to force them in a certain direction.  I wasn’t aware of it.  I was just doing my man thing and trying to fix things for them instead of letting them use their own energies and creativities with a little guidance on my part.  I also probably expected them to be closer to perfect than I want to admit now.

I think it’s interesting that we often hold those around us to higher standards than the standards to which we hold ourselves.

Fortunately, Betty was a good influence on me and I think I got a little better as time went on.  In any case, both of our boys turned out great.

In any case, it was a good ride Wednesday and maybe I learned a little something that will help me to continue to grow as a horseman and as a man.

Thanks, Kate.

Monday Video - Designated Driver?

Back in my college days, when I was dumber than I am today, I would occasionally drink too much.  So, I can related to these animals.  Marula fruit is a seasonal treat for animals in the Okavango Basin in Africa. When the fruit gets ripe, however, there's a problem. The fruit ferments, and the animals get drunk.

Getting drunk is really not funny, but it’s hard not to laugh at some of these.

Happy Fathers Day to the Best Fathers I Know

May your father and mother be glad; may she who gave you birth rejoice! (Proverbs 23:25)

The best fathers I know are my two sons – Wade Daniel and Chris.  Their mother and I are glad and I know that Betty rejoices in her sons – as I do.  They are both good, honest Christian men, husbands and fathers – men of honor and integrity.  We are so proud of them both.

Happy Fathers day to all fathers who read this.

Graduation

We’re home!  We got home late last night and we spent all of today, Wednesday, resting and washing clothes.  Both of us managed to catch a summer cold so we’re not feeling our best.

One more post from our trip – Javier’s graduation.  We stayed at the Mount Vernon Inn in Mount Vernon, Ohio – it was a combination hotel and bed and breakfast.

On Saturday we went to the Schnormeier Gardens, a private home outside of Mount Vernon that is opened to the public one weekend a year.

On Sunday Javier graduated from Mount Vernon High School.

Javi is very popular with his high school friends.

Javi with Chris and Tracy.

And with his proud grandparents.

Cody Wyoming

Cody Wyoming is one of the original Old West towns.  It was the home base for Buffalo Bill Cody and is now the home base for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center – one of the great Western Museums.  It has a firearms wing, a Western art wing, an Indian wing, a natural history wing, and a Buffalo Bill wing – all are great.

We spent a good part of one day seeing each section.

Buffalo Bill’s show outfit.




Here’s the next saddle that Betty wants me to buy for her horse Morgunn.

During the day we went to lunch at the Irma Hotel which was built by Buffalo Bill in 1902.

Other Yellowstone Animals

Besides bears and bison we saw several other animals while we were there.

Elk… at Mammoth Hot Springs

Elk along the Snake River…

A bull elk along the road…

Pronghorn antelope…

We had hoped to see a moose and wolf… but the only moose we saw was…

Remembering John Wade

(Betty posting)

John Newell Wade was born on June, 13, 1969 -- exactly three months before our first son, Wade Daniel was born. John, the second son of my brother Bill and his wife Noel, was a wonderful baby, boy and young man. On July 7, 1984, John died at the age of 15.

At 2 years of age John was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and for the next 13 years Bill, Noel, John and Galen (his older brother) lived as normally as possible – doing everything that could be done and encouraging him to be all he could be. And so he was a happy, loving, active and creative child. We didn’t get to be with him much as Bill was raising his family and I was raising mine. We saw each other when both families were home with our folks in the summer or at Christmas. And I remember a great visit we had when they lived in Dallas and we were in Memphis – the closest we’ve ever lived to each other. The cousins always loved being together.

My brother has written a book. Façade – Musings on Living Life and Coping with Death. It’s filled with his faith journey from John’s diagnosis to the present day. He shares how God has touched him to bring him solace, if not complete understanding. Bill took the photos in the book and the cover is a picture of John with a cartoon character he created – Gil.

It’s also full of poetry written by Bill, Noel, Galen AND John. I mentioned creativity, didn’t I?

Three months after John died Bill says:

“I had another experience that I cannot explain, I can only describe. I came to a knowledge, a sure knowledge, that there was something in John’s room waiting to be found. I looked everywhere……before I finally found it. It was in a computer file. John must have written it in the last few days of his life.

Finding ‘Façade’ was an overwhelming experience.

Façade

Failing to find the answers I seek,

I ask life’s Creator about life’s peak.

Answering, He said,

“Death is a façade

Hiding the glorious end

That exposes life’s shadow.” (John Wade)

Death is only a façade we pass through to a glorious next. And this passing through is life’s peak experience”

John’s faith was so strong. I can’t wait to reconnect with him when I get to Heaven. I’m not a visual person and I believe God has only “given” me three pictures in all of my prayer life. One was for someone I was praying with. The other two were for me. My mother died 5 years before John and I believe the Lord gave me a picture of Mother in Heaven grinning from ear to ear –the pain from her cancer gone. The second picture was after John’s death to this world. It was a picture of my Mother and John hugging each other and grinning at me. These two images are still vivid today.

Today on John’s birthday, I hope that all who read this will be filled with joy and love and think on a life well lived – even if shorter than those who loved him would have wished.

Lions, Tigers and Bears–Oh, My!

Well, we didn’t see any lions or tigers – but we did see bears.  In our past two trips to Yellowstone we saw one small black bear each time.  This time we were fortunate to see 5 bears.

We saw two different black bears.  We saw this black bear in the woods.

Then we saw this black bear feeding in some grass land among a herd of bison.

However, our real treat was the first bears we saw – a grizzly Mom with two cubs.

O Give Me A Home Where The Buffalo Roam…

Everyone is always excited to see buffalo when they first arrive in Yellowstone.  It’s usually the first animal seen. 

However, people don’t see buffalo – they see bison.

The bison population fluctuates from 2300 to 4500 animals and 9 out of 100 bison die each winter.  They are usually old and/or sick.  Both grizzly bears and wolves will prey on bison.

Yellowstone is the only place in the United States where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times. A number of Native American tribes especially revere Yellowstone’s bison as pure descendants of the vast herds that once roamed the grasslands of the United States. The largest bison population in the country on public land resides in Yellowstone. It is one of the few herds free of cattle genes.

The bison is the largest land mammal in North America. Males (bulls) weigh up to 2,000 pounds, females (cows) weigh up to 1,000 pounds.  Reddish-brown calves are born in late April and May, after a gestation period of 9 to 9½ months. Calves can keep up with the herd 2 to 3 hours after birth and they are well protected by their mothers and other members of the herd. However, wolves and grizzly bears can kill bison calves.

And you can run into bison in the strangest places as you’ll see from this video.

Water, Water Everywhere

Water is a big issue in New Mexico, but definitely not in Yellowstone.  Because of the heavy snowfall, water supplies are more than abundant – especially in the waterfalls.

First, Gibon Falls on the Gibon River.

Then the most beautiful and classic Yellowstone waterfall – the South Falls of the Yellowstone River.