Friday Funnies

For those of you who have worked in the corporate world, you might find this amusing.

Let’s Say Thanks

On this cold, snowy day wouldn’t it be great to do something that will warm your heart?

Well read on because I ran across a site where you can do just that.

“Let’s Say Thanks” is a web site that allows you to send a post card to a service man or woman stationed overseas. It’s easy to use and it’s free. Also, all the card designs were designed by children.

Click on the link below and do something that will warm your heart and perhaps touch the heart of someone who is watching over our freedoms – and then go get yourself a cup of hot chocolate to warm your tummy after you’ve warmed your heart.

http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1280.html

Wednesday Ride

During the winter, Betty and I try to keep riding two or three times a week.  Because of the colder weather, especially when it’s breezy (which makes it even colder on exposed flesh), we usually do short rides.  If it’s really cold or really breezy or both, we’ll confine our riding to our back lot.  Our goals are to maintain our riding skills (and muscles) and to stay connected with Morgunn and Sugar.  We believe that a lot of short rides helps build our foundation with them better than occasional longer rides.

Here are some pictures from this morning.

Before we ride we always go through the same groundwork routine with our horses.  Betty is desensitizing Sugar by throwing her lead rope around her feet in this picture.

Here Betty’s throwing her lead rope around Sugar’s neck.  She also does this around her middle and on her rump.  Sugar sits quietly through all this as does Morgunn.

We also get our horses to move their feet by asking them to back up and, as in this picture, to move their hindquarters.  This reminds Sugar and Morgunn that we’re the leaders of our ‘herd.’

Then we’ll ride them around our lot.  We have some poles that we can use to weave them through.  We have some poles on the ground we use to have them step over.  And we’ll take them into the round pen to do some circles with them.

All of this usually takes about 10 minutes or so and then we head out for our ride.  In the winter we stay pretty close to home.  In this picture we’re going down our neighbor’s driveway heading over to a sage area.

We believe working with horses is a matter of simplicity and consistency – keep it simple and keep it consistent.  Improvements are small, but they build over time.

Horses at Play

In my opinion, a horse is the animal to have. One thousand pounds of raw muscle, power, grace, and sweat between your legs - it's
something you just can't get from a pet hamster. ~Author Unknown

Pictures from Sunday when it was cold and rainy and Morgunn and Sugar were feeling their oats (actually their barley as that’s what we feed them as part of their lunch).

Whew, we’re tired.

Monday Video -- Pigeon Impossible

There's some great, independent animation being done these days. Here's one called "Pigeon Impossible." It's about 6 1/2 minutes long so wait until you can watch the whole thing. It's very clever.

Enjoy.

Sunday Reflections – The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience

On Friday, November 13, 2009, 150 Christian leaders signed the Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience. These leaders were representatives of the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Orthodox Churches, and the Evangelical communities of the United States.

The opening statement of the Declaration clearly states its focus:

“We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are (1) the sanctity of human life, (2) the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife, and (3) the rights of conscience and religious liberty. Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

The Declaration has these words towards the end:

“We will not be intimidated into silence or acquiescence or the violation of our consciences by any power on earth, be it cultural or political, regardless of the consequences to ourselves.”

And these words:

“We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.”

In the early 1700’s our country entered a cultural and political war against the King of England who gradually tried to take control of the lives of the inhabitants of the colonies and abolish their freedoms and liberty. Eventually good men and women stood their ground at great cost to themselves, their families and their fortunes. One of the great testaments of freedom and liberty came out of this defense – the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.

We are now in a cultural, political and spiritual war that is trying to once again take over our lives and liberties. This Manhattan Declaration may or may not have the same impact as the Declaration of Independence—only time will tell -- but it is a call to all of us who profess Jesus Christ as Lord to stand once again to defend our freedoms and liberties which are granted to us by God and not by any government.

If you would like more information about the Manhattan Declaration you can go to this web site: http://manhattandeclaration.org/

Saturday Voice – Tired of Talking

I’m taking today off.  I’ve harped about health care enough and, unless our congressmen and senators grow some backbone, this travesty will come to pass.

Today is a good day to do nothing.