I am amazed that yet another May has nearly escaped us once again. It starts to dawn on you as you embrace life and the time granted to you that each year, month, week, day, hour, even minute is gone forever. If you have ill used it, it is of little consequence as it will never come again.

The saying "Time waits for no one" is so true! However, this May has not been a wash or loss by any sense of the word. I suppose this week has not been of the highest quality with the injuries and now the legalities of insuring appropriate compensation for the damage and losses incurred as a result of a really foolish error on someone's part??? Go figure.

All I know for sure is that in general, if someone is fair and kind hearted in dealing with me I am NOT good at being mean and head strong in such sort of matters! The fact of the matter is the damages are significant and financial affects of the situation are high... Yet, I find myself struggling with the whole process. I am hopeful they are amicable with the whole situation and do what is right without forcing our hand. I have sought legal counsel and professional counsel otherwise in how to best proceed and the fact is solid that they are liable.

I suppose I shouldn't be feeling bad about it though with the consideration of the heads of some oil companies being grilled by the Congressional Committee last week and a couple of them announcing they didn't even know how much they made in the year previous... And they were all well into the million dollar range personally! So, what of holding yet another major gas/oil company accountable for an error on their part that insures that are losses are covered? They won't even come close to a small percentage of such numbers! I suppose it's not so much this but the reality of having to push someone to do the right thing where I am personally involved. Like I said, I don't do mean very well and when I do, it is generally a result of being pushed to a very angry point by someone being rude or unfair. If they do this to me in the near future they may unleash my wrath after all. Yet, at this point in time, I am hopeful for a fair and fast resolve to the whole ordeal and I am not simply talking vet expenses...

So, now that I have vented and ranted a bit on big oil companies and liabilities I am considering that once more I am airing my baggage that no one really cares to hear! Sorry about that! But on the other hand, anyone who has any experience in such situations I would greatly appreciate your in-put and thoughts.

As for the balance of the week - to feel better about the whole matter all one has to do is look out the back side of the house and see our new addition. I am going to have to get after them to give him a name... But for now, little one is fine with me! We are so eagerly awaiting the other mare who we were pretty sure would foal first and is still holding out on us! I am thinking a Palomino colored colt that is second to none and notable since this mare has thrown our best foals for years to date!

I will have to get my rear in gear and post some pictures of the newbies here and on our web page in the very near future. Maybe tomorrow we will have a second bundle of joy to tend to in the morning???? That would be okay with me - even though I have to leave early for my day in Denver for the boys counseling.

The vet will be back out on Saturday afternoon along with the oil guy rep so this should prove to be very interesting... But in the mean time I believe I will try to stay focused on what is good and pure and true and continue to trust the process even in such matters, as I am still sure God is even in this process too! Isn't that wonderful news!!!

Okay, on that note, I'm calling it in for the night and going to bed.

Have a blessed day and if you think of it, say a prayer for the outcome we are facing! Thanks and Love to all!

My goodness but it is cold outside today. How you can live in a region that can go from 90's to nearly freezing can only be explained in regions such as Colorado!

Thursday the nation found out there was a town by the name of Windsor in North Eastern Colorado by means of a nasty tornado that left an ugly finger print upon the up-scale community in the old town region and beyond. Not so far from where we ourselves live (about five miles) this fingerprinting across the lovely spring farming landscape began and followed through to the far reaches of Laramie Wyoming. Incredible if by no other means than this particular storm opted to travel in an absolutely reverse path of what our normal weather patterns travel around here.

Feeling a bit too snug and secure in our rolling landscape, assuming the very profile of our pastures and valleys that surround us, I believed we were relatively safe from experiencing a tornado in our own back yard. That was until Friday afternoon when one of those fun filled, fast moving, dirt clouds was approaching and I was scurrying to get the kids in the house and to the basement with the dogs, cat and pet bunny. All was left in tact with the exception a few more branches, our propane tank gage and a few pieces of plywood that came from the out buildings. But all in all, we escaped unscathed, but mindful that they can and did in fact form in our own back yard!

All this to only find ourselves immersed in the spring beauty that followed in the weather patterns on Saturday afternoon and for the most part all day Sunday as well. Yes, beautiful, pristine weather made for being outside.

Saturday of course found the injured horses I mentioned in my previous blog and Sunday found that one whom we believed was okay, not so okay with a bowed tendon... Then it came, the big event of the weekend in our back yard. A Memorial Day Reminder of the absolute best kind... A brand new foal (baby horse)! But not the one I was expecting but rather one in a small pasture hardly suited for foaling in... But all's well that ends well and he appears to be in fine shape in spite of the unsightly entry into the world anew. We got him moved around the family far and near came to view the newbie and his adorable presence.

Then today arrived... Ushered in without so much as a ray of sunshine from the skies. It was cool early on with a dreary and humid hint to the air. However, the newbie had a way of brightening up the worst of weather. By late afternoon it was down right cold and still is! They promise warmer weather on the horizon, but as we have all come to know and accept.... Weather reporting is a science of the third realm and cannot, in spite of all our newest and greatest technology, out smart God! Therefore, we will accept what comes our way regardless of what they predict and when they are wrong as is often the case, we'll grumble a bit. However, we will be sitting before the weather Doppler system trusting the potential of an accurate forecast once more when time for the weather broadcast. Isn't funny how we humans can be? Fickle at best!

So, with this much said, tomorrow will be an interesting morning of discussion with the contractor responsible for hurting our horses this weekend and to once more see what the weather angels have in store for us upon mornings first light.

In the meantime, I will reflect on the price paid for the luxury of freedom and living in still the greatest nation in the world. I will embrace the opportunity to watch those news casts, to pick my worship services, to choose my candidates and to serve the greater good of the population that still stands as one nation UNDER GOD! I send my prayers and thanks to the many service people who have for generation after generation provided and guarded such opportunities and freedoms. I also pay tribute and honor to those who I so dearly love who have gone on to their final homes ahead of us.

My prayer, that I may live a life worthy of the price they have paid for me to live it. To serve God and man kind with the heart and fervor that all too often I personally lack. And to strive to live a life according to God's will from my conception.

Be Blessed, Be a Blessing, Be Appreciative and Honor those who have given of themselves for you to do these things! Happy Memorial Day and May the Sun Shine Upon You in the Week to Come!

Love to All

My mood may be a bit better tonight but the events of the day are not necessarily better.

We have this main gas line that will carry gas from the region under ground to other far off places for refining going through our pastures. Generally these huge contractors and gas companies do a fair job of keeping the land owners/occupants happy as they infringe on their property regardless of the result to the surface as it was and as it is left.

However, oddly enough we didn't even hear from anyone before we noticed they had cut into our fence off of the road and were fencing our horses out of their way... I know our landlord well enough to know that he always tells people who are going to do any gas or oil work on the property that they need to talk to me about the horses and fences before they begin. But for some reason they apparently thought it was okay to discuss it with the neighbor who doesn't even own any of the land they are cutting through, giving her a phone number in place of us. NOT COOL! But I seen the fence by the road and all appeared to be okay and acceptable. I thought to call them and remind them they needed to reseed it with dry land grass seed throughout the areas they are taking out for this line when they are finished; but otherwise I figured I'd leave it as is even though they didn't so much as come and talk to us first.

That was until today when one of our mares was in their fenced off area and we realized the fence they put in further down the line was only two strands and was only a little over three feet high in most places. Needless to say, the mare is hurt and hurt bad. Without a doubt, the majority of her upper foreleg is scalped all the way down to the muscle. She was in shock when we found her and fell down a couple times before we could get her to where we could fully treat her. It will no doubt scar her and leave her with the potential of future laminitis problems. This mare is a beautiful and athletic horse whom had great potential; and I'm not happy!

We began today and are concluding the removal of their poor fence work tomorrow to insure no other horses are injured before it is done appropriately. When it is re-done I am going to be assured it will be done right. I further more anticipate monetary off set for the injury that has rendered her to probably no more than a brood mare providing this heals up. Too boot she's pregnant and I had to give her injections that I would not normally give a pregnant mare. However, I have to take care of the mare first and the foal second. I'm just so not happy with these people. Needless to say, I’m prepared for what they have to say when they arrive on the property to work on Tuesday and find their fencing removed. That is if I can't get a hold of someone beforehand!

So, that is my rant for the day. I am hopeful with much TLC she will recover but it is going to be a long journey without a doubt.

As for the rest of the day, it was very nice. We enjoyed a barbecue with the family for our nephew's high school graduation which took us away from home for several hours. The weather held and it was so nice out for such an occasion.

I even got one of my whiskey barrel planters planted with my red, white and blue color scheme. I am hopeful that tomorrow is a bit less eventful and that I will have a chance to get a little more done in the yard. So much still to do just to have it in any sort of managed condition... Maybe we'll take a drive to visit a couple of loved ones grave sites or just hang out at home and enjoy the day with fond memories of them which they'd no doubt appreciate just as much if not more... But one way or the other, I'm optimistic that it will be a good day and in spite of the hurt inflicted unnecessarily to one of my precious critters, I still know that I know - "God is in the process...therefore trust the process!"

Have a great weekend and Memorial Day if I should miss an entry in the next day or two.

Hugzzz to all!

Yes, I know better than anyone that I have been missing more than present of late... I'm sorry, but it's just been one of those slump times in my life where I find myself buried in the day to day "stuff" that tends to get in the way of everything.

I suppose if I really give it much thought I'd have to say it's no more than that nasty old "satan poop". Yep, that's it, satan poop at it's best that occurs in a time frame that interferes with God's divine plan of good for our lives. I hate it when I realize or reluctantly admit to the fact I took the bait again. However, sometimes it's next to impossible to avoid it... Or so it seems! When you don't even realize it is happening or that it has occurred until after the fact. Shoot!

Therefore what do I do next? Hopefully "I pick myself up, dust myself off and start all over again..."

I've had a few asking if all is well in our neck of the woods with the Colorado tornado's being so close to our home. Yes, they were probably closer than one might like but yesterday we seemed removed from the worst of the storms... We merely dealt with severe winds and having to put tires on the out building roofs to hold them together with regard to the intense wind gusts we had. However, today was another story. This was the first day we have ever gone to the basement since moving here over ten years ago. I don't know if it was actually a tornado that passed over but I'd have to say... "Maybe so..."

The most perplexing matter in it all is the direction of the storms movement. Generally the storms come from the west or the north and on a rare occasion we get something out of the east or south east that catches us a little off guard. But these are moving from the south east with deliberation and purpose; as if they always follow such a pattern. It's more than odd over all, but then again the storms and weather have changed so dramatically in the past several years any longer. Not I!

With the Earthquake, cyclone, tornados, fires in California and Florida again... It sure makes one wonder about the future of this amazing world we live on. Has anyone watched the documentary on what will come of the mid-west/north west regions of the US if or when Yellowstone blows? I knew there had to be a reason for those hot, hot glaciers up there... But what I didn't realize was it is all sitting on top of one of the largest if not the largest volcano in the world. Great, just what we all needed to know. NOT! I think perhaps I'd a soon move closer to the region so that if it happens I won't even know it... Poof and you're gone, but nope, not here in sunny Colorado. We'll get the benefit of being over come by the ash and toxins that we breathe, but perhaps that won't be so slow after all.

Okay, now this has turned into a gloom and doom blog and I am simply not about gloom or doom... Then again, I am also not one to discredit the second coming of the Lord Jesus! I think that will be a glorious day and not anything to fear for believers! There you have it, no gloom in that consideration.

I'm wondering what everyone has planned for the three day weekend and how many have had the plans re-arranged. I believe we will be attending an afternoon barbecue for my nephew's graduation. My significant other was planning on moving some furniture on Sunday which I thought was a trip there and back leaving free the remainder of the day... But I was apparently wrong as I declined the invite to go along for dinner too. Maybe I shouldn't be that way, but I don't really want to spend one of the best days forecasted in the weekend in town at a condo... That simply doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but apparently my lack of spontaneity to jump on board with the plan is not being well received.... I suppose that is enough said on that matter before I stick my foot in my mouth.

So, instead, I think I will take advantage of the good weather if they got it right (???) and plant some flowers and maybe work in the yard a little.... It would be nice to get the ponds cleaned out and up and running before late summer this year!
As for Monday... Probably more of the same, or perhaps we'll take in the NASCAR 600... Suppose I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

In the mean time, sorry I've been missing in action once more and trust that I promise to work on writing of a more inspiring nature from here on...

Have a great weekend and trust the process!

I received a gentle reminder today wrapped in a random sort of packaging. Just a quip reminding me of something I have known for some time, as an author and beyond.

The fact is people don't really care about my baggage, erroneous life errors, bad habits, weight, goals, dreams or accomplishments other than how it relates to them.

I knew this well enough when I was writing my book "A Love Beyond Time" as I wrote it in a way that I hoped to achieve bringing some sort of reality to the reader. I wanted my readers to personally relate to it at some level or some point in its journey. My efforts apparently worked as I have received miscl reviews all of which those who read it related it to themselves or someone close to them.

I have found the same true in this blog... The most impacting blogs with the highest comments are those that create some sort of emotion for the reader that they can apply or relate to their own lives.

Isn't that after all why "The Secret" is so abundantly popular? Beside the fact that it offers the viewer/reader hope in their own trying times; it is written from so many vastly different points of view that it will affect and relate to everyone if they are willing to consider what it offers.

I realize that many of my more recent blogs have failed to create any suspense let alone hope. When we were awaiting word on "The Big House on the Hill" the readership was better in that I think many who were not able to maintain close communication with me were able to follow along on the journey. They had a sense of suspense in finding out if we would or if we would not end up on "The Hill".

The funny thing is that we even had a second option to renew this vision/dream but opted not to as many realities of the state of our economy and cost of living hit us square between the eyes. It made us wonder if it was really the right thing to do. Specifically with only the hope of being able to buy surrounding land around the limited acres that we would have initially secured in the house deal. So, as the culmination of the suspense of my writing about it seemed to evaporate before my readers eyes, it never occurred to me it also took with it the factor of suspense.

But more than suspense I suspect it also took away a breath of hope for those who seen the potential. What potential you ask? The potential that says; if it could happen for us, it could happen for them as well. It slipped my attention that I really dropped the ball here!

I have to say, it probably could have happened for us if we had really continued to pursue it, and it can happen for you in whatever it is you’re believing in and for. We chose to shut a door and consider opening other doors of which I simply haven’t opted to write about. Too date, until I have a bit better sense of what it is that we are shooting for I can't put words to something I'm not even sure of myself...

Therefore, I want to take this moment to remind myself that what those of you out there no doubt are looking for in inspiration and encouragement I realize is really not my "stuff", but my belief in the unforeseen and the unknown. I have enough to go around and I will attempt to focus a bit more on sharing that with those of you out there in cyber space reading my blog with any consistency.

I will attempt to remember what I knew and still know from writing a book and a movie script that I need to remember to relate what I have to say to the viewer/reader. I will try to make my moments as a foster parent and such exploits something that other parents can relate to. I will try to remember that as I share my dreams, hopes, and aspirations and realized goals that I do so in a way that someone somewhere may find a source of encouragement... After all, if I can do it, so can you!

When you wish for someone to listen and engage with you, try to be the person you want the other party to be as well. Listen, invest and care about the other person. As you share your own life and times, remember not to shut out their life and times. Remember, no one really cares about your baggage as to how they judge you as a person.... They more than likely have enough of their own to carry around to be worrying about carrying yours. Your baggage really only concerns them as much as they can relate to it.

That does not mean you should shut down and carry your own burden all through life... As it is, most of us have a lot to share and that includes the baggage... It's not what we share but how we share it that really counts. We are all given a story to tell, a testimony that can make someone else's burden easier to bear if we take the time to relate our own knowledge and experience to those who are carrying something in kind.

Therefore, today I'm going to try to forget what my high school class mates might think if they see a picture of me looking vastly different than thirty ago... I'm not going to sweat if my horses are good enough by someone else’s standards... I'm not going to concern myself if the Christian opinion of my new book is over the top.... I'm not going to fall victim to the considerations and thoughts of an unknowing and unscrupulous world beyond, which wants nothing more than to find fault in any person's success as big or meager as it may be... I am going to realize the fact that most people who focus their energy on finding fault and pointing out the obviously negative aspects of any life well spent is doing so in a shallow attempt to make themselves feel better about their own limited existence.

I am going to believe that even those people, with the right words of encouragement can move past this point in life and expand as humans with something great to give the world beyond them!

I am going to continue to believe as a wise woman once told me... "God is in the Process... Therefore Trust the Process!"