Home!

The dog and I found Mercy high in a tree, too frightened to come down. 

Smokey, our senior cat, and I finally coaxed Mercy earthwards. She's been making up for lost time, eating, eating some more, and napping in my lap--all the essentials of respoiling. 

She is, of course, under house arrest!

Many thanks to all those who helped pray Mercy home! :)

Mercy. Come.

She's just a cat, I keep telling myself. Cats run off every day, disappearing by the thousands, maybe millions. 

I had joked that Mercy heard about her upcoming spay appointment and ran off to join the circus. But it's not funny. 

It's no big deal, I tell myself when the tears come. Much greater losses befall and far greater tragedies threaten than my empty lap. 

So I pray for mercy for lost people and dreams and those who've lost them, for the broken and bereft and terrified, for homecomings. And I pray for Mercy. 

"Hope....the sometimes unexplainable, but always undeniable, feeling that today would be a bad day to give up." ~Joyce Meyer

Resuscitatation

Sugar takes her mid-morning naps very seriously. She's nearly oblivious to goings-on, and her legs stick out so stiff and corpse-like that folks naturally fear the worst. 

Even Pansy must have begun to wonder yesterday because she marched right up and began sniffing the horse's rigid limbs (just as I've seen cows do to a comrade who has recently departed this world). Her breath and whiskers soon tickled Sugar back to life, however!

"I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance." ~John 10:10 (AMP)

Expectancy

You may be wondering when to expect baby calf stories. Calving season is usually well underway by now, but since February temperatures can be brutal, we delayed the process. 

We don't anticipate any calves for a few more weeks; however, I'm including one of my favorite pictures from calving seasons of yore, just to tide you over for a while. 

"My times are in Your hand." ~Psalm 31:15 (NKJV)

Sol de Invierno

To the horses, today's sunshine meant siesta!

But to cats kept indoors by cold, wind, and snow, today's sunshine meant fiesta!

"Most cats, when they are Out want to be In, and vice versa, and often simultaneously." ~Louis J. Camuti

Collective Shivers

Attention all disgruntled citizens of Winter: stay safe and warm! 

Maybe next winter we should just hibernate. 

"He will cover you with His feathers; you will take refuge under His wings." ~Psalm 91:4 (HCSB)

Oil in the Family

Presenting a few of my favorite paintings by my favorite artist: my sister Jenny!

See more at jennyrobinsonstudio.com

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus." ~Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

Tree-Bop

Winter mornings are starting to sound like spring. Robins harmonize in the cottonwoods while sparrows sing background vocals from the Russian olives. But I can't quite make out the lyrics. Perhaps the melodies are gospel, country, rock, bebop, or even sappy love songs. Be My Birdy? Wormy Fields Forever? I Fly the Line? Sittin' on the Fork of the Branch? I'll Fly Away?

The only thing I'm sure of is that no one in those trees is singing the blues. 

"My favorite weather is bird-chirping weather." ~Terri Guillemets

The Waltz

I knew the photo wouldn't be any good. The raptor's sweeping circles were too high, too fast. A phone camera could never even begin to capture such soaring grace. I snapped a shot anyway. 

Fear of heights notwithstanding, I found myself sighing with envy. 

"But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles...." ~Isaiah 40:31 (HCSB)

The Governess

A few weeks ago, Winky showed up very lame. She had to move in with the annoying heffies (weanling heifers), who reside close to the barn. Despite rest, treatment, and pampering from the pesky heffies, who liked to lick her while she slept, Winky made no progress for 10 days. Some kind friends prayed for her, though, and soon she was not only walking but even kicking up her heels alongside the heffies. 

Although she's completely recovered, Winky has volunteered to stay on and try to teach those heffies their P's and Q's.  She seems to like them better, although her nicknames for them are rather telling: Twerp 1, Twerp 2, Mollycoddled, Spoiled, and Rotten!

"She (Wisdom) will guide you down delightful paths; all her ways are satisfying." ~Proverbs 3:17 (NLT)

A Hayseed Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day to all friends, family, and readers near and far!

"I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may have power...to comprehend what is the length and width, height and depth of God's love." ~Ephesians 3:17-18 (HCSB)

Mud Story

"All that matters is that you are deeply loved in the midst of your deepest dark." ~Ann Voskamp (paraphrase of Romans 5:8)

Undone

We Wyoming gals know very well how wind so quickly dishevels and bedraggles. Even the cows' coiffures~and dignity~are soon undone. 

"He rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, restoring dignity and respect to their lives--a place in the sun!" ~1 Samuel 2:8 (MSG)

Relief

The Southern Big Horn Basin Glacier is finally melting. This is great news for stock and stockmen. Packed, crusty snow and ice has made travel by foot, hoof, or tire difficult and often hazardous. Grazing has been largely out of the question. If this Ice Age had continued much longer, folks may have had to switch from cows and sheep to reindeer and polar bears. 

"As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate." ~Albert Schweitzer 

Customer Magnets

Our little town boasts two hardware stores. I prefer to shop at the one with the amiable Sylvester cat napping on the check-out counter. 

We have two feed stores. Both are nice, but I'd rather frequent the one with the very friendly and terribly cute Border collie-Australian shepherd pup, Josey. 

Looking for an edge on the competition? Consider adopting a charismatic cat or an irresistible puppy!

                          Josey

"Buy a pup and your money will buy love unflinching." ~Rudyard Kipling

This Just In

Everywhere, ice. Groundhog shadows. Fog and frost, again. Hollow-eyed gardener. Hungry deer slinking past the house to feed on the goats' bale. More snow this morn--

We interrupt winter with this breaking news report: The horses are beginning to shed! Spring is coming!

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." --Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)

The Cow Whisperer

Hubby's Tennessee Walker, Solomon, can't run fast, stop hard, or "turn on a dime" like most cowhorses can. The only spins he's ever performed have been mid-air reversals of direction while being challenged by a cantankerous Angus bull.

But Solly has an amazing herdside manner, completely at ease amongst cows--and they with him. When ridden into a herd to sort out an animal, he's so affable that they rarely get ruffled. We've never seen Solly get impatient and lay his ears back or nip at a recalcitrant cow. He gets the job done with a minimum of stress and offense. "It's almost like the cows think he's one of them," Hubby says. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HUBBY! I love to work cows with you!

 

"Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace." ~Matthew 11:29 (MSG)

Enlistment

On a farm or ranch, there's always more work to do than hands to do it. Any friend or family member who comes to visit dreads the inevitable: While you're here, would you mind giving me a hand with ______? I was going to do it yesterday, but the cows (got out/busted  the fence/needed doctoring/all of the above).

On our place, even the cottontails have a job: keeping the cowdog in top aerobic condition!

"The duller the ax the harder the work." ~Ecclesiastes 10:10 (AMP)