Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Sunrises, Spring, Blessings and holidays, oh my!!

The sunrise this morning was absolutely gorgeous! The colors in the sky were so vibrant and bright, full of deep reds and oranges and pinks and silvers and oh my!! Simply stunning! You just can't improve on God's artistry no matter how hard we may try. I was talking on the phone to my hubby when he says that I should grab my camera and head on out and snap a few pics of the day's sunrise. So, I go take a peak and exclaim at the beauty. I head into the other room to grab my camera, but wouldn't you know it...the coffee was kicking in and I had to make a little detour first. *sigh* Sometimes timing really is everything. I know, sorry...TMI as my hubby says. By the time I took care of business, put my shoes and coat on, grabbed my camera and made it outside the colors had already changed, but it was still very pretty. Maybe next time...the weatherman is predicting the rest of this week to be sunny and with warmer temperatures too. Yippee!!

From my count on the calendar, the spring equinox is just 30 days away. Oh, I am soooo looking forward to spring and warmer weather and drier pastures and longer days and beautiful flowers blooming and oh, just everything that beautiful weather entails! I'm sure that we will be having plenty more days of wet, rainy weather, hey - this is the Pacific Northwest and you know what they say don't you? "It's so very pretty there, and it's just so very green!!!" Well, you know how that happens don't you? No? Well, let me tell you, we have plenty of annual rainfall, that's how...and we get a lot of it in the spring. However, at least it's warmer rain and it's mixed in with beautiful blue skys and sunshine and blooming flowers and rainbows and warmer days and oh it's just something good to look forward to and I can't wait!!


Ladde's birthday is on the first day of spring too! Yep, March 20th is the Laddmonster's birthday and this year he's going to be a teenager! I can hardly believe it - a whole 13 years old!! Why, it seems like only yesterday that I completely missed the birth and I went out to check on my beautiful little angel mare Kadie and ...there was this big, boney, excessively long-legged, mule-eared, curly-haired (funny looking) colt laying right on top of a pile of very large rocks that we had picked up from the paddock area and placed in the corner of the small pasture area. Yep, of all the places in the whole vicinity, Ladde had decided to lay down in the corner on the top of a pile of rocks. And - he was stuck. Mama had been pawing at the wall of the barn for apparently a long time judging from all the scratch marks on the wood above Ladde; but you see...he was on a pile of rocks and could not get his footing to stand and...well you know, he needed help. So, I squeeze inside and shimmy along the wall between Kadie (she wasn't about to move) and pick up the big, funny looking foal and place him on his feet. Did I mention that he had a huge, bright pink abrasion on his right hip bone? Well, he did and it was big and he still has the scar to this day. Anyway, so the instant I set him on his feet, Kadie gives me a definitive shove with a look that says now get the hell out of here and leave us alone - so I did. And then I started to cry because after all that time waiting and waiting, I have no idea just what I had expected but it sure wasn't this!! He was kinda funny looking, but I was so very thankful that he seemed to be doing fine and Kade sure seemed perfectly fine and all was well...and I was thankful and relieved and completely in awe. So, I went in the house and called my boss and said that I needed to stay home that day and I changed my clothes and headed back out to the barn to watch Ladde. And now, almost 13 years later, I'm still watching that horse and am totally and completely in love and enamored with him. Lord help me...I'm so hooked on the big old galoot. But, still to this day am counting him as one of my most dearly beloved blessings ever received from God above...and so very thankful to have him in my life. *sigh* I have no idea what I had in mind when I started typing this post this morning, but this wasn't it...see what I mean...it's all about Ladde.



I digress...once again. :) I'm blaming it all on hormones - that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.



So, I read my church newsletter the other day and inside was this true story and I thought I would pass it on. I enjoyed it very much and it made me smile.



The Atheists' Holiday



In Florida, an atheist created a case against the Easter and Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument presented: it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized day(s). The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case dismissed". The lawyer immediately stood, objecting to the ruling, saying, "Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah. Yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays". The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant." The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists." The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is 'April Fools Day' and Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his holiday. Court is adjourned."



Can we get an Amen!?






17 comments:

Sherry Sikstrom said...

Absolutely Amen !
Ladde is like a few of mine ,I know the moring that Wilder (Wild Card) was born I went out to see this leggy muddy clydesdale ish colt and went "what in the heck are you " But he filled out and turned out beautifully ,you know the "ugly Duckling story"

Kathleen Coy said...

Great story about Ladde's birth. Do you have any baby pictures of him you could post?

C-ingspots said...

Kathleen,I do, in fact have tons of baby pictures. I just need to get some scanned so I can get them posted. I have one on my wall at the clinic where I look at him everyday. Funny looking little guy! His facial hair and on his ears was crimpy curly for months.
And Fernvalley, this was definitely an ugly duckling story that evolved into the beautiful swan...I think! :)

Grey Horse Matters said...

Beautiful sunrise and flowers too. I'm so over winter, it's snowing here again today, I think I can wait for the 30 days til spring, but it's going to be hard.

Gail said...

Amen!

The oldtimers say if you love the looks of a horse in three days and at three months, you will love him at three years.

Stunning sunsrise!

Leah Fry said...

Amen, sista! Ladde is such a beautiful boy. He reminds me of my trainer's fewspot stallion. Man that horse throws some gorgeous foals.

Fantastyk Voyager said...

AMEN!!!

Ladde is huge! How tall is he? How do you ever climb up on his back?

Whem my Scout was born, I thought he was the funniest looking little colt ever! He was red and white and spotted all over. He had both pinto spots and appy spots, and a blue eye! Now he's 13 going on 14 and I still think he's the craziest looking horse! lol!

Donna B said...

nice pictures,and great tale of Laddes birth,I love him,he is a handsome boy! How tall is he,I'm jealous! And hahaha AMEN! Nice one thanks for the share!

C-ingspots said...

Thanks everybody!! I know Ladde isn't what most people would call a classic beauty, but to me he's the most gorgeous boy ever!!
And, yes he's big. When he was 3 years old and I was just starting to ride him, I could still mount him without an aid. At that time he was right at 17 hh and now I'm older and have to put him in a ditch or climb on a tree stump if in the woods or use my mounting block. I have not measured his height since he was about 4 - if he's grown, I don't want to know!
So...at last measurement he was a true 17.0 hh and weighs in around probably 1400 ish?

Maria said...

I think blogger ate my comment unless you have an approval 1st setting.
Wow, he's a big boy & beautiful, I love Appy's. So cool to have known him since birth, I got mine @ 1, but he was born @ my dad's, I wrote about him in a Jan (I think) post, titled Rebel.
Thanks for coming by & commenting, I've not heard double dipped chocolate, but cool someone else says pedicure & no I've never had one either, I hear they are great.

Woody said...

WOW, Flowers, somewhere under the 170 inches of snow we have gotten so far are shoots waiting to "Spring" forth, we are in our second day of a snow storm, my son lives in Portland, OR. and teases me about the difference in weather,

enjoyed the visit,

Woody

Melanie said...

Hey there!!

Glad to see that you are feeling somewhat better, or at least fighting the doldrums, and I love it when you post about your horses...especially Ladde!!

To answer your questions...Amber is my younger sister, who lives about seven minutes away, and has the horses at her house. Sienna (the pony) was born at my parents farm, and Amber leased Bo for six years about five years ago. She just got him back last April, when his original owner called and said she was moving to Colorado.

Waska is Amber's 1/2 Arab, 1/2 Saddlebred gelding (NSH), but as I mentioned, I picked both him and Bo out. So...they are all technically her horses, but I primarilay ride Bo, and pay for part of his feed bill and farrier stuff.

I have entire posts that are devoted to this topic, and if you want, I can give you their location. :)

Sorry for the confusion!!

allhorsestuff said...

Oh you made me feel so special tonight hen I read my box-o-comments I did NOT expect any on the dour post!

Thanks...a found out today that the mass e-mail that the owners sent out to the entire stable is not going over so well...in fact, the absolute evil hearted thing they do to me by kicking me out to give the spot to 2 $35,000. dollar horses.People are seeing that the Love of Money is the root of all evil.I spent my own $500 dollars to investment the Pea gravel they won't pay for now but will use for others. Amazing!

On a better diff note..zYour laddie looks like he is a towering huge Appy! HOw tall is he anywho?
KK

Leah Fry said...

I don't have a pic of my trainer's stallion and their website apparently exploded, so I'll get one next time I'm up there. He's such a sweet, well mannered boy. He reproduced himself last year, in a sweet, handsome little man named Rs My D Zire.

Anonymous said...

thanx for the equinox update... gives me hope .... even tho the weather's fairly good right now in montana... good thing too.. first horse show of the season tomorrow..

Can i get an amen for spring... Ladde, and our equine partners?

gp

Anonymous said...

I love your Ladde story! He grew up to be such a handsome fella. Amazing how they wiggle their little horsey selves right into our hearts, isn't it?

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

lol! Amen for ya!

That sky is gorgeous! Reminds me of the Northern Lights. YOu took an awesome photo.

Spring? What is that? Sprin won't officially be here in our mountains until after May. We can get snow, freezing temps and hail storms until June.
And we won't see much green grass until our summer monsoons.
But I do love our sunny days and blue skies basically all year round. I suppose it's a trade-off.

I think Ladde is gorgeous. He was like the ugly duckling that turned into the tall handsome prince.

Will you give the birthday boy a special treat on his birthday?

My mare will turn 16 on April 18th. I'd like to do something special for her then. Got any ideas?

~Lisa