Beasts of Burden

You remember that song by the Rolling Stones don't you?  I walk for miles, my feet are hurtin'...nice song.

 Anyway, the term "beast of burden" is what a client of ours at work referred to horses as being, the other day.  Well, I guess so...but so are we all.

This gal said that she and her mom were riding their horses and they came to a very steep and long hill, so she got off and decided to walk her horse.  Her horse was huffing a bit, and was somewhat out of shape and overweight, so she decided that a walk up the hill would benefit both of them, and ease her horse's burden.

A gesture of kindness, I thought.  However, her mom laughed and said she was silly to get off and walk up such a steep hill when her horse could so easily carry her up.

Now get this; the mother's horse is older, has serious respiratory issues, extreme difficulty breathing when under exertion and still, the old bag forces her horse to continue on up the steep hill, huffing and puffing with effort carrying not only his own burden, but her extra weight as well.  I asked why would her mom do this to her horse?  And she replied, because horses are beasts of burden.

I suppose they are, but I had to comment that we are too.  She didn't agree.  My argument of course, is that the Bible tells us that for 6 days you shall labor, by the sweat of your brow and do all your work.  On the 7th day, you shall rest.  It even stipulates that our animals shall have a day of rest.  If that doesn't classify us as beasts of burden, I don't know what would.

And regardless of your opinion on this subject, I still say that we should all be compassionate and kind to our animals, and others, no matter what their classification in life may or may not be.  An animal of any kind, and all people are still emotional beings.  We all have feelings, sensitivities, likes and dislikes, opinions about things in general, and that warrants a thinking, feeling being of being worthy of, and deserving of, kindness.  Simple, compassion and kindness.  It costs us nothing, save a little effort perhaps on our part, but still..."do unto others as you would have them do unto you".  The Golden Rule does not stipulate your age, sex...or your genotype.

If ever there was a rule that encompasses all, it is that one.  Period.

People can be so dense.  Or maybe it's just an excuse to be mean, or their pitiful attempt at believing they're superior.  Whatever...

The Bible does give us authority over the "beasts"...but remember, when given authority over anything or anyone else, there comes great responsibility.  And accountability.  Even if only, eventually...

for everyone will reap that which they have sown.  A beautiful reminder for us all.  We're given so many gifts in this life, not the least of which are our beautiful animals.  They truly are worthy of our love, respect and kindness.  As we all are.

Blessings everyone,
from a fellow beast of burden on this day, in this life of mine.

May your be wonderful!!

St. Patrick's Day Really...it's March 17, 2010

Silly blogger doesn't let you change dates. It is St. Patrick's Day which of course, means it's almost spring...yippee!! This coming Saturday, is the first day (technically) of spring and Ladde's birthday. Wow, I can hardly believe another spring/summer season is just around the corner. Time sure does fly!!

I don't want to think about anything serious today, so I'm doing a blog medley. A post of some good times spent last summer. Just cause I want to think about happy days and not anything else today.


Pies!!! Ooh yummy!! This tiny little restaurant on the way to the beach that serves the best breakfasts. And, they also serve pie. All kinds of pies. This is a picture of the morning's baking...hmmmm.

The beautiful, blue Pacific near Newport. Nye Beach specifically. A great place to spend some time.

My beautiful friend...Miss Betty. I love you my wonderful little friend. (she's gonna kill me for posting her picture here!) We had a good time on our little weenend outing to the beach.

An artsy fartsy shot through the weeds. :)

Depoe Bay...what a glorious summer day!!!!

Another one taken at Depoe Bay / the ocean side, of some cool looking caves...

A crazy artist painting with his back to the ocean...not a very good idea at all. Hasn't he heard of "sneaker waves"? Whoosh!! and he'd be gone in a nano-second!!

Taken from "the wall" in Depoe Bay.

Not the greatest picture, but...this is a grey whale!! We had no idea we'd be whale watching that afternoon. They are just gorgeous!! I love whales. Once, years ago, my friend, Diana and I did a 20 mile "walk for the whales" walkathon for Green Peace. I thought I was going to die, but I made it. Talk about sore feet though!!

Some boaters who spotted the whales too.

Don't you just love exploring tide pools? This one looked especially interesting, but I didn't climb down the rocks to check it out. Just picture taking this trip.

An old rusty ship anchor. Would look totally cool in the yard of a little beach cottage, don't you think?

The actual "bay" of Depoe Bay. Remember the movie with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russel, Overboard? This is where they filmed part of that movie, only the snobby Goldie referred to it as "Elk Snout". Love that movie!!

This shot shows the actual channel that the ships have to pass through coming into Depoe Bay from the ocean. Very, very narrow. Another movie tidbit...remember Jack Nicholson in "One Flew over the cuckoo's nest"? This is where that boat outing scene was shot where they stole the boat and went deep sea fishing. Didn't know you were going to get educated today, did you?

Here's a cute little guy mooching fish from one of the local fishing shops.

Depoe Bay again...different shot. Gorgeous day at the beach!

I love this bench! Just a little resting spot for shopping-weary husbands, I guess...

I love how the sun shines off the water in this shot. Not sure what kind of ship this was, but it's no fishing boat...

Someone's artistic carving...kinda cool huh?

More tidepools!! These ones were right on the beach, and we did get to do a little exploring.

Guess that's it for the beach shots. Betty and I had a wonderful weekend at Nye Beach. We stayed at the "Sylvia Beach Hotel", which years ago was the number one destination for honeymooners staying on the Oregon Coast. It's a very old hotel. All the rooms are "author-themed". We stayed in the Ernest Hemingway room...feather bed, tropical decor and more masculine than feminine. They have rooms of many authors and have journals written in by their guests over the years. Very interesting reading material. They also have a full library in the top floor, with a help-yourself kitchen, fireplace and in the basement each morning they serve a full course breakfast - chef's choice. Delicious food! I hope to do it again one of these days. Now, lest I forget...when I returned home, I had a care package from Chelsi. Very cool stuff!! This is the card that she designed herself and a handmade dishrag. I love it Chelsi!!

This is a picture of the loot that Chelsi sent to me. The wine was very good, the chocolate I dug into immediately, and the syrup was divine!! We would definitely enjoy getting some more of that!! Thanks ever so much Chelsi!! If you haven't already, you've got to check her out...Adventures of a Horse-Crazed Mind. She's a very talented writer, horse-crazy gal, like most of us and she's a multi-faceted gal who hales from British Columbia, Canada. Not to mention, what a talented artist she is. Go check out her blog, you won't be sorry!

Well, that's enough picture posting for one day. Wishing everyone out there in Blogland a very Happy St. Patrick's Day!! May ya be havin' a green one fer me!!!

Blessings from cingspots.

Just wanted to say a quick, but genuinely heartfelt "thank you", to all of you who left such kind and loving comments on my last blog posting about my sweet, Harley horse. His body soreness and cuts are healing up nicely after his run-in with the hay wagon. As far as the blindness issue...we're just taking it one day at a time. Thanks again for all the cherished prayers and well-wishes that were sent our way!! You guys are the best!!