Dog Days of Summer

The "Dog Days of Summer" are upon us. Around our place this means a number of things. We've endured a number of 100 plus degree days as well as a drought. We have been fortunate to receive some relief from it all. We had six days of stormy weather in which we received over six inches of rain and enjoyed well below average temperatures. A break in the weather vastly improved our situation. We were able to get another round of bush-hogging done at the exact right time. Now instead of looking all brown and burned up, our pastures are nice and green. Our orchard and vegetable garden have also been revived by the change of weather. For the record on the steamy hot summer days our canines spend their days napping in front of a fan in the well air-conditioned living room.

A Beautiful Life

My cousin's wedding was an awesome event. In this photo the newlyweds are about to enter the reception area at the inn to greet their wedding guests. I wanted to document their first steps as a newlywed couple ready to face the world together. As they enter the reception their happiness surrounds them like a bright glowing light which radiates out to everyone in the general vicinity. A full year of planning and countless daydreams of a young woman's idea of a perfect wedding day culminated into just that, a precious golden moment frozen in time. I was thrilled to be able to be there to share in the joy of their golden moment. Since she was born, almost twenty-four years ago, there has been only one word to accurately describe her = precious. She is absolutely precious. The groom was tall, dark and handsome. They are both smart, sweet and funny. What a couple, what a wedding and what a perfect day from start to finish. I am so happy for them. I'm posting the wording of the card I gave them for their wedding. Good advise deserves to be repeated !!!!

HOW TO MAKE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE TOGETHER
REFLECTIONS OF MARRIAGE FOR THE BRIDE AND GROOM

Let your love be your shelter.
The world is noisy
and confusing at times,
so make a home
that is a haven,
a peaceful place where you can
listen to your hearts and savor
the comfortable closeness
you share.

No matter how busy
your days may be,
make time for yourselves.
Hold hands. Unwind.
Surprise each other.
Find little chances every day
to show you're grateful to be partners,
to be friends, to be married.

Life is not perfect.
You will make mistakes
but each time
you meet life's challenges together,
you will grow wiser, stronger
and surer of your love.

Cherish your yesterdays.
They are irreplaceable souvenirs
of your journey through life.
Make memories
that will bring smiles and sighs
whenever you look back.
(Look back often! )

Look forward, too.
Dream together. Plan together.
Make promises to keep.
Believe in your tomorrows,
because tomorrows
are what forever is made of.

To make love last,
put each other first.
That is the way to make a
beautiful life together,
the kind of life
you both deserve so much.

CONGRATULATIONS

Long Hard Road

It's been a long hard road since my blog post, "Where The Trees Know My Name" of June 22, 2008 about the burglary of the cabin. It seems that I've been somewhat of in a "tizz" since then. The family emergency regarding my brother in-law's July 25th head injury has kept us in chronic crisis overload. By the way, he continues to improve daily much to our delight. He definitely has a very long hard road to travel to recover from such a serious injury. We have faith and he has us, therefore it will all work out. This is to explain why my blog posts have been few in number recently as well as being the disclaimer of any responsibility for anything I say that doesn't at first appear to make any sense. On the bright side I'm in route to the ranch after a road trip to South Texas for my precious cousin's wedding. It was an awesome event. Everything was just perfect for their very special day. I am totally thrilled to have been able to be there and to share in the joy of their golden moment. This leads me to the fact that in the past six days I've driven mostly solo for over 2,100 miles. So as you see, tired does not begin to describe my current condition. I just had to stop at a library to post something today. As I've mentioned before, I have a library card in three different states !

I hadn't see the ocean in twelve long years, so when I arrived to the southern most part of Texas, I made a B-line straight for the coast. The sea has been calling my name for quite some years. But much to my dismay I hadn't been able to answer up until now. My cousins had a bed & breakfast inn for the weekend for the special occasion. What a gorgeous place it was to stay. I however opted to go pitch my tent near the beach on South Padre Island. It was only 20 minutes from the Inn which allowed me to commune with nature and still be around for the wedding hustle and bustle. I not only wanted to camp out near the beach, I absolutely needed to camp out near the beach. The full moon gave that magical "glimmerly" look to the water that night. The sea birds talked and chattered all night. The sound of boats both large and small off in the distance lulled me to sleep. I spent time with the sand between my toes and the ocean breeze in my hair. Photographing the sunrise, watching sea gulls and not just listening but actually hearing the rhythm of the waves I felt refreshed in a way that nothing else would have been able to achieve. I gave thanks to the four directions, east, west, north and south for everything and everyone in my life. No matter what the circumstances in which I find myself, I am ALWAYS conscience of how fortunate I have always been compared to two-thirds of the human beings on the planet. I really do understand that the road could be much much longer and much much harder so I never fail to count my blessings.

LIVE
BELIEVE
HOPE
SHARE
LAUGH
REMEMBER
LEARN
APPRECIATE
LOVE
ENJOY
RESPECT
GIVE
ALL
THE DAYS
OF YOUR
LIFE !!!!

Let It Rain....

After six weeks of hot dry weather, it is finally raining !!!! Around our place this is reason to celebrate. The animals are so relieved to spend the day relaxing in 70 degree weather. The fruit orchard and vegetable garden must sigh in relief. The rapidly dewindling water level in the pond is leveling off again. Last but not least, we are thrilled that the Great Creator has chosen to bless us with this heavy dose of liquid sunshine!

Our Old Pink Barn

This is the west side of our barn. When we moved here five years ago the whole thing was just about to collapse. It is so much work to turn an old cattle barn into a ten stall horse barn but we are still working on it. We now have five horse stalls on each side. When we completed the stalls we were so proud. We were telling people about it in a fashion that would surprise most folks. We were proud like we were saying that we had a 10 bedroom house instead of a 10 stall barn. I call it our old pink barn because the red paint has long since faded. One of the locals told me that back in the day, when he was a very little boy, that our barn was the biggest, newest, nicest barn in the area. The man that told me that is a senior citizen now, so I guess that makes our barn at least 60 or 70 years old.

Glory.....Glory.... Hallelujah

Glory Glory Hallelujah. After our family being in crisis mode for the entire week, today for the first time we are able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. My brother-in-law, who is like a "real brother" to me, has been a patient in the Trauma Intensive Care Unit of a hospital in a major metropolitan area since last Friday. Today he reached out for his son's hand and I haven't been able to wipe the smile off of my face since that moment. This is the first really good sign we have had that he has begun his journey on the road to recovery. Whatever your religious preferences, where ever you are on the planet, please take a moment to say a extra little prayer for Rick.