Freedom 4 July 2016

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Sally Gerard

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I don’t think anything is free. Most everything has a price, whether it be in time, money, struggle, pain, work, or attitude. To be able to enjoy a sunset, you don’t need money, but you need time and space and willingness to notice and find the blessing. To be able to have all the oxygen you want, you have to keep drawing air in and out. To be able to go for a long walk, you have to put one foot in front of the other.

Freedom: 1:  the condition of having liberty <The slaves won their freedom.>2:  ability to move or act as desired <freedom of choice> <freedom of movement>3:  release from something unpleasant <freedom from care>4:  the quality of being very frank :  candor <spoke with freedom>5:  a political right <freedom of speech>(Merriam-Webster)

We live in a free country, here in the USA-free to do and believe whatever we set our

Photo: pixabay.com

Photo: pixabay.com

minds to, within our laws. But, it isn’t really free. How many have died since our beginning to make America free? Free? Explain that to generations of grieving families who worked hard and suffered to bring their families across oceans and halfway around the world to become citizens and start a new life. Explain it to those who work from dawn to dusk farming fields and growing food so we all have our daily bread. Explain it to everyone here who

Photo: pixabay.com

Photo: pixabay.com

has had to struggle through painful and lean times and who are simply trying to survive. Explain it to the men and women serving in our military, in our inner cities, in our clinics and hospitals, in our soup kitchens and burn centers, in our after school programs and smoke jumper units, in every place in our country and abroad where there is no freedom.

On this day, we celebrate our nation’s birth and all that it stand for in our world and in our history. And that leaves us with great responsibility.

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 
14For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:13-14
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Sleep 30 June 2016

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Sally Gerard

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I do my best to get a good night’s sleep. I go to bed fairly early in order to accommodate my brain which chooses to wake me around 4:30 most mornings. I don’t sleep much, but consider a good night of sleep to be four to five hours. I do have a routine each night, but it doesn’t always get me to sleep right away.

I’ve tried several methods of getting to sleep, but my brain doesn’t want to disengage as I think through my day and what’s to come the next day and things I’ve done and things I want to do and things I need to do, and somewhere in all of that chaos, I do fall into sleep. Then, a short time later,  I wake up and start all over again.IMG_1022

Once-in-a-while, I just give up and get up and go for my run at 3 or 3:30, instead of my usual 4:30 or 4:45. I figure that at least I’m not wasting my time trying to get to a sleep that will not come. I also know that eventually, during the week, I will go to bed and sleep so hard that I don’t even remember going to bed. Then, I begin the whole cycle again.

One sheep, two sheep, three sheep…

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If Only 29 June 2016

Posted on June 29, 2016 by Sally Gerard
Image: Pixabay.com

Image: Pixabay.com

If only I didn’t need to sleep, then I’d have much more time with which to get my work done and write! If only I could be myself no matter what, then I’d be much more confident. If only all grocery stores had the quantity and quality of produce that King Sooper’s does, then I’d be in produce heaven.

 

If only I could commune with animals telepathically, then I’d be able to gather IMG_1020up the cattle with a butterfly net.

If only I could come up with some new yummy things to cook, then I wouldn’t be so bored with food. OR, if only I had my own chef, then I would never have to figure out what to make for supper.

If only I could control some kinds of weather, then I’d always have full chokecherry bushes. If only a mean word was never spoken, then we’d have so much more joy. If only we spent more time remembering that if God is for us, who can be against, and that we are all children of God, then we’d walk with much lighter burdens.

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Hot or Cold 28 June 2016

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Sally Gerard

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I get chilled easily, but being hot is so much worse because you can only do so many things to stay cool or try to cool off. Probably the hottest I’ve ever been is running a grain truck during wheat harvest with temperatures over one-hundred degrees. You keep all of the windows rolled down and the little corner windows open to try to direct the air toward you. Regardless of the dust and chaff blowing in, you pretend that the hotIMG_0989 air is somehow cooling you off. It isn’t.

You pray that the irrigated circles have the sprinklers running because it provides a cool sensation as you pass by…you might even slow down a bit to make it last just a little longer. You start rationing the drinks in your lunch cooler, because otherwise, you’ll be out of fluids by noon. You don’t care what the inside of the cooler has seen in the last week of harvest and continue to reach in and grab an ice-cube every so often and bring it dripping to your lips. It’s gone in seconds.

If you’re cold, you can always put on more clothes, snuggle up with your honey, or, light something on fire!

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A Perfect Day 27 June 2016

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Sally Gerard
Pixabay.com

Pixabay.com

My perfect day would start with an early morning run to gather my thoughts and plans for this ideal day, as well as to check in with God for some daily conversation.  Upon returning home, I’ll linger over coffee and the morning news.

At daybreak, I’d ride Indian to greet the rising sun, explore and gallop some and IMG_0257find some logs to jump. It’s a crisp day, so more coffee when we get back and some sour dough pancakes, well, not for Indian.

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Pixabay.com

After breakfast, I head up to my lofted writing studio to write, with no interruptions and no other responsibilities, for three hours. I’ll take time after that to do any chores I need to manage and maybe take a walk to stretch my legs, making sure supper is in progress, and go back to the work of writing for another couple of hours.

photo: Baking for Two

photo: Baking for Two

By then, I’ll be ready to enjoy the late afternoon, take care of email and bits like that and then settle in to read a while before supper. Supper will be warm, delicious, and there’ll be some kind of chocolatey-goodness. Robert and I will enjoy the evening and stroll around the yard to gaze at the stars. Wow, what a day.

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Grandma Thirtle 23 June 2016

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Sally Gerard
Photo: Pixaby.com

Photo: Pixaby.com

I can remember staying with my Grandma Thirtle in her little apartment close to downtown Omaha. I remember the bumpy coverlet on her bed, like a Matelesse type pattern. I’m not really sure what it was called. I loved looking at the pattern and tracing through the swirls with my fingers and feeling the soft-roughness of it under my cheek.

I can’t come up with much of how that apartment was set up; I know light came into the

Photo: Pixaby.com

Photo: Pixaby.com

room from a tall window by the bed and that I could look out that window from the bed, while I was supposed to be napping.

I also remember my grandma’s scrambled eggs. They were yellow and white and I thought she did that somehow magically because at home they were yellow. She must not have beat the eggs but maybe cracked them right into the pan, letting them cook before she stirred them. They were always creamy and hot and served with buttered toast. To this day, that is my comfort food when I am sick.

I guess it is a way of keeping my Grandma Thirtle with me; I knew she loved us all dearly and that she was on our side when we desperately needed someone. I don’t think she ever said anything to me about this directly, but my heart knew she was a safe haven.

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Destruction 22 June 2016

Posted on June 22, 2016 by Sally Gerard

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We work pretty hard to nurture our trees, bushes, native grasses and my garden. We hoe and till and water and pray. Our trees, bushes, native grasses and my garden know this song by heart:

 

 

 

Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow, gonna mulch it deep and low, gonna make this fertile ground. Inch by inch row by row, please bless these seeds I sow. Please warm them from below, till the rain comes tumblin’ down. 

We’ve seen the tracks of a deer or antelope in the tree rows, where my vegetables are also IMG_0954planted. The corn had just started to form ears…CHOMP! That midnight rogue ate them off right down to the ground. I did see this antelope mom and new baby yesterday, IMG_0960 but I don’t think they are guilty. That little guy is way to cute to be wreaking havoc yet!

This marauder was walking destruction, chewing off the tops of my almond tree, a new cherry tree, and a plum-tree we put in just last year. The cherries have no more protection from leaves and a pink blush is just blooming on the still hard fruit. The plum-tree was heavy with hard green plums, but that did not stop this piggy thief from eating several of them and leaving the pits at the bottom of the tree.

We are often up during the night and have made an effort to gaze out into the tree row, but we’ve never seen the stealthy bugger, only his tracks each morning. What to do? A scarecrow, what else? We shall see if this makes any difference.

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To Be Brave 21 June 2016

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Sally Gerard

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To be brave means that you do the right thing no matter what others say. To be brave means standing up for someone when you see wrong being done to them.

To be brave means knowing who you are and working hard to be better. To be brave means you still have your integrity after a battle or conflict; you can say that you’ve been honest, true, and respectful in spite of how others have treated you.

To be brave means stepping into the unknown when nothing is guaranteed and it looks impossible. To be brave means asking for help sometimes or admitting that you are in over-your-head.

To be brave means smiling at that stranger who might just be the best friend you ever had. IMG_0948To be brave means owning your mistakes but not being beaten down by them. To be brave means your knees are worn out from prayer.

To be brave means stepping up to be the first because no one else will. To be brave means that you can laugh at yourself and live to go on. To be brave means you can forgive and move on through hurt and pain.

To be brave means embracing new beginnings even though it is much more comfortable to stay with the status quo. To be brave happens in simple everyday moments. When you know that there is at least one other person in your corner, it is easier to be brave.

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A Whisper 20 June 2016

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Sally Gerard

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There are many things I regret, and some of them have made me sick inside. Some I would not want to repeat, but some were things that needed to be done.

I regret overtime I’ve spoken in anger or frustration in the heat of the moment. Later, when I’ve had a chance to think the situation through, I see better ways to have handled it. In those moments, I pray and ask forgiveness and to have more presence of mind to handle a similar situation differently the next time.

I don’t enjoy conflict or difficult communications, but neither do I back away from what has to be done. I just want to do it with more grace and compassion.

At the base level, people are all the same. Everyone has to eat, sleep, and have shelter. IMG_0915Everyone wants to give and receive love. Everyone wants to do what makes them happy, gives them joy, and makes their life meaningful.

We all feel pain. We all laugh. We all walk this planet together and we are all children of God. We were all called into being. Each of our names was whispered to the stars before we were born. I just wish, in the midst of conflict and disagreement, I could remember this and act accordingly.

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Hike Day 2 16 June 2016

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Sally Gerard
Shooting Stars of joy lined the trail.

Shooting Stars of joy lined the trail.

Leaving home shortly after 4:30AM yesterday, brought me to Elaine’s and us to the Horseshoe Trail way up west. It was a bright cool, beautiful morning. The wildflowers were vibrant up that high and we didn’t run into too many other hikers.

The trail was moderate, even with our unplanned detour to visit a little spring and theIMG_0939 remains of old ranch house and barn. The parks we frequent have awesome signs that really give a sense of the history of the area.

IMG_0942We aren’t super sure of the distance, but somewhere just over five miles and seeing the other trail cut-offs gave us our plan for a longer hike next week on the Mule Deer Trail.

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Kinnikinnick flowers so delicate.

We’ve been enjoying a ‘trail mix of the week’ that Elaine finds at her local market from the bulk bins. This week’s featured candied pecans, dried cherries and cranberries, bits of other nuts and chocolate chips. What is the point of a trail mix with no chocolate? There isn’t one.

16Back to the parking lot by shortly after 11AM, we parted ways in Elaine’s driveway and I headed off to a few errands, checking cattle on the way home and dropping the salt blocks I’d packed along, a refreshing glass of iced-tea with my neighbors and home again. The hike was such a blessing!

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