After all “In the beginning was The Word”. The meaning of the verb conclude is wonderful. It has two related meanings; one is to come to a decision, the other is to bring to a close.
This year is nearly ready to come to a close, and I have surely made a decision about it. God is in control. He always has been. He always will be. Nothing catches Him by surprise. He has mapped out this coming New Year already and I am sure looking forward to it. For He goes before us.
This is a common phrase used by horse folks. It refers to the way a horse moves in his gaits. Every horses’ action is different, not only because of their breed but many other factors add into the way they move. Size of the horse, length of the pastern, slope of the shoulder, breed of the animal, weight of their shoes, and I am sure much more than I even know about have an influence on the way a horse moves.
One interesting thing I have noticed over all my time spent with other horse folks is that we also watch and appreciate the way a dog moves, even though the gaits are different. Dogs leap in their running gaits. Horses do not. Dogs have also been in my life for as long as my memory will go, but I have not considered myself a dog person as much as horse.
They are both social critters that enjoy human interaction. In many ways they train similarly too: Praise and Reward; Consistency and Persistency; the human touch, and pleasant voices. The words do not necessarily need to be pleasant, just the tone of voice. So, the next time you get mad at your dog or horse, call them anything you feel like at the time, just use a pleasant tone of voice. This is sure to make you laugh and ease the tension! Then it would probably be wise to stop for the day, or at least for that training session time. Never call your dog or horse ugly, derogatory names in an ugly tone of voice. That is downright rude!
Anyway, back to ‘action’. Here on our farm we have two different breeds of horses. One has Quarter horse in her, the other is a Tennessee Walking Horse. They have very distinct and beautiful gaits between the two of them. High Hope, our part Quarter horse, is a three-gaited horse. Which means she walks, trots, and gallops.
Duke, our Tennessee Walking horse, is what is called ‘a gaited-horse’. This means he has five gaits. He walks, flat walks, trots, paces, and gallops. Gaited horses are known though for their smooth flat walk (it has several other names). This means his ‘action’ looks much different to the observer than High Hope.
Do not worry, I am not giving you a quiz on the gaits of horses. Though I do teach my riding students the differences. But, of course, they can tell the difference the moment they ride. The reason for this blog was to post some nice action shots I have taken of the horses and dogs. It is like poetry in motion watching a four-legged animal move. I try to catch the cats on film too. Now that is a challenge for me.
Poetry has a beat to it. Four legged animals do too. It is lovely to hear and exciting to watch. If you are quiet enough you may even hear the beats in some of these photos…
Life is busy. It has never seemed to slow down. When I was young it seemed so full and busy, and now that I am older with children all grown and gone, I feel even more busy! I am very aware of being on the short end of a good long life and I want to keep it full for as long as I am able. But sometimes I do get beyond myself.
Early morning time with Jesus saves my heart and soul. I would be done for without His comfort and presence in my life. He gives me hope and strength as I pour my heart out to Him.
I heard that phrase a long time ago. It took a while for me to figure it out. However with the advent of I phones it suddenly became very clear. Probably because we always have the device on us. It seems now we are always talking to at least two people at the same time. One is in person, the other on the device. It rather feels unfair to both parties.
Is that one reason we as folks feel more lonely than ever before? It is a personal challenge to not do it, and give the person I am with in person my full attention.
Note: This is my first attempt to participate in this challenge of Five Minute Friday, please be patient.
I may be stretching the idea of still life. My mind tells me it consists mostly of fruits, flowers, and glass usually set on a table. I recall drawing still life objects in art class in school set up in this way.
However, my favorite old dictionary defines still life as any inanimate object, in addition to fruits, flowers and glass. So the subjects for this little In Focus blog are inanimate photos I have taken. Do you have any you would like to share? Please do! If you would add this blog title in your post, it will allow others to connect to this one (I think?).
Anyway, have fun, and share your still life photos as well.
one_local_gal 