Wild Animals

Have you ever stopped and truly thought about how hard wild animals work to survive?  They endure extreme heat, extreme cold, droughts, floods, monsoons, fires and other assorted natural disasters.  They're hunted, exploited, chased, harassed and relocated.  The overpopulation of humans has had a drastic affect on wildlife worldwide.

Every creature, big or small, cute or scary has a purpose and a story.  We may not always like or appreciate their lot in life, but they're here and we need to live with them.  Sometimes I think even through all their hardships, they really are better off.  Animal life is simple.  A hierarchy exists among every species that dwells together.  There's no lying, no deception amongst the ranks.  You're put in your place by your superior and that's that.  There's a constant battle for supremacy, but it's expected and the alpha always knows it's coming.  One day they will no longer be able to protect what is theirs.  When that day comes they leave, dead or alive.

The life of a wild animal is hard.  Whether it's an endangered black rhino in Africa being hunted for it's horn, a mama cheetah doing her best to defy cub survival rates, elk herds fighting off wolves or fish searching for colder waters.  Every day is uncertain, a constant risk, a battle for life.  Most people only see wild animals once their captured, or through the lens of someone else' experience.  We make jokes about observing some creature "in it's natural habitat".  Those of us who are lucky enough to see wildlife I think most often take it for granted.

Two falls ago I saw a timber rattlesnake for the first time, one of a pair.  The next day I saw a king snake, he proved too quick for my camera skills and I never did get a good shot of it.  Last fall I saw what was either a marten or a fisher.  Neither my dad or I had ever seen one before.  I gawk in amazement when I see big bucks.  I wonder at the athleticism and grace of elk.  I'm unusually afraid of  mountain lions (I used to have nightmares about them jumping through my window and eating me as a child), but their the ultimate predator.  Lithe, graceful, quick, strong and effective.

People who have grown up in the country learn from a young age to respect all animals.  When I was little I was always told that animals came first, and they always ate before I did. The true stewards of the land learn to live and make peace with all animals.  I had a great-uncle of sorts that spent most of the year in a camper in the mountains.  He was so unbelievably a part of the landscape.  He just sat in his little lawn chair quietly reading for hours and hours.  He made pets of deer and squirrels and chipmunks.  He was so accepted by his surroundings that one night he was awoken by a bull elk rubbing on the side of his camper!  He didn't have much and he was far from a materialistic man.  Sometimes I think he had the right idea. 

Anyway, this is no way is an ode to environmentalism.  Nor is it an attack on human kind.  I was just doing some research for a class and came across some fantastic photos shot for National Geographic.  Thought I'd share some with you.  They actually came from the Photo of the Day and I encourage you to check them out, the photo's are outstanding!  Here's the link.

XO Loves,


Me

I Miss My Friend

As pet owners and animal lovers we all experience loss.  My first two pets were a bunny named Thumper and a cat named Junior.  The bunny was killed by a dog in front of me, the cat ran away to the neighbors.  I was somewhere around 5 at the time.  When my papa culled cows I always told them I was sorry, I thanked them for being good to us and told them I'd never forget them.  I would promptly go home and write about them in my little diary.  I sat high in the barn watching in fascination as my grandpa, papa, uncle and assorted family and friends butchered steers that we had raised.  When I was 8 or 9 our Akita ran off with my dads little cowdog pup Queenie.  He took her up the mountain and she never found her way home.  I remember sitting upstairs staring up the road, every day believing that would be the day she came home.  I cried intensely when my dad sold his Thoroughbred mare Sunset.  I loved her and thought with childish conviction that she was the greatest horse there ever was.  When in reality, she wasn't tough enough to be a mountain horse and more often than not threw her rider.

There's been so many losses over the years, mostly cats due to the big cats that frequent our area.  It's the last five losses, two in particular that hurt the most.  It's always harder to lose an animal before they're old.  My papa's amazing Heeler Butte got ran over last year.  The year before that my best friend Fanncie ate too much hide, got compacted and ran off to die.  The fall before that my cat Puss died of smoke inhalation.  My favorite big, red mare Dallie was killed earlier that spring and my little Chiweener Lil'Anne got ran over the summer before that.  You may find this all quite morbid indeed, but the best way to keep their memories alive is to talk about them.

Dallie and Fanncie were by far my closest loves.  For me animals have always been more than pets, their existence more meaningful than words can describe.  They helped me through many a slump.  My big mare dumped me several times, but I fell more and more in love with her every time I rode her.  Hell, I even hauled her all the way to Colorado with me for a summer.  Fanncie and I had an unrivaled bond, her being my first dog.  I got her at the Red Bluff Bull and Gelding Sale my junior year of highschool.  I took her out to the pickup where she curled up on my shoulders in my hair and slept.  As a puppy she once pooped in the back of my Chemistry class.  As an adult she kept many a man at bay, chasing a few completely out of my house.  She wasn't exactly friendly at first site.  At 30 lbs she wasn't big, but she was aggressive, fierce and always protective of me.  Carrying or not, I always felt safe with her around.  I once took her into a Rest Area bathroom with me because it was the middle of the night and I wasn't about to be pounced on.  She tangled with a coyote, had many a row with other dogs, had her face shut in a pick-up door and took many a hit by bulls and cows alike.  Scars, broken teeth and tattered ears she was an adorable little dingo looking dog.  She was wicked tough and snake mean, I couldn't have loved her more.  My heart broke as much for the loss of her as it did losing my ex-fiance. 

Fanncie and Butte lie together in death much the same as they ran together in life.  A team to be reckoned with.  Dallie's buried out in the feedlot alongside our other fallen equines.  Puss and Lil'Anne were buried together under a maple in the backyard.  They're not alone even though they're gone.

Animals simply don't live as long as we do.  Death is a part of life, an important lesson many of us learned in the Lion King.  Each and every animal I've had has left its mark on my heart.  Some hurt more to think about than others.  We learn and grow, taking a little something from every experience.  As long as puppies and foals are being born I'll continue to let them into my heart.  Tears will be shed every bit as much as love and joy will be felt.

XO Loves,

Me

End of the Term = The Road Home

I finished my last final today!  It didn't go as well as I had hoped, and I really have no idea how I did or what I got in the class.  But at this point, I don't even care!  I'm taking a little me time tonight and finally going to watch the newest Twilight with my roomy.  My cousin will be here at 4:30 a.m. and then I have Catholic class at 11:30.  Saturday we're preg-checking and vaccinating cows for a friend, and somewhere in there we'll fit in some riding of the colts. 

Monday morning the cousin, my puppy, two horses and I will set out on our grand adventure home.  Being a Rainey, unfortunately means having bad luck, or rather no luck at all.  My cousin and I almost always end up in some sort of melee.  Its already started and he's not even here yet!  He got on the bus, and it wouldn't start, and now its supposed to snow and we have several passes to make it through.  Where's the justice I ask?!  It should be a good time and I know better than to say with any certainty just when we'll make it home. So here's to hoping we make it at all!


Stay tuned for an actual account.



Xo Loves,



Me