"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men." - St. Francis of Assisi , Roman Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans Order

I am a hobby farmer. I love animals. The running joke is that I love them more than most people. I wouldn't go so far as to say "most people," but I do love animals more than those who are mean, those who lie, those who steal, those who don't mind harming people or even hurting their feelings...and that's about the extent of "those anyone doesn't like." Animals are God's gift for us to look at and see, if not how we SHOULD be, then we can see how we COULD be if we lived our lives more like them.
If you are a regular reader of my blog, I talk a lot about my animals. The "antics" part of Annie's Antics often times has a lot to do with funny stories or experiences with my animals. I have a range of them. I have eight goats: Ben, Buster, Grady, Milo, Sophie, Dice, Beau and May. I have two donkeys: Cinnamon a mammoth sorrel jenny and Muffin, her daughter. I have two cats: Tripod (and yes, he only had 3 legs) and Izzy, a hurricane rescue cat we saved during Hurricane Isabel several years ago. We have a lot of dogs! Geordie is the elder statesman of the lot. He is eleven and a half and is a red border collie. Then there's the other red border collies: Darcy, Chris (who's real name is CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY!), Dixie (a rescue from an abusive home) and the son of Dixie and Chris, ROLY, who was named "Roly Poly" as a nickname when he was a new born pup! Changing breeds, we have LUCY, THE WONDER BEAGLE! She too is a rescue. Someone put her out as about a 4 week old puppy on a very busy road in Pamlico county. After watching her run up to cars looking for "anyone" for a few days, we asked around, no one knew where she came from, so she came to live with us.
Now, we have obtained TWO MORE DOGS. I tried get them to go away, but they made it clear they were not going to leave. So, we have Maybelline and Inky added to the menagerie. That's a grand total of EIGHT DOGS! Whew. But I love each and every one of them SO much. They all have totally different personalities and they're so much fun.
These animals enrich and touch my life in so many ways that I couldn't even begin to describe "how." Each one of them has their own space in my heart. Each one has a role that only he or she can fill. Their personalities lift me up, make me laugh and carry me through day after day, even when times are difficult. Of late, I have seen more than I ever dreamed possible in terms of behaviors coming from human beings that animals are not capable of demonstrating. Perhaps predator animals are capable of harm to another animal, but it is within their cycle of life. It is certainly not planned malice. Human predators are another story entirely. That behavior is "chosen" and unacceptable.
I've spent the past several days with my friend Grady the Goat. He has been ill. Very ill. I have stayed awake nights and days to have nurse him constantly since I discovered his belly was distended early on Tuesday morning. There is a condition that goats and other ruminants get called "bloat." It occurs within the complicated physiology of a goat and you can research that yourself. It happens quickly and it can lead to a horrible death if not treated. Then there are the after effects that can occur from bloat that has been treated...and that's where we are now. Grady is in a very vulnerable, weak, "touch and go" place and we're fighting hard together.
Grady is my friend. He has made me laugh, he has entertained me for hours on end, he has made me as mad as a wet hen when he gets into mischief, and he is the "leader" of the other goats. Goats are herding animals. They stick together and make a fascinating community. I have learned so much about "community" from observing them.
I have had to accept losing some of my friends too. I have lost Lupin and Henry, two of my goats. I still miss them today. I am committed to helping Grady. At the time of this writing, he is not doing well at all. I have spent time telling him what he means to me, how happy he makes me and remembering funny stories of all sorts. Grady and I have always seemed to get into all sorts of things together. He listens and doesn't seem irritated by the sound of a voice who loves him.
He has spent the last several nights in the bathroom because the temperature has dipped so low. I wanted to keep his body temperature warm and consistent. He was in terrible shape on Thursday night. I had been in with him and once he was going to sleep, I thought I'd lay down for a few minutes. I heard a tinging of his bell hit the floor and thought he had passed. I jumped and ran to the bathroom only to find Grady standing at the toilet drinking water! I laughed at him and he just looked at me like I was nuts. He seemed to be improving. I felt well enough on Friday, Halloween afternoon, about leaving him to go out to dinner and when we got back he had moved to another spot. I felt encouraged by that and decided he had gone to the goat shed with the rest of the goats. Wayne and I were happy to see he had moved around.
As I was getting things together to check on him and give him his medications, I kept hearing a bell tingling. (Grady and Dice are the only two goats that still have their bells. The others have lost theirs and I haven't replaced them.) I kept hearing this "ting, ting, ting," going on as I changed into my work clothes. I went to the door and was astonished to see, coming up the front steps, GRADY! I guess he thought I had forgotten to come and get him, so he came to me! He, in fact, was our ONLY "trick-or-treater!" I was completely stunned and over the moon! I was yelling for Wayne to come quick, adding, "You'll never believe this!" And he couldn't! I opened the front door and in walks Grady. He never paused. Walking into the room, he turned left to go down the hallway, then he took a right, going straight into the bathroom and stood there. We howled with laughter. "That's Grady." He has always been very decisive in what he wants to do. He seems to have reason and is able to make decisions. HE WANTED TO COME INTO THE HOUSE, SO HE CAME TO US. He knew exactly where to find us. Even weak, sick and certainly not himself, he wanted comfort and he knew exactly where to find it.
As people, are we that willing to let our friends and family know our needs? I doubt it over all. First of all, no one wants to be a bother. Second of all, WE don't take the time we should to study the behaviors of those around us and OBSERVE that they might be in need and reach out. We are too self-serving, too absorbed in our own worlds and we do not look beyond that. Consider how much LOVE you miss in not giving of yourself and reaching out to others in need. It's not easy. People think you are weird. In fact, I have even been called "WEIRD" for completely dedicating myself to another human being who was gravely ill and NEEDED love, support, attention and affection.
I'll be weird from now on if that's what "love" is...and happily so.
Part of my love for animals is their acceptance of whatever comes their way. They accept love, they accept our failures as humans, they simply "live and love." A CARDINAL RULE of keeping livestock and maintaining healthy happy animals is that you MUST take the time to OBSERVE THEM and to KNOW THEM. If not, you won't know when they have a need. How much observing do we REALLY even do in our marriages, our families and our other relationships?
That's a HUGE question and a hard one to answer honestly, isn't it?
I don't know what will happen with Grady. I know I will keep doing what I know to do and I will keep telling him I love him and I will do all I can to help him.
I encourage you to take a good close look at how you respond to others. Do you observe them? I mean REALLY observe them, notice their nuances so when anything IS out of whack, you can pick up on it and offer help, or an ear or friendship or comfort.
Understand that we are ALL creatures of God. He loves us one and all. For me it is hard to differentiate loving my neighbor, whether it's a canine or a bovine or a feline or a human being. "Love is love." You cannot turn your heart away from those in need and feel very good about yourself.
I thank God for all I learn every day from my animals. I hope with all my heart that Grady makes it. I have so much more I want to see him get into. Even in his illness, he is teaching me about observing, love, gratitude, patience and even acceptance. I will let you know how things turn out with my friend Grady. He's SUCH a character. I'm not ready to let him go.
The bigger meaning in all of this, however, is to LOVE.
Just love. Then no matter what happens in life, I think you're much more prepared to deal with difficult things when they do come your way when your heart is free to love.
...I'm now going to check on my friend Grady and tell him again that he is loved. No time to proof read! You can correct my errors as an exercise in "observing." (grin!)

Till next time,
Annie

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The above photo that you've seen in previous posts, I call "What Happens in Luray, Stays in Luray." In it, you see three friends. The fourth friend holds the camera. (HA!) I remember thinking how cool it was that we could just "be." Tonight, I am posting partly to the world and partly to myself as a means of cleansing and catharsis. Webster's defines catharsis as: "The emotional reenactment in thought or symbolic form of a painful experience that brings relief of the distress caused by the original experience." So, yes, this is definitely a "cathartic" post. Forgive me as I weave in and out of my thoughts.
What is FRIENDSHIP? Is it odd that Wayne, Frieda and I have such a thing? Is it odd that three people genuinely hold affection for one another and cherish it, no matter what? There is a huge difference in "friendships" and "acquaintances." I have known true friendship with Frieda Hudson...and have extended the same. My life has been and always will be so much the richer for it. Odd? Perhaps it is in this day and age of people who use, people who do not nurture, people who are "selfish" as opposed to "selfless." Wayne and I have been blessed and enriched by our friendship with Frieda Hudson. Thinking on that, here are some definitions I found on FRIENDSHIP. As I sit here in this late hour (I started writing at 11something and it's now 1:15am) on my porch, I have evaluated many things this evening. One certainty I do have is that I am blessed, so blessed to say that I have a true friend. Wayne is equally blessed to say the same. As he sleeps, many nights, I sit out here alone to think, pray and remember better times, times we shared right here laughing, being serious, just listening to the sounds of the night and drinking coffee. What I wouldn't give for one more night like that. It's the simplest of things that makes these days we pass "a life" instead of just "an existence."
Frieda, I thank you for all the many hours of joy, laughter, tears and friendship we were able to share, in better days. And now, as you fight, just know that in my heart, my friendship is as strong today as it ever was...and there is nothing odd about that. I have watched my husband cry more since July than I have ever seen him cry the entire time I've known him. He suffers the loss, the frustration and his own fears. He used crutches and a wheelchair night after night to be with his friend so she knew we would never forsake her. We set our own circumstances aside to attend to the needs of our friend. As tears roll down my own face and I try to see to type this, I know from a deep and profound place that we are better people for it. I never wanted you to be alone Frieda. I know you know that. To try to "heal" is beyond our realm of possibility. We have never tried to be "healers." That was not our job. At Craven Hospital on Saturday July 28, when Sarah Winfrey, Frieda's sister-in-law, was overcome, hurting and unable to form the words from her mouth that she felt in her heart to pray, I saw what was happening, knelt beside her and prayed both with and for her. I was only acquainted with Sarah, but I could see her fear and hurt. I knew Frieda would have done this for any member of my own family. I remember distinctly acknowledging GOD as "The Divine Healer" in that prayer. As I type this, that firm belief has not and will not change. GOD heals. Physicians and us mere humans are but instruments of His will and He expects us to demonstrate that we are willing to be His Instruments, nothing more. To make sure we were there to support, work with, attend to and cheer Frieda on was the commitment we made...and yes, strong Frieda, those were the same roles you actually assumed for us! You did them beautifully too Frieda. My family continues to honor and thank you even today for "being there for doctor trips, surgeries, vet emergencies, family illnesses and any other event that my family experienced that you were a part of. We love, cherish and were so honored by your commitment to us all. When my dad had brain surgery AND heart surgery, each within a couple of months, you were there. When I had surgery, you were there. When Lucy's (our beagle) liver failed, you were there. When I needed a photographer and you knew I hated being photographed, you were there. And Holidays? Birthdays? Celebrations? Oh how much brighter they have been with you right in the middle of our family, BEING family with us and loving us. When either of us needed ANYTHING, WE EACH WERE THERE FOR EACH OTHER, BY CHOICE. I know you know, Frieda, how much my entire family loves you, thanks you and loves you as a part of "our family." No blood. Just love. No conditions.
Here are a very few of the many wonderful "definitions" of friendship I found this evening. They were a huge source of comfort to me tonight and I will share them with Wayne tomorrow.

*A Definition of Friendship
Friendship is the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring all right out just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful friendly hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping and, with a breath of comfort, blow the rest away. Source: A Life for a Life,1859

*"What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies". - Aristotle
Perhaps the one relation that has survived the trials and tribulations of time and has still remained unconditional is friendship. A unique blend of affection, loyalty, love, respect, trust and loads of fun is perhaps what describes the true meaning of friendship between two individuals. Similar interests, mutual respect and strong attachment with each other are what friends share between each other. These are just the general traits of a friendship. To experience what is friendship, one must have true friends, who are indeed rare treasure.
Different people have different definitions of friendship. For some, it is the trust in an individual that he / she won't hurt you. For others, it is unconditional love. There are some who feel that friendship is companionship. People form definitions based on the kind of experiences they have had. This is one relation that has been nurtured since times immemorial. There are famous stories about friends in mythologies of different religions all over the world. They say a person who has found a faithful friend has found a priceless treasure."

*A British newspaper once offered a prize for the best definition of a friend. There were thousands of entries.
Here are a few:
"One who multiplies joys, divides grief and whose honesty is inviolable."
"One who understands our silence."
"A volume of sympathy bound in cloth."
"A watch that beats true for all time and never runs down."
The winning definition read:
"A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out."

*A Friend...
(A) ccepts you as you are (B) elieves in you (C) alls you just to say HI (D) oesn't give up on you (E) nvisions the whole of you (even the unfinished parts) (F) orgives your mistakes (G) ives unconditionally (H) elps you (I) nvites you over (J) ust likes to be with you (K) eeps you close at heart (L) oves you for who you are (M) akes a difference in your life (N) ever judges (O) ffers support (P) icks you up (Q) uiets your fears (R) aises your spirits (S) ays nice things about you (T) ells you the truth when you need to hear it (U) nderstands you (V) alues you (W) alks beside you (X) plains things you don't understand (Y) ells when you won't listen and... (Z) aps you back to reality.

And finally a poem I found...it might be elementary in terms of any literary critic, but its simplicity touched me, so I will share it with you.
A TRUE FRIEND
© Ashley Montgomery
"A true friend never walks away
A true will always stay
A true friend looks out for you
A true friend will guard your secrets
Like a precious gift
A true friend is there for you
To give you a helpful lift
A true friend tries to make you smile
Tries to replace that frown
They may not always succeed
But they rarely let you down
These arms for you are open
This heart for you does care
And when I think you need me
I'll try to always be there
I'll listen to your fears
I promise not to laugh
Comfort your falling tears
I'll make this friendship last
I'll keep you near to my heart
I'll always hold you dear
Even when we're miles apart
Even when you're here
I hope I am to you
Everything you are to me
For the friendship we have
Is a special one indeed."

Wayne and I are and will remain "friends" in the truest sense of the word to Frieda...and she has been exactly that to us. Unfounded, yet imposed circumstances may change things, but our hearts will never change as a result of those things we did not choose.
May I please be so bold as to ask you to evaluate your own lives, your own relationships and your own friendships? Please don't take them for granted. You never know when circumstances may change and your friendships "aren't yours" anymore. Life changes so quickly...dynamics come into play that you didn't negotiate and things are never the same.
Is our friendship "odd?" Oh no. Certainly not by the many definitions I have read of "friendship" tonight. Not one bit.
We should all be so lucky as to have one friend in our lives that is TRULY a friend. I miss mine profoundly. I will close with a simple prayer for our dear and precious Frieda, for Wayne and for me.
God, I ask You to bless and keep Frieda safely in Your arms as you give her the comfort and peace she so desires. Never let her forget just how much she has to offer this world. Please show her your infinite wisdom and give her the strength to keep fighting, no matter what humans say the odds are. Give us all, Our Father, the faith to believe that YOUR WILL will be done. Give us the strength to find peace and understanding of Your will, as it unfolds before us. Frieda Hudson is such a blessing to so many. We thank you for Frieda's presence in our lives and in our hearts. Father God, I also ask for Your comfort, love, and peace for Wayne and for me. I offer this prayer in Jesus' name, Amen.








Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)

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