Eventually, Eagle's owner declined our offer to take on their horse and took him home.his last week, we had the pleasure of meeting a couple more of our neighbors due to the escape of a couple of animals: Harley and Eagle. Harley d enjoyed the freedom of our front yard and much of the backyard till he decided to take a stroll onto the side road and into our neighbor's yard. They detained him in a fenced area till we could bring him home. If I hadn't been so frustrated with him at the time, I would've probably laughed. He danced back and forth just out of their reach. Harley will not let himself be touched by a strang.we found this out a couple of years ago when he pursued a cat onto a major highway but evaded any would-be rescuers. After introductions with our neighbor, Harley was put in doggy time out and has since been confined to a generous chain-link fenced area behind our house. He still looks with longing at the ducks and chicken area that he used to run free in. He's still in the doghouse as far as I'm concerned though.
The second animal capture of the week was a little bigger deal as it involved a larger animal: a horse. When we first moved in, two horses lived in our east pasture area. The owners were busy preparing a permanent space on their land for them, and we patiently waited. After all, the owners just live across the road and two houses down. We wanted to be neighborly. Eventually as it became cold, Charles asked them to kindly collect their animals. Keeping drinkable water for our current pets is more than enough of a challenge for us right now. The horses were collected just before Thanksgiving. Last week, their horse, Eagle, escaped. Its comrade Ray is in horse rehab, and he must've decided to look for him back at the old stomping grounds. A different neighbor brought him off the road to our fenced in area, concerned that he might get hurt and was unsure if we were keeping the horse for the owner or not. Charles contacted the owner; and after a couple of days of waiting, we began toying with the idea of keeping him. Clearly the current owner is rather busy, or else the horse would've been collected sooner. Later, we found out he was busy constructing a lean-to. The idea of having a horse had begun to grow on me, as we went out several times a day to break the ice that had formed in the Rubbermaid bin (that held his water temporarily). I've learned that I get attached to animals very easily, so I never really talked to our guest until we considered keeping him. I know very little about horses; but since another neighbor has grown up caring for horses all her life, I spent some time chatting with her about what we had offered to take on. I found out just how much these neighbors had been watching me. The horse owning neighbor had even noticed the way Eagle and Ray had been eating the bale of hay that a friend had put into their enclosure for us. Being around her reminded me to pay close attention to my words. I have a brand new start here with new people, but just a few words can sour the whole thing. This morning's devotional from "Whispers of Hope" included this scripture: "The words of a whisperer or slanderer are like dainty morsels or words of sport [to some, but to others are like deadly wounds]; and they go down into the innermost parts of the body [or a victim's nature]." (Prov. 26:22-Amplified Version) I need to watch what I say...a LOT!
Animals take a lot of care and attention; but if it weren't for the two escapees, I may have still been in the dark about our animal lovin' neighbors. Is this part of why God put them on our planet? Are animals the ultimate icebreaker? Eventually, Eagle's owner turned us down and collected their horse. I don't see a ranch anytime in our near future, but I will continue to break the ice with our animal loving neighbors...maybe instead of Christmas cookies, I'll take over some homemade treats for their animals.
How are you breaking the ice this holiday season? Are you like me, in need of a little lip-guarding? Let me know and we can pray for each other, for boldness sprinkled with kindness.
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