Tuesday, June 24, 2014

where the wild things are



 
 

well my dear ones,

 

 

As I noted in the past,

we promised to take care of whatever

critters God chooses to send into

“the Sanctuary” (i.e. our back yard =>).

 

People have dumped a lot of kitties

that were either sick,

or they were just sick and tired

of taking care of and feeding them.

 

So far, we have re-homed 20 cats,

but there are still a bunch of them

living in the woods behind our house

(not to mention a possum, 2 foxes,

 and a couple of really porky raccoons).

 

My wife hired a professional trapper

(thanks, Jacqui!), and she trapped

most of the cats, although my wife

also trapped a bunch herself;

and by now they have all been

Trapped, Neutered, and Released

(TNR Program; most states have one).

 

One of the wildest feral cats,

and the last one to be trapped,

was Tammy;

although, as you can see,

she is not-too-wild anymore:

 

 


 

 

The next-most-wild critter was Toby,

who is also not-too-wild any longer:

 

 


 

 

However, even in our own backyard,

one should never get too complacent,

as one never knows when

God may send something our way

to increase our sense of wonder.

 

When my wife said she saw a fawn

cross the road right in front of our house,

I went out to investigate.

 

My wife said the poor thing was panting

from the heat and a lack of water;

so I took a bowl and a bottle of water,

and I found her out back in my neighbor’s yard.

 

Even though she’s totally wild,

she was also really thirsty;

she kept a close eye on the water

that I was pouring for her and

the poor little spud let me get within

about 15 feet of her,

which is the closest I’ve ever been

to a wild deer.

 

Here she is as I first approached her:

 

 


 

 

And as she turned when I was

setting the bowl down for her:

 

 


 

 

Well, one doesn’t often get that many chances

to get so close to a wild animal

(and she was really beautiful!),

so I thought I would share that with you.

 

Have a great week. =)

 

grace, peace, and love to you,

dave

 

“The Lord God is my strength;

 He will make my feet like deer’s feet,

 And He will make me walk on my high hills.”

 

      --- Habakkuk 3:19

fawn002


fawn001


Toby


Tammy


Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Skyler



 


well my dear ones,

 

 

When it comes to “news”

I don’t care as much about the newness of it

as I do about the coolness of it.

 

A friend of mine told me about a girl named

Skyler, who just graduated from high school.

 

There wouldn’t be anything too unusual about

that except that 18 years ago,

the day she was born,

she was abandoned in a graveyard

in the freezing cold of an Illinois winter.

 

An anonymous phone call was made

and a search and rescue team went to the

specified area, only to find nothing.

 

A volunteer firefighter heard the call

on his scanner, and on a hunch,

went to a different but close-by graveyard,

where he found the baby buried in leaves

under a pine tree.

 

He handed her over to paramedics

and never saw her again for 18 years,

although he did follow her career

in the newspapers.

 

Shortly before her graduation,

her adopted parents tracked the fireman down

and invited him to their daughter’s graduation.

 

When she first saw him

Skyler asked, “And who are you?”

And he told her,

“We met once before,

 back on November 4, 1995.”

 

That’s when she realized who Charlie was.

 

Way cool, and you can see the news on it here:

 


 

The word is that after she graduates

from college she hopes to be a pastor.

 

Perhaps so, and perhaps Skyler will help

a great many people.

 

But whatever she does,

I have to wonder how many people have already

been lifted up by her story?

Like how many people will be inspired

by the rescue Charlie made

on that cold November day?

 

This side of heaven,

we’ll never know the exact number,

but I pray it’s a great multitude.

 

 

Have a great week. =)

 

grace, peace, and love to you,

dave