A year ago today, my best good buddy Choca died in my arms. Many of you were part of my community here at the time and remember it. It kicked off a year of loss: our dog, our unborn baby, my job. This is why I was convinced Sassy wouldn't make it to 2022. Choca was my hiking partner for many years, and because she never said anything, I came to enjoy silence rather than the adrenaline and distractions of my life off the mountains. I think my career in TV news eventually ended because of that - as the silence allowed me self-relfection, which brought self-awareness, and with it, awareness of the world around me. Choca's death was a violent one in the sense that natural death, I've heard, isn't always how movies depict it. This was the first time I'd ever been there for a last breath and for months after it, I woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and had other unexplained health problems. This may seem an odd reaction, but as a child I accompanied my doctor parents to hospitals and witnessed sickness and dying at a very young age. Avoiding death, while trying to understand it, became a driving motivation for me. Perhaps it is, in part, why I went to seminary and eventually became a reporter. I sought distraction from my own mortality while also seeking to control it through knowledge. A losing combination. In the book he wrote about his wife's death, CS Lewis said, "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid." That was my experience. And I had no choice but to sit through it. Then to confront it again and again throughout the rest of the year. But as I sat quietly, I realized something. I had believed that if I could unlock the secrets of death and finally come to peace with it- the ultimate question of existence that has eluded philosophers for centuries - I would finally come to know God. Instead, after last year, I now believe that I had gotten it backwards. Instead, it is coming to know God that brings one peace about death (and all other things for that matter). And thus begins a new journey, not of the head but of the heart. I'll end with another quote from a favorite Lewis book, the last lines of Til We Have Faces, “I ended my first book with the words 'no answer.' I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice? Only words, words; to be led out to battle against other words. Long did I hate you, long did I fear you.” Blessings to all of you on your journey. Thank you for being a part of mine.
Sassy has made it to the ripe age of three decades and double-same-digits! In this video, you’ll see a picture of the two of us in Florida when she was a few weeks old and I was 11 (that really dates me). The other picture under it was taken in Seattle in 2015 after we moved there. Now we are back in Florida celebrating 2 coast-to-coast moves and 33 years together. There will never be another Sassy and anything I’d write would fail to describe the treasure she has been for me and now our family. She is the kind of horse who can babysit your kids, take you on a relaxing trail ride, listen quietly to your prayers and make you laugh with an array of silly antics. She is like your favorite pair of socks and your best camping buddy combined. We are so grateful we got another year - and of course she has been enjoying plenty of apples with her carrot cake! If you want to live to a ripe old age too, go celebrate Sassy’s birthday by treating yourself to some fermented cod liver/butter ...
We drew blood from Maisy our mini Jersey/Dexter cross and it’s en route to the lab! We are running a pregnancy test to see if the artificial insemination we did in January was successful. This is our second attempt. The first did not take. Maisy is a little older (she’s 4 and I didn’t know most people breed them for the first time by 18 months) so I’m way behind the curve but up for the challenge! If the test comes back negative, we will likely try putting her with a bull. Maisy will be our first family milk cow (God willing) and we have put SO much work into her. My best advice for someone looking to do this: buy “Ole Bessie”, a tried and true milk cow that’s had several successful pregnancies and has been milked several hundred times (if not several thousand times) - so that you’re not both “newbies”. The learning curve is steep! If you’re a new or expecting mom - or just someone who is trying to add the unmatched benefits of organ meat to your diet - check out ...
Our neighborhood has been busy organizing opposition to a cell tower on one side - and an asphalt plant on the other! We are a rural community that enjoys wildlife, dark starry skies, clean air and water, and quiet. The two proposed projects have really stirred the pot here. I am leading the opposition to the cell tower and Alan Ivory is leading the asphalt plant protest. We sure will need help detoxing if these projects are built - so I will be ordering plenty of cod liver/butter oil from Green Pasture! Use promo code "ALISON" for 10% off at check out.
GREEN PASTURE PRODUCTS:
https://www.greenpasture.org/
SIGN THE ASPHALT PLANT PETITION:
https://www.change.org/p/stop-zoning-change-from-general-neighborhood-commercial-to-industrial
My mechanic told me this exact same story about a month ago.
Why People Aren't Lining Up for This $120,000 Job - The Journal. - WSJ Podcasts
https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/the-journal/why-people-arent-lining-up-for-this-120000-job/e320f6eb-de6d-4e9f-8d23-ac2f79b831a1
