(Nacho...(Ignacio)...Carne...(Incarnation) and Chencho...(Vicente)....the cows)
For historical purposes...
A few evenings ago....I headed to the Sol to pick something "green" for the chickens to eat.
I was feeling a little sorry for them. I knew that I could find some weeds in the orchard.
Also growing at the Sol is alfalfa...to feed the animals. So I thought that picking some alfalfa
would be a great treat for the chickens along with a few weeds.
I rode the 4-wheeler, the dogs ran alongside, with the biggest dog smiles I have seen in awhile;)
The weather was beautiful...warm....it was just a lovely evening!
Passing the pastures that are home to the horses and cows....I headed to the field of alfalfa.
I picked and picked...filling up a box I had brought along and when I looked up...I noticed
that the horses were lined up at the fence watching my every move. I carried the box,
filled with the picked alfalfa to the horses, and one by one they took their turns eating.
It gave me a chance to pet them and "visit" with them;)
I told them that their Boy was doing great! That he was happily serving his mission and
that he was growing into a wonderful man...that their Boy misses them and wonders how
they are all doing. I have to admit, I shed some tears....as silly as it sounds...
I felt like they understood everything I was saying to them.
He loved those horses, and they loved him. They provided peace and comfort for The Boy,
when he was having a bad day. Somehow they just knew that The Boy needed them.
He would take them on long rides.....bring them home and lovingly groom them and reward
them with bit of grain. It was almost a ritual for him. I truly think that one of the hardest
things for him to leave behind was his dear horses.
(Bronze)
The horses gave me a great gift that lovely evening....it was a gift of connecting to my
Missionary Boy, who,on that particular day....I was missing terribly. They did for me
what they had so often done for him....offered comfort and love. I am so grateful that he is
where he is....doing what he is doing....I would not want it any other way....but as a very, very
wise may said to me when The Boy had only been on his mission for about a week....
"You will mourn the BOY that is leaving...and CELEBRATE the man that will return."
PreShie commented a few days ago, while looking at some new pictures of The Missionary Boy, we had just gotten in the mail...that The Missionary Boy doesn't look the same...he looks different
somehow. She tried to figure out what the difference was...I finally told her that the difference
that she saw, what that he didn't look like a "boy" any longer...he now looked like a "man."
And she agreed.
I do mourn the boy...but I am thrilled a the growth and maturity that has come.
(Caballero)
Interestingly, the man that we purchased The Boy's first two horses from, passed away this week.
He was an amazing man! He was often referred to as a "gentle giant" because
he was a tall man The Boy really loved this man. He had a sweet relationship with him.
They enjoyed talking about the horses...the funny little things that were unique to those horses.
As this man got older, and it wasn't so easy for him to climb onto the horses, he trained
Bronze to stretch himself out...quite far...which lowered him to the ground, and then this
sweet man was able to climb onto of the horse with ease. He was grateful that the horses went
to The Boy...who loved and cared for them so well.
(Muneca and Reina)
The Farmer says that these horses will go down in history as the "best" horses The Boy ever owned!
The first horses hold a special place in hearts of young boys and girls.
The Boy will most likely tell stories to his "ninos" about how amazing his first horses were...
(even though they are quite average)....to him they will always represent a special time of life.
I did discover that Reina is a bit of a crazy teenager right now...if I would turn my head away from her
she would grab a mouthful of my hair...or bite the edge of my jacket...and then she would smile!
She has a really funny personality!
It was a very wonderful evening for me...at the Sol...something I really needed!
*To add to the animal update...5 more chickens have joined our brood....they are beautiful!*
(Chencho)
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