"Ruling the wilderness with
majesty and fearlessness, the mighty wolf has long been revered as a symbol of
mysterious power. According to Native American legend and lore, the wolf
is among the most courageous, protective, and cunning creatures in all of
nature."
Moe & Cody
in the Big Red Row (left) and Guarding the Deck (right)
"Until one has loved
an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened"
Open those eyes, Che! See
the two little clowns!
Che & Tinkerbell, our little Farm
Dogs!
Below, Che gets his first haircut
and shampoo - Tink sniffs her approval.
"To see life's
passages through the eyes of your heart is to know that all is happening exactly
as it was meant to." -- Flavia Weedn
"In these
times, to change the relationship between ourselves and the others among
whom we live is a recognized need. And what is gained besides some
real glimpse of the other? A flash of self. As Gretel Ehrlich
tells it: 'Animals hold us to what is present, to who we are at the
time. What is obvious to an animal is not the embellishment that
fattens our emotional resumes but what's bedrock and current in us:
aggression, fear, insecurity, happiness, or equanimity. Because they
have the ability to read our involuntary tics and scents, we're transparent
to them and thus exposed -- we are finally ourselves.'"
-- Intimate
Nature -- The Bond Between Women and Animals, p.168, edited by Linda
Hogan, Deena Metzger, and Brenda Peterson (a book of essays, stories, poems,
and meditations by more than 75 female writers who have dedicated their
lives to learning more about the animals)
"Shall we never have done with that cliche, so
stupid that it could only be human, about the sympathy of animals for man when
he is unhappy? Animals love happiness, almost as much as we do. A fit of crying
disturbs them, they'll sometimes imitate sobbing, and for a moment they'll
reflect our sadness. But they flee unhappiness as they flee fever, and I believe
that in the long run they are capable of boycotting it.".......sidonie colette.....(french
author)
Very few humans carry the love and
respect of animals and nature as we were taught. It is they who have missed out
on the true meaning of living!!! tfs.....ilu...r (Above quote sent
along by my sister, Deborah. She reminded me of yet another reason I loved
my father and mother so much. -srb)
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*News Beams
* from
the Farm!
From time to time, we will offer web-only specials and publish
short stories about the Farm Dogs or the grandkids, and inspirations from life on the Farm in mid-Michigan, the
American heartland. Seasonally, we will write to help Gardeners grow beautiful Zinnias,
learn how to make a stunning
bouquet, or how to collect precious seed when harvest is here. Let us know
if you would like to receive them.
We have moved our web to a new server and resized all photos for faster load
times. As we approach another winter, I hope
you visit us often to see our pretty pictures and read about the simple things
we love most here. Thanks for being a
customer! -Sharon Baller, President
Email from
a Redbud Farms web visitor:
Sent:
Saturday, January 21, 2006 12:57 AM To: SBaller@lobatek.com Subject: Thank you from an old
California gardener
Hello,
I love to read all the parts of your Red Bud Zinnia Farms site. Your warm
spirit makes me wish I could travel to meet you and see all those zinnias in
bloom. I am going to order some seeds. Most of my gardening now is in large
containers, so I shall be careful how I choose. I come to your site and
Jacquielawson (cards) almost each evening to achieve a feeling of peace and
companionship and fun through the miles. I love your thoughts about dogs, as
all of mine are waiting for me at the other end of the rainbow bridge. Now, I
really feel that I know you as a kindred spirit. Sincerely, Louise
Walnut Creek Ca. 94598
Join
Jacquie Lawson's greeting
card group for $8.00 U.S. per year and get these wonderful, one of a kind,
animated e-cards to send to all your friends! I'm guessing that Jacquie
and Mike have at least 2 wonderful dogs who are the main characters of many of
her delightful greeting cards! Chudleigh is one such animal.
Please visit the site. It will delight you, as her wonderful cards
delight so many!
In the tiny petal
of a tiny flower
that grew from a tiny pod,
Is the miracle and the mystery
Of all creation and God! -- Unknown
Miss Moon in her 14th
summer sniffs a Benary. She's often my companion in the gardens, coaxing
us to let her come out into the beds with us, then staying close by as I work.
It's hard for me to imagine her one day not being with me there....but I think
maybe she will be, at least always in Spirit. Unlike Moe & Cody, she's
serene with age. [Miss Moon died
and was buried at the Farm on October 7, 2003. She had lived 17 autumns
with us. That's half our married life today. We shall both miss her.
-- Sharon & Gip, Nov. 2003]
Miss Moon's Grave with
Wildflower Garnish - Marilyn looks upon it, thinking of Moon, who was her
friend.
I always have believed all life is reincarnated. Most Far Eastern
religions, and people allow for this. So did the Native Americans. So do the
Pagans. I embrace it, too, because I believe the Universe doesn't waste
anything. If you'd like to know more, read the works of James Redfield in a book
called The Celestine Vision. He believes all life is evolving, and
that souls evolve with the help of higher souls. So even the birds at our
feeders relate with us. So do the insects. And if you believe as Thomas Moore
does, even non-living things have "soul," and they have relationship with us,
too. It's a very respectful and respectable way to move through the world, to
believe this. I believe we are given the animals because they have something to
teach us and we have something to teach them. Maybe they best do this as a dog or
a cat, a bird, a deer or a wolf, and in the luckiest of circumstance, we are
allowed to be their best friend. That is how our dogs are to us. Perhaps
when they die, they never really leave us.
I read much about holistic living and medicine. If you have never read
Bernie Siegel, M.D., try to find some time to do that. His words in an
article I recently read: "One of the most important things to do is not grow up
but to reclaim your youth by growing down. Who are your best coaches? The
children, the elderly, and the animals. They know how to live now, ask for help
when needed, and feel whole no matter that their body is experiencing. They know
how to maintain the proper attitude. So get a pet and whenever a problem arises
in your life ask yourself, 'If this were happening to my beloved pet, what would
he do?' When I have a problem, I just WWLD it -- I just ask myself, 'What would
Lassie do?' And go from there."
"Seeing beauty is about broadening our ability to
recognize the interconnectedness of all manifestations of life and
delighting in how the smells and sounds and tastes and sights that surround
us conspire to draw us toward living fully."
--Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Quotation from page 72 of:
The Invitation, copyright (c) 1999 by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.
Dogs have always been partners with man.
Scientists studying DNA have
determined that all dogs on the planet today come from one she-wolf who lived
over 100,000 years ago ("A Wolf in Dog's Clothing," a
PBS special, winter 2000). My company, LobaTek, is named to honor
the Wolf and therefore the Dog. In Native American lore, the Wolf is the symbol
of the Teacher. So my company name is a fanciful name for "technology
teacher." If you'd like to read about the similarities between
women and wolves, read the book, Women Who Run with the Wolves, by
Clarissa Pincola Estes. I consider her my Spiritual Guide.
James Redfield (The Celestine Prophecy, The Tenth Insight), Native
Americans, and distinguished others contemplate and write about the tremendously
important role animals play in our lives. The American Kennel Club has
even named a class of dogs "Working Breeds." Dogs have been
partners with man for thousands of years. Some believe wolves befriended
man, not the other way around, which may account for why Neanderthal Man became
extinct (he didn't partner with the wolf) while Homo sapien Man endured (he
did.) ("A Wolf in Dog's Clothing," a PBS/
Learning Channel/Discovery special, winter 2000)
For whatever reasons, we have lived with dogs all of our lives. I
cannot remember a time we did not have a dog. They live on the Farm with us and
intimately know and anticipate it! They show us the joy of racing across
its fields through the grasses each and every day when we walk here, no matter
the weather. So, to honor our Friends, we dedicate this slice of Farm
History -- to Our Dogs, all past, present, and future! Tuffy,
Judy,
Rebel, Blue, Ruby, Miss Moon, the Wubba Dog, Sundance, Moe, & Cody,
Tinkerbell & Che -- how we
have loved you ... and now salute you!
Cody running full tilt down one of the walking paths at the Farm
Work Dogs @ the Farm
