a day in the life...

Society is Crap

My mom is currently working on launching an eco-friendly business. She has been collecting email addresses, making contacts, writing a bunsiness plan and proposals, and building the website herself. She was, until her laptop was stolen. Nothing enrages me more than people who live with such disregard that they have no moral guidance stopping them from STEALING. It is disgusting and these people are such scumbags. Welcome to San Francisco, eh? That city gives everything to the homeless and needy, but still they fight and steal and cause problems. Because someone was greedy and thought they could make a few bucks off a computer, now another person is left unable to work. How is that fair? There is no way to obtain justice in a situation like this. A faceless coward makes off with your things - YOUR BELONGINGS - and suffers nothing because of it. You, who were causing no problems with anyone, is now the one left hurt. Sick, stupid wastes of life. They probably think everyone has it better than them - anyone who owns one thing more than they do. All I have to say is take a closer look - some people have been run so ragged by life that the one extra thing they have might be all they have. That laptop was probably the most valuable thing she owned, and was allowing her to build so much more. Now someone has taken it all away. I hope Karma’s real.

Give & Receive

I’ve become a strong advocate of volunteering over the past few months. As a young adult in my first full-time job, I don’t have the resources to financially support organizations I believe in. So instead, I volunteer. In a way, I think that’s a little more valuable anyway - I’m helping complete projects or provide care, something a monetary donation can’t directly do.

The Park - I’ve been signing up for work days in the park near my home. It’s one a frequently use for running, hiking, biking and dog playing. I feel like the luckiest girl when I think of how I happened upon this apartment and then agreed to a rental from states away and no walk-through. Not only is it a beautiful living space, I am surrounded by one of the largest municipal park system in the country and the discoveries in it are unending. Since I am so thankful for the preservation of the park land and my ability to limitlessly use it, I offer my time to clean it and work on projects to protect the trails or enhance the vegetation. Without fail, there are always park users who see volunteers at work and thank them. When I return to the park for a leisure activity, I know that I’ve had a hand in protecting what I am, at that moment, enjoying.

The Farm - My newest venture is being a working student at a horse farm. I spend the morning hours working - grooming, picking hooves, mucking the indoor riding ring and the stalls, changing water and helping with whatever else comes up. Some of those other tasks have included massaging a horse who had sore muscles and assisting with a horse who was having his hoof filed and leg bandaged from a sprain. It’s all a learning experience, despite having ridden for several years in the past. Afterward I get to ride and be trained to become a “horse professor” and more effectively communicate - and therefore, control - with the horses. I was surprised when I was thrown up on a Percheron my first week with just a saddle pad. That should have made me less surprised when today I was instructed to ride him bareback. The goal was to form a connection with the horse. Use my sit-bones to give him instruction and feel his movement. Before I could do that, I had to allow my body to become “jello” and rode him around the ring with my eyes closed so I could focus 100% on his movement and feel my connection to it. Such a cool experience!

Soapbox

lovepuppy:

tktc:

I have loved animals my entire life. Stop in the street to pet whatever’s available, instantly charmed when meeting a pet owner, call to stray cats in alleys and guess the breeds for mutts kind’ve “love animals.” Given how many pictures of my cat you are subjected to, this should only be mildly surprising, if at all.

My point: While puppy mills are an obvious no no, in the past year I’ve started turning away from the idea of adopting a purebred animal at all, the exception being rescue. When HC disappeared, I was at the pound a lot. There was never a time when it was not packed to the gills with gorgeous creatures. I mean really beautiful dogs (the purebred thing isn’t such as much of an issue for cats).

Mutts live longer, are generally healthier and can be trained just like a prebred dog can be.  I’ve had friends even say they feel like the dogs they’ve adopted know they were rescued, the gratitude is palpable.

Everyone has their reasons but for me? I don’t think I’ll be able to spend a $1K+ to buy a dog from a breeder when there are so many loves just waiting in a cage.

We are looking into adopting a “mixed race” (our term for mutt) little puppy. I am also asking for a little black kitten that I can name CoCo. Any Brooklynites know of good shelters in Park Slope? Also, is it true that you cannot get a black cat in October?

I also strongly advocate adoption over purchase of pet, particularly if that purchase is going to come from a petstore. The “backyard breeders” is certainly the more humane choice for shopping when looking to buy.

Do mixed breed dogs really live longer though? I’d say that is debatable. I’ve had 3 family dogs since I was a child, and the one with the longest lifespan was a purebred. Varying dog breeds have their respective health problems from hip dysplasia to respiratory problems, but so can mixed breeds depending on the mix. All animals are subject to health problems no matter how thoughtfully they were bred - or arrived on accident.

I currently own a 3.5 year old mix. She is American Staffordshire (a breed very close to pit bull) and likely English Shepherd. She’s cute, lovable, playful, a quick learner, gets along with all dogs she meets and perhaps the most unique of her traits - she found me while she was a stray.

Again, I really advocate adopting an animal. It’s a terrible thought that any animal may lose its life because of a neglectful human. I also understand why some people buy animals. They may be looking for a particular breed due to size, disposition, purpose, resistance to certain health problems or a number of other reasons. It also may be difficult to find an appropriate animal in your local shelter depending on where you live. In the end, regardless of where and how an animal is obtained, what’s most important is that the owner loves and takes care of the animal for the duration of its life.

This is why:

Today I decided that I’m really thankful for my life, despite its struggles, which to me can seem monumental. I moved to Philadelphia at the perfect time, and I moved to Philadelphia - not the suburbs. I met great people; in fact, many of them live in the same house I do and they’ve become my best friends. A tried and true best friend from college days is only an hour away, and we get to see each other often enough that we stay connected. In additional to being minutes away from an exciting Center City, I’m privledged enough to have the largest municipal park system (and such a beautiful one, at that) as my backyard. Oh yeah, and I have a real backyard, too. My dog and I (and our respective human and doggy friends) enjoy spending time in both. It’s been a little over two years since I relocated my life from NC to PA. Still, I am becoming more and more connected with the people, the places and the groups that surround me. Sometimes when you see what your options could have been, and what they really are, you are so very thankful for every decision you’ve made to bring you to this moment in life. Today, I am thankful for the choices I’ve made.

Enjoying:

• Digging holes
• Sawing wood
• Moving logs
• Teamwork with laughs
• Breaking down the summer garden
• Dogs chasing tomatoes like tennis balls
• Clean laundry after a hard day of dirty work
• Plants that are growing crazy out of control - it’s healthy in here!

My new time occupier

I am officially a working student at a semi-local horse farm. For my first day I was shown around the farm and barn, cleaned up some horse poo, went out to the pasture with all the horses running wild and lots of other cool things. I learned to watch a horse’s gate to notice when he is lame (which he was) and then proceeded to give him a nice little butt/leg massage to loosen his stiff back legs. I did a little grooming and tacking and prepared the feed. And the highlight of my day was riding the biggest, most beautiful black Percheron (think Amish - this is the draft horse that usually pulls their carriages) that looks something like this:

These work horses have the most incredibly thick (as in tall) neck ever. They have the broadest backs and such a strong presence. And what’s even more awesome - no saddle or stirrups! Just the pad. *Heavennnn*

Why the weekend was a win:

• First trip to Lancaster County - lots of cows!
• Oktoberfest at Stoudt’s Brewery
• Breakfast with friends at the neighborhood diner
• Sunday at the horse farm *love*

Sunday nights?

They are for a bike ride to the bar. But only after a stroll through the park and stopping to watch the horses.