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by a sweet and beautiful older puppy we named Ginger who had been abandoned at a Circle K in Tucson, Az. We were in Tucson to pick up my wonderful friend Sharon from the airport and made what we thought would be a brief stop at Circle K to get some soda for the drive home. There were two rambunctious puppies running around begging for food from whomever drove in. A Circle K employee watched me play with one of the puppies and asked me to take them home as they had been hanging around the store for over two weeks. We picked up the first one and put her in the truck, to Sharon’s surprise and delight. Unfortunately, the second pup was wary of people and would not let us catch her. Chris spent over an hour trying to get her trust so we could bring her home, but after all that we could only get the first puppy. Welcome home Ginger!

The night before last a group of friends made plans to meet to partake of holiday festivities. One of them was driving too fast in his truck down the driveway and did not see the two women as they walked out to meet him. They had all just been at the local tavern/restaurant having a great time, and seemingly seconds later reality was shattered. Chris and I happened to be finishing up our dinner at the restaurant when a man burst through the front doors asking for help. We followed him down the road and found a scene of chaos. One woman was lying on her side, her leg obviously broken. We covered her with a blanket to try to avoid shock and Chris stayed to comfort her. I went further down the road to find our friend Teresa trying to wake up Alma. A wonderful Border Patrolman was also there. We checked for a pulse…nothing. We performed CPR on Alma for over half an hour, hoping to keep her circulation going until the paramedics could come and bring her back to life. They arrived and did everything they could. It was not enough. Alma, you are a shining star who left us much too early. Let us all remember that drinking and driving have disastrous consequences.

So says our friend Stan about Ariat boots. Chris was lucky in receiving a pair of Ariat boots for his birthday (from his wonderful, beautiful and ever so modest wife) and he agrees. I cannot say for sure his feet are smiling, but he does seem to have an extra spring in his step. I have to add that Ariat paddock boots are my favorites for riding and partaking of my “barn goddess” chores.

For our boot, belt, and jean needs, we like to shop at Sheplers; they have excellent service and quick delivery.

And if Ariat ever uses Stan’s smiling feet quotation, they will owe him some moolah!

Happy Solstice to everyone, as we celebrate the shortest day of the year, and the return of the sun and longer days.

Crow Brings Daylight
From the Inuit people of far North America
When the world was first born, it was always dark where the Inuit people lived. They thought it was dark all over the world until old Crow told them about daylight and how he had seen it. They imagined how much better they could hunt if there was daylight and how much safer they would be from attacking polar bears. They begged old Crow to go and bring them back some daylight. Finally he agreed and headed off to the east where he had seen the daylight before.

Crow flew for a long time, and was about to turn back when he saw a dim light in the distance. He headed toward it and it got brighter and brighter until the whole sky was bright and he could see for miles. He saw a young girl, the daughter of a chief, filling her bucket with water from the river. Crow turned himself into a speck of dust and drifted down into the fur of her jacket. She didn’t know it, but she carried Crow back to her snowlodge.

Crow drifted out of the girl’s jacket and into the ear of a young boy, the chief’s grandson, who was playing on the floor. The dust tickled him and made him cry. When the chief asked his grandson what was wrong, old Crow whispered, “Tell him you want to play with a ball of daylight.” The boy did and was given a small ball of daylight with a string tied around it. Crow tickled his ear again. “Tell them you want to go outside to play with the ball,” whispered Crow. The boy did so, and the chief and his daughter took him out to play.

As soon as they left the snowlodge, Crow turned back into himself, grabbed the string on the ball of daylight and flew up into the sky, heading west. When he reached the land of the Inuits, he let go of the string and the ball dropped to the ground, spreading light all over the land.

All the people came out of their houses, exclaiming, “Look how blue the sky is! We can see for miles.” They thanked Crow for bringing the daylight. Crow shook his head. “I could only carry a small ball and it will need to gain its strength from time to time. So, you will only have daylight for half the year. The other half will be dark.”

So that is why, in the land of the Inuit in the far north, it is dark half the year and light the other half. The people were very happy to have half a year of daylight. They never forgot who brought it to them and they take care never to hurt Crow, in case he decides to take it back.