Raspberry Sue

Daisey entered the kitchen door in excitement.
"Mom,
there is a lamb frozen to the ground!" I quickly instructed her to get the lamb and bring it to the house. She was a bit fearful at first to pick up a dead lamb, but with a bit of hesitation did as she was told. As she arrived in the kitchen, I could see this little black lifeless lamb lying limp in her arms. Upon closer inspection, I could see a faint breath as it's chest would barely rise and fall. I really did not think this little lamb had much hope for survival. We said a prayer for help and guidance and got everything ready to stomach tube the lamb. We put the tube in the mixture of milk replacer so that the tube would be lubricated and slide down the little lambs throat with greater ease. I ever so gently guided it and it seemed to go down with out any pause. This was a good sign, that fluid did not go into the lamb’s lungs. I slowly added the replacer and the little lamb still lay listless in my arms. We covered the lamb with a warm blanket. There was not any response from the feeding or the warmth that we had given her body. I quickly made a long distance phone call to some veterinarians that deal strictly with sheep. I explained everything I had done. They told me to place the lamb in our sink with as warm of water, as my hands could stand. My heart was racing, as I prayed for God to guide me, in what seemed to be the impossible. As I cradled this little lifeless lamb in a sink of hot water, I began to feel a heart beat. The heart rate became stronger and stronger. Her little eyes opened and our excitement filled the room. This was unbelievably. It was much like seeing Lazarus raised from the dead. We toweled her dry and placed a Woolover on her for extra warmth. As Daisey was holding the lamb, her eyes stared ahead at a box of raspberry tea. With a sudden burst, Daisey announced that the lamb should be named Raspberry Sue. We placed Raspberry down in a box and scheduled her feedings around the clock. She most definitely viewed us as her mom. She grew to see herself as one of the household. One morning, I awoke to feed her and did not find Raspberry in her box. I glanced around and found that she had decided on a much more comfortable accommodations for her bed. This is only the start of the many adventures of Raspberry Sue……………
C.A. Bresin

Flying Upward With a Flock of Geese

Growing up in Phoenix, Arizona my world was limited to saguaro cactus, rattlesnakes, and black widow spiders. I was familiar with life in the desert. They call it, The Land of the Sun. As we moved across the United States, my horizons expanded to a new vision of wild life. The concrete city life was replaced with open fields. Wild life can be easily seen from my front door. I will never forget the first time; I heard a flock of geese fly over our home. I immediately stopped everything I was doing, called the kids and ran outdoors. We sat in the front yard and watched them fly low over our heads in a V-formation. The incredible honking noise filled the atmosphere. We watched as they traded who would take the lead. It was not until some time later, that I was given this wonderful scientific analogy. C.A. Bresin

” Lessons from the Geese.”
As each goose flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the birds that follow. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.
People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.
If we have as much sense as a goose we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.
When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into formation and another goose flies to the point position.
It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other's skills, capabilities and unique arrangements of gifts, talents or resources.
The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one's heart or core values and encourage the heart and core of others) is the quality of honking we seek.
When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.
If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.
I still find myself mesmerized as the geese fly overhead. Those close to me have heard me say, that when I go to heaven, I imagine being taken up holding onto their wings and flying upward with a flock of geese.

Dr Robert McNeish of Baltimore wrote "Lessons from the Geese", in 1972. Dr. McNeish, was a science teacher for many years, before he wrote” Lessons from the Geese” for a sermon he delivered in his church.

Don't forget to say thank you - Donka

This past Spring, we purchased ten Indian Runner Ducks. They waddle in an upright position and are whimsical to watch. Indian Runner Ducks can lay up to 300 eggs in a year, but they are not great setters. This being their first season and with the cold weather beginning to approach, I have just begun collecting eggs that they leave all around the pond. Well, my husband had a different idea and placed a couple of eggs under one of our little Bantam Cochin crosses. We marked the calendar for 28 days and began our vigilant watch. One morning after Daisey came in from doing barn chores, I noticed she had something in her hands. She had this little coco brown duckling nestled close to her body. She was carefully keeping it safe and warm. These little upright ducks have a nature of bowing their heads over and over again . It is absolutely comical to watch. After watching the little bow, my mind flashed to the German lady in the Sound of Music. She bowed over and over again to stall the Nazi's during the VonTrapps final performance. That's it, Donka!! Donka means, thank you in German. I could envision the little duck bowing over and over again and saying, thank you, thank you, thank you. So Donka Duck it is. Thank you Lord for sharing the wonders of your creation, in even the smallest blessings of your handy work.
C.A. Bresin

Let Us Rejoice and be Glad

After watching our resident Bald Eagle return and carefully to watch our fields for her source of food. I began to entertain the idea of purchasing a guardian llama. My quest for obtaining a llama began. After the purchase of our first llama Annalia, I received a phone call from our 4-H county extension office saying, that they had a call about a llama that was being housed in a horse trailer. The next question followed, did I want to go rescue him? My first response was no. I was so proud of myself, because it was a firm no. I hung up the phone and all was well. That night, I tossed and turned and could not get a wink of sleep. I envisioned this llama enclosed in a horse trailer and could not bare the thought any more. When morning finally came, I asked my husband if we could go get this llama. In the back of my mind, I really believed his answer would not be positive. To my surprise, he gave me the go ahead and we were off to meet the young fellow. As we pulled up, I spotted the trailer and inside was a very frightened and undernourished llama. We were dealing with horse traders that made part of their living going to sale barns and purchasing animals and turning them for a profit. We listened to the usual story of how they were going to loose money on this deal. After exchanging some conversation, we were able to get them down another fifty dollars and the llama would be delivered to our farm. Under the mass of fluffy white fleece was a very bony, undernourished llama that had not seen any grain for quite some time. I needed to fatten him slowly or passers by would think, I was the one not feeding him. We named him Hava which means, let us rejoice and be glad in Hebrew. Truthfully, I think we were both rejoicing to our Lord. Hava was delighted to run in an open field and our hearts were filled, that we had rescued him from a life of despair. Hava certainly came with some issues of trust, as he had been man handled. We moved slowly and sang songs to him at night. To this day Hava hates his head being touched in any fashion, but he has returned the favor ten fold by being one of the best guard llamas that could ever be imagined. He watches his flock with the utmost of care and will react if he thinks, we are in harms way. It's certainly true, you get back what you give. We have treated Hava with love and respect and in return he has become the king of our fields. Let us rejoice and glad for this is the day that the Lord has made...
C.A. Bresin

Our Resident Bald Eagle

Today was filled with the rush of trying to complete farm chores before winters arrival. My daughter Daisey and I gave the chicken-coop a complete cleaning. We scraped every corner and put down a nice thick layer of fresh sawdust. On our way through the field, Daisey spotted a Bald Eagle perched in one of our trees that lines the far pasture. What an incredible site! Daisey ran for her camera and returned in time to find the eagle still nicely perched on one of the high branches. She continued to snap photos as she walked down the field to get closer. The Bald Eagle took flight. We watched as she returned to her nest along the creek.
A few years ago our resident Bald Eagle visited us. I was quite certain she had her eye on our free range chickens. It wasn't long after her visit that I read an article by a fellow shepherd who said, they find the remains of baby lambs in their nests. Every Spring our fields are filled with black and white spotted Jacob lambs. I fully understand and respect the food chain, but there are some emotional ties to my critters. This put me on another venture to obtain a guard llama.
To be continued...
C.A. Bresin

Intricately Designed

Welcome to my world
10/15/08
I can’t help but drink in all the beauty that God has provided. I have often said, we have to be rich to live poor in this day. Many of us have become aware that the simple pleasures that our grandparents once lived are being encroached upon. With these pleasures, come hard work and an ever increasing knowledge to continually learn how to maintain our plain existence. I longed to live my roots while growing up in the muddle of the city life so filled with world view. Moving away from the city was a first step. Filling my soul with Gods word has provided the necessities of truth. In my business of daily tasks, I am reminded to pause and look at the beauty of Gods creation. I guess, I will never tire of the sheer pleasure of collecting chicken eggs. After twenty plus years, I still marvel at reaching under a chicken and pulling out a nice warm freshly laid egg. How beautiful these large pearls are, that sustain and nourish our bodies. I often feel sad for those that don’t’ pause to bask in the glory of the smallest of Gods creation. I thank God for filling my heart and soul with these simple rewards, that others may never know. How can one deny a God that has so intricately designed life.
C.A. Bresin

Cheryl's Egg Casserole
Ingredients
10 farm fresh eggs lightly beaten
1/3 cup flour
3/4 tsp.baking soda
10 0z. sausage of choice
1/2 pound of farmers cheese or cheese of choice
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1 small can of diced green chillies
Desired amount of fresh mushrooms
Season to taste. A little garlic, a little salt, a little black pepper and some cayenne for your heart.

Directions
Saute' sausage, green chilies and mushrooms
Blend eggs, flour, and baking powder
Add sausage, cheese, cottage cheese and mushrooms to the egg mixture and combine thoroughly.
Pour into greased 13x9 glass baking dish
This recipe can be easily doubled
Preheat oven 375*
Bake for 30-35 minutes. Yields 5 generous servings
C. A. Bresin