Survival of the Fittest!

November 3, 2011

Hello Readers, it's Miss Dottie reporting from the kitchen table at Hopper Ranch.  It's a windy chilly day but the sun is out and all is right with the world!  Miss Mary had the coffee on when I arrived as well as bread baking, the crock pot stewing and fresh eggs gracing the counter.  I was greeted with hugs and spent hours there thoroughly enjoying the warmth and activity.

Useless the Blood Hound

Miss Mary and I worked together at XL Insurance.  She stepped up to the plate, greeting me and making me feel like one of the team.  She was a great mentor, patiently teaching me.  What I like most about Mary is her way of "saying it like it is" and her sense of humor.  We would spend our lunches together talking about the world and our lives.  Miss Mary is an amazing lady and friend.  A few years ago, Mary had a cyst drained in her head ... everything has been fine until lately and her vision has been getting worse and she needs a cane to help her with her balance.  The cyst is growing and the future is unknown at this point for her.  She and hubby, Dewey, are devoted to each other ... a sight to behold and experience in and of itself.  Useless, the Bloodhound, follows them around and, as Mary says ..."He is just Useless and lazy but we love him."

Little Dottie needs help!

Sitting at the kitchen table allowed Mary and I to talk about life and the ranch critters.  She enlightened me on the lives of the goats, horses, chickens, geese, peacock, bull, cats, dogs and on and on.  The animal kingdom is based on survival of the fittest.  Seemed rather cold to me but Mary explained about how the mama goat gives birth ... if the kid gets up and is able to suck, she accepts it ... if it is deformed or unable to move, she walks away.  Hmmmm...  I could have sat there all day just listening to the hows and whys of ranch life.  As a city girl, this survival of the fittest seemed rather cold ... I needed time to think about what Mary said. 

Dewey and Mary have a Great Pyrenees dog who watches the herd of goats.  He does his job perfectly, walking the fence at night to keep predators away and also keeps the yard clean (I won't go into detail here) ... no, he doesn't eat poop!  The animals in the ranch yard look out for and help each other.  It's quite a sight to behold.  I asked Mary if the dog always stayed in the yard or if they allowed him out and into the house.  She explained that he was not a pet ... he had a job to do ... if he would become a pet, then he wouldn't do his job.  Anyway, the dog is very happy and content doing what comes naturally to him.

There are two rescue horses on the ranch.  Mary told me how pitiful they were when they arrived ... nothing but skin and bones.  Their owner couldn't feed them and had no grass in the pasture.  Pretty pathetic ... makes me wonder why people don't reach out for help before their animals are almost dead from starvation.  I wandered out to the goat barn and one of the horses followed me.  Shabby put his head on my shoulder and I petted his nose as we walked.  His coat is now shiny and what a gentle soul he is.  The older horse is having a tougher time putting on weight.  I have no doubt, if it is humanly possible, this old horse will be fattened up in no time!

While I was at the ranch, one of the mama goats had twins ... a little girl and a little billy.  They named the little girl Dottie.  I held her ... she peed all over me ... it was ok, babies do that!  Besides Dottie, I held one of the little kids born on Halloween (Elvira) ... Dewey got me a towel and I cuddled with her ... I could hear her heartbeat and she was sooo soft.  She closed her eyes and slept until her tummy let her know that I wasn't her mommy.  Mary and Dewey laughed at me!  I told them to take good care of Dottie because I would be back to check on her.

Mary and I munched on fresh baked bread and sweet butter and washed it down with some piping hot coffee.  What a treat!  Dewey came in from work and gave us a report on the new kids on the ranch.  All seemed to be doing well except one little twin who had some issues at birth.  Kind hearted Dewey was thinking about ways to help her stand until the legs were strong enough to hold her up.  So much for the survival of the fittest!  he he

It was treat time ... Mary and I walked outside with the treat bucket in hand.  All of a sudden the ranch yard lit up with all sorts of animals rushing to visit and get their treats.  Those animals know Miss Mary ... when she appears, they know they are going to get some loving and some food!  I laughed til I was silly ... those goats were so funny!

Before I left, I wandered around the ranch snapping some photos and drinking in the glory of a perfect Fall day at Hopper Ranch.  My eyes feasted upon the animals moving together in unison ... the peacefulness of the screened in porch ... the garden now empty from the harvest ... the rooster crowing and chickens scurring around my feet ... I felt the presence of the almighty God and I stood for a moment praying for Dewey, Mary and the animals in their charge.

The pasture at the ranch...

As I moved from place to place, I thought about survival of the fittest and I wondered if we, as human being, coddle our young too much making everything okay for them.  We take away their hurts and want more for them than we had.  I wonder if, in doing so, we also take away the will to survive on their own.  I had all these thoughts running through my brain then, all of a sudden, I had this overwhelming peace knowing that the Lord was in charge ... He has been and always will be a God of order.  His ways are not my ways.  I realized how important it is for me to continue to read His Word allowing my thoughts to be transformed.  "Not my way, but yours, dear Father in Heaven."

The Willow swayed and sang
catching the waves of the Fall wind!

After saying my goodbyes, I got into Lily and we headed back into town.  I stopped at the end of the road and, for some reason, tears started falling.  I can't explain the tears, they just fell.  I got out of my car and looked behind me ... oh the beauty of Hopper Ranch!  What a gift I had been given!!

Until next time, enjoy the simple things of life ... always know you are loved and prayed for ... YA YOU!

The end of the road...