by Bill Byrne | Jul 24, 2024 | Uncategorized
Summertime, and the livin’ is easy now…….so goes the song, and for the most part all the animals on the ranch go along with it. In the middle of the day with the sun bearing down, you’ll find all the ranch animals in the shadiest spots they they can find, not moving nor eating, just waiting patiently for the heat to pass into the cool of the evening. As I work outside at various jobs that I think I must do, I can just hear their thoughts of “that guys got a lot to learn” I think they’re right !
by Bill Byrne | Jul 10, 2024 | Uncategorized
During haying season the weather becomes all important, as we work to get all our grass baled without being rained on, which reduces the quality of the hay as feed for our animals. It takes about 3 days to take a field from standing grass to cured dried day. The grass must be cut, left to dry in the sun for a couple of days, and then baled. At this time of year I spend my mornings watching the weather channel, trying to pick the correct time periods between forecasted rains. What stuck me as unusual, and even a little sad, was the way the weather channel now uses fear to try to get us to keep watching. All their descriptions are aimed at trying to get us to be worried or concerned about what could possibly happen, and nothing is mentioned about the beauty of the weather, the God inspired change in energy that is the only constant in our experience of the weather. Upon further reflection though I realized that they are using fear of the weather, not because it is universal or normal, not because we want to embrace fear, but because it is unusual, and therefore gets our attention. The beauty of the weather, the beauty of nature, this constant kaleidoscope of the changes in God’s environment, are so normal and taken for granted that we fail to appreciate it, we fail to give our attention to its beauty and energy. What a great world we live in, when we take the times to appreciate, to be thankful.
by Bill Byrne | Jun 19, 2024 | Uncategorized
On a ranch or farm, where a person deals on a daily basis with animals, and their life and death, at some point there must be thought given to “what” the nature of life in animals is. Though I’m sure many will think otherwise, I feel that we humans are the only form of life given “awareness of self” by our Creator. All life is a reflection of the energy of God, but I feel only people have the awareness of pain and pleasure, of good and bad, and thereby the ability to learn, grow, and change, to become more like God, to grow toward and in his image.
How did this bit of insight give me hope? By seeing in nature the harmony and flow of both life and death, the naturalness of what we perceive as “problems”, and the beauty of our God-given ability to learn from our problems, and change. How very hopeful!
by Bill Byrne | Jun 5, 2024 | Uncategorized
During this time of year we incubate duck and chicken eggs, and then raise them up after they have hatched. There’s a definite appeal to baby poultry, a harmony to their peepings, and a beauty in their softness, before their downyness turns into real feathers. With our ducks, we raise them inside, with a doorway open during the day to an outside pen. They will hardly ever leave the inside pen for the outside world, even though that’s where the sunlight, bugs, and water are. We have to push them out the door the first few times, and even then they will try to turn and come back in. Why?–because they are afraid of the unknown, of change, even though it is a movement toward the very nature of what they are, of what they wish to be. What did I learn from the ducks? That it’s normal to be fearful, to resist change. But by facing our fears we will reach the sunshine and the water. We may turn and run back in a time or two {or three}, but with patience, with persistence, with God’s pushing us out the door, we may feel some of the beauty and harmony that is our true nature.
by Bill Byrne | May 22, 2024 | Uncategorized
The early spring has accelerated the biological clock of many of the farm animals. The chickens, peacock, and turkeys are all parading around trying to impress the females of their species. In the case of our one peacock, which is a male, he has decided that our chickens and guineas must just be small peacocks, and so he spreads his feathers in an impressive display of beauty. When you spend time around the bird, you can easily understand the use of the phrase “proud as a peacock”, as they are not shy in showing off their natural attributes. If you get a chance when you come and visit the ranch, take the time to look closely at some of the peacock feathers in our office, or hopefully observe the birds themselves. There is tremendous beauty in the coloration and textures of their feathers, a beauty that makes one feel that they have seen a portion of God’s handiwork.
