Monday, March 30, 2009

Motherly Love

from a recent email...


Jasmine and Bramble


In 2003, police in Warwickshire, England, opened a garden shed and found a whimpering, cowering dog. It had been locked in the shed and abandoned. It was dirty and malnourished, and had clearly been abused.

In an act of kindness, the police took the dog, which was a greyhound female, to the nearby Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary known as a willing haven for animals abandoned, orphaned or otherwise in need.

Geoff and the other sanctuary staff went to work with two aims: to restore the dog to full health, and to win her trust. It took several weeks, but eventually both goals were achieved.

They named her Jasmine, and they started to think about finding her an adoptive home.

The dog had other ideas. No-one remembers now how it began, but Jasmine started welcoming all animal arrivals at the sanctuary. It wouldn't matter if it was a puppy, a fox cub, a rabbit or, probably, a rhinoceros, Jasmine would peer into the box or cage and, where possible, deliver a welcoming lick.

"She takes all the stress out of the new arrivals and it helps them to not only feel close to her but to settle into their new surroundings. She has done the same with the fox and badger cubs, she licks the rabbits and guinea pigs and even lets the birds perch on the bridge of her nose."

Jasmine, the timid, abused, deserted waif, became the animal sanctuary's resident surrogate mother, a role for which she might have been born. The list of orphaned and abandoned youngsters she has cared for comprises five fox cubs, four badger cubs, 15 chicks, eight guinea pigs, two stray puppies and 15 rabbits.



And one roe deer fawn. Tiny Bramble, 11 weeks old, was found semi-conscious in a field. Upon arrival at the sanctuary, Jasmine cuddled up to her to keep her warm, and then went into the full foster mum role. Jasmine the greyhound showers Bramble the roe deer with affection and makes sure nothing is matted in her fur.

"They are inseparable," says Geoff. "Bramble walks between her legs and they keep kissing each other. They walk together round the sanctuary. It's a real treat to see them."

Jasmine will continue to care for Bramble until she is old enough to be returned to woodland life. When that happens, Jasmine will not be lonely. She will be too busy showering love and affection on the next orphan or victim of abuse.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Fingerprint Friday - My Grandparents



Reaching back in time for some of God's Fingerprints, I thought you would enjoy these lovely old photographs from my Grandma and Grandpa Goldsmith's photo album. They were my mother's parents. The first one is of my grandmother, Anna, who is on the right. I'm not sure who the other young woman is - a cousin or a friend. Don't you just LOVE the hats??

On the back of the photo is handwritten "June 8, 1911" so that's almost 100 years ago! That would have made her about 21. The second photo is my grandparents' wedding portrait taken about two years later. My mom said that my grandma, who was very short, stood on a box for the portrait!



I have wonderful, happy memories of spending Sundays with my grandparents when I was growing up. My grandma loved people, never met a stranger, and was always full of joy and laughter and funny stories. She was smart too, and, unusual for that era, she worked with my Grandpa in his business. He was a quiet, hardworking man and family stories attest to his honesty and integrity. They had four daughters (you can see them and my grandpa here) and 11 living grandchildren. Grandpa died when I was in high school, and Grandma lived to celebrate her 81st birthday, passing away when I was in my 20s. I love you, Grandma and Grandpa!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

Where do you see God's fingerprints? In nature? kids? animals? They are all around us!

Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Hemp is not just for hippies

I'd like you to meet Joy. She is a very talented hemp artist who makes incredible necklaces and bracelets. I think these go way beyond the usual simple hippie-style chokers into an art form that women of any age would enjoy wearing.

I blogged about her before (see more necklaces here) and wanted to update. Joy lives in Texas and comes to South Carolina to visit her dad every couple of months. After she'd bought a few of my pendants on etsy, we met for lunch in Asheville about two weeks ago. Here she is at Tupelo Honey Cafe wearing a necklace she made of braided hemp with a pendant I made her to look like her little dog Ash. :)

Here I am wearing a necklace Joy made.

I gave her one of my favorite pendants when we met for lunch and she whipped this up on the airplane on the way home. She is amazingly fast.

I love this! It has a very intricate design which is beautifully made and I get compliments on it every time I wear it.

She used hemp in colors to match and picked out the cool beads at Chevron Trading Post & Bead Company in Asheville. I recommended the store to her and now she's as addicted to it as I am! LOL



She emailed me photos of these black and white beads, and I created a pendant to match.


Here are some more new ones.

Little Red House Hemp Necklace



Baby Bird Hemp Necklace



Visit her shop at joyshempjewelry on etsy to see a wide range of unique hemp necklace and bracelet designs with embellishments of clay, glass, stone and shells.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Fingerprint Friday - Funny Faces



I've been looking through old photos of my kids when they were little. I took a photography class back when, and had an assignment to take pictures of something white against a white background. I took a serious photo of a rose on a white cloth and then got the silly idea of putting flour on the kids' faces and having them stand in front of the house. The teacher laughed when he saw them.



Here they are with clean, shiny faces...



My beautiful little boys are now all grown up and married, each with three little ones of their own. I am so very blessed...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

Where do you see God's fingerprints? In nature? kids? animals? They are all around us!

Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

Smile!

These were in an email I got this week. Which is your favorite?













Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day!


May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!
~ An Irish Blessing

Friday, March 13, 2009

Fingerprint Friday - Tree Hugger



I think this is a very intriguing fingerprint of God. A couple of blocks from downtown Hendersonville, near the public library, these two trees are entwined one around the other. I wonder how this happened. I would have liked to watch them growing from the beginning of their relationship and to watch the smaller tree grow round and round the larger one.

It gives new meaning to the expression "tree hugger," doesn't it?



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

Where do you see God's fingerprints? In nature? kids? animals? They are all around us!

Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Spring is back again

Scroll down to see last Sunday, and here is our yard today. It's 69 degrees right now, the sun is shining and the birds are singing. I like this MUCH better.

Friday, March 06, 2009

Fingerprint Friday - March came in like a Lion



God is full of surprises! Just last Friday I posted about Spring ... and we got a huge blast of winter on Sunday, our biggest snowfall of the season. We had to stay home for a couple of days because of icy roads. Here are some photos around our house and woods on Sunday.










Today it's in the 60s and the snow is almost all melted. Back to Spring now!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

Where do you see God's fingerprints? In nature? kids? animals? They are all around us!

Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Small and Sweet



Most babies measuring 5ft would be considered big, but newborn giraffe, Margaret, at Chester Zoo, UK is seen as unusually small for her species.



She is one of the smallest giraffes ever born at Chester Zoo but pint-sized Margaret will soon be an animal to look up to.



Little Margaret, who is the first female Rothschild giraffe born at the zoo, is being hand-reared by her dedicated keepers. The first calf for six-year-old mum Fay, Margaret, who was born two weeks early, tipped the scales at just 34 kilos and is a mere 5ft tall.



Tim Rowland's, team leader of the Giraffes section, said: 'Margaret is potentially one of the smallest giraffe calves we have ever seen. Fay isn't the largest of giraffes and Margaret was also early which might go some way to explaining her size. 'Margaret was having difficulty suckling so our keeping team are now hand-rearing her'.



Read more and see more photos of Margaret here.