Coffee Clutch with Dutch Henry: Feature Friday

Friday, December 27, 2013

Feature Friday – "The gift and Joy of Love"

Howdy Folks,

Ravishin' Robbie and I are still in the grip of the sweetness of the Christmas Spirit and I didn't really plan on writing a Feature Friday for this week. But as I sat enjoying my Folgers while Kessy peacefully munched her hay I thought of this past week, and love. I thought of Robbie's effortless ability to give love and what it's meant to me over the past four decades. To me and all those in our lives. I thought of this past week and the love we felt spending time with our daughter and grandchildren.

All at once the chicken scratch was swarmed with at least a dozen Juncos and a few Cardinals. Folks who know me know of my love for bird watching; their antics this morning painted a great smile on my face.

Saturday came trotting back into the barn, weaving between Kessy's legs and forced his nose under my hand, nearly spilling my coffee. He was ready for some more loving and was never shy about asking for it. That little stray beagle gave as much love as he asked for since the very first Saturday he wandered into our hearts, tired, hungry and scared. Love pours out of him.

I'd called our dear friend Annabelle yesterday. Over the years she, Robbie and I have enjoyed countless hours in Annabelle's stunning flower gardens and bird watching with her. Annabelle's been in a nursing home for a few years now and recently she's become too weak to even enjoy the birds outside her window so I call her and fill her in on the birds and flowers I've seen. She loves those chats, and it's easy to feel her spirits lift, even from 300 miles away.

Love is truly all around us and if we let it into our spirit it can help us, guide us. As I sipped my Folgers, sitting next to Kessy this very chilly morning, I thought of the stories I'd written this past year. Stories about, "People and Horses Helping Horses and People." Each of those stories was about folks and horses doing their very best, all they can, to help others. Therapeutic riding centers, therapy horses, folks who mortgage their homes to maintain rescues and sanctuaries. I thought how lucky I was to have had the chance to talk to those people, meet those horses. Feel their love. And share their love by being allowed to write their stories. The passion they all have to help is fueled by love.

Love can indeed move mountains, as they say. Mountains of healing, mountains of courage. Mountains of caring and giving. No matter what we might face, if we let it, love can sweep into our hearts and carry us. Love is truly magic.

Gitty Up ~ Dutch Henry

2 comments:

GaitedMorgansofMissouriDecember 27, 2013 at 12:26 PM
Annabelle is fortunate to have you friendship. To take a moment to call her and update her on your recent visions sets her free for a while, from her captive aging body. It is a free flowing generosity that comes from one to another kindred spirit. Thanks for sharing Dutch Henry.
ReplyDelete
Replies
Dutch HenryDecember 27, 2013 at 5:20 PM
Thanks GaitedMorgansofMissouri! - Annabelle is a sweatheart. She taught Robbie and me much about old time flowers and herbs ... We miss those times, but can still share memories and a few chuckles, too ...
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Welcome to the Coffee Clutch

Welcome to the Coffee Clutch, a happy place to visit. I write uplifting stories about a wide variety of subjects from horses to birds and nature, to love and family and friends. Sometimes I'll post excerpts from stories I've written for Equine Publications. Sometimes I'll post about writing itself. Coffee Clutch got its name because I often write while enjoying my morning coffee in the barn with my mare Kessy, and all our critters. Join us here for fun conversation and stories I promise will make you feel good.

It's For The Horses

This is not a book about riding, or training horses. It is a book on my thoughts, ideas and suggestions on how folks might find the joy in doing things for the horse, with the horses’ point of view as the leading guide. My hope is to help as many people as possible learn to hear the horse, feel their spirit, and in that way help horses everywhere. Over the years I’ve met and worked with remarkable people and horses who taught me about their feelings, their joys, their sadness, and their spirit. As a horse advocate everything I do is from the horse’s perspective, including this little book. Every story, idea, suggestion and thought on these pages will be to suggest and share thoughts and ideas on how to maximize a relationship between horse and human—from the horse’s point of view.

Tom Named by Horse

The only man ever to offer Tom respect is Red Cloud. The only woman to give him love is Red Cloud’s granddaughter. Struggling with his own personal demons, Tom finds himself wedged between honoring that friendship and staying true to the depths of his conscience. Amid a backdrop of tumultuous social upheaval, he finds nothing prepared him, the woman he loves or Chief Red Cloud, for the changes about to thunder into their lives, sweeping them helplessly into the tides of human conflict and historical drama. Available on Amazon.

From The Banks OF Little Bear Creek

The Tom Named by Horse Saga continues. Three years after the death of Tall Dog, Tom Named By Horse and Soft Cloud have turned the little soddy, the lands granted them by Red Cloud, and the lean-to barn into a thriving horse ranch, fulfilling Tom’s dream. The Plains Indians Wars, or Red Cloud’s war, is mostly behind them, and the lands have had their transformation as Red Cloud’s vision had warned years earlier. Trailing horses from the ranch to Denver city has become an annual event for Tom, Buck and the rest, and this is the story of that trail. In the spirit of a good old John Wayne movie, vengeance, cattle and horse thieves, a dirty sheriff and corrupt mayor, and a wedding make this year’s drive a ride you’ll want to tag along on.