Coffee Clutch with Dutch Henry: Thanksgiving

Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts

Friday, November 29, 2013

Feature Friday – Family, Friends, Love and Helping

Howdy Folks,

On this day after Thanksgiving I think it's wholly appropriate to think of love, helping, family and friends. Family is the backbone, the structure, the spirit of who we are. But by family I don't mean to suggest mom, dad, brother, sister and so on only. Family, for folks who understand love and helping is much broader than that.

From the roots and strength our families give us, we can reach out to help others. Perhaps we've never met, and never will meet them, but they are family, and we know them, hear them, and love them. Animal and human. And we want to help them.

Sometimes it's an adoption. Sometimes it's a donation. Sometimes we volunteer at a hospital, a nursing home, a rescue or therapeutic riding center. Sometimes we just call someone in the hospital, or nursing home. Sometimes we send cards, photos or gifts. Always help is offered. Love is given. Support and kindness is given – and felt.

Kessy and Dutch writing about "People & Horses Helping Horses & People"

On this day after Thanksgiving we thank all those who hear the calling to share love, healing and encouragement.

Gitty Up ~ Dutch Henry

Friday, November 22, 2013

Feature Friday -Giving Thanks to Our Fur Family Members-

Howdy Folks,

As we approach Thanksgiving Day and our minds, and tummies, focus on great food, gatherings, friends and family. And of course giving thanks. It's wholly appropriate to include in our thoughts and deeds our animal family members. We all have those special horses, dogs and cats. Some have crossed the rainbow bridge, but we can, and should, still send the sweet thought of gratitude for how they touched, and perhaps changed our lives. Made us wiser, kinder, better.

Kessy, Miss Kitty and Tigger join me each morning for Coffee Clutch.

Our equine, dog and cat family members are ever there for us. A shoulder to cry on and lean on as we travel life's trails together. Cats, while some folks find them aloof, are the very best for snuggling and purring. Cats do tremendous work soothing shut-ins, and folks who don't get very many visitors. Our cats, Tigger and Miss Kitty are the source of countless warm laps, and just as many chuckles.

Dogs offer unconditional love, companionship, protection and even make the best trail riding buddies. Our little throw away, Saturday is one of the best trail buddies I've ever had. Our dear Sweetness, who crossed the rainbow bridge this summer, was the best ever. She even taught herself to help horses through scary times on the trail. She taught a few horses to load, too. She was part of our lives, rides and hearts for a too short ten years. We miss her. Dogs all over the world lend a helping hand to folks.

Dear Sweetness - she loved Christmas too and opening her presents.

Be sure to be extra thankful for your horse. What would we be without them? They teach us to fly. They help us navigate rough patches in our lives. They enrich us, make us laugh, think, and grow. They listen to our problems. They help us celebrate our joys and victories. They heal hearts all over the world. They mend bodies too. My Kessy understands the demands of my body. She knows I ride so I can walk. If you follow my Coffee Clutch blog you know how she understands my limitations, and how she compensates for them. She is the most in-tune horse I've ever had the honor and pleasure of calling my partner. And we are together by accident. Or are we?

Kessy, Saturday and me just foolin' around.

There are organizations all over the world offering help to humanity by way of horses, dogs and cats. Why not say a special thanks to your fur family member by selecting one of those organizations you like best and sending a donation in the name of your horse, dog or cat. That would be a "Thank You" heard around the world.

Gitty Up

Dutch Henry

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

WHAT IF?

Howdy Folks,

What if everyone took just one day to be thankful? You know, spent a day without any negative thoughts or comments. Devoted a day to noticing the beauty of God's creation, the wonder and splendor of everything from the golden rays of a spectacular sunrise, to the tiniest glistening of a single flake of frost on a dangling red leaf, and everything in between.

What if everyone spent one entire day calling friends and loved ones they haven't seen for a while? What if old friendships could be given a spark of new life? What if old friends swapped silly stories of adventures long forgotten?

What if millions of folks decided one extraordinary day to call someone they knew was shut-in and visited a few moments?

What if parents stopped long enough to hug their children and tell them they are the most important thing in the world to them, and really meant it? What if that simple gesture was the first step on a new journey?

What if for a single day everyone truly felt and understood the power of love? And shared it.

What if for just one day the most important thing in everyone's life was finding a way to be thankful, kind and thinking of others? Humans and animals.

Wouldn't that be a simply fantastic Thanksgiving Day?

Happy Thanksgiving and here's hoping you'll feel a world of love!

Gitty Up
Dutch Henry

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.