Refuge Farms (www.refugefarms.org)

Rod Stewart
Dennis Breck
Gary Stevens
Elvis Presley
Sandy Gilbert

What a list of names!!! Who are some of these people? What does this collage of names have in common???? No, we are not all musicians. No, we are all not politicians! And no, we are all not famous. What we have in common is our birthdate. We were all born on January 8th!

With that little tidbit tucked away in your head somewhere, I would like to talk to you about a very meaningful birthday present that was given to me by Lambing Barb, or "LB" as I have come to call her.

We were meeting to discuss farm stuff - Open Barn, fund raisers, auction, sponsorships. I was anticipating a most productive and business-like luncheon at the local Culver's. No emotional overflows. Certainly no tears!

But LB had a small gift to give me for my birthday before we left for lunch. A box with the tiniest gold foil bow that I have ever seen! So tiny that my farm hands felt enormous as I struggled to open the box without disturbing or damaging that little tricket of a bow!

Inside was a silver foil box with the "Silver Feather" shop decal on it. I've learned already from LB that this shop has unique and interesting gifts. Some day, I have promised myself, when I am in Eau Claire I will stop in and see this shop and introduce myself to the owner and see for myself.

Upon opening the box, I found a fact sheet on the artist. I read the sheet first to help me better understand the gift. I truly liked what I read....

Josef is a Native American from Minnesota. Starting out in water colors, he soon found his "niche" in handcrafted silver jewelry. One day while selling his jewelry, the shadow of an Eagle fell on his work. Now if you know anything about American Indian beliefs and folklore, you will know that the Eagle is sacred. And this shadow confirmed for Josef that his work and his style was fitting to him.

Opening the tissue I found a pair of earrings. Interesting, I thought. Different earrings. I should have known these earrings were much deeper than that!

Each earring is handcrafted which means that as you look at them closely, you will see that one is just a bit - a tiny bit - different than the other. Each is unique. Much like my philosophy of life - we are all so the same but so different from each other. Like I tell people about the horses - they are all horses, yes, but from there the uniqueness begins.

The earrings are drop earrings with a circular disk hanging from the silver wire. The top of each disk has four hoofprints on it and when you put the earrings together, the hoofprints are each facing a different way. So my earrings, when on my head, have hoofprints going in to me and out of me...

Then below the hoofprints is what caused me to sit down. And yes, the tears appeared.

On each disk, on the inside of the earring is the front part of a horse cut out of the silver. It is plain for you to see the head stretched forward! the mane blowing in the wind! the front legs reaching out as the horse is running in! And when I wear the earrings the horses are running in to me...

The outside of each disk is the back of a horse. Once again, it's plain to see the hind quarters with legs stretching out as the horse runs! and the tail being pushed straight out with the wind from the running! And when I wear the earrings the horses are running out of me...

"They are called "Horses Coming & Going", Sandy", LB quietly said. "And they had to be yours just because they are so appropriate. Especially now."

I feel, instantly, the intention of these earrings. Almost as if I have met Josef and he has read my heart and my head these past few weeks. People come and go in our lives. Jobs come and go in our lives. Kids come and go in our lives. Pets come and go in our lives. And for Refuge Farms, horses come and go in our lives.

And if you have been reading our blogs you know that a very big part of me has come and gone in my life recently. My Jerry, the Roan Horse.

I look at these earrings and I smile! I see Jerry as he arrived - so young! so big and strong! so happy to not be asked to pull! and so playful! And then I see Jerry as he left - still big, still playful, but not so young and trapped in a body that could hardly support his weight.

Before these new silver earrings, I wore a pair of gold hoops. Significant earrings to me. And so I wore them. All the time. Everywhere. Being with me had to be kind of boring because those hoops were always in my ears. Either these hoops or nothing at all.

Now I wear my Josef earrings. And people comment on them and so I tell them the story of Josef and I point out all the details of the earrings. I'm sure most people are content with my first 2 sentences, but so far everyone has politely stood there while I go on and on about their meaning and how I have a tool that I needed that I didn't even know I needed.

You see, as Jerry was crossing, I promised him - outloud - that I would carry him with me forever. That I would not forget how he had changed my life and given me confidence and courage. I promised him that I would not forget him. That he was to stay here on The Farm and help me with this mission. And that I would find him here - I just needed to learn to find him in a different way.

Now each morning, as I put on my Josef earrings, I find Jerry. I take him up in to my heart and smile and bring him with me for another day. I bring his strength and his courage and his willingness to compromise and his playfulness! I bring Buppa with me and we go on our way. LB, in her innocence and kindness, gave me the tool to carry on Jerry's message as I had promised I would.

So horses do come and we all rejoice! And horses do go and we all cry. Me? Sometimes I rejoice more than most because I see the horse as it was in the spot it was in... I load the horse in to the trailer and deliver the 3 promises and I feel the relief. So I rejoice a bit more than most.

And when they cross I do cry more than the others. I cry in the barns and in the trailer and in the pastures. I'm soft, yes, but I can see them in all these places and I remember their journey. And I am grateful that I could have been there in between their coming and their going.... Each one has given me something very significant. Has taught me more and more about people. But mostly, has taught me more and more about myself.

Don Henley is a talented man, in my book. He writes, "I'm learning to live without you now, but I miss you sometimes. The more I know, the less I understand. All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning again."

So I take all of them with me with a simple act of putting on a pair of earrings. My sister. Suzanne. My parents. Andy Durco. And now Jerry. What a wonderful collection of souls! I am so blessed to have been somewhere in between their coming and their going!

Enjoy the journey of each and every day,
Sandy and The Herd