Trail of Tears

This USA Today article brought tears to my eyes.

People, I know times are getting tough in our ever sickening US economy. Please ...

Creative Commons Image by GabZilla

DO NOT TURN YOUR HORSES FREE because you can't afford to feed them.

Use your heart and your head.

Wild horses do fine in the wild, because they have never had a caretaker. Tame horses turned loose will starve to death and could suffer severe dehydration. Growing numbers of uncontrolled horses will also become a huge threat to the safety of motorists. NO ONE who collides with a horse while driving lives. Have you ever read "The Horse Whisperer"?


Do not abuse domesticated horses by allowing them to run free. They will starve to death just as fast running loose as they will in your paddock.


If you have horses that you can no longer afford to feed, you do have options available. Before you do something as cruel and drastic and turning it out to run wild. STOP!

1. Give the horse away to someone who can feed and care for the poor animal.
   
2. Contact the equine rescue organization nearest to you. They will have a safe haven your animal can be taken too. Most likely the horse protection group will even come and pick up your horse to put it into safe keeping. There are links to some below.
   

I do hope my readers will pass this message on. The web should be littered with a notice such as this. Perhaps spreading word about this issue will make people stop and think before getting this desperate and acting without rational thought.

Creative Commons Image by Big Grey Mare

Horses are the most beautiful of tame beasts. Many of them will gladly follow their trusted human around like a dog. While it has been a few years since I last owned a horse, they still hold a huge place in my heart.


Animal cruelty is the same no matter what domesticated four-legged creature the ignorance is aimed at. Any horse that causes a motor vehicle accident because it is running wild can cause the legal owner to be held liable for damages to life and property in most states.

United States Equine Rescue League, Inc.
Crosswinds Equine Rescue
Mylestone Equine Rescue
Blaze's Tribute Equine Rescue

Equine Rescue Information ( state by state contacts list)

For more information: Abandoned Horses on the Rise (USA Today, 12-17-08)

Pass it on.
Tammy

Perfectly Timeless Posies

New Perennial Plant Scoop (2009)

Imagine flower heads that do not age. Impossible? No!

Introducing Echinacea 'Milkshake'

Image courtesy of Plants Nouveau

Push aside the thought that this is "just" another white coneflower. If you don't you will miss out on the most amazing news. In fact, you will think the following statement is a typographical error. Trust me, it is not. Nor it is just hype to push a plant into your unsuspecting hands.

The blooms on Milkshake Echinacea do not fade.

... continue reading

There's Always One

This week's professional writing project has led me to scour the web for information concerning certain wildlife repellents. I found that in order to find some actual user feedback on these products I had to dig ridiculously deep.

[Lots of heavy sighing and days on end scanning through search engine results.]

In the midst of all this monotony I came across a forum post that boggled my mind.

It is quite obvious that this person cannot possibly be an avid gardener. If I am mistaken, then may I suggest they live in a glass bubble somewhere? Perhaps, another planet.

While I was diligently searching out real repellent comments, I came across this little gem:

"Don't use anything with Capsaicin as, if the bunnies are hungry or thirsty enough, they will still eat you plants and you will burn their mucous membranes and could cause blindness. You could also put out some whirligigs and windsocks as noise
and movement makes bunnies nervous and they might move on to a more peaceful
'diner' :) ... "

A whirlygig will scare Thumper off? What possesses a person to fall for such a conception? A whirlygig wouldn't even scare off a chicken. The only thing that scares off a rabbit is a threat of it's well being. Not some wimpy flag swirling in the wind. Even 220 slobbering pounds of dog flesh with 8 legs and 2 hungry incisor lined mouths and a hunting instinct is not enough to scare off rabbits. Nervous my eye!

When the threat disappears, that four legged munching machine will swiftly return to the scene and rapidly ingest your leafy kingdom. Desired plants are rabbit candy! Perhaps she lives in the depths of New York City where rabbits are seen in the zoo and photographs.

Results of peaceful bunnie dinner.

Bunnies should come in chocolate. Available at Easter time and only allowed to cozily nestle on plastic grass as a companion to jelly beans, marshmallow chicks, malt ball and cream filled eggs. Oh yes, lets not forget the dyed chicken eggs so artfully decorated with stickers and wax crayons before becoming a portion of the season's first potato salad.

It doesn't matter what group of people one studies. There's always one. That one silly soul that everyone will shake their heads and wonder what goes on upstairs.

Doesn't she realize that when they see your only defense is a silly piece of polyester spinning in the wind is an invitation? That rabbit ain't nervous. Its like a front page headline ... Come Get Yer Victuals Here. Silly rabbit #1 is off to tell the rest of the clan that there is no stopping this feast. Its like you put a sign up in the center of Rabbitville that says "Follow me to good eating. No regulatory mishaps. Plenty for everyone. Hop on in."

If you ask me a blind rabbit in the garden is a far better option than a plant destruction machine that can see and flee! It can't go tell it's kin about your plants either, so the messenger is stopped before inviting the next 12 generations to your garden.

Live rabbits in the garden are an excellent source of stew and cozy slippers.

Whirlygigs? Bring on the hot peppers!