A Pair of Bartletts

Happy 4th of July!

 

Enjoy your family, friends, a good meal together and most importantly, remember those who have kept and are still keeping us free.  

 

 

Wild Horses Can't Be Broken

As most of you know, we made a last minute trip this week to Beaufort, North Carolina (BOW-fort) to see Rob's Dad who has been suffering from chronic heart failure.  We made many, many  memories this week that will forever be embedded in our hearts and our minds.  

While we were there, Rob and I got out of the house for a bit on Thursday afternoon.  It was a GLORIOUSLY beautiful day...the kind of day that was a postcard...everywhere that you looked. The air was cool, the sun was shining and there didn't seem to be a cloud in the sky.  While we were out, we decided to drive to the waterfront in Beaufort to take a few pictures.  If you don't know about Beaufort, it's the 3rd oldest city in North Carolina and there is history oozing from every corner of Carteret County.  Part of that history has to do with the Wild Horses of Shakleford Banks.  The horses are called "Bankers", for obvious reasons.  These are not just any horses either.  The horses are said to have come over from Spain via Hispanola (between Cuba and Puerto Rico).  The horses swam to shore from the sinking Spanish ships and have, since then, lived on the nine mile stretch of island known as Shakleford Banks.  I tell you all of this not just to give you a history lesson, but for a deeper point.  As Rob and I were driving, the horses just "appeared".  You can't always see then from the Beaufort waterfront, but if you are patient, they will come out at some point.  The minute we saw them, we immediately pulled off so that I could grab some shots.  I'm telling you, when you see them, and when you STOP for a minute to realize the bloodline that these horses have maintained for over 500 years, it's BREATHTAKING.  Think about it.  These beautiful creatures have survived hurricanes and all kinds of other storms.  They have survived on fairly brackish water and not totally fresh water.  And even more amazingly, if they are not near a watering hole at the time, these horses actually have the sense enough to go to the sand and dig holes with their hooves.  Once they dig the hole, the hole begins to fill with water, at which point, they drink.  If you can't see the glory and splendor of the God of the universe in this behavior, then my friend, I could never convey it to you.  That to me is totally and completely amazing and astounding.  These horses, even the tiniest fillies, can even SWIM!  

Like I said, to see this is to witness the Glory of the Lord.   These amazing creatures have sustained themselves on so much less than what a regular member of their breed would.   I hope that you can catch a glimpse of the sheer beauty of these creatures in the few shots that I've loaded to this post.   I was reminded of these scriptures as I watched these beauties graze and gallop next to the shores of Shakleford Banks. 

19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. Genesis 2:19-20

If you would like to read more about these fascinating creatures, you can find their history and MANY more beautiful pictures of them on the website titled, The Wild Horses of Shakleford Banks.  

I'm writing this post from our hotel room in Georgia.  We drove the first leg of the trip today and will be headed home tomorrow, the last 8 hour leg.  Pray for us as we travel tomorrow.  I'll be back to blogging a little more regularly once we get home and settled, so I hope that you'll come back and visit soon.

For now, I wish you many blessings,