Waiting for the Dust to Settle

I took a little bit of a blogging break, simply because I haven’t had the time lately. We spent 4 wonderful days visiting the wild horses, and since we got back I have been sifting through thousands of images, editing, printing, and working with Al on the mixed media photography pieces for the upcoming art shows. (More on that next week)

I have however been hanging out on Instagram, and the Tales from the Back Road facebook page a lot. I would love to have you join me, in either place as I will always be posting more stuff there.

I have also been waiting for the dust to settle from last weeks election, and I have some observations on all that.

I’ve seen people rocked to their core with disbelief, and disgust at the man who won the white house. I have also seen supporters of Hillary spewing mean, and hateful comments at the people who voted for him. I am also seeing a middle class that thinks they might, maybe be heard now. The worst part is the senseless violence that has erupted. Protests, name calling, and bullying, coming from both sides of the political fence. It’s disgraceful.

But the most positive thing I have noticed, is people are wanting to be involved in their country, and the decision making again. America is great because people have always stood up for what they believed in, spoke out when something needed changing, or a wrong needed to be set right. That is what this country was founded on more than 200 years ago, and some of the greatest changes were brought about in the same way.

In my small circle of friends, both on and off the internet, people are vowing to be more involved in issues that concern them either personally, locally, or on a national level. This is good! This is what America is all about, and what we need to stay strong and united. Voicing your opinion in a positive, and constructive manner is the way to bring about the changes you personally care about.

For me, my greatest concerns are the environment, and all the creatures that inhabit this planet. I love, and need the wide open spaces, the quite and solitude that only the wild can provide. It may surprise you to learn that I am a very anxious person. Too many people, too busy of a world, and I can be thrown into a full blown panic attack. This is not a fun thing for me, and escaping to nature is like balm for my soul. Listening to nothing but the wind, or the animals, brings me peace, and the thought of losing that…well I panic.

I want to fight to keep the public land, public. I want to help the wild horses, and all wild animals stay free and safe from harassment.

A perfect example was this last time we visited the horses. All we wanted to do was spend a few days visiting with them. We arrived at their house on Thursday evening, only to find they had been invaded by a couple thousand smelly cows. It’s like having a bunch of rude, destructive, horrible people invade your house and force you into the far reaches of the back bedroom because you have to get away from them. The main body of the herd was certainly more scattered, and they were much harder to find. We were quite upset, and it hurts my heart to think of those cows ruining the horses domain. This is exactly what I’m afraid of everywhere. The almighty dollar, being more important than clean land, air, and water. Public land being handed over to big oil and gas, or handed to the highest bidder. 

For my part, I am going to donate 15% from every sale of wild horse photos sold on Mary Hone Photography to American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign. They are the biggest advocates for wild horses in the nation. They go before congress to argue against bills that would harm the horses, they have people on scene at every round up to report on what happens. They are a huge voice for wild horses, and I want to help them in my own small way.

My hope is that the country can move forward in a positive, and united way. That we can all just be…..Americans.