Two Bull Moose Lock Horns--a Grim Reminder

On display in Denali Park in Alaska was this set of two moose antlers.

Someone had found these interlocking antlers, where two bull moose had fought, gotten their antlers          hooked together, and were unable to separate. The parched antlers had been found somewhere in the mountains, a grim reminder of the awful end of two enemies who each had to have his own way--perhaps his own set of wives, or his own territory,

                                        which is what moose tend to fight over.                                        

We stood there feeling sober and sad for the moose who ended their days hopelessly stuck with a mortal enemy. It was the moose way, moose instinct. Moose fight all the time and get away with it. One wins and one loses. One gets the pretty lady moose and the other doesn't. One gets the nice green grass and the willows and the brook in his section of the mountain, and the other has to go find another place to graze, raise his family, and otherwise do moose things.
                                       One can only imagine how these moose lives ended.

Did they learn to accept their caught antlers and learn how to graze together,
or did they fight to the death, leaving their flesh to be picked at by the eagles and their bones to bleach in the mountain sunshine?

It was a sobering thought.

There isn't anyone who doesn't at some time in their lives run into someone who thinks he has some sort of need to fight--whether to gain or protect his or her spouse, gain or protect some sort of territory,

or in some other way making sure the other person doesn't take control of anything that they think is theirs, whether it is property, power, relationships, or prestige.

Sometimes we get into a fight by accident; we simply brought up a different view or expressed a disagreement. We didn't mean to start a fight. 

Sometimes we get into a situation that is out of our control and we have to defend ourselves.

Sometimes we have to take the part of someone who is helpless and defend them against evil.

But sometimes, even when the other bull moose is selfish or in the wrong, 

it would be better to leave the situation,

to leave them alone with their wrong, with their pretty lady moose, with the best of the nice green meadows, and with their easy territory, famous family, or nice congregation.

It's better to leave than get your antlers stuck together in a death grip.

If you want to keep living freely for the glory of God, just back off and let go.

It's sad, but it's sadder to lock horns and not be able to get free.

It's sadder to shorten your life and your effectiveness and your happiness and peace by keeping on fighting, even if you know you are right and they are wrong.

Just move on.

Just run along and stay free! 

There are plenty of green meadows and willows, plenty of good people to be new friends, plenty of ways to glorify God without having to be in that moose's territory.

                                       These locked bull moose antlers are a sobering lesson.

Mounds of Free Hay and Bunches of Flowers

A little after midnight last Monday as three of us were coming home from the airport after our time in Alaska, we noticed in the dark a couple piles of hay lost beside the road.

It looked like enough to make it worth coming back in the morning to pick up.

So later that morning, I took Timmy and Danny to check it out.

It turned out we hadn't even started to see all of it the night before!

There must have been four or five huge round bales that a truck or something lost,

landing at the side of the road and breaking up and being strewn all along the way.

It was at a nice straight stretch where we could be seen for a long ways, and we were even able to park clear off the road. 

The amazing thing is that Rose had been going to buy some hay this very day as we were running out!

We got two loads that day, and a third load the next day, filling the horse trailer and tramping it down and forking in more. It was a LOT of work!

The interesting thing is that moments before we saw the hay in the dark, I had just asked Jonathan about preparing ahead for an uncertain future. 

"Should we stock up on more groceries?" I wondered. 

And then we saw the hay.

That was the job, the provision, the answer, and the blessing God gave us for a few days last week.

Sometimes our "daily bread" turns out to be hay--which translates into goat milk, cow milk, beef roasts, ground burger, and pork chops!

We were so busy forking and stacking hay inside the horse shelter and in a huge pile in a fenced-in part of the pasture, and then trying to cover it with tarps, that I didn't have much time to think about groceries--until Saturday when I went to pick up Sam at the airport, who had flown back with the mission helping crew from Alaska several days later than we did. 

God blessed us with a cartload of bargains!

Meanwhile, we were blessed every morning (until this morning when we had an early freeze!)

with dozens of blooming morning glories in the garden by the deck.

That garden produced mostly flowers, a few zucchini, squash and pumpkin, and a few beets and carrots still small.

The greenhouse produced a few tomatoes (mostly still green), jalapenos and green peppers (three of which Timmy decided to juggle yesterday!).

Here are a few pumpkins that garden produced.

We had to gather all the produce yesterday because there is a winter storm watch for today.

It was snowing and freezing outside!

I had to get a snapshot of myself for the back of a book I'm writing and editing for my sister-in-law's father,

so I tried to get a picture by the morning glories, but the hailscreen overhead made my forehead look checkered, and my hair turned out to be a mess.

Who would have guessed?

My hair is almost ALWAYS a mess.
So I tried again, but this time the lighting wasn't really good.

Then I tried again.

But that is enough about me!

Alaska-Size Cabbages at Mukluk Land

We had to squeeze a lot into our last evening in Alaska.

But before I tell you about the Alaska-size cabbages, I'll mention about heading some miles down the road to see where missionary Jeff Deeter is working.

Here he has cleared land for a future youth camp for native American youth.

Lots of work to do before that becomes a reality.

We also stopped to see the log house that the Deeter's son has bought and is fixing up 

where he and his new wife will be living. Their wedding is this weekend in Valentine, Nebraska, across the border from where Heather's family ministers in South Dakota. We met Heather last year and I thought she was a really sweet girl. 

My best wishes to this young couple.

And by the way, this is the garage, not the log house!

I just couldn't resist getting a snap of the snowmobile sign which looks so Alaska!

They have a lot of fixup to do, but there was so much potential there.

The Deeter's other son lives nearby, too, with his wife, who happens to be Heather Dickinson's niece!

Small world.

I couldn't help getting a picture of this very pretty church we passed.

On the way back to our "home" away from home, we stopped for a quick look at this spot called

Mukluk Land, which had closed for the summer, but whose owner had told the missionaries that they could take us inside to see.

Right outside the gate was this enormous old wagon that had actually been used to haul pipe for the Alaskan pipeline.

Enormous tires on that thing!

To carry pieces of pipeline like this.

This is part of the Alaskan pipeline we got a photo of as we drove by earlier in the week.

Funny tombstones.

They grew a cabbage in a 50-gallon barrel!

I can just see my dad deciding to use a 50-gallon drum now to grow his cabbage next year!

Alaska-size flowers. This was my favorite spot.

Danny in a very old fire engine.

I am sure Sam is wishing for a ride in Santa's rocket ship.

Heater heaven.

Tons of old heaters.

It's Alaska, remember.

And monstrous old engines.

And Caribou Express, a "Weasel" used for carrying personnel in World War II. 

Ever seen an outhouse on wheels?

These ones look a little more useful, but the one above was actually entered in outhouse races.

Several people would push or pull outhouses on wheels in races!!!

Here were pictures on the inside walls of another outhouse to prove it.

Engine Alley.

,

The biggest mosquito in the world. 

A pitchfork that looked like it was carved from a single branch that happened to have all those tines.

Back for a very, very late supper about 10 p.m.

with apple pies that were the best and flakiest I ever tasted, crusts made with butter.

And moose and caribou roasts!

The school where Karen Deeter is principal.

She showed me around.

A cow bell to call to classes or whatever.

What we saw along the road on our way to the airport the next morning.

A typical drive going back between high, slender trees.

Trees don't grow very big because of the permafrost layer beginning about one foot down.

Santa's house at North Pole, Alaska.

And this was one of our final scenes in Alaska.

It had been our anniversary along with our mission trip, and we just felt the Lord blessed our trip with joy.

This pair of trumpeter swans, which mate for life, is having a peaceful time in a small lake by the road.

What a blessing to share life with Jonathan!

It's pretty different than what I expected when I said yes 26 years ago, but God has been very good to us, and the happiest times of our lives are when we go on mission trips together to help on various mission fields--this time in Alaska!