Fixing fence is the one of the hardest jobs on a ranch. I no longer live on a ranch, but I do know what hard work is. Fences are everyone's concern, but nowadays,the "hole" is always your neighbor's side not your own. It used to be that you would respect your neighbor and mend the fence together. If their cows got in your field, a simple phone call resolved the problem. You might even saddle up your own horse and help them gather them up. We need more people who are willing to roll their sleeves up and fix the fence regardless of who your neighbor is. There are people in this country who need to be reminded that a fence is like the way you should conduct your life. Your posts should be straight and neat. The wire needs to be stretched tight and your gate might be closed, but can still be easily opened. And most of all, we can all saddle up together and ride the range, it won't matter if you have an Appaloosa, Quarter Horse or Thoroughbred. The cows still have to be gathered, fences have to be fixed, and the range is a wide open space of opportunity for us all.

Losing Some of My Feathers

Posted Friday, October 7, 2011, at 12:35 AM

Here I am back on a horse after 23 years.

I have discovered is that I have not run out of things to write about nor will I quit because someone hurt my feelings. I don't take criticism too well as my husband David will tell you. Mainly because, I am harder on myself than anyone else could dream of being.

Walking The Fence Line will continue to be a mix of thoughts and different writing styles. It was my sole purpose for starting a blog in the first place.

The past few weeks have been a little difficult because of the unexpected comments of well-intentioned readers. I found it harder to dust myself off and move on to the next thing. In fact, I lost some of my joy in writing and more importantly, I had lost that sense of purpose that motivates the flow of ideas and words.

I could probably pinpoint where the zest went out of my writing and that would be when my friend Susan died. My sense of direction is a little skewed with my grief and shock.

So, if you will all bear with me, I will endeavor to get back on course and bring the enjoyment and wonder back into my stories.

I am well aware that my sentence structure lacks a little polish and I have a tendency for "tiresome" generalizations or sounding a little preachy. But I am determined that whatever I am supposed to say will get said regardless of good or bad writing quality.

Losing my feathers has been a humbling experience for me. I want to feel the genuine pleasure of writing again and I can't imagine dropping this just because of a few well-placed criticisms.

So here is my bold statement to those who think that writing two or three blogs a week is easy. Write your own blogs and explore your own creativity. I will be the first one to drop by and offer my congratulations.

The good thing about losing a few feathers is that they grow back again. Even though I feel a little bruised and ruffled today, tomorrow will be better.

Comments

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Thank you. I reviewed most everything that I had written so far and realized how off-track I was. I have been feeling a little intimidated from some of the opinions and this has cramped my imagination somewhat.

David told me yesterday to shake it off and this is my way to do just that.

-- Posted by KH Gal on Fri, Oct 7, 2011, at 7:32 AM
I'm another one who always reads your blogs. I do try to comment, but I lose time lately it seems.

And like you, I've lost a bit of the 'drive' it takes to sit down and blog. I absolutely love to write, and I'm sure it will come back to me.

I am human, and though I've had a great summer,...heck, I've had a great life. This summer has posed it's difficulties, nonetheless. We've had some illnesses, and some injuries, and just an overall, well, Life I guess you could say. Ever the optimist, I think it will pass, and indeed it will. A bit of recovery time is just needed from time to time.

I look forward to meeting all of us, and having a bit of social time.

Jessie

-- Posted by jessiemiller on Fri, Oct 7, 2011, at 2:10 PM
Me too.

-- Posted by KH Gal on Fri, Oct 7, 2011, at 2:26 PM
Keep at it girl, I love your blogs and will try to remember to leave a comment to show I was here. I sort of know how your feeling due to certain things going on right now. I'll get it into words when the words are ready.

-- Posted by royincaldwell on Fri, Oct 7, 2011, at 3:17 PM
Thank you everyone, I think I got my purpose back. I just needed to put it out there and see where I needed to go next.

I look forward to introducing a few more thoughts and keeping my feathers dry.

-- Posted by KH Gal on Sat, Oct 8, 2011, at 11:24 AM
Keep it going even if you ruffle a few feathers :)

-- Posted by MsMarylin on Sat, Oct 8, 2011, at 12:47 PM
I just started reading the Mountain Home blogs. This one seemed very self absorbed.

-- Posted by spahgretty on Sat, Oct 8, 2011, at 6:39 PM
You sure sound familiar.

-- Posted by KH Gal on Sat, Oct 8, 2011, at 7:59 PM
Well spahgretty, you should check her archives and then you might understand what's going on.

-- Posted by royincaldwell on Sat, Oct 8, 2011, at 7:59 PM
I thought I would leave that comment for you. Anybody that doesn't like our blogs can go pound sand!

-- Posted by royincaldwell on Sat, Oct 8, 2011, at 8:01 PM
Thanks Roy,

I think that the troublesome commentators change their monikers as much as they change their clothes.

They don't seem brave enough to start their own blogs, but really want to wreak havoc with someone elses.

-- Posted by KH Gal on Sat, Oct 8, 2011, at 8:05 PM
Amen!

-- Posted by royincaldwell on Sat, Oct 8, 2011, at 8:29 PM
I should sound familiar because when I asked if the previous blog was an advice column you almost bit my head off. I'm sorry. Your blog was totally not self absorbed!

-- Posted by spahgretty on Sat, Oct 8, 2011, at 10:18 PM
Sorry, we just have had a rash of people coming in and not just commenting on the blogs,but trying to change our writing styles and "improve" us.

so I have been a little sensitive since then.

-- Posted by KH Gal on Mon, Oct 10, 2011, at 7:30 AM
Oh, there are just some days, when you don't feel too tough and want someone else to stand up for you. It wouldn't always be a blog but the circumstances of your present life.

But some comments are like the sting of bees and I am allergic to bee stings.

I don't like to lose my temper and I have a couple times. Also, I needed to put into words what I was feeling about my purpose for this blog.

I am such a baby about criticism and really, I need to have a thicker skin.

I appreciate all of the support and for the most part, I can see where everyone is coming from even though I don't agree with the way that they deliver their responses.

It is kinda like someone telling you that your dog is ugly and then proceeding to boss you around on how to make the poor mutt more appealing.

I sweat because this is one of the few creative outlets where I am very aware that my words affect others.

We all have our methods for coping in life and like I said, losing my friend Susan has made me a little more sensitive to well-meaning comments.

-- Posted by KH Gal on Mon, Oct 10, 2011, at 9:05 PM
Always read and always enjoy.

-- Posted by skeeter on Tue, Oct 18, 2011, at 6:41 PM

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