when working with an anxious horse,

you give him/her something to work on so they dont have time to fret.

Mr. Foresterman is wise like that.

cell phone photo by Mr. Foresterman

When he asked Dr. Connor about me working before surgery next week, 

Doc told us to keep doing what Im doing for right now because its keeping me in great shape, 

and it will take my mind off of surgery. 

and cancer.

"just dont fall or get hit in the abdomen"

He didnt mention anything about cliffs and rattlesnakes.

And so away we went this past week to work in the Black Hills. 

Even though we already hired another outfit to finish our timber cruising contract after we got the news, 

we still needed to check their work. 

And finish one small compartment. Well, I really dont have to, but...

Mr. Foresterman is wise like that

.

We took it slow.  i worked three days.  We stayed at a suite at the Ramada, one that had not one but two flat TV screens so i could watch anything I wanted to, without it having to involve a ball in order to make me look like a good wife. I got to watch channels like HGTV, Lifetime,

and A&E. 

Mr. Foresterman is wise like that.

but these are most likely my last timber cruising days for a while.

at one point I was sobbing like a baby bear and Mr. Foresterman hugged me hard, 

deep in the changing colors of the woods.

 i realized that I wasnt going to be doing this again anytime soon. 

he knew why I cried, and I didnt have to say a word.

If you were a hunter and came across that scene at that time,

 timber cruisers once in awhile need to hold each other up, okay?

 Deal with it little hunter man. some hugging can go a long way.

try it next time with your hunting partner when you miss your shot, okay?

try it, it works. so there.

Mr. Foresterman is wise like that.

This tree is over 380 years old. 

it was seedling when the pilgrims arrived. it was a sapling when Isaac Newton discovered gravity.

 It grows and grows and lives on towards the light, even as a revolution took place, a civil war, the world wars, the wars of today, and all the peaceful moments inbetween. 

It has seen fire, storms, and drought.

I am the first human to have touched it to determine its age. 

And long after i am gone,

 it will continue to grow and grow towards the light, 

sending out seeds to replant itself. 

.

somehow, 

this just puts everything into perspective for me.

Mr. Foresterman is wise...

like that.

~