This is Throwback Thursday! This week, as I help clean up, organize, harvest – and generally stick my Heeler nose into everything that needs doing, I read the great Ladysmith’s reflection on her own similar week.
I couldn’t have said it better myself; besides, I need to get back out there and help get the old Comet cleaned up and ready to sell, haul junk out of the old house, and pick apples.
Boy, what a busy week this has been and it just gets worse. I am a herding dog extraordinaire, but I sure am overwhelmed, trying to organize so much …stuff! Mom, Jess, Sprout – they all are gathering things and planning a giant yard sale. Mostly, I’m staying home, watching from the porch with dad, as the trailer gets filled with clothes, truck parts, tools, horse blankets and
I know dad has plenty of trailers and hitches and balls and light plugs, but those things must be multiplying on their own up in the barn, because mom threw about a dozen in the trailer. She went through the horse trailer and hauled a bunch of winter blankets out, still left enough for every horse in the pasture – even though they don’t wear them.
There are boxes of little antique horse and chicken figurines, yards of beautiful old fabric, clothes, coats and cowboy boots. And Jess has riding clothes and horse gear going back 30 years, saddles and bridles, snowmobile, motorcycle and hunting gear.
Now, I have a full toy box and several nice beds, but can’t figure how humans can gather so many things.
I know time flies and things get stored and no one gets around to getting rid of possessions, but it sure seems like there is excess. At least they are thinning out their stuff now, and I helped all I could, hauling things to the trailer. Even little Sprout helped, loading his wagon and toting things out to the sale site.
Mercifully, mom took the trailer load into Jess’s house, because no one would find our ranch and it would get much too peoply for me if bargain-hunters came here.
I’m glad others can make use of the good and useful items my people have gathered together, but it makes me think people these days just have too much stuff. I’m told that some of the great cowdogs that preceded me only had one old bone, and maybe a rug.
But they had a good job and loved their life. They were content.
Perhaps that is something we all should strive for now. We can live simply, do with less, be content with fewer things and more time for life.
There surely have been times in history when there wasn’t much and everyone learned to be resourceful, make do with what they had, and to be satisfied.
This whole yard sale thing has certainly thrown off my routine, and is not something I care to herd. Mom came home late, and I didn’t even get my story out on time this week. 
But at least a lot of people came by and found some things they needed. I think it is good to pare down and live a bit lightly. That is being good stewards of the blessings we are given.
It sure makes the job of organizing, managing, and riding herd on stuff – a lot easier for this old cowdog, too. I’m worn out already and the weekend is just starting!
