Friday Feature: Sergeant Reckless

Reckless with the Recoilless Rifle, Courtesy of http://www.sgtreckless.com

While I normally feature an artist on Fridays, I thought that this Friday I would do something a little different. Anyone who knows me knows that I love horses. Immensely.
Anyone who knows horses knows that they are incredible creatures.
Then I heard of a horse who takes the word incredible to a whole new height.
Meet Sergeant Reckless.
She was a little Mongolian mare, sold by a Korean boy to American forces during the Korean War. The boy needed to buy a prosthetic leg for his sister , the American forces needed a horse.
She had been a racehorse, but she turned into a hero that all of us can admire, not just racing fans.
She learned how to carry loads of ammunition during battle, and to ignore the sounds of ammunition and explosions (anyone knowing horses will know how incredible that is in itself).
She learned to walk in certain directions all by herself to reach other troops. During battle.
She learned to get attention during quiet times in the most amazing ways - by eating hats, scrambled eggs, pancakes, and much more.
You can see her website, run by a fan and dedicated person who wants the world to know about this wonderful horse. The website is here: http://www.sgtreckless.com/Reckless/Welcome.html and the Facebook fan club page is here: http://www.facebook.com/groups/sgtreckless/
Still doubting the awesomeness of little Reckless?
Here is an excerpt from the Sgt Reckless website:

One of Reckless’ finest hours came during the Battle of Outpost Vegas in March of 1953.  At the time of this battle it was written that, “The savagery of the battle for the so-called Nevada Complex has never been equaled in Marine Corps history.”

Reckless Enjoying a Flower Arrangement, Courtesy of http://www.sergeantreckless.com

 Furthermore:

During this five-day battle, on one day alone shemade 51 trips from the Ammunition Supply Point to the firing sites, 95% of the time by herself.  Shecarried 386 rounds of ammunition (over 9,000 pounds – almost FIVE TONS! -- of ammunition),walked over 35 miles through open rice paddies and up steep mountains with enemy fire coming in at the rate of 500 rounds per minute.  And as she so often did, she would carry wounded soldiers down the mountain to safety, unload them, get reloaded with ammo, and off she would go back up to the guns.  She also provided a shield for several Marines who were trapped trying to make their way up to the front line.  Wounded twice, she didn’t let that stop or slow her down. 

 What she did saved the lives of many, and kept the morale up of many more. For her valor she earned two Purple Hearts, Good Conduct Medal, Presidential Unit Citation with star, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, and Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, all of which she wore proudly on her red and gold blanket.


What's even better? She survived the battle, and the forces brought her back to California where she could live out her days peacefully. She had parades in her honor, and even had 3 foals. She lived to a ripe old age of 20 and was buried at Stepp Stables at Camp Pendleton.


In 1997, TIME magazine did a special collector's edition, "Celebrating Our Heroes", which chronicled the lives of many heroes, including Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln and many others. Among them? A 900 pound, 14.1 hand high Mongolian Mare, named Reckless. 
I salute you, Reckless.

Fabulous Friday: Charity of the Month and Fall Photos

This month's Charity of the Month is being carried over from last month. Epic Farms is a wonderful charity, run by my good friend Jen. As sales last month were less than spectacular (thank you economy, lol), I wanted to give this month another chance to actually donate something meaningful to Epic Farms horse rescue. Click the image above to go to their website, or click the image below to go to their fabulous Etsy store.
They have many things to get you started on your holiday shopping, so please do visit them :)

Now, for my fall photos...
I awoke this morning a little later than usual...the fibromyalgia is always worst in the mornings, so I try to sleep in until 8 (bad, I know). When I went into my bathroom, I noticed something....odd. Everything was fuzzy! When my eyes had cleared I realized that it wasn't fuzzy, but foggy - VERY foggy! And at this time of year, with the trees changing, I knew I had to get this photo for you - it is on our road, just a few hundred yards from our house. I love this maple tree, especially when the weather turns colder and the leaves change - it is such a gradual change that the very outer leaves are often red before the inner leaves are even done being green.
This is a maple tree that is visible from our living room window. The sun always seems to catch it and make it look as though it is on fire.
And of course, when I got back inside, I was greeted by one of the best sights ever: My wonderful, faithful Wonder Dog, Arwen.

Have a great Friday!!

and Arwen

Wordy Wednesday: September's Charity of the Month, Epic Farms!

Thank you to everyone for their purchases last month, you helped raise $5 for the Country Cat Sanctuary. I will be matching that and giving $10 to them. Thank you!

This month's charity of the month is Epic Farms. They've been a charity here in the past (they have a donation widget on the right hand side of the blog), and are always open and upfront about every cent they've been given. They recently had to rebuild their open air stalls after a series of violent storms ripped the roof off of the old ones (no one was hurt, but the cost is, as you can expect, quite painful).

~A Great Bookmark (I Have One and Love It!)~

Run by Jen, they have a few equine rescues that are mostly permanent residents, and are a registered 501 (c)3 charity. They have a website at www.EpicFarms.com and they also have an Etsy store where you can find all manner of beautiful, well made and affordable items at www.EpicFarms.etsy.com~A Carousel Horse Woodburning By Jen~

10% of the total sales before taxes and shipping in my Etsy store will go towards Epic Farms this month. Please do check out their Etsy Store and see Jen's beautiful artwork, as well as scrap booking supplies.

Please keep checking back here, I'll have the winners of last month's contest and a new contest for you to try and win great prizes!

Sweet Saturday: A Stroll With Epic Farms

Today I thought I would take a stroll over to Epic Farms, who happens to be my charity of the month (and a great friend also!). Jen is a wonderful artist, breast cancer survivor, and horse rescuer extraordinaire (sometimes when she doesn't even intend to be, lol).
I have purchased several items from her and I have to say that everything is high quality, beautiful, well packaged, affordably priced, and goes to a great cause - her 501(c3) charitable-approved horse rescue!Located in Alabama, her farm has recently had a few difficulties - the recent heavy rains have increased their already problematic erosion problems to the point that they have had to go out on several occasions and do emergency hole filling, and a few of the holes are going to have to be back filled. To add insult to injury, a recent storm ripped the roof off of two of their horses' stalls, and you have a real need for funds! I wanted to show a few of the pieces available for sale, but I also wanted to direct your attention to the right hand column of my blog - if you scroll down a bit, you will see their widget to direct you to their fund raising page on FirstGiving so that you can also donate directly if you would prefer.
Jen doesn't know I have profiled her on my blog today *wicked grin* but in addition to telling you of her farm's needs, I really wanted to show you some of her work, as it is just gorgeous :)

Please do stop by her Website, Blog, Squidoo Lens and most especially her Etsy Store....and don't forget to always "Live, Love, Laugh" as the items above show you!
Have a fantastic Saturday!

Fabulous Friday - You Did It!!

YOU DID IT YOU DID IT! Thank You so much to everyone who donated and/or passed the message on about the 19 feedlot horses scheduled for slaughter - they have managed to raise enough money to help them!

Unfortunately, 3 of the pregnant mares gave birth in the feedlot, one mare died, and one foal died also, but though the remaining horses are in rough shape, your donations are helping to bring the remaining horses back to health with the promise of a life with people who love them.

You are Wonderful, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

If you would like to know more, or donate (they still need funds to care for the animals they rescue, after all!), please visit their website: http://www.circlel.org/clr/
Thank you for your kindness and love,

Sweet Saturday - A Bookmark for the Horse Lover!

As an avid reader and confessed horse fanatic, I think this is just about the best gift I can get, aside from books! This is a handmade bookmark from my friend Jen at Epic Farms - made with heavy paper and a jute tie, this stamp is done with indelible ink so that you can leave it black and white, or color it to match your favorite horses! AND it is a steal at under $3. I know I'm going to be getting a few for myself - after all, you can never have enough bookmarks :)

Thankful Thursday - I Won a Prize!! Plus, a Little Contest of My Own...

~The Gorgeous Pendant I Won, Hand Painted by GypsyMareStudios on Etsy~

I love horses. I always have, and I always will. I rode and competed in hunters, jumpers and equitation in my youth on as many schooling horses I could find, eventually graduating to leasing horses and showing before an injury and lack of money put that to a heart-wrenching stop.

I still love horses. LOVE THEM! I draw them when I have the time. I really should list some of my drawings; though after seeing some of the other artists on Etsy, I have to say I am rather humbled by my drawings :)

Enter GypsyMareStudios. Her art is absolutely stunning. She always finds a way to bring her art to life, to bring the soul of her subjects to bear in the most amazing ways. The light she paints is as stunning as her shadows. The first time I saw her art I fell in love. Deeply in love with her obvious passion for her art. She loves what she does and it shows - boy does it ever!

Anyway, one of her Etsy street teams, WHOA Team, was having a blog giveaway and I won one of the prizes! I actually won the stunning pendant you see above, isn't that amazing? I never win anything and this, well, this was the one thing I would win if I had to choose from all the contests I have entered.

You really must visit her Etsy Shop and her Blog. Grab a cup of coffee and get ready to spend some time poking around - It is worth every second you spend on her sites, her art is gorgeous. You will find paintings, jewelry, accessories and much, much more - and not all of her art is horses, for those who aren't particularly horse-loving folk.

Thank You so much Jennifer from GypsyMareStudios!

Now, to share the love, I am going to have a leetle contest of my own:
What is your favorite item from my shop and why? The first two people to visit my Etsy Store, and respond to this post with the link of their favorite item and why it is their favorite will each get a secret surprise!
Happy hunting ;-)