Saturday I went out to ride and since it was windy and Rosie was the easiest catch in the pasture I grabbed her and took off. It seemed like it was going to be uneventful, and mostly it was, but about 15 minutes after I set out I heard footsteps in the brush off to my right.
Now, the wind was coming from my left, thankfully, and this noise was slightly behind me and to the right, so Rosie had no clue what was happening. BUT!
There was a bobcat in the trees. Apparently it had eaten and wasn't interested in us because it padded off the other direction and didn't look at us twice. The horse was fine, she'd have freaked out if she'd known about this. It was enough that I had almost wet myself over it all.
The rest of the time out I saw a fox, pretty good size one too, and several deer. So the wildlife has taken it's territory back during the winter months and now we have to stake our claim again. It's an uneasy peace at best.
Sunday morning I rode my bike early and as I was crossing the bridge to ride the Nelson Island loop I rounded a bend and scared the hell out of this poor deer that was standing right in the middle of the trail. He fled, I crashed and wound up with a flat. Thankfully I was on the old bike and not the new. I would have been tempted to go hunting otherwise.
I'm going to be posting block quites from both Towleroad and Joemygod today, I'm perplexed by organized religion and yet can't seem to get it out of my life.
From Towleroad yesterday:
"Last week I posted about the anti-gay vote and subsequent 300-strong protest that went down at the United Methodist Church's convention in Fort Worth, Texas.
Methodist delegates voted to keep the statement that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching, reject a measure that would have changed the church's definition of marriage to include same-sex unions, and approve a resolution opposing homophobia and discrimination against lesbians or gays.
As another act of defiance, 200 people attend the commitment ceremony of Julie Bruno, right, and her partner Sue Laurie, at a park across from the convention center where the vote was held."
I don't think my Methodist Friends in Oklahoma read my blog anymore so I doubt I'll have to worry about offending them, and in any case they were always pretty cool. But, what the fuck!?!?!
And this from Joemygod:
Conservative Christian leaders who believe the word "evangelical" has lost its religious meaning plan to release a starkly self-critical document saying the movement has become too political and has diminished the Gospel through its approach to the culture wars.
The statement, called "An Evangelical Manifesto," condemns Christians on the right and left for "using faith" to express political views without regard to the truth of the Bible, according to a draft of the document obtained by The Associated Press. "That way faith loses its independence, Christians become `useful idiots' for one political party or another, and the Christian faith becomes an ideology," according to the draft.
The declaration, scheduled to be released Wednesday in Washington, encourages Christians to be politically engaged and uphold teachings such as traditional marriage. But the drafters say evangelicals have often expressed "truth without love," helping create a backlash against religion during a "generation of culture warring." "All too often we have attacked the evils and injustices of others," they wrote, "while we have condoned our own sins." They argue, "we must reform our own behavior."
Oh the hypocrisy!
Seriously...this on the heels of Benny LXXXXIII ignoring the fact that one of his priests sacrificed his life on September 11, because he was gay. I am simply mystified that this country is full of people so stupid that they eagerly subscribe to religious views that are so full of hate and exclusion. And they wonder why I won't belong to a religious organization.
Then again I pass this mega-church every Sunday morning on my way home from my bike ride and just as I get there they start coming out of the parking lot cutting people off and flipping them the bird. I guess the time they just spent at mega-church didn't take. I mean, it didn't even get them out of the parking lot! I say there's no point in going if you don't listen to what's being said.
Or maybe they are listening, that would be sad.
No riding today, severe thunderstorms, both jobs, and a sore knee from the crash prevent that for at least today.
I've chosen the program I'm going to attend for my certificate to teach ESL. It starts in August. It's another expense, but I'll call it an investment.
Here's a little Tuesday treat:
James Marsden is nice, no?
Love
BTW I see that I have lots of hits from Canada! WooHoo!! Very nice, and there's one from Fort Nelson in the far northern reaches of British Columbia. I think that's incredibly cool. Welcome!
