When we rely upon laws to enforce decent behavior, we end up spending our hard-earned money on attorneys. Rather than legal recourse, I’m on a mission to amp up my personal charm and collaborative kindness. Good manners are contagious.
Let’s get viral together.
Winnie Nielsen says: Bay horses are just so beautiful! And those snippets of white on his face, so sweet!
Winnie Nielsen says: The last of the Indian summer days on the prairie!
Kim Platt says: Looks just like the old tube swing my cousins and I used to take turns swingin’ on for hours at our grandparents’ cabin on the lake!
Winnie Nielsen says: I love this sweet, gentle face! Horses were such a big part of my growing up. Although my family could not afford for me to have my own horse, I always was able to find stables that allowed me to work off the costs of lessons and just hang out at the barn doing chores. I was a true Barn Rat and I loved every opportunity that was offered to me. I might add, I was pretty good at cleaning stalls and dirty tack!! When you love horses, a girl does what she has to make it all work!
Winnie Nielsen says: What a pretty girl in her “fall outfit” colored feathers in gold and red!
Jennifer Knox says: Love this photo. I’m going to share it with my students tomorrow and
have them describe it with as many adjectives as they can.
Join me as I salute Sergeant Reckless …
Reckless with her main caretaker, US Marine Sergeant Joseph Latham. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia; USMC photographer
“Reckless” is not the nickname of the fellow in the photo.
In fact, Reckless was not a fellow at all.
She was a pack horse who served in the Korean War, carrying rifles, ammunition, and supplies to Marines.
Sergeant Reckless, a highly decorated US Marine Corps artillery horse in the Korean War, pictured with a 75mm recoilless rifle. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia; Geer, Andrew Clare. Reckless, pride of the Marines, 1955, page 120
Of course, she wasn’t the only horse who helped during the war, but Reckless was special.
Consider, for instance, the Battle of Outpost Vegas in March of 1953 …
Reckless delivered ammo to the recoilless rifle platoon’s firing sites. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons; USMC photographer
In one grueling day of the brutal battle, Reckless made 51 trips from the ammunition supply point to the firing sites. She hauled almost five tons of equipment and carried numerous wounded soldiers over 35 miles, through open rice paddies and up steep mountains that were riddled with enemy fire.
And she made nearly every trip by herself.
“Going up the ridge, in and out of view, was this little mare,” recalled retired Marine Sgt. Harold Wadley, who witnessed the horse’s heroism. “I tell you, her silhouette in all the smoke—I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I thought, ‘Good grief. It’s Reckless!'”
Terry Steinmetz says: How extraordinary! And how wonderful a story this is. Thanks MaryJane.
Winnie Nielsen says: This mare was a true patriot in every sense of the word! Thank-you for sharing this wonderful story.
Sitting in New York!! US Airways had plane issues that cost us being able to make our over seas flight !! Trying to get there today if we can work it out. What an exhausting day and we are missing all the start of the tour and fun!
MaryJane says: I always try to think, “Maybe there’s a reason.” Delayed flights are the norm these days. When I travel and none of my flights are delayed and my baggage arrives, it’s a GOOD day. Maybe find a book store???:)
Kay (Old Cowgirl) Montoya says: I love true stories of how our animals save lives through their undying loyalty to man and woman. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if humans could be so loyal to all? Wow, the love that would flow.
Thanks MaryJane
Kay
Bobee-Kay Clark says: Kay,
Remember the teachers of Sandy Hook Elementary who shielded other people’s children from bullets with their own bodies and lives. Remember the Oklahoma teachers who threw their bodies over their students to shield them from a terrible tornado. Remember. Some humans are so loyal to all. Some of these folks live in your own town. Remember.
Reckless the mare was positively the best definition of hero in every sense of the word I have ever read. I wept when I read about her and looked at the video.
Winnie Nielsen says: Oh, those apples look so wonderful!! I just love apples! Eating them, cooking them, preserving them every which way is great. Currently, I am reading a book written by a man who has spent his life in central Maine learning about and preserving apple varieties from yards and small farm orchards. The book is Not Far from the Tree by John Bunker and it is full of diagrams about family farms and which apple varieties are located on each farm. This book is totally fascinating to an apple geek like me!
HI Winnie,
If you are an ” apple geek” be sure to also read another book called ” Taste, Memory” ( forgotten foods lost flavors, and why they matter ) by David Buchanan, where he talks with John Bunker among others about heirloom apples, and so much more.
HI Winnie,
If you are an ” apple geek” be sure to also read another book called ” Taste, Memory” ( forgotten foods lost flavors, and why they matter ) by David Buchanan, where he talks with John Bunker among others about heirloom apples, and so much more.
Annie MacSuibhne says: Mmm, they look so sweet! I’d pick them off our trees and make some great applesauce, I had to get them before the deer spotted them and I’m still amazed at how high a deer will stretch almost climb to get a tasty treat.
Terry Fest says: Since apples are one of the most attacked of our fruits with pesticides, and are fed so readily to our little children and big children, it is nice to know we can access the purer version and that so many people still honor and idolize the fabulous fruit. AMERICAN to the core…
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
What an old beauty!
I love the classic cars! My brother finds and restores them. I love to sit inside and run my fingers over the dash board, just to touch the radio buttons and the beautiful scrollwork! They are truly works of Art! They are so roomy inside! No wonder, back in the day, families liked to pile in and go for a Sunday drive! He has a 1944 Hudson and a 1957 Chevrolet that are my favorites! Right now he is looking for me, a truck like the Turquoise one in so many of your pictures! It is my dream ride!