Stephanie Day
Bio
Stories (4/0)
Wild horses
My son went to college in Ellensburg, Wa. On the way to visit my son at college you would come across miles and miles of fields, hills, and streams somewhere before Yakima. If you were lucky enough you would spot the wild Mustang horses. Sometimes you would see specks of them up in the hills. Other times you would get lucky enough to see them right down by the road. On those days I would pull over and get my camera out and take as many pictures as I could. It is not something you see very often anymore. Some would be off by themselves enjoying their peace and quiet. Others would be in families down by the streams drinking and eating, resting in the shade. They are so majestic and beautiful. There are an estimated 20,000 wild horses running all through the Indian Country. Foals raise the population by 20 percent a year. Wild horses have lived and roamed the Yakima Valley since the 1700s. Many people think these horses are fenced in. They see a few fences along the road and think they are owned horses and kept in by fences. These horses are not fenced in. Covering thousands of acres of land, there are no homes or ranch buildings, no feeding stations, few two-track roads, and no additional fencing. These horses don’t belong to any one person. They’re wild. There are at least 20 different packs of horses roaming the land day and night. They are giant and amazing. For the Yakama Nation, the wild horses are a big part of their history and culture.. Unfortunately, the horses are overgrazing their land and finding it hard to find food. Along with the harsh, cold winters and the issues of finding food, many horses are found dead, skeletons laying on the bare ground. The horses are devastating the land and destroying the terrain. There are way too many horses for the amount of land they live on without any kind of management from the Yakama people or the government. The land can support fewer than 3,000 of the animals. The current population, which was between 12,000 and 14,000, is now estimated to be near 5,000 due to starvation, according to Washines. The property the horses live on is about the size of Rhode Island. Soil is getting eroded and the ecosystem is getting destroyed. Also many plants and vegetation the Yakama tribe find spiritual are disappearing. Other animals are being driven out of the land because of the lack of food due to the Mustangs. Sacred deer, an animal important to the Yakama people, have left the area instead of competing with the larger animals. Deer meat is an important part of Yakama Nation ceremonies, and now that is almost impossible to find due to the immense number of Mustangs in the area. Due to the Horse Protection Act which makes it illegal to slaughter the horses and due to animal activists, it is harder and harder to deal with the Mustangs on the tribal land. The tribes have actually tried using birth control on the female horses to help the population from growing, but it is said the horses are not easy to catch. Just within the last year, the horse mortality rate has been 50 percent. There are hopes that since the population has gone down so much, that the vegetation and land might have a chance to regrow and that the deer and other animals will hopefully come home again. I, myself, love seeing the horses and love photographing them. I am very sad about the deaths and mortality rate of these beautiful creatures.
By Stephanie Day3 years ago in Petlife
Single Mother
My mom has taught me many lessons. I can't even count the amount of times she has helped me in my life. She has taught me that I am strong enough, brave enough, and smart enough to raise my two boys on my own. Being a single mother herself, I do not ever remember her giving up or giving in to anything or anyone. She is the strongest woman I know and I can only hope that I am as strong and as brave as she is. She was a police officer before retirement and worked many hours to support my sisters and I. Because of her I have learned to work hard to make sure my kids have a strong and stable life. I could not have done it without her. She is definitely my hero. The grandkids consider her like a superhero. They talk to their friends about how their grandma hunts, fishes, rides motorcycles, and does all of these household projects on her own. Their friends say that their Grandmas sew and bake cookies. She is an amazing woman and I strive to be like her everyday. My parents divorced when my sisters and I were quite young. My parents did not have a wonderful relationship. There was fighting, my dad drank a lot, and anger filled the house. Unfortunately when I grew up I married a man who was a bipolar alcoholic and an abuser. Having 2 small children at the time, I was having a very hard time dealing. I could see the pain my kids were going through and I knew I had to get out of the situation. I thought back often to my parents' relationship and how strong my mom was being able to leave the marriage raising three children on her own. It gave me strength to do the same. After retirement she went straight into the Red Cross. She travelled all over the country helping people in need because of disaster. Loved the work even though it was very hard and took her away from family, including young grandchildren. But she knew she wasn't ready to stop working quite yet. She was in the red cross for almost 10 years before she finally decided it was time to retire and relax. Of course she spends a lot of time helping my sisters and I with our kids so I guess she hasn't quite stopped working yet. As I was a young single mother, it was the most amazing thing to have the support and help from her. She bought a duplex so my sister and I could live there with our children. My sister was also a single mom. If i couldn't pay rent, i didn't have to worry about being put out on the street. I could concentrate on my kids and their needs. She would come over and be grandma, but she would also come over and be the landlord and fix the sink or help clean up the yard. Anything we needed I knew she would be there to help out with. She would and still does help me out with money when I need it. She makes sure she writes down everything I owe her, which is fine with me. It makes me more considerate and more thankful for the help. Not feeling like I am just freeloading from her. I honestly feel like i would not be on this earth anymore without her help and her words keeping me calm on my bad days. I have gone through a lot in my life and she is always there to bring sense to what i am going through and helps me find ways to fix the issues and not just give up. I am literally here because of my mother, in more way than one.
By Stephanie Day3 years ago in Families
Living the beach life
I had plans. But plans never work out the way you hope. At forty-five, I got hired for my dream job working on a cruise ship in the child care department. It took me 7 months to get all my training and flying to Maryland to train with the Coast Guard. I got hired on March 1st of 2020. March 12th, all the cruise ships are canceled due to covid. After selling most of my stuff and moving in with my mother I was unemployed for many months. Depression wasn't too far off as my childhood dream was just demolished. One day my mom looked at me while I was sitting on her couch and she said, " now what." I did not know what I wanted to do after that. My kids were grown up and they lived on their own. I felt lost and not knowing what to do with my life. She mentioned that the only other thing she ever heard me say I wanted to do was move to Long Beach. I realized she was right and that it gave me another goal that I had to work towards. In two weeks time, after driving 2 hours back and forth numerous times from my home in Vancouver to Long Beach, I had an apartment and a job. That seldom ever happens to anyone. Finding apartments on the peninsula is very difficult as they go very quickly. My entire family helped me move one day and by that night I was living at the beach. I have been here now for about eight months and still love it. I am about three blocks from the beach and live right on the main road in downtown. I work at this adorable little hotel and pub with two amazing owners. I probably see my family now more than I did when I lived back in Vancouver as they all come to visit me now. I also just started driving a school bus. As a photographer, this area has been amazing with its beauty and the sun sets and the ocean. I finally finished my website, sadday35.wixsite.com/daydreaming after several years of working on it. I bought a new phone with an amazing camera. I started selling my photographs at the hotel I work at. I started a portfolio that i am going to show to shop owners. My goal is to get an amazing photo of an eagle, but they seem to know when I am around and decide to hide on me. Along with the bears on the peninsula. They seem to be seen by everyone but me. I do feel lonely sometimes. I have only made a few friends since moving here. I go out to eat and to movies by myself. I walk on the beach and along the main street by myself. But i am okay with that. My life has been absolutely crazy and full of hard times. The longer I am here I learn to enjoy the peace and quiet that I have around me now. People ask me often if i am still interested in working on the cruise ships once they start back up again. I really would like to experience that but I am so comfortable and content where I am now. I really do not know if I am willing to start all over again. I found the ocean either way. I may not be on the ocean, but I am as close to it as I can get. I would miss my family being away for six months at a time. Here, I get to see them sometimes more than I would like too. Just kidding. I love seeing them.
By Stephanie Day3 years ago in Journal
Mirror, mirror
Mirror, mirror on the wall. I know I am not the fairest of all. My hair as red is the new morning Sun. My skin as white as a pale white rose. There is more to my body then I would like to admit. And my face is that of Picasso. Yet Picasso paints his real art inside my body as well. My feelings, my guilt, my dreams, my hopes. Like a rainbow through a prism, i dwell. Even though my insides get confused and afraid , I am usually sweet and kind. I am sorry for my faults and for my word sometimes said. But the blackness will soon turn clear in my mind. If you ever do hurt or use anyone , please let my guilt rise above. For feeling my guilt would make me realize what exactly I have done.
By Stephanie Day3 years ago in Poets