The Friendly Beasts of the Nativity

The Nativity (close up view) 1490. Gerard David

Jesus, our brother, kind and good,

was humbly born in a stable rude,

and the friendly beasts around him stood;

Jesus, our brother, kind and good.

 "I," said the donkey, shaggy and brown,

"I carried his mother uphill and down;

I carried his mother to Bethlehem town.

I," said the donkey, shaggy and brown.

 "I," said the cow, all white and red,

"I gave him my manger for his bed,

I gave him my hay to pillow his head.

I," said the, cow all white and red.

 "I," said the sheep with curly horn,

"I gave him my wool for his blanket warm;

he wore my coat on Christmas morn.

I," said the sheep with curly horn.

"I," said the dove from the rafters high,

"I cooed him to sleep that he should not cry;

we cooed him to sleep, my mate and I.

I," said the dove from the rafters high.

Thus every beast by some good spell,

in the stable dark was glad to tell

how they gave their gift to Emmanuel;

the gift they gave Emmanuel.

                                                                                    

                                         -THE FRIENDLY BEASTS, 12th cent. FRENCH CAROL

I hope this finds you well, my friends, as Christmas Day is around the corner. There are so many emotions this year. We have lost two uncles and an aunt who we loved dearly. Our family is filled with broken hearts. We have close friends that have lost spouses and family members. This is a season of both joy and heartache.  And, of course, the constant visuals of amazingly decorated homes, treats, and perfect gifts to show your loved ones how much you care. You can easily feel inadequate. I find gift giving and even gift getting very overwhelming. I always just send Christmas cards. (Enter the disappointing waa waa sound.) It was very hard to write the Christmas cards this year. So many people are mourning. What words can I say to comfort them? It makes you feel so small which is exactly where I meet our Lord, a tiny baby surrounded by barn animals. What gifts could these animals possibly give the Christ child?

I had never heard this song before. It is called the Friendly Beasts, and it is one of the oldest carols still sung today.  It is such a humble and sweet song. The Friendly Beasts by the The Louvin Brothers is my favorite version. 

This version is  by  Burl Ives,  and this one is by a fancy choir.

The following video is a reading of a true story. It is the magical tale of a little girl and her grandfather. The pair rush to see the barn animals on a snowy Christmas night.

Sweet Story Animals Kneel at Christmas in Appalachia

Lastly, here are a handful of images of the friendly beasts kneeling in paintings and pottery. These are the ones I found especially charming. I just love their noses in the crib and heads bowed down.

The Adoration of the Shepherds, 1600. Annibale Carracci

The Nativity, 1433. Zanobi Strozzi

Painted Terracotta Nativity, 5 pieces. 15 cent. Antonio Rossellino

Bernardino Luini: Nativity and Annunciation to the Shepherds 1520

Christ's Nativity, 1825.  Vladimir Borovikovsky

If there is a theme to our blog, it is that I am always reminded not to be ambitious. We were chosen to remain the littlest of flowers. My main motivation in writing this blog is to share imperfect and small things in this over the top world. Trust me, there are better cooks, better homes, better ideas and more elaborate content than mine. I have always wanted to expose the beauty in a little common life like mine. There is still time to offer up your tiny gifts to Jesus. A smile, a prayer, time reading His Word, or an act of charity. Maybe be patient in the grocery line. Maybe you could give Jesus a gift of not saying something cruel. Maybe just tell Him you love Him today. And, if you are hurting this Christmas, Mr. Peasant and I are sending you a prayer. You are not alone. Merry Christmas! We truly thank you for reading. 

In Praise Of Georgia Giant Work Boots

Good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

TERRY PRATCHETT

It took me 30 years before I ever bought myself a decent pair of work boots. Before that time, I remember my old man yelling at me for wearing "tennis shoes" for work. The old man always referred to sneakers as tennis shoes. So, I got a pair of cheap work boots from Walmart. I think they were the Texas Steer brand, but I can't swear to that. I just knew they were yellow and cheap. They weren't very durable, but they were better than sneakers. Virtually every working man I know can tell you a story about their starter boots. My starter boots weren't great, but they were good enough for digging ditches and working in the garage.

When I moved to Florida, I worked at a parcel service loading trailers. They demanded that all the workers wear a pair of work boots because they shipped high dollar sneakers. Some dishonest package handlers would find a pair of expensive Air Jordans in a box, put them on their feet, and wear them out the front gate. Nobody stole work boots. Consequently, we had to wear work boots.

The boots I wore for that job were a pair of Timberlands I bought from the mall. These were not work boots but fashion boots. Needless to say, they were comfortable but disintegrated after a few months. I would tape them back together with hockey tape. Other co-workers had similar issues, and we formed the Tape Boot Club. We would see how long we could last before buying a new pair of boots. The only non-member of our club was the guy who had a pair of Red Wing boots. Those boots lasted for the entire five years I knew the guy. They looked rough at the end, but they didn't need to be taped together.

Red Wing boots are very expensive but are probably worth it. I wouldn't know because I have never owned a pair. When I moved back home to South Carolina, I needed a good pair of boots, and I found a pair at the Quality Farm and Supply store in my town. That store has since vanished, but they sold me my first pair of Georgia Giant work boots. 25 years later, I am on my third pair.

I don't think Georgia Giant boots are the greatest boot ever made. I just don't feel like spending a thousand bucks trying to find the holy grail of work boots. I needed a pair of black work boots to fit the dress code of my job, and I bought some expensive Wolverine boots. Those things crippled me. They were very uncomfortable, and I performed surgery on them to try and remedy the problem. I should have just returned them for a refund. That was significant money wasted. I found it easier to do a dye job on my Georgia Giant boots.

Georgia Giants are cheap, comfortable, and durable. For me, any pair of boots under $200 is cheap. Red Wings and Thorogoods are not under $200. They might be awesome, but my experience with the Wolverines taught me to never deviate from what you already know and love. As for Caterpillars, I am curious about them, and they are cheap boots. But why should I change?

Footwear is highly individual, so my work boots may not be for you much like the Wolverines were not for me. I just know that Georgia Giants work for me. Thank you for reading!

https://georgiaboot.com/collections/giant

***

How to Extend the Life of Your Work Boots

https://noblepeasants.blogspot.com/2018/06/how-to-extend-life-of-your-work-boots.html