New Horse-Owners!

Marie and I have owned Mister and Willow for six whole days now and are still constantly looking out the windows in amazement and joy! We often open the back door to call out a hello or good girl/boy. They are becoming less surprised to see this! Here are some notes from each of our first six days.


June 25 Rode Mister & Willow home to stay today after school - Marie has a saddle, I don't have one yet so rode bareback. Gary turned off the mower he was riding to wave good-bye. He'll come up to see the barn later with Lynn. We untacked and let them go where they wanted and watched them graze and drink the water from the tank in the paddock and bucket in the pasture - we like seeing them drinking, when we first started bringing them over for visits they waited until getting home to drink.

June 25 Lynn and Gary come for a visit and we showed them every single "feature" and horse-proofing we've tried to do! They seemed pleased. I had been looking at the barn-building from my perspective - trying to keep those horses out of trouble. It hadn't occurred to me (until after the tour) to look at it from "previous owner" perspective, we're glad they like our set-up. We have no trees for shade, but they can come into the barn/run-in when they like. Marie and I check on them a bunch of times today!

June 25 CanNOT stop smiling, laughing, crying, laughing, smiling. Marie and I just checked on Mister and Willow who are NOT asleep - they are munching happily in the paddock even though they can get to the pasture. Wonder where we'll find them in the morning? And what time will we be looking?

June 26 When hubby gets the paper in the morning, he sees Leland giving his new neighbours a treat over the fence!

June 26 horses are finally satisfied enough to stand sleeping in the pasture beside the tiny grove that only comes to their knees. Sleeping in the rain instead of coming inside. Turkey horses. Marie and I need a nap too.

June 26 Could stand watching them stand in that rain no longer! Went out & called them into the barn just before it really came down. They went back out again (Mister first) but changed their minds and went back in (Willow first). They're now snoozing inside. Whew! I should really just stop checking on them, but Mister IS 31! They were a bit luckier across the road, they had woods and a run-in shelter. This barn thingy, with doors that make it appear from one side to be all closed up,  is new for them - I do believe they've got it now!

June 26 We take Mister & Willow back across the road to ride with Lianne & Summer. Willow was great in the outdoor and during our short trail ride on Leland's road and wonderful leaving her friends to let them do some cantering (I'm not there yet!). She was looking around with brave interest, happy to be leading - it wasn't until we were almost in the paddock with the gate just an inch from shut that she realized her friends were gone. hehehe. Then she had her supper in her stall and some practice waiting.... Marie and Lianne had a blast on their ride to the end of the road! Good ride all around!

June 27 yay! Willow is laying down, Mister is standing over her on guard! They're doing well. Saw Leland give them a morning treat - "an apple a day keeps the doctor away!" he says.

June 28 Marie rides Mister while Willow stays in the "good" pasture right beside the pasture she rides in. Willow was a bit excited but calmed down pretty quickly.

Willow watching Mister and Marie ride

June 29 Mister & Willow spent their first night in the barn. Spied Mister's white feet first. This morning Willow meandered out to the right, looking to see if Leland was there with a treat. Then she heard Mister leaving to the left and ran after him, ending up in the "good" pasture (with the longest grass). Nice!

 June 30 Hubby and kids off to Nanny's so I'm supervising horses all alone, which pretty suddenly occurred to me. Got out the fence tester to make sure the fence is working properly (not sure what I thought would have changed since it's been working fine) and had hubby confirm all is Ok. All was Ok. Checked horses five times after family left at 8:30pm. They were fine and gave me the impression they wanted me to knock off the bed-checks.

June 30 So hot! Horses stay in the barn after their breakfast where there is shade. I go out to sponge them with cool water just as Marie gets home. We both sponge water on our horses and off they go to graze in the pasture. Marie suggested fly masks but as Mister & Willow are used to having shade, they do NOT wish to wear those fly masks, thank you. They'll come and go as they like instead. They are spending more time inside than out today. And drinking lots of water. I'm relieved that they Ok'd that water so quickly!


June 30 Nice and cool after 7pm, so we took them out for a ride in the pasture - a walk around. Then Mister and Marie did some faster fun riding while Willow and I walk/trotted in the paddock. She didn't mind at all that she wasn't right with Mister - we're making some progress every day!


July 1 Another pretty hot day. Spent the cooler evening watching Marie & Mister ride the fields around our pasture. She gave me a small stroke when they jumped a ditch ("by mistake"). I was brushing Willow, who was happy enough as long as she could see him, and made hubby come watch Marie with me. He said they looked great - good hubby. Cleaned up the run-in so they'd be nice & comfy for the evening if they stayed inside. 

20 Seconds of Insane Courage

WOW is about the only word, but even that doesn't come close. I have been blocked for way too long when it comes to Wind's canter. From previous posts, some of you will know that I fell off him at the canter..it's been so long now I don't even remember when, that's how blocked I've been and then when I finally did manage to go into one, I nearly fell again and on top of all that Wind has a huge round to the point of it feeling like he is going to buck. The trick is sitting through that...aka 20 seconds of courage...until he levels out into this amazingly beautiful canter. Today was the day and boy do I have a perma-smile. Thanks to Shelley who rode and cantered Wind last weekend and was able to feel exactly what I was talking about and sit through, was amazingly encouraging, right there behind me telling me to stick with it, he will bring his head back up. I took a deep breath and off we went. We cantered up hill, we cantered the straight away, we even cantered in the rain. Thanks to Troy and Shelley, I knew that he wasn't bucking and thanks to Shelley for the play by play behind me letting me know it was all all right. Please let me find that 20 seconds of courage again next week for the 25 mile ride in PEI. What a sense of freedom. Me and my boy just going for it. I'm so happy!!!!

"Wanna Go See the Horses, Marie?"

That's what I said to Marie once Lynn and Gary moved in and we noticed they had horses. She was home without her brother for two years when he started school ahead of her and we were looking for some fun. We'd cut through that yard to go fishing and Lynn and Gary said to keep doing that - they really meant it.

When she was four, they let me put her on Ginger and she was soon riding - went on her first ten mile trail ride with the Tidal Treasures team when she was six. She's pictured that day on Ginger, next to Tammy who is on Mister. Four years ago.

Marie hadn't told anyone, but she'd overheard a passing comment last fall of possibly legging Mister up for light riding and company for Caddy. I can remember her asking me about it a week later, at the supper table. She continued to ride Ginger that summer, they were doing lots of bareback cantering and some small jumps. Apparently, Marie was also watching to see if Mister was staying or going. She was hoping for staying.

In January, she asked Lynn if she could get Mister out of his two-year retirement and "bring him back". Not surprisingly, Lynn said yes & she and Troy kept an eye on them, answering questions when asked. Tammy showed Marie a picture of Mister from when she was riding him. No one was sure how Mister would react to coming out of retirement. Except Marie and Mister - he was thrilled to have been given his own little girl.

Hubby and I can't remember when Marie first asked if I thought Lynn would sell Mister to her, and I wasn't sure what to tell her. I know what hubby and I thought: That horse is 30! And do you see how he pins his ears back whenever you go in his pasture? And that horse is 30! Maybe 31!! And that's quite a difference in height from Ginger's 11 hands to Mister's 15 hands. And that horse is 30!

Mister and Marie won us all over because of the obvious enjoyment they were getting and giving one another. But I'm not saying it was easy, she did ground work with him until the day Troy said, "Wanna ride him today, kid?". And he'd tear the reins from her hands - she learned to keep them over his old withers if they were bareback, which caused Mister a great deal of surprise! She just wore gloves and put a martingale on for awhile and now "he doesn't do that anymore, Mama". She got him ready for a fourteen mile competitive trail ride and he showed all the signs of being ready for it - until the day when the heat and excitement were too much and he went home with Gary instead. She rode Spirit that day but came home to Mister and rides him whenever she can. She learned from his vet how to listen for his heart rate and will have fun with him but watch out for him at the same time.

I never saw such a backward purchase/sale negotiation in my life. Marie negotiating to pay while Lynn was negotiating a lower price for her thirty year old horse that she hadn't even planned on selling! They managed to reach an agreement.

Mister is coming home on June 25th (he's bringing Willow with him, but that's another story!) which happens to be a year to the day after we started building a barn/run-in shelter for a couple of horses for Marie and I.

Mister & Marie and Willow & I intend to have great fun together - we'll remain part of the Tidal Treasures team and continue to blog - just consider us, as Lynn does, a satellite farm to Tidal Treasures Stables!

Chief of Security is a Sucker

 According to our Chief of Security, after you've been out patrolling all day in the rain, you will share your special blanket with "anybody".

Dozer and Radar sharing cuddles   (writing on the picture not the wall!) 

Horses, Canters, Smiles and Sponges???

Well life has been so busy lately, that I have not been on the blog for a while, but we have had things going on! The last two weekends we were in Stanley riding. The first weekend it was Pam and Summer, Kathleen and Caddy, and Spirit and I. We did 18 miles at an average of just over 5 mph (please correct me Lynn/Pam if I have the mph wrong...I am going by memory). That is the longest ride I've done yet at any consistent speed, with the most cantering and 2 pointing for me also, and when I was done, I told Lynn I felt like I'd been broken in, but what a great ride!

Spirit and I following our 18 miles.

Kathleen and Caddy, and Lynn helping to make sure Caddy's heart rate came down-which it did.This was the first time Caddy and Kathleen did a distance like that too. They did amazing-took it all in stride, had some nice canters too, as Caddy is realizing she can, and they had fun! (but we were tired)

The following weekend (last weekend) we went again, this time it was Lynn on Spirit, Kathleen and Caddy, and Wind and I. I think when I have ridden so far in Stanley it has been on a different horse each time! (but those oppourtunities and experiences have been so good for me) Tammy was kind enough to offer me Wind to ride, as she has also been busy lately. I have not been on Wind a lot, so I was thinking that by the first 5 miles I would be figuring him out, or I'd be ready to get off, and I actually told Todd that before we started.

Well I did the first trip around our loop, and I was nearly as tired then after only 4 plus miles, as I had been the weekend before after 18 miles! My problem was that the stirrups although they were as short as they can go, are still too long, so it was a lot of extra work. I really didn't know how I was going to make it another time around. Lynn in her wisdom, suggested we try sponges under my feet, so Todd being the awesome ground crew that he is, ran off and found 2 nice sponges and 2 small bungee cords, and I was set to try again. I had never cantered on Wind before either, and because I was having a hard time keeping my feet in the stirrups with any kind of weight in them, I didn't feel overly comfortable with it before the sponges. 

Well those sponges made a world of difference! They allowed me to ride and be comfortable, to comfortably trot and even canter, and it was nothing to be scared of at all. Wind was just great, with the sponges I felt great, Lynn and Spirit had fun cantering and riding, and Kathleen and Caddy were just incredible to watch with some nice canters in there too, and the biggest smile I have seen in a while! I finished that ride not feeling too physically tired at all compared to the weekend before, and I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable rides I have had yet!

The end of a great ride!

-I just have to add that when we were done, Kathleen took care of cooling Caddy down, got all of her things gathered and put away, and then while we were all getting our things gathered up, I looked and saw her sitting in the truck all buckled up and ready to roll. I asked her what she was doing and she replied, " Well we are ready to go aren't we?" I laughed and said that we would be soon, but not quite yet because the horses were still tied to the side of the trailer eating- we hadn't even loaded them yet. :) She had to laugh too and said, "Yeah I'm really tired!" Yes we had a couple of great rides over the past two weekends!

Markus and Ginger

This is my first post.  I have been working with my four and a half year old - Markus, teaching him to ride on Ginger a Shetland Pony.  The balance small kids have is amazing.  Yesterday I took him on an hour long lead line trail ride around the Tidal Treasures property including the beach.  He loved it.  Today, although I was a little nervous, to be on my horse instead of walking with him, we set off with our friend Carrilee with Willow and ended up spending about two hours in total riding together.  Markus was ready.  And he was great.  It was so much fun.  Do I see five horses in my family's future?

Markus' First Trail Ride

Today, Lianne/Summer, Markus/Ginger and I/Willow went on our first trail ride together. We went out Leland's road and actually went out twice - first without fly spray and then again with fly spray! Ginger and Markus made a great team, Markus can pull Ginger off the grass and get her going again with no trouble, he can sit her trot nicely, and he can bring her down well. It was a great ride for us all! Willow was a bit of a handful at times, but Lianne and Markus were very patient - I could hear them happily chatting away behind me - so I could concentrate on Willow. We're going to do lots of riding this Summer and can't wait for Marie and Mister to join us!

Aziim - White Boy

Aziim was steel grey for so long, I don't think we REALLY thought he'd ever turn "white" but he's giving it his best this summer!  Handsome boy.

Stately Statues

Went for a stroll the other day up to a part of the farm I rarely visit.  There is an old run down farm house surrounded on three sides by beautiful magestic trees.  Come on along with me for the walk...and you will see how nature can take you back.....to summers long ago when large familes lived in the old farm house and children played in amongst these trees (many people in our community have told me about the summers they lived in this old farmhouse)

 My imagination easily takes me over as I stroll through the little forest and I can see summers past ---

Just imagine,(it's easy if you try!)  Imagine the children from all those big families in generations past playing amongst these stately statues.  

Imagine the tree houses, and the hide and seek,

Imagine the climbing going on! These trees were just built for climbing  and imagine the swings...ohh the swings that must have been built!

You can tell that this was the favorite swing tree...there are marks in the branches and old tires near by.  Just stare into all those shadows and your imagination will take you way back.


It's a wonderful feeling, strolling through this little piece of history, connecting past and present.  Hope you enjoyed the visit.  For those of you out there in the community that grew up here, please come back any time and  enjoy a little walk about.  Maybe we can talk Gary into setting up the old tire swing and you can go for a little twirl  (come on you know you've still got it in there somewhere!) 

Tidal Treasures Stables

New camera!  Hope the pictures says "welcome" because that's how we hope the farm feels. (Just realized that you can "double click" and the picture gets bigger....we are all new to this blogging thing, so I thought I'd let you know.)

ALONE AGAIN

Well, the other day Summer and I were left alone (everyone else went to Stanley for a training ride, and I had prior committments that would have to see me leave the barn before they returned) so... we went up Leland's Road by ourselves. Well - what a great ride - once Summer got over the fact that no - all the other horses were NOT in the upper field like she had thought!

Our avereage was no faster that our other solo ride up Leland's (5 mph), but what a difference in attitude! We had a nice easy, slow trot with casual canters and little strolls mixed in. We both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and our ride together! WoooHooo!

Vet Day at Tidal Treasures

Well, it was time to call the vet to come in and check some of our horses.  We usually try to do this every year, but somehow it stretched out to two years, so we were overdue!  The highlight of the day was Marie and Mister.  I was so enchanted watching them interact with Dr. Mike that I forgot to video any of it.  Dr. Mike was very good with Marie and taught her several things, including how to use a stethoscope to hear the horse's heart beat.  First he found his own heart beat and then got Marie to listen to that.  He explained to her however, that his heart was  beating a little faster than normal; because he was standing beside a pretty girl! (What a charmer that guy is.) Then he patiently explained how to find Mister's heart beat and made sure that Marie and Mama could do it before he moved on to the next thing.

During his visit, Dr. Mike floated some teeth.  This is what they call it when the vet does dental work.  It sounds very innocent.  WARNING...some of our city friends may find the video of Ginger getting her teeth floated to be a bit much.  You need to remember that the horses are sedated before this begins and it is absolutely necessary to keep the horses healthy.  In Ginger's case, she was losing weight and we couldn't figure out why.  Turns out she had two teeth in the back of her mouth that were really loose and knocking around in her mouth so she couldn't chew properly.  Now she is feeling much better and eating all the grass in sight!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xtalOmlsJo&feature=plcp

Mister's Vet Check

Today Mister had his vet check by Mike McGowan and Mister did very well except he didn't like when the vet stuck his fingers in his mouth, he backed up. We had to decide then if we would give Mister medicine so the vet could check his teeth to make sure they were good. It's a good thing we did that because he needed work. He got his teeth floated and Mike said he had teeth of a twenty year old, which is very unusual for a horse his age. Lynn and Gary must have taken very good care of Mister. When he got the medicine, he looked very tired and that he might fall down. But he didn't. He didn't mind getting it done.
The vet showed me and Mama how to find Mister's heart beat so I can listen to it. Now I'm going to write on a calender what riding I do with Mister and I'm going to take his heart rate after I ride him and then take it again twenty minutes later. When we do a lot of work, I am going to give him the next day off.
When we feed him, we are going to sprinkle a bit of table salt on his feed because he a little lump on his neck (his thyroid) and that will help him. The food he is getting right now is just right for him and I will feed him the same thing that he is eating now. The vet said that he is in really, really good shape - especially for his age - and his body looks like he is only eighteen, except maybe for his gray hair! Mister perked up when the vet said that, that made him very happy. I was very proud of Mister.
I took Mister out of his stall and back to his pasture before I went home for supper. Mama checked on him and Ginger later and fed them treats. They are fine.

Waiting for the check.

Leon our Farrier

Took a few, very short video clips (actually thought I was taking pictures!) of our farrier, Leon Hebb and his apprentice Dillon, while they were here last week.  Even though the video is short, you should be able to notice how back-breaking this type of work is.  It is unbelievable.  If ever you are feeling like you are working hard, just think of Leon.  The other thing you can get out of this video (at the very end) is how knowledgeable farriers are about many things - especially music - in Leon's case!

http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&feature=vm-privacy&video_id=xvDeE25oD78

Todd's Master Videotography

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r-a9Yrpf0A&feature=channel&list=UL

As we've mentioned before, we've been keeping Todd's award-winning videos under lock and key so that we can present them at some point in a high-level contest or two.  He has a way of capturing those creative shots that make his talent unique.  Today we have decided to release a few key clips from our vault just to give you some idea of the talent this man possesses.

Horses' Perspective

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCoKVxgESnE&feature=channel&list=UL

Found this on youtube - A cute, short little video that tells it like it is; from the horse's perspective

Visitor

We had a visitor fly into the farm today.  I didn't catch her name, but she was definitely related to Tammy.....By the way, who says you can't look good in pink and yellow.......................

Riding Willow

On Tuesday, our farrier along with his apprentice came and gave Willow two new front shoes. She'd thrown her off one awhile back, shortly after having her near one replaced. Turkey Willow. So Wednesday and Thursday were great fun for me, getting back on her.
Wednesday afternoon was spent mostly jogging, with just a little canter. She has a really lovely, slow jog which she seemed pretty happy to maintain as it had been awhile since we played. She even gave some time to Seth on the lunge line where he could safely test his balance at the trot on a horse for the first time. They were great.
Thursday was even better, as Lianne and I rode Summer and Willow in the outdoor. Willow was practice for Lianne in bridling because she holds her head down and simply takes the bit, which gave Lianne the confidence to bridle Summer, who was wonderful too. It was a bit cool, which was perfect as we worked pretty hard (for us!) and ended up taking off our jackets. When I hung mine on the fence, it dragged a bit over Willow's head and she rolled her eyes at me and winked. Good girl. She was showing off her excellent Trail Pony skills to Lianne.

Winking Willow

"Scary corner" didn't even bother Willow - she recognized it and kept her ears up but moved on with no hesitation. Good girl, Willow.
Lots of laps of sitting trot, both slowly and a quicker speed, and a nice posting trot for me to practice my posting, seat and leg position. I need more practice, but was really happy with my work. I'm also working on transitions so I can be sure Willow will slow down when I ask her. So that means trotting for 10 steps and walking 10 steps (drives Marie crazy, she's thinking "just fly!") - we did quite a bit of that. This seems like boring "work" to some, but I really like how it works. Lynn is a fan of it and I love how she and her horses ride, so I'm a fan too.
One test for me as to how I worked, is my knee. When I'm sloppy, which most often happens when I'm complacent or on the longer rides 'cause I'm not in good enough shape to maintain posture, it hurts the next day - no pain today. We also had some nice cantering, some larger circle-like (circles are freakin' hard!) figures and some long, fairly straight ones. We had fun and it "pepped up" the ponies! Which infected us as we were loving their waking up and "let's go!" energy. More trotting in all different directions, playing follow-the-leader. That was good for me as I've ridden a couple of slightly stroke-inducing rides where my horse didn't love the horse behind/beside rushing up to them. There's nothing quite like the feeling of hearing a commotion behind you at the same time you feel a commotion under you! Willow felt Summer behind her and when hearing her canter, changed her energy but stayed with me. Good girl, Willow!
When we had about ten minutes left, Lianne says - "Ten minutes left, let's go trail riding!" So we went through the vineyard towards the beach, up Bud's road, across the front lawn and back down the driveway. That was such fun, too, although we'll think it laughingly short very soon. Both horses and riders were happy and calm and relaxed although alert - what an incredible feeling.
Thursday afternoon, Marie and I rode across to our place where Marie saddled up Mister and we went for a ride down Leland's road up to the apple tree and had some fun riding in the field. Leland has just mowed it (all the better to spy the tiny fawns with their moms). Marie and Mister have spent some time there but it was a new deal for Willow. She was pretty funny, looking around and stepping high and going where I asked her, sometimes leading and sometimes following. This was our first trail ride this year, just the two of us, and we're going to have lots more!

This accompanied a feature story in the Sept. 14, 1962, issue about the Spanish Army Riding School, which prepared Spanish riders for international competition. This photo depicts "Las Cortaduras," part of the final exam for first-year students. The story says: "I cannot say I wholeheartedly agree with what usually terminates in a mass of broken bones on the rider's part, but I must admit that if accomplished unhurt, it makes one feel as if nothing is insurmountable on horseback."

Ginger

This has been on the blackboard down at the barn for a week or so, thought I'd post it for everyone to see.  Congratulations Seth!

Tammy Hanging On to City Girl Status

Over the past few years, we have been working our farm magic on Tammy and bit by bit she is turning into a country girl, but she still has a few city girls rules.  These are her rules.  She keeps referring to them - so I don't know why she had to go and type them up...it's not like we aren't aware of them. I especially object to rule #8.

Lynn to the Rescue!

Well tonight Lynn thought she would take Spirit and I to the outdoor arena and give me a lesson on 2 point. Spirit has had a bit of a sore back lately, and so Lynn wisely decided that from now on when he was being ridden, his girth would not be quite as tight as we had been doing it. We got out, and up I went into the saddle.

 Spirit was being slightly difficult with me, going into a trot before I asked for it, and then trying to tell me where we were going instead of going where I was trying to tell him to (he was really just trying to figure out what I wanted)-and so I was making him work a bit, doing circles hoping he would realize that doing what I was asking would be easier! But then that boy thought, "OK you want a circle?" and before I knew it he was trotting a circle that was quite small, and when he stopped I was still in the saddle, but I was hanging off his side! Well I really was shocked hanging there off his side-wondering how did  this happened? I mean, I LOVE hanging around at the barn-but this was not what I had in mind!

 As I hung there, I looked to my security zone-the one who always makes me feel confident and safe-I looked to Lynn. She was standing wrapped in my sweater-freezing, looking right back at me. I think we both realized at the same time that I was not going to be able to recover gracefully on my own, and then we both had that wide eyed look when that realization hit, and said "OH!" in unison. Well I haven't seen Lynn move that fast EVER! I sure am glad she has been jogging lately. She ran full speed ahead, arms pumping at her side with my sweater flying behind her like a superheros cape, and was beside me before I knew it! She reached up and grabbed me-we both agree we don't know what limb she pulled on, but she did, and I was upright again before I even had time to realize that maybe I should have been a little scared in that position-helpless to right myself!

Yes I had forgotten that the girth was a bit loose tonight, and I obviously didn't have enough weight in my outside leg, but I did end up having a great lesson on 2 point and rein control, and even tried a nice little controlled canter (which I thought went OK until Kathleen tried and showed me how it was really done). 

Lynn and I both had a good laugh afterwards, as it all ended well (thanks to Lynn)! I have been replaying it in my head all evening, and can see the look on her face when she realized I was in trouble and then running to me-I just start laughing out loud, and I think my family thinks I've lost my mind~ Thanks again  Lynn, oh and when do you want to try that again?  I'm ready! :)

Ginger's Surprise!

This week Ginger was with Seth on Leland's road, trotting and she slipped into a nice canter which Seth rode wonderfully. Seth's Mom, Michelle, and I were really surprised but both Seth and Ginger seemed happy so we were too. No worries.
Later, in the outdoor arena Seth was really smart - he put Ginger behind Marie and Mister and yelled, "Canter Ginge! Canter!" so off she went, cantering behind Mister. I fished my iPod out and managed to capture this fun moment a bit later. Steering is not yet a major priority, so sometimes Ginger surprises Seth with where they go! This was a fun surprise for us all.
Ginger is definitely 31 and we're careful with her but there are times like this when she lets us know that she is not willing to retire to the pasture just yet - she still loves to have fun with these new riders!

Dozer the Dog - Chief Security Officer

There are two sweet little barn swallows down in the barn trying to build a nest so they can start their family.  Apparently, however, they did not apply for a building permit.  Dozer the Dog (Chief Security Officer) is going out of his mind trying to evict them!  I hope he doesn't scare them away, but he is passionate about his job.

Perspective

It was a dull, dreary kind of week. Jeannie and I were talking to each other about being kind of "down" yesterday, and I was trying to determine why I was feeling so "low", when she said something simple/yet difficult, and wise...".it doesn't matter why you are down, what matters is figuring out how to get yourself back up."
Well I had little help with that today because the sun came out and it always gives me such an amazing lift. But I took what she said to heart and re-introduced myself to my grateful journal. Today, I thought I'd "picture" some of my grateful thoughts. So here goes:

                                          Sunshine (on a cloudy day!)

                     My wild rose bush and the old bird house.  Not a well-kept bush, but I love it to pieces.  The blooms start now...and go for most of the summer.  The blooms are one of the farm's first signals that summer has started.

Wild roses, (lilacs have the same effect)  for immediate uplift (if your name is Lynn Beazley) So grateful to be able to see these right from my window...

and....low tide.  It makes me pause and marvel at everything.  (Hey look...you can see the rosebush and the birdhouse in bottom left hand corner)! This is not a complete low tide....maybe 1/4 of the way out.  Our shoreline is actually "famous" for having the worlds's lowest tides.

Anyhow, this whole "down" versus "up" thing left me remembering a little fable I've read a few times and it provides a visual for me to tie into Jeannie's simple/yet difficult, and wise comment:



Have a great weekend everyone!  Hope you manage to figure out what feeds your Good Wolf!

Video of Rawdon Hills Trail ride

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm50iIDknr8

We took a trip last weekend to the Rawdon Hills.  The video doesn't really do the area justice.  It was a grey day and we ended up taping a lot of the ride when we were in a clear cut area.  If you know the words to this song.....you are OLD!