Home Again, Home Again.....

Jiggety Jig... 

 Where did the summer go? 

We had an odd sort of a summer up here in the beautiful north woods

of Minnesota.  

We arrived to witness the blossoming of 

Spring.   

A family of Canadian Geese go from goslings to full grown-ready-to-fly

geese.

A loon family raising their family of chicks and lose two of them to a mother eagle.

We traveled to Scotland in June.

Oh, such a splendid trip to Bonnie Scotland.

 It was a hot, dry summer by northern Minnesota standards.

Still lovely when one considers the alternative 

of 

the hot dry deserts of Arizona.

I grew beautiful sunflowers and oodles of heirloom tomatoes.

A funny Asian bean about a foot long 

and three cherries!

The birds or bears ate my beautiful blueberries.

And my raspberry bushes never produced a single berry.

We never fished.

  

We tell people, when they ask: 

how can you live on a lake and not fish? 

we simply love the view.

And I love my log cabin.

Alas,

The winds are changing, fall is around the bend 

and 

it's time to head back to where my other 

loves are.

I suspect many changes will be hidden 

in the winds

over the next nine months.

                                                                         

Quirky, but I Love Flash Mobs

I don't know why, but I Love Flash Mobs I got this one in an email from Hubby and SMIL.  

Cool stuff! 

I'm so excited!! 

I am playing in a chamber group of cellists through Scottsdale Community College! 

 My cello teacher hooked me up and we're going to perform this piece for our concert.

  Portland Cello Project:Denmark

The Portland Cello Project - Denmark (Live on KEXP)

Here are the actual cellists performing the piece

Home Sweet Home

Buddy has a new home!!  

Here's my happy boy grazing on some nice green grass--

a far cry from before!

He has a lovely indoor/outdoor stall with 

plenty of fresh bedding 

and 

three meals a day.

The text I got today said he has a new pasture mate too!

A sweet little filly named Twitch.

Rumor has it, Buddy is quite smitten with his new lady friend.

  ♡

 One of Buddy's new stable mates.  This beauty is huge!!  He measures at about 18 hands.

I'm thinking I'd like to ride him one day... but I think he needs a little more training.

♥

 Buddy is being rehabilitated at the moment.  Something horrible happened to him at his previous home, that has caused him to be lame in his hindquarters.  

Sadly, I can't ride him for awhile and I even tried lungeing him and that was causing my boy to not feel so good.  

So, I have retained a chiropractor--well respected in the horsey world--to come take a look at Buddy and see if he can relieve some of his soreness.

Eventually, my dream would be to take him on a trail ride such as the one shown above.

Alas, that might be a long way off.

☹

The other very bright spot in in my life is this shining face, below.

 My sweet granddaughter... loved spending the weekend with my Cammie Bear and my Kids.

Kory and I really packed it in... moved my horse, had a Cam Day, 

spent time with my Sister and Niece and Nephew,

Took in a Diamondback's game

and settled my Buddy into his new home.

Family and my loving pets make life worthwhile.

 

Moving Day!

I'm pretty psyched today.   

Buddy is moving to his new stable!  

My youngest and I are flying to the desert to help get Buddy moved.  

Every horse should have proper care.  I won't go into details of his current stable, but it is missing the mark.  

By a long shot.  

My new stable owner says he will have a clean bed and dinner 

waiting for him when he gets there tonight. 

I'll post again after his move and let you know how it went..

with pictures too.

Here are a couple shots of his new place.

 Here's his new home!!  He has indoor and outdoor digs. Love it!

 

 

 

 He's heading to greener pastures today....

❤

Thanks to my sister for her input on Buddy's stable...

A Little Horseplay..the Best Way to Enjoy a Summer Day

Life gets busy... funny to say that, actually.  After all, time doesn't change.  A minute is a minute.  But, somehow these never changing minutes get away from me.  In a sentence, I drove 1,800 miles to the north country of Minnesota, flew back 1,800 miles to Phoenix to visit my grand-baby, my kids and my Buddy, attended my 35th high school class reunion, attended a funeral, flew approximately 7,000 miles to Scotland and back.  Whew! And it's only June 30th.  

Camdyn at Pelatas Betty's 

Anne, Patti, Me and Michele
35th Class Reunion

 
 

This brings me to the present moment.  

A calm morning, promising to be warm and muggy, with a chance for storms tonight.  

I've been digging around to find a nicer summer place for Buddy.

It won't happen this summer, but perhaps for next summer.  

There are a couple options for me at the moment, but neither is confirmed positively.

I just feel so bad for Buddy in the brutal heat in Phoenix this summer.  The past few days have been 113 degrees and getting a tad more humid, I've heard.  My trainer, says the temps in the barn have been in the 130 degree range and she's moved the horses out into the horse motel for now.. which is basically covered parking for horses.

I ordered this new fly mask for Buddy.. I like that I can see his eyes through this one.  

He could see out of the other one too, but I couldn't see his his eyes. 

I miss my riding lessons with Buddy and I hope he is doing well with his training during the summer.  My trainer has been working on getting him to be softer and more responsive with less input.  

My training over the summer is reading a lot of books on horses.  Books on their physical conformation, their mindset, their intuitive abilities, fitness for me when I get back and the most promising-- 

 I am getting the opportunity to 

hang out at one of the boarding prospects for Buddy's new home next summer and commune with their horses and groom them with brushing and whatever else needs to be done.

Keeping busy is key to managing my longing for my family.

Until next time....

P.S.

I huge thank you to everyone who

pays Buddy a visit 

and

gives carrots for his treats!!

I really appreciate this 

gesture

more than you know!!

A horse doesn't care how much you know until he knows how much you care. - Pat Parelli

"I BE A BUD"

I am the proud owner of an American Paint Horse!

I bought my "Buddy" on Friday the 13th.

I still can't believe I bought a horse--I never thought I'd be a horse owner.

I never thought I'd ride horses again, before beginning lessons 

with 

Smurf. 

This is Buddy with his previous owner doing his jumping.  He didn't like to jump

higher that two feet and the young owner was looking for

a horse more likely to jump higher for

her competitions.

My instructor thinks I'll be jumping with Buddy one day.

I don't know about that, 

but I guess anything is possible.

I'm currently working on ground work

which is a form of 

Dressage. 

This is the area I want to work in for now, because it will teach 

me how a horse moves and how to communicate with him with

minimal movement.

Buddy

Friday the 13th with my new Buddy.

Big Golden Brown Eyes

Poor boy needs a fly mask--I've ordered one for him, but sure hope it gets here soon.

I visited him today and his right eye was tearing a lot from the flies.

This is Buddy the day I met him and rode him the first time.  

He was pretty excited to go in the 

turnout and see his pal Sparkles.

Buddy

I think he's a bit under weight and my aim is to plump him up by next fall.

Oh, and to grow his mane out.  It's like a crew cut and I want it long and flowing.

He is such a sweet horse.

I was trotting with him at my last lesson and occasionally I would lose my balance and he would go to a walk

until I got myself back in balance. 

I brought him an apple today and he loved every morsel of it.

Here's Buddy in his stall..just peeking out the door.

I am anxiously awaiting my order for my saddle,

bridle, harness, lead and of course some horsey treats.

Blackberry Vanilla Treats

Smurf

Anyone who knows me well, knows I have been a horse lover since I was a shy kid in Junior High School.  I read every Walter Farley book out there--The Black Stallion, The Black Stallion Revolts, The Black Stallion and the Girl (I imagined I was the girl) and so many more.  I read the books by Marguerite Henry--Misty of Chincoteague, Stormy, Misty's Foal...  I drew pictures of horses and knew their mannerisms and anatomy.  

I would beg to stay at KOA campgrounds as a kid--the ones with horse stables of course. I would just hang out by the round pens and breathe in all I could--even the not so pretty smells.  I never owned a pair of cowboy boots, nor a cowboy hat, but I had the western shirt and jeans.  I would get to sign up for the follow-the-leader trail rides in places like Montana and Idaho... this short joy ride would keep me satisfied for another year until we'd go on a family camping trip again and do the trail rides.  I begged my parents to let me get a horse--which prompted amused questions from them about where would I keep the horse and how would I feed it? etc. All things that I figured would work themselves out once I got the horse.  

We had some neighbors about a mile away who had some horses.. not sure if they were actual horses or ponies, but we decided to ride them one summer's day.  Having only done the well trained shuffle of the old trail horses, I wasn't quite prepared for the ride I got on one of the neighbor's horses.  I don't even recall if we had parental supervision--probably not.  I mounted "my" horse--I could dream couldn't I?  She decided I wasn't what she wanted on her back and took off and headed straight for a tree branch.  She saw it, I did not.  The next thing I knew I was on the ground with a big lump on my forehead that quickly turned into a purplish egg.  

Once I was "grown up" I lost sight of my love for horses.  We would occasionally go on trail rides when visitors were here in Arizona, but I never experienced real horseback riding.  As I got older, I started developing some fears about horses.  I decided I didn't really want to ride anymore, because I was afraid I'd fall off and break some part of my body.  I could admire them from afar.  

Then, along came a special young lady in my son's life, who re-introduced me to my love of horses.  She invited me to tag along with her to the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show and shared her vast knowledge of horses with me while we watched the different events.  We went through various stables and visited these beautiful Arabians-- I was nervous about getting too close and gave them plenty of room.

I started thinking about riding lessons.  It came from something Melissa said about many "older" riders enjoy competing and begin riding later in life.  It  just so happens there is a horse facility across the street from us.  I called.  I boldly asked about lessons and signed up for one 60 minute lesson for the following Friday.  You see,  I've been facing some of my recently acquired fears and I'm reminded to do this every day as I pass by my refrigerator where a magnet says:  do one thing every day that scares you~Eleanor Roosevelt.  

Friday came and I fidgeted all morning until I walked the two blocks to my lesson. After introducing myself,  I flat out told the instructor I was green and nervous.  A trainer's favorite kind of student, I bet. Ha!  She seemed more nervous to have me as a student, than I was of the horse.  I filled out forms and signed them--basically ridding them of any liability if this horse decided to run me into a tree.  I was then introduced to Smurf.   Smurf is my  teacher.  A German Warmblood.  He is going to show me more about myself than I've ever thought possible.  I learned how to groom him.  I learned he didn't like to be petted, but he ended up nuzzling me and licked my hand.  He wasn't so finicky after all.   I learned I wouldn't automatically be kicked if I walked behind him--as long as I stayed close to his hind end.  I learned how to saddle him and lead him to the round pen.... did you know that if you look back at the horse while leading, they will stop?  Always keep your eyes where you want the horse to go.  Never knew that.  As I was waiting to bring Smurf out of the stable, I had a sudden urge to walk out and say I couldn't do it.. it was a brief thought and I refused it.  I learned how to mount the horse, not from a stepping block, but from the fence.  Hahaha.. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, but he was patient with me.  I was instructed  on how to walk, stop and turn Smurf.  We took time to get to know each other and by the end, he was doing my bidding.  I slid off my trusty steed--like they do in the movies--and walked him back to the stable and did the whole grooming routine again--including lifting his mighty hooves and cleaning out the rocks and debris that collected.

I left the barn and felt something I haven't felt my entire life.  I am learning to trust.  I am learning to listen with my eyes and speak with my hands.  A n d, I'm signed up for more lessons!  I'm so excited.  

Thank you Smurf.

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Intercalary Day

Happy Intercalary Day!

A Quick History Lesson

The Egyptians were the first to come up with the idea of adding a leap day once every four years to keep the calendar in sync with the solar year.

Read more: Leap Year 101 – Next, When, List, Days, Calendar, Years, Calculation, Last, Rules — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/leapyear2.html#ixzz1nmVdmMvh

I'll take an extra day, thanks.  One more day to get it right, right?  But the reality is, we have a certain number of days and there isn't a calendar out there able to change that fact.  Still, it's fun to consider.

Look at your life now. 

Are you living the life of your dreams?

If you have one year left to live, what would you do?

If you have one month left to live, what would you do?

If you have one week left to live, what would you do?

If you have one day left to live, what would you do?

If you have an hour left to live, what would you do?

If you have one minute left to live, what would you do?

If not now when?….begin,think,decide, act, change.

Life wont wait…………. only you do.

-borrowed from Jack Kruse

After

And so, I've cleaned my creative space.

Okay, it's not perfect and by no means ready for Better Homes and Garden.

But I can do my thing in here 

and be very happy 

in the not-so-cluttered

space.

See that sewing machine?  I have plans to set that up 

and sew some things.

And behind the closed armoire?

I have my art supplies of paint, ink, pens, paint, beads,

papers and inspirational books.

I can't have it too tidy, how could I possibly be 

creative in a neat environment?