Saddle Up!

Wednesday I had the chance to saddle up and ride.... but not one of my horses! I rode a former eventer named, "Mac", who I immediately began to call, "Big Mac". Compared to my Haflingers he was mite bit taller and longer!
I have begun to volunteer at a therapeutic riding center closer to my home. I am still volunteering two days a week near my former home, but I am not liking the one hour drive so decided to check out places closer to us. The new center is called, "Saddle Up". It is quite new, having begun operations in 2008. The family that started the program and provided the facilities is most kind... and generous.... and committed.... and rich!
Everything about the program and the facilities is top notch! They have 40 acres, a huge, indoor arena and barn and a darling "cottage" attached to one end of the barn for visitors, trainers, and recently for a "Make a Wish" family.
Yesterday we had a rider at 9. The riders that were scheduled for 10 and 11 cancelled. We expected our last rider for the morning at noon. So, with that nice chunk of time suddenly available to us, another volunteer and I started cleaning those lovely stalls in the beautiful barn. Suddenly the barn manager pronounced that it was too nice a day and that we should all go riding. I didn't think she was talking to everyone. I mean, I'm just a lowly volunteer and this was only my second time at the facility (having been snowed out for two Wednesday's in a row!!) I kept cleaning stalls. The barn manager called the office, which is located in a huge viewing area at one end of the arena. She told them that considering the chunk of free time we had, and the beautiful day we were experiencing, that they should all come ride, too. I kept cleaning stalls. The barn manager walked by my stall and inquired whether I rode Western or English. I thought she was just being nice and making conversation... I kept cleaning. Finally when I came out of the stall lugging the muck bucket, she looked right at me and said, "Go get your horse! You are going to ride Mac."

Ok... so start up some beatbox to get the rhythm going......

So, there I was, muckin' out the stall

When the hoss boss lady said, "Let's all

Get outside

and go for ride

it's far too nice to be inside."

I got Big Mac 

and found his tack,
I put that saddle up on his back.
Out we went into the ring
And now I'm thinking
 Can I get on this thing?
We walked and trotted,
And cantered, some.
It seems like everyone had some fun.
At the end of the ride
We put the horses aside,
Went back to our places
With huge grins on our faces!

B is for Boys

This week I'm joining Alphabe-Thursday.

Look for links to more "B" blogs below.

A Tribute to my 

Big, 

Beautiful, 

Brainy, 

Big-hearted, 

Bright, 

Book-loving

Boys!

Here are some boys little and big;

And a boy who in a bucket hid.

There's little boy blue,

And a boy with the Bunny,

The Birthday boy was being funny!

There are boys and bees,

And a boy in a tree;

A boy on a bike;

And a boy in a brief.

These are my boys, boy one and boy two.

One's now in college and the other is through.

Both of these boys are precious to me

And they have grown up so wonderfully.

They probably won't like what I have done.

But, too bad, dear boys, I had bunches of fun!

Start Saving Your Shoes

I received an email with a few pictures of fabulous sculptures  made from recycled horseshoes.  I had to see more! They are created by Tom Hill from the UK.  A brief biography and more pictures of his work  are available at Tom Hill Sculpture.

I am in awe that even in cold steel the animals show 

character and life!
I wouldn't mind having any of these in my yard.
I guess I'll be saving horseshoes
and getting the welding tools ready.
Hmmm... but my horses are barefoot....
Oh well!

Tuesday's Treasure: A Journal

Quite a few years ago my father handed me a book, stuffed with pictures and newspaper clippings, telling me it was his father's journal and I should be the one to have it.

We had a seven hour drive ahead of us and I read the entire journal on the trip. I was fascinated, to say the least. I knew very little about my grandfather. Sure, we visited with one another on holidays and had occasional dinners out. I knew he loved the Buffalo Bills, that he had worked at Merrill Lynch and that he loved cars. His journal was a revelation.

The bound diary was dated 1923, but my grandfather relabeled each page, beginning with 1896, the year of his birth. He allowed three pages for each year. He went back to fill in some information from the years before the diary was published. 

Each year he would make brief entries about trips, people he met, accomplishments and often about what car he was driving! There were many pictures, newspaper articles, programs and letters stuffed into the pages that filled in the gaps. 

Ten years ago I created an electronic version of the diary and had it printed in an effort to preserve the information and to share it with my family. My sweet hubby, my son and I scanned over 400 documents and transcribed each entry, embedding the pictures and articles in the text.

I am so thrilled to have had an opportunity to know more about my grandfather; I am saddened that I didn't know this before his death. What great conversations we could have had!

In some ways, our Blogs are like journals. They mark important events in our lives. I kept a diary through middle school and high school, but have not 'journaled' since then. What about you? Do you keep a journal?

The Crayola House

Our house is colorful! 

It is truly like opening a box of crayons! 

It has the original green and white paint under the soffits and 

on most of the trim. 

It has some tan paint. 

The doors are deep red. 

Some of the trim is a muted white. 

Most of the eaves are a deep greenish-tan. 

Some boards are still unpainted and 

the remaining planks are primed in grey.
They came that way... we didn't prime them.

After having the siding replaced we decided to paint the exterior ourselves.

Not a problem.... 

until....

• We had to get our other house ready to market.
• We had reservations and tickets for a trip to San Francisco to see our son.
• We sold our house and had to move everything and clean the old house.
• It was too blooming hot.
• We had to renovate the barn to make more storage.

What? No more excuses?

So, let the painting marathon begin! Maybe not a marathon.... more like let the drudgery begin!

This has been a 'work in progress' for quite a few weeks months now.

After finishing the dormers it was time to tackle the siding and trim on the ends of the house on either side of the breezeway from the garage to the house. That part of the roof is steep and it is high. Mr. Hubby doesn't do steep or high. The construction guys left their 'ladder' for us me to use. However, after putting the extension ladder up and climbing up it, I was a little leery of stepping from the orange ladder (in the picture below) to the roof 'ladder'. Mr. Hubby pointed out that getting on the roof isn't much of a problem, it's getting off. Very wise comments from a guy wise enough not to go up on the roof! I decided that I wasn't comfortable with going from the orange ladder to the roof, so I executed Plan B. I climbed on and off the roof from the bedroom window!

Wishing I had thought to bring the violin...
I could play a littler "Fiddler on the Roof"

The hard part was painting on the other side of this ridge. I learned a secret from the construction guys, though. If you sit or stand on an egg-crate foam mattress pad you don't slip! 

We are close to being finished. Now the challenge will be to find those perfect painting days in between snow storms! We have a bit more that we can reach with the extension ladder and the remaining sections will need to be painted when we rent a boom lift. 

So, what next?

Why, a second coat, of course!!!

Happy Haffies in the Snow

Our snow from Tuesday evening's storm is almost gone. All that remains are a few piles from plowing and some patches of snow that have escaped the sun. Oh... and some memories!

(Oh, yeah....and the mud!)

I think this could be a lovely Christmas card with a bit of photoshopping. I could superimpose a Christmas tree someplace, or at minimum, a red bow, and erase the small tree that interferes with the paddock view. Gosh darn it, why did we plant it there anyway?!


As you know, I like to put words in my horses' mouths. I've put one possible conversation below. Doc is on the left in all shots.

A

Doc: My, Gawd, Pippin. Your breath STINKS! What have you been eating?

B

 Pippin: It' my feet, Doc. See. Smell my feet.

C

Doc: Mine don't smell.
Pippin: Do to. Your feet smell like Limburger cheese. Hahahaha! You're the stinky cheese horse. Bwahaha!

D

Pippin: Ouch!
Doc: Don't you dare call me names. Stop it!

E

Doc: Say you're sorry... or I'll nip you again...
Pippin:  I'm sorry....(mumble) I didn't really (mumble) mean it....(mumble) much!

What do you think they were saying?

Man Coyote Fox Tracker

Today was a beautiful day and I was carrying a heavy load of guilt on my shoulders for not having done anything with the horses in over a week. They look over the paddock fence at me, and another layer of guilt jumps on the pile. They appear to be saying, "Please come do something with us." In reality, they are probably trying to take control of my mind and they are saying, "Please come feed us something." I mean, they are haffies, after all, what should a person expect!

Pippin's stifles were a bit sore last week so I decided I wouldn't ride him. But, he didn't give me any of those ticked-off "don't touch that" looks during grooming when I rubbed them, so I decided that ponying him from Doc might be a great way to give them both some exercise... and maybe we could explore the trails across the road from our house.

I received an infusion of common sense (where did that come from?!!) that pointed out how idiotic it was to ride one horse, pony another, neither of which have had exercise in over a week, in heavy snow that is sometimes a foot deep, on a trail I've never been on, where we might run across horse-eating deer (hubby pointed that one out), so common sense prevailed and we set forth in the pasture.

We had a great ride!

I spied canine tracks over Pippins ears.

 Dog? Coyote? 

Probably fox, as we saw some kits in this pasture in the spring.

It's a bit diffiult to see the prints in the picture below.
The trail leads between Doc's ears.

Off we went to track the varmint.

I don't think the horses found our 'fox tracking' session to be terribly exciting. And frankly, it was a bit of a letdown when the trail didn't 'go to ground' but merely passed on into the next pasture. Despite this I think we all had a nice outing that reminded the horses of their job and reminded me how much I love my guys!


Oh, and for my southern friends who think I must be insane to ride in the 'cold' - it was probably around 50, maybe higher. I had a jacket on (unzipped), but only because I needed the pocket for my camera.  I wasn't even wearing gloves! The weather in Colorado truly amazes me. With the dry climate and the intense sun, winter* snowy days can be very comfortable.

* I am reminded that we are technically still enjoying 'fall'. Winter doesn't begin until the Winter Solstice, December 22.