Bay State Brumby

Still Winter

2012-02-12T16:37:00.006-05:00

Supposedly Envy is a cardinal sin. It's so bad to be jealous, right? I'm bad then. Because all week when I am at work, where the only real action I get is using a giant physio ball instead of a chair (one day this is going to backfire on me, especially since my physio ball antics have gotten much more tenacious), I am 100% envious of those who get to spend all week with their horses. I know this might not be most people, but I know there are some lucky ones who get to do it. This picture is from Saturday's ride with Bill. The ground doesn't look so bad here but on the trail it was a little too icy for comfort.

This giant nest was fully active last summer. Not exactly the thing you want to accidentally bump into on a leisurely trail ride!! If you ever meet Bill, you will have to ask him about the trail ride with his then-8-year-old daughter when they had an unexpected encounter with bees. Mothers may faint when they hear it.

It wasn't cold out, but like late winter and early spring can be around here, it didn't look all that pretty. Lilly was a very good brumby, poking along as usual.

Bill had just taken Jodie out of the pasture to bring back to the barn pasture to see if a prospective buyer (coming to the farm the next day) might want to look at her. I took a dozen pictures of Bill and Jodie thinking it might be the last ones I'd ever have of the two of them. Jodie was also very dreamy on the trail.

Back at home, Brandon had stacked the latest delivery of wood. Oh no, winter is not over yet. We still have miles to go before we sleep....well, OK, I tried to incorporate some Robert Frost there. Failed. We still have quite a few weeks of winter left is what I was trying to artfully say.

One of the things I want to do this year, probably more as it gets warmer, is learn to identify each tree and bird I see while riding Lilly. It is embarrassing I do not know these things already. I got some pommel-bag-worthy guides to help me on the trail.

On Sunday, I was back with Lilly. But it was verrrrry cold. And verrrrry windy.

Poor brumby. Down in the ring with me doing work while all of her buddies stood around doing nothing but watching. Maybe that's why she was such a crab. First, during a colossal gust of wind, something made a clinking noise in the woods and scared Lilly half to death. Nothing like changing direction in a shadow of a fraction of a skeleton of a second. She stopped moving soon enough, perhaps after seeing that the spectators hadn't moved an inch. In fact, I am quite sure that's what made her stop. After that, the tremendous wind did us no favors. She kept pinning her ears and attempting to toss her head around. Crabbikins. I knew if I cantered her, I might go flying. I kept it to slow and fast trots, around this cone and that. (My new cones are working out perfectly)

Here is where we sat a few impossible gusts out as the trees flopped around and looked very scary. But the blue sky was nice.

Happiness is coming home to a warm house and furry cat.

Pedicure for Brumby

2012-02-05T18:38:00.006-05:00

It is already Thursday and just now I am getting to the post I had for SUNDAY! I better get my act together. On Sunday my brumby had the pleasure of getting a pedicure from both Bill and Jackie. It was Jackie's second time of taking shoes off a horse (Bill is teaching her how to trim and shoe), and I think this was first time removing a shoe with clips on it.

Look at this handy tool that snatches up nails that have fallen in the ground but you can't find! There is a nail on it!

First, Bill showed Jackie what to do. To see him remove a shoe, click here! Unless you are Bill, taking a shoe off, like everything else horse, looks much easier to do than it really is. Here is Jackie in the remove-a-shoe crouch! To see two videos of Jackie's progess, click right here and then again right here!

My brumby is the most patient brumby in the entire planet. Jackie was nervous she would take too long taking off the shoe. But she needn't have worried. Lilly was very good, making her an excellent teaching mare. Do you know what I think? I think you need to have a strong back and legs to be a farrier! It looks like a perpetual squat!

There is Lilly's synthetic hoof after taking off the shoe. It was still so solidly attached that it was no different than actual hoof! That is not to say I would rather not have the real hoof. I really wish this missing chunk would grow out! Maybe as the weather gets warmer, Lilly's hoof growth will accelerate.

It was really cold outside, but Bill got plenty warm with all that rasping and measuring and nailing.

After the pedicure it was back down to the ring!

Did someone say Birthday?

2012-02-04T18:47:00.004-05:00

Today is Bill's birthday! Jackie, Christine and I decided to initiate and carry out Operation Birthday, even though earlier Bill tried to claim that he wasn't celebrating birthdays anymore. Ummm, Bill, we don't think so! Jackie brought pies from a local bakery, Christine made chilli, and I made Bill a video set to music from pictures I have taken around the farm over the last few years. Bill's wife Jackie was there and Brandon and Chris (husband of Christine) came as well. It was great fun.

All of the little dogs were there too! Yip Yip Yip!

Jackie had gotten Bill his own pie. For those of you wondering how old Bill is, I have no idea!

After our celebration, we all headed down to the ring. Jackie went right down with Pokey. She is going to start Liberty training with him.

So I was happy to be in the ring because I wanted to practice some more extended trotting. Only I am not sure how to ask for an extended trot. So it was more like a fast trot with collection. The truth is, Lilly has such a beautiful slow jog I don't know why I am suddenly interested in moving faster. That is not like me at all. Last week we also were practicing the same thing. If you'd like to see the video Bill made of us, just click here.

Christine and I set up the cones so we could follow a pattern while Jackie and Bill worked with Pokey. In this picture you see Christine and QTee about to circle around that cone. When Lilly and I did the circuit, when we got to that cone, Lilly gave me a buck. Brumby, I don't think so. But then, not more than 60 seconds later when Christine and QTee went around that cone, QTee gave a buck in the exact same place. This led to much speculating over why both of them bucked in the exact same spot. Later, Bill walked Ruby around the cone and in the same area she gave a startle. Perhaps the trolls from Trollwood have come looking for us since we have not visited them in a while.

Christine and Bill also tried some different bits for QTee while in the ring. Overall, we all got a good workout. Later tonight I might watch some videos on how to ask for a nice extended trot. Quite a beautiful day.

On the schedule for tomorrow: Lilly will get a new set of shoes with Jackie learning how to pull old shoes off at the Bill School of Hooves and Shoes! Stay tuned!

A Shade of Winter

2012-01-29T16:33:00.004-05:00

This is what the kitchen counter looks like right before I leave the house to see Lilly. Today I also had apple wedges. Just what the brumby ordered! Yum!

These first pictures are from Saturday morning. Longing for a ride on the trail, I saddled Lilly up and planned to hit the trail. Bill agreed to come with Ruby since his shoulder, while not cured, is getting better. This picture shows what always happens when I ride with Bill: Ruby likes to get down to business and step out while my brumby pokily ambles along. So there is Bill and Ruby way ahead of me!

We stopped to see the rest of the horses (and donkeys) who are wintering together in the BP. When I went up to the gate, my brumby squealed at Jodie, her arch nemesis.

I cannot tell you how gorgeous it was outside. It hardly felt cold! No bugs, blue sky! The only problem was a few tricky spots like this one where there is a wee bridge but you're never sure how sturdy it is. In the summer, we go through the creek to avoid it. Today we carefully walked over it. The very LAST thing you want is your horse's foot going through a rotting bridge.

For some of the trail it hadn't been trodden yet by anyone. On other parts of the trail, the snowmobile groomer had recently gone through.

We were both taking pictures. Bill emailed me some of his, like this one. Don't you love Ruby's thick mane?

If you'd like to see a condensed version of our ride on video, then you can click right here. It will be like seeing these pictures come to life!

At the end of the ride, I dropped Getty's lead rope which I had left on a tree before the ride and had successfully sidepassed over to retrieve on the way back. Only to drop it on the road without even knowing it two seconds later! You see how Lilly waits for me. I must never take for granted how patient she is.

After the ride it was so nice in the sun we did a little tarp training. Lilly is licking and chewing, but she still has much fear of the tarp. We also practiced having her stand still while Bill pushed the snow off the roof of the barn. And then again while he was cracking his bullwhip right next t her. Which sounds louder than gunshot if you ask me.

On Sunday I wasn't out on the trail but in the ring. I want to get Lilly into even better condition and ringwork is great for that. Plus, I had gotten 5 new cones at Home Depot and a book at the bookstore entitled "Games on Horseback." Now, it is very hard to play games on horseback completely alone. But one must do what one must do! Bill came down to the ring and even Brandon showed up for a few minutes. So, I wasn't really alone. But I was the only one riding.

Look at me, I'm a conehead! hah!

Brumbies in the Snow

2012-01-22T16:59:00.006-05:00

I am happy to report that today was much warmer than yesterday. Not warm by any stretch, but warmer. Again I had swaddled myself in my winter coat and puffy pants, full foot warmers, balaclava and mittens. I've resorted to mittens since my fingers get too cold with gloves. I know they won't offer as much control when riding, but one must do what one must do. I figure if they don't work, I'll move on to Plan C, whatever that is. Here you see Ruby greeting me in the pasture. Such a friendly mare. Lilly is in the background probably thinking, Whaaat? Her again?

Christine and I carefully walked to the trailhead. On the trail the snowmobilers had left a little path for us. Both Lilly and Qtee were happy to be out. There was no dawdling. It was so quiet and beautiful out on the trail.

This is what happens when Lilly sees Christine getting a carrot ready for QTee. She butts her nose in where it does not belong. QTee waits patiently and my brumby tries to get a piece of the carrot action. Nosy ole brumby. The farther we went along the trail the deeper the snowmobile path became. Well, not on the surface--just when a hoof came down and broke through the snowmobile trail layer. A horse could get hurt on that kind of trail. We headed back to the road thinking we could head up to the BP that way. Nope, too icy.

Back at the barn Lilly was still trying to get treats from Christine. Bill hardly ever gives treats. That did not stop Lilly from trying to nuzzle around in Bill's coat pocket for one later. Me, I don't see what harm a few small carrots will do.

You'd think that because it was warmer, I might have my hands out of my mittens more to take more pictures. But like I said, it wasn't that warm! This is my parting shot--see you next time, beautiful brumbles!

Since we had to cut our ride short when I got home I had time to take Getty out for a walk in the woods. I hadn't taken her to Bill's in the morning because her feet are so furry they get snow and ice built up in between her toes and then it hurts her to walk. I am not sure why I thought it would be different if I was not on a horse.

Sure enough, giant iceballs kept building up on her feet. She was constantly stopping to nibble them off. We were having a lot of fun anyway, following another snowmobile trail. I was also gathering kindling in my kindling-gathering-bag.

A few times I thought I heard a scary wild animal noise. Like a growl. It was spooky but I kept going. I figured I had imagined it. After all, I am in the woods all the time.

This particular trail is a cornfield covered with snow. It is unusual to have working fields out in the middle of nowhere on top of a mountain. But that's what we have here. At this very point on the trail I heard another scary noise. It sounded like a wolf. OK, we do not have wolves around here. It was probably someone's dog and the sound just traveled up through the clear air to us. But I didn't like it. I knew if Brandon had been along he would have laughed at me. But I am telling you, it sounded like a wolf.

But what was that snarly noise anyway? I thought of my little vulnerable dog with giant iceballs on her feet. Seriously, what were these noises? I saw a huge flock of turkeys and they didn't seem worried, so we kept on.

Then, from this very clump of trees, I KNOW I heard a wild animal noise. It sounded like a...a... roar! Now, I know there are very many people out there, my husband probably being one of them, who would have walked toward that clump of trees to see what exactly was going on. Me? I am not that brave. I did what ever self respecting wimpy person does: I beat a hasty retreat!

When I got home I found that my husband had gotten me some donuts at the grocery store. One thing about me: I LOVE donuts. But these were prune donuts. PRUNE DONUTS?? What the heck is a prune donut??? That doesn't even sound right, a donut featuring prune. What a strange day this has been.

Winter Horsin' Around

2012-01-21T17:59:00.004-05:00

I like January because it is so pretty to look at. But being outside and coping with the snow and the cold is not a pretty picture. Today when I went over to see Lilly, Bill was in the driveway wrestling with the chains on the tractor tires. The he noticed the front tire was flat. Christine and I arrived for a horse grooming session. We didn't ride because we were thinking the new snow from last night was only hiding the ice in the ring. If it's not one thing, it's another!

I was so bundled up I almost forgot how cold it was...that is, until I took my glove off to snap a few pictures--like this one of Lilly's icicles. None of the horses seemed cold. But they did seem to want many carrots.

What this picture does not reveal is that Lilly was extremely skeptical of this giant gray bucket. Usually we put the water in a blue bucket. Oh, Brumby, you are so observant! And so silly. This bucket won't eat you! Soon enough she overcame her skepticism and slurped up all the water in it.

Bill manages to get the most beautiful hay. Only the best for the horses at Bear River Horse Farm!

While Bill ran out to get supplies to fix the flat tractor tire, Christine dragged a few flakes out for Lilly and QTee so we could spoil them. It is fascinating to me that these giant animals thrive eating hay. It seems so small and tendrilly, not nearly enough to sustain such a big creature. But it does! And very robustly I might add. And does it smell delicious! (People at work look at me askance when I say that I think hay smells delicious.)

Good night, brumbies! Stay warm tonight!

-5 this morning!

2012-01-16T16:30:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I was with Lilly in the ring for something like 10 minutes. Even though I was really bundled up, two things weren't right. 1. The ring is icy. Not all of it, but there are many icy patches. 2. My body was warm but my hands were cold. This picture is Bill in the ring working with Ruby. She did lay down for him. And then got right back up!

Today I met Christine in the ring. It was not any warmer, but I was wearing a few more layers. I also had toe warmers in my mittens. It anyone knows where to find a mitten or glove that has a special pocket in its design to accommodate hand or toe warmers, please tell me! I beg you! In any case, it was bitterly cold today too. Lilly and I carefully walked around the ring. Christine and QTee got a 12 stride trot in, in between icy spots. The forecast calls for icy rain. Oh, I do not like January at all.

12 more weeks of winter? I am not sure I can take it! The amazing thing to me, I mean the most truly amazing thing to me is how the horses do not seem cold at all. Their bodies feel warm. They are trotting around and eating hay as usual. One more amazing thing about these wonderful animals.

It's winter all right

2012-01-14T16:50:00.004-05:00

Yes it is definitely winter around here. But in the sun around 11am it is OK with the right clothes on. Of course I am wearing my puffy pants. And my balaklava. And my toes heaters. Once I have all this stuff on, I just hope once I get down in the ring I won't have to pee! I went to Bill's where I had a plan to meet Rachel right around 11. Bill went down to the ring with his tractor to clear away the snow.

I had emailed Jackie K and Christine to say Rachel and I would be in the ring late morning, but I don't think they got my email! It was just Rachel and me. I was trotting around on Lilly and Rachel was with Yogi, not riding, just doing ground work...and I don't know...maybe falling a little in love.

When Bill was finished clearing the snow he came down into the ring to see what we were up to. Here I am spying on his iPhone from Lilly's back.

Bill and Rachel spent a lot of time doing ground work with Yogi. It is amazing how a little ground work can do so much for a horse. The horse learns how to be a good horse and the human learns how to be a good horseowner! Of course, Bill does have a knack for making everything look so easy.

While they were with Yogi, Lilly and I trotted around the ring practicing collection. There were some slippery spots so we didn't canter. Plus, even with her rim pads, she had a tiny bit of ice build-up on her shoes. So it was a quiet day in the ring. But beautiful.

Once the sun starts to drop behind the mountain, it gets really cold. So around 2:30, we called it a day. I gave Lilly a few carrots and headed home. Good brumby. Tomorrow maybe Jackie K and Christine will be out and about. I fear tomorrow will be only for the super hardy!

Here is a funny story: earlier today as I was driving to the dump, I passed a guy who was running his snowblower in a full coverall Carhartt suit. The Carhartt suit was close enough to a beigy skin color that at first I thought the man was naked! HAHAHAHA!! I thought: WOW! What a tough old guy, out in this weather like this! But then I realized my error and laughed at myself for 5 minutes. What a ridiculous person I am.

Nude snowblowing anyone? No, it's just Carhartt.

Better be careful what you wish for...

2012-01-12T18:05:00.003-05:00

OK, so maybe I was wishing a little snow would fall. Not a lot, just some fluffy white stuff to make the trees and yard look pretty. This morning when I woke up, it was everywhere. That should quiet all those people who were talking about the winter that wasn't. Personally, I'm not sure how one can think winter has taken a year off just because there isn't any snow by January 11. There's plenty of time left for a blizzard.

I walk for 45 minutes every morning with Getty before work. I happened to have today off because it is Brandon's birthday and I needed to get him a few presents and hang the streamers in the dining room. Plus, I had to find his favorite dessert...which happens to be the very unexciting original cheesecake by SaraLee. In any case, my morning walk took a lot longer because of all the snow. I was really trudging. The snowfall was also very icy making me feel like I was getting pelted by a billion little darts. Ouch! And of course I insisted on gathering kindling which is no easy feat in a foot of snow.

Getty was running and leaping everywhere obviously pleased to be romping in the weather. The more exhausted I became, the wilder she grew. This part of our walk is called Mole Hollow. I also call it the Promised Land because it's all uphill to get there. But once we get in the woods we're protected from the wind and it's not as hilly. Plus, when there's no snow I can make little stone towers in the forest. (Interestingly, sometimes when I revisit my stone towers, a few other have appeared next to them!)

Brrrrr!

This is our neighbor's goose. He is relatively new and I have named him Ojai because every time I see him I yell, "Ooooh, hi!!!" Does anyone know what kind of goose this is? He's very vocal and honks at me all the time. He is ADORABLE. He is almost never in his duckhouse. I guess he isn't cold. Sometimes I think he shows off for me.

Hope everyone has a nice hot woodstove tonight! And Saralee cheesecake if that's your thing!

Happy Birthday, Brandon!

Newbie at the Farm!

2012-01-08T15:54:00.002-05:00

A while ago a co-worker of mine named Rachel expressed interest in learning to be around horses so I invited her to the farm to meet Lilly. This Saturday we finally made it happen. There I am in my husband's jeans (baggy!) and with the shopping-bag-on-a-stick (scary!) showing Rachel that just because we think a little item might be harmless, a horse might not feel the same way.

Christine was also there on QTee who was feeling so spunky she certainly would have vaulted over those barrels if Christine had let her!

Bill came down too and took a few pictures. He has managed to injure both of his shoulders so he wasn't riding. He is still doing liberty work with Ruby though. He has gotten her to lay down at his feet a few times! Now that is a show of dedication and persistence to say the least.

After doing some groundwork with Lilly to give Rachel an idea of how horses think and how they move their big ole bodies, I got on Lilly and trotted her around. I cantered her and she gave me no guff, so I asked Rachel if she wanted to get in the saddle. Of course she did! I led them around at first, but gave Rachel the opportunity to walk and steer Lilly on her own. At first my brumby would not move. I think she knew Rachel was a newbie. Then Lilly started moving but not in the right direction. I heard Rachel say to Lilly: Hey! Not that way! which my brumby naturally ignored. Rachel said, This is harder than it looks! Aaaahhh yes, we all can't be born horse whisperers!!

On Sunday Christine and I were back at the barn. As we were tacking Lilly and QTee up, they were being verrrry cute drinking water out of this giant bucket together. Lilly was not as cute in the ring. It was very windy and I think it was whippping both Lilly and QTee into a froth. When I asked her for a canter, she went tearing around the ring with a buck like a firecracker. Ummmm, no, Brumby, absolutely not. Who did she was, the Queen of Everything? I did a corrective canter (which was much better) and left it at that.

Christine said QTee's energy was also sky high! Here they are about to go over a tiny obstacle. Christine said it was like QTee was springloaded!! As it was windy and cold and the horses were feeling very wild, we called it a day. I went home and made chicken salad. I can handle a lot of weather adversity: cold, heat, rain, snow, but I do not like wind. It is where I draw the line.

Happy Sunday, everyone.

Remember Last Year?

2012-01-06T19:08:00.002-05:00

This picture is just a teeny reminder of last year at this time. Loads o' snow, and a pretty little brumby sleeping like an angel in it. This year we're getting balmy temps and no fluffy white stuff! (OK, so this past week it was brutally cold, but tomorrow it's supposed to be 45!)

Welcome 2012!

2012-01-01T17:08:00.003-05:00

I am a firm believer that the best way to leave an old year behind and welcome a new one is on the back of a horse. So yesterday Lilly and I saluted 2011 goodbye with a ride through the woods. It was just the two of us and the dog. Right away Lilly was up to her old tricks. Oh, I'm sorry. Did I say Lilly? I meant to say The Fern Gobbler.

It wasn't cold at all, just damp. And as the ride went on and it got later in the day, some fog began to creep in.

As we passed this pasture of course Jodie had to try and stir up trouble by racing along the fence line. She is such an instigator. Lilly was luckily oblivious to all the pasture commotion, plunking along the road, probably looking for ferns.

Not a bad way to bid the year adieu at all. Since I was alone, I was able to make several stops on the trail, using my new saw to chop down branches and limbs that have annoyed me for months. I must have taken a long time because just as I got back out on the road, Bill appeared on his 4-wheeler to make sure I wasn't dead on the trail. This is what he said to me: Having a cell phone on the trail doesn't mean anything if it's not on! Sorry, Bill. I thought it was on!

New Year's Day (my sister Molly's birthday by the way!) I was back at the barn. Christine showed up with Henry (sufficiently recovered from surgery for a romp in the woods) and we headed out to ring in the new year right. Bill and Jackie were busy doing yardwork but snapped this photo on our way out. This is the best way for me to be in a photo: totally hidden.

The trail was wonderful.

Meanwhile, on the other side of our fair bay state, my friend Karen P and her horse Misty were also celebrating the holidays.

Here is Karen's beautiful mare, Misty. She is wearing rhythm bells just like my brumby's!! About a month ago, Misty (somewhere, somehow) got a needle wedged up in her foot! Can you believe it? It was some old needle from who knows when, used for sewing up sheep! It had probably been in the ground for decades!

Do you see the dastardly needle?? Oy vey, Misty! You poor dear!

Anyhoo, Misty was tended lovingly by Karen and her whole family. Does it help that Karen is a nurse? Oh yes, that is a very good career for a horse owner to have! I think Misty looks smashing in this pink dress.

Happy New Year, Everyone. May it be your best year yet.

Field Report: Addicted to Christmas Ferns

2011-12-28T18:50:00.005-05:00

Since Christmas, I have had a few days off so I made good use of them by heading out on the trail with Lilly. Jackie came along on Yogi. Bill took this parting shot. Out on the trail my brumby poked along with the speed of a glacier being hauled around by snails. Bill is always saying that Lilly should have been named Pokey. I think he might be right. And she had to nibble at every darn fern she saw. Addict!

Jackie had a plan to retrieve Glitter from one of the winter pastures and walk her back with us so that the next day she could trim her feet. So while she went to get her, I waited with Yogi and Lilly. Lilly ground tied perfectly and nibbled grass. Yogi kept trying to head butt me. I have not met too many horses who stand and wait as quietly as Lilly. But waaaaait a minute. What is that on Lilly's saddle?

AAhhhhhhh! WEEEEEE! It is a pink sheepskin! My friend Karen P sent this to me for Christmas and I have to tell you: it is BOMB DIGGITY. Completely fabulous in every way: comfy, warm, pink! Excitedly attaching that to my saddle was the first thing I did at the barn. I do think Lilly felt very fetching in it too, especially since it was paired with purple reins!

Although it looks like Yogi is breaking my neck in this picture, it is really just me trying to get a picture of us together as we wait for Jackie, and Yogi thinking the camera is not really a camera at all but maybe a cube of apple or carrot.

Jackie came back empty handed because the horses in the pasture decided to kick and make a fuss when she came to get Glitter and then, of all things, they refused to cross a watery patch to come to the gate. Horses that refuse to be robots! We love them so! So Jackie decided to wait and get Glitter on Tuesday.

Back at the barn, a wonderful Christmas present had been delivered while we were riding....

A big ole pile of sawdust! When I released Lilly into this pasture, she made a beeline for the pile. Here she is saying, Thank you Bill for this most marvelous and comfortable gift!

I mean, she really liked it! I could see that Ruby and QTee both had sawdust sprinkled all over their backs so they too had been rolling around in it with abandon. To see a video of the cutest brumby ever rolling around in the sawdust and snaking her head out into it like an anteater, just click here. One of the more adorable clips I have posted, if I don't say so myself! A few minutes after the video, she pooped right in the middle of the beautiful pile.

When I left the farm, Ruby was laying in the pile like a queen. Good thing I had scooped Lilly's poop out of it.

The next day I was on my own on the trail. Here is the one picture I took from that ride. It looks quite desolate and cold, but in reality, it was remarkably pleasing.

Tomorrow it's back to work. Gross! But only for two days until the weekend.

Hope everyone is enjoying this magical time of the year.

Merry Christmas, Every One!

2011-12-25T13:58:00.003-05:00

Today is Christmas! I am giving myself an opportunity to write a blog entry today; I have been so overwhelmed lately with our furnace woes that all of my free time has been gobbled up by fretting about it. But, the good news is that I think that it is almost resolved! YEAY! The bad news is I haven't had as much horse time in the last two weeks.

Later today we are going to our friends' who live up the road. They are technically Jewish, but they always do a little Christmas something. But before we head over there, Brandon and I took a hike with Getty. A dog needs Christmas too!

Oops, looks like I beheaded my husband on Christmas. It was cold outside but really very pretty. While out in the woods I always gather kindling...kind of like a little old lady in a fairytale gathering sticks for some witchy brew. Brandon thinks my need to gather kindling is ridiculous. By the time we get home I always have an armload. But believe me, my kindling makes firestarting in the woodstove a piece of cake. And who doesn't like cake?

Last weekend I was not able to ride Saturday, but I did make a plan to ride on Sunday with Christine.

When I arrived at Bill's that day, this is what greeted me as I walked up the driveway. I see this cow every time I am at Bill's. She is not a scary creature....EXCEPT when you see her and you are fooled into thinking there is no electric line between her and you. Then she suddenly seems much scarier. There is an electric fence here, but I really couldn't see it. And for a second, my heart skipped a beat. I thought it was going to be Pamplona, Bear River Horse Farm style.

In any case, Sunday was really special because I haven't ridden with Christine for months and now that her semester is over she was able to come over and ride horses. It was like a Christine celebration!

It was also great to be back on the trail with QTee. Bill has been doing groundwork with her so she stays in shape, but I don't think she had been out on the trail in a long time. Christine said she was like a little rocket. She must have been excited to have Christine back.

When we were about home, QTee snapped her rein. We were going to invent a new rein with Lilly lead rope, but decided just to walk since QTee was being so wild. Sometimes I think walking alongside Lilly is just as nice as riding her.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Hold On Loosely

2011-12-11T16:03:00.005-05:00

I work with a lot of people who could not live out in the hilltowns like I do. One of the complaints is that you have to drive so far just to get basic groceries. But look! Right in between Bill's place and mine, you will find Sidehill Farm. And here you can get milk as fresh as it comes every day of the week. Just put $5 in the ceramic crock, reach in the fridge and grab your yummy gallon.

And this time of year, you don't have to go far at all to get your Christmas tree! This is a sign for Pieropan's Christmas tree farm where we get our tree each year. Peiropan's is on of the craziest Christmas tree farm I have ever experienced. The trees are not growing in sweet little rows. They are growing in massive tangles on a steep hillside. You really take your life in your hands when you start bushwacking up there with a saw in your hand. But we love the adventure. And Mr. Pieropan.

I didn't get to ride yesterday because we are having a crisis with our oil tank and furnace. But today as soon as I could, I went over and tacked Lilly up. I headed out alone since Bill was working with Ruby in the ring and Jackie didn't have enough time to actually ride. If you are wondering what happened to Christine, she has been in school all semester and by next weekend she will be finished (YEAY!) and back on the trail. And speaking of being finished, shotgun season is over and about that I am very glad. For many reasons.

When we got close to the BP, Lilly let out a long whinny. All the horses there looked up and came running over.

I think Lilly feels reassured when we get to the BP and the Winter Pasture and finds her old friends are still out there....even though I know if I set her free in there with them, she'd try to kick at everyone.

It was cold but sunny. Here I am waving at you! Hmm, you can't even tell I am on a brumby in this picture.

There, that's much better: horse and rider!
After this I returned to the woods and galloped up the hill Lilly and I both love to run up so much. While Lilly ran, I thought of 38 Special: Hold on loosely/ But don't let go/ If you cling to tightly/ You might lose control... and I thought this totally applies to riding galloping horses as much as it does to romantic relationships.

After the gallop, surprise! We encountered Faith and Carol on the trail. I hardly ever run into them! Faith lives down the road from Bill and she is an excellent rider, and always rides english. Faith (in back) just got a new horse which is a thoroughbred. I am not sure what Carol rides. Maybe that horse is a Percheron cross of some kind. I had to keep Lilly away from them because I knew she would kick and squeal if she got too close and I suspected Faith and Carol would not appreciate that. I just hope they didn't hear me singing 38 Special as I galloped up to them!

Hope your weekend was great! And remember:

Hold on loosely
But don't let go
If you cling too tightly
You're gonna lose control
Your baby needs someone to believe in
And a whole lot of space to breathe in

Don't let your heart get in her way
Don't let her slip away

Helmet Cam Gallop!!

2011-12-08T18:06:00.002-05:00

In my last post I mentioned that Bill and I were cantering/galloping through the woods on Sunday. Bill filmed it with his helmet cam and I think it looks pretty darn cool. If you'd like to take a peek, you'll find the video by clicking right here.

Ruby's ears are exceedingly cute.

You'll see the caboose (that's me and Lilly) at the very end.

Enjoy!

Thank you, Mother Nature

2011-12-07T08:58:00.001-05:00

Sunday the weather was GRAND! So I dragged Brandon and Kestrel to the farm to try and capture (once again) this year's holiday picture. This photo reveals that everybody kept getting distracted, even my brumby. Bill also pointed out that this picture has a transformer in the background. And the background is overexposed. BAHHHHH.

Kestrel actually had some homework to get done so she and Brandon did not stay for a nice leisurely walk through the woods with an eyechatching mare. THEIR LOSS! Although I shouldn't be poo-pooing any commitment to homework. Bill agreed to go out on the trail with me and he quickly enlisted Ruby.

You may be interested to "meet" these visitors. That little tiny lady on Lilly is Bill's great-granddaughter, Christiana!!! And the two people with her are her parents, Jennifer and Kevin. Can you believe Bill is a great-grandpa?? You can't tell really from this picture, but Jennifer is just about to have another baby!

We had a ridiculously fantastic trail ride. Everything about it was perfect, even the long canter we did though the Lower Loop part of the trail. Actually, I started in a canter but when Lilly saw Bill and Ruby in a full gallop ahead of us, that's what she wanted to do too. It is exhiliarating to see Ruby moving so fast, so neatly tucking her hind feet up behind her as she tears up the trail. Thrilling, a wee bit scary and incredibly beautiful.

Wheeeew! Is this heaven? No, it's western Massachusetts!

Hope your weekend was even better than mine.

If Only Every Day Were Saturday

2011-12-05T08:34:00.008-05:00

Saturday I got to the barn early because I had some Christmas shopping to get started on later in the day. If I get home from riding too late, my bah humbug husband will insist there isn't time to drive all the way to where the stores are. Now that the days are shorter, the earlier I can get to Lilly, the better anyway! I wanted to go out on the trail, but since it's shotgun season, I decided to stay along the road. Because even though most of the land I ride on is posted, apparently some hunters do not pay attention to that!

As I was making my way, Bill came driving along.

I wish there was a safety orange bum cover I could get for my brumby.

The ride was super peacful. As you can see, the road isn't that much different from the trail. It's also technically closed so we don't encounter too many cars there.

And thank goodness we saw no hunters. We did see a nice man walking his labradoodle. Who was adorable. The dog was adorable, I mean, not the man! The man looked like a perfectly ordinary bald man.

Lilly kept hearing things behind us.

We did stop by the Winter Pasture where Bill is keeping nine horses. If you'd like to hear Lilly's little squeal when we stopped to visit, Click Here. So typical, Lilly, so typical!

What a cute brumby. She was really dragging her feet the farther we got from her pasture. Here she is probably thinking: Can't we just go back that way?

We walked along the edge of one pature and Getty had a field day running around in the old hay. Sometimes if she runs too close to Lilly, Lilly tries to bite Getty's head off. Naughty, crabby brumby. Other times, Lilly could care less about the dogs near her.
Back in the ring at the farm, Bill was doing more Liberty work with Ruby. They have made so much progress. Do you like Ruby's bitless bridle?

At night, do you ever find your tuckered out dog on the bed under her favorite ratty blanket?

Back to Work, Lilly!

2011-12-01T07:44:00.003-05:00

This past Sunday, it was back to work in the ring with Lilly. Getty watched us, ringside. She's only being so still here because she had just been zapped by the electric fence and was afraid to move a muscle for 15 minutes. Poor little dog!

I started with one of Lilly's most dreaded enemies, the grocery bag on a stick! This bag was flapping ever-so-slightly in the tiny breeze and this made Lilly snort! I was able to get the bag touching her head, neck and shoulder by the time we finished. But it took some patience. There were more panics mixed with yawning.

Good, good brumby. You get many rewrds for making an honest effort. It is hard to try scary things.

But once one enemy was sort of vanquished, another emerged: the terrible scrub/tarp! SCRARP! But that too got better with some time and effort.

I know that sometimes after much stressing out over these scary enemies, a horse's productivity level goes down, and her annoyance level go up. We mixed it up by adding a little bit of ring work. When the crop is down at the ground she should walk. When it is up at hip level she should trot. When it is high in the air, she should canter. Lilly is very good at doing all of these things. But that is not to say she does not register a tiny complaint here and there.

It is always fun to watch Bill working with her. That way I get to see what a beautiful rocking horse canter she has.
I am not as good as Bill at getting her to change direction. And sometimes at the canter, she'll throw her head around like the act of cantering is so annoying she is not interested in doing it at all. I said to Bill, What's the problem? She's got a belly full of hay, good buddies around her every day, and wants for nothing! But alas, I guess a brumby would always rather be nibbling that hay and hanging out with her friends than cantering in a circle in the ring with the two-leggers.

This is the parting shot from Outside magazine this month. Hah! Isn't it awesome?

Best Week Ever

2011-11-26T17:22:00.007-05:00

I've been so busy having a great time the last several days I haven't had any time to blog. This is what the brumby breakfast table looked like on Wednesday morning. It was sort of sleety so I decided not to ride, but I thought maybe Bill and I could put new shoes on Lilly. (That is to say, Bill would put the shoes on and I would watch.)

Everyone tries to tell me my brumby picks on the other horses. Well! Look at this incriminating photo of Ruby at the hay pile! RUBY, BE NICE!

This is one of the reasons why I wanted to get Lilly's old shoes off and new ones (snowshoe variety) on. But also, her shoes have been on for a while and with new hoof growth, it is time to consider another pair. So Bill pulled her shoes off. The trouble was, right where she had that terrible abscess, a chunk of her hoof was hollow. Once the shoe was off, the hollow meant there was no place to nail a new shoe on. Oh good grief, are you kidding me? That abscess from hell will not die. An abscess exorcism may be in order. Bill needed to mull over what the next step would be. So he trimmed all 4 feet and we left her barefoot for the day.

After all of that, I did a little shopping. I took this picture at the yarn store. My friend Sarah just had a baby and I am knitting the baby a hat. I love rainbow yarn. For everyone--not just babies. Then I had to hurry home and make the dough for the Black Forest Cocoa Crinkle cookies that I was taking to Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. It's a new recipe I am trying out.

Every Thanksgiving we go to our friends' Chris and Dre's house. They live up the road. I have known Chris and Dre since before they had kids and now their oldest kid is 12!

Dre's mom (who lives across the street) brought these silver chalices over for the table because I love them so much. I feel like an ancient, war-mongering anglo-saxon when I drink out of them. You see, I have an active imagination, even as a grown-up. But seriously, is that not a cool cup??? Onward, Beowulf!
By the way, the cocoa crinkle cookies were a success!

Friday I was back at the barn. The weather was so much better. It was time to feel out what the next step would be concerning the shoes. Any thoughts of leaving Lilly barefoot vaporized when I saw her take one step in the pasture and saw she was ouchie. "That settles that," said Bill. Indeed!

Once the hollow part of the hoof was cleaned up, this is what it looked like. Not the best looking hoof you'll ever see. And not good for any horse carrying a rider over hill and dale.

That stinkin' abscess. It's almost a year now that we have been reaping what it has sown.

SuperFast to the rescue!!!

Voila! A brand new hoof. Do you know on those home reno shows how they take a huge project and have it all completely done in 30 minutes? Well, using SuperFast seems easy but really it is a very complicated process. Luckily, Bill is like a scientist as NASA when it comes to getting it right. Many, many stars have to be lined up to get this result. So when it does work out, you really breathe a sigh of relief that you got it right.

In any case, once it is on there and has set, you can trim it up like any other hoof. So Bill filed it down and nailed Lilly's new snowshoe (with rim pads) right onto it.

Saturday the weather was too good to be true. No bugs or wind, sunshine, 60 degrees! Great day for a trail ride. Have new shoes, will travel! Here are some carrots I got that I thought were totally AWSUM.

Bill showed me some Liberty work he's been doing with Ruby first. She is getting really good at listening to Bill even when she is not in a halter and lead rope! Here she is taking a peek at me.

Such a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

Painting the Trails

2011-11-20T17:01:00.005-05:00

Mother Nature cut us some slack this weekend and doled out two gorgeous days. So out of character. But I'll take it! Saturday I went to Bill's where Jackie was watching him in the ring doing more Liberty work with Ruby. You can see he has a tiny "pen" set up with rope. Ruby is doing great. When you are able to work with a horse every day, you really see positive change. I watched for a few minutes and then headed out on the trail.

The woods look totally different after all the leaves have fallen. For one thing, the trail doesn't even look familiar, even though I've been on it a zillion times. I had been riding for 10 minutes when I realized I had taken a wrong turn! Whooops. But luckily, there were a few snowmobile trailmarkers out in the wilds of Bill's property so I found my way back to where I wanted to be.

The sun shining into the woods was so pretty, I felt like a million bucks out there. Lilly, however, took a while getting started. She was moving so slow (sometimes deciding not to move at all) that I had to get her up in a canter down a stretch of the trail I call Toad Road to create a little forward motion. Have I mentioned how much I love to canter in the woods? Sometimes Lilly takes it too far and starts to gallop. Sometimes I do not mind galloping up a hill. Some of the hills on the trail are too rocky to do anything but poke along carefully.

Another great thing about riding in the fall is that you get to see the actual lay of the land. You know when you are surrounded by little valleys for example, or how twisty the trail is since you can see it through the trees in front of you. Sometimes with all the new visibility, I think there are more chances to see bears and bobcats. Or for them to spy on me.

Back at the barn, Bill helped us do some test runs for this year's holiday card. As you can see, we have not gotten the perfect shot yet!

Sunday it was time for more work in the ring. I got out the scrub again, and another scary training tool: the plastic grocery bag tied to the end of a crop. Lilly was spooked by them, but let me touch her with both. She looks scared at times, but then yawns. What? Talk about mixed signals! Then we went into the new pen.

Oh hi, Ruby! Looks like the cameraman got distracted by his own horse!

Being with horses is so much fun. Everything about them is interesting to me. Later this week, Bill will put a new pair of shoes on Lilly. She'll get turbo winter shoes, probably with rim pads. Now, Mother Nature, just because Lilly will have snowshoes on, there is no need for it to snow! Or a blanket of ice, for crying out loud.

I tried to get Lilly's tongue here because it kept coming out after I gave her a small carrot. But it proved elusive!!

Does anyone watch that show Mantracker? I am in love with Mantracker! He is so awesome!

Equine Affaire to Remember!

2011-11-13T18:19:00.006-05:00

The Equine Affaire was in town! On Saturday Brandon and I excitedly drove to West Springfield to get a piece of the action! It's 4 days long and I was able to go on Saturday, but my friend Karen P (and her hubs) spent all 4 days there. Lucky ducks! On Saturday as soon as we arrived, we met up with her and her husband Paul. It was so fun to see them and be surrounded by horses and horse people! Karen took this picture of these horse bums.

This is another one of Karen's snaps of the ending of the versatile horse competition. It's something I love to watch every year. But this year they didn't show any of the qualifying runs on Saturday at all so I didn't get to see any. Such a bummer! Luckily, Karen took some great pictures while she attended and shared them with me. Each year seeing each competitor go through the course is so inspiring and inspiriting, we go back to the ring at Bill's and set something up ourselves! I personally feel that the horses love our trail courses in the ring. It's much more fun for them. It also great fun to watch at the Equine Affaire.

This is me in the Aussie booth right after Brandon bought me this hat. Isn't this hat the best? The Aussie booth is one I never miss! I saw lots of scabbards there and wanted them, but in the end Brandon bought me a tiny pruning saw with a saddle pouch. So maybe it's not a machete, but I do know I could use a little saw out on the trail. I'd probably inadvertedly stab myself or Lilly if I had a big sword. I guess I am not a natural born swashbuckler. I am however, a natural born hat-wearer.

Here are Karen and Paul!! What fun it was to hang with them! They had saved us seats at the Sylvia Zerbini presentation. Sylvia can "control" and direct her horses without anything but her voice commands. She was terrific. Both Karen and I loved her. As Sylvia was performing, we saw Guy McLean, Bill's new horse inspiration, watching. I would have liked to see him work with horses too, but he only had demos on Thursday and Friday.

We wandered from building to building for hours! Here is a very cool mechanical horse that people were trying saddles on and then "riding." I wonder if it has a bucking bronco setting. Brandon said he would have loved to see a person get catapulted off the mechanical horse. This is what husbands who do not any real interest of their own in horses say at these kinds of events.

The next day I headed over to the farm with visions of sugarplum equine fairies still dancing in my head. I am still working on ring work with Lilly. I will see her through her tarp phobia if it is the last thing I do!

Oh look, is that my new hat? Yes, it is! That is right after I mounted Lilly bareback with no real assistance--except for that block you see by her feet. It was the messiest, sloppiest, most ridiculous unassisted mount you will ever see.

QTee took the afternoon off.

Equine Affaire Inspiration!

2011-11-11T17:23:00.004-05:00

While I was at work on Thursday, Bill was at the Equine Affaire and he sent me this picture to make me feel better about being stuck inside buried in paperwork. How I hate being at work sometimes!! Under that tarp is a three year old green colt that Guy McLean was working with during a clinic. Can you say AWSUM? Needless to say, today since the office was closed for Veterans Day, I went over to the farm to do some tarp work with Lilly.

Do you see that empty carrot bag tied to the end of the crop? Lilly looks very cute inspecting it here, but in truth, she was very nervous about it. So I couldn't begin with a giant blue tarp. I began with a tiny carrot bag. Luckily, Lilly progressed easily, but the wind whipping around everything in sight did not help.

Bill came down and we advanced to, not a tarp, but a hospital scrub...which Bill happens to have laying around because both his wife and daughter are nurses. Don't think the scrub was any less scary than a tarp.

Lilly was very leery of the scrub. Just a harmless little scrub. She hated it.

I can only imagine what she thought it was.

I mean, she really hated it. She was very against having it anywhere near her. It's nice to have Bill help because when Lilly gets like this, I get intimidated, let go of the lead rope and then she learns how to run away from the non-scary item rather than treat it like a ho-hum-who-cares kind of thing. Bill is much better in scary situations than I am. It certainly didn't help that the wind was blowing wildly and the horses in the pasture were galloping hither and yon, kicking their feet up and twirling around in circles like cocaine ballerinas.

But eventually, Lilly started to feel a little better about the dastardly scrub.

She knows Bill would never hurt her.

It is nice when you see your horse trusting.

She really hated the tarp across her back like this. Right after I took this picture, she had a freak out.

But she was making a honest effort! Good brumby! I am proud of you!

Tomorrow, I am off to the Equine Affaire myself! Details to come!!

Resistance and Reward in the Ring

2011-11-06T18:02:00.004-05:00

Saturday as I arrived at the farm , the ring looked so sunny and snow-free, I immediately decided to do some work with Lilly there rather than go out on the trail. I started with the tarp because when Bill got it out, my brumby almost had a heart attack. Heart attacks not really being allowed, it seemed like some tarp-desensitizing was definitely in order. When Lilly sees the tarp, she is not happy. It must look like a weird, flat and fluttering wolverine to her. All she wants to do is get away from it. This kind of groundwork requires the patience of a saint.

Bill has been working on Australian horseman Guy McLean's program so he was trying some of what he is learning on Lilly in this picture. It might look like what all the other clinicians are doing and naturally there are similarities. But there are differences too. I think Guy seems pretty neat. Lilly did everything she was supposed to do, quite sparklingly if you ask me. But then again, I am probably biased.

I think Bill is telling Lilly what a good brumby she is in this picture.

After doing some ground work, it was time to get on and ride!

In the ring I always start Lilly at a walk. Because when I get on her, I never start fast. I like to start slow...kind of like a snail. I can't imagine a time I will ever want to get on Lilly and be off at a gallop. If I ever need to do that, it can only mean something is dreadfully wrong. So, once we do a few loops walking, I get her into a trot. She likes to cut corners. If I remind her, she will hold her head very beautifully. She'll go in any direction I point her in. Sometimes she'll make little protests about having to do ringwork. She'd rather stand around and sleep in the sun. But Saturday, she was a dream.

I also want to keep her soft and supple and ask her to flex at the poll. I do not do this enough.

I also get her into a canter. Lately, she has been picking up the canter without any fuss. In this snapshot, I might be trying to sidepass her. Often when we are sidepassing, Lilly's body get crooked. Her rear end does not stay behind her shoulders. It swings out like a boomerang. So this is another reason to keep up with the ringwork.

Overall, a satisfying and educational day in the ring. Sunday I did the same thing all over again, with some variations to keep it interesting. I have renewed my commitment to tarp training. I am downright uncomfortable with the degree to which the tarp frightens Lilly. I know out on the trail the chances of a tarp appearing out of nowhere and flying toward us is slim to none, but something that looks like a tarp could appear: a sheet of snow, the reflection of sun on water, the big ole backside of a black bear! Only good things can come from de-sensitizing. After all, it could be this very kind of work that kept Lilly calm and still when that wire got wrapped around her leg on the trail a few years ago. She was terrified but she kept her feet on the ground. All four of them!

Sunday night already? Rats. I was just starting to enjoy myself.

Mid Week Meander

2011-11-02T16:18:00.007-04:00

It may be a mid-week meander, but I am not a part of the meandering party. While I am at work, Bill and Jackie are out on the trail having oodles of fun. So I am at work getting pictures detailing how it is going. And it looks like a lot more fun than what I am doing! They shoot video with helmet cam....

...they visit the horses in the BP.....

...they find my long lost crops! I am always losing crops. I am not sure where they go, but they are constantly vanishing into thin air. My favorite crop was royal blue and I lost it the first time I took it out. Within an hour, the crop goblins had managed to steal it. The thing is that my brumby can get awfully slow in her plugging along, and having a crop is a necessity.

Maybe you'd like to see some helmet cam footage? If so, click right here for clips from Bill and Jackie's mid week ride.

Meanwhile, our snow is melting. Not as fast as I thought it would, but sure enough, it is vanishing (just like my crops). Here is a picture of our woodpile on Sunday, and the picture below is the woodpile...

on Wednesday. Today it felt downright balmy. However, many of my co-workers still do not have power.

I love snow, but not quite so early. It's too hard on deer and wildlife in my opinion.

I am getting excited because the Equine Affaire in Springfield is a week away. Think of all the crops I can get there! This year Clinton Anderson and Chris Cox won't be there. I'll be forced to investigate some other clinicians. Maybe I'll go hog wild and buy a new saddle! ( I am always threatening to do that.) One booth I really love is one with all these leather scabbards for the saddle. I don't know why I love looking at them. I guess I like fantasizing that I am Annie Oakley! Hah! What a thought!

It is October, isn't it?

2011-10-30T18:43:00.007-04:00

Here's what our cars looked like in the driveway this morning. We had 26 inches of snow, and the last time we had this much this early dates back to the civil war! As soon as the cars were dug out and my husband had grumbled sufficiently about living in a godforsaken state, I went over to ride my brumby. And this time I had my full winter regalia: puffy pants, winter coat , gloves, fuzzy boots. If it was going to act like January, then I was going to dress like January.

You wouldn't believe my brumby in the pasture trying to run away from me when I went to get her. Basically, since the other horses were sipping water, she just had to sip water rather than be haltered. Now that is so annoying. She probably wasn't even thirsty. Here she is saying, Can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man! Grrrrrr, brumby!

But when they were all daintily sipping the water, it was very serene, and I got this pretty picture, so how could I complain? While I was taking this picture, Getty was the antithesis of placidity. If you want to see a cute and muppet-like, happy little Getty, click here for a short video clip. It is so cute.

I wasn't sure how well Lilly would go in the snow frankly, because she has her shoes on, and they don't have studs in them for snow. This highly unseasonable weather just came on too fast. However, Bill and I headed out to the trailhead to give it a try. While Bill was getting up on Ruby, the saddle was too loose and he and the saddle slipped right off. Swoosh! Bill ended up on the ground. Plop! Any horseperson can see the value of his horse, who stands so quietly even with the saddle hanging off of her. Ruby, you are a very good girl! Really, she hardly flinched!

I was warm as toast on the trail with all my winter gear, and even though I am not a fan of snow this early, it was beautiful.

You can just barely make out Bill's GoPro helmet cam in this picture. Now that Bill has this helmet cam, I never know when it is on or not. I must try to be quiet so in the videos you don't hear me squawking and quacking like a duck in the background. I should get a helmet cam too, so Bill can see himself riding.

The dogs love being on the trail. Today they had to porpoise their way through the snow. I thought it might wear Getty out, but since we have been home, she is as perky and buzzy as ever. Do you know how sometimes there is nothing as nice as a sleeping baby? I think sometimes that sentiment can be applied to pet dogs.

Stay tuned to see how long this wintery blast lasts!

As I left the barn, Louise was busy burying herself in hay for a warm and cozy night in the barn.

Brrrr!

Quick! Squeeze a Ride In!

2011-10-29T16:27:00.004-04:00

Today I got up from bed and zoomed to the farm to squeeze a ride in because all the meteorologists were insisting a giant snowstorm was on the way. You know what that means: everyone gets hysterical like they've never seen snow before. In any case, when I brought Lilly up from the pasture, this is what she looked like. A big, dirty mess!

Naturally, it being Halloween and all, I tried to scare her with my zombie mask. But, as this snapshot reveals, she was not surprised at all. Or scared. Or anything. She was probably thinking: Zombies are not supposed to wear pink.

Nope, not a single molecule of fright.

So it was off to the trail. Bill got ready and joined me with Ruby. This picture is of Bill adjusting his new helmet cam. (There will be clips later, rest assured)

I took this picture to verify that I am wearing my winter riding boots because it was so cold. I had hand-warmers, toe-warmers and these fuzzy boots and I was still cold. I have ridden in colder, bitterer weather so I don't know what my problem was. But it might be because this cold wintery snap has come on too fast.

I felt like I hadn't been on my brumby in forever! It's true that last week I didn't ride because we were at the Zombie Fest. I hate missing even one weekend of riding! I also really needed my sheepskin seat cover--my bum was not only cold, it was slipping around in the saddle!

Down at the Blueberry Pasture the horses ran over to see Bill. I mean, they took their own sweet time coming over. Horses are so cute. Their little ears slay me. Adorable!! I heard Bill asking the horses here if they were ready for the storm.

Because a few hours later, this is what was going on. That's Kestrel with Getty in the backyard, building a snowman. The apple tree behind them has not even had time to shed its leaves!

Getty made good use of the snow, racing around like a rocket.

Happy Snowy Trails!

Wot happened?

2011-10-28T19:13:00.002-04:00

While we were busy at the beach being surrounded by zombies last weekend, poor Bella had an encounter with a porcupine! I am not sure how it happened, but I do know Bella is very curious and maybe her curiosity got the best of her. Poor pudgy haflinger!!

Jackie K was there to help Bill pill the quills out. There were about 160 quills. Bill said Bella was very patient while they pulled them out.

Meanwhile our Autumn weather has vanished into thin air. Last night we had two inches of snow and six inches are predicted for tomorrow night. Humph, this is too early for snow, even for me. Plus, how can I dress up as a feathery harlequin goddess on Halloween if I have to wear a big ole winter coat??

And I certainly hope my brumby is staying warm out there!

Everything's Coming Up Zombies

2011-10-23T19:59:00.004-04:00

This weekend we left the bucolic pastures of western Mass and headed to Ocean Grove, NJ. Going to the beach is never a bad idea. While we were there, we were inexplicably drawn to Asbury Park (a hop and skip down the boardwalk) where it appeared some zombies had moved into town. A lot of them.

Enter Zombie Fest 2011. The Guinness Book of World Records claims the largest group of Zombies ever to be assembled was in Asbury Park. The truth is, the procession of zombies in the Zombie Parade was unending. Zombies of all ages, shapes and sizes dragged their club feet and nibbled brains all the way down the boardwalk. Just when you thought you couldn't look at one more zombie, more appeared.

Some zombies yelled, some twitched and moaned, some limped along alone. All of them were bleeding. Many of them loved having their pictures taken.

There were bride and groom zombies, nurse zombies, chainsaw wielding zombies, cell phone using zombies and drunken zombies. Some of them spilled over into Ocean Grove causing us to secretly rename the town Ocean Grave. I got so used to seeing them that later at the grocery store when I saw a kid in a cast hobbling around I grabbed Brandon's arm and gasped: There's another one!

But mostly, we has a quiet and lovely time. It's October, so dogs are allowed on the beach again. Getty does not like the water, but she loves racing around in the sand.

Sometimes at home I complain that our house is too small. Then I go to Ocean Grove and am reminded that it could be worse....

As usual, the weekend was too short.

I hope you all had a wonderful and frightless weekend.

Windy But Not Wet!

2011-10-16T18:30:00.005-04:00

Sunday I had some leaf-raking to do at home, but I scrambled over to the farm anyway. Those leaves could wait. At Bill's the sky started to look a little menacing. And the wind was blowing. I carried on with horse plans anyway. The riding academy was slim: Jackie was not around, Christine was writing a paper for class, and Bill was stacking firewood with his son Andy. Looked like I was on my own.

Oh my goodness, that's not a painted brumby! I had every intention of taking Lilly out on the trail. But when I got there and saw Bella, I really wanted to get on her. Bella is the only one of Bill's horses that appeals to me in this way. Like I cannot resist her. So here I am on her in the ring. Because Bella is so short, I get this [totally erroneous] idea that I have more control of her than I do of Lilly. I realize this could not be more wrong. Her neck alone is the size of an oak tree. But I love her lively little trot. When I got on Bella, she kept flinging her head around. She went trucking right out a gate when I didn't ask her too. Her head set was terrible. Uh-oh!

Bill has always said that he likes to watch people ride horses. So even as he was stacking firewood, perhaps he was watching me in the ring. It was not long before I saw him coming down to get a closer look. I wish I could tell you I had Bella looking very pretty and in order by the time he sat down in the spectator chair. Not! We were speedily trotting hither and yon all messy-like. Quite fun, but very messy. I know you can imagine what happened next. Yes, you got it. Bill got involved!! I love how Bill never says: GET OFF THAT DAMN HORSE AND LET ME DO IT. This is what he says: Let me get on her and try something. So Bill got on Bella in my saddle with the short stirrups and worked with her for maybe 15 minutes. He got her softer on the bit, and started showing her how to keep her front feet still while moving her hind end, and vice versa. I made a short clip of some of it : You can see it by clicking here.

Here's what I love about Bella: she wants to please. She is a fun companion. She may get feisty and fling her head around, but she is still young and doesn't have miles under the saddle like some of the other horses. She doesn't get angry. In fact, she seems to like hanging out with people, no matter what she is doing with them.

I just love her. I love that she is the color of honey, and her giant mane and her blonde eyelashes can charm the socks off a rooster. I love her personality and her quick, little steps. I love her neat little ears and her haflinger smile. On the trail, she will carry you anywhere. She is the cutest little tank you will ever meet.

Earlier in the week, this guy was hanging around the pasture.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2011-10-16T09:24:00.002-04:00

So it may have been a little windy yesterday, but Christine and I refused to be daunted. The air was warm, the sun was out. It was everything you want a day in October to be. Plus, at the barn I got to see Bella, who was getting a manicure.

While Bill stayed behind in the ring to do groundwork with Bella, Christine and I decided to brave the trail. Even though it was windy, sometimes when you get in the woods, there's no wind at all. We decided to go along the river trail (again!). It did not disappoint. Because earlier in the week we had another monsoon, the river was running wild. You couldn't see the sandy bottom at all as it turbulently flowed by. We were delighted. It's bow season here, and even though getting poked by an arrow is very unlikely, we have our safety orange on anyway.

Pehaps the only benefit to the hurricane at the end of August was that she took so many trees out along the river that now it is even more beautiful and open than before. Lilly was very well behaved on the trail, even on the steep downhill that makes all of the horses want to turn around and head for home. Although...she does like to stop and nibble leaves on the steepest part of the trail. Bad donkey!!

After the River Trail, we can make a big loop and head back the way we came (and back up the steep trail we rode down), or we can make a sharp left and catch up with the Ridge Trail, one of our other faves. We chose the Ridge Trail. Once on the Ridge Trail we have a few options as to what part of the trail we want to be on. This time we chose the one that drops us at the back of the Winter Pasture. And that's where this picture was taken. Once in the pasture, Lilly and QTee tried to gobble up mouthfuls of hay. The way these horses try to snack, you'd think they were staving. Not the case, I assure you. I've had Lilly 5 years now and not once have I seen her even remotely meeting the definition of small.

Back at the barn, just as we were arriving, the sky got dark and it began to sprinkle. This is my brumby chewing an apple that I gave her. And looking very cute, if you ask me.

At home, Brandon and Kestrel were no where to be found. So I turned on RFD-TV and caught a little bit of Dennis Reis working with a tarp and a very calm horse. I am not sure Lilly would tolerate the tarp like this horse. Dennis also had the tarp stuck through the night-latch and watching this almost gave me a heart attack. But the horse he was working with was very tolerant and loped around the round pen with the tarp flying along behind him.

For Sunday: maybe some more barrel racing in the ring!

Wish You Were Here!

2011-10-13T19:15:00.004-04:00

The best thing about Columbus Day, in my opinion, is getting a three day weekend! Whoooooeeeee! Saturday and Sunday we had sun, and Monday there was MORE SUN! The possibilities are really endless on a sunny day. Here are Jackie and Pokey racing around barrel number two. At barrel number three Pokey decided he wanted to listen to Pokey and not Jackie. He's never an unkind horse, never tries to buck his rider off. He just likes to test his boundaries every once in a while.

Monday Brandon came out with me to look for mushrooms as Lilly and I ambled along. Lilly was so slow. Brandon was constantly way ahead of us. Her natural speed is something like -5 mph. She does get faster on the way home. It figures. But the truth is, I like her ambling. It's sweet and gentle. I also know she'd move at lightening speed if I really asked her to.

Oh deeeeeeear. My blog has suddenly become X rated! Don't you love these mushrooms? They are stinkhorns (Phallus ravenelii) and prove, in yet another way, how mushrooms are more like animals then plants. Stinkhorns smell terrrrrible. The smell attracts little flies and the flies get spores on their wings, and that way the mushroom travels far and wide in its carrying-on of the species.

Stinkhorns may look like men, but hopefully you will never be with a man that smells like one. YIKES.

Oh! Now that's horrible! This is just a reminder that one of my favorite holidays is coming up!

And Finally, the Sun

2011-10-09T18:41:00.004-04:00

The sun arrived just in time for this weekend's fall festival in our tiny town. YEAY! At the festival there's a craft fair, local and yummy fare (including Pekarski's sausages and fried dough with maple cream), live fiddley style music, pumpkin games, games for kids, and many tags sales. Here you see Brandon found a old outboard motor at Mike Skaski's annual (and huge) tag sale.

Here's my friend Dre watching the booth her husband and kids set up.

And here's our friend Zoe selling her little elf dolls.

After dabbling at the festival for a few hours, I met Jackie at Bill's for some good ole sunshiny R & R out on the trail.

It was such a fabulous day for a ride.

Both Jackie and Christine love it when we happen upon a branch or log across the trail because this means they get to jump over it. Here is a short clip of Jackie, excitedly making a small jump with Pokey along the trail. Just click right here. This clip cracks me up because it reveals Jackie's exuberance at being with Pokey. I can't say enough how lucky I am to have such great trailriding partners. Jackie, Christine and Bill are all excellent riding buddies.

We went along the river trail which I haven't been on in months. It was very pretty. Jackie had never been on this trail and she fell in love with it. The trail that gets you to this section is all very downhill and scrabbley. But if you can stand it, the reward at the river is very great.

On Sunday, while Brandon was working in the burgers-and-dogs booth at the festival, I went over to take my brumby back out on the trail. Because seriously, when it is this nice outside, being on my horse makes makes my heart grow.

This time, Bill came with me on Ruby. Ruby wasn't even wearing a bridle, just a halter. I could probably take Lilly out in just a halter. But I never do.

Bill kept finding all these wild grapes along the pastures we were riding through. Aren't they beautiful? They were a little sour and both Ruby and Lilly had no interest in them when we gave them some. I guess when you're expecting a sweet carrot and all you get is mouthful of sour grapes, you feel no compunction about spitting them out.

Yesterday Bill made a knot tying video. The only knot I am any good at tying is the Granny Knot. And also, the Colleen Knot which is something I made up and use all the time. Sometimes Bill looks at the knots that Jackie or I have tied and he says, "What the hell is that?" But Jackie is much better at them than I am. In any event, check out Bill's video by clicking right here!

Back at home, Getty the Warrior Pumpkin Dog kept an eye on things while I did some raking.

Good night everyone!

The Great Mystery

2011-10-07T07:30:00.002-04:00

What is the mystery? It is this: Will the clouds will go away in time for the weekend so that there will be some decent riding time? The skies look bright enough in these mid-week photos, but it was still raining on Wednesday.

Do you see that purple box in the tree? That is a pest monitoring device for the emerald ash borer. Looks like UMass is trying to figure out what that little bug is up to. These purple boxes are all over western Mass.

The drizzling, dark skies do not seem to bother Getty.

But I would like them to go away!

Riders on the Storm

2011-10-02T18:32:00.005-04:00

Dear Mother Nature, You think you are so great dumping all this rain on us. But it can't stop me. I know with the right gear I can be out in just about anything. Put that in your nature pipe and smoke it!

That's right. Today it was another monsoon. But I put on my oilskin duster & chaps and tacked Lilly up anyway. Bill put on his rain gear and came along with me. Even though it was raining through most of the ride, it was still quite beautiful. But wait a minute. Is everything beautiful from the back of a horse? Mother Nature, you have redeemed your damn self.

We went to visit the mares in the Blueberry Pasture. Bill hasn't been keeping the horses in here lately. But they looked just fine. They all came over to see us. Do you see QTee there in the front? She is looking pretty fabulous for being an older lady.

For most of the ride we were on Bill's road. It's not really paved and just residents (there are only a few) use it. So it was a nice change. Taking this road means we get to ride by all the pastures and check on everyone. It also means no needing to duck to avoid getting your head lopped off by a low branch. In the spring when the road is soft, we can canter up and down it. But I better not start thinking about spring since it is only the second of October. If it dries up a little around here, I know October will be gorgeous....and perfect for riding.

One thing that's great about this duster is that it keeps the saddle completely dry. And I think it takes all the heat from Lilly and traps it so I stay nice and toasty. Looks like Ruby's ear is blocking my brumby's pretty face in this picture!

If you like poetry, then maybe you have heard of Archibald MacLeish. This is the little stone house where he composed some of his poems. Riding by it is a thrill. There's a big window on the other side. I have never been this close to it before today. My brumby was not as impressed. She pooped right near it.

This pasture is right near the MacLeish house and we usually do not ride through it. Bill is allowed on this property so we weren't trespassing. The last time I was in this pasture there was snow on the ground.

Lilly likes to dawdle. And Bill was on Ruby, and Ruby likes to step out. So there is Bill and Ruby ahead of us on the road.

Hope everyone was warm and dry this weekend! If you'd like to watch a short clip of Ruby thinking about staying ground tied (or not?) while Bill is busy at the gate, click right here!

As wet as wet can be

2011-10-01T15:37:00.005-04:00

I've never known so wet a year! This week it felt like it rained all week. It probably didn't, but that's how it felt. So today (Saturday) when I woke up and it was wet as a sink outside (as usual), I went over to see Lilly anyway. The weekend is all I have and I must make it work! When I got to the farm, I didn't bother tacking Lilly up. There is nothing worse than wet tack. Instead, we just went out walking together in the downpour. Here you see I decorated her with a few autumn leaves...that easily stick to her since they were sopping wet.

There were giant puddles everywhere. My brumby didn't seem to mind them. She'd paw (hoof?) at the water and then and flap her lips around in it. One year the leaves were all red so the woods had a misty pink glow to it. This year all the leaves are gold and orange, and then get brown fast because of all the rain. A brown and yellow sogfest is not nearly as magical as pink mist.

In the pasture Lilly seeks out the soggiest, most waterloggiest places, so I don't think she minds the water at all. I know Bella must like this weather because now she isn't plagued by all those horrible flies. But in reality the rain makes the trail slippery and squishy underfoot. It just isn't as much fun out there when it is raining all the time.

Look! One red leaf!

The newts and mushrooms were out in full force today! I had to move quite a few newts out of the way because I know if Lilly steps on any she'll smash them out of existence with her flat feet. On the other hand, if Bill's horse Ruby stepped on a newt, her feet are so concave, nothing would happen to the newt at all! Ruby would lift her foot up and the unscathed newt would carry on with its business.

Up by the BP, all the horses came to the gate to see what was going on. Do you see them in the background peeking out?

I had a few apples and carrots in my pocket. So sometimes as we were walking along, Lilly would stab her nose at my pocket because she knew they were in there! She even tried to take a bite of my camera when I pulled it out of that pocket to snap her picture. My brumby is just like me: she loves her sweets.

Today's parting shot.

Saturday at the Races

2011-09-25T17:10:00.007-04:00

This Saturday, we were back in the ring for some barrel racing. I think this picture of Bill and Freddie going around barrel #1 is fabulous!

And this one after barrel #3 is even better! WHOOOO HOOOOO! This was Freddie's first time around the barrels. It took a few patterns to realize what he was supposed to do, and then he got better and better.

Here's our score keeper and judge. Jackie K!!

After racing, Freddie and Lilly needed to take a little nap to restore themselves.

Later, I tried practicing my no-saddle-and-no-mounting block mount. I say tried because I tried and failed. Many times. It's just harder than it looks! If you want to see a humorous clip of a few attempts I made, then Click right here. Let's just say if this was a life or death situation, I'd have to stop giggling and git'r done.

On Sunday, while Christine poured over her english literature books for school, Jackie K , Bill and I went out on the trail. Originally, we had more barrel racing practice planned, but the weather was too good to not be out on the trail. I'll never get tired of that stripe down Pokey's back.

Sometimes Jackie and I like to fanatsize about which other horses of Bill's we would buy if we had a million bucks. Jackie would choose Glitter for her daughters, and I would choose Bella because I just plain love her.

I put a picture from this spot in the Winter Pasture in just about every blog post that details a trail ride. I know, I know, borrring. But I love this stretch of green hay with the horses and the dogs. It reminds me of something very Perfect. It reminds me that things are Good (even when you have water in your basement or poison ivy up to your ears...both of which I do)! It makes me feel like I love everything.

Look what Branny Muffs did while I was riding! He stacked up Cord #1!!!!!

Life is Sweet

2011-09-23T19:36:00.003-04:00

What better way to begin a blog post than with a giant picture of Louise's big ole face? You can just imagine her lounging in the sun in the yard, finding no complaints with anything. In fact, this is probably Louise's fave time of year because all the apples are dropping from the trees and she gets to gorge herself.

Last weekend I was lucky enough to ride my brumby on both Sat and Sun. The weather is so unpredictable. So much rain. Saturday was a little gloomy, but Christine and I headed out anyway. She started on Jodie and then picked up QTee at the BP. While she was trading horses, I snapped this awesome picture of Lilly's moon.

This hay field is so pretty. On my way home, I captured them out there. Before I had a horse, I had no idea what the whole hay market was all about. I wasn't even sure that a field like this was full of hay. I know a lot more now....

Earlier in the week, Lilly had thrown a shoe. She does this all the time now, maybe because the ground is so wet. I considered leaving her barefoot...but not for long! After all her agonizing trouble in April and May with sore feet, and seeing how terrific she's been doing the last two months with Lyme medicine and shoes on her feet, I just can't let her go barefoot. Sure I'd do it if she had the right feet for it. But she doesn't. A lesson I have learned three times over now with two vets and an extremely competent farrier. Yes, Lilly, I have learned my lesson. You will wear shoes, rain or shine!

Anyway, the bad news for Bill is that each time a shoe comes off, he's the lucky guy who gets to put it back on. Not that i have ever heard a complaint out of him. All I can say after watching Bill make my brumby's shoes fit her just right, I am really glad she stands so still for him. Because I think putting shoes on a horse requires not just skill, but a good, strong body. Can you imagine shoeing a naughty horse? Ugh. That would be tough.

After her new shoes were put on, I took her down to the ring for a quick ride.

She was GREAT. After that, I put her in a dryer pasture for a few days, the one right behind Bill's house with the cow and the alpaca.

So Bill gets to see Lilly from the couch in his family room!

Meanwhile, back at home, we had our first cord of wood delivered. Oh dear. Am I ready for cold weather? Umm, no I never am. But I'd rather have snow than all this rain, that's for sure.

Around The Farm

2011-09-17T11:38:00.004-04:00

I can't believe a whole week has passed since I took these pictures. I think this is a sign that I need to quit my job and ride horses full time. If only! This picture was taken last Saturday when Christine and I were out on the trail. It makes me a little sad that all the green in this field will be gone soon. Most people I know rave about the Fall and how pretty it is and what a relief it is to be done with all summer's heat. I always see Fall as a little tiny death.

Right as we were coming back on to the road after the ride, we encountered Bill on his four-wheeler. He was on his way to flip some hay.

Back at the barn, Jackie C was harvesting some gourds from one of her gardens. I am intrigued by gourds. They seem to follow their own rules about color and form. True artists, they are.

Meanwhile, Brandon was drying out some of his mushroom harvest. It is amazing how a giant bushel of fresh mushrooms dry up to almost nothing at all.

On Sunday Christine couldn't ride because she had homework to do. I decided to go down in the ring and do some lessons. First my plan was to ride english and work on getting Lilly to respond to my commands without having to ask her ten times. But when I got there, I decided I really wanted to practice some barrel racing. I went down to the ring to set up the barrels. While doing that, I found these little handprints.

Bill came down in the ring with Glitter as I was doing the barrels. I started at a trot. At first: 55 seconds. Then I got a little better. I got it down to 26 seconds. I need to start learning to look at the next barrel. I am always looking down at Lilly. I guess I am not ready for competition yet!

Here are some cute crumbs on my brumby's face from her last dose of medicine for Lyme!

She's really going to miss getting the grain that came with her medicine! But I will not miss her having it. I am just so glad she's been treated and is feeling good.

Happy Trails!

Rain, Go Away!

2011-09-09T19:14:00.004-04:00

One of the few interesting things about having 20 inches of rain in the last two weeks is that there are mushrooms everywhere. So when the air was heavy with water but not actually raining for a few hours, Brandon, my brumby, Getty and I set off on another mushroom quest in the woods. I should note: everything else about having so much water around here is a drag. Our basement is flooded and I am paranoid about the town dam breaking. Trees are toppling because their roots are too wet. If I thought New England was an old and moldy place a month ago, it is even moldier (and older) now. I'd like to tell Gene Kelly that I do not sing in the rain, and even if I did, it would not be a glorious feeling. No, I am quite ready for some sunshine and dry air.

But this walk was really fun, and highly successful. Here you see that Lilly doesn't care at all about mushrooms. But she is interested in ferns..... I made the mistake of giving her a mushroom to sniff but she thought it was an apple and her lips were smacking at it greedily. I did not let her eat it, just in case it was poisonous!

I always like to see a mushroom with a pretty little petticoat like this one. This Amanita virosa is very poisonous, filled with toxins with names like amatoxin and phallotoxins. Heh heh, yes, you heard me.

I only know the names of any mushrooms, incidentally, because Brandon was with me. I could not identify a mushroom to save my life! No pun intended. But I like these a lot because they are small and delicate and commonly called Angel Wings. Isn't that rather dear? So many mushrooms are perfectly content to grow out of an old dead, log. The real name of this mushroom is Pleurocybella porrigens.

Well, this picture isn't that great, but this is another mushroom that likes living on a dead wood. It's called Hericium abietis and we had a bunch of these for dinner a few nights ago. Brandon and Kestrel gobbled them up like they were some kind of forest nectar. Bleccch, the flavor was too strong for me. Plus, they look a little like brains.

I thought these big ploppy mushrooms were like horse poop on the trail!! Brandon is not sure what they are.

But really, mushrooms are so darn interesting. Look at this giant Amanita. It was quite tall. Maybe 10 inches high.

Oh now look, here we stumble upon an Equus ferus caballus nibbling her medicinal tetracycline dinner. I devour her all right. I devour her with hugs and kisses.

On the mushroom quest, this mare was sooo good. Ambling along, following Brandon, sniffing the soil. The only incident we had was completely my fault and began when a large and frighteningly bedazzled-looking spider landed out of nowhere (out of nowhere, I tell you!) on my saddle bag. Now, I am very afraid of spiders and when I saw this one with her striped legs and huge body, I SCREAMED a very panicky scream. It was also a sustained scream, I am sorry to report. The first second, my brumby was OK with it. But then she decided too it was scary and needed to take off running. Brandon, who is afraid of horses if you recall, turned around to see what the commotion was and all he saw was a giant paint mare running toward him. Oy vey.

I still shudder thinking about that spider.

Here is an ad for a free horse that appeared in our town's newspaper. Anyone interested? Oh, if only I were a billionaire!

Mushrooms in fridge! (Those red ones are lobster mushrooms--yum!)

Let's hope tomorrow is a sunny day.

What In the Sam Hill?

2011-09-04T12:23:00.004-04:00

What in the sam hill is that on Lilly's back??? It's that little tiny launching-pad of a saddle! I got this english tack out for two reasons. First, I knew I was going ride in the ring, and once in a blue moon, I like to use the english saddle. Just to keep in touch with it. Second, Bill and Jackie C were getting ready for their garden party later in the day. This included a guy roasting a pig (don't look, Louise!) and a giant tent. Last year this very scene gave Lilly a near heart attack. You know how you pick your battles? I chose not to pick this one and just tacked her up in the ring. While riding, I kept losing my stirrups. How do you english riders do it?

Lilly was just fine with this small saddle even though it must have felt very different to her. Personally, when I am riding english, I feel a great sense of purpose. I want to trot faster and follow the Boob Rule like an expert. In the western saddle, I want a slow, easy jog. But that's just me. Because you know any bona fide cowboy works hard and fast in western tack, not english. Working a cow is as purposeful as it gets.

It was so hot that Christine and I nearly melted in the ring. Then we had to lug all of our stuff back to the barn, joking about how easy it is to accumulate horse gear believing it all to be real must-haves. Half the things I've gotten for Lilly I really don't need!

And then a few hours later.......

PARTY AT BILL'S!!!!!!(Scary tent and all!)

Bill and Jackie C should have parties more often! It was great fun. Fabulous people, yummy food, great weather. Good thing the party wasn't last weekend! That dog in the picture is named Bubba.

There's Bill, Jackie K, and Jackie K's hubster, Andrew.

Here is my favorite part of any meal: dessert!

Brumby was intrigued by all these small people who kept offering her mouthfuls of hay!!

I mean, very small people! (Helloooo, Lilly is saying, Yes, just lift that hay a little higher!)

Look how Bill, while the party is in full force, is taking time to give Lilly her Lyme medicine!

Happy September, everyone!

Lazy Little Wednesday

2011-09-03T11:28:00.003-04:00

Generally speaking, I am quite the homebody. When I finish with work, usually I like to go right home. With two exceptions: my french lessons and my brumby. OK, and maybe a night out with friends for Chinese food. Anyway, on Wednesday after work, I went over to see my brumby. Louise was wandering around in the front yard.

Down in the ring, I tried to get some snaps of QTee and Christine. But each picture came out fuzzy, like I have a setting wrong. So I took this picture to see what was going on. But this picture looks fine. Brandon called the camera a piece of junk which I think is going a little too far. But lately it has been very controlling.

We had very gentle ring time. QTee was a wee bit sensitive in her feet, and Bill noticed that Lilly's head was ever so slightly nodding as I trotted her. She didn't feel unsound at all, but Bill has special horse eyes. It didn't seem like enough of anything to fret about. Last week her shoe had come loose and she wore it off-center for maybe 2 hours before we noticed it. So maybe she is working out that kink. (The perils of shoe-wearing!) When I go to see her today, I hope she is back to normal.

This is me apparently proving that I can sit on a horse and pat my head at the same time. Or I could be swatting flies.

All in all a lovely little lazy time in the ring.

All Right Now

2011-08-29T19:37:00.002-04:00

Well, we had a few tense hours yesterday when we almost had to evacuate as Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene dropped so much water on western Mass that water was everywhere, spilling over river banks with ferocity, busting down dams and overwhelming creekbeds. In our own town, Ashfield Lake almost breached its own dam. If it had done that, then I'd be living in a hotel right now, with 4 rabbits, two guinea pigs, a dog two cats and one bird.

Brumbies are all fine!

Here is some footage of the town nearby that has a historic bridge of flowers, some awesome glacial potholes, a darling market..well when there isn't a hurricane. Watching this footage takes my breath away.

Click right here for a crazy shot of Shelburne Falls Mass, our neighbor town, and the Deerfield River that runs through it.

I hope everyone is OK out there.

Rock me like a hurricane

2011-08-27T18:58:00.006-04:00

As I write this email, we are waiting for Hurricane Irene to show up. Supposedly, even though we are not on the ocean, Hurricane Irene will not care and is expected to come ripping through the northeast tonight and tomorrow. I went over to Bill's today to make sure my brumby was ready for the storm. I found her and QTee in their storm location up in the hilly pasture behind Bill's house. If you are an animal in this pasture, you have access to the barn.

Bill had put QTee and Lilly up there, and all the other horses were back from the Big Pasture so they'd be closer to the house. So they are in the pasture across the road. Bill asked me to label each horse, in case (GOD FORBID) they get out in any stormy chaos. So I labeled each one of them while Bill got his generator working. Do you see Charlie sporting his duct tape label?

Then I walked up to the Big Pasture where the donkeys were still hanging out. I brought them down so they will be with Lilly, Qtee, the cow and the alpaca in the hilly pasture. They came along with me obediently.

On the way back with the donkeys, I spied these two little puffball mushrooms tenaciously growing right in the road!

Looks like everyone at the farm is as good as they can be! At my own house, Brandon was busy battening down our own hatches. I love that phrase: batten down the hatches. We are expecting to lose power, so we have all of our out-of-power provisions ready. This mostly means a lot of water. Luckily, we do have a pond in our yard if we need water by the bucketsful.

Earlier in the week, when Irene was just a little threat, we actually had a little earthquake! I was at work when this happened and it was very clear the earth was shaking. Everyone I work with became excited and hysterical. We don't really get earthquakes around here. But after work, it is nice to leave the drama and go see Lilly. Which is what I did on Wednesday night, earlier this week. Here is Lilly all ready for some ring time. That's Brandon in the back, talking with Andy, Bill's son. And Getty is there, probably looking for some hoof trimmings. Yuck!

Down in the ring, Jackie K was trying an english saddle on her dear Pokey. There is Pokey nibbling at her toes instead of posing for a photo.

While we were riding, Brandon was back in the woods where he found this mushroom. It is called an Inky Cap, so named because their spores are black and turn to ink when the cap breaks down.

We didn't do too much in the ring. I just trundled around on Lilly, making small attempts to ignore the blustery wind and the trees swaying around. Wind is my least favorite weather event.

This is Lilly watching longingly as Jackie finishes with Pokey and leads him out of the ring. I don't consider my brumby to be herd-bound or barn sour, but she does not prefer to be the only one down in the ring...especially when it is getting so close to hay time for the night!!!! Poor little thing. She has such a difficult life.

I hope all of my east coast neighbors fare well as Irene arrives!
Good Luck, everyone!

Sweet Summer Vacation, Chapter 3

2011-08-21T16:59:00.004-04:00

Even though Lilly technically lives in a different town than I do, she is still very close. I can drive over to the barn in about ten minutes. Here is one of the roads I take to get there. Lots of fine fresh air! Sunday was Jackie K's birthday and so I headed over to the barn to help her celebrate, as planned, with a trail ride. yyyeeeehawwww!

After we had some blueberry soup that Christine brought in honor of Jackie's birthday, we walked the horses down to the trail head. Jackie was on Pokey but walked him until we got to the soft footing of the trail, and I always walk Lilly to the trail head in part because of her feet, but also because the new people up the road from Bill's have chickens and I've got to keep Getty on a leash until we pass their house. We do not need another chicken incident! Because QTee has shoes on, Christine can ride her right down the driveway and down the road.

My camera doesn't seem to have a feature that helps keep a picture still when you are moving slightly...as in when you are ambling down a trail on horseback! Here is Jackie pointing at a bone on the trail. That yellow thing on Lilly's halter is a little cord that's supposed to keep bugs away. I didn't have much faith in it, but it is true I saw not one single bug on Lilly's ears today.

It started to thunder so we rode the Ridge Trail and didn't carry on to Trollwood. Instead we had to cut back by the Big Pasture and hurry home. Not like my brumby hurries anywhere. But I do not want to be riding with loud claps of thunder and lightening in the sky.

Just when we were wondering if Bill was having as much fun in Maine as we were back at home, he sent us all some pictures detailing his vacation:

Bill in his boat.....

Looks like Bill and his family are having some typical Maine fare.....

and getting plenty of cozy time with wife, Jackie C....

..and taking in some extraordinary wildlife sightings.

We sent him the following picture we took with Jackie K's cell phone, just to let him know that things were OK back at the barn, and that everything was in control:

Happy Birthday, Jackie K, and Happy Vacation, Bill and Jackie C!!

Lilly Lilly Bo Billy Banana Fanna Fo Filly

2011-08-21T10:18:00.004-04:00

Brandon is out of town this weekend, picking up Kestrel from a week at the beach with her grandfather. Do you know what this means? It means I am a SINGLE CHICK and my time is entirely my own! So, along with eating eggs for dinner and watching multiple episodes of HG-TV (yes, I am so wild, aren't I?), I was able to go and see Lilly with no time constraints whatsoever! On Saturday AM, I headed over to Bill's. Bill is at his place in Maine this week so Jackie K is around running the farm. Here she is with Rosalie taking Ruby and Freddie off to the big pasture.

I tacked up my brumby and headed out on the trail. I know there have been a few spooks lately with her, but she seemed quiet and cuddley as soon as I tacked her up, even when I tightened the girth as much as I possibly could. Ugh, I think this lazy summer has helped my brumby in packing on a few extra pounds! This is Lilly on the trail right before I got on her.

As soon as I was on her, I got back off to take a picture of these Earth Tongues growing out of some dead wood.

I got back on Lilly, only to get back down off of her to snap this picture of these guys, also growing out of some dead and soggy logs. Brandon is not here to make an identification. But I thought it was quite a lovely little cluster of fungus.

While I was down on the forest floor investigating the mushrooms, I snapped this picture of Lilly, waiting for me like a horse from the Roman guard. By the way, the bugs were very bad. I so hate it when flies hook on to Lilly and do not want to let go.

This picture proves what a bubblehead I am with my helmet on.

We took a long ride: across the Short Trail, to the Ridge Trail, across the road to the Blueberry Pasture, into Trollwood, the Upper Loop Trail, across the little stream to Bear Kingdom Trail and back to the barn. We did not canter or trot once. This is what I like to do with Lilly: amble, amble, amble. And sing:

I can't promise that I'll go and leave you never
Cause you know that something always could go wrong,
And I can't say that I'll love you 'til forever
Cause I don't expect to be here quite that long.
I'll just say that I'm prepared to stay here with you,
As long as you're content to stay with me...
Like the river loves the sea is how I love you,
flow into me

Lilly was great and kind from start to finish. Especially about my singing which is about as good as my computer skills.

Of course Getty had a fine time. It is a good life for a dog, to be on a farm and near horses and hayfields.

We also spied this mushroom which, by its whiteness and purity, I know is an Avenging Angel. This mushroom will kill you if you eat it, despite it's angelic appearance. Good-bye kidney function! Brandon says if you are lost in the woods and need to forage for food, do not even bother seeking out mushrooms. While most of them are fine to eat, many taste bad and crickets and insects are much more nutritious in that situation.

This background is much more fitting for the Avenging Angel.

And then this mushroom looks like a giant sperm cell! Look out brumby! Do not let that guy impregnate you! Because a creature that is part horse, part mushroom would be a weird and scary creature indeed!

A good time was had by all. Tomorrow we have a birthday trail ride planned for Jackie K! Bill will be sorry to have missed it. Happy Birthday, Jackina!!!!!

Now Playing in Peoria: BSB!

2011-08-19T19:52:00.005-04:00

I've had a hard time blogging lately. And I think I know why. I can't get enough of reading mysteries every chance I get. Since May, I think I've read about 12 mystery novels with great pleasure, including many by Agatha Christie. Time I could be using to blog I'm using to bury my nose in a book! So, tonight, I am back to blogging. With renewed vigor! The picture above is a snake I observed in the barn last week. I poked at it with my crop (which it tried to bite) in an effort to get it out of the space where I was about to bring Lilly. I didn't want my brumby jumping out of her skin when this guy went slithering across the barn floor.

Here is Lilly's medicinal mash of stuff which she still gets in the AM and PM as her Lyme treatment. You can't see the real medicine in there. The picture only reveals the grain. Which Lilly loves with her entire being. I was concerned about Lilly last week because she was, all of the sudden, spooking at things she never spooked at before. She's never been a spooky mare. I started to wonder if the medicine was making her wacky. I was crushed that my near-perfect mare was on a slippery slope to Spooktown. It was The Mystery of the Suddenly Spooky Mare. I told Bill I was worried. So while I was at work last week, he tacked her up and took her out on a long trail ride. Just to see. Conclusion: He said she was the best and most awesome trail horse on the planet. Well, he didn't say that about the planet. I added that. But he did say she was awesome and had no spooks whatsoever.

So I am not going to freak out about it. I wanted to ride last weekend to follow through on this investigation of The Suddenly Spooky Mare case, but I has something else to do. My dad was turning 70 and his wife had planned a big birthday celebration for him. So Brandon and I boarded a plane for Peoria, Illinois to join the festivities! Actually we had to fly to Chicago first and then to Peoria. But you know what I mean.

Here is the welcome committee in the family room at my dad and his wife's house. An itty bitty kitty committee.

It was so fun to see everyone. Brandon got busy with some new brewskis.

Here is my dad (Tom) and his wife (Joelyn). I think this picture is hilarious.

Here we are trying out the timer on my camera.

Mmm mmmmm, yum. My dad and Joelyn love to cook. They are always planning elaborate meals and exploring new recipes. Here you see Joelyn made me a cosmo before dinner. Every night we were there was like a little party.

Here they are dancing in the kitchen in between making drinks, whipping up a huge prime rib and snapping photos.

The next night there was more partying. This is a picture of my Aunt Bernadette, my brother's wife Lisa and my Uncle Lee. My uncle Lee is fluent in French so I tried to have a conversation with him en francais. My french was so pathetic that I wonder if my Uncle Lee was thinking, Get me out of here.

There is Brandon on a different night with my Aunt Shirley. My Aunt Shirley loves to talk. She will tell you everything about everything you'd ever want to know, and will do so while laughing and laughing and laughing.

That is my dad's brother, my Uncle Bob, with his wife, my Aunt Jeanne. They live in Ohio. My Uncle Bob is a black belt in karate! yet still, he is the gentlest soul you will ever meet.

In this picture I am with my Uncle Tom (who is my mom's brother), my Uncle Jim (who is my mom's other brother and who, at my wedding, some of my co-workers assumed was my dad), my sister's partner Annie, and my Aunt Ann. We are getting ready to boogie.

This is Brandon with one of my dad's granddaughters (Brooklyn). Brandon loves children. While I am hiding from them, often in horror, he seeks them out.

Brooklyn is the one taking this picture. You can see Joelyn is explaining to her how to take the picture. She did pretty good with this one. In others all you could see were blurry fingers.

Ahhh what is happening here? I guess I can't be smiling all the time!

This picture is my sister's daughter Jade who is very teenagery and did not want her picture taken ever. So when she was on the phone and simultaneously texting, I zipped in and took her picture. As soon as she realized what I was doing, there were wild and teenagery protestations. Hah! It is so easy to rankle a teen!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM!!!!!

~Up next: It's back in the saddle!

Ring Around the Rosie

2011-08-07T18:40:00.009-04:00

It was back in the ring for Lilly this weekend, even though it was so hot that when I got down there I immediately started melting. Lilly has had a few spooks lately and I realized that even though they were not serious, I haven't been incorporating de-sensitizing training into our time together. When I first had Lilly, we worked in the ring all the time. I have fallen in love with the trail so deeply, that it is easy to leave ground work and other lessons in the ring on the back burner. Not any more! I realize that this kind of work is as essential as our work and play on the trail. Here is what we faced Saturday. I set up a few tarps and some scary branches. I also had a plastic grocery bag in my back pocket, and a small english saddle to take off and plop on her on her off side.

Here we are walking over one of the tarps. She was very good for the tarps. After doing ground work I got on her and she trotted over them without any trouble. Good brumby. We've done this a million times before. But anything worth doing one million times must be worth doing one million and one times, isn't it?

Jackie was in the ring working with Pokey. He has no fear of tarps whatsoever. He is the most curious and puppy-like horse. That's a little pile of brush he's passing over. I made that pile because Lilly got a little weird earlier with some leafy branches. It's not like her to be that way, but just to make sure she's over it, I did some ground work with branches. Including a small pile of them like right here. I also wiggled them all over her face and neck and made them brush against the saddle.

Here is Bill and Freddie watching Jackie and Pokey close a gate, rancher style. But I really took this picture just for fun to see if you see something here in this picture......

...that is not in this picture, 2 seconds later!!! hee hee, sooo childish, soooo childish. But it is so funny too.

The next day it was also hot and sunny which made it the perfect day to have the horses cross water. Because then when we ride them through the water, they will be so familiar with it, there will be no surprises. Here is Lilly getting ready to take the plunge.

Look at Lilly's video right here! It is SUPERCUTE. We had Lilly go through twice. The second time I think she realized she liked it in the water. Cutest hippo I have ever seen!

Then it was Pokey's turn. Pokey was not troubled by this task at all. He also looked a bit like a hippo in the water, pausing to enjoy himself before getting out. He also didn't porpoise his way up the tiny bank, but just casually strolled up and out of the water like he was a regular amphibian.

That's it, Pokey!

Oooh, that water feels good on a hot day!

What a good Pokey brumby!!!! Check out Pokey's water video right here!

Here's Bill with Freddie. Freddie was not as water-loving as Pokey and Lilly. He was, like my dog, very skeptical about the water. But after a few tentative moments, Freddie too made the crossing.

Ruby was also in the water! To see a video of Ruby making sense of it all, click here!

Speaking of water, after all that, when I came home, Brandon and I headed to our town's small lake to take a swim.

It was almost all cleared out.

There I am in the red and white stripes, adjusting my goggles. I am one of those nerd swimmers who wear goggles. But it's really only because I am worried about losing my contact lenses.

There I go! I don't do anything elaborate, I just spill into the water. I can't help but notice all the guys like to be as crazy as they can while jumping into the water.

Like my husband! Those are his feet! I missed the photo of him in mid-air. Probably because I am no photographer!

My parting shot is of some gorgeous oyster mushrooms I spied on my way to Bill's last week. Brandon went back and picked some of them to add to our dinner. Yum!!

Last Day of July--Oh My!

2011-07-31T16:26:00.005-04:00

Can you believe I have to go back to work tomorrow and leave the pleasures of the pasture behind me? That is so gross. What will Lilly do without me? She'll have a fine time, that's what. No more sweaty saddle to wear, no more trudging over hill and dale, through Trollwood and back again. I am the one who will have all the withdrawal symptoms.

However, as I return to work, I must be like this mushroom--springing joyously from a pile o' poop to thrive. I wonder if my co-workers will read this blog and think that I am calling them poop? I doubt it. The true fact is, I want to be with Lilly EVERY DAY and not at my desk at work at all.

This past week has been so terrific, riding every day! I was also thrilled to get a package in the mail on Friday from my friend Karen P that had birthday presents inside! Look at this cool fly swatter that she sent! At first Lilly was not sure of this new item. She gave it the hairy eyeball, both in the barn and on the trail. I started using it immediately on the deer flies that were clinging tenaciously to her ears. The flies got a good whap with the new swatter.

Saturday I showed up at Bill's for a ride and he was just coming out of the woods after making mincemeat of the three trees that were blocking the trail. He was too hot and exhausted from the tree work to ride, and Christine was not around. So Lilly and I set off alone. When there is just me and Lilly, I hear all the birds chirping, and see toads hopping along on the forest floor. It's like I am on Toad Road.

Here is a part of the trail I call The Chapel because it truly reminds me of a leafy aisle of an outdoor church. Which you cannot tell at all from this picture. You will have to take my word for it! As I ride though The Chapel, I call out: Beware, Bear! Or I will despair! This particular time I did this using a Boston accent, in case there were any eastern Mass bears in the neighborhood.

Oh dear! What if an animal came darting out of this hollow log? Well, because we are in Trollwood, it would probably be a troll darting out to wreak havoc and then disappear again.

I was riding through Trollwood from the opposite direction. So while this is usually the beginning of the Tollwood trail, this time it was the ending of it. Have I ever mentioned how different a trail can look when you come at it from a different angle?
Not that long ago, this was all cattle pasture. How quickly a forest can re-assert itself!

This hay field is positively gorgeous. However, I am always careful here because I know my brumby likes to run fast in big open spaces. (That is, when she is not trying to grab huge mouthfuls of hay.) If I let her get up in a canter here, we might be off like a rocket. If I am going to rocket through some wide open fields, I better wait until I have someone with me.

Tomorrow Getty turns 2!!
Happy Birthday, dear little dog! We love you!

Good Ole Summertime

2011-07-29T09:47:00.005-04:00

This hilarious picture of Lilly was taken by Jackie K's oldest daughter Gracie. Lilly is actually in the pond in the barn pasture, probably slurping up some water. But it looks more like she has decided to become a ground hog!

This week I have also been on vacation at home while Brandon has returned to work. I have tried to sleep in each day, considering being able to stay in bed until 11am a TRIUMPH in pure relaxation. Unfortunately, I have not managed this feat. There are too many things to do. I have also realized that my Playlist feature on this blog is not working which infuriates me. One day it was working fine and the next day Bay State Brumby seems destined to hear Music Box Dancer forever. Now that is embarrassing!

The good news is that I have been able to ride Lilly every day! On Tuesday, in honor of Rosalie's 11th birthday, Jackie K and Rosalie and I went off in the woods for Rosalie's first trail ride ever! There you see Rosalie on Glitter. Rosalie was feeling very confident, and Glitter sparkled with perfect behavior!

I think Rosalie could easily seen that riding a good horse on the trail is a very special thing. We went on the Lower Loop and the Upper Loop Trails, which Rosalie renamed Bear Kingdom Trail because it looks so obviously like bear habitat. I am sure it is, but I am still not sure I want to see a bear on the trail. I am very worried that Lilly will freak out. Or maybe I will, even though I know black bears are quite shy, generally speaking. I cannot find the jingle bells I used to have to jingle on my saddle in bear country. But I do have some rhythm bells which I hang around Lilly's neck.

The next day I was back at the barn. This time Bill came out and rode with me. He rode QTee to the Big Pasture, and ponied Glitter out there too. He thought both could benefit from having a huge expanse of grass to munch on all day.

Once at the BP, Bill dropped off those two and got Pokey out for the rest of our trail ride. Don't you love Pokey's big ole bum?

Naturally, Lilly the ambler and I fell behind Bill, so a few times he waited for us. Have you ever seen a horseman appear in the woods unexpectedly up ahead? I always have a split second of OH!

I have mentioned that Lilly is on a special regimen of medicine for her feet and her Lyme disease. This is her antibiotic that she gets twice a day.

The antibiotic makes her poop sloppy and cowploppy, so she also gets some probiotics.

Here is her medicinal mixture for the day before, the day of, and the day after shoeing.

And each morning, she gets a small dose of bute for maintenance. This reminds me I have to call the vet and give him an update on Lilly. He may decide to gradually reduce the bute.
And of course, Lilly has shoes on (with a slightly higher heel) which she will always wear. No more bare feet for this mare.

Yesterday I was out on the trail again! I thought Christine would be able to join me, but she must have gotten tied up, so I set off on Bear Kingdom Trail solo. Without other horses, you would not belieeeeeve how slowly my brumby was walking on that trail. We found this lobster mushroom right away (which Brandon later added to our dinner).

Those bloodsucking flies are so bad right now. Yesterday Bill was using a small bough to flutter around Pokey's head to keep them away. When I tried the same thing with Lilly, it scared her so when we were supposed to be cantering up the trail, I got a full gallop. (as if she's never seen a tiny leafy branch before!) So today on the trail I got another branch and worked on desensitizing her as we walked along.

Here we found the trail blocked! Looks like a chain saw is in order! We bushwacked around this blockade, and my brumby seemed to forget her bushwacking manners and tried to charge past me a few times. Ummm, no, that is not acceptable! See what happens when a paint mare gets most of the summer off? She conveniently forgets proper behavior!

Back at the barn, I mixed up her medicine just as Bill showed me, using a little water, some grain, and a tiny bit of molasses to make it appealing. Boy does Lilly love this mixture. She eats every molecule of it!
~
I am horrified that it is already Friday and my vacation is already over. I am just not cut out for a full time job. Should I start playing Mass Millions?

Sweet Summer Vacation

2011-07-25T19:29:00.005-04:00

I have just returned from a week of vacation at the seashore. (Here is Branny Muffs on the Beach). While I was away, Bill kept up with Lilly's medicine: she gets a nice mixture of bute, tetracycline, grain, probiotics and a touch of molasses to make it yummy.

Now here is a sign you don't see every day! We saw this sign right outside of Cape May, a darling of a tourist beach town, way at the southern end of New Jersey.

I also saw this sign which made me laugh--creativity in advertising is essential!

And there are those quadricycles that everybody mocks but that secretly I think would be really fun, however dorky. I wonder if they are hard to steer.

Here is what awaits you on the beach at Cape May.

This time, we not only made a day trip to Cape May, we also went to Philadelphia for the day... to see...

....yes, you guessed it! the zoo! Nevermind that it was something like 150 degrees that day, this was a nice little zoo.

There were some giant tortoises lounging around nibbling lettuce,

and this polar bear was cruising around in his tank of water.

This guy seemed to know he had a little crowd watching him. I was excited that there were camel rides at this zoo, but was crushed when we discovered it was too hot for the camels to give rides that day. You know if a camel can't take the heat, that it must have been really HOT! I was fully interested in what a saddle for a camel might look like. Oh well, maybe next time.

We spent a week at the beach, but it is always nice to come home where I have the next week off to devote to riding my brumby. She is SO MUCH BETTER since she has her medicine and her new shoes on.

Today I had to waste all this time waiting for the plumber to come and replace our water pressure tank (apparently they can get waterlogged). Once the plumber was all set up, I took off to see my brumby! Wouldn't you know that's the exact same time it decided to downpour? Did that stop me or Bill from heading out? No way. That's what I could see of Bill ahead of me, in his super waterproof rain slicker suit.

Bill stayed pretty dry in his orange suit. I got completely drenched in my clothes. I should have worn either 1. my duster--which was on the clothesline airing out back at home, or 2. the other orange jacket Bill had--which I refused when he offered it, thinking I'd be just fine.

My jacket was water resistant, but hardly waterproof! My teeth started to chatter! This was a far cry from last week when temps were soaring to over 100!!!

Still, I refused to be put off. I had not been on my brumby in weeks! I was so glad that she was sound after weeks of being ouchie. This is Bill on Cody.

On our way to Trollwood, we passed Bill's wife Jackie in the blueberry patch! At first Lilly was not sure who or what Jackie was. She stood up very tall and seemed like she might bolt. Then she grabbed at the grass. Then she got tall and nervous again. After the blueberry patch, we rode through Trollwood and then on back to the barn.

Here is Lilly eating her soupy goulash of medicine. Mmm Mmm, good!

Doctor, Doctor, Give Me the News

2011-07-16T08:13:00.006-04:00

On Monday, Dr. Cowley came out to see Lilly. You can see here the man is quite a character. Quick-witted, friendly, knowledgeable, funny. No, that is not a beer in his hand, but it was so hot when he arrived, I'm sure he probably wanted one.

I realized that I had been thinking the vet wouldn't be able to make any solid diagnosis when he arrived. I thought maybe Lilly's symptoms were too vague, too complex to be understood. I guess I thought my horse was SO SPECIAL, so extra-ordinary, that no one would be able to figure her out! I thought: if Bill and I couldn't do it, who could? Lesson Number One: Have a little faith in a doctor who has years of schooling and vet experience behind him. Dr. Cowley got into Lilly mode immediately. I began to feel better as soon as he came in the barn. He clearly was a pro.

Dr Cowley took some x-rays. My brumby was very good and still, even though (of all days) this was the day the town of Conway decided to grade and level out Bill's road. So there was all this noise of earth moving equipment on the road. Sill, Lilly was very statue-like.

It was so hot that day. The temp was soaring into the 90s. The vet looked at Lilly walking, looked at her feet carefully, poked at them with his hoof tester. The problem is in her front feet, and in the toes, just as we had concluded. Dr. Cowley set up a little "office" in the barn. This meant he could take an x-ray, and then we cold peer at it.

Dr. Cowley has a very cool program where you can take the x-ray, mark certain points on it, and the program will do all kinds of measurements to see where problems exists. It can even turn the x-ray into a 3-D image. It was verrrry cool. Luckily, the x-ray didn't show anything so serious that I wanted to die. No navicular, nothing patholgical. She has some upright angles, but nothing tragic.

One of the things Dr. Cowley said that would help Lilly was to wear a shoe like this. She also needs to let her hooves grow out--another thing we had suspected...since she lost so much of it as her abscess grew out, her hoof wall had crumbled. He advised us to get shoes on her asap. And he gave her a prescription of daily bute for her discomfort, along with a another bute-with-something-else paste mixture for the day before, day of, and day after shoeing.

And he also took some blood just to check for a recurrence of Lyme disease. The next day, Bill put shoes on Lilly. Her ouchiness was slightly better, but still there. We just need to wait for the hoof to grow. Bill says: Dr. Time.

And at the very end, I myself got something: the bill. Ouch! But worth every dollar. Four days later Dr. Cowley's assistant called to tell me that Lilly's bloodwork came back very positive for Lyme. At least with Lyme you know exactly what to do. Lilly is now on a 2 month course of anti-biotics. In 7-10 days she should feel remarkably better. Oh Lilly, why do the lyme ticks love you so much!? Interestingly, none of Bill's other horses have Lyme. Also interestingly, Dr. Cowley is working on a study to create a Lyme vaccine for horses with Cornell University. Lilly has been asked to participate.

While I have been fretting about my brumby, Brandon's mushroom show must go on. Here is a collection of mushrooms he gathered with Getty in the D.A.R. national forest up the road.

Did you know that if you are having trouble identifying a mushroom, that if you do a "spore print" it will help you figure it out? All you do is lay the cap of a mushroom on a piece of paper overnight. (This one is just on our countertop since it was sitting there all night). In the morning you will see an image on the paper that will provide you with loads of info that will help you figure out its identity, step by step.

Thursday night after work it was so gorgeous that I went to see Lilly and to climb on Bella. Who I also like to call Donut, since she is so round and wonderful.

And Whitney came too and rode Glitter! I wish Whitney would lease one of Bill's horses. That way I'd get to see her all the time! But also because when Whitney rides, I hear her laughing over and over like she is in love.

Bella was very good for me. Sometimes she doesn't like to go off into a canter so I have to use the crop. She;s one of those horses who is happier and more curious on the trail, but she did everything I asked her to, including a side pass at a walk which was beautiful. She is so fun to ride, the little munchkin.

Here is Bill teaching Bella to walk so slowly and quietly that you could sneak up on someone if you needed to.

Glitter was so good for Whitney. Although, Whitney is not one to get worried on a fast-moving horse. Maybe she should try Cody!

Here you see how Getty watches every move I make!

This week I am going to the seashore so I will be doing a lot of blog reading and catching up with all my favorite bloggers! Don't think I have forgotten about you all!

And don't forget to see "Buck" in the theatres!! You will love it and never want it to end.

Cruel Summer

2011-07-10T19:16:00.003-04:00

Oh dear readers, you much forgive my scanty blog entries. I have been so busy, there was much rainy weather, and my brumby has been lame! It has not been a great summer for Lilly. Well, we all have loved her more than ever, but her feet have been oh-so challenging (more on that in a minute). I have been riding other horses though. For example, Bella! Here is a shot of Bill, Bella and Jodie and an umbrella lesson before we headed out on the trail last weekend. To see the video of this lesson (or part of it anyway), click right here!

When I am other horses on the trail, I don't relax as much or as easily. So I never get as many pictures. And the ones I do get aren't that great. Like this one (blurry). But look at that tall and proud mushroom we came upon! This is an Amanita, and Bill put his helmet there for scale.

On the 3rd of July Brandon and I went to a party where an adult sized slip & slide had been constructed. Once you got on this slip and slide you zoomed for 150 feet and then plopped into a giant muddy pool. It was soon clear that the more scantily clad you were, the faster you could get going. It was not long before the slip & sliders were naked. Hah! (Not that I was one of them) On July 4, we went to Bill's where there was no slip & slide, but Bill's wife Jackie has an excellent spread of food and spiked lemonade that I could have spent all night drinking. I do love a good mixed drink! I love Bill's family. I am always pretending to be a family member. While at Bill's picnic, I snuck down to see my brumby who was nibbling hay by herself, as you see in this photo.

This is Bill's daughter's dog, Rex. He is so cute.

Apparently, Rex always lays this way, with his little cute feet sticking out behind him like flippers.

I mean, really cute.

This is a night-blooming dandelion. It bloomed during Bill and Jackie's party, right in front of our eyes. There was much joyous screaming during the blossoming.

As I was saying earlier, this has not been a comfortable summer for Lilly. She has never been this lame before or for so long. Now, we do not rush to the vet when things are off kilter at Bear River Horse Farm. Bill is practically a vet and a farrier himself. Plus, there is always Dr. Grass. Dr. Grass has been known to cure nine out of ten ailments. I am not kidding. But with Lilly, the time has come to call in a doctor. We need to see what's going on from an inside point of view. That is, I want her to have a blood test and x-rays. Was it the wet spring with mushy pastures? Did she slightly founder and has hoof separation? Is this Lyme disease coming back in a totally new way? Why is she sore even with boots on? It it in the heel (no) or the toe (yes)? The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things--Of shoes and ships and ceiling wax, of cabbages and kings.....and calling the vet out.

While we wait for the vet to come, Bill and I made a slipper for Lilly to walk around on to spare her toe pain.

But we don't want to cover up the sole because we are trying to encourage it to get tough and calloused.

She has such pretty cinderella feet. Since Lilly has been lame, you would not believe how super snuggly she is.
Last night at a party when I told someone my horse was lame, she said, "Do you mean literally?" Now I want to ask you this: who would say that figuratively???

I will keep you posted on what the vet says!

And one more thing: If you have the movie Buck playing near you anywhere, it is a must see!!!

Have Boots Will Travel

2011-06-29T19:33:00.004-04:00

OK so maybe Sunday was supposed to be the best day of the week and really it was sort of muggy and blah outside. Why should that matter when my brumby is so dazzling?However, I figured if Lilly wasn't up for going out, I'd take Glitter. But with her boots on, Lilly was good to go!

As Bill, Christine and I were setting out, Brandon and Kestrel showed up, prepared to tag along and hunt mushrooms. This is the first thing Brandon found. Ewwwww, so gross!

I didn't actually ride Lilly at all. I ended up walking along with the lead rope while Kestrel rode on her. I was not happy with this situation, truth me told. That is what I get when Kestrel wears flip flops for a rigorous hike in the woods. Grrrrrr. But all was not lost: by walking I probably burned 8000 calories, Lilly carried only a light load, and I still got to be with my brumby on the trail.

Here is Brandon peeking at some mushroom find. On this ride, Bill was on Bella. Maybe you like Bella's new hair cut?

Is mushroom hunting as fun as riding horses? DOUBTFUL!!

This mushroom is a Lepiota. Do you see its dainty little skirt?

The dynamic duo!

This little mushroom's common name is Earth Tongue. Does that crack you up? How would you like Earth licking you with this little tongue?

Another mushroom being born!

As I write this blog, this is what Lilly's feet look like. She is just having a terrible time this year with so many foot woes. Still, I really want to keep her barefoot. Bill is working with more smaller trims, keeping the flares down and trying to encourage her sole to become callused. It's just been so darn wet here that everything is complicated by it. Currently, Lilly is up in the steep pasture right behind Bill's house with the highland cow and the alpaca. It's much drier and without as much lush grass. I'm not going to give her any carrots for a while (not a single one!). She gets no grain as usual and will mainly eat hay. She won't be with the other horses, but she'll be able to see them. This is what I call The July Chapter. You must stay tuned to see how it plays out!

If You Give a Mare a Mushroom...

2011-06-25T17:59:00.010-04:00

After days of rain, I vowed that on Saturday, whatever the weather, I would be spending time with Lilly. So that is what I did. Her one front foot is still not completely sound. At the trot and the canter, she's slightly gimpy. She is still barefoot. I'd like her to be barefoot all the time. On the other hand, she does seem to go better with shoes. I guess deep down I am not convinced that the barefoot trim will not work. I think there is a hurtle that we have not yet cleared. Plus, that big chunk of her hoof that fell out hasn't grown back yet. In any case, today I put Cavallo boots on Lilly and we walked through the woods. I didn't get on her. I just wanted to see how she did on the soft trail with no rider.

Before we set out, Bill's wife Jackie pointed out this snake in the garden. It looks like he has just eaten some poor creature. I'd never want to harm a snake....but they do make me feel creepy. Once I grabbed one that somehow ended up in our basement. I wanted to save it, to set it free. I grabbed it all right, and then shrieked at the top of my lungs while I ran up the stairs, through the kitchen and out the back door. The snake was more than happy to slither away from me in the yard.

Here is Lilly with her Mona Lilly smile. Although, there's nothing mysterious here: she's looking at some people walking down the road.

I am happy to report that Lilly was perfectly sound during our entire hike. No gaffs, gimps or stumbles. Sure she had her sneakers on, but she was trampling everywhere right along with me, interested in everything I was doing. She is so much fun to hang out with. Sometimes for no reason I kiss her.

Since I was on the ground, I was able to be a much better mushroom hunter. Here a little snail was napping right by this Lactarius. These mushrooms kind of lactate, hence the name! Do you see the little milky droplets under the cap? You can always tell a Lactarius because of this.

Some mushrooms you need to really look for. But others are most content growing along footpaths. Or hoofpaths, as the case may be.

While I got down on the ground to snap pictures of mushrooms, Lilly seized each and every opportunity to nibble all the green things that caught her eye. She also still likes to snuffle around in the dead leaves. I wonder what is so appealing about that for her. It's like she's looking for something.

Here is a short clip of a cute newt we saw: Click here!

This mushroom looked wet and blob like, like a big, floppy, wet pancake. Kind of neat and gross all at once. Brandon claims my photography leaves much to be desired when it comes to identifying this mushroom.

Don't you love how these guys are bursting up through the forest floor?

Here is a cute little trio!

When we walked by the BP, Lilly stopped her nibbling at called at the top of her lungs for her BP buddies. She's been there 2 weeks--it was just yesterday Bill brought her back down to the pasture by the barn. When she cried out (right by my ear mind you, and it was very loud), the horses in the BP called back to her. But I didn't actually see them.

These mushrooms were so startlingly bright!

While I was taking pictures of this Russula, Lilly's big ole mouth came by and snuffled one of them right up. That is to say, she ate it! Not to worry, it is not poisonous.

Here is the Griffin Edward mushroom, and he belongs to my dear friends Kevin and Sarah.

Sunday Night Blues

2011-06-19T19:55:00.003-04:00

This weekend, I went to the beach with Brandon to my father-in-law's place. Brandon was dying for a weekend at the seashore (even though I would have been happy to ride horses all weekend!). That is him in the water on Friday. Yes, he is the only one in the water. It was rather chilly on Friday!

Saturday was much better. More sun and fun. But still the water was only 68 degrees. I did get in and played around for 5 minutes. Too cold. I got out and read an Agatha Christie mystery on the beach.

There are my feet!

One night Brandon and his dad went fishing on the jetty. We were just arriving as this party boat was going out. I read more while they fished. I am always glad for the fish when they don't catch anything! Which they didn't!
~
Now it's Sunday night and its back to work tomorrow. I'm so depressed.

Still No Lilly

2011-06-15T19:31:00.006-04:00

Do you see this horse? She is GREAT! If I had money to burn, I would snatch her up in a second. Don't you love her ample forelock? She also has a very narrow body which I love. She is awesome, no question about it. That is not to say I do not miss my brumby. Truth be told, I am quite sad on the trail without her. I miss looking down and seeing her glow-in-the-dark white neck. I miss her funny little quirks and her ambling. I am so lucky to have other horses to ride. But I still miss Lilly.

Tuesday I rode alone. The weather was murky. It was my first time out on the trail alone with Glitter. She gave me no trouble, and even stood still while I got down from her to search for mushrooms. She doesn't stand still for long, but she will wait for a little bit.

While we were out passing the BP, the sun came out for two seconds. Right at the moment we were checking on Lilly! My brumby did not run to the fence but did look up from her nibbling curiously. BRUMBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! I shouted to her. She did not look jealous of Glitter. But she did look. I hope her foot is healing.

There are all kinds of mushrooms popping up out there! If you under the cap of a mushroom, you can help your identification greatly when you observe if it has gills or pores. Brandon says mushrooms are more like animals than plants as these two features suggest.

Isn't this a cute cluster? I am not sure what they are. Sometimes when we are out mushroom seeking, Brandon will say, This one tastes really good! Try it! And when I try it, it tastes so horrible that I spit it out. And there he is laughing and laughing at my gullibility. Note to all unmarried girls: sometimes husbands are like 14 year old boys.

Once again, Bill came out to check on me, but I was already almost at the road to come back to the barn.

Wednesday the sun finally was out in earnest. So I made a plan with Christine to meet at 11am. This is so great, not having to work. I wish I could have every week off. It is going to be really hard to go back to my desk at work. On the way to the barn, I passed these fine ladies from Normandy.

Here is Bill's new chimney! We ourselves had our chimneys rebuilt last summer. It is a such a relief knowing your chimney is in great shape.

At Bill's before we hit the trail, Christine gave one of Bill's grandsons Joey a riding lesson on QTee. Here are the horses peering at Joey's father as he comes down to watch.

While the lesson went on, I wandered around and took some pictures. Here are my fave flowers with Christine and Joey in the distance.

There were a bunch of these little guys in the water near the ring.

Getty loves to be at Bill's. She kept sticking her head in the water, trying to snatch the tadpoles. She'd put her whole snout in the water and hold it there for a second, and then bite the water. Isn't it amazing that dogs know not to breathe underwater? How do they know that??

Looking good, Joey!! Looking good, QTee!!

Christine and I had a great ride, once we slathered QTee up with extra bug spray. QTee is very fussy about bugs on her.

It was one of those days when you want to ride for hours!!

Back at home I had some gardening to do. What do you think of my new watering can?

Why Work?

2011-06-15T10:08:00.004-04:00

This week is really great because I have a vacation! But I'm not going anywhere this time because Brandon does not have this week off. All the more time for me to zoom over to the farm and get some riding in. I started the week off right by riding on Sunday with Jackie, even though the weather was iffy. Since Lilly is still healing in the BP, I was riding Glitter. When I ride Glitter, I forget to take pictures. So here we are more than half-way into our ride, just coming out of the Winter Pasture. Hardly wintery these days!

Glitter was really good. On the trail while ambling along, we work on sidepassing. This is not a bad skill to have since you could get your kneecap smashed on a tree quite easily out there.

Jackie was on Pokey who she had just plucked from the BP. He tried to give her a hard time, ignoring her commands to not jet back to his buddies. At first she suggested that he listen to her, but once he fully committed to being bad, she had to squawk at him and get his feet moving. Like a pro, I might add. I texted Bill (who was at his grandson's graduation): Glitter is perfect, Pokey, challenging. I hope we did not get Bill in trouble for distracting him from the ceremony!

Here you might be interested to see Bill is getting his chimney rebuilt.

On Monday the weather was no better. But I was serious, rain or shine I was going to spend as much time as I could riding. Once again, Glitter found her way under my saddle, but only after she tried to run away from me while I was getting her from the field. Very naughty mare!

At first Bill started with Ruby, but after hearing about Jackie's struggle with Pokey the day before, he traded Ruby for Pokey. OK, Pokey, now you've gone and done it! The big guns are coming out!

As soon as we started to leave the BP area, Pokey started to resist. But of course Bill was ready for it. Resistance was futile. Pokey had no choice but to straighten up and fly in formation. Here is Glitter peering out into the Blueberry Pasture. Isn't her mane fantastic?

Going through the Blueberry Pasture almost always means one thing: A return to Trollwood!!! To see how Trollwood greets us, click right here!

Brandon insists that I look for mushrooms for him while riding. It's been so wet this year, there should be all kinds of them! Here I am stopping to photograph one. It looks like Glitter does pretty good ground tieing in this picture. She is pretty good, getting better. But of course no one is as good as my own brumby! She is the Queen of Ground Ties!

Here's the mushroom! It's an Amanita muscaria. I think it looks a wee bit naughty, if you know what I mean!

That's me, getting back on Glitter. I never said I was graceful!

After Trollwood, we ride through a woodsy area I call The Chapel (because it reminds me of a pretty, little church with a long, leafy aisle). Then we go through a trail I call the Upper Loop. Then we go one through a tiny brook to the Lower Loop. This is a picture of Pokey feeling very nervous about going through the brook. To see a partial video of him really not wanting to do it, look here: here! After the video stops, he does go through after Bill turns him in a few tight circles. One thing about Bill, he always finishes what he starts.

Glitter loves to snack. But do you know what else she likes to do? She likes to pretend that she is a bomb-proof horse. I know what you are thinking, that you want some evidence. OK, if you insist: just click right here!
~
Coming up, details about Tuesday and Wednesdays rides!

Horse. Hoof. And Rider.

2011-06-12T16:46:00.007-04:00

This past Wednesday after work the weather was good enough to go over and see Lilly. I had a saddle I wanted to try on her. Bill had found it on Craig's list and its owner was kind enough to let me try it on Lilly before buying it. It's a barrel racing saddle because I have a big fantasy about being a barrel racer.

The saddle was made by Blue Ridge and you see it here. But that night, it was Lilly's right front foot that got all the attention. It just isn't sound yet. She is still gimpy, not so much on the grass, but definitely on the road. Here I am thinking, Oooooh deeear. I thought it'd be better by now.

Brandon was taking all these pictures. When he has the camera, he will take 50 pictures of the exact same thing. Good thing we don't have to use film anymore! He would be a major film-waster. In any case, I am looking at Lilly, and talking to Bill (who is off to the right), and Brandon is snapping picture after picture.

Bill and I are going over all the reasons about why Lilly's foot is sore. We are remembering her terrible abscess and then the other one that came right after it. We are gauging her hoof re-growth and the synthetic hoof. We are talking about how wet the pasture has been. We note that this foot is sore with or without her Renegade shoes. Is she sore more in the toe? Or the heel? We are trying to figure it all out. Because of course to have a horse with a bum foot is not a good thing at all. Why we are talking about it, Brandon is clicking away and Lilly cannot stop yawning.

There is so much to remember. Here it looks like I am showing Bill how a person walks without a gimp.

And then Bill says, no this is how a person walks with no gimp. This is not what we were doing at all. But the pictures tell that story. They are so silly, these pictures. All I can tell you is that the video is much sillier. Too silly to post actually, even though all of Lilly's yawns are adorable.

Anyway, here's the saddle again. It looked gooood on her. But it seemed too small. By that I mean, it seemed like it might be pinching her. I don't really know how these kinds of saddles are supposed to fit. But the last thing I need is a horse with a sore foot and a sore back!

I took my brumby down into the ring to see how her feet seemed in the deep, soft sand. I do know this: the saddle fit my bum perfectly. From my point of view alone, I really liked it.

The dogs were bored by the lack of any real cowboy activity. Look, Sally has given up on us completely. Surrender.

Here I am thinking: Is this what this whole summer is going to be like? Ominous and with a chance of rain?

If my brumby thought the saddle was too tight, she didn't act like it.

But there I go again, fretting about her foot. Or that one foot anyway....

Just what can be done to make it get better? What is going on inside that hoof capsule?

Did someone say say navicular? Do not even joke about navicular. We don't really think this is what is going on. Still, the word alone sends a chill down my spine.

There I go, walking Lilly back down to the BP which will keep her feet overall much drier, and she can be left alone to get better. We call this leaving her in the care of Dr.Grass. Out in the pasture, she can concentrate on nothing but being a horse, nibbling grass and being with other horses. You would be surprised how restorative such a simple plan can be. But don't think I won't miss her. Riding just isn't as much fun without her.
~
This weekend, I rode Glitter on the trail. My next post will be about our ride together. Until then, happy trails!