Looking Back Over 2010..........

A lot of things have happened around here in the past year that have changed my life in ways I never expected. Dave was and is still without a job and the impact of that has certainly taken its toll but it was not and is not the primary reason that it was a tough year for all concerned.

In years past I have always taken the last day of the year to reflect on what's happened around this Arabian horse breeding farm. This year hasn't been any different in my mind, I've been filled with reflections of the past years events and there impact. I figured I might just as well share them so maybe my readers will have an idea where I'm coming from in the journey I am about to embark on in 2011.

I knew from the start of 2010 that things were probably going to change and change drastically. I had hoped that I was wrong but suspected otherwise even though we'd begun working horses in January with some semblance of a schedule once again. I was finishing up the posts about my trip to the US National All Arabian Horse Show in Tulsa first. Then before I got back into the routine of posting about our daily life, I thought I get everyone up to speed on the three geldings that had been started in the fall of 2008.

While considerable time had passed since those horses had been started, they'd really not seen that much training time. I wanted my readers to understand why those horses were still doing remedial work so I posted Catching Up I had no idea that post would be the catalyst for what I was dreading most..... but it was. From there things were a downhill slide which I did not really share here except in fleeting little comments that left many wondering.

I pretty much wear my heart on my sleeve and I'm pretty transparent. I am not a person who can say I am fine when I am not. By not posting about what was happening here I felt like I was deceiving my readers, my friends. That part was hard but I was in a protective mode and for very good reason. My posts either reflected my turmoil or were a shield.

I posted about the Jody Strand Clinic instead of letting my readers know what was really happening here. Then I posted Life............and Its Lessons sharing a little of the things in my past that had contributed to this new dilemma I found myself in. Sharing history was a way to let my readers at least have a clue that something was going on without putting myself or my farm at risk.

There was another thing important about those experiences. I've learned over the years that not understanding mistakes of the past has only set me up to repeat them in the future. Now that I was in the throws of one whopping huge mistake I could see how I'd fallen into a trap of my own making. I guess that would be ok if it wasn't my horses seem to pay a price for my errors in judgement. I'm hoping 2011 will be different and that I will have learned my lessons well this time.

Unfortunately life does not wait for us. Just because things are falling apart doesn't mean that Life won't jump in with its own agenda. That was certainly the case last year as the secret drama unfolded and Mother Nature added more chapters to my story. Getting Ready for Spring and Unexpected Gains allowed me to put the focus on something other than the trainwreck I could see coming albeit adding much more stress to an already weighty burden.

Trying to keep focused on something positive in March I posted Aidol's Story and Sea Horse Spotted in Rhode Island Coast The more positives I could focus on I figured the better off we would all be. It was beyond being a very rough start to the new year.

By April the roller coaster ride was on. Not only was I fast heading towards a civil suit but it became evident that Solidare was still struggling with her pregnancy. There was just no way around it. I was on a collision course and something had to give. The question was WHAT? Checking Out Sport Horses at Heritage but by the mid point in the month at least the pregnancy was over if not the roller coaster ride, Solidare The foal was on the ground and both had survived. Solidare loved that foal and at least that part did my heart good.

Show season started and despite the fact I was now schooling my horses at the park, weather permitting which was NOT often, Legs and I did pretty well. Onto the Daffodil Spring All Arabian Horse Show It was a much needed boost considering the things I was not posting about were fast deteriorating.

Then thankfully I had the Morgan horse show to keep me occupied for a while and bring some money in. The 2010 Morgan Show.......Taking Legs Since I got to take my horse, I had a built in stress reliever for the horse show issues and I could just forget about the troubles at home for a while. It was all good.......for a week anyway.

In an attempt to relieve some of the financial stress around here as Dave worried about his unemployment benefits running out, I found a new home for Faye. A Mare.......A Van...........and Life Who knew when I put that mare on the van I had not relieved any stress at all, I had only compounded it.

It was during this time that I began posting about Sister A. I know to some her behavior was annoying but to me she was comic relief..... Meet Sister A ......or maybe that should read cosmic relief. Sister A's visits lightened my heavy heart. The woman could make me laugh.........and boy did I need to laugh about that time.

It was when Sister A's visits to the park seemed to wane, I seemed to meet others at the park to fill the void. First there were Gremlins in the Woods Those boys were a great distraction too and I missed them when they were gone.

In the beginning of July I had fessed up at least a little to what was going on around here. A Little about My Current Stress While I didn't go into details about the lawsuit for the first time I disclosed it existed and how much of my life was being consumed by it. My health was suffering and I was pretty overwhelmed when I met More on Characters at the Park They needed me as much I had needed Sister A, I think. Maybe they were more cosmic relief, a new sense of perspective, something to remind me that things really could get worse.

Lindsay, my baby, turned thirty in 2010. Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby! Lindsay turning thirty carried a welcome message. Yet another cosmic reminder that the bad things do pass and things get better. We never imagined Lindsay would live to thirty, let alone thrive. It does my heart good just to hug her each day no matter what else is happening in my life.

In August I scheduled to upload while I was gone managing another horse show for the Morgan Club of Washington a series of posts about another character at the park. More Characters at the Park.........The Mule Skinner I never did post about that horse show. Maybe because there was so much more happening here.

Heartbreak in the Road was right after that horse show. From there I went to the Summer Show to escape some of my grief . Life's Moving Along............... but being there carried some heavy weights I have yet to disclose.That really was the low point of my year. The roller coaster ride continued but the lows were never as low as the losses this month.

In September the upswing began Wrapping Up a Difficult Summer Although it might not have felt like it at the time, September really was a turning point. The lawsuit was over and it was time to focus on restoring my horse to his former brilliance and to take back my life. It was time to really start living it on my terms instead of reacting to those things determined by others.

The World Equestrian Games hit cyberspace and I was able to immerse myself in them and hide from the reality around here. I did lots of thinking about where I needed to be going and what I needed to do to get there and those games reminded me of the power there is in dreaming. Before you know it The Second Day........US Wins Gold Medal....and My Heart Skips a Beat the first real dreaming in a while crept in there without me even realizing it.

There were some bumps The Beginnings of a Little Story...............Animal Control.... but nothing we couldn't handle even if it didn't really feel like it at the time. Bumps............. and some difficult things to deal with Final Words on Solidare and DSLD but the focus was really on doing whatever it was to keep things going around here. Top of that list was getting my life in order along with whatever Storm needed. Figuring that out came first Sizing Things Up

When weather didn't permit working with him and Legs well there was always the US National All Arabian Horse Show streaming on the computer. More signs that things were on the upswing with signs of more dreams. Computer Skills.........and Reining Dreams......... That was a good thing!

In November we were surprised with this notice A Little News...........the Winner's Circle for Legs a welcomed bit of positive reinforcement that Legs is really getting it together . Then there was
The Making of a Hunter Horse.......Wendy Potts....the Young Horse Wendy Potts was really helpful both in giving me some much needed reinforcement I was right about Storm and giving me some tools to use in the journey to get the horse fixed.

November also brought Life and Record Breaking ?? Snows....... which really interfered with my ability to put those tools to use. Not being able to work horses was frustrating but what the heck. Winter in Washington.........it is what it is.......


In December The Pineapple Express really messed with my ability to school horses but I was sick anyway so probably wouldn't have gotten to ride anyway. I resorted to posting about the antics of Delilah and Sugar in posts like Molesting the Christmas Tree to hold to the timeline in my mind about other things.

The year has finished off on a good note as lytha came to call. She not only brought the sunshine but she added some perspective on what should come next. A Visitor Is Coming................ For those of you muttering because I've yet to post about the ride........just remember good things come to those who wait.....(sorry I just couldn't resist - as the queen of the cliff hanger as I've been called in the past, I really do not enjoy the squirming but timing is everything.......don't ya think??)

If you're wondering why I've posted through all this stuff from this year, both good and bad, it's has to do with the dose of perspective that comes with this reflection for me. Most certainly 2010 WAS a huge miserable roller coaster ride that sometimes I didn't think I could ever get off. BUT I'm no longer on that wild ride. I survived it and with that survival comes a knowing that I can survive pretty much anything that life brings my way. THAT is a good thing! I'm going to celebrate THAT as I ring in the New Year this evening!


Happy New Year Everyone!

Visiting the Rest of Solidare's Get Before Moving on to Ride......

Part 1

Before we could get on with our ride there were just a handful more of horses to meet. The first of those was Solidare's youngest daughter, Rhapsody, who was stalled right next to Bey Aana. While still immature, I believe Rhapsody is the most exotic of Solidare's daughters.

Unlike Dancer who has been viewed by many as a star right from the start, Rhapsody has been more like Dare was back in those early days, overlooked as anything special and only seen for what she is once she reached maturity at about eight years old. Yet, I know in my heart Rhapsody is the most special of the three if such a thing can even be said about Solidare's daughters. Each is a jewel in the crown that makes up the best of the Arabian breed if you ask me. Someday I hope their foals with prove that fact.

There is one thing about Solidare's daughters that doesn't need time to be proven. They are people horses through and through and devoted to their humans just like their mother. There was no hesitation from Rhapsody once lytha stepped into her stall. The mare was right there to claim all the attention she believes she deserves and lytha did not hesitate to shower affection of her.



Straight from Rhapsody's stall we went to see Dare. The little bay mare with the big heart is very special to me and she's earned that affection both by her behavior towards me and the way she's cared for her brother, Tango. The image of her mother in a bay suit, Dare soothes my aching heart over the loss of Solidare. I know I will always be able to see the beautiful gray mare in the mannerisms of her children especially this bay version whose as bonded with me as her mother ever was.

During lytha's visit I couldn't resist the urge to smoother Dare's tiny little muzzle with lots of kisses. The mare didn't resist my advances instead she stood there quietly soaking in all the attention. She turned her heart over to me back in those early days when she was still a bent crooked foal and I suspect we will always have that strong connection. I get her and she gets me. That's just the way it is. We're as one as a horse and a person can be but then that's the way it was with Solidare and me.

It's no surprise I have that kind of bond with all of her daughters. I suspect the connection is deeper with Dare only because she is older so I've had more time with her. As the others are started under saddle I know that bond will grow and flower just as it did with Dare. I would guess from what was said that lytha could feel the connection with Solidare's get but only she can answer that for sure.




We couldn't visit Dare with then visiting Tango. The two are stalled right next to each other and we'd walked right by the colt to get to his "mother." While he was curious about what was going on, he wasn't really sure that he wanted to meet lytha up close and personal.

This colt is as bold as any of Solidare's foals have been. He just has not had the one on one time that it takes for all the barriers regarding strangers to be gone. At eight months of age with all the comings and goings with the vet, that is more than understandable. The colt still isn't sure if a stranger is going to love on him or poke him with something that really really hurts.

The last time I visited Tango before this I had shoved a wormed in his mouth so I really wasn't his favorite person either. I had to move him around some to even get him to look at me. Then I still had to "chase" him down in the corner and wrap my arms around him so he'd stand for lytha to get a look at him.

Funny thing about this colt, the whole time he's avoiding me, he's not showing any real concern. Sometimes I think he really enjoys the game of being pursued. He's just not sure it's more fun to be with me or to play the game at this point but I suspect he'll get it figured out soon.

Tango is far more secure about his judgement of people than Rhythm ever was. I've said right from the start he's very much Rhythm in a bay suit. That means he has just as big an attitude without the hot of that red head. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for him.

Once I had my arms around this colt, he did not struggle. He just stood there with his head up in the air studying lytha. His tiny little ears locked forward and his cute nostrils flared as he tried to figure out who this strange woman in his stall was.

Lytha couldn't help but be drawn in by the big black eyes set so wide apart and the smaller than a teacup muzzle standing there confronting her. "Pictures just do not do him justice!" she said and I had to agree. Why do you think you don't see more pictures of him?

With the last of Solidare's get out of the way, I decided to leave the two three year old stallions inside the barn until after we returned home from our ride. I handed lytha a halter and lead rope and asked her to retrieve Dandy while I went to get Legs. Then I checked my horse trailer for the appropriate tack and we headed off to the park for a trail ride.

To be continued....................

What Does This Look Like to You


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The Broodmares.......and a Daughter of Solidare's....

Part 1


My mind races as lytha mentioned going for a ride. Would it be dry enough at the park? Did we have enough time? I decided it was worth giving it a try so I asked Dave if he would hook up my horse trailer for me while I showed the rest of the horses to lytha.

I told her as we continued on we were going to have to make this a quick tour if she really wanted to ride. We weren't going to have the kind of time we'd been taking at each stall and still get to the park. I didn't want to be pushy BUT............. we needed to haul freight. We still had ten horses to see and we needed it done in about ten minutes.


Heiress with Andy at her side


The first horse after Dandy was Heiress. Lytha nearly gasped as the mare put her lovely face over the stall wall. Shaking her head she told me I needed to get a "real" photographer to take pictures of this mare because her pictures just did not do her justice.

I had to laugh just a little at this. Heiress is one of the few horses here who've had the benefit of a top notch professional taking pictures. The picture of Heiress from my website was taken by Jeff Little and to my way of thinking he's one of the best. The only difference I can see between Heiress and his pictures is that the mare is ten years older and has gotten more beautiful with time. I wish I could afford to have more sessions with him on my farm.

Heiress is the mare that came to my farm with little handling. Normally I'd have spent some time talking about her issues but with us running out of time, I just moved on by to the next horse.


Dancer

I kind of knew going in that I couldn't push passed this next mare too quickly. The stall right next to Heiress is in habited by Dancer, one of Solidare's daughters. I already knew that lytha felt a special connection to Solidare's children even though she hadn't meet them. I also knew that Dancer would not disappoint lytha.

This mare has a special place in my heart not just because she is Solidare's daughter. Dancer has earned her right to my affections. She has all the attributes of a mare that I love and she loves me back as fiercely as I love her. I'm pretty sure that lytha could see the moment we entered her stall that Dancer is a people horse and as sweet as mares get.

The dark bay mare did not disappoint. She turned to us the minute she heard the opening door. She watched us approach and stood quietly waiting for the ok to investigate. Dancer was the lady her mother taught her to be and I'm sure that lytha wished we didn't have to move on so quickly...........but we did.


Lucy with Scarlet

The next three broodmares we pushed through pretty quickly. The first was Lucy. The pretty chestnut is special to me. I usually go through how I spotted her as a foal but couldn't have her but there was no time for those stories today. I'm not sure if poor Lucy got much more than a glance and I know I paid for it later. The mare was not happy at being skipped over so easily, she is royalty after all.


Faye

The next mare is Faye. We did pause long enough to mention Faye's adventure this last summer. Lytha is the one who brought it up. I guess it would be difficult for anyone to forget such a story but if it hadn't been for that, Faye probably would have been walked by as quickly as her genetic 3/4 sister, Lucy. The mare would have been looking back at us with those big Gamaar eyes wondering what she did to be missed. As it was I heard the stomp of her foot telling us she'd not gotten enough of our time as we moved onto the next mare.


Aana

The last of the broodmares we visited on that day was Bey Aana. The pretty bay mare is Storm, Suede and Percy's mother. I don't know if that connection is what drew lytha to Aana or not but it was apparent that she was taken with Aana.

Aana has her own little story about how she came here. We didn't get into it but it was clear from Aana's reaction to lytha, she saw this woman in a different light than most humans.

While Aana will come up to the front of her stall to greet strangers there is always a little bit of reservation in her eye. I saw no signs of caution as she greeted lytha and lytha was immediately smitten with Aana.

To be continued........................


Visiting the Rest of Solidare's Get........

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Three Gray Mares.......and a Familiar Face.......

Hope

Part 1


Once we finally got past the trio of mares visiting lytha as we stood in Gypcy's stall, we moved around the outside corner of the barn and onto the stalls of Legs' three oldest gray daughters.

Those three mares' stalls are faced the direction of the round pen and can be seen easily both from the road and from the red barn where Legs lives. The sight of their three gray faces looking over their stall walls nearly always takes my breath away.

The mare in the first stall behind Gypcy is Hope. She is the mare that asn be seen in lytha's pics trying to reach lytha as she visited with Echo and Gypcy. Hope is the oldest of Lilly's daughters and has championships in halter. She is started under saddle and has several gears at the trot and she absolutely loves being able to demonstrate them.

While Hope is bigger than her mother, the midget mare, she is probably only 14.2 hands and very refined. While Hope has a big attitude she is very ladylike in expressing it. Everything about her screams "MARE!" but she's never had a snippy marish attitude, just a confidence about her that says she a queen.


Faith

Stalled right next to Hope is her full sister, Faith. Faith is just a larger version of Hope. She was only shown once as a yearling and despite being so terrified of the crowd she would not stand for the judges she still placed sixth in a very large class of nice fillies. The trainer who showed her was so disappointed in himself because he'd not prepared this filly for the crowd that he changed how he showed youngsters from that point forward. To his way of thinking Faith would have easily won the class had she been able to stand up for the judges.


Rose

Then right next to Faith there is another gray mare, Rose. While she is not a full sister to Hope and Faith, she looks like she is Faith's twin. Even I have trouble telling the two mares apart sometimes. The grayer they get, the more difficult it is to distinguish which is which. They are that much alike.

There is some difference in their mannerisms but those things are subtle. Faith is bolder than Rose. When the mares have been cooped up, Faith is usually a little naughtier than Rose too. Rose can be a little stand offish sometimes with people she doesn't know but she can take an instant like to someone and be a pocket pony too.

I don't think that lytha realized how much these mares looked alike until we walked away from the barn and she got that view of the three gray faces looking out over their stall walls. She made some kind of remark about "Imagine being able to look at that everyday..." if I remember right as she snapped her picture.



Walking away from that barn and up towards the red barn, Dandy was hanging his head out watching us. . I've been letting his bridle path grow out because it was getting to be too far back and it's beginning to fall over. It's not long enough to lay down yet, just long enough to fall over and stick straight out sideways.

Poor Dandy looked something like an orphan with his mane flopping over and I felt bad as we walked closer. He sure didn't look like any show horse, I can tell you that. Lytha, on the other hand, spied Dandy and called out his name, "Is that Dandy?!!!" she said "Yes, that would be Dandy...." and I could hear excitement in her voice as she asked me if he was sound. "Oh YES, Dandy is sound." "Well, let's go for a ride............I have read so much about him................."

To be continued...............................

The Broodmares and One of Solidare's Daughters

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Meeting the Twins.........and Some Mares.........

Surprise has the white blaze. Trouble has just a small snip on his nose.

Part 1

After we left the hay barn and Percy behind we headed around to the outside of the barn to the shedrow like stalls that wrap around there. The first horses we came across there were Surprise and Trouble. Lytha needed no introduction to those two. She recognized them immediately informing them "You are famous. Did you know that?"

Of course, Surprise and Trouble not only know they are famous, they believe they absolutely deserve to be. If there are any horses on the place with an attitude as big as Rhet's, these two would be it. My feeling on the subject is INFAMOUS suits them much better. Their twin heritage makes them just a hair on the incorrigible side if you ask me.............lovable.........but incorrigible none the less.

The two horses vied for lytha's attention. Their cute little faces peering over the ledge with expressions so sweet you'd think they were innocents but believe me, innocent is just not a term that applies to either of these little monsters. They have that "equal sized twin" mentality that drives each to be in charge. The issue of dominance has never been and probably never will be decided between these two. That's why I keep them separated for turnouts.

Lytha openly drooled over Surprise's exotic little head. Black horses just do not photograph well and I doubt any picture will ever show the beauty of Surprise's face. She is definitely a princess and she knows it.



Vee

Trouble looks like his mother. I think I could take pictures of each and put them side by and and no one would be able to tell who is who except probably me. Even then, I'd be searching for the one little part of a marking that is different. Since Vee is stabled right next to Trouble lytha was able to get the total affect of their resemblance. The whole time Vee was trying to get lytha's attention turned away from Trouble and Trouble was trying to make sure that lytha did not move on. Lytha was definitely welcomed by the horses.


Echo

Once we did move on past the twins and their mother, the next horse we came to was Echo. Something about this mare reminded lytha of her Baasha and I don't know if Echo sense the connection or what but she sure took a liking to lytha and she was determined not to let her go.

Lytha did not remember reading anything about Echo on my blog. I haven't posted much about her because she's the same age as the twins and the twins pretty much commandeered all the attention. The only real posts I did about Echo was back when she was a yearling and injured her leg More Life Lessons - an Arabian Filly Injured The filly would not leave her wound alone and things turned out to be quite hairy getting her healed up. For a long time she did not trust me to touch her leg at all. She's finally over that and has turned into a love muffin and she sure turned it on for lytha.


Gypcy

Next door to Echo is Gypcy. The two have modified their stall wall so that they can visit. Lytha came with me into Gypcy's stall which actually gave Echo better access to her. The silly gray mare was reaching through into Gypcy's stall begging for attention.

Gypcy is on the timid side. She doesn't usually warm up to strangers quickly but something about Echo wanting to keep lytha focused on her made Gypcy decide that maybe she wanted lytha all to herself. Hope, who is right behind Gypcy joined in and lytha pretty much had three mares all seeking her out at the same time.

Normally I would think that might intimidate most. With the walls in between things were definitely safer and the mares weren't doing anything aggressive but they were certainly all trying to be sure that lytha understood each wanted her attention.

It was somewhere along this time frame that I'd mentioned to lytha that I was hoping we'd have the time for me to get on Legs. Then maybe even lytha might take a ride on him depending on how things went. I hadn't ridden the horse since just after the clinic so I wasn't totally sure what to expect. He normally is always good but you just never know. If he behaved as I expected I knew that anyone would be safe on him but it also really depended on how lytha felt about it.

To be continued.....................

The Gray Mares and a Familiar Face

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The Visit Moves On..............

Suede

Part 1

Once we were done with Rhet we moved on to Suede's stall. Being his usual aloof self once we came his direction Suede stepped back just out of reach. From there he stood watching us drinking it all in.

Suede was not the only one drinking things in, lytha was studying this young Arabian stallion just as he was studying her. I was busy rambling on about Suede's relationship to Storm and Bey Aana's chestnut get. I doubt that lytha took in any of it, she was caught up in her own world with her and Suede.

I can't say that I really knew what to do with her approach to meeting my horses. I have never had anyone to visit who has not instantly been groping to touch them. That is not lytha's method at all. She just stands there quietly waiting for the horse to come to her. My horses didn't really know what to think about her presence.

Because of her quiet approach I really didn't know what she was thinking or what she needed for that matter. All I could think of was how many horses we had to get through and that if there was going to be any work with any of them, we'd need to go at a quicker pace than we were doing now. I kept looking for something to tell me it was ok to move on.

Suede is not a big horse and he is barely started under saddle. He's always a bit concerned when someone comes into his stall but once he has a halter on he is cooperative and sweet. He cannot try hard enough to do what's right and he's pretty much a ringer for Storm but his personality is definitely different than Storm's. No one is going to figure Suede out in any short amount of time.





Lilly with Hope

Once I saw the horse become distracted by something outside, I figured it was time to move onto the next horse. I switched the conversation up to let lytha know we were moving on and we walked out to meet the midget mare.

Lilly was right there at the gate to her area looking at us in her come hither fashion. There's nothing the mare loves more than human attention and she was going to be sure she got her share. The little gray mare drew lytha in nothing flat while I groaned about the condition of her badly tangled mane.

I'd spent hours making sure that all the horses manes looked good and even Dave had worked on Lilly's a second time. Still there she stood with a triple witch's knot she managed to develop in less than twenty-four hours. Personally I think creating those knots is one way this mare ensures she'll get her face time with humans. That tangled mane, along with its still black highlights, got her more than her share of attention that day.



Scarlet


Tag





Louie



Doc with his mother, Dare


Percy

From Lilly we went on into the hay barn to visit with Scarlet, Tag, Louie, Doc and Percy. I'm not really sure how come I ended up opening the door and inviting lytha into Percy's stall but I did. There she leaned slightly against the wall looking off to the other side with Percy standing in the back corner watching her.

Percy can be a little stand offish at time with people he does not know or if the people he does know are rushing. The horse is more comfortable with things a little slower but he likes them moving and he wants his attention too.

Lytha just stood there looking off and poor Percy did not know what to think. His expressive face clearly said "What's with her/" When lytha made no move towards the horse, Percy just stood there still looking puzzled. Finally he came to lytha and reached towards her with his muzzle. He softly breathed on her face and lytha was overcome with tears.

Percy was undaunted by the tears. He actually softened some more once they began to flow and he continued to explore lytha's face. He didn't really touch her but he was definitely breathing on her. If he hadn't been just clipped his muzzle hairs would have been tickling her for sure.

I know that lytha was uncomfortable with this eruption but it did not bother Dave nor me. There's been many a tear shed in our barns for one reason or another and it's ok with us. Owning and breeding Arabian horses is an emotional journey and we appreciate others appreciate the emotional qualities in this breed as we do. Percy and lytha definitely had one of those bonding moments that many only dream of with a horse, that much was clear.

To be continued..................

Meeting the Twins........and Some Mares........



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T'was the Night Before Christmas..........2010

You'll have to indulge me on this one. This version has been running around in my head all week so I finally made the necessary modifications so here it goes......

**********

T'was the night before Christmas, and all through the farm,
The critters were sleeping, all safe, snug and warm.
The stockings were hung by the stall doors with care,
In the hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

Arabian horses nestled all warm in their beds,
While visions of sweet treats danced in their heads.
The weanling, the yearling and even the twins,
The mares and stallions were dreaming of wins.

When out in the paddock there arose such a clatter
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
I dashed to the barnyard and what I could see
There in the moonlight.............how could it be?

It wasn't St Nick.... nor his team of reindeer
Not a sign of a sleigh nor an elf anywhere.
But off in the distance framed in the moonlight
A new holiday tradition that seemed so right.

Up on the barn top all glistening and white
Was a magical horse in the crisp snowy night.
An Arabian horse with his head held aloof
Snorting and blowing up there on my roof.

Ears locked tight, his nostrils did flare
Black eyes bulging at all that was there
He looked like a vision all power and might
As he stood there surveying this farm in the night.

Flagging his tail and tossing his mane
Pawing the snow and blowing again!
Strapped to his back were bundles of red,
Filled with treats and toys for horses in their bed.

From the rooftop he bounded on down to the stalls
Leaving his presents for one and for all.
At each door he stopped and called out a name
Filled up the stocking and snorted again!

Heiress, Rhapsody, Dancer and Dare,
Legacy, Dandy, Tango.....last foal for Solidare
Andy and Pat, followed by Gypcy and Faye
Lucy, Faith, Lilly and Hope, who else could he say?

Then on to the twins, Trouble and Surprise
He's got to be finished before the sunrise!
Reflection and Rose, yet still more to see
Percy, Suede, Aana, Doc and then Vee

In the next barn Echo, Scarlet and Rhet, Louie then Tag
Storm gets the gift from the bottom of the bag.
Before leaving the last barn, going into the night
This horse whirled around to check every thing's right.

Thirty Arabian horses, thirty one names he did call
Thirty- one presents, with no stockings too tall.
Each one filled clear up to the brim
Big ones and little ones, fat ones and thin.......

There were apples and carrots and peppermints too
Sweet things like cookies, then toys to chew
A treat for the kitties, Jasmine and Squeaker
A treat for the puppies, Delilah and Sugar.

Maybe a treat for MiKael, Lindsay and Dave
First did the humans have to behave?
Thirty-one names this stallion did call
Why was she mentioned if for nothing at all?

With a toss of his head, then a mysterious beckon
Something amazing was next or so I did reckon.
Then from out of the darkness a sassy gray mare
Prancing and happy....joined him there.

The hugest doe eyes you ever did see
Dancing and imp like and talking to me
Forelock to her nostrils, mane thick and long
Bloody red marking up there where it belonged

Tossing her head and calling to me
I knew in an instant who it was, I did see
Such a Christmas present I never did dare
Imagine this visit from my Solidare

Those eyes told the story
They told me, "Do not worry
No longer crippled, no longer in pain"
This magnificent mare was whole once again


Only there for an instant this vision did come
She made a quick tour of her former home.
Soothing all those who'd missed her so
With a special nicker for Tango before she did go.

Both tossing their heads and whinnying proud calls
These magical Arabians blessed one and all
They leapt into the air, climbed through the sky
I couldn't believe it, these horses could fly!

Over the rooftops, then circled the creek
Still I expected they'd land in a heap!
But they flew even higher with no wings in sight
Springs on their hooves......could that be right?

Zig-zagging proudly up over my farm
Still snorting and blowing, it made my heart warm
I called their direction as they cantered out of sight
Merry Christmas to All and to all a good night!

I own a print of this artwork. The artist is Sprague. I own several of here prints.

Tomorrow, I resume with lytha's visit to this farm. Maybe it was her trip that brought Solidare so much to the fore front in my mind this week. Who Knows!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!


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Visiting the Boys..........

Part 1

Going into the boy's barn, Reflection's stall is the first stall I always stop at. It's the only stall on the right and he's the king in that location or at least he thinks he's king there. His face is always right there hanging out over the stall door looking to whoever is making a entrance. Reflection makes it clear he thinks you're there to see him just by the bright expression on his face.

I introduced lytha to Reflection as I popped a piece off one of the carrots. I think Reflection actually looked at lytha waiting for some acknowledgement from her before he ever looked for the carrot. The horse does love his carrots BUT he loves attention from people more.

Lytha didn't say much about Reflection. I guess you could say she quietly contemplated him as she stroked the side of his face. Meanwhile, I'm in my ninety mile an hour mode to get things done and I'm already fast forwarding onto Storm. If there's no conversation, I'm thinking it's time to move onto a horse lytha might be interested in. Looking back I think that lytha was just drinking the horse in. I probably moved her on before she was really ready.



The next horse up is Storm. He lives in the last stall on the left at the far end of the barn. Since there are only three stalls on that side, the end really isn't that far down but he does appear to be tucked away in a corner. Still the horse hangs his head out over the wall to check out what's happening in HIS barn.

Because the location of Storm's stall feels like it's a bit out of the way, I opened up the door so lytha could get closer to the horse. Storm is still a little bit unsure since his return home so his first response was to move back at the sound of the door sliding open but as soon as I stepped into his stall, the horse came right up to us.

Storm loves his carrots too but he's equally curious about visitors. While he's still not as ambitious about getting attention from visitors as he used to be, Storm was right up there checking lytha out as well as keeping an eye on me and the bag of carrots. Storm wanted all he could get from this visit from both lytha and me. Meanwhile Reflection was behind us letting me know he wasn't happy we'd left him behind.

I think it was at this point that lytha asked if she could help with something. Did I want her to clean some stalls? Funny, stall cleaning had never part of our talks. I'm sure Dave and Lindsay would have loved the help but we'd hurried to get through them before she arrived. We had talked about brushing out some tangled manes and I was sure we'd find some of those. I had my bucket of supplies right there by my side.



We moved on to the next stall which happens to be Rhet. He is as bold as any stallion in that barn. He was right there at the door waiting for the thing to open.

Rhet is such an upright horse he seems larger than life sometimes. Every time I open that door his presence strikes me. Maybe that's why I thought I might stand him up for lytha to see although he's not been conditioned for at least a year now. We stood in the stall petting on him a little and then I got a halter to take him out.

That darn Rhet exploded out of his stall. You'd think something was chasing him out of there but the stinker was just making his impression on his fans. I had warned lytha and Dave who had joined us by now to stand back before I brought him out and it's a good thing because the explosion didn't stop with getting through the door.

Rhet was in rare form. He was feeling good and strutting his stuff BIGTIME! He actually did contain himself pretty well inside the barn but once outside he was bouncing around on the end of the lead like any bigtime halter stallion.

There was rearing and pawing the air as well as lots of leaping and cavorting. All the while the horse was very light on the end of the lead. He may have been putting on a show BUT he was respectful of my space. It did take me a couple of corrections to get him to stop and pay attention so I could stand him up.

That part didn't go too well. I think Rhet needs a little tuning up. I probably should have thought of that before I tried to stand him up for anyone. I did mention there's a halter clinic with one of the BNT's next month. I was thinking I might take Rhet. After our little show for lytha, I'm thinking I better take Rhet. I think I need a little refresher if I have any intentions of showing him this next year.

To be continued...................

The Visit Moves On.........

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The Arrival..................

Part 1

When lytha first contacted me about coming for a visit, she asked if she could come to see me schooling Storm. That request was long before I got the notion of getting a job this holiday season. Once that entered the picture, I really wasn't sure how it was going to affect me or lytha's trip here to visit.

Once she did arrive back in America, we didn't really discuss what the plan for the visit would be, just that there would be a visit. Between her time with relatives and my time working, the important thing was finding time that worked for both of us.

While I have really not gotten many hours in at work, it just so happened that this week I was scheduled for three days and I worked the last day of the previous week as well. That left only Sunday or Tuesday that I had available at all.

Between winter storms and power outages we didn't make our connections well so we ended up with Tuesday being the only day that was even left SO Tuesday it was. I figured we'd work out what we were going to do when the time actually came.

Because we really had no plan, other than the visit itself, I decided we wouldn't turn any horses out that morning. That left us lots of options. We could visit all the horses in their stalls. We could turn specific horses out if lytha wanted to see them loose. We could do some schooling in the yard. We could load up and go to the park.

I was pretty much open to most anything so once the horses were clipped and the stalls had been cleaned we were ready to figure out what the afternoon would bring. I went into the house hoping I could get warmed up before lytha came and it was time to head outside again. Thankfully she was a little bit late and some of the tingle on my cold fingers and toes went away before I heard her car pull in and the afternoon visit began.

When I heard the car I pulled on my boots and grabbed a heavy shirt and my tongue in check gorgeous blue cap and headed back outside. Lytha was just heading towards the house bearing flowers for me and carrots for the horses and sporting a big grin.

Funny thing about the internet, you can meet people on here and you just feel like you know them. It doesn't matter that you've never met, the connection has been formed and it's obvious. I may have seen just a slight wondering in lytha's expression. I know I felt my own wondering just for an instant too. If there was any question it was gone almost immediately. We shared a hug and headed for the barn.

I asked lytha where she wanted to start. I figured if she came all this way to see my horses I wanted her to see them the way that worked best for her. The only problem was I really wasn't sure what that was. Her response to me was that we could start wherever I wanted so I went for the "usual" visitors tour meeting the horses figuring that things would just fall into place.

Since I have so many horses and they are tucked into odd places everywhere on this farm, I have a little route I follow so no horse gets left out. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. I'm told that there are so many horses to see that it all gets to be over whelming for some visitors. Maybe I'd be better off to leave out a barn or two but for lytha I figured she'd want to see them all and so I started off with my typical tour which meant we stopped in the boys barn first.

The main cast of characters in the boys barn would be Reflection, Storm, Rhet and Suede. I've posted a lot about the first three horses and a little bit about Suede so I guess you could say that first barn is loaded with blog celebrities although even to write that just makes me laugh.

To me theses horses are just the boys. To them people are just toys there to be played with and the fact I was carrying lytha's generous gift of carrots just confirmed the horses' belief we were there to amuse them.

The minute we entered the barn, the boys were vying for our attentions. I don't know if lytha noticed that or not but it didn't get by me. There was head tossing, hoof knocking and teeth grinding as there clowns worked to get more than the other guy. I knew this was only the beginning of lytha's introduction to the characters that make up the cast here at Rising Rainbow Arabians.

To be continued...............

Visiting the Boys

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Getting Ready for Company...........

WPart 1

hen my alarm went off this morning, I cursed under my breath even though no one was around to hear me. Embarrassed to be so crabby first thing in the morning, I'm glad no one heard me.

I tried ignoring the thing but it just would NOT shut up. I thought if it ran long enough it would stop which it actually did. It put itself on snooze alarm and gave me a brief break. That break only made me crabbier when it was interrupted by the sound that cursed alarm. The only thing that got me out of bed was the thought that lytha was coming this afternoon.

Still I drug myself out of bed and pretty much forced myself to eat. If my grumpiness wasn't gone by the time I hit the barn, the sight of the horses completely changed my mood. I had "things" that needed done before lytha arrived and I knew I didn't have enough time to get them all.

Normally I would have clipped all the horses, just their muzzles and bridle paths but on thirty horses that's a lot of clipping. I have visitors who say I didn't need to go to such trouble but I think it's good schooling for the horses. I never get them all done just to do it. Visitors coming at least give me a reason to make the time.

The end result is after a few times the horses have learned how to be clipped. Occasionally one horse or another will take a bit longer but sooner or later I can clip any of them without even putting on a halter. With lytha coming I had the opportunity to make up for clipping time I missed this summer because I was doing lawyer stuff instead of working with my horses.


Many of the mares have grown out their bridle paths long enough they are beginning to lay over. I decided I would just let them be since all of them are very good about being clipped and I was really short on time. Instead I focused on the boys because.......well, ,they are boys. That means there's always at least one or two testing me and I knew a couple of them for sure needed help when it comes to clipping.

Since Storm has returned home, he has been a little on the unpredictable side. I used to be able to clip him without a halter but currently I can barely brush him without one so I figured clipping would probably be out of the question. The horse didn't give me any trouble putting on his halter and he didn't even wince when I turned the clippers on. I was thinking he might just have let me clip him naked after all.

One of those always testing just happens to be Rhet. When I got this colt , I couldn't even touch his poll, let alone clip anywhere near there. A lot of things have changed since then but the horse is still very sensitive about his poll. I have not been able to clip his poll without some kind of restraint..............that is until today.

I did put a halter on him and I turned the clippers on nowhere near his neck. I expected when I moved closer he would throw his head into the air and try to go over the top of me BUT instead he just stop there. His head was about as high up as he could get which makes it a good thing that I am tall. Still, he just stood there and let me clip his whole bridle path without making even ONE naughty move. Two for two..........we were on a roll.

Next up was Suede. He's one of Aana's babies and with that goes that bit of trepidation that makes him unpredictable. He can be as good as gold if the fear doesn't get him BUT who knows when that's going to be. I put the halter on him and other than a very wide eye, he stood like a rock as well. Three for three............whooda thunk??

Then it was time to clip Reflection. He's another question never to be taken for granted. I don't know why sometimes those clippers get him and sometime they don't but he can be the perfect angel or my worst nightmare. Today, he followed in the shoes of the others and just stood there. Four for four...............WOW!

Next I was onto Legs and that's not a problem. He shakes sometimes and gets those prickly little stubs of hair down my shirt but that's about it. Today, there wasn't even any shaking. Can't remember when that happened last. Five for five........and counting......

Now, I know my luck is running out. The next two boys to clip are the three year old colts. Andy and Patriot just have not had the kind of work done with them that I would like. I have a lot of missed time to make up for but they are coming around......Andy much faster than Patriot.

I was not all that surprised when Andy tolerated the clipping ok. His eye did get a bit bigger but was no where near as concerned as Suede's had been. Something about that horse is worming its way into my heart. I fondly patted him on the neck as I counted six for six.

I was not expecting any miracles from Patriot. He has been a bigger bugger to clip the last few times than even Rhet. That's saying something. I was just hoping to get through without getting stomped on. I didn't want to be limping when lytha arrived.

Would you believe, Patriot held IT together. I had to put his nose in the corner where he could get some comfort from Dare AND his eyes were bugging out of his head but he stayed there and let me get it done. This is an all time first for this colt and you can bet I'll be out there tomorrow doing it again to see if we can build on it. Seven for seven.............I couldn't believe it AND the really good news only another few minutes before lytha would arrive.

To be continued.......................

The Arrival

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A Visitor Is Coming................

It's been a long busy day. I spent the morning in the barn. Then at noon I shifted gears and got ready to go to work. I only worked a 5 hour shift and I feel like I worked 12. Funny how stressful those last few days before Christmas can be in the retail experience. I've just eaten dinner and I'm thinking I need a nap.

We have a visitor or maybe visitors coming tomorrow to visit, all the way from Germany, no less. That would be lytha of A Horse Crazy American in Germany
http://horsecrazyamerican.blogspot.com/ I'm really looking forward to her visit. It seems like months ago she contacted me about the possibility of her being able to work in a visit here on her visit home for the holidays. Now it's actually going to happen. Too bad the horses are so covered in hair she son't be able to see much.

Lytha and I have never met before although we both own Arabian horses and she originates from this area. We know lots of the same people from the Arabian show circuit. We have so much in common it will be fun to actually meet and really get to visit in person.

Hopefully Delilah and Sugar will be on their best behavior. Both dogs really love company and, of course, they think the company has come just to visit them. However they behave, I'm sure it will be amusing. You just can never tell with those two.

I guess the same can be said of the horses. It will be intersting to see if they are their usual selves or if they decide to put on a show too. Winter visitors don't happen often here but I know these clowns and sure ham it up in the summer time.

Getting Ready for Company

The Ritual

Feeding time around here for the dogs can get a bit interesting. Sugar, the boxer, gulps down her food. In not much more than the blink of an eye her dish is stripped clean and Sugar is searching for more food convinced she's done so quickly because she didn't get enough in the first place.

Delilah, the Siberian Husky, on the other hand is much more lady like about the way she eats. Delilah is a grazer and she can take hours sometimes before her meal is gone. Delilah picks at her food just enough to drive Sugar crazy savoring each morsel as if it were some great meal sculpted by a culinary master.

Because we never know if Delilah is going to eat her meal in one sitting or use it to torment Sugar, Delilah's bowl is put into her crate while Sugar gets hers placed next to the water bowl on the kitchen floor. Delilah usually will start off laying down in her crate nosing at her food while she watches Sugar wold down what she has.

The real entertainment begins once Sugar has finished her meal because the first thing she will do then is begin plotting to get Delilah's food too. The husky lays in her crate with her paws wrapped around her bowl glaring at the silly boxer. Sugar sadly whines hoping Delilah will take pity on her.........but, of course, that never happens.



Eventually Sugar will give up at actively begging and takes on a more passive role. The boxer lays down right in front of Delilah's crate looking at the husky with those boxer droopy eyes pleading for sympathy all the while Delilah noses her food around the bowl just to torment Sugar. Finally Sugar will retreat and act like she's found something else to occupy her time. That's when the real fun begins.

Delilah then leaves her crate acting like she's lost her appetite for the game and her food. Slowly but surely Sugar will creep up to Delilah's crate to steal a mouthful of food. All the while Delilah keeps Sugar in her sights wanting her attack to be perfectly planned. Only at the instant when Sugar reaches for Delilah's food will the husky strike.

The sound of kibble clanking in the bowl tells of Sugar's failed attempt to gain access to Delilah's meal. Sugar races off with what's left of her tail tucked down tight in cowardly fashion. Only after the husky has inspected her bowl and left again will Sugar skulk back looking for lost kibble somewhere in front of the crate. If she's been lucky there will be one or two kernels of treasure waiting for her. Even that must be grabbed quickly because the boxer's approach anywhere near the crate brings the husky back to defend her space AND her meal.

This ritual can go on for hours depending on Delilah's mood or her appetite. The boxer will not quit until the food is gone and the husky won't ever allow the boxer the satisfaction of cleaning up after she's finished. The only time Sugar is allowed anywhere near Delilah's crate is when Delilah is done with it......in her own time.

Tonight, there was a little variation to this theme. It must have been too warm for Delilah in her crate, so she took to laying right on the floor in front of it. Sugar tried standing over the top of Delilah in a dominant position only to be ignored. The husky was neither intimidated nor swayed. If Sugar even looked in the direction of Delilah's bowl, the husky would attack and Sugar knew it. Sugar came to me putting her head on my knee begging for help..........its going to be a long night.

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Mysterious Delivery from the Man in Brown

The other day as I was sneaking in my exercises (which I am told am I NOT supposed to be doing as long as I have congestion in my upper body) I thought I heard a knock at the door. Sugar and Delilah who were both intrigued with Mom wallowing around on the ground paid no attention to this intrusion so I thought maybe I was just hearing things. I continued on through my course of double legs lifts to Sugar's barking and lunging as she tried to find a way to join in with this funny new game. Delilah was spending her time, obviously trying to earn extra points with me which she can sure use, trying to "correct" what she saw as Sugar's invasion of my space. It was the usual free for all at this Arabian horse breeding farm.

Once I'd collapsed in a heap from those darn leg lifts, I thought maybe it might be easier to check to see who might have been at the door than it was trying to exercise with the help of Sugar and Delilah. I peeked out the door to see the UPS man just closing my front gates. Knowing I hadn't ordered anything and usually anything Lindsay buys comes by postman, I couldn't think what the man in brown was doing at my door. Looking for signs of some kind of package on the porch I spied a fairly large package, certainly bigger than anything I expected to see this time of year.

Excited to see just who this was for I maneuvered the bulky box through my front door looking for the label. Who in the heck had ordered this thing, I wanted to know. Surprisingly there in black and white was MY NAME! What the heck?? I hadn't ordered any Christmas presents. I've barely even begun my shopping! No time for UPS here!

Then I saw the name of the shipper and some distant bell went off in my little pea brain. Franconia?.............Hmmmmmm.............maybe I vaguely remember something about that company.............. The light slowly dawned as I remembered the Daffodil Annual Dinner Meeting and the high point awards. A Little News...........the Winner's Circle for Legs
This package must be the trunk I had to order.

While it was never meant to be a Christmas treasure, getting it with this timing it certainly felt like a Christmas treasure. I fumbled opening the package like a kid with a Christmas surprise. This box was a lot bigger than I expected. I didn't remember this trunk being quite so large. Once I got through all the tape and then packing beans, I found another smaller box nestled inside. This was more like what I remembered now if I could just get through this tape, I was anxious to see if this trunk looked as good as I remembered.

Remembering the request I'd gotten for pictures, the first thing I did was place the trunk underneath my Christmas tree and grab my camera. Then I put Delilah and Sugar both in their crates. They were both pretty sure this Christmas delight was for them. I couldn't even get a small section of the trunk in the view finder on my camera. All there was was cute little doggie b*tts.

Sugar whined and a very sad deep sigh emanated from Delilah. Neither was happy to be excluded from investigating this new "toy" ??? So there it is in all it's glory. I'm going to have to figure out where to put it so that Delilah doesn't decide to play with it like she has some of my other wooden furniture. Little doggies tooth prints are not what I have in mind for this trunk. It's definitely so much nicer than I remembered. Legs did darn good!....... and so did Carol Tedrick who did all the purchasing of the high point awards.

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Molesting the Christmas Tree..........

We were a bit late getting our Christmas tree up this year. I suppose in all honesty it's not really done being decorated but probably as decorated as it's going to get. The finishing touches are in place except for the topper which seems to be a challenge in these parts.

Garlands of colored popcorn, my kids strung when they were little that I carefully save each year, always has a place of honor on any tree in my house. It is joined by big old fashioned candy canes, not those little things you get at the store these days too small for the hook to fit over a branch and even if it could restricted by that silly square packaging. I mean REAL candy canes, if you get my drift. I don't really know why those two things are important to me but for some reason it's just not Christmas without them.



Last year Delilah and Sugar will still puppyish at Christmas time. Maybe because of that we were better about keeping track of their antics around the Christmas tree last year. Mostly any problems we've ever had with the tree being attacked have come from the felines who also call this place home BUT it appears that this year, that's definitely changing.

You see BOTH dogs have been caught being way too curious about the adornments on the tree. The tell tale clank of ornaments gives the nosing dogs away. Just a little sniffing wouldn't be too bad but anyone who has dogs knows nothing stops with "just sniffing." They're up to something...........those two are.

One dog is way more guilty than the other in a particularly sneaky way. Or maybe the one dog is just not sneaky enough and she manages to get caught.

The Siberian husky, Delilah, formerly know as the Devil Dog (and for good reason), has been caught in the vicinity of the Christmas tree when actual crunching sounds of popcorn being consumed have been heard. Now, Sugar has been located sound asleep in another room so Delilah has to be the guilty party even though Sugar is known to have quite a fondness for popcorn.




Delilah has only been caught anywhere near the tree on a couple of occasions BUT since the tree has been up the bottom rows of the popcorn have all carefully been consumed. The only evidence of where the popcorn once hung is the string it was on is still gracefully draped on the tree right where it belongs. If it wasn't for the absent popcorn kernels themselves, you wouldn't know the tree had been touched.

Now, most of the popcorn is out of reach. It would take some pretty fancy walking on two legs to get anymore of those kernels without bringing the whole tree down. I'm not going to be so foolish as to think that Delilah hasn't given up on that. It just appears she's focused on something else for the moment anyway.

Delilah has more recently taken a fondness to the handmade felt ornaments that adorn our tree. I can't even tell you the hours that were put into making those things. They have survived four children, an assortment of cats and another two dogs with absolutely NO damage. BUT so far that husky has been caught with two different ones in her den. She's torn the hat off of one of the Three Little Kittens who Lost their Mittens and she's assaulted an ice skating Santa Claus. As if that's not enough, as I'm writing this I already need to make a correction. I just now caught her molesting a soft teddy bear with a Santa hat.

So far Sugar hasn't been caught in the act of anything but sniffing. I'm not saying she's innocent, only that she's not been caught. Sugar is smart enough and sensitive enough she doesn't want to be in trouble BUT she doesn't really care if Delilah is in trouble. Actually, I think she rather relishes it. SO when Delilah is naughty, Sugar tells.

The reason I just caught Delilah with that teddy bear was Sugar tattled. Sugar knew I was busy and not paying attention so she rattled a couple of ornaments to get my attention. When I went to check the tree, Sugar was laying outside of Delilah's crate with her face down and looking all neglected and left out. I knew immediately that Delilah had something that Sugar wanted. When I checked.......... there was that poor slobbered on teddy bear.

Suffice it to say that Delilah is walking on some very thin ice...... and Sugar probably isn't far behind. Who knows how the tree is going to fare in all of these. The cats haven't even gotten started yet........but believe me..........they will................

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Escaped!

We live not far from the most dangerous highway in the state. Because we're only five hundred feet from Meridian, we don't let our dogs loose, even on our property. Willful Delilah and exuberant Sugar cannot be trusted to come when called when there are so many exciting things to see and chase. That Makes that street a really big concern for us here.

Delilah and Sugar are either on leash or chained nearby wherever we're working outside. This way both dogs are right there close and keeping up on all the action without threat of getting distracted and working their way towards the deadly highway.

Even with all our precautions sometimes sh*t just happens and one or both dogs escape. Bouncing off the door has become great sport for both since they've learned that sometimes if they hit it just right, they are sprung from the house and free to roam at will.

Needless to say, such escapades cause a near heart attack for me. I have visions of a beloved dog splattered all over that highway. This dog just happened to be well mannered and always came when called but somehow he found himself victim of that road. I can only imagine what might happen to Delilah or Sugar.

Of course, neither dog can understand the dangers of that street. They think our frantic attempts to catch them are quite the game. Luckily we have not often had this occurrence but when we have, Sugar is really the worst dog to catch.

While the playful boxer has only escaped a few times, she has made a run for it on those occasions. Mostly she likes to visit the farm down the road which thankfully is the opposite direction than the deadly road.

A couple of months ago Delilah and Sugar got Lindsay tangled up in their leashes and Sugar managed an escape. By the time Lindsay got back to her feet, Sugar was gone, headed off towards Meridian. Luckily for us, she stopped to visit the new puppy at the corner and was captured by the mail lady before ever getting to the deadly road.

Today, at feeding time while Dave and Lindsay were putting on their layers of clothes getting ready to head to the barn, Sugar tested the back door. The draft blowing through the house was our first hint that she was gone. Everyone panicked as we realized Sugar had made her escape because it was rush hour. The most dangerous time of the day on Meridian.

When we burst into the back yard, Sugar was spotted running her famous circles in the back pasture. Running for the sake of running is big sport to Sugar. She glanced at Dave and Lindsay as they called her..........but she just kept on running..........around.........and around...............and around.

When Dave got close tp Sugar the sassy boxer snorted a bit before deciding it was a good time to stop. Then she came right up to Dave like getting caught was her idea.

This is a FIRST, I can tell you. The pooch has never been "caught" so easily. Her even white markings were covered in mud and she panted like a cougar had been chasing her. Sugar was content to be back on the leash and I could begin to breathe and get my blood pressure back where it belonged. All I can say is it's a good thing we've been brushing up on her "come" cue all week.

Thermal Dieting??

When I heard the newscasters saying I could burn up to 50% more calories in the cold weather, I had to hang around to listen to the story. Thoughts of there being an added benefit in working horses in the cold winter weather seemed intriguing. Heaven knows I could use some motivation on those cold frosty days.

Being cold is not my favorite thing so I bundle up pretty heavily assuming the shape of the Pillsbury Doughboy on some occasions. I usually can peel off a layer or two as I work but still mobility can be an issue sometimes with all that extra padding. Sometimes I wonder if the horses sense the restrictions such clothing puts upon me because I swear they take advantage at such times.

I waited patiently for the story only to hear the new buzz work, thermal dieting. As it flowed out over the airways, the skepticism immediately transcended upon me. Astronauts working at 60°, athletics soaking in ice cube water and runners in New York sporting shorts and flip flops all to shed extra pounds. Give me a break!

I don't care if there is science to support the fact the body will burn calories to maintain heat. Duh! That's why we feed our horses extra when the temperatures drop. I get that.

I was hoping for some real science that said working in the cold, say under 40° can burn X number of extra calories per hour. Now that would have been useful information because you can sure bet you won't ever get me soaking in a tub of ice water to drop the added pounds I'd like to lose. No way baby.

I hate being cold. I'd rather be fat and warm than skinny and cold any day of the week. What about you?? Any thermal dieting in your future??

The Aftermath of the Pineapple Express.........

My shift ended last night at midnight although I guess I was a few minutes later than that when I finally checked out. The mens' department was a mess so getting it "recovered" for today's sales day was a hectic, stressful ordeal with that midnight deadline hanging over my head and it must have been that way in the other apparel departments as well because all of us were running like little mice frantically preparing their families for a storm. Little did we know the storm was indeed outside brewing, just waiting for us to get off work.

I drove the 15 minutes to home watching the winds grow with each mile. As I neared the main intersection in Graham, blue flashing lights flew through the traffic light making my heart leap. A feeling of foreboding filled the air.

By the time I reached home, the winds were so strong, I could hardly stand to get the gate open to my farm. Strong gusts battered me into the fence as I tried to secure the gate so my car could pass through. I quickly parked my car, closed the gate and as I returned to the house I saw a flash of light overhead. Lightning? Power station exploding? Too busy to give it much thought, I hurried myself into the house bracing myself against the strongest winds I've encountered in a while.



I didn't even have my coat off when the roof exploded with the sound of the torrential rains. Hail pelted the windows on the south side of the house (an experience I don't think we've encountered the entire time we lived here) as Mother Nature released her vengeance on western Washington. Dave looked at me and gasped making reference to the timing of my arrival. I had just beaten one h*ll of a storm.

Delilah howled wanting to get to me for comfort but David grabbed her to save my dress slacks from her long silver hair. I headed into the bedroom to shed them so I could comfort both dogs. Before I'd gotten my shoes off the lights flickered and then died. The power was out and the storm was just getting started.




Lightning light up the night skies and thunder cracked. Thunder storms are not common in this area of the country so they're pretty unnerving. With no warning for this kind of storm we were not prepared with flashlights or oil lamps so Dave and I both scrambled to find something so we could see. Once we rounded up flashlights so we could see to prepare for bed we both tried to get some sleep.

I remember laying in bed and wondering what in the heck was happening. This is just not the kind of storm we have in winter in western Washington. I kept thinking about the concerns of the local National Weather Service workers for unknown weather extremes in our area this year.





Today there was a tornado in Aumsville, Oregon today. This article is from the Tacoma News Tribune about the event.

There is also a tornado warning for western Washington until 10 PM tonight although there's not a word about that on the local news. Tornado threat in Western Washington Dec 14. This article is posted by a storm follower for the National Weather Service.

In addition to this article I've heard, though still not officially, there was a tornado that touched down in western Washington during that after midnight storm last night. Looking at the lumber yard destroyed in Maple Valley it does bear resemblance to tornado damage I have seen. The weather I experienced as I got home from work eerily resembles my experience with a tornado in Denver.




I can't help but wonder what is coming next. These pictures were taken just before sunset tonight at our continually growing creek. I would say at this point about a fifth of our place is currently under water and the water is still rising. The Pineapple Express might be gone but her aftermath may not be over yet.

I apologize for the dark photos. It looked lighter outside to me than this but I guess the camera does not lie. I'll try to get some earlier in the day tomorrow so I can better show you the flooding. In a couple of these pictures the water goes back at least 100 feet. Normally our little creek is maybe six feet at its widest part.

Our horses are dry. I cannot say that for the neighbors although the horse does have a dry place accessible. When I took the last picture the horse was in water over its hocks but didn't seem to be in any trouble despite the fast moving water.