labyrinthine summer

The summer does feel labyrinthine this year, with lots of things going on, interweaving and moving in different directions all at the same time.

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The actual labyrinth is coming along beautifully. I envision it being fully in place just about the end of summer, which will be a perfect time to complete the creation and begin to use it. I already feel the benefits of walking the path. Keil Bay is actively asking to go down the path with me.

I had an image of the wooden sign this morning as I walked up the path, and that will be a good art project for a rainy day.

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I also had a major revelation about a garage art project I've been percolating for over a year. The back wall of our garage (the wall you see when you pull in the garage doors) and the stairwell up are both that bland putty color with white splotches where the studs are. It occurred to me awhile back that it would be fun to hire our favorite local mural artist to come work with us to create something magical.

This morning it hit me that what I'd like to do on the garage wall is a mural of our property - a sort of birds' eye view - which is based on what is now, but also includes what will be. An actual visualization of the farm we want to end up with as we live here and improve the place. We can include the labyrinth, the 100-Acre Wood, the Endless Possibility Pool, etc.

I LOVE the idea that instead of a wish list or a dreaded to-do list, I will have a mural. Each time I drive into the garage I'll spotlight the things I hope to create here.

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Writing has been labyrinthine too. I worked daily for several weeks and am now doing a bit of research reading, following a whim I had while actively writing. It feels good to be on the path to finishing this novel up and getting it out there.

I do find myself circling back to the beginning and re-walking the story as I edit, and there's such a good feeling to this process of re-working and digging deeper with each circuit. I hadn't thought of the editing process as walking a labyrinth until just now, but the metaphor fits, for me.

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One day this week I sent away hair and saliva samples from Keil Bay, for kinesiology testing and a full report and recommendations for herbal treatments as needed to balance his system. I've been reading the stories of a large number of horse owners who use this particular woman and they have kept fascinating records of their horses' progress on the herbs. The course of treatment, if needed, generally lasts from 3 weeks to 11 weeks depending on what is found. I talked at some length with the woman, and between her words to me directly and what she has achieved with these fellow riders, I am very excited about the testing. Once I see how this works with Keil Bay, I plan to do it for myself and then work my way through the herd.

She is running 4-6 weeks behind right now due to the number of clients she has, so it will be the end of July before I get results and recommendations. I'll post as things progress.

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I've now started Salina on her rice bran meal supplement, which is added in to her "soup" of soaked pellets, flax, vits and minerals, and kelp. I wondered about this soupy mixture and how she would adapt to it, but she adores it -- and Keil Bay would dearly love to be put on the same routine.

I've reduced her feedings now from 4/day to 3, which is where I'll leave it for the time being. It's been less than a week and I already see she's gained a little weight, which she can afford to do. I suspect she is getting more of the nutrients this way than she was with the "whole" pellets.

The only downside to this is that she gets messy and needs to be sponged off on face and sometimes legs! But that's a small chore in exchange for peace of mind and ease of eating for the Queen.

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So... a sampling of some of the paths I'm on this summer. Circling toward the fall.

mystic-kit

Say hello to the newest member of the November Hill farm family - his name is Mystic and he was delivered to us this evening by our wonderful massage therapist. Her son rescued Mystic as a tiny kitten and they took excellent care of him until my daughter saw his photo, fell in love, and decided to adopt! She agreed to cover his neutering, gave him the perfect name, and now she is taking him under her wing.

Note in the photo that he is on her computer desk, and the "rack" behind him is meant to hold CDs! That's how tiny he is!

I updated the blackboard in our laundry room yesterday. It lists the names of all the non-human family members here at November Hill. On a silly whim one day, I decided to list them all on the board and it has now become a sort of placard of the menagerie. If anyone is counting, our census is up to 14.

Every time my daughter sees the total number, she ups it by one more. When she saw the big 14 I'd written in at the top of the board yesterday, she immediately said, "WE NEED 15!"

All I can say is... good thing she plans to go to vet school.

Welcome, Mystic. I'm certain you're going to stir things up around here. :)

Arte y Pico award

Victoria over at Teachings of the Horse gave this lovely award to camera-obscura and several other wonderful blogs. Thank you, Victoria - I so appreciate it.

The designer of this award has asked that the following be passed along with it:

The origin of the Arte y Pico Award: "This prize has arisen from the daily visits that I dedicate to many blogs which nourish me and enrich me with creativity. In them I see dedication, creativity, care, comradeship, but mainly, ART, much art. I want to share this prize with all those bloggers that entertain me day to day and to share this prize with those who enrich me every day. Doubtlessly, there are many and it will be hard to pick just a few. The people I will name today deserve this prize, as do the very long serious list of bloggers I also enjoy to read. But I will name the first 10 and leave the rest of the work to all the bloggers that visit other's blogs and are nourished by them.

Stillwater - A Reprise

Thanks to a reader's comment, I learned just now that Tasha Tudor, one of my favorite children's authors and an inspiration in many ways, died on June 20th at the age of 92.

I suspect the charm of goldfinches that flew up before me on Friday and followed me from tree to tree down the driveway, chirping like mad, were honoring Tasha. That's just the sort of thing she would notice and love.

Tasha lived simply but surrounded by the richness of her gardens, her animal family, nature, and the many gifts she brought to the world via her books, paintings, and her living example of the very best way to spend a day.

In honor of Tasha, I'm reprising a post I wrote here on 27 April, 2007. As you will read below, Tasha advocates choosing Joy.

Thank you, Tasha. Go well.


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"Just for fun, my family invented a religion like the Shakers we called Stillwater. I'm eldress, and we have a big celebration on Midsummer's Eve. It's really a state of mind. Stillwater connotes something very peaceful, you see, life without stress. Nowadays, people are so jeezled up. If they took some chamomile tea and spent more time rocking on the porch in the evening listening to the song of the hermit thrush, they might enjoy life more.

Stillwater believers are very hedonistic. Life is to be enjoyed, not saddled with. Do you know that lovely quotation from Fra Giovanni? He was an old monk from away back who wrote to his patron, 'The gloom of the world is but a shadow; behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. Take joy.' That's the first commandment of the Stillwater religion. Joy is there for the taking."

-Tasha Tudor, from The Private World of Tasha Tudor


*** I discovered Tasha Tudor when we got the corgyn - she has written and illustrated several children's books featuring the corgi. As I looked for more of her wonderful books, I came across her cookbook, which I love, and the above book, which is a favorite, full of her ramblings and the most marvelous photos of Tasha in the Vermont cottage built by her son.

summer solstice, a new star in our constellation, and a very long night

We were very busy on the longest day of the year. We finally met the stellar young miniature donkey Redford, who will be coming to join our family in a few short months. He is a lovely red sorrel with a white star, and very loving and quiet compared to the bold, take-charge Rafer Johnson. (who is also very loving, but Rafer has a more insistent personality, I think)

We have photos, but so many that I haven't had a moment to sort through them. I'll post one as soon as I can.

We were lucky enough to meet several other young donkeys, including one born only 24 hours earlier. All I can say is, never ever go visit donkeys if you don't want your own herd! They are simply adorable and will steal your heart given about 10 seconds. If we had more acres we would have come home owning not only Redford, but three others to boot. What a herd that would be!

Upon return home Rafer Johnson seemed to know we'd been visiting other donkeys, because he turned on the "I am the most loving donkey in the universe and here, let me show you just how many hugs I can give!" He has been all over me and daughter since we got back. I explained to him that Redford is very special and will be a good friend to us all, but that of course Rafer is the first donkey and the one who stole our hearts first.

The longest day turned into quite a long night for us as well. At her evening feed, Salina had a choke episode. We had a very brief and easily resolved choke episode with Cody a year ago, and thus knew what to do in the moment. However, it became obvious that Salina's was not clearing, so we called the vet, who had us monitor for 30 more minutes just to be sure, and then she headed on over.

At one a.m. Sunday morning Salina was sedated in the barn aisle with a tube all the way to the opening of her stomach, which is where the blockage was. It cleared instantly when the tube touched it. Salina was thankfully very calm during the entire ordeal, from beginning to end. Rafer became a little agitated, so I took him back to visit the geldings in the field while Salina was totally "out" and getting the tubing done. As she woke up, I brought him back, and he helped her wake up the rest of the way. Thank goodness for wonderful vets and for miniature donkeys who are as loyal and loving as can be to their human and equine family.

Salina is now having both feed and hay soaked, and I've split her two feed meals into four to reduce the amount going in at one time. I'll probably leave her off the black oil sunflower seeds, but will have to replace those calories with something different. I'll be researching that over the next few days. Her teeth were just checked and were great, so we're assuming this was just one of those bizarre things that happened.

It was a relief to see though that her usual easy demeanor with vet procedures is intact.

Update, for anyone interested in dietary horse stuff: I'll be adding in Max-E-Glo stabilized rice bran meal in place of the black oil sunflower seeds. It will soak well, add the extra fat and calories, and give her lots of good Vit. E and antioxidants. She's gobbling down the soaked hay, and the geldings seem to think it's some kind of treat. They keep grabbing mouthfuls of it as I pass by with her tub.

And Keil Bay is turning into a roping man this week. Every morning he's been taking a lead rope off the hook outside his stall and twirling it in the air while I get breakfasts ready. What a crew!