an early gift

Today my daughter and I were making a run to the feed store to stock up on beet pulp pellets, whole oats, whole flax seed, and rice bran. We stopped by the local tack shop first to get a couple of Pony Club Christmas party gifts and had fun looking and catching up with the store owner, who I know and am quite grateful to for having this marvelous store in our small town.

She loves horses and rides, and had a very successful corporate career. She gave it up to open this shop, and I imagine took something of a risk to do so. But she has said on more than one occasion that she is happy, and she has done a great job meeting community needs with the items she offers.

We do try to shop there as much as we can. Sometimes I have to order online to keep within my budget, but we have bought Charles Owen helmets and vests there because of the expert, certified fitting they offer, and I often go there first to see if what I need is available and priced within my budget. The store staff are wonderfully knowledgeable and helpful. In the past month they saved me buying a new helmet by fitting my son's barely worn one to my daughter's head.

When I was casting about for solutions to Keil Bay's saddle pad dilemma they urged me NOT to buy the expensive Mattes fleece pad, but to get the saddle fitter over first to make sure it wasn't a fit issue. (it was)

They often have just the thing I need: a quarter blanket for the pony, a grazing muzzle, the lick ball that kept Rafer Johnson occupied during some long afternoons in his stall.

They sponsor workshops and send out a truly useful email each month with notification of sales, as well as free local classifieds for customers. When hay was scarce, they sent out info about good, reliable hay sources.

They always send me home with the assurance that if my purchase doesn't work, I can bring it back. This includes bits, blankets, clothing, everything. I so appreciate them.

So today I went in feeling happy to give them some business, and mentioned that I was looking for a specific bit for Keil Bay's stocking. They had the exact bit, but it was $125. and while ideally it WAS the exact one I wanted, I had hoped to find the cheaper version. (more like $40.)

As the owner was looking through catalogs to see if she could find one of the less expensive ones, she suddenly stopped. "How much were you thinking of spending?" she asked.

When I told her, she smiled. "You know what? You're a wonderful customer. I'm going to give this one to you for that price."

I resisted but she insisted. I was close to tears. It was such a kind and lovely gesture, particularly in the economic times we're experiencing. But she lit up when she made the offer, I lit up when I accepted it, and sometimes, many times, this is the kind of thing that I believe changes the energy in our world, not all at once, but bit by bit, like those little snowflakes in snow globes, one and then a flurry.

I plan to find a way to pass this generosity on and keep the glittering flakes flying. If we all do just one really nice thing we wouldn't have otherwise done, just think how that lights up the world.

70 degrees, rain, thunder, tornado watch

We've had so much rain today it is quite literally standing in pools all over the property. It has to rain a lot for me not to let the horses out, but today I decided not to. It's slippery, and if it started thundering and they started running... not a great combination.

So we have spent the day trying to keep up with the mucking. Fortunately our barn has a shelter off the back 3 stalls, so generally what I do is let the geldings take turns - one gets closed in, the other two can go in and out from stalls to shelter. This insures that no one gets stuck in the rain. (can you say "bossy pony?") I leave the gate to the arena open so if/when the rain stops they can go in there and march around. It's wet, but it drains really well and it isn't slippery like the paddock and fields.

Salina and the donkeys have two stalls opened up, and the barn aisle, and I left them access to the barnyards so they can take a walk when the rain slows.

Right now, Rafer Johnson is watching for the storm.



Thus far it has worked as well as it ever does. Boredom is kept to a minimum, and they seem happy enough to stand and watch the rain fall, munching their hay.

There is a tornado watch in effect until 7 p.m. for our area, but right now, there is a tornado warning in effect with the center of rotation passing over the area where my brother lives, and where we used to board Keil Bay and Apache Moon. I hope it treads gently as it whirls on, and that it dies out soon. Another more severe band of weather is expected around 7 tonight, so we will keep our eyes open and hope for the best outcome for all.

70 degrees!

Here we are in December and it is 70 degrees outside. The horses have been running wildly today, enjoying the odd weather. Cody especially is trotting around like a dressage star, tossing his head in delight.

So far today I've had a close encounter with 3 crows and then a very close encounter with a redtail hawk, who flew up from only a few feet away and landed on a fence post, where he sat and watched as I scrubbed and filled a water tub.

Given the unusual weather, the bird sightings, and the season, I won't be surprised at anything that happens today.

if I had taken the camera out today you would have seen:

Rafer Johnson and Redford turning out for a little while with the entire herd. Redford looked like a little boy having his first Christmas!

Salina galloping to keep her donkey boys in check (and the geldings at their proper distance), then trotting and tossing her head.

Salina standing with eyes closed, enjoying her massage while the donkey boys munched on the heart of the last round bale.

Rafer Johnson getting his hind quarters checked for tight muscles. (none!)

Keil Bay searching his massage therapist's pockets for the hot stones, which we opted not to use today.

Cody nudging in to see if he could get some bodywork for himself. (alas, he was not on the schedule today!)

Keil Bay outside my window while I got my massage.

Chase the handsome Corgi peeping up at me through the face rest of the massage table, and touching my nose with his.

The gorgeous black basalt stones soaking in my bathroom in their crock pot.

The gray clouds rolling in just before sunset.

The pony's face when we took the remainder of the round bale heart and rolled it out under the shelter for the geldings to share until bedtime.

finding the rhythm of the earth

It's so cold this morning I can't even think of taking the camera out in search of an image! The ice was nearly an inch thick on the troughs, I noted that one plastic bucket exploded, and mucking is akin to moving rocks.

But the sun is out and temps are rising well into the 40s, so blankets are off, horses and donkeys are eating hay, and thankfully there is no wind chill factor.

As I often do, when I can't get my own images lined up, I went visiting my husband's website gallery looking for something to borrow. Today I found this:



It feels warm to me, but more than that it captures one of my favorite images in the mountains - the fog rolling in like a tide. I think a lot of us are drawn to mountains and the sea because of the constant sense of a cycle in process, as well as something "bigger than us."

I always find a sense of mystery and awe and appreciation when I visit mountains and the sea, and find myself getting in tune with the earth's breathing and sighing.

Finding an inner rhythm, and tuning in to it. I think he captured that perfectly here.

Thanks, Matthew!