We have a birthday on November Hill!

Rafer Johnson is our midsummer night's dream birthday boy and he is 9 years old today. It seems like yesterday that he came to live with us, but he's been with us through many moments of joy, laughter, and a few trials and tribulations as well.

Rafer broke his leg when he was a year and a half old and his speedy and complete recovery here on November Hill taught me so much about how caring for equines to keep them happy so healing is easier.

Rafer was the donkey who would bring the hoof pick to me and request that his hooves be cleaned. He would follow my daughter over jumps on the pony in the arena. He has tried to lunge the pony with the lunge whip, often stands in the middle of the arena and gives me lessons when I ride Keil Bay, sometimes tips my mounting block over while I'm riding as a joke, and turns the lights on in the barn if he gets tired of the dark.

He became Salina's best buddy almost instantly but he's also a good friend to each of our equines. Now that Salina is gone Rafer and the pony have become very close. 

Rafer stood by Salina in her feisty years with us as well as the years she began to slow down and decline. The last year and a half of her life she would sometimes get down and be unable to get up without our help, and Rafer (and Redford too) would stand on either side of her and bray to let us know we needed to come out and help her.

When she needed to stay near the barn he stayed with her. If she called he came. And when she finally went down one final time and we knew she just didn't have it in her to get up again, he touched her nose and then he went with Redford to the front field to join the geldings while we said goodbye.

He came back when she was gone to say goodbye again and then he turned to me and put his head up on my chest and gazed into my eyes. It was the purest expression of grief and love I have ever seen.

Rafer stood by her grave on a regular basis over the next few months. Not so much in mourning but in the way that felt like he was visiting with her for a bit. I let her halter hang on the hook for over a year after she left us. Rafer would on occasion take it down and walk around with it. I know he misses her. 

I always said that Salina was the heartbeat of November Hill and when she passed away I believe Rafer took on that role for her. He's a very special guy and we love him dearly.

Happy birthday, Rafer Johnson! We'll have a party this afternoon and get your birthday portrait then.

Travelogue: Santa Cruz and UC-Santa Cruz, my favorite campus ever!

Our first morning in Santa Cruz we found the coffee shop I used to go to back in 1990. It's bigger and better and in a slightly different location than when I last went, but the coffee is still wonderful and the ambiance is pure Santa Cruz.

We headed from there over to the UC-Santa Cruz campus. I was so busy finding my way and getting to the parking so my son could get to his first meeting I didn't stop to photograph the entrance to this gorgeous campus. So today's post will highlight some of the interior of the campus. I did get photos of the entrance and will post those later this week.

For now, enjoy my first walk inside UC-Santa Cruz.

I immediately felt I was in a state park.

The campus proper is situated in a redwood forest. I loved seeing this near the marine biology building.

Of course the first real stop was the physics and astronomy building:

Physics departments seem to always have very cool displays in their lobbies:

I explored more of the campus while my son had meetings.

This was the walk to the student center and some lunch:

This is the main walkway that passes between the student center, the bookstore, and the cafe, where I met an old (twenty years now?) cyber-friend who lives in Santa Cruz. It was wonderful to sit and talk on this gorgeous campus.

On my way back to the physics building. This is the campus! I was in love with it immediately.

After meeting back up with dear son we headed back to the car.

Everywhere I looked this beautiful golden light was beaming down through the towering trees:

This is one of the main drags on campus. It was stunning. Like a parkway.

The buildings were seamlessly integrated into the landscape.

More golden rays on the main drag.

The inside of this building was illuminated by the late day sunlight.

Even the parking deck was green.

Heading out:

Earlier in the day: I came upon this deer as I explored the campus. I'm not sure I've ever seen deer on a college campus before! 

There are many more photos which I will share later in the week. I loved this campus so much, and loved the quiet juxtaposition of academics and nature park setting. Of all the campuses we visited this is the one that puts together what I would want in a college experience if I were applying today. 

And I love the college mascot. The banana slug!! 

More to come.

Home Is Where Your Donkeys Bray

New sign for the barn - I love it! Holly at Count All Things Joy on Etsy made it for me. Go check out her shop - she is wonderful to buy from!

Here's the LINK.

Latest on Clinton Anderson, whose status as asshole is up for debate

Terrific blog post here:

https://www.writingofriding.com/in-the-media/clinton-anderson-ass

I was wondering why my blog hits were through the roof this week and now I know why. People are madly googling to read more after Clinton Anderson's new video was released and he has apparently had his own characteristic CA rant at the end which is inciting fury all over the Internet.

You can read more about some of that here:

https://annablakeblog.com/2016/07/15/defending-horses-with-words-and-money/

Read and follow the links to let CA's sponsors know exactly what you think.

For the record, abusive sociopathic narcissist is closer to the mark.

Travelogue, continued: the road to Santa Cruz

When we left Palo Alto I wanted a nice drive west to Highway 1 so I used the Google Maps app and asked it to avoid highways and tolls. We ended up on what I think was Highway 84, which took us past a huge and amazing horse park. The rolling hills were covered in golden grasses and I spotted what appeared to be a cross-country course as we drove past. It was very different than what we have here in North Carolina, mainly because the landscape in California is so different. But it was nice to see that even Silicon Valley has space for horses!

84 wound up and through the hills, and we took hairpin turns through redwood groves. I couldn't stop exclaiming. It was a drive that required constant attention but it was delightful. At one point I was behind a huge flatbed truck piled high with square bales of hay and again I was happy to be made aware of the presence of horses.

We passed horse farms and I wondered how anyone could trailer in and out on 84 but I guess if you do it enough you get very good at it.

Eventually we drove out of the forested area and into a hilly area comprised of golden hills and open sky. 

And then, suddenly we came to a stop sign where you could either turn left or right. Ahead was the Pacific Ocean.

It was wonderful to think: take 84 and turn left at the Pacific Ocean!

This is what we saw:

I wish I had more photographs of the coastal highway going south to Santa Cruz but I was busy driving and exclaiming and listening to the customized soundtrack my son was creating from his iPhone. It was an amazing drive.

When I was 30 I made a drive with my dad from Austin, Texas to Los Gatos, California with my two cats and all my earthly belongings. It was one of the most amazing road trips of my life. The next year I drove the coastal highway south to Hollywood and that too was a wonderful trip. So as I drove this summer, age 56, with my son, the previous trips layered in and it felt like time had become an accordion, stretching in and out. If anyone doubts that time travel exists, just ask a mother who remembers her own childhood, her young adulthood, her child's childhood, and the journey into her child's young adulthood. 

I can't accurately capture the magic of this trip but it was there every mile of the way.