Goodbye 2021....

 Can't say as it's been good to know ya. 

The year winds down in beauty...

Cold and colourful...

My key word for 2021 was Faith, and my faith is what kept me strong through a year of sadness, trials and tears, both because of the worldly ugliness and personal losses. None of which is relevant to this blog. 

There were some highlights though, with two good foals born (Derby up at Shayla's and Dally here with us) both of whom sold for good prices. Offset by losing both Merle and Tess.... 

There were many times when all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch and do nothing, but having horses kept me grounded. There were many other times when I just wanted to Ride a Good Horse! But not having a riding horse was an issue! Enter Sophie, who I have yet to ride but we are making progress and I expect to be riding her as soon as we get a break in the weather. 

I have lots of plans for 2022, if the Good Lord is willing and the creek don't rise....

Breeding Sophie to a lovely Grullo stallion , hitting the trails on her with a group of friends, as long as we don't go into another draconian lock down. Once I get her a little better broke, maybe even do a little cattle sorting or roping on her. 

So much depends on what measures the government hands down. And that brings me to my key word for 2022. 

Mercy. 

I have a sinking feeling that we will need a lot of Mercy this year. 

Meanwhile, I will try to go on with life as planned, including getting excited about Jayne's new Beamer baby.

Baby bump!

Getting out for a walk

 There is an old saying, make hay while the sun shines. Well, it isn't haying season but the sun was definitely shining today! So I headed down to see what Sophie had to offer today. 

I was surprised that she didn't just turn her head and neck away from me and walk away!

Hmmm... soft eye and she seems to be okay with the proximity of the halter....

Imagine that! I was quite pleased!

I spent a little time just getting her to relax with being touched. Then since it has been a couple of weeks since I took her for a walk, that's what we did. This time it was up onto the road so she could get used to all the sights and sounds of the neighbours.

Alert but not spooky

Up onto the road- one car went by but she didn't pay it any attention.

Then into our yard where we checked in with Ted in his shop.

Wanna come in?

She would have, too! She made a step towards the door to come in but I had to back her out- no room for a horse in there! Love that she was willing though.

Off we went making tracks in the snow around the yard and back to the barn. She was nice and relaxed, happy to get out. 

Supposed to be nice again tomorrow so hopefully we can have another session. 

Cold year end

 The final days of 2021 are winding down, accompanied by a blast of Siberian air. 

I have separated Jayne from Sophie, as Sophie still was bossing Jayne around at feeding time and when she wanted to take a drink. Ted helped me to move the insulated water tank into the foaling pen, and I moved Jayne in there. One of the first things Jayne did once she settled in to her new digs was to lie down.

Other than rolling, which Sophie pestered her while she rolled, this is the first time I have seen Jayne lie down since Sophie got here. Although they do like to be in with another horse, both Jayne and Sophie will benefit from being separated. 

This cold weather has hindered my progress with Sophie.  She continues to be standoffish and hard to catch. I checked how she was with Ted, and really there was no difference, so it isn't just me.  Whatever her past issues are that are affecting her personality, we will just deal with the horse we have in the present. I recently found something on a Facebook horse page (that I signed Ted up on so I could keep up with the horse industry). This was written by Ginger Greene and I would like to share it with you.

When you pick up the reins in your hand, help me to be somebody.                                                    When the day is long and you are frustrated with my baggage,                                                           when you want to give up and blame it all on me,remember that I wasn't born with troubles; somewhere in there someone made them for me.

Help me to be somebody.

Help me to find a place in life that's better than where I have been.                                                    Show me how to be somebody's number one, at whatever talent level I have.                                      Help me to be the best horse I can be.

Help me to be somebody.

Remember that as a trainer, my life is in your hands. You have a responsibility to make me better than I am. I'm not here to feed your ego or fill your empty soul. I'm here for you to steward and show me the way to go. 

So I can be somebody.

~Ginger Greene

She wants to be good... she just isn't sure yet about her new situation in life. Today she walked up to me as I came into her pen, and stood while I petted her forehead- her favourite place for a rub- But turns her head and neck away  as if to say "I'm not ready yet".

We will get it all figured, Sophie m'girl!

Sunday Stills- 'Tis the Season

 The reason for "The Season"

At the entrance to our Church

Our manger scene near the altar

My Nativity set. I leave part of it up all year- Jesus, Mary amd Joseph.

That'll do!

 I dressed Beamer up in his Christmas finery and after several tries, 

we have a winner! I chose this one because it is such a typical Beamer moment!

Here are some of the out takes:

Leave the darn hat on, Beamer!

It fits perfectly over his li'l ears!

The things she makes me do! Can I eat some of that greenery?

And Happy New Year too!

T'was in the moon of wintertime...

 

One of my favourite Christmas Carols is the Huron Carol, written by Jean De Brebeuf in the 1600's. 

This is my favourite version of it:

Today I am going to attempt my annual Christmas photo...  Beamer gets the call. 

Foiled plans

 Today was really mild, in fact it rained on top of the 6 inches of snow we got. So I figured when the rain stopped, I would ride Sophie. 

The sun came out and it was perfect! At least, I thought so. Apparently Sophie didn't agree. 

She played youcan'tcatchme for quite a while! 

In fact, long enough for a storm to roll in. By then I figured to just catch her, visit with her a bit and then turn her loose. 

Yeah that wasn't going to happen. 

Striding in perfect unison 

Jayne was very over it. Mostly she just stood still while Sophie played silly mare, but Sophie would come and get in behind her and make her move. 

Check out Jayne's baby belly!

Eventually I caught Jayne and put her in the foaling pen for the night so she could have some peace. And then fed Beamer , then Jayne... meanwhile Sophie was "Hey what about meeeeee?"

Hahaha. So I got her feed, left it outside the pen, and went in, again, with the halter. A little more resistance from her, then she went up by the gate which is a bit of a narrower area, and I blocked her escape route; she did a few cutting horse moves and then allowed as how I could catch her. (insert eyeroll!). I had her come with me while I got her hay in and put it in her shelter, then longed her a bit just because, before turning her loose. 

It is possible that Sophie sensed the storm coming in, but she has done this before in good weather, so I figure it's either a learned behaviour or a personality trait. So far it's the only thing I don't like about her, and I hope she gets over it. It may be beneficial to keep her separate all the time. 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Sunday Stills- Handmade

 Hand made or hand built? That was on my mind. Hand built speaks to me of larger projects, such as the horse shelters Ted built for me, and the insulated water tank for the horses, and the welded pipe round pen, etc. etc.- so many things he has built for me and I am truly grateful to him and so very proud of the talent and care he puts into every project. 

Hand made seems to me to be the smaller craftier items, such as this loon ornament made by Connie and Gene of Far Side of Fifty blog. It is usually one of the frst things I put on my tree!

Perfectly carved, painted and balanced!

Another ornament I have was made for me by my step mom. One year, I was admiring the big pine comes that dropped in their yard, and that Christmas she sent me this adorable little snowman she made.  He is so cheerful!

It occupies a place of honour hanging from my kitchen curtains

The most cherished hand made item we have though, was made for Ted's dad, who just turned 89, and we think it was made for him by his mother . 

He has had a few updates over the years, and his fur has worn away a bit, but he is all intact with moveable arms and legs. 

His little overalls were also hand made, in 1961 at the GWG factory in Edmonton, and he has worn them ever since. We keep him in a glassed in curio cabinet  to protect him  from dust and wear.

For more Sunday Stills handmade items go here!

Winter beauty

 We took a road trip over the summit today to visit my sister. It was a beautiful  sunny morning - we left early because we needed to be back early to keep the home fire burning and have some daylight for chores. 

As always, the summit (Kootenay Pass, it is the third highest pass in Canada) has way more snow than we do; we have about 2 inches on the ground and the pass looks like this:

Christmas card type snowy trees!

 The roads were well sanded and we had 4 wheel drive turned on so no real issues on the icy roads. 

I couldn't help but smile at all the beauty .

The mountains are blanketed in snow. Yes that is a very deep valley with a creek flowing at the bottom.

The closer we get to the smmit the more the terrain opens up. The road is a lot steeper than it looks.

There is a large pull out at the top for trucks to check their brakes and their loads. The way down on this side is actually steeper than the way up on the Creston side. 

Yup 8% grade going down.

But oh so beautiful with the sun breaking over the mountain tops and lighting up the snow laden trees.

I do love the mountains. They make my heart sing. 

We had an uneventful trip and a good visit with my sister, taking her birthday and Christmas gifts and a whole lotta love. Her birthday is the 23rd. 

With snow in the forecast for the next week it's pretty much a given that we will have a white Christmas!

We got our tree last Sunday, it's up and decorated. We found a little balsalm that fit into the small area we have in our living room.

Up...

And decorated!

Makin' Tracks

 I feel rather blessed in this little corner of the world. Such terrible weather going on all over the globe. My heart goes out to all the people affected by that trememdous tornado in Kentucky as well as all the folks affected by floods, mudslides, forest fires, volcanoes.... 

Here in Creston we have a mix of rain, snow and ice. One day we get this:

The next day we get rain which makes ice- treacherous to walk on so I had to improvise down at the barn.

Old hay and chaff laid out so I don't get laid out!

Two days later....

3 inches of heavy wet snow, but at least it is warm!

The snow made it possible for me to get Sophie out for another walk. She was happy to get caught and go for a stroll.

C'mon Sophie, lets go make tracks!

Speaking of tracks, there were plenty of deer tracks, some smaller ones (doe and fawn) and some larger ones like this one, probably a buck.

We have a lot of white tail deer who pretty much live in the woods here year round. 

In that video we are up on the dyke, and ahead of us are the tracks of a pair of coyotes. Definitely not dogs as there are no people tracks with them; some folks do walk their dogs down there. 

Sophie was really good, very interested in her surroundings and quite expressive without being overly spooky. This next video she saw something bobbing up and down in the breeze and just couldn't figure it out. Her reaction was to stop and look; she was concerned but if I had been riding it would have been very easy to handle. 

I am so ready to ride, hopefully this week!

Sunday Stills- On Your Left

 As I was leading Sophie up the alley between Beamer's pen on the left and the foaling pen, himself was trying to impress Sophie with his studly presence. 

The light

 One thing about the later sunrise these days is that I get to enjoy it when it's time for my morning chores. 

There were sweeping fingers of cloud coming up from the south as I headed down there. Then by the time I was about done, there were backlit clouds tumbling and playing along the mountain tops. 

Lovely way to start a cold (-10 C or 8F) December day! 

Sophie won't drink out of the insulated water box, and although Jayne will, she hasn't been because she is worried about Sophie coming up behind her when she has her head buried in it. I have been weighing my options on that; Ted is building me another insulated tank for Beamer,  but until then I can either put Jayne in a separate pen, or pull Sophie out and put Beamer back in with Jayne as they will both drink out of the insulated tank. Or just keep breaking the ice.... With snow in the forecast I think I will just pull Jayne and take the non insulated tub out of Sophie's pen so she has to drink out of the other tank. 

The thing with horses is that everything has to be adaptable. Even if Sophie drinks out of that tank, will Jayne drink out if it too if she is still worried about Sophie?  Once Sophie is accustomed to it, I am hoping that Jayne will be able to pick a time to drink when Sophie is not near when I put them back together again. Keeping the tank full every day will help, as she won't have to sink her head in below eye level. Winter is so much work!!!