Moving on, and a thank you.

After something sad happens, it is natural to seek solace. One drink of Mikes Mango Lemonade, and a good night's sleep put a new outlook on life, and today, when it was time to turn Beamer out, I couldn't help but smile- beautiful horses, beautiful day, there is always something to ease the heart.

Like Beamer, being a goofball:

And poetry in motion....

and Nitro in a perfect halter stance....

I thank each and every one of you who left comments of support, well wishes and prayers. The little ones will always be remembered and loved. The support of family and friends has meant a lot to Ted and I, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Now, it's back to foal watch, Belle should be a mama any time now!

I've been mugged

I got a lovely surprise in the mail yesterday; a gift from Sherry over at Fern Valley Appaloosas for my guesses on her contest post. Thanks you so much Sherry, for this beautiful cup:

It's extra special because of what it says on the back side:

and who doesn't love some Ghiradelli chocolate! I love this cup and will make it my morning tea mug- what better way to start the day than to be reminded of a good friend! 

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Thankful Thursday

A heartfelt thank you to everyone here on my blog and on Facebook who sent me birthday wishes yesterday-I was smilin' all day!
My sister came to town and went to Mass with me, then was kind enough to go to Tim Hortons and bring me tea and a muffin, and surprised me with flowers and birthday cupcakes for both of us; her birthday is tomorrow.

Thanks, Georgia!

Ted had flowers delivered to me at work, which floored me, I was definitely not expecting that! There were also a couple of bearpaw chocolates attached.(nomnom!)

Thanks, Ted!

I love the vase set-up, I will be using them this summer for my garden flowers.

When I got home from work, There was another bouquet of flowers, this time from my daughter and her husband; lovely white roses.And chocolates! (more nomnom!)

Thanks, Jessi and Scot!

 With the internet wishes and phone calls, and all the lovely flowers, I had a most wonderful day, topped off by Ted taking me out for supper. I love being spoiled.... at least, once a year!

Look at all the lovely colors- so refreshing in the middle of winter!

Thanksgiving

It has been a quiet Thanksgiving here, as Ted is away; he had to go to Edmonton on a work related trip and took the opportunity to visit his family and have dinner with them on Sunday. His mother is ailing, in hospital and not doing well. So it was a blessing that he had to go, that he got to see her one more time.
It has been rainy here the last few days, so today I got all my indoor work done; sweep, vacuum, dust, wash floors, and do laundry. But that only took two hours, so I went out and fired up the table saw to cut up some scrap wood from the building projects , into firewood.

This is the woodshed that Ted is building; it is being sheeted in with rough cut slabs that we trimmed to fit better. Until we ran out of slabs, so we need to buy a few more to finish.

Once we finish the back wall and sides, we can start filling it up with firewood.
Rio is six months old today. He's been growing like a weed, and it's all up, up up. I have had a few people ask if his tail is going to stay that color, and checked it out. There are a lot of hairs that are silver all the way to the root:

so I think that yes. he will always have a light colored tail. He also has a good sprinkle of white hairs all over him.

This is his flank area, and his neck shows about the same amount of white. I'm thinking he takes after both of his grandmothers: his size and smokey black from Coyote Belle's dam, and the silver and white from Beamer's dam, who was a black rabicano. I think when I get Rio's color tested, I will get the test done for the silver gene.

Some lovely friends took me out for dinner tonight, and it was a wonderful turkey dinner, most wonderful because I didn't have to cook or clean up after! And a scrumptious pumpkin dessert; a square with an oatmeal base and pumpkin pie filling, topped with cream flavored with pumpkin pie spice. Yummmmm!
Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving- well Canadians anyway!

After that dinner, this is how I feel!

Thanksgiving Day for some

To all my US blogger friends, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving day, with family, fun, and food in abundance. I take this opportunity to thank those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, which allows us to enjoy the life we live; our trials are small compared to other countries. So thanks to all the soldiers, in your country and mine.

Nov.11 Remembering our soldiers

Written on the battlefield, by Canadian John McCrae:

There is an excellent post at Home on the Range about Remembrance day, please visit her.

I give thanks to all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in defending not only our country, but other countries as well.

"Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends" John 15:13

(Internet image of the Canadian War Cemetery in France)

Recipe for the blues

What do you do when you're having one of those days that get you down, when it seems you'll never get to the light at the end of the tunnel?

Why, you get on your good horse and ride toward the light.....

and even if it seems far away and out of focus, the light is still there, and you can look around you and marvel at all the blessings God has given you, like a good dog by your side....

and the beauty of the land, and the creatures therein,

and know that as evening sets in, all is well, and tomorrow is another day.

And then you go in and bake an Angelfood cake. With creamcheese icing.

Happy Anniversary to my husband

Today is our 14th anniversary, and it was a wonderful wedding- all horseback including the preacher- out at Anchor D Ranch.

Who says you can't ride in a dress? This photo is for Mercy!

Thanks Ted, for being the biggest part of my dreams come true!

Ed's photos and some pink for Mikey

I'm quite tardy in getting this on my blog, but a big thank you to Ed, for sending me the photo that I won on his blog, along with two beautiful note cards. Lovely, aren't they! The water scene is so serene; once I get it framed it's going in my office.

I made the mistake of turning Beamer out in his pasture with his blanket on; it's been chilly and windy, so smart me thought I'd just leave it on so he didn't get too cold. Hmmmph. He spent a lot of time galloping up and down the fence line, because he couldn't see the girls, who were happily chowing down on their hay, out of his line of sight. Went out an hour later, and brought him in..... man was he hot! I peeled off the blanket, and he was lathered up pretty good. Note to self- don't be so stupid next time! So I put a cooler on him and walked him until he quit blowing, then took it off, threw a saddle blanket on him and rode around at a walk, just relaxing him and cooling him out. After he cooled right down, I started grooming him; he's so dirty that I gave him a sponge bath, and shampooed his muddy tail. Of course, then he had to have his cooler back on for a bit while he dried. He wants you to know, he's tough enough to wear pink!

So he's a lot cleaner, but I hope it gets hotter in the next few days so I can give him a real bath.

Celebrating 2 years

This is my 500th post, and on Sunday, it'll be exactly 2 years since I started this blog. I'm rather amazed at where it has taken me; the people I've been in contact with are a great blessing- that's you, my blogger friends! And so I'm dedicating this post to you all.From the farms of the Eastern Seaboard, to Texas, California, Oregon, and many other states, foreign countries like Belize and the UK, and of course the many Canadians, we are all united in our love of the horse, and/or rural lifestyle.

I have shared your ups and downs, (Lisa and Mikey come to mind!) your vacations (Fern Valley!) your neighbors antics (Nuz Muz!), seen some amazing photography from a great many of you, followed the training of horses (Tracey, Nuz Muz, Cdn Cowgirl, Fantastyk Voyageur, and some others) shared in the antics of your children (Mercy, Sage and Steele, the twinlings, Cub and Wrecking Crew) and your furry friends (all of the blogs!).

It's been a privilege to be a part of Sunday Stills, -Thanks Ed and Linda for dreaming up that one- it really encouraged me to be more creative and active with my camera. Your cameras have shown me places of astounding beauty.

I've received some good and welcome advice, laughed and cried at some of your posts, and always felt that I belonged to a community- a right thinking community of folks, quick to praise and slow to criticize.

And so Here's to you, I raise my cuppa coffee on high to all of you and say Thanks! for being part of my life.

Today we are beginning the year with a good snowfall, hope it's enough to improve the footing in the fields so I can ride Beamer in the pastures, he's getting very bored. It also means that Janice from Own a Morgan blog won't be coming down to go cattle sorting with us tomorrow, I'm sure the roads will be a mess, and she is an hour and a half away.

I put up my Fern Valley calendar today- thanks, Sherry!

Happy Thanksgiving

Just a quick post this morning to wish all my Canadian readers, family and friends, a happy Thanksgiving. Hope you all have a wonderful day, and don't forget to actually give thanks for the many blessings in your life. I am off to visit my mom, brother, sister and neices, and cook dinner for them. I leave you with some photos of some of the blessings in my life. I don't have photos of them but my daughter and husband are the greatest of these blessings.

Just a couple of things....

To brag about!

I'm proud of Chickory, she has really filled out and is a stout and pretty girl; not too bad for a long yearling. But what I'm braggin' about here, is my new hitching rail! My beloved husband did this while I was at work, I helped the next morning with putting on the rail- granted, mostly I just took pictures while he did all the work!

Here he is leveling the posts to the right height; this is before the sun came up!

Check out the heavy frost in these photos.

He drilled holes and bolted the rail in with very heavy lag bolts. (Supervised by Tess and Reba!)

And the other thing I'm braggin' about is the other thing my sweetheart did for me, just to surprise me when I got home from work:

He built the shelves in my office. No more stuff on the floor! (Check out that '70's wallboard!) You know your husband loves you when he spends his only days off doing things to make you happy. (This is much better than flowers, or jewelry!) I hope the cookies I baked him helped him to feel loved too. I'm blessed to have such a loving, caring, and capable husband. I love you, Ted! Thank you!

For my Sweetheart

Happy St. Valentines day to you all and especially for my husband,the light of my life.

We were married in 1996, and we are truly happily married. The measure of a happy marriage is not so much the good times you have together but how you weather the hard times, and how you grow in character together. So many people cannot reconcile differences and give up instead of working together. As my friend John Boe would say, it's all about compromise, and good management. And it is important every day to tell each other, I love you- and say it from the bottom of your heart. So Ted, in front of the whole world, thank you for being my sweetheart, and I love you.

U. S. Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers and blogging friends. May God bless you abundantly! Please remember in your prayers all those who are not so blessed, and who struggle daily just to survive.

The barn project

I have to give a big thank-you to Rick and Wendy and my hard working husband for taking on this project, which is going to make life easier for me this winter.

First there was an idea. Then there was a plan. And then the work began! When these old power poles were first put in their holes they looked like a drunken Stonehenge:

With a whole lot of effort, the poles were straightened and tamped:

Then the plans for the shelter to be added on the end started....

*Ahem** the end of the barn, that is! It took shape quickly, and will be a nice run-in shelter for the herd this winter.Of course, every project needs an overseer- Marble had to see if the tin was going on just right!


The supports were placed for the tin on the front- this was all done with 2X6 rough cut lumber from a local sawmill.

The tin was put on, everything got a fresh coat of paint, the doors were rebuilt, et voila! a very nice project, finis!
(Sorry, the Canadian in me comes out sometimes!)

And just in time for winter! And isn't that a great hitching rail!
I now have a nice sheltered area in front of the stalls so I don't have to shovel snow away from the doors, and an awesome series of lights for each stall, the walkway, and the front that overlooks Beamer's winter pen, where the weanlings are right now. As you can see in the background, I have my round bales ready for winter feeding, just have to put the panels up around them to keep the horses and deer out of them.

Canadian Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends! There are so many things to be thankful for, and I know it is difficult for many of us right now to focus on the good things in our lives when it seems that our world is falling apart. It's a proven fact that gratitude is good for you both physically and spiritually and so today I am going to count my blessings:

-My husband, Ted, a kind and generous man, the best friend I have ever had;
-My friends, who keep in touch with me wherever life and my husband lead me;

-My daughter;

-This beautiful country that I live in, even with all her faults;
-That I have a roof over my head; enough food to eat, unlike many who have to live on the streets;
-That I am able to work, and have a job (or two or three...)
-That I have a church to go to and don't have to worry about my life being threatened for my beliefs;
-That I am still in relatively good health:

-That I can think of so many more blessings that they are too numerous to list here, but I'd like to mention that I am thankful for the internet which has allowed me to be in touch with people from all over the world, even if we may never meet;

-And then there are these blessings, who bring joy to my life:

My boy

My girls

Little boy blue

The most pathetic dogs in the world

My furry feline friends

And I'm really thankful that we did not get the snow that my friends in Saskatchewan got yesterday!!! Thanks for the photos, Carol!