A Repost From Eight Years Ago~More Pictures...Fewer Words

It is...was a beautiful day. Warm, windy, and did I say wonderfully, comfortingly warm!
No snow, no rain, only mud left over from both.

Started at the barn with my four God-Given equine treasures.

(Refer to previous post, My Mistakes, My Glories.)
All not recently groomed with their winter coats.

As you can see the wind is blowing.

I took pictures of Arrow's whorls so I can get them read by some whorl experts (y'all!). 

In this picture you can see plainly why he is dubbed Broken Arrow.

Knot was too busy eating to smile for the camera.

Showing Magic's blue eye.

It was a day for muck boots, not these!
 It was warm enough that the mud felt quite wonderful pouring through all the holes
while I was trying to keep my balance.

Maggie and Lil anticipating the walk
Then we walked.

One of five ponds we have. This is the New pond, meaning it was built in the last twenty years. We also have the Top Pond, the Highline Pond, the Frog or Hog Pond and the Spring Pond.

Parts of the creek no one sees

Another hidden jewel

Help! I've lost my feet!
The sky darkens!
Watching Lil hunt a varmint.
Enjoyed the day and took many pictures.

and found my feet!

This post was written eight years ago, two months after I entered the blogosphere. Circumstances may have changed but I think I may be about the same.

Happy Holidays!

Horseless

I headed out with bread and dog food.  They met me.  Neither one of them liked the dog food but the blue haltered guy liked bread.

I was no long a stranger.

Girl came so close

and so did Blue Halter

I walked 

They followed closely...yes, that's my hair.  

Taking pictures over my shoulder as we walked.

They were happy here

now they have gone home.

I shall miss them but glad they came to visit.

The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears.  ~Arabian Proverb

If Wishes Were Horses...

I've had horses and then I didn't.  That statement oversimplifies the emotions involved. Today I had a reminder of my over powering love and need for horses.

Something had spooked these badly for them end up here.  I don't know where they belong yet but for the moment they're here for my viewing pleasure.

I had no apples.  I took bits of carrot hoping they were vegetable lovers.  I sat down slowly on a rock far from them and just talked.

They grazed as I sang them songs:  Happy Trails, Me and You, Imagine, You've Got A Friend, I'll Be There, Beth, and more.  I sang Roy Rogers, John Lennon, Beatles, The Turtles, James Taylor, Jackson Five, John Denver and multiple other artists.   I moved closer.

They relaxed with the cocked hips and even some lip licking but they never completely relaxed. They were still on alert.  I moved closer slowly and sat much like Robert Redford did in the movie "The Horse Whisperer".  They came closer.

"We'll sing in the sunshine then I'll be on my way"

The Sign

When we first moved to the farm we raised miniature horses.  My sister, Beverly, and I had cleaned and repaired the barn from one end to the other.  I gave tours to groups at no charge. I was just proud of what we had accomplished and wanted to share with the world.

During the repairs we found many pieces of our family history had been destroyed just by storing them so many years in a barn.  I took the pieces, and, yes, I knew the story for every piece and made a sign.  I had a piece of something that belonged to every member of the family generations past.

 I even had t-shirts made. Front

and back. (Raindrops on the shirt not stains)

After the tornado the barn and the sign (and many other things) had much damage.  This past month I tried to resurrect my sign.  Too much destroyed so I began anew.  Different pieces but the same purpose...to share the name we chose.

All that remained of the original sign was part of an F so I began there.

I gathered pieces of this and that and pieced them together to recreate my original sign.  It's not the same but we are labeled again.

Some may wonder why At The Farm.  Before we moved here someone would ask, Where's Dad? Where's Hubby?  At The Farm was always the answer so with my horses' registration I used At The Farm as the suffix instead of the standard prefix in a farm/ranch name.  

The first filly born here was Angel's Trumpet At The Farm and the first colt was named Walking Small At The Farm...see where I'm going besides in circles?

When my sister, Beverly, said I should blog the name came naturally...At The Farm.

Although we are no longer a horse ranch nor a cattle ranch the name remains mainly because of my blog.  Presenting the new old sign and it's new location...Ta daaaaa!

We Can Dream

dVerse~Poets Pub

Time Travel prompt

I tried.

I thought I was a cowboy
as Dad had been
i rode fattening calves
and milk cows
a forbidden adventure

Friends with horses
gave me the worst to ride
horses that laid in water
jumped logs
and dragged you off on tree limbs

My dream turned reality
equine satiated
the smell, touch was enough
i never was a cowboy
but the love of horses remains

The Halter

For the writing challenge at Imaginary Garden With Real Toads.  Not sure I did it right but had fun trying. Visit to read many and write your own.


THE HALTER

Cleaning bug bit me
Digging in closets
Finding things forgotten
Or didn't know were missing

Detecting a favorite smell
My horses long gone
Emptiness filling me
Holding the red halter

Holding it
Remembering dreams
Coming true and ending
Tears falling on the halter

Tucking it into the closet
I wasn't ready to give
Away all my memories
You can't turn back time

The Mag 170...Horses

Tess Kincaid at Magpie Tales presents a creative challenge weekly.  Add your creation and read others.

Ponytail by Last Exit 

How would I know
The empty spot
They left
When I "gifted" my horses 

The visit of strangers
Reminded me
Of my loss
My gift

The smell
The feel
The strength of horses
Touched my heart again

Leaving me empty
Once more
As I herded them
Toward their home.

Update On My Babies...

Many of you may remember I used to have horses.  It was a dream all my life and finally it was true.  There are many posts that talk of them, many pictures, but this one was the most poignant, the most painful, the one I was proudest of and the most sad about.

I heard a rumor that my, no longer mine, horses had been sold.  I panicked, I deliberated, I fumed. 

I finally called the ranch to see if it were true. 

Nope, not sold just promoted.  They have gone to another facility within the organization where only the really trained horses go. 

My beautiful gentle babies have moved to The Big Barn, The Show Barn, The Completely Horse Crazy kid place.  An indoor arena, a big barn and two outdoor arenas where they are brushed, coddled, petted, ridden and loved every moment of every day. They are continuing to help children learn how to love and be responsible for another living creature.

This was the gift I wanted to give when I gave up my dream.  I love you, my babies, I still miss you.

Live long and love, my beauties.

The Things We Keep...

What can you tell about a person by the things they have around them?  This has been on my mind as I thin pieces of my life, trying to simplify and  keep only the things I absolutely love.  There are many advantages to this.  You don't have to dust as much, when you're gone people will have less to throw away, and it just feels good being surrounded by stuff you absolutely love.

I wonder what these pictures tell about me except that I am behind on my dusting.  Welcome to a peek inside my head and my heart.  Introducing a few of the pieces that have survived the first cut. 

Do they reveal my personality as you know it here or do they hint at secrets?  Let me know.

Remember, I didn't say I'd been cleaning...

I said, I'd been thinning.