Monday, October 24, 2011

We all want something beautiful


This last week was spent riding my boys in the afternoons when the temperatures were in the 60's and the light was fantastic.  One day was very windy and it was a "Pie" day, but he was sooo good in the midst of fairly rough wind/rain squall.  I also rode Foggy that day, but he is always good so that was a none event. Foggy is the dream horse you think about as a child. Being with Foggy is like riding or grooming or leading a large dog.  There are very few situations when he turns into a horse. He likes people and trusts us as much as his herd. I am on Sovey, above. Sovereign rides like a dream horse, but he isn't as sweet when you are on the ground. Still, he is my go-to riding horse when friends visit and want a "pony ride". 


And Pie is my go-to grooming horse! Here he is standing like the best boy that he is, allowing our little friend, Kate, to learn how to groom him.  Pie is patient and enjoys all the attention. Learning how to stand quietly in the cross ties while being groomed is a process that has evolved over time. Pie is perfect now. 


Kate's sister, Lindsay, visited too.  Here she and Maizie look like they are doing a dance!


Kate and Lindsay's mom, Melanie, rode Sovey. Here I am explaining the correct way to swing her leg over to dismount. Pretend she is wearing boots! Melanie comes to the barn and grooms with me (no sandals!) when our girls are in school. She is a great photographer and takes brilliant photos of my horses for me.


My goofy face and goofy right leg (turned out) but Sovereign sure is beautiful!  I love him even though he is an alligator. He is a joy to ride.


In these two photos I had Sovereign "recreate" what I do with Pie when he sees the scary new downed tree.  Usually, I encourage him forward and reward him after he walks by. Yesterday, though, I had to dismount to get Pie near the tree.  He touched it and chewed on it and allowed me to re-mount by standing on it. Good boy!

I am leaning forward and giving Sovey many "good boy" pats here.


And, in other news (old news because I have been remiss in getting to this -sorry) I won an award!  Thank you to Calm, Forward, Straight, Adventures with Shyloh, and Dressage Training Journal for sharing your award with me. I enjoy your blogs immensely and am honored that you chose me.

I am to tell you seven things about myself. You probably know it all already because I am wordy on this blog, but I will try to think of new and exciting details - ha!

1. I don't watch the news/read newspapers. If there comes a day when the media spends all their time and money only telling of the many amazing, kind, and intelligent activities taking place in the world, I will watch incessantly. To watch now would draw attention to, and reward, horrid behavior. Stories about rapes, robberies and murders or silly "human interest" pieces slapped together in 3 minutes or ridiculous celebrity "news" doesn't deserve to gobble up the precious minutes that could be spent with my horses. 

2. Today is my 14th wedding anniversary and yesterday was Maizie's 13th birthday! (Oh, no, I am the mother of a teenager!) Much weekend fun for Maizie. Today, to celebrate our anniversary, Brian and I are going for a morning run on the Appalachian trail and an afternoon RIDE ON OUR BOYS!!!!!

3. I drive a Mini Cooper and I think it is the greatest car that ever was. I never cared for cars at all, except for briefly, when I was in third grade. Back then (1976), I had a romantic notion about the British Minis of the 1960's because of Peter Frampton (long story - don't ask!). When these new ones came out here I fell in love, but I couldn't just go out and get one. One day, my dear Dad drove into our driveway with my Mini as a gift! My father passed away soon after that day so my Mini is extra special. It really is adorable and I have a license plate that says, "Maizie" - here are some pictures -



4. I am so glad we got Foggy.  Last November when we met him, I was worried that his addition might upset our happy little apple cart. Boy, was I wrong. Pie and Sovereign are even more relaxed and well-adjusted now that Foggy is here. And, Foggy seems so adorably happy on our rides and out grazing. I can't imagine my life without him in it.  He is an absolute joy. I sleep with his racing plates (shoes) on my nightstand and sometimes one shoe ends up under my pillow!

5. I think the last year moved very quickly - too fast. I am a huge believer in taking things slow so that I can really enjoy every second, but I don't know what happened, we are getting ready to go to Florida again for the holidays and it seems like we just went on this trip. It is all good, but it is very quick moving and I am wondering if this is how life will go from now on...

6. My new October food loves are green olives, sun dried tomatoes, and Holiday flavored Mocha Mint and Pumpkin Spice Dunkin Donuts coffees (not together).

7. I often fall in love with a song and then I can't stop listening to it. Currently, it is "Moonlight Mile" by the Rolling Stones. It can be an old song that I've heard a million times, but something just grabs me and I have to hear it over and over.  I think it has to do with the seasons and the light. Certain sounds just go with certain light. The last two autumns it was "Wiser Time" by the Black Crowes. Now it is "Moonlight Mile" and it makes me want to ride in the moonlight!  In fact, (don't freak out, Mom!) I had planned to ride Sovereign on the full  moon a couple of weeks ago, but it was cloudy and rainy so it was a no go. Maybe, this month!

And below are the ten blogs that I am passing the award off to in no particular order. Please don't feel obligated to redo if you already won! These are all terrific blogs and worth discovering if you haven't already.











Thanks again for the award!  Sorry for the run-ons, fragments and errors. I am going running so I'll try to proofread later! 

12 comments:

  1. Great post! Learned a lot more about you today. Beautiful horses and love your Mini Cooper.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congrats on your anniversary and Happy Birthday to Maizie!

    I really enjoyed your pics in the woods!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very nice post and great pictures - even the turned out foot. And thanks for including us in your list of blogs.

    Dan

    ReplyDelete
  4. How kind of you to give me an award... what an honor!
    I did receive a different award ages ago and have not passed it on yet to others or revealed seven things about myself yet. Maybe I can combine the two? (I am not sure who sets the rules of these awards). Anyway, thank you!
    Your pictures are wonderful of all your lovely horses. I do like your Mini Cooper, I think they are great cars too :) Abby xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. What great photos of you on the boys! I wish I had a nice little car like yours--and save my truck for hauling stuff and driving to work on bad snowy days. Thanks for mentioning my blog in your list! And congratulations on your award. I love reading about other people's experiences with their horses, especially when they are OTTB's like my Harley.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I meant to comment on #1 on your list of things about yourself--Hurrah, another person who avoids the "news". I don't have television and also feel our "news" isn't even worthy of being listened to. Yes, life is too short, so spend time with the animals we adore instead!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Juliette, What beautiful photos of you on Pie (I think it's him)! Gorgeous colors and wonderful horse and rider- I love the photos.

    I am so struck by your comment about how well adjusted Sovey and Pie are now, with Foggy. How interesting that the three horses not only get along, but that Foggy added something wonderful to your pair. I'm so glad it has all worked out for you and all three of the horses! Plus, if you ride one, you always have two horses that are left together. Sometimes I think that 3 is the perfect number of horses.

    Love your car. And love your philosophy of not giving away precious minutes of life to a litany of sad and bad news stories. I agree with you; I may actively try to rearrange my minutes as well. And lastly, thank you so much for giving my blog the award; I am really appreciative of the honor.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You have beautiful woods to ride in! It was fun reading your list of 7 things about you. #4 - made me wonder...if I put a horseshoe under my pillow, will the horse fairy take it and leave me a horse? #3 - cute mini! What a special gift from your dad. #1 - the news is a downer most of the time. #5 - same phenomenon happening with a lot of people I know; life is so busy. #2 - Happy Birthday to Maizie and congratulations to you and Brian. Hope you had a nice run and a nice ride. #7 - I hope you get to go for your moonlight ride. Take Brian along; it sounds romantic. #6 - I love green olives and sun dried tomatoes too. There's a yummy salad recipe on allrecipes.com called California Salad Bowl. I love the avocado dressing, but the green olives really give it a surprising and tasty little kick.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Loved getting the insider scoop on you!( and the boys talents and quirks)
    XO.
    Congrats in your latest award Jules!
    That little show that ends up ,under your pillow- too cute. Wonder if those are dreamy nights of riding in the moonlit sky? Love that ambition...me too, someday...while camping or away, since there is curfew at the stable. Boo!

    I memorize a song out ...I'm like you, it is delightfully listened to till I'm sick of it!
    Happy anniversary too! Oh all your cool facts- on you- your Mini wither Maizie plates, the longings for a " Good News" news station...loved them all.

    XO
    Kac
    PS
    Thanks for the good thoughts of light and bright...doing okay so far in our dimmer autumn of Oregon.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I spied that Teva right away! And then I cracked up when you said to imagine she is wearing boots! I know someone who rides barefoot, and do you know, it makes perfect sense in someways! I love your three boys. It is nice to have a little girl and three mellow guys! At first when I saw that picture of the log, I thought you were going to say you JUMP OVER IT! And I almost fainted! I bet you could though; english riders seem to love flying through the air. I love all of those things about you and I think the Peter Frampton comment, even unexplained, is hilarious! Peter Frampton! hah! Now he has very short hair. And naturally I love the mini. I almost got one last year when I got my current car, and if I didn't have a dog, I bet I would have done it! In the end, the Toyota won out. I know, what a bore I am. It's nice to know there are lively mini cooper owning, tall and cute horse riding, teenager raising, Appalachian trail running people out there. Congrats on your award. You deserve it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wonderful hearing of the many beautiful things in your life, all the more when shared. I enjoy your positive outlook.

    Congrat's on the award, it's fun to learn more about you! How sweet about Foggy's racing plates, he truly was meant to be in your life.

    Your woods are very pretty. Moonlight ride? You have more guts then I. Sounds inspiring, enjoy - bet you'll be singing :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's wonderful that Foggy is so people oriented. I remember reading how much you wanted him, but that you were afraid of upsetting your little herd dynamic. Turns out your instincts to bring Foggy in were bang on. But I'm not surprised - your horse instinct is amazing - it's like you can 'think' in like they do.
    The pictures are gorgeous, especially the one of you and Sovey facing the camera.
    How incredibly touching that your father gave you your dream car. What a wonderful memory. Such a cute car!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to visit Honeysuckle Faire!