This past week, the week of July 16th, as I write the blog, has been lovely. I finished listening to Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and it got me thinking about Grandma Williams and her garden and canning. So, this week, I had a 18'x20' garden rototilled in my yard, went to TSC and bought green rabbit fence and put it in, went to Bostdorf's and bought cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, green and yellow peppers, onions and basil and planted them, after hauling and putting in 600 pounds of cow manure. We had the most gentle, night-long rain the day I planted my garden in the blazing sun. Then on Friday, I took a cold-brewed ice coffee to the stable and Violet and I hung out in the outdoor riding paddock for awhile, cruising the fence line, checking out her boyfriend over at the next stable, chatting about our week, and bonding. Then today, I got up early, went to Farmers Market, went to the stable and groomed Violet at leisure, chatted with the stable group of pals, had a farrier visit, and then spent the afternoon canning corn relish, cherries, and dilly beans, dehydrating cherries, and freezing blueberries and zucchini. The weather today was sunny and cool and timelessly perfect. It's a wonderful summer when you can combine a morning cup of coffee with a trip to Farmers Market and then a cool morning with your favorite, gorgeaus red thoroughbred girl! I consider the hour Violet and I spent chatting about in the paddock as a "bonding" lesson. Natural horsemanship -- we were playing the friendly, porcupine, and sideways games. After all, "horses don't care how much you know until they know how much you care!"Saturday, August 11, 2007
Horse Sense: Summer Bonding and Canning
This past week, the week of July 16th, as I write the blog, has been lovely. I finished listening to Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and it got me thinking about Grandma Williams and her garden and canning. So, this week, I had a 18'x20' garden rototilled in my yard, went to TSC and bought green rabbit fence and put it in, went to Bostdorf's and bought cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, green and yellow peppers, onions and basil and planted them, after hauling and putting in 600 pounds of cow manure. We had the most gentle, night-long rain the day I planted my garden in the blazing sun. Then on Friday, I took a cold-brewed ice coffee to the stable and Violet and I hung out in the outdoor riding paddock for awhile, cruising the fence line, checking out her boyfriend over at the next stable, chatting about our week, and bonding. Then today, I got up early, went to Farmers Market, went to the stable and groomed Violet at leisure, chatted with the stable group of pals, had a farrier visit, and then spent the afternoon canning corn relish, cherries, and dilly beans, dehydrating cherries, and freezing blueberries and zucchini. The weather today was sunny and cool and timelessly perfect. It's a wonderful summer when you can combine a morning cup of coffee with a trip to Farmers Market and then a cool morning with your favorite, gorgeaus red thoroughbred girl! I consider the hour Violet and I spent chatting about in the paddock as a "bonding" lesson. Natural horsemanship -- we were playing the friendly, porcupine, and sideways games. After all, "horses don't care how much you know until they know how much you care!"