Beautiful Foals!

Here is a photo and video of this year's foal crop at Showgate. Beautiful babies. These photos were taken on May 5th, my special girl's birthday!

Hello, Thelma and Louise

Okay, so for about three years now, I've wanted to get chickens. But this year, I decided to say the dream aloud. I stopped off one day to visit Doreen and told her that I was hoping her husband would help me with chickens. Well, help he did. He found this children's cottage and then refurbished it with a nesting box, roost, coop door, and wonderful, wonderful coop. Here you see his efforts in the photos. Plus, Tim gave me these two baby hens, Thelma and Louise. They are Jersey Giants, an American breed by the Black brothers of New Jersey. They grow very large and live a long time and lay brown eggs. After three straight days of work, Tim brought them this past
Sunday. They are still getting used to their new home and Zelia is so eager to greet them. We are working on it! But don't they have a beautiful home!! Thanks, Tim!

Hailee's Birthday on Cinco de Mayo!

Here is another photo and video from May 5th, Hailee's birthday. What a wonderful day. I came out to the stable and saw the girls out with the fabulous Chippy. I saw the baby foals. I visited with my man. I gave my foundation mare a big kiss for being a part of my life. And then I joined friends at Rev's for drinks to celebrate Todd and Danielle getting their offer accepted for a home on Wooster Street. It was such a nice gathering of people!

My Driving Girl!

Here's a photo of my girl, Violet, working purposefully before I left for Rolex. She is learning her work and behaving so nicely. And on this April 18th day, she took so many of us around for rides. She's just a wonderful mare!

My Man, Renny

Here's an April photo of my shaggy little man. He's relaxing in his stall after being turned out, so he's having a sip of water and unwinding. Handsome handsome fella!

First Taste of Spring Grass

On April 27th, the various herds had their first taste of Spring grass. Here you see little Renny out with his shy girlfriend, BB, and then my two girls.

Laurel Wreath Farm: I Love Zelia

I love my girl!

Renny Likes to Fight

Here we are on an April morning and Renny is letting the girls know that he's in charge! He may not be large, but he's definitely in charge! Go pony!

Laurel Wreath Farm: Patriotic Zelia and Me

My patriotic girl.

A Tussle Mixed with Kiss

Here's my little macho man, accepting a biting, grabbing, halter-pulling kiss from his elegant girlfriend, Sedona. What a happy confident guy!

Laurel Wreath Farm: Wonderful Zelia

My wonderful girl

Rainy Day with My Darlings

This morning was cold damp and dark, but it was so much fun to be at the stable early with this herd of pranksters. In fact, I think I will name them the Merry Pranksters from here on out. In this photo, you see my little man in an awkward pose with his eyes shut, and his two girlfriends, Lily and Sedona, relaxing with their little man!

Laurel Wreath Farm: Elegant Zelia

My elegant girl.

Scruffy Hailee

Here's my dirty scruffy end-of-winter, cusp-of-spring girl, relaxing in her stall and wondering what her next jobs in life will be. I want her to have a Texas Hero baby and then make herds of little sport ponies!

Laurel Wreath Farm: A Beautiful Summer 2009

Namaste.

Violet Relaxing after Work

Here's my beautiful girl, relaxing after work, chomping on hay, and happy that she was such an accomplished driving pony. She likes to have a job and to contribute to her family. And she likes to feel talented and appreciated. Who can blame her!

Laurel Wreath Farm: Happy Kisses

Ask anyone. I have the best dog on the face of the earth. And the smartest.

Breaking News: New Orleans Street Trash to the Vet!

This morning I took Jackass and Zelia to the vet . Zelia is officially fat and has to go on a diet. And Jackass lost 11% of his body weight. We took his X-Ray and bloodwork and I am waiting for a phone call tomorrow about his situation. The vet feels optimistic and says that she thinks that he might have a little overactive thyroid which is treatable. I am crossing my fingers. His X-Ray is beautiful. If he starts treatment for a thyroid, he will bounce back to his macho heavy superstar virile weight. I am going to pray for this to resolve with a healthy and happy cat!

Driving Along to the Church Picnic

Namaste.

Laurel Wreath Farm: Patriotic Street Trash

I just got that American Flag at the sidewalk sale at Ben Franklin's on Friday when I was shopping for cards for Elena, my dad, and Aunt Mary Jane and Uncle Carlo. I got that flag for $5. You can see that Jackie wants a close look at it. He hadn't been outside with it yet and couldn't quite process what it was!!

An April Drive

Here's my beautiful Violet, in mid-April when the weather was just beginning to think about being sweet and Spring-like. My girl was in the middle of a driving lesson, learning how to relax at her work. And you can see in this photo that she and her trainer are having a good time!

Laurel Wreath Farm: New Orleans Street Trash

Here I am with my wonderful creatures on a lazy Sunday. It's the first time that I've used the timer on my camera. I was very pleased with the results!

Today's Bounty! July 19

Well, it's 11:53pm on Sunday, July 19th and I can say that today marked the real transition to harvesting. I got some okra, broccoli and catnip from my garden and also processed corn and zucchni from the Farmers Market. All this coming week, I'll be processing vegetables and herbs from my garden! And then I'll get cherries this Saturday and begin dehydrating those wonderful treats!

Such a Beautiful, Beautiful Family

A miraculous little photo by my cousin Jane Marie! Namaste.

Jackie Resting on a Rainy Day

Remember what I wrote on Monday about either seeing Jackie to my left on the living room floor (where he is right now, on the Easter evening when I am writing this post) or on the chair immediately behind me? Well, here he is, snoozing away, on that self-same day. He's dreaming cat dreams, satisfied in the knowledge that his mom is right in front of him, splitting that social atom like the social scientist she is!

Scruffy Hailee Cuts Up

Here she is, my darling girl, checking me out and saying hello. She's sneaking in for a quick pat and a small private joke. She's winter dirty! Just seeing this picture, as I write on Easter Sunday, gets me eager for giving my horses their first spring bathes with anti-fungal medicated shampoos! My winter beauties need to become summer sleek -- like they will be when I post this message!

I am Rooster! Here Me Crow!

This morning was just a beautiful July day and as I drove by Sautter Farm where my Appaloosa friend lived until she passed just recently, I saw this rooster sitting on the fenceline of the Appy's pasture. He was having a high old time greeting the day on this country road. So, I stopped for a photo. But I was a little leery, so didn't get too close. In the closer photo, he is squatting down to get ready to jump to the ground and walk confidently into the barn away from me and then let loose with more crowing. What a man!

Going to Town for Supplies!

Here's my girl, trotting as sweet as you please, pulling her cart and thinking about winning her first blue ribbon as the county's cutest driving horse!

Life out of Balance: I Injure Violet

All right, so here's where I'm at. My life is out of balance right now. I feel whelmed and a bit scared. Here's what's happened over the past few weeks. First, I went for my cardiology appointment and was told that I would eventually need surgical replacement of my pig valve in the course of time and that the dacron tube they had put in to help my tricuspid was clotted off, so essentially I have a useless plastic bag attached to my heart. My heart is at 7 on the way from 0 to 10 need surgery. All this news was fine, but still it troubled and upset me to imagine my pig valve replaced and a plastic bag clotted into my heart. Then my sister and I are having very big problems and we do not feel close to each other. We are experiencing a big deficit in our economies of gratitude. I was shut out of a 4th of July family event. Then my mom called and said that dad is hospitalized and that it looks like he is facing a long, long road to some level of recovery with an undefined outcome. As you can imagine, this upset me so very much. And then on Monday, I went to the stable to drive Violet and she was so lively and good. Lexie and I took her around for lots of trotting and turning and serpentining and we had a blast. I drove her up on the grass and through the trees, we trotted down along the pathway between the corn and stable. She did everything with her ears forward and a lightness of step.

And then I injured her. We unhitched her from the cart and I went to walk her between the wall and tractor (like I've done so many times before) and she hit her hip which hurt, so she lifted her leg high and strange and gave herself a big gaping gouge to her hock -- about 3 inches long and an inch wide with a big crater at the center covered only by pale white skin. I was distraught. I called Barbie. I asked Doug for help. I leaned on Lexie for her support and assistance. I called Dr. Irene twice. Of course, I am treating her injury and taking good care of her. But it really undid me. I hurt my sweet loving good-hearted kind-natured mare out of carelessness. And what breaks my heart is that I was halfway down the spreader (attached to the tractor) when I heard Violet running into trouble. And I turned to see, thinking, "Oh no, she's going to really cause trouble, she's going to freak out and hurt herself big time and get trapped and hurt me too." And as I turn, I look into her face, and I see fear and pain and also, I see her thinking, "I'm hurt! Oh, no. I'm hurt! Be careful. Don't hurt ma! Don't hurt ma!" I could see that clearly on her face. She was trying not to bolt or panic and trying not to surge forward onto me.

How could I have hurt such a lovely creature as her? It upset me so much that I was sick for two days. I still don't quite feel right.

And so, I am trying to get quiet and still, trying to regain my energies, trying to care for my family and companion animals. And trying not to feel whelmed. Please send prayers to my dad for his recovery and to Violet for her steady recovery too. Namaste.

My Dear Dad: Health Problems

All right, so it's been a full week since my mom called me to tell me that my dad was hospitalized. He had an accidental cumidin overdose and thinned his blood so much that he needed a transfusion. His heart and blood pressure were entirely out-of-whack and this initial problem has spun out several critical health problems. So, I am sending my love and prayers and thoughts, and I am getting ready to go visit my dad. Right now, dad's sisters, Anita and Mary Lou, are visiting and giving him care and love. But I thought I would start posting a few photos that dad took and would send on his computer to all of us. Here's one of his favorite band led by Marty who always march in the Wakefield 4th of July parade. I hope this cheers you all up!

Violet Relaxing After Work

This photo is not the very best of my beautiful thoroughbred. But it was taken during an important time in her March training and I am writing this note on Easter Sunday, at the tail end of a week in which Violet proved herself to be an incomparable sweetie pie. She's been just wonderful and patient and eager and talented at pulling a cart. On Monday, she gave me a great riding lesson, trotting with eagerness over ground poles. On Tuesday through Thursday, she pulled the cart, each time proving her stable sweet nature, and capping her efforts by taking 6 people for rides for 1 1/2 hours without anything but eager sweetness. And then yesterday, she proved that she likes being in a team with me. We went out into the back arena where I had set up a jump and two barrels and we played the inviting squeeze game. She was happy to accept her invitations. She was eager to communicate with me. She was eager to play and be happy. And like Renny, she was glad for her time just chomping on green sweet grass when I hand-grazed her. And I closed my Saturday with her, just trimming her mane, clipping her bridle path, and laughing at her jokes! She has good ones -- she even cracks herself up -- as she lifts her lip and twists her head and yaws her jaw at her own sense of humor! My favorite lovely thoroughbred girl!

Cutie Pie Performance Pony!

Here's a winter photo of my wonderful little pony, all dirty, all scruffy, all sweetness, having a snack in his stall. I just love him so much. I am writing this note on Easter Sunday and it's been an eventful week for him. I looked up his family relations on the Sugarbrook Farm page and saw beautiful little ponies, so I know my bright cherry red boy will be adorable, athletic, and smart as his family's competitive boy! Yesterday, Saturday, I visited him and did a little Parelli with him. I walked him several times over ground poles and walked him between standing barrels. He didn't mind the squeeze games at all, and enjoyed playing. But most especially, he enjoyed eating the incredibly vibrantly green strong first-Spring grass!!! Happy fat boy!

My Jack

I got a new laptop, so over my sabbatical, I have spent a great deal of time sitting on my living room floor, putzing away. I have a chair immediately behind me and much of my living room floor is to my left. I always feel happy when I hear a little mewling cry because I know that when I turn around, I'll see Jackass on the chair peering over my shoulder, or laying casually in the middle of the living room floor, watching over the entire house's well-being, including his crazy mama! Right now I write this note on Easter Sunday and the very last few rays of the day are turning smoky blue from dusk into night. And Arcangelo and Orangeina are standing at the door, looking as cute as darling buttons. Moibeal is sitting in my lap. Zelia is snoring in her chair. And my Jack is smelling my knee cap, probably catching some random horse smell! I love my home krewe!

Violet Tests Her Combined Driving Skills!

I am writing this entry on July 12th, on an impossibly beautiful cool sunlit Sunday. It's gorgeaus out. Birds are playing in my garden, bees are in the bee balm, the vegetables are strong, the nasturtium are abundant. I washed my grooming brushes. And I had just gotten back from helping Danielle and Todd do a little painting when Barbie said to come out to the farm and drive Violet. So, I did. And it was amazing. Violet was light and smooth and tight-turning and happy. She was good for all three of us, but Tom really showed her to advantage! He knows how to do combined driving, so he did some dressage moves with her -- got her to do these tight piaffes in a pivot around the cart, got her to cross over her legs, got her to move out with pride up onto the grass and through the trees. It was really just a thrill to see her be so brilliant and relaxed. And Tom said that he thought she was just great -- that she liked her job and wants to please me. And he said that I was lucky because a driver would be very happy to have such a good horse. I am tickled pink! My good girl, Violet. What was good for a chuckle is that afterwards I gave her love, but just put her quickly back in her stall to go and chat with everyone. Well, Violet thought that was tacky, so she gave these stallion roars of impatience -- "Hey! What about me!? Come play with me and praise me!" She's a hoot!

Morning Garden in Mid-July

This morning, July 12th, is glorious. The weather is cool, but sunlit gorgeaus. My garden is bursting with vitality because of the solid rain yesterday. Birds are strolling in my grass, eating from the feeder, drinking from the bath. A squirrel is dining on the seed spillings and took a long sip from the bath too. A beautiful yellow bird keeps dancing along the stems of the sunflowers in the corner of my garden. Bees were floating above the bright fuschia bee balm along my back wall. My garden gives me so much peace and happiness. I sat quietly with a cup of hot coffee, a piece of zucchini bread, and some blueberries and counted my blessings this morning. I just love the sight of cabbage growing in the cool morning.

The Grooming Girls

Here are photos taken on the last Friday in March on the morning before I drove to Chicago to see Winnie. Here are my beautiful girls, relaxing and grooming each other. They are such beautiful girls!

Garden in Evening

My dad accidently took too much cumidin and is now in the hospital ICU. I am praying for his speedy recovery, but he is struggling right now. He is not doing so well. He is not showing his "Joeness."