O M G!!!

Since I do not have a cell phone, and know nothing about texting, I hope the title came out ok.

I was really perturbed at work by some people who have huge superiority complexes, or maybe they are extremely low because they feel they must impress everyone! A skinny, upper middle aged woman like me is pretty hard to impress. Ironically the topic comes around about running, yoga, and good eating as they lick their yogurt spoons with the disposable containers they throw in the trash.

In order to clear my head, I am going outside as dreary as it is for a day in June. I’m going to put a saddle on Kayla. It will be the first time she has ever worn a saddle in all her eight years. But, she is a Standardbred. She raced in harness and was bred and trained by a good friend of mine.

Here I go! I will update you soon.

Homecoming!

It has been almost 6 months since I last wrote a post in which I promised I would write more often.

So for anyone wanting to know, the winter was long and dreary. The spring has been cold, wet and dreary.

The cloudy, cold days gave me time to read again. I read books and passed them along. One of my favorites is a book called, “Chosen by a Horse,” by Susan Richards. The book is about how she adopted a retired and neglected racehorse, and how the horse helped to heal the hidden wounds of the author. The subtitle is “How a broken horse healed a broken heart.”

 The book coincided with some events in my life.

This spring I became a five year survivor of breast cancer.  I only acknowledged it because we were stuck in a hotel in the middle of a blizzard with our truck broken down. On top of that, I was going to miss the annual harness racing meeting.

I was going to present a speech at the meeting for the new Hall of Fame inductee. Luckily, I had emailed a board member a copy of my speech. I never made it to the meeting as the blizzard raged on and the mechanics were having a hard time fixing the truck.

It was one of the most boring weekends ever. I had noticed a small lump in my breast before but now all I could do was think about it.  I made up my mind to see a doctor during that awful blizzard.

When we first bought this place of paradise or flood zone property, it was all about the horses. The diagnosis of cancer changed that.

I progressed through chemotherapy, surgery, more chemo and radiation. During that time I lost my competitive desire. We had only a handful of horses and they were sold along with most of the driving equipment we had acquired over the years.

The first winter without having to feed the horses was nice. But spring came and weeds were growing everywhere in the horse paddocks. I really didn’t like doing that when I knew a horse or pony would keep the paddocks perfectly clean.

I love the ponies especially Patience.

I kept dreaming all the time of having a nice buggy and a good Standardbred mare to drive down the road.

The dream never went away and a friend gave me a retired harness racing horse. I have a fancy silver plated saddle for her to wear, and an Amish made buckboard with a brand new leather harness.harness.

 

 

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I promise to write more than once every six months PS. I drove through a tornado warning to get her…

Once upon a time…

Party lines were telephone numbers that you shared with a neighbor. You could pick up the phone and hear them talking and would have to tell them it was an emergency or hang up the phone and try calling later.

I’m writing about this because in one person’s lifetime things change quickly. One day you are young, then all of a sudden you are middle aged, and the next thing you know AARP has you on their radar map.

It really is an odd kind of adventure, no matter what.
I’ve been through all kinds of challenges in my younger years and never had a daunting thought that I wouldn’t overcome whatever obstacle.

I guess you could say I am a person who was perfectly happy living in denial most of my life.
I was able to both acknowledge breast cancer and deny it at the same time. But now I have arthritis in my hands that I can’t ignore.

You’ve heard the cliche, “When one door closes, another opens.”
I do this to be generally true, however sometimes it is hard to see the light outside of the door.

But it is always there. (The photo featured was taken at at Fort Ridegly Park in Minnesota…)

Belated Greetings!

Here it is, already the 7th day of the New Year. I really didn’t have any New Year resolutions until now.

I resolve to post a little more (not saying how much, but more). Thanks to all of you who have stayed with me during long periods of silence.

Every year brings on new challenges, new beauty and joy, and new sorrows. Here’s to hoping we can all rise to our challenges, recognize beauty and embrace joy. And for the sorrows, we must grieve with full hearts.

This morning I was up early and took this photo of last summer’s sunflowers now with heads bent down and frozen in the ground.

The cold winter sun rose in the background casting colors on the snow.

This is my photo of sunflowers in winter…And oh, by the way, Happy New Year!

The Bridge

I’m having a hard time writing lately. I am not sure exactly why except I had one of those experiences that just knocks your ass off and you have nothing to say for a long while.

It happened last November when I asked the Dakota on a commemoratve walk if they would like to stop by for snacks.

Make no mistake about it; 1862 was one of the most terrible times in Minnesota history. Native Americans were fooled and forced into reservations. Food and supplies were witheld. Talk of revenge began.

But in these parts it didn’t begin until two young teenaged braves killed some chickens and a settler family. By this time the whole reservation was in starvation mode.

When I first read the entire story, I thought it was a shame Shakespeare never lived here, for here is a story.

As it happened, the town I live next to is one of the worst in their collective memory.

I offered apples, sunflower seeds mixed with raisins, and beef jerky that day.

The whole story is going to be on Twin Cities Public Television. I will only be in a small part of it. But I encourage you to watch.

It seems sometimes to me that people are more and more isolated. If you look at most violence, it was caused by isolation of some kind.

So let us not isolate others just because they look different or didn’t grow up the same way.

Spread Peace!

What I learned from a farm cat and sunflowers…

 A little over a month ago, I published this photo which I called “Serenity.” A few days later, I ran over this very same cat with my 3/4 ton pickup.

Big Tom enjoys a Minnesota summer. His children aren’t able to jump this high!

Big Tom enjoys a Minnesota summer. His children aren’t able to jump this high!

I didn’t realize it at first. It was completely unintentional. But Big Tom seems to invite danger…

Once I did realize that I had run over this cat, I kind of went crazy! There was a whole big scenario at the farm, and the future of the cat was in my hands.

One of my neighbors is a veterinary student and works at a clinic. She provided me with an extra large kennel.

The cat did well in the kennel though it required a good deal of care. Afte about a month of this, Big Tom was sitting and standing in the kennel.

So yesterday when we were preparing for the first heavy frost, I thought I would open the door for Big Tom.

When I went to check on him he had jumped up a few levels on the hay stack. The next time I looked in on him , he was on top of the hay stack, and he was hissing and growling at me with those same crazy eyes he had when he was first injured. So I left him alone.

I searched for him today and could not find him. Eventually I went about my chores. When of all the things I saw Big Tom in his cleaned out kennel. I tried to clap the top on the kennel quickly, but Big Tom was faster than me.

(Big Tom has been eating 9 Lives cat food. Not an endorsement, just a fact.)

Last spring we planted sunflowers as usual on our property. Some were sheltered, others were not.

The winds of time can both weaken and strengthen all things in nature… (What I learned from a farm cat)

Sheltered Sunflowers after a brisk wind can’t stand up to those subjected to the wind from sprouts…

Close Encounters of the Natural Kind…

While wandering about my farm trying to capture the beauty of late summer, it appears I may have actually taken a picture of an extra terrestrial! I was too busy taking pictures of sunflowers to notice it until I began processing the photos on my computer. Here it is:

It appears to be phoning home, or maybe beckoning autumn!

Recently I had the occasion to caretake a neighbor’s farm and I found Hot Rod, the goat on full alert at every visit. Perhaps, he too, was on the lookout for E.T!

I also visited nearby fields, drawn in by old farm roads. I didn’t see any crop circles. This is what I saw:

Later on in the day I photographed the nearby abandoned farm place from a distance. The farm house burned down many years ago but the grove and several of the old buildings remain.

Remains of the Day

Not a crop circle in sight! The only crop circles I am likely to see are those made by deer, bedding down for the night.

And so going full circle, I just had to share a sunflower photo taken on the same day as the extra-terrestrial one. Look closely and you will see the moon in the background. It could be a sign…