BIG day!

Today was the day we went to look at three mini horses for sale. Gorgeous farm about 40 minutes north of us. I thought I had a pretty nice horse barn. Mine looks like a shack compared to this place!



So we walk in and she leads out Skyler, darling girl. After a quick introduction I was able to pick up each of her feet, no problem. That is so important, if you can't handle their hooves, daily chores are just a pain. Not only that, but she leads and stands and pays attention to you like, well like a perfectly trained little horse! She was just perfect, but since we're there why not look at the other two right?



So she gets Candy, she's a little smaller and daintier, even with her heavy winter coat you can see she's got great lines. Turns out Candy was rescued from a breeding operation where all she did was have babies one after another. No handling, no training, just breeding. So sad.

She was a little nervous about us being there. Not panicky or fearful, just kind of alert and worried. I took a little more time to introduce myself. She gladly snuffled my hands and face- definitely a good sign- I would be worried if she refused to look at me. That would tell me she's truly fearful and that leads to spooking and getting hurt.

Within the 15 minutes we were there she settled down very well and would let me run my hands over her and pick up her feet. When you put her on a lead line she follows quietly and calmly, so very nice. When loose in her stall we couldn't get a picture of her because she kept snuffling the camera. Dad went in there with her and she walked right up and wanted attention.

Oh what a problem! Do we go with the perfect, easy, and gorgeous blue eyed Skyler? Or the heart stealing but troubled Candy?

But wait, there was a third! She pulls out Diva. Diva is a pony, not a mini, so she's a full foot taller. She comes out of her stall like she owns the world and sets herself up like she's being judged. She could win anything, heck I gave her a 10 just for coming out of her stall! She's perfectly proportioned, perfectly balanced, and just beautiful. But she's also $1000. She is truly a world class show pony and she should go to a home where she'll be shown to her full potential, not my place.

So have I lost my mind? Probably. We went to look at three minis today...ended up buying two of them.

Skyler (left) and Candy. We're bringing them home Monday. I'm happy :)

New Family Member?

Good news everyone!

I've been looking for a companion for our mini guy Ben for a year, this week we're going to see a lady who has three little mares for sale on Thursday. I'm excited! I really hope that this works out.

On Monday we went to a farm in northern MN to look at a Welsh pony. He was adorable but couldn't care less that we were there, the guy couldn't even bribe him to come over with corn. When I tried to pick up his feet he ripped them out of my hands. He was sound, in really good shape pysically but an absolute pain to work with. Horses can develop bad habits really quickly and he'd been practicing for a while. So no go.

2009 Winter Wipeout Count

So far this year we are at 2 incidents.

We live on a sharp bend in a dirt road. Every single year we have a number of cars whose drivers are either drunk, not paying attention, or not familiar with the road who go careening off into our hayfield.

It happens in the summer too but winter is primetime. Even family members have succumed to 'The Corner' at one time or another. It happens so often that we've ceased replacing the fence posts, there are large gaps where the most cars go through. My family has owned the property for over 50 years and we have 50 years worth of stories.

Luckily there have not been any serious injuries in these accidents, the particular angle of the ditch combined with generous snow banks conspires to keeps most people in the 'embarrassed to call a tow truck' catagory rather than 'having their life flash before their eyes terrified'.

Although there was at least one that required an ambulance. It was back when my older brother Tom was in high school in the 70's or early 80's. There were signs of an accident the day before, the car had even taken out the sign that warns of the corner, but no car in sight.

So Tom goes to school and one of his class mates, a teenage girl, has her arm in a sling and has two black eyes. She was regaling her schoolmates with her story of driving down a dark country road when suddenly and without warning she was flying through the air and crashing into a post. She complained that it was an unmarked corner and she should sue the city. Sure, it was unmarked... after she plowed through that giant yellow arrow!

In which I make a rink

I'm trying to make a skating rink in the backyard. Bought skates last year and only got to go once! It's slow going, I've spent about 4 hours on it and still don't have a complete layer of ice down. I am making progress though...



Thing is, tarps are not totally waterproof so it's leaking a little (just like grandma!) and the ground is not really flat, it slopes down a little. Plus it's really pretty huge, but I'm optimistic it'll work out. I can't wait to skate! I'm going to go check on it, see if I can put another layer down.

Update!
I froze my hiney off but did get another layer down. It's looking really good now! The far end is a unbroken pool of awesomeness. The other end is still lumpy with dissapointment but not for long...

Kittens with Mittens

You know why I love kittens?

1. They're fluffy, warm, and soft, but have super sharp teeth and claws that they use at random. I love that!

2. They're so graceful but when they try to use their paws it's like they have on mittens, they just slap and smack at things because their little fingers are so stubby. Cute!

3. Their mouths look like they're always smiling, even when they're plotting your doom.

We can all learn a lot from kittens...

Cheetos and Snow

Sittin' here eating Cheetos, according to the bag they're made with all natural oils. Oo lala, still I'm guessing they're not going to make any top ten healthy eats lists. They're so good though, I'm planning on having them as party favors for our book club when I host it in June. It makes sense when you read the book.

It's snowing, we have about 1/2'' on the ground. Enough to cover the brown grass and coat the trees a little. I love the sound of snow falling. I don't know what it is, the flakes brushing past each other and settling on the ground, or the wind blowing them into little swirls. Whatever it is it's beautiful.

I remember as a child waking up and looking out the window to see the world had changed overnight. Everything was transformed by the snow and the best part was having the day off school to explore.

Dad would hook up the tractor and plow the driveway pushing all the snow into a giant hill so we could sled down it. It was so much fun! The saucers were the best because you could get them spinning and be totally out of control, it was awesome. Especially crashing into snowbanks. That was the best!

Duluth!

I love Duluth, it's my favorite city in the world. My family has gone there every fall for the past 10 years, so many good memories there. Days and nights spent on the rocks and hiking up and down every river from Duluth to Grand Marais.

It's where we watched the towers fall on 9/11. And in 2006 on the rocks over Gooseberry Falls is where my brother Tim proposed to Katie. For good or bad, it's always been a big part of my life.


This year Katie, Phia and I took the trip. We're all a little short on money so Phia's grandparents offered their house in Sandstone for us to stay in. We drove up last Friday, spent the evening playing cards and drinking champagne with strawberries, so fun!


























Saturday we drove up and spent the day in Duluth, we got coffee, did a little shopping and walked along the shore just north of the city. One day is all we had but I'm so glad I got to spend it with family, even if it's not my whole family, it's the family I'd choose. I love you guys!