horses – This Old House 2

Robins in Snow

Just now as I’m sitting in my office/studio pondering what to tackle while the granddaughter sleeps… I looked out at the gentle snowfall (always my favorite kind of snow… and the quiet that generally accompanies it) and witness such a beautiful thing – Robins eating the holly berries on the corner of the porch.

The barn chores take a little more time in winter, this is where I start to feel my age… the ice chipping, the frozen water bucket hauling, the frozen manure, the winter blanket maneuvering. All the layers of clothes even. But… as much as it can be a hassle, I wouldn’t give up the animals for an easier existence nor the seasons to go live six months of the year somewhere balmier. I’d probably weight 200 pounds if I did. The occasional reprieve will do. I do know many who love that yearly migration. I would just miss my family too much, I am a home girl through and through.

Our old boy, Max… 29 and looking fine.

We have some exciting news… our daughter is getting married in April! We’ve been busy with wedding plans and most of it is fun! Some of it anxiety inducing! I hope to lose 15 pounds to fit into the dress I found and bought and love. Stupid way to plan on the dress for the occasion but I’m going to give it my best shot, because I really do love the dress. And it didn’t come in my current chubby size.

I’ve had a few paintings on the easel this year…. my favorite is called “Organized Chaos”… a scene from our perennial gardens here on the farm…. I like to incorporate a creature into my paintings when appropriate… can you see the bee?

This one done for a friend, who built and runs that sugarhouse for the community and is in the picture along with his grandson –

Currently on the easel – still a lot to do here, this is just the base layer…

Things I find inspiring…..

A photo taken by Michael Blanchard on Martha’s Vineyard – the island has gotten hammered in recent months with severe storms that have brought an angry sea to wipe out many of the dunes on the beaches…. Michael has been through some very trying times and has beaten and continues to beat back alcohol addiction, helps others now, and has written some inspiring books on the subject, with his photography.

Thankfully the Mr. agreed to a summer getaway to my favorite nearby island in July – Looking forward to walking this beach again.

This sink showed up in my newsfeed, isn’t it beautiful? Would make my least favorite chore so much more enjoyable. Can’t help but wonder though, Wood and water usually = rot eventually.

Have a good weekend and an even better week ahead – Till soon!

Four days later….

Two posts in one week? Welp… it’s dark and damp and chilly outside and while the barn chores beckon, they can sleep for another hour, yet I cannot… so here I sit. Middle middle age has not been kind in the sleep department. I wish I had a good solution for that.

I used to talk politics a little (well, mostly my outrage) here on this blog but I’ve tried to get away from it as much as is responsibly possible for my own sanity. What I will say is I am truly so discouraged by the state of things in this country regarding our governing bodies. The infighting that prevents solving our critical issues, the division between civilians, not just our elected officials. The corruption, the egos, the greed, the failures.

Out of that rabbit hole we go… On to more cheerful things… and one place I find solace is in the writings of a now deceased author who’s words still ring true for me in all matter of things,……. Gladys Taber. I wrote more about her here in THIS blog post if you’re interested. AND.. if you’re a Gladys fan already, I just discovered I ordered a book of hers that I already have in my collection. So, I’ll happily ship it off, once it arrives, to one of you if interested. Let me know in the comments and one lucky person will receive it. The Best of Stillmeadow is the volume I refer to. Her books are no longer in print so I find them occasionally on old book seller sites.

Some snapshots of my days here on the farm….

These photos above and below taken days apart – New England weather fluctuates tremendously. No jacket one day, hats and gloves the next.

Sometimes you just buy your own damn flowers 🙂

Sunset on our hill

My heart 💗💗

My favorite folksy artist… Jane Newland out of the UK

Words to live by……

Till soon –

Gram x2

Welcome Mia Jane!

Now two weeks old, she is my little sunshine alongside her cousin, my little pumpkin.

Being a grandmother is something I have looked forward to and hoped for, and what a blessing it is.. a whole new chapter. I am so proud of the parents my children have already become.

Johnathan and I discussing world problems…..

Despite our 58 year age difference, we both came up with the same solution….. baby toes….

Has the Canadian wildfire disaster affected your area? We’ve had days of grey and orange hazy skies, ash landing on our plants, awful air quality. Thankfully as of yesterday it appears to have lifted and blown off.

My newest painting on the easel.. almost done. This is a nearby trail at the shore we often walk.

As for our Stella by the Sea…. we have decided to sell the cottage for a few reasons. Some days I am good with the decision, and on other days it’s hard to imagine letting it go. We’ve put so much into her rehabilitation. Our truth is, the care of this farm and the animals who call it home takes a lot of our time and effort and it’s lovely here in summer months. To leave it for the shore frequently is tough due to the responsibilities that remain here daily, and just as important… our family hasn’t used the cottage as much as we had anticipated. One more thing… I’d like to travel some before I’m too old to do it, and having a second place kinda makes you feel obligated to spend whatever free time you have … there. A wonderful family wants Stella very much, and I know they’ll take great care of her. So, I think we’re going to sell to them. I am so grateful for the time we’ve had down there, and my mom as well. Onward to new adventures –

wild nightshade at the seawall.

Ending this post with a little gem of advice…. and I hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

Till soon –

We’re all just walking each other home

….. one of my most favorite quotes, attributed to Ram Dass, an American spiritual leader of the 1970s. This country and the world at large is in big trouble on so many levels, all because of the flaws in humanity. Recently I am making every effort to focus on the uplifting things, and that quote is one of them. It truly helps me to believe in that simple concept and gives me inspiration to do whatever little good and truly see it anywhere it can be found.

I don’t have much to say here right now, just that I am enjoying my new grandson immensely and watching my daughter become the wonderful mother we all knew she’d be.

We’ve had some glorious weather and I’ve been out in it, soaking it all up, getting some exercise, enjoy this farm and the woods and the shoreline trails.

Till soon –

The Happening You Must Focus On

It is easy to mourn the lives we aren’t living. Easy to wish we’d developed other talents, said yes to different offers. Easy to wish we’d worked harder, loved better, handled our finances more astutely, been more popular, stayed in the band, gone to Australia, said yes to the coffee or done more bloody yoga.

It takes no effort to miss the friends we didn’t make and the work we didn’t do and the people we didn’t marry and the children we didn’t have. It is not difficult to see yourself through the lens of other people, and to wish you were all the different kaleidoscopic versions of you they wanted you to be. It is easy to regret, and keep regretting, ad infinitum, until our time runs out.

But it is not the lives we regret not living that are the real problem. It is the regret itself. It’s the regret that makes us shrivel and wither and feel like our own and other people’s worst enemy.

We can’t tell if any of those other versions would have been better or worse. Those lives are happening, it is true, but you are happening as well, and that is the happening we have to focus on. ~Matt Haig

(Book: The Midnight Library)

I love that passage so much! I also read the book, and while it wasn’t one of my favorite reads, it’s a good one… and that group of text above? Spot on. Who among us hasn’t dreamed another dream, had a few regrets, wasted too much time on what isn’t. And we all know, life is short and too precious for such nonsense. I am a firm believer in making the best of every day, even when I catch myself doing anything but. Then I readjust the sails.

The new barn has been a Godsend here on the farm. Both of our girlies are very pregnant and I’ve taken over all barn chores again, which means a lot of water buckets and hay bales and stall mucking etc. etc. With the yoga and stretching/meditation I’ve taken up, my body is faring better than I had expected. 40 plus years of all that work has left me with some arthritis and worn parts, blah blah. But it’s also made me a strong work horse and I’m grateful to still be able to do it. And I love those animals so. They are my heart and my peace and my salvation often. We got our first real snow of the winter on march 1st. In New England, that’s just strange. But it’s made all that work easier on this older girl.

I have always felt the sky is like a painting we live under, it’s landscape always changing, and all we ever need to do is look up to see the mood of the moment, the beauty of nature, the temperament of the weather gods. Who hasn’t marveled at a full moon rising, the night stars on a cloudless night, the rolling roiling storm clouds coming across the horizon or the gorgeous colors of a beautiful sunrise-sunset. On the hill and fields of this farm we have what I call big sky country, a big patch of blue with many glorious sunrises and sunsets.

I made a few more recipes from The Lost Kitchen files…

New England baked beans and brown bread – first time I ever bought a slab of salt pork, had to ask the butcher where to find it at the store.

And Waldorf Salad – with apples, celery, Fennel, arugula, lemon juice and zest, candied walnuts, mayo, salt & pepper… SOOO GOOD!

The Mr. turned 59! We had a lovely family dinner at one of our favorite restaurants near our Stella by the Sea. Our mothers are still with us and we are so grateful they are here to meet their first great grands.

Cheers to many more years!

I completed the Woodstock, VT Middle bridge painting, whose true angles are a bit skewed in any photo taken, so this was a real challenge and it’s far from perfection, but I’m glad I attempted it. The bridge for me represents many happy family memories there and hopefully more to come. The lighted star up on the hill is the first thing I look for when we drive into town.

Had a physical this week, and it’s clear I need to get serious about cleaning up my diet. Cholesterol numbers less than stellar, weight – about 25 pounds overweight. Bleh. I get plenty of exercise, so… as the doctor has often said… it’s what you put in your mouth. Each new day is a chance to get it right.. right? I’m making a concerted effort to improve those numbers. Being a food loving person and one who likes to cook and bake for others, it ain’t easy.

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods – till soon 🌹

Mild Winter Days and the Lost Kitchen

Hello from Leo and I… Leo is my son’s “first son”…. in this photo he’s doing his typical thing when I go visit him at lunchtime on occasion – I have to coax him out to pee and have a snack, and then he takes up his vigil in the big chair once again looking out over the driveway because *WheresMyDAD*. The rest of us are just furniture.

Their cat, Lily… well she could be described as a honey badger… if you know, you know.

Yesterday was T-shirt weather here in New England. Crazy for February! However, with my girlchild very pregnant with her first child and my taking back over most of the barn responsibilities .. I am so very grateful for the reprieve. It makes barn chores so much easier. So many of the mornings have been glorious!

Bella and Star approve of the fine weather.. and they love their new living quarters in the new barn and barnyard. They’ve got more room to roam and run up and down the front hill, leaping with joy. I love to see it.

Our old man, Max-a-million is doing very well, we’ve been able to manage the glaucoma in his left eye with meds. After a long show career and service to many people, this is the retirement every horse should get but seldom do. I am grateful to be able to grant it to him.

Our recently adopted blind mini, Molly is my most favorite horse… she is just amazing with her navigation skills. Our other mini Lacey tolerates her, and that’s about it. At least she doesn’t abuse her, which was the case in her previous home.

Beautiful Leah graces us each day with her company. A very good minded horse, she will always have a home with us, as she is wonderful to ride, will be great for the grandchildren to learn to ride on someday and while she was bred to show and it’s true she’s a bit fancy for a “home horse”, we know she much prefers this life to the grueling show life.

Have you been watching The Lost Kitchen (HBO MAX) … with reknown chef Erin French? I love that show… what a resilient person. Her food is phenomenal and creative, her story remarkable. I treated myself to her cookbook and her memoir – Finding Freedom.. and The Lost Kitchen cookbook. SO far I’ve made her fried chicken with perfect potato salad and blueberry sweet and sour sauce, and her pear cake. Both are out of this world delicious and not hard to make. If you’re a foody or just like a great true story of redemption and triumph, I highly recommend these two books, and I’m not being paid to say it. Even the photography is gorgeous. You might come to love Maine and its salt of the earth people, too. I already do.

Have you ever cooked with a cast iron pan? Man, what I have been missing! I was intimidated by the “seasoning” of the thing and the first one I bought many years ago rusted because I washed it like any regular pan. This time I’m doing it right and you really can’t beat the results.

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods – Wishing you love and light this Valentines Day – Not everyone has a Romeo in their lives, if you do.. you are very lucky indeed. There are so many ways to celebrate love.. and most especially for yourself! Treat yourself in the ways you find comfort, indulge in the good chocolate, make (or buy!) that chocolate cake. Buy the fancy dreamy creamy soaps, splurge to frame that painting. Buy the flowers, and know this from the bottom of your blessed heart…

you are loved and loavable❤

Till soon, friends –

Merry Happy

So many people going through so much stuff, life is definitely not a cake walk for just about anyone… don’t judge the book by it’s cover and all that. The holidays can exasperate whatever is troubling, so my wish for anyone still reading my drivel here is that you are finding some joy and peace of mind this holiday season.

I am a sentimental fool, and while that trait brings along with it some pain, it’s worth it to have the heart. I have traditions in this old house and the ones before it… some recipes from ancestors long gone, traditions I’ve kept with my kids from the time they were little…decorations reminiscent of my grandmother’s home, ornaments my mother had on our childhood tree. My favorite collection, though, are the people around the table. As life rolls along, we lose some of our loved ones, and we gain new members. The circle of life.

I love my mom’s holiday spirit! Her mother, my Nana… used to do the same.. she decorated ALL THE THINGS.. even including little red bows on picture frames ….

Christmas Punch!

The barn renovation is complete – and all horses, goats and chickens are moved in. For this aging body, having done barn chores for the bast 40 plus years, it is a beautiful thing to have it all consolidated into one building. When we moved to This Old House from our previous farm, I thought I was winding down my farm animal operations and focusing on other things. But… my daughter continued her interest in showing (we’re done with that) and I found chicken keeping entertaining and fruitful!… and then .. well, goats. The small outbuildings we brought in for them worked… but going from one to the other especially in storms or winter weather was more work. We converted our three stall row shed type horse barn to a full center aisle barn with chicken coop/goat stall/ horse stalls all in one building and with this past few days 19 degree temps and freezing water, etc., it’s been a welcome improvement during chores.

Both my daughter and my daughter in law are expecting babies in the Spring, we are over the moon excited to welcome baby Jonathan and Baby Mia to our family. I’ve tried on all the common grandmother names… Gigi, Mimi, Nana, Nanny, grandma, Nonni, Nonna, loli, Lolly, and I’ve decided I am really just a Gram. If I had my way, everyone and anyone would just call me Karen or Mom, but not everyone is comfortable with that, so be it. (not the new and bastardized politicized meaning for Karen, by the way. Ugh, that is disappointing).

If you’re so inclined, tell me what’s new in your neck of the woods, what brings you joy these days, any traditions you care to share – leaving a few things below that bring me inspiration… wishing you all good things in the coming year, and THANK YOU for stopping in –

Till soon –

33

My oldest baby is 33 years old today. Holy cow, time flies. She has overcome and continues to wrestle with an obstacle no one sees or can fully understand (TBI from car accident many moons ago) and she THRIVES regardless – building a beautiful life for herself and her little family as she goes. Cheers to many more years and many more good things to come 🥂🍾❤🌻🧁

Meanwhile… back at the ranch, can you stand a few more fall pictures? New England at her finest – and I just keep saying to myself as I walk the fields and woods, drive the country roads.. man, there just has not been a more glorious fall in all the years I can remember. I see from your comments in the previous post you are finding the same where you live.

Leah and Max enjoying the glorious weather

The barn project continues… we are trying to get it all done before the snow flies this winter…. oh how I hope this comes to fruition because right now with the horses in temporary housing on the hill and the turn out routine, feed supplies and mucking tools scattered.. it’s more work and my neck and shoulders are bitching.

My son’s dog Leo loves going to work with “dad”.

And below.. the old barn gutted… to be rehabbed into the new.

There is more good news hopefully on the horizon, but I can’t yet share it out of an abundance of caution. What I can say is, living with fibromyalgia as I have for many years, I have learned some of the triggers for a flare, and one of the big ones is stress and worry. And Lord, I am a worrier. I haven’t yet discovered how to loosen that thread from the fabric I am made of. But this mantra helps remind me when a new “worry” arrives …. there’s even a magnet on my fridge with these words……

Easier said than done, I know it. But in my older years I am trying to let go of some of the old habits that don’t serve me well. This is one of them. Let go or be dragged. I know you know the woe. Another is losing that extra 20 or so pounds I really really hate dragging around. It doesn’t sound like a huge problem, but mentally it drags me and on this small frame, physically too. Bleh. I’ve tried various things, and I am very active. What it really comes down to is stress and worry eating… and I love to cook for the people I love (which includes me, lol).

And you know, I really do like me and it took me far too long to realize this. Why does it take us so long to arrive at that destination? Think of all the problems it would solve if we were born and grew up liking/LOVING! ourselves and knowing our worth.

Wishing you all good things, and thank you for stopping in.

A Glorious Fall

Oh how I love this season! I don’t really have a favorite season, do you? There is something magical in each, if you ask my two cents worth. This particular fall is one of the most glorious I have witnessed so far. The summer’s long dry spell and the sudden onslaught of heavy rains for days must be the right combination of “stuff” to make the leaves turn magical here in New England. The colors are just extraordinary! How is it looking in your neck of the woods? The Mr. and I took a ride this weekend to one of our favorite spots after picking up sandwiches at a nearby deli… and I snapped some pictures along the way. Just.. So… Gorgeous.

Here on the farm, we’ve been working on some projects.. replacing rotted fencing… it’s been TWELVE YEARS since we renovated and moved into this old farm house and property and the split rail needs replacing. Holy cow, time flies, friends. So far we’ve managed the dog yard, which is a pretty big area. AND, we’ve installed a gate at the driveway entrance because Google maps or whatever alien life designates the streets on those things has decided our driveway is a road to somewhere else. And it is not. And then the drivers get annoyed because they aren’t getting where the map tells them they should be as we wave them down and tell them to SLOW DOWN and please go back to the road because they’re on private property. Which annoys them. Imagine! Hence.. the gate.

We’re also giving the horse barn a big facelift! In our 35-ish years together, M and I have had four farms, built four homes and four barns. When we took on This Old House I thought we would be winding down the livestock part of our farm endeavor, so we built a relatively small barn for the horses. Then came the goats. And the Chickens. And another horse.. or two. With those critters came their small outbuildings. And in winter, when the snow flies and accumulates, let me tell you… … it’s a lot of work shoveling and moving hay and grain and shavings and water to where it needs to go, and this Mother Hen is no spring chicken. *ahem. So.. the new barn is being added on to the old structure and will be much more efficient than the current system we’ve had. All those outbuildings have a new home with another chicken farmer.

In other news, my daughter just got engaged! These two live right next door and we are thrilled for their happiness!

With the evenings longer and more time spent indoors, I’ve been finding some time to read again for pleasure. Gladys Taber is an author of years gone by, and one of my very favorites. I have at least seven of her books pertaining to her beloved Stillmeadow Farm in Southbury, CT and whenever I need a reprieve from the larger world and it’s “heavy”, I pick up a Still meadow book and read, and relax into her world of grace, peace and country sensibility. It’s like watching that old movie, White Christmas with Bing Crosby et al. Her books are no longer in print, but they are still found in old book stores, online and if you’re really lucky, while hunting through someone else’s discarded treasures.

I hope this finds you well and contented, and if you’re so inclined, let me know how things are going with you and yours!

Till soon –

Showing Up

The drought this year has been brutal, hasn’t it? Our lawns are literally crunchy. Of course this was the summer we decided to tame our back yard garden, tossing what got way too large for it’s space, planting many new perennials and a few flowering cherry trees. So, that’s meant watering watering watering, we are thankful for a very good well here on the farm. Down at Stella by the Sea, we gave up on any ideas of green grass. I have managed to keep the potted geraniums and sweet potato vine alive and the tomatoes from that little garden have been heavenly. Up here on the farm, the yield has been.. meh. And it’s already spent.

Stella tomatoes…

A Stella Sunset taken last night by another photographer with a drone at extreme low tide… where you can walk across the entire cove without getting your waist wet. The water rises about six feet at high tide, so the boats that use our cove have to navigate when they should come and go.

Miss Molly is doing very well here with us, she and Lacey are definitely a team now, and she continues to astound us with her navigation abilities. She knows our voices and whinnies when we come to the barn at feed time, she knows where the gate is and comes right to it to be led in to their stall. When she wants to find Lacey in their paddock she stands still and listens for the bell tied in lacey’s mane, and walks right over to her, as if she had sight. It truly, truly amazing.

More wedding photos, the photog versions have arrived….. Indeed the whole darn lot of us had some good old fashioned fun ✨

Mom and my son…. (she was the JP)

Cousins, Me, Sister, Niece 💕

Boyz to Men – They all grew up together, went to school together, played sports together, and two have joined the group by becoming family… I just love this photo for so many reasons.

The night goes so fast, as they always do when you’re having fun. It was something we all needed, and we all cut loose. It’s times like these that remind us how it feels to be really alive, all in, enjoying each other’s company, casting worries and stress aside. We definitely showed up. When you get the chance… take it.

Leaving you with these wise words right here… I am ALL ABOUT THIS from here on out… So done with the self criticisms, I am so grateful to be here to experience the whole process. We’re winning, friends…. every single blessed day… we are winning.

Till soon, friends…