Auld Macdonald Farm

Holiday Stuffing

2011-12-28T13:40:00.000-06:00

Ian dealing with some of our winter hay supply Nov 17, 2011

Welcome to the Brown Christmas Capital of the World. We hada proper snow storm near the end of November that left eight inches on the ground, but that all melted before our Thanksgiving Thursday, November 24, andwe haven’t had much more than a dusting since. Ian and I were just saying howit looks more like spring than winter! It has been unseasonably warm with daytimetemps in the 30s and 40s, but a northwesterly wind can be brutal so we do needto bundle up when doing morning and evening chores.

Christmas is behind us, and while it was wonderful andhappy, I really didn’t get into the whole seasonal thing this year. Sure, Imailed greeting cards and enjoyed the cards we received, but I didn’t put oneornament on the pre-lit Christmas tree that Ian brought to the living room fromstorage. I did my part to stimulate the economy buying most gifts online at eBay and Amazon—it's wonderful to have gifts come to the house viaUPS, FedEx or the postal service. The tree is back in storage, along withgift-wrapping paraphernalia. Good thing Christmas comes every year, so none ofit goes to waste.

Mom on Friday, December 23

Christmas DayStuffing

On Christmas Day we visited my mother at the Vets Home. Shehas good days and not-so-good days, but who doesn’t? Richard and I visited heron the 23^rd and enjoyed a luncheon served on her floor. Wow, talkabout portions. Whew! If people go hungry at the Vets Home it’s too bad becausethe food is tasty, looks better than you’d expect and is served up with plentyof care. We saw Mom yesterday too (December 27) and she was quite chipper andsharp.

Mom and me Christmas morning

Ian and me at Cosmos on Christmas Day

After visiting Mom on Christmas Day, Ian and I had reservationsfor lunch at Cosmos, in the Graves601 Hotel in Minneapolis’sWarehouse District. It was pretty good—not fabulous, but pretty good. We likedour appetizers. Ian had Duck Confit and Winter Squash Risotto, Sage, Vincottoand I had Roasted Baby Beets, Yogurt Panna Cotta, Arugula, Pistachio, Orange. The entrees anddesserts were another matter. Ian had the Pan Roasted Sea Bass, Winter Squash,Brussels Sprouts, Seasonal Mushrooms, which he enjoyed. I had a taste and itwas very good. The fish was done perfectly. I ordered Roasted Au Bon CanardDuck, Herb Knodel (think: dressing or stuffing), Chestnut, Black Cabbage. The styling ofthe food on the plate was gorgeous, but I found the dressing unimaginative, a bit dry and my duck was overcooked. The chestnut slices looked kind of likebig, dried toenails. I did enjoy the black cabbage. I ate two bites of the duck, one ofthe stuffing and that was it. I brought it home to the dogs.

Roasted beet appetizer

I like my duck cooked medium rare (saignant or à point inFrench) and this was clearly medium or well cooked. I’m not one to send back ameal. Admittedly I am fussy about duck and like to order things that I don’tcook at home, but upon reflection I probably should have gone with somethingelse. I barely tasted my Passion Fruit Mousse Bombe with Kumquat Confit. Itlooked like a Hostess Snowball, only smaller and too, too, too sweet. Ianordered the other choice, ChocoVic Chocolate Marquise with Pistachio Crémeux—a supercocoa chocolaty pyramid. He ate it all and enjoyed an espresso too. Our winewas a lovely Pinot Noir from Oregon.The service was stupendous and I love complimentary valet parking. I willsurely visit again, but won’t order the duck.

Yummy pinot noir

Stuffing ourselvescloser to home

In Pine City—six miles to our south—we like Wild Bamboo for Vietnamese food andrecently discovered New China on Main Street oneevening when Wild Bamboo was closed. It’s not a place you go to for the décor,but the food is fabulous! We shared an order of steamed potstickers and spicyorange chicken on a bed of steamed broccoli with white rice. Wow, it was sogood. The caramelized sauce had slivers of orange rind too. The portion was sohuge that Ian ate the leftovers for lunch two days in a row.

Mom’s Hometown Caféis another Pine City favorite. We used to go there everySunday for brunch, but we are treating ourselves better these days so we eathere maybe once a month now. LOL It’s hearty down-home cooking. I recommend itsEggs Benedict, but like many places I find the portions too huge to managealone, so we often share or the dogs benefit. We like the Pizza Pub too and enjoyed a birthday/anniversary dinner there withour friends Jim and Cathy last month.

Jim, Cathy, me, Ian (L to R) November 5, 2011

Bowe’s Restaurant & Bar in downtown Mora (about 20 miles from home) served Ian a verygood, perfectly cooked medium rare prime rib that he enjoyed a lot. AnotherMora eatery favorite is Wild Things Pizzeria and Deli,owned by our pal Julie. The pizza is phenomenal and I’ve lost count of thetaxidermy variety that adorns its walls.

More favorite stuffings

Gandi Mahal insouth Minneapolisnear Lake Streetand Minnehaha Avenue(not too far from the Vets Home) has the best daily lunch buffet. Its NorthIndian curry made with mutter (peas) and paneer (cottage cheese) is myfavorite.

Famous Dave’s isour choice for barbeque. Yep, it’s a chain, but it does it right, so if we’refeeling a bit peckish and we spot its big red sign, we’re likely to stop in. Weusually split a half slab of ribs, which comes with two side dishes and a cornmuffin.

After ChristmasStuffing

Yesterday, after visiting Mom, Ian and I went to Mall of America. It was packed, but wefound parking right away, then just strolled and enjoyed being together. Westopped in the Apple Store to see and ask questions about the Macbook Air and Macbook Pro laptops. I prefer the Air in part because of itssolid-state memory (no hard drive), which makes it lighter. I will be very gladto be back using Apple products soon.

We enjoyed some tasty delights at Tiger Sushi before heading home to the farm and evening chores. Goingto Minneapolisis easy enough, as it’s all interstate driving, but it is 170 miles roundtrip.

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That’s the news from here. All of us at the Auld MacdonaldFarm send you and yours happy & prosperous 2012 wishes.

E-I-E-I-O

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-21T08:44:00.001-06:00

We had our first snow of the season on Saturday. As much as I dread the colder weather, I love the snow. There’s always so much to do to get ready for the winter months. The largest concern I have is water and that all the animals have ready access to fresh, clean water 24/7. Installing the three new heated Ritchie fountains really helped. The barn cats and geese know enough to stay hydrated using these. The labs use them too when they’re outside running from pillar to post.

We have added five Muscovy ducks to the Auld Macdonald Farm menagerie. I responded to a Freecycle ad and they were delivered by a dad and the son, who hand raised them. I put them in the chicken coop, which is heated for the winter, figuring there’s plenty of room on the floor, since chickens roost. These ducks fly and the next morning when I put them in the pen, they promptly flew the coop and landed 300 feet later on the now frozen pond. It was comical to see them glide-n-slide. Not so comical, was Ian with a flashlight after dark herding the ducks from the pasture pond back to the coop. Thankfully, they waddled more or less in the right direction and we were able to catch them all (they don’t hiss, snap or bite like geese) and put them in the coop. I think we have two males (the larger) and three females. I suppose sooner or later they’ll lay eggs and I’ll decide if I’ll use them in the house or let them hatch. With the snow and colder temps, I have the poultry sequestered in the coop for warmth and to familiarize the ducks that this is their new home and they should return to it at dusk. I’m hoping this works. Chickens return to their roost at night without any help–a lesson I learned at the Stanchfield farm. Evidently, I don’t know duck.

Ian used our Farmall M tractor to plow the driveway and an area by the barn. He pushed the snow with the bucket loader, but to do a better job he’ll attach the snowblade that came with the tractor for a more precision job. The temps are supposed to climb back to the 50s, so most of what we have on the ground should melt and we can continue to organize ourselves for the winter ahead.

The horses are all fuzzy and seem to enjoy this bug-free season. They have ample shelter, lots of hay and they keep the Ritchie fountains busy. Depending on its age, weight and weather conditions, a healthy horse drinks between 6-10 gallons daily.

Ian and I are putting our heads together for a business trip to France in 2012. We’re looking at combining a trip to Paris with a two-day Arabian horse show in Menton on the Côte d’Azur in mid June. In 1997 Ian lived in Grasse, the world’s capital of perfume, and he knows the Alpes-Maritimes area quite well. I would like to write and photograph other French Riviera favorites like Monte Carlo, Cannes, Nice and Cap d’Ail (Garlic Cape) and the Menton show gives me an opportunity to combine two of my greatest passions; Arabian horses and travel writing. Here's a crazy, amateur-shot video from the 2011 Menton show.

I continue to enjoy my work as editor for BonjourParis. If you haven’t already and of course if you have an interest in travel and things Francophile, please sign up for the free weekly newsletter.

To learn more about the writing craft and various tricks of the freelance trade, I’ve taken two classes at The Loft in Minneapolis; Finding Your Way as a Writer and Writing Your Life, which is about memoir writing. Both were very good and got me thinking and writing. I signed up for a day-long Travel Writing class in December and will make the most of that too. There are other classes I’d like to take during the winter, and am waiting for the latest catalogue to be published.

I’m giving cross-country skiing a go this winter. I had planned to do this last year, but I was just too damned fat. Currently I'm wearing a women's size 16, down from a (dare I say it?) 22, and continue to head in a more healthy direction. Yesterday we went to the Vasaloppet in Mora to its ski swap and sale. We didn’t buy anything, but were pleasantly surprised to see all the outdoor enthusiasts in every age bracket. Once we have the proper gear, we can ski on the Vasaloppet’s 18 miles of groomed trails or in many of the nearby Minnesota State Parks. Banning State Park is just north of us on I-35 has 11 miles and St Croix State Park east of Hinckley has 13 miles. I’d like to do more outdoor things this winter and country-skiing looks like fun.

Ian and I are having Marcia, Dan and Carl over for Thanksgiving Dinner. Earlier in the month Carl had surgery and he’s recovering well. He’s not the best patient, and says he’d like to come back to work riding horses, but I’m encouraging him to rest, recoup and heal.

If you’re on Facebook, please "Like" our Auld Macdonald Farm page. Click here and follow the link. Thanks!

All of us at the Auld Macdonald Farm send you and yours Happy Thanksgiving wishes. That’s the news from here.

E-I-E-I-O

An Auld Macdonald Farm Autumn

2011-10-27T06:31:00.013-05:00

We are still enjoying mild weather for this time of year in Minnesota. The temps are in the 50s, but once in a while it creeps into the 60s and with sunshine it’s down right balmy. I admit to dragging out my winter coat for the frost-on-the-pumpkin mornings, but stripped it off by 10am because it was just too warm. A sure sign of the coming winter is that the horses are getting fuzzier and are busy packing on extra winter weight.

We have accomplished a lot this season. With Carl’s help we got five of the seven young horses started. The two 2008 Legacys Renoir+ daughters are left (Princess and Bey B) and I don’t know if we’ll get them going this year or not. I really wanted to show them (sell them) as 4-year-old Western Pleasure Junior horses in 2012, along with Half Arabian palomino mare Tango, who as you can see looks gorgeous under saddle, but there is only so much time, energy and money. Plus, not having an indoor arena to work in during the wet, cold winter months really puts things on hold. That said, we’re still counting our blessings. We did sell AMF Troublesomes Kiss (Kisses, pictured above), our 2007 bay purebred mare, to a teenage girl and her family from River Falls, Wisconsin. That was a very good match and this buyer came to us via Facebook. Hurray for social media.

This month we had three more Ritchie Omni Fountains installed and had a hydrant put in the barn. The Omnis are heated, automatic watering stations. We had one installed shortly after we moved to this farm in 2009, and its been very reliable. We got another one just like it (Omni 2) and two Omni 1 units that will serve each of the two new stallion paddocks that are built near the barn. These paddocks are fenced with six strands of high-tensile electric and each has its own shelter. The second installed Omni 2 will sit on the fence line that will segment the mares pasture. We will reconfigure the gelding/colt pasture so that the original Omni 2 will water another smaller catch paddock we plan to use for young horses (weanlings and yearlings) or horses that need extra feeding care.

The next big project will be scraping clean the barn’s dirt floor and building more box stalls, which can be completed during the winter months. We expect to only have one or two horses inside for the winter, which will give us room to build. Ian builds sturdy, attractive box stalls and I look forward to having a barn full.

Ian continues to work as a Senior Business Consultant. His latest gig is in the health insurance field and he likes it very much. I recently left VOA since my position was eliminated when one of the residents changed locations. I was the Thursday-Saturday overnight awake manager, but with the resident change the position became overnight asleep manager with a pay cut. Ian had been asking me to quit working weekend overnights for some months and this seemed an opportune time. I continue freelancing for the online France travel magazine BonjourParis as its Editor and have done since May. My work for BP has inspired me to take classes at a literary center in Minneapolis to explore how to build a career as a freelance writer; ideally writing/publishing more travel pieces and polishing my Arabian horse enthusiast writing.

With a little more time on my hands at home, I am going to take on the project of painting. Ian and I have selected jazzy yellow for the living room, dining room and kitchen walls. I have a green that I like for the bathroom and the upstairs bedrooms and office will be shades of cappuccino or mocha. We are also going to rip out the carpet. Who the heck puts an off-white carpet in a farmhouse? We’re installing laminate flooring in the (currently carpeted) living room and dining room and will eventually do the same for the three rooms upstairs (2 bedrooms, 1 office). The stairway will be stripped of its carpet too. We will stain the tread and riser wood then install a carpet runner with brass stair rods. I may also get around to replacing the kitchen cabinet door/drawer handles. We have the replacements, but Ian’s Honey Do List has been quite long this year.

Mom (87 in July) is doing fine. She had an infection of some kind last week that threw her for a loop, but the Veterans Home caregivers are really tippy top and got her on a cycle of antibiotics right away and she bounced right back.

Next week, Ian and I celebrate nine years of marriage. Wow! To celebrate, this Saturday, we’re going to the horse show extravaganza Cavalia, which soon wraps up its tour in Minneapolis.

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E-I-E-I-O

It's already September!

2011-09-03T07:13:00.011-05:00

August was the perfect month weatherwise. There was very little rain, the humidity was tolerable and the bugs weren’t vicious. In my opinion, August was our only true weeks of traditional Minnesota summer, as June and July were wet. I am looking forward to a nice autumn before the snow flies.

Ian and I made two kinds of crabapple jelly from trees in our yard. One has fruit the size of bing cherries and its jelly is a shimmery red, the other has golf ball-sized fruit and the jelly is more yellow. Both are quite tasty. I plan to collect more apples and do more batches. These make wonderful presents and keep darn near forever! I will be picking from our larger eating-apple tree too for canning applesauce and apple pie filling.

Horses continue to get started under saddle thanks to Carl. He has a good way with them, has a bag full of tricks, a good sense of humor and a solid work ethic. He’s whittled the list of seven to three and I suspect he’ll have all done by month’s end. There are many more miles and lessons to go before any horse is finished, but any of the ones he’s worked with are rider safe. All have been on long trail rides, been exposed to traffic, have gone out alone and with other horse/rider combinations. They have soft mouths and are joys to be around. I will be adding video to the for sale ads and see what kind of offers we get.

Soon we will wean Windy from mommy Mona. She was born at the end of April and she’s certainly old enough and eating well enough on her own to give up mother’s milk. Of course this is always traumatic. It’s time too for Mona to return to the herd, she’s fat and sassy and should reclaim her place in its hierarchy before the cold months settle in. All mommies know that it’s nice to have time with the babies, but there’s something to be said for hanging with the girls!

Windy is such a beautiful Half Arabian. She has the good characteristics of both parents. We’ll have her busy with learning new things and we plan to show her in halter classes in spring 2012.

Our other 2011 foal, Junior, Renoir colt out of our HK Beijing daughter, will be weaned at the beginning of October. His dam is confirmed in foal to Renoir again for a 2012 foal and we’re giddy about that! Both Junior and Windy are fine examples of our Auld Macdonald Farm breeding program.

Both Ian and I are well. Recently, we have both taken steps (professionally and personally) toward things that will bring long-term, positive changes to our lives. One of these steps was to join the Pine City Health & Fitness Center, which is available to its members 24/7. It’s less than a 10-minute drive from home and we like what they have to offer. Personally, I’m looking forward to its twice-weekly Zumba classes!

Mom is doing well too. She isn’t going to nearly as many doctor appts as she had been earlier in the year and that’s because she’s healed from all those various ailments. It’s wonderful to see her, which I try to swing once a week, and she also calls in between, so we’re in touch. Nice!

E-I-E-I-O

Lessons learned!

2011-07-29T11:54:00.006-05:00

July continues to be a bit on the steamy side, but we love the sunshine. I wish we had more dry days, but there isn’t much anyone can do about that, other than take it as it comes.

It looks like we’ve found someone local who will work for us getting the young stock started under saddle. It took no time at all to hear from several horse-savvy adults expressing a sincere interest in my ad for a local horse trainer who will come here to work the animals. After meeting three, we settled on Carl, who is happy with our offered terms, and arrives in such a timely manner that I could set a watch by him. We are on the same page regarding what needs to be done with which horses and in what order. He started at the beginning of last week and has three of the seven we want started under saddle riding happily down our country roads.

The horses are being desensitized to traffic, to plastic bags (which are down right frightening), to barking dogs defending their driveways, and also to pastures filled with cattle, which are curious looking creatures to the uninitiated horse.

Carl, who is in his mid 50s, is a bit of a naturalist too. When he spots aluminum cans while riding, Carl stops to collect each one in a plastic bag he keeps looped over the saddle horn. Each dismount, remount and exposure to cans rattling in the plastic bag are lessons for the horse. By the time the three- or four-hour ride is done, the horse has learned many things, including what rattles and shakes is not going to hurt them; more exposure helps to build trust and reassurance. It is a wonderful thing to watch. At week’s end Carl trades his can collection in for cash.

As the horses get more time under saddle, are safe to trail ride and less spooky, we will list them for sale on the various equine websites. Even in this economy, horses still bring decent prices and go to good homes. For us, a good home is the most important piece to the horse-for-sale puzzle.

E-I-E-I-O

Steamy July

2011-07-18T08:07:00.006-05:00

The baby horses are growing up nicely. The mares and foals go out together in the round pen for some exercise and fresh air. Soon, we’ll have a proper mare/foal pasture for them, but any opportunity to socialize is a good one. Legacys Renoir's 2011 colt, "Junior", is picture with his dam, Not That Innocent. "Windy" is the Half Arabian chestnut filly sired by Goldmount Royal Design out of MAF Last Dance ("Mona").

Our barn is well stocked with square bales and we’ve got more stored at the farmer’s home who cuts it. We also laid claim to a good supply of 5 x 5 1000-pound round bales from another neighboring farmer. I always feel good when we’ve got our winter hay situation sorted out.

We have seven young horses that we want started under saddle this year so that we can sell them. We’re looking for a local horse trainer who is interested in doing the job at our farm at terms that we can afford. A 16-year-old daughter of a friend-of-a-friend looked to be a good prospect, until she didn’t show on day two or day four of week one. Consequently, there was no day five, which is too bad, because the horses responded well to her. The search continues with interviews of two local cowboy types. Ian and I know enough to know what we don’t want for our animals when it comes to training; which should help us to sift the wheat from the chaff. We do a lot with our animals, but we also know our limitations, as in we don’t bounce as well as we used to. LOL

The biggest news since the last post is that both of our stallions - Legacys Renoir and Goldmount Royal Design - are home on the farm. Roy has a paddock that is in the gelding pasture and Renoir has a box stall that Ian built in the barn. Roy has made friends with the outdoor boys and shares his grain with one of them. It’s nice to have them both here with us on the Auld Macdonald Farm.

It has been very steamy lately with warnings about the heat index. This is just another extreme example of Minnesota weather. I prefer this to the double-digit below temps.

Son Richard has relocated back to Minneapolis. While I miss his smiling face, I know that he is happier there able to more easily pursue his music career. So, it’s just Ian, me and the menagerie.

E-I-E-I-O

Joyous June

2011-06-05T11:02:00.005-05:00

Finally, our 2011 Legacys Renoir foal has arrived. Not That Innocent (Inno) delivered her handsome, bay stud colt Saturday morning, June 4. Inno's due date was May 31, but I've been waiting since mid-May - actually, more like 11 months! He surely is worth the wait. This is Renoir's first bay-colored foal, the rest are either chestnut or grey. We haven't settled on a name yet. I will post photos of both the colt and Mona's late-April filly, Windy, in a week or so. The arrival of Inno's colt marks the end of our foaling season. Windy is coming along nicely – like her other Half Arabian siblings, she is tall and muscular.

The Minnesota weather has finally turned warmer with days of glorious sunshine. The spring has been cold, wet and windy, but if we get more days like today, in the 80s with a mild wind and low humidity, I will forgive Mother Nature. Soon the farmers will be cutting the first crop of hay and our stores will begin to refresh. The blooms have left the fruit trees and I'm curious to see what the apple tree provides. The row of lilac bushes that did not bloom last year are fragrant and abundant in dark purple, pale lilac and creamy white this year. I've filled vases several times with cuttings and love how the house is perfumed. The peonies and shrub roses are getting ready to bloom too. I will spend time weeding the gardens, which is fun to do, especially when I get so much love from the dogs, who enjoy having me down at their eye level!

This looks to be the year that we will actually fence in the back 30 acres and get the herd out on grass. It is so very lush and there is so much of it! We need to run a quarter mile of posts and high-tensile electric wire, and Ian's begun to mark off the east/west running line, so that's a start. Getting the herd on pasture allows us not only to segment more paddocks near the barn, but also to do effective pasture management; letting grass areas rest and replenish. Of course, we'll still need to buy hay regularly, but not for immediate consumption. We can be like the ant in Aesop's Fable and build up our winter stores.

There are other changes in the wind too and I'll write about those as they come to pass. Thank goodness, Ian and I know how to go with the flow, to be grateful for all that we have and trust that everything is part of the larger process and know that we are continually blessed.

E-I-E-I-O

The merry, merry month of May

2011-05-19T09:00:00.003-05:00

Our Minnesota winter was a long one with lots of snow, which made it fun for me. I figure if I’m going to live in a four season state I want to enjoy each season to its fullest. The spring was a long time coming, but I feel safe to write that it seems to have arrived.

Our apple trees are ready to burst into bloom. Two are crabapple, with plentiful pink blossoms. The third is some type of fist-sized apple tree. Last summer, Richard and I cut down a weed tree that had grown up next to it and was sucking the life out of it. This seems to have been a good thing because it too is in bloom, but with white flowers. I’m hoping it has tasty fruit. I love a good apple tree. At our Stanchfield farm I used to make pies and preserve the apples from the two trees there.

I would really like to plant two Honeycrisp (also Honey Crisp) trees here on the Brook Park farm. Honeycrisp are a large, sweet apple with crisp "to-die-for" texture. Believed to be an offspring of Macoun and Honeygold, Honeycrisp was introduced in 1991 by the University of Minnesota breeders at Excelsior, Minnesota. The best thing about a Honeycrisp is its crisp texture – in my opinion, no other apple matches its crispness.

The animals faired well through the winter too. The horses are still shedding heavy coats and are revealing shiny, sleek spring hair. Last fall we switched from buying Nutrena feed to having our own mixed at a local mill. This was a great budgetary move and we are pleased with the consistent quality and results. The mill is flexible when I want to change an ingredient and I appreciate their consultation. We got the idea to have our own mixed from our friends Cathy and Jim at Wildflower Farm. We began with their recipe and have adapted it to meet our herd needs.

We’ve down to six adult Pilgrim Geese – all ganders – so no goslings this year. While I love those fuzzy, peeping yellow fuzz balls, it is a lot of work to keep them fed, watered, exercised without being eaten and clean! One of the ganders got injured, possibly during gander play, so I put him in the chicken coop to recuperate. He just can’t keep up with his five brothers. I named this lone gander Manfred, and we’ve settled into a routine of going out from the coop pen in the morning and back in at sunset. Last week, I put a wading pool in the pen area, which Manfred really likes, but it can’t match the pasture pond populated with visiting Canada Geese. While his brothers are social, visiting him along the pen fence, Manfred either chooses not to or has been pushed out of the gaggle. I think they all know he can’t keep up and are satisfied to let things be as they are now. The chickens don’t seem to mind, as they roost on horizontal poles and Manfred nests in a cozy corner.

The five dogs are fine too. The black labs, 7 year old Lady, and yearlings Cleo and Jo-jo, are high energy canines that need plenty of outdoor time. The two miniature poodles, Buddy and Tucker, like their outside time, but prefer living room furniture, the master bedroom, a warm lap or a corner of carpet. Cleo and Jo-jo have their own kennels that are kept in the kitchen where they are secured at night, during human naptime or when we’re out running errands. They’ve been kenneled since puppyhood, so these are happy places.

We have one new foal so far this season. Our purebred Arabian, MAF Last Dance (Mona), had her seventh Half Arabian foal, this one a chestnut filly, sired by our American Saddlebred palomino stallion, Goldmount Royal Design. The filly is built strong with lots of leg. We call her Windy and will register her as AMF Royals Windsor, with a nod to her foaling date and the British Royal wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton.

We are waiting for Not That Innocent (Inno), our bay purebred Arabian mare, to have her Legacys Renoir foal. Her due date is during Memorial Day Weekend, but I’ve seen signs that she could deliver sooner.

We bred four mares last year, but two slipped during the winter months. While it is sad and costly, as both mares were bred to outside stallions, Mother Nature knows best.

Soon, Goldmount Royal Design will come to live with us on the farm full time. Ian is building a secure paddock area and shelter for him. Roy will have a view of the herd and I’m sure this will keep him happy.

Legacys Renoir continues his performance training with Tom Theisen at Conway Arabians in southern Minnesota. He is learning to the Western Pleasure discipline. Together, he and Tom present a handsome silhouette. Our plan is for the two to compete in the 2012 show season.

My 86-year-old mother continues to live at the Minnesota Vets Home in Minneapolis. She gets excellent care and I make the 180-mile roundtrip to see her as often as I can, usually once a week. Her mood and spirit are usually clear, upbeat and happy, but like all of us, she has crummy days too. She’s allowed! She’ll be 87 July 3. I’ve learned to savor each hour, day, week and month that we share, being sure to tell her how precious she is and not wait to celebrate the years.

I continue to work with Volunteers of America managing a residence home for four vulnerable adults during three 10-hour weekend graveyard shifts. I am also doing more writing and website managing – volunteer and paid – which feeds my creative spirit and helps chip away at the bills.

Ian continues to work as a business analyst and project manager and remains in great demand. He is happy with this work outside the home, but would like to find a way to work 100% of the time making the Auld Macdonald Farm a profit center. If anyone can figure this out, and others certainly have, Ian can.

E-I-E-I-O

Hello March!

2011-03-01T08:32:00.008-06:00

As I reflect, it seems that February’s only redeeming features were Groundhog's Day, Valentine's Day, the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show (enjoyed from afar this year) and The Oscars. The rest was lousy. Here on the farm, we enjoyed a couple of days of 40 degree mid-winter thaw, only to have the normal Minnesota winter temps leave an acre's worth of glare ice between the barn and pastures, making it treacherous for horse, human and truck. After getting the Ford F-150 stuck on three different occasions, Ian finally traded in his brawn, shovel and 4-letter-word vocabulary and gave its 4-wheel drive the much needed bite of tire chains, which allowed us to once again easily maneuver 1000-pound round hay bales to the horse pastures without hazard or delay. I like winter well enough (aka our bug-free season), and I admit to having really enjoyed this one with all of its snow, but this Minnesota girl is beginning to show seasonal wear-n-tear and I'm looking for some spring!

March, which has come in like a lamb, can be as torturous as February bringing its own lion's tumult of storms. Its saving grace is the return to daylight saving time (the 13th) and April, when I finally trade my insulated Sorels for rubber, knee-high wellies to navigate the season of boot-sucking mud.

March is also when Ian catches me in age (the 9th). What a darling man and I continue to love him to pieces.

So, for a bit of catch up … Mom scared the dickens out of us a week or so ago when her kidney function went from so-so to crummy, with what looked like a downward trend. Brother Mark and his family put their Maryland life on hold and flew to Minnesota. I put Mom's preferred funeral home on speed dial. Yes, it was presented as that serious with dialysis not being her wish at age 86.

In 2005, Mom called her three children and a treasured cousin together for a family meeting to outline her wishes in To Do lists and notarized legal documents. Each attendee received a 3-ring binder as summary. I have paged through it tear-stressed trying to marshal some intellectual fortitude leaning on my many years of public relations expertise, knowing how 'events' are best when well ordered. For the moment, there is no other way for me to consider my mother’s death and funeral.

During one visit, updating Mom on what I knew of her kidney function, she listened, synthesizing the info through her post-two-ischemic-stroke mind, then looked at me, 'Are you afraid I'm going to die?' Yes. She mulled this over, and then assured me she was not in any pain (a comfort). 'Mom, I want to do what you want me to do.' She looked at me and took my hand adding, 'That is why I gave you the job you have (as her power of attorney), because you will do what I want and what is right.' My double-edged sword.

The silver lining in this emotional thunderstorm shone itself during a visit to the renal specialist on the 23rd. The doc reviewed Mom's records, her meds, chatted with both of us and relayed her suspicions that we were dealing with an allergy versus a true kidney function shutdown. What? – a rollercoaster of a month, this February. We will know more in two weeks time after med adjustments, output testing and monitoring of vitals. A big exhaled relief of 'not yet', as I put the umbrella away, stow the binder and feel the sunny warmth of mommy's love on my skin. Another of February's redeemers.

Through this, unbridled joy reveals itself in licks and wags as the now 10-month old puppies continue to grow into their giant Labrador paws. The first snow was unsettling until they figured out it was water. Jo-jo and Cleo run, romp, roll and revel no matter the temperature. Littermates, their personalities are more defined, as is their size; Jo-jo outweighs her sister by a good 10 pounds, but Cleo remains her formidable playmate. The miniature poodles are the Martha Stewarts of house etiquette – regardless of age or breed, one does not bound in the house with endless energy, running over human and hound alike. One wags its tail, pants and does as one is told, channeling energy into dog toys rather than furniture legs or carpet fibers – behavior deemed unacceptable warrants a series of sharp barks with a bite to the nose putting the larger loveable into a submissive, belly up position. This is the funniest thing to watch. And what is it with Labs and cats? They just love the felines, wanting to lick them and cuddle at every citing. Two of our three housecats have succumb, the third is tolerant to a point, but will go Wolverine if pressed. The barn cats scale the walls to watch unconvinced and un-wooed from the rafters.

Son Richard, who continues to live on the farm and work at the local casino, bought a Flip camera, and we may incorporate video clips in future postings. Won't that be fun?!

Visit our Auld Macdonald Farm website too.

E-I-E-I-O

2011 Auld Macdonald Farm Foals

2011-01-15T17:50:00.003-06:00

We are expecting four foals this year; two purebred Arabians, one Half Arabian and one purebred American Saddlebred.

The first baby, due April 28, is our American Saddlebred sired by Famous Echo SCA out of Amber's Mayday. Because Famous Echo is homozygous for pinto the foal will have a tobiano pinto pattern.

Our Half Arabian is due a week later on May 5th. The Arabian mare, MAF Last Dance ("Mona"), has had six foals all sired by now our palomino American Saddlebred stallion Goldmount Royal Design. This one is number seven and the third that we've owned.

May 10, or there about, "Addie" (NR Adieu) will have her purebred foal sired by Conway Arabians' stallion, Noble Way.

We gave ourselves a bit of a breather before welcoming Renoir's foal out of Not That Innocent ("Inno"), pictured below, due Memorial Day Weekend.

E-I-E-I-O

New Year's Day 2011

2011-01-01T09:44:00.005-06:00

•°*”˜˜”*°•.¸☆ ★ ☆¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.¸☆
╔╗╔╦══╦═╦═╦╗╔╗ ★ ★ ★
║╚╝║══║═║═║╚╝║ ☆¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.¸☆
║╔╗║╔╗║╔╣╔╩╗╔╝ ★ NEW YEAR ☆ 2011
╚╝╚╩╝╚╩╝╚╝═╚╝ to EVERYONE!! ♥ ￥☆★☆★☆

It's always interesting to wonder what the New Year has in store, and yet as I reflect on 2010, I don't know that I would have told you last January 1 that 2010 had two US National titles in store for Legacys Renoir; one of which would be a US National Championship with Ian. I would have absolutely said that competing at both Regina and Tulsa for a National Top Ten title was certainly in our horse business plans. Ian says he thought the reverse would happen; that we would get a national championship at Canadian Nationals rather than at the more competitive US Nationals in Tulsa. Even though we came home empty handed from Regina, our competitive spirit and belief in our stallion were not dampened. That Renoir won two US National titles in a 48-hour period is amazing and speaks to what a fantastic animal he is. And we readily share our joy knowing that we could not have reached those dizzying heights without help from friends who have embraced us and believed in us, especially our fairy godmother (you know who you are).

Icing on that tasty cake, having Renoir in training at Conway Arabians, wasn't even a possibility this time last year! Admittedly, as early as July, Ian and I had talked about what a dream it would be to have Renoir there with our friends Peter and Lori Conway and training under Tom Theisen. Say it, believe it, and, voila, after his wins at Tulsa, Renoir made his new training home in Chatfield. What an excellent examples of bringing dreams to reality.

Having my mother, Joyce Tiffany, live with us on the farm in January and February is a more personal reflection and these are memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life. That she had a second ischemic stroke and yet another hip replacement in her 2010, as she transitioned further from living on her own in the fall of 2009, to round-the-clock care at the Minnesota Vets Home in March, is testament to how sometimes it's better to take the future as it comes and do it in small, manageable bites. Her strength and zest for life sets a wonderful example to all who know and love her. Of course, Joyce is mother to three, and I remain thankful for the support and love of my brothers, Mark and Matthew.

Having my youngest son Richard, a true city kid, come to live with us in September has proven a win-win for all. He left an unproductive living environment and a job he hated, got a job he wanted at the local casino, which adds interesting characters to his life, funds his music recording pursuits, and the milieu of the Auld Macdonald Farm affords this lyricist precious time, space and peace to write.

Having Ian's freshly-graduated daughter, Alexandra, visit during the first weeks of summer was wonderful. She continues to amaze us with her talents, pose, humor and dreams.

Last year continued as the fifth year running where our attract magnet for well-bred horses remained in full affect. Thankfully, along with that 'talent' came three neighborhood farmers who literally knocked on our door with fabulous, fair-priced hay for sale. It's nice when those blessings come together. And thank you also to another friend for the generous use of her hay-hauling trailer.

Goldmount Royal Design, our palomino American Saddlebred stallion, was another dream come true. We already had owned two of his foals, had admired many of his get and loved his owners as both fine people and amazing horse breeders. To be able to bring him to live and train at Wildflower Farm with another amazing horse-people couple, Jim and Cathy Finnerty marked another dream talked into reality. Unbeknownst to him, as he enjoys his paddock with gelding friends at the fence line, 2011 will be a busy year for Roy.

2011 is the year when our Auld Macdonald Farm horse sales take flight and soar. We laid the groundwork in 2010 to aide this new cash influx component with our professional photo session and beautifully designed Auld Macdonald Farm website both done by Christina Rousseau. We thank her too for her multiple talents, guidance and ongoing friendship.

Hello 2011, welcome.

E-I-E-I-O

Christmas Day 2010

2010-12-26T17:08:00.008-06:00

Ian and I invited our friends Marcia and Dan to join us for a sumptuous lunch on Christmas Day. Marcia drove from home in Hopkins and swung through Grandy to pick up Dan. They arrived an hour before we expected them, but being good family friends they tiptoed over the still wet kitchen floor and kept talking as I did the last bits of dusting.

Marcia, who graduated last weekend with her master's in Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture, is already an accomplished massage therapist, fab cook and master cookie/candy maker. She brought us an oval-shaped plate of sweet assortments. I look forward to eating the toffee every Christmas. This year she added 2 new recipes; Oreo truffles and an almond bark type of white chocolate delight that I passed on to her from a Facebook group I belong to:

Melt a package of white chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler. Stir in about a cup of dried cranberries and about a cup of shelled pistachios. Spread on wax paper and chill. When hard break up into bite sized pieces and enjoy.

Both were delish!

Dan is a self-taught master gardener, who works his butt off in our many gardens during the warm weather. We spent some time thumbing through hobby farm and garden magazines talking about the raised beds, split cedar fencing and the many varieties of sunflowers we’ll work on in the spring.

Son Richard and I both worked nights; him 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the local casino, me 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. Christmas morning. Since I did not get home 'til 9:30 and Richard was fast asleep, Ian had the lunch menu planned and ready to go; smoked ham, a whole roasted chicken, cheesy mashed potatoes, gravy, fresh green beans in portabella mushroom cream sauce and a bagged green salad that I adore from Costco. Truth be told, while I do have the odd Martha Stewart inspired moments, Ian is the better cook. I had contemplated making a pumpkin pie, but there was no space to enjoy it, so it was voted down. That fact alone should attest to how full we were.

We talked, laughed, ate, drank, then cleared dishes and started the dishwasher's first load. Our dogs got to lick clean pots and pans. I had set aside leftovers for Dan that were clearly too near the floor and our 15-year-old poodle, Tucker, decided he'd help himself to a bit of Christmas cheer until he was busted. Thankfully, we salvaged both the leftovers, which were rewrapped, and Tucker's age-sensitive stomach.

It was just shy of 3 p.m. when the 'must sleep' wave washed over me and we said our good-byes. It was a nice day, well spent. Merry Christmas and God bless.

E-I-E-I-O

Happy December

2010-12-16T08:23:00.009-06:00

This year, winter's first official day is December 21, also known as the Winter Solstice. To me, the days feel noticeably shorter since the ends of Daylights Savings Time at the beginning of November; we do chores in the dark and try to squeeze in all other outings during the sliver of remaining daylights hours that are not already reserved for work. Once home, I am not wont to bundle up, warm up the car and go wherever, as few things hold that great appeal. We have already felt winter's bite with temps in the teens and below-zero ranges, usually reserved for January and February. Record snowfall and vicious winds deflated the Minneapolis Metrodome roof and generally wreaked havoc across the State. Our farm is a good 90-minute drive north of the Twin Cities and while we too had snow, wind and cold temps, we were not buried like our friends to the south. There is plenty winter left between now and the March 20 Vernal Equinox and w'’ll make the best of it.

All of the farm animals are well. The horses have their deep, furry coats. Here is an excerpt from an online article on winter horse care:

The horse’s winter coat is a horse's first defense from the cold. When allowed to grow, a horse's natural hair coat acts as a very effective thermal blanket, it increases both in length and density as the days grow shorter. A horse’s winter coat is also naturally greasy, which helps it repel snow, ice, and sleet. A heavy winter hair coat a tremendous insulator and provides as much warmth as the best blankets. Horses that are to be maintained outside should be allowed to grow a long hair coat, plus the hair within the ears and around the fetlocks should not be clipped throughout the winter months. Horses have the ability to fluff out their coats in cold weather, thereby trapping a layer of air in the coat which provides them an insulating layer. Once the hair coat becomes wet, the hair lies down and loses its insulating ability.

Our grey cat Zeus marks the change of season with a transition from barn to house cat. Usually, our orange tabby Tiger is our only inside feline, but Zeus presented his face at the second story office window in early November to let me know it was time again to make him welcome. I'm always glad that he remembers his cat box skills from season to season. The chickens, geese and dogs are also well.

Last year, I began volunteering as co-editor for the Minnesota Arabian Horse Association newsletter. I really enjoy this type of thing, I like the opportunities to give back and this is a core principle for this club. In 2011, I will be its sole newsletter editor and for good measure, I lobbied to be the MAHA webmaster too. These are skills I have in abundance and it's another opportunity to give back, learn more about the Arabian horse industry and network; win-win.

In September, I chose to take a part-time paid position with Volunteers of America of Minnesota. I began working 10 hours a week as a direct support person working with VOA clients in our local community. In October, even though I was not particularly looking for more hours, fate intervened, and I was offered a full-time position working the graveyard shift in one of VOA's residential houses in the neighboring Mora, from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Ian and I decided as a couple we could do this (he continues to work weekdays 9-5) and I accepted the position, which began the first week of December. I manage the night hours alone and awake. I like the quiet of the overnight hours and the fun of making the four residents breakfast and getting their day off to a happy start. The transition between sleeping nights and days has not been a problem, which makes this all easier. Sundays do feel like a long day because when I come home at 9:30 a.m., I try my best only to catnap so I can switch back to sleeping nights. So far, so good. With Christmas and New Year's Days falling on the weekends, I will be working, sleeping and celebrating quietly when home.

E-I-E-I-O

My Arabian Horse Show Bucket List

2010-11-29T07:35:00.006-06:00

Looking back on a magical show season, it's fun to think about the 2011 season and musing about shows I would love to attend – a bucket list of sorts. To read more about each show listed, just click on its highlighted name.

I realize that the World Equestrian Games (WEG) were just held in Lexington, Kentucky, but with Renoir showing at the national level there was just no way to fit it in, so for that reason the WEG gets on the list. The next WEG will be in Normandy, France in 2014.

Salon du Cheval
Paris, France
December 4-13, 2010

Paris, horses, just weeks before Christmas! Need I say more?

World Equestrian Festival
Aachen
July 8-17, 2011
Geographically, Aachen is Germany's westernmost city, located along its borders with Belgium and The Netherlands. On the face of it, to me, this looks to be a lot like the WEG. Germany has so many fabulous horse barns and I am sure I would enjoy losing myself just touring them.

Arabian Breeders World Cup
Las Vegas, NV at the South Point Hotel & Casino
April 14-17, 2011, in its 5th year.

I'm told this show is the closest we've got stateside to the Salon du Cheval in Paris. I would love to combine a trip to this show with tickets to see Celine Dion again at Caesar's Palace.

Menton Arabian Horse Show
In France's Alpes-Martimes department, on the French Riviera Mediterranean, Menton is near the Italian border and hosts this show annually in mid June.

Arabian Horses Rendez-Vous
Monte Carlo, Monaco
May 7-8, 2011

I don't know much about this show other than what's written on its website. Ever the Francophile, I am lured by the equine/venue combination.

Pride of Poland
Warsaw, Poland
August 2011
If I could give up going to Canadian Nationals I would love to put together an Eastern European holiday with this show as the trip's centerpiece.

Counted among my current all time favorites is the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show. Technically, since I've been twice and shown there once this isn't a true Bucket List candidate, but I would like to make it a perennial trip so I'm adding it. Scottsdale is so much fun with such beautiful animals, plenty variety in classes, an abundance of shopping, lots of local farms to visit, several of my social networking friends make the pilgrimage, plus there is usually plenty of warm and sunshine, which for this Minnesotan is a much needed mid-winter balm.

Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show
Scottsdale, Arizona at Westworld
Feb 17-27, 2011, in its 56th year

No doubt, there are other great horse shows, and I am open to suggestions, but these are the ones I know about and dream of attending as a spectator or exhibitor.

E-I-E-I-O

More photos from Renoir's classes in Tulsa

2010-11-12T17:31:00.007-06:00

E-I-E-I-O

Happy 55

2010-11-07T13:20:00.008-06:00

Ian is always full of surprises. He surprised me with a dozen red roses, jewelry and a chocolate cake topped with two numeral 5 candles. November fifth is also our wedding anniversary - our eighth.

E-I-E-I-O

Sharing the fun!

2010-11-04T15:04:00.005-05:00

Today, Richard and I went to visit Mom at the Vet's Home and brought along Renoir's National Championship trophy and rose garland. She was thrilled to hear about our success at the Arabian Horse Championship Show in Tulsa, Oklahoma last week.

E-I-E-I-O

Your 2010 US National Champion: Legacys Renoir!

2010-11-01T10:33:00.012-05:00

Yes, he did! Renoir won the National Championship title with Ian in the Arabian Stallion Breeding class AAOTH on Friday morning, October 29. First, they were awarded a Top 10 honor, which in itself is huge, as it is a national title. Then, as I was at the rail, grinning at Ian and having watched the Reserve Champion being photographed, I heard the announcer say, "And your 2010 U.S. National Champion Arabian Stallion in this amateur owner to handle class is number 1637, Legacys Renoir ...." well I didn't hear the rest because I was screaming! The rest is a blur - I remember being guided to the arena floor and kissing Renoir and then Ian as we posed for pictures! LOL

The next afternoon Renoir showed again, this time with professional handler John Diedrich in the wildly competitive Arabian Senior Stallion Breeding 6 years & Older Open class and was award a US Top 10 ribbon; another national title!

During our stay at the show, we stalled with other amateur-status (as in we don't do this for a living) Arabian enthusiasts from a group called The Ammy Army; hence the camouflage curtains. It was fun to meet other horse lovers from across the country and for all of us to do well at the show.

Renoir is now in training with Tom Theisen at Conway Arabians and residing in Chatfield, Minnesota.

We left Tulsa at 4 a.m. on Halloween morning and arrived home at 10 p.m. after 800+ miles.

Photos and more show details coming soon.

E-I-E-I-O

Tulsa!

2010-10-26T04:55:00.004-05:00

Our journey to show at this year's US National Arabian and Half Arabian Championship Horse Show began with Ian picking up Renoir from Lonesome Dove Training Center (LDTC) on Friday afternoon, October 22. Since LDTC is 2+ hours to our northwest in Pequot Lakes, we decided to bring Renoir closer to home so we could cut some travel time hours. Renoir was a guest at Wildflower Farm in Pine City, where our other stallion, Goldmount Royal Design, lives. On Sunday, we spent the afternoon with Wildflower Farm owners Cathy & Jim giving Renoir the perfect show clip and bath. There are so many tricks and tips to learn to showcase Renoir's finest Arabian features. Finished, we swaddled him in a stable blanket to dry and rest.

Wet, and smelling like bubble bath, Ian and I returned home to finish packing the trailer and eat dinner with Richard, who is now living with us, working at the local casino and caretaking the menagerie while we're gone.

We returned to Wildflower Farm at 8 p.m., loaded Renoir and began our trek south. We traveled I-35 south through Des Moines, Iowa, on to Kansas City, Missouri, where we took I-435 toward Joplin, then I-44 into Oklahoma and Tulsa. After 700-some miles, we arrived at 2 p.m. Monday afternoon. We stopped in the wee hours at a roadside rest to sleep and for breakfast at the Waffle House outside Kansas City. Renoir travels so well. I, on the other hand, arrived achy, not having found the best position for sleep in the back seat of the Ford F-150. It was wonderful to find Tulsa bathed in sunshine and 80 degrees, after leaving home in rainy 50s.

Population-wise, Tulsa is the second largest city in Oklahoma and the 47th largest in the US. It is located in the northeastern quadrant of a vast state and, according to Wikipedia, is near the heart of Tornado Alley Luckily, October is well past tornado season.

US Nationals is being held at a huge facility, Expo Square. We were too road weary to have a good look around and I don’t know the stats regarding how many horses and people are estimated to be here, but it’s quite the venue! It was easy to find Renoir’s stall and our hotel, which is also located on the Expo Square grounds. What was really fun was to have our aisle neighbors so excited to see Renoir and ask to have photos with him – just like a rock star!

More later.

E-I-E-I-O

Goldmount Royal Design babies!

2010-10-23T21:47:00.016-05:00

These beautiful Half Arabians not only have the same American Saddlebred palomino sire in common, they are also all for sale!

GV Man Of Mystery

Mmonroe

GV Suite Dreams
AMF Royals Gold Tango

GV James Blond

E-I-E-I-O

Dali & Terry

2010-10-18T06:57:00.013-05:00

I have known Dali and Terry since the fall of 1973 when we three met at Moby Dick's 'whale of a drink' bar at 620 Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. We've stayed in virtual touch through the years, but the last time we met was at a small brasserie for wine and pizza near Gare Montparnasse when I lived in Paris' 14th arrondissement.

The two were in Minnesota for a visit, they currently live in Nevada. It was lovely to introduce them to Ian. We met for dinner with another couple at Travail Restaurant & Amusements in Robbinsdale, where the food, wine and service were delightful. It's not often Ian and I rendezvous for purely social gatherings away from the farm, but this was SO worth it. Love you two!

E-I-E-I-O

The Great Minnesota Get Together

2010-10-17T15:40:00.011-05:00

Ian and I went to the fair on Sunday, September 5. We had great weather and pretty much covered the place. The best thing we ate was bacon on a stick and we love our Nitro ice cream. We had a quick rendezvous with the Talisman family too. It was fun and something I savor at summer's end.

E-I-E-I-O

Oh Canada!

2010-10-17T14:52:00.012-05:00

Obviously I do not have the drive and discipline of other bloggers. I let all of September slip away without even as much as an update from Canadian Nationals in Regina, Saskatchewan in mid August! Shame! A lot has gone on and I will attempt to catch you up in a series of posts.

Click HERE to watch Renoir's stallion promotion video showcasing our new Auld Macdonald Farm logo. Visit the Auld Macdonald Farm website too.

The 53rd Annual Canadian Nationals Arabian & Half Arabian
Championship Horse Show
August 16-21, Evraz Place, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
First, I must give a plug to professional barn helper, groom and farm sitter, Katie Heetland, who stayed at the farm and took care of all the animals while we traveled to Canada. She did a stellar job. If you ever need a farm sitter you can find her on Facebook or get in touch with me and I’ll put you in touch.

On Saturday, August 14, we began our trek north. We picked up Renoir from Lonesome Dove Training Center (LDTC) in Pequot Lakes around 7 p.m. and headed north on 371, then west on 2 to Rugby, where we pulled into a rest stop around 2:30 a.m. for some shut eye. Dawn welcomed us to a very flat prairie stretching all in directions. We rolled into Minot at 6:30 a.m., spotted a McDonald's, so we got off the highway. There were some cars in the lot and its lights were on inside and out. So, it’s open, right? We walked to the door and found it locked. There were no hours posted in the glass and when I beckoned the uniformed McDonald's staffer milling about inside asking in my brand of sign language (fingertip pointing to my imaginary wristwatch) as to when they opened, I swear, he looked at me, shrugged and walked away! We waited in the truck for about 30 minutes, watching as others had a similar experience at the door and drive thru and not seeing any other open eating alternatives, we gave up.

Near Kenmare, North Dakota, about 20 miles south of the Portal border crossing, we saw the aftermath of its killer tornado that had passed through the previous Thursday. Click HERE for photos.

We arrived at the border just before 9 a.m. to find the Canadian Immigration Officers were just arriving for duty. That's right, it is not staffed 24/7, and if we had gotten there earlier we would have sat – not ideal when hauling a horse. By happenstance I'm sure, all of the immigration officers were blonde, blue eyed, very fit looking women in navy blue uniforms packing huge side arms. I remember wondering why they didn't list to one side from carrying such weight. When our horse and human paperwork was all checked and stamped, we rolled through and breakfasted at Canadian franchise coffee shop, Tim Hortons, known for its coffee and donuts. Sated, we drove another three hours, arriving Regina at 1 p.m. learning that somewhere along the line we crossed into Mountain Time and lost an hour.

Exhausted, we easily found Evraz Place, which is normally a hockey venue, where we off loaded Renoir into his stall in the Canada Central East building. After watching him roll in the fresh shavings, drink and begin nibbling on his hay, we drove the 10 minutes to downtown Regina and checked in at the Ramada Inn.

Regina refers to itself as the oasis of the prairie and I couldn’t agree more. It is a delightful city with its Wascana Lake, sparkling Casino Regina and mature-treed neighborhoods. It is the second largest city in the province (after Saskatoon) and it is the seat of provincial government.

Before leaving home I called our cell phone provider and added a week's worth of international calling time on our plan. I did not want to be hit with international toll tariffs for calls or texts made and received. In fact, I wanted to be able to freely contact folks with updates and the extra $65 for both cells was well worth it.

We were stalled with folks we hadn't met before, but we had the show in common and it turned out to be a fun, talkative group. There was owner/rider Sarah Ingram of Alberta, Canada with her gelding PA Sebastion, who became the two-time 2010 Canadian Nationals Champion in the Open and ATR Jumper classes. Ohio's Alexandra Ramage was our neighbor with her Sport Horse champion stallion Masterpiece PA++++//. She was also accompanied by her Vizla. I’d only seen these chestnut-colored hunting dogs when watching the Westminster Dog Show. This was a nice boy. Septuagenarian Roger Odegard rounded out our end of the aisle and kept us all laughing with his ever-present smile and well-told trainer stories.

Ian and I just love taking care of Renoir. We got to do all the day-to-day stuff; feeding, watering, mucking his stall, bathing, grooming, lunging, petting, loving, kissing. He's a very well behaved boy.

Renoir and Ian showed together in the AAOTH class on Tuesday afternoon. The two did well and came in 4th place, just out of the Top Ten ribbons. I guess I should explain that at the national shows Top Ten ribbons are awarded to 50% of the class versus giving out ribbons to the first 10 places. Renoir's AAOTH class with Ian had six entries, so ribbons only went to the first three places. LDTC's Erik Haff showed Renoir in the Open Stallion Breeding class on Saturday evening and, while we thought they did well, the judges placed the pair in last place (9 of 9). Ouch. I've said before that horse shows are our business meetings. We came prepared but we didn't accomplish what we wanted to. The fault lies with us (humans) and armed with the judging score cards we took the time to look at our performances objectively.

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) rulebook states in part that "[Arabian] Stallions especially should have an abundance of natural vitality, animation, spirit, suppleness and balance." Looking at the posted judging cards Renoir's lowest numbers on his individual score sheet were in two categories, Movement and Substance at the Walk. The class scores were very close, with only single digits between a Top Ten ribbon and nothing at all. Basically, my take is that Renoir lacked the 'vitality' and 'animation' that the judges are expecting in a breeding stallion class. In short, he was too calm and well behaved. To improve his numbers and thus his overall placement in Tulsa at US Nationals we will have to show him with much more pep in his step. I'm confident we can do just that. Heaven knows he has it in him; we just need to ask Renoir to turn it on.

We decided to begin heading home on Saturday evening when classes finished. We had packed up our Ford F-150 and the two-horse trailer earlier that day. We got Renoir loaded and headed out around 10:30 p.m. Ian is the driver. He likes to drive and I like to read or sleep. I climbed into the back seat and snoozed until the border, only becoming momentarily semiconscious when I needed to show my passport and Renoir's stamped papers from his entry into Canada. Passing inspection, I drifted off again and stirred briefly when Ian eased off onto the Rugby roadside rest again. We rolled into LDTC around Sunday lunch, offloaded Renoir and headed home.

Being at the Royal Red Show for the first time was thrilling and I would love to go again. It's always fun to be around high caliber animals and to meet other Arabian horse enthusiasts from all parts of North America. Now we're focused on Tulsa and US Nationals.

E-I-E-I-O

Happy, Hot August!

2010-08-05T11:27:00.029-05:00

Mother dear
The final days of July brought some unexpected twists and turns. Mom and I went to a scheduled visit with her orthopedic surgeon on July 26, to decide what the options were regarding her right hip implant which painfully dislocated on July 19, requiring an overnight hospital stay and a hip brace. During the appointment, the surgeon discovered that it had dislocated again even with the stabilizing brace, which really narrowed Mom’s options. She was admitted that morning and had surgery to replace the failed ball-n-socket unit two days later. This is the third such operation on this hip. Mom is truly bionic; both hips, both knees. Her surgery went well and she was recently moved from the surgical wing to the transitional therapy wing. Her release is scheduled for August 13, when she can return to her room at the Veterans Home.

Once Mom regains her physical strength and stamina we will bring her to the farm for a visit. We’re having our front porch steps replaced and a wheelchair ramp built in the garage to accommodate her needs. I suspect Mom won’t be physically ready for a visit until September, so I’ve got time to locate a second-hand hospital bed and lift chair to place in our dining room that we are converting to an apartment-like room for her.

Photos and a fond farewell
In mid July we bid farewell to Darrah, sending her with our best wishes and recommendations back to the Cities, as she looks ahead to community college and for a job she loves.

Arizona-based photographer, Christina Rousseau, took the most fabulous photos of our stallion Legacy’s Renoir and his 2008 & 2009 foals. I have posted some examples. Christina’s eye also caught the golden beauty of AMF Royals Gold Tango, sired by our Saddlebred stallion, Goldmount Royal Design (“Roy”).

Speaking of Roy, he now lives in Pine City at Wildflower Farm. We are very pleased to have him within 10 minutes drive of our farm.

Furry, fuzzy, fencing, felicidades
Lab puppies Josephine and Cleopatra are now 13 weeks old. They are growing like weeds and are at such a fun stage in life. They are out during the day and share a kennel in the house at night. There are two kennels side-by-side, but they prefer to snuggle together in one.

One of our three Blue Laced Red Wynadotte hens hatched nine chicks. The hens, chicks and the Black Sex Link rooster are in a fenced area that surrounds the coop. The two Blue Laced Red Wynadotte roosters, Bullwinkle and Rocky, still roam free range. Clearly, they are the most vocal roosters I have ever met!

Ian spent many a July weekend and evening getting two large pasture areas fenced; one for our mares, the other for stud colts and geldings. Of course the horses love being on grass. We have another three-acre pasture to fence, as well as the ¼ mile to close off our north property line. Richard is helping us complete various projects. Before the snow flies we will build run-in shelters in the new pasture areas, install more automatic watering systems (we love our Ritchie), and get the barn organized for another winter.

Dear Mum-in-law
Ian’s mother, Ellen, turns 80 on the 17th. Daughter Jean is hosting a big get together at her B&B in France. We won’t be making the trip, but we send our felicidades, love and best wishes.

Canadian Nationals
August 16-21, Ian and I will be in Regina, Saskatchewan with Renoir attending the Canadian National Arabian & Half Arabian Championship Horse Show! Renoir made this trip as a futurity colt (and won a national Top 10 title), but this is a first for us! Regina is a 14+ hour drive. I’ve never been to the Canadian Great Plains and am looking forward to it.

Ian and I really enjoy horse shows, which we attend as business meetings with our Arabian horse enthusiast competitors; we have an overall plan, our own agenda to follow and goals to accomplish.

The Great Minnesota Get Together
Even though there are plenty of warm summer days left -- the autumnal equinox isn’t until September 23 -- here in Minnesota our State Fair tends to mark the end of summer. It runs from Thursday, August 26 through our Labor Day Monday, September 6, and most children end their summer break on Tuesday the 7th. I love to go to the Fair and we usually make a day of it. I enjoy my annual corn dogs and roasted corn.

Our 2011 Foals
We have four mares in foal; Mona (MAF Last Dance) to Goldmount Royal Design for another Half Arabian, Amber’s Mayday to Famous Echo SCA for a purebred Saddlebred pinto, and purebred Arabians from Inno (Not That Innocent) to Renoir and Addie (Adieu NR) to Conway Arabians’ Noble Way. Two mares are due in April and two are due in May.

E-I-E-I-O

Happy July!

2010-07-01T08:32:00.002-05:00

June just whisked by with Alex’s visit, horse shows and photo shoots. It was a very wet month here in Minnesota. While we needed the rain throughout the state, June’s rainfall amounts were record breaking. We are quite soggy and muddy, but are looking ahead to a sunny/warm July. For us, one of the biggest impact is that farmers have not been able to get into their hay fields to cut the first crop or if they did cut on the rare sunny day in June, it rained on the cut rows of hay before it could be raked, dried and baled. We are in the midst of fencing two pastures and need hay to feed until the high tensile wire is strung. We are closer to being done than not, but having some round bales on hand to feed is always a plus.

Twenty-year-old Darrah has been working with us since mid-May. She is a fine rider, groom and overall barn manager. Darrah and her Golden Doodle Lola reside in our second bedroom. Last weekend we went to a local WSCA pleasure show in Braham where Darrah rode 4-year old purebred Arabian mare, WF Lotta Trouble (“Bell”), in two classes. Surrounded by Quarter Horses, Bell was certainly the odd horse out, but she and Darrah did well together and met our purpose, which was to see how she performed at a show. They took 4th and 5th place ribbons and a fun day was had by all.

We added two female 7-week old black labs to the AMF menagerie; Josephine and Cleopatra. They are very cute and have been accepted by the other canines, especially Lady, who has needed doggie playmate. When we met the litter of 11 I couldn't see taking just one puppy - that's too much work. These two occupy each other's time and that works for me.

Mid-month, we spent two days working with professional photographer Christina Rousseau to get equine photographs of the 2008 and 2009 youngsters. Legacy’s Renoir also had new photos taken. He has matured very nicely since his last professional photos were done in 2007 and looks quite different - more grown up. The final choices will be used in marketing efforts to promote the stallion for breeding and his babies for sale.

Saturday, July 3rd is my mother’s 86th birthday. Ian and I are taking her to lunch. We are also going to convert our dining room into a studio-like apartment for her. I would like her to be able to visit us more often and be able to stay overnight for a few days in a row if she chooses. Mom gets very good care at the Vet’s Home and participates in many activities, but she has not made any true friend connections and this leaves her feeling quite lonely. I think Mom being able to come here to visit in a comfy and safe environment will do a lot to lift her spirits. I’m searching Craig’s List for a used hospital bed, a mechanical lift chair, a dresser and other furniture odds and ends. It will be fun to have Mom visit us again.

E-I-E-I-O

Alexandra visits the farm

2010-06-17T09:02:00.001-05:00

Ian's daughter visited from May 26-June 17. Alex recently graduated from culinary school on Prince Edwards Island (see Spring comes to Wildwood Road). We had a very relaxing three weeks together; Alex rode, read and rested. She prepared some wonderful meals and was, as always, the perfect house guest. She now calls Montreal home where she lives with her high school sweetheart. Now, Alex begins her work search in earnest and the settling in to life’s rhythm. We love her, miss her and wish her only good things.

E-I-E-I-O

Legacy's Renoir earns Region 10 Top 5 Placement

2010-06-13T01:15:00.001-05:00

Tonight (Saturday, June 12), Legacy's Renoir and his trainer Erik Haff were awarded a Top 5 Ribbon in the Arabian Stallion Breeding 2 Years & Over class at the AHA Region 10 Championship Show! Renoir was the best behaved in the class and we are very pleased with that.

Pictured is Ian showing off all the award finery from the Region 10 show.

Now on to Canadian Nationals in Regina, Saskatchewan in mid-August to win there!

E-I-E-I-O

AHA Region 10 AOTH 2010 Champion Arabian Breeding Stallion

2010-06-10T16:00:00.001-05:00

Ian showed Legacy's Renoir in the Arabian Breeding Stallion Amateur Owner To Handle class this morning and won Champion!

Renoir and his trainer Erik show on Saturday evening in the Arabian Stallion Breeding 2 Years & Older class and we're looking for another wonderful result there too.

E-I-E-I-O

Arabian Horse Association’s Region 10 Championship Show

2010-06-07T07:51:00.004-05:00

Just a quick entry to tell you that Legacy’s Renoir will be shown this week in two stallion Halter classes at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds during the AHA Region 10 Championship Show. Renoir qualified to show at the regional level last month when he was shown during Sahara Sands.

The first class is on Thursday morning, June 10, (classes begin at 8 a.m.) with Ian in Arabian Stallion Breeding Amateur Owner To Handle (AOTH means the horse’s registered owner must be an amateur and serve as his handler), class number 307.

Renoir’s second class is number 408 on Saturday evening, June 12, starting at 6 p.m., Arabian Stallion Breeding 2 Years & Over (Renoir is an 8 year old stallion). This is an Open Class, meaning the handlers are most likely professional trainers. This comes with lots of pomp, circumstances and politics! Renoir’s trainer, Erik Haff of Lonesome Dove Training Center will show Renoir in Saturday’s class.

Our goal is to qualify to show at the national level, so Renoir and one or both of his handlers must finish in the Top 5. The two national shows are Canadian Nationals in Regina, Saskatchewan in mid August and U.S. Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma in late October.

There is free parking and no admission to the Region 10 Show, which runs from June 10-13, with lots of classes. In addition to the Halter classes, you can enjoy English Pleasure, English Show Hack, Hunter Pleasure, Country English Pleasure, Western Pleasure, Reining, plus the crowd favorite, Native Costume. Both purebred and Half Arabian horses are shown. There are food and other vendors on the grounds, so come spend some time and cheer us on.

If you would like to see the full show schedule please click here.

That’s the latest from the Auld Macdonald Farm.

E-I-E-I-O

Spring comes to Wildwood Road

2010-05-11T11:10:00.015-05:00

It has been a busy few months, which is my only excuse for not posting! We really love this new farm. Because we moved here in November, these warmer months with all the blooming stuff is all new to us. I don’t even know what’s planted in the numerous gardens. That said, things are beginning to come up. As a novice gardener I suspect we have a few day lilies, some peonies, some very thorny rose bushes and several different types of hostas. The miniature lilac bushes and raspberry plants that we transplanted from Stanchfield are in leaf, so they made it through the winter. The lawn is vast and much of it is either dandelions or creeping Charlie. We will try and wrestle it back to grass that we can enjoy in bare feet. Ian needs to tune up the riding lawnmower, which runs for a bit before spitting to a stop. Poor thing, we really have used it for jobs well beyond what the manufacturer intended.

Ian continues working as a consultant with a rural crop insurance company as a client. They are nice people and the projects are very interesting. Ian and trainer Erik both showed our stallion Legacy’s Renoir at the Sahara Sands Spring Classic on Sunday morning, May 2, at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Renoir took a first place with Ian and a third place in the open class with Erik. Ian also showed a 2-year old purebred filly for a friend in Wisconsin. The filly did well too. Our next show stop is in June 10-13 at the AHA Region 10 Championship Show also held at the fairgrounds.

The horses here on the farm all wintered very well. We have no foals coming this year, but we are going to breed mares this year for foals in 2011. In fact, we are going to breed a purebred American Saddlebred foal by crossing Amber's Mayday with Famous Echo SCA for a Saddlebred pinto foal in April 2011. We will breed Legacy’s Renoir to four of our own mares this year; three purebred and one Anglo-Arabian (crossed with our Thoroughbred mare Yukon Miss). We will breed Arabian mare MAF Last Dance ("Mona") to American Saddlebred palomino stallion Goldmount Royal Design (we own him now, but “Roy” stands at stud near Sioux Falls, South Dakota) hoping for another full-bodied, great moving, palomino Half Arabian foal. We are breeding a new Arabian mare, Adieu NR, to Conway Arabians’ champion stallion Noble Way to get a well-bred high stepping purebred.

We still have the three dogs – Lady, Buddy and Tucker – plus the cats Tiger, Tonic and Zeus. There is another cat that shares food with Tonic in the barn, but she’s timid and I’m trying to tame her so I can get her vaccinated and spade. Even though all of our boys are neutered she would no doubt find a roaming Tomcat and then have the kittens here. Uff! We have two chickens, Trixie and her son Rooster. I will order chicks from a hatchery soon. Chickens are marvelous at keeping the ticks down and there is nothing quite like collecting my own farm fresh eggs.

We still have four adult Pilgrim geese (3 white ganders and 1 grey goose) The goose decided out of all our many acres the best place to nest was in the garden on the south side of the house. She sat on 13 eggs for the longest time and hatched 5 female geese. However, this goose is not the best mother, as she lost the three she hatched last year. I left the five hatchlings with her until Ian and I found them huddled sans mother next to our front door. We had been running errands all that day and were too tired to do a proper gosling set up so they spent the night in our bathtub. I did let Ian shower first! LOL The next day Ian brought an empty 100-gallon stock tank into the garage where we lined the bottom with newspaper and wood shavings. I clamped a heat lamp to the side, put in a waterer and a small pile of goose feed and, voila, gosling heaven! It is topped with chicken fencing to prevent them becoming cat snacks! They are happy and growing. As soon as they have some feathers I will transfer them to the chicken coop with its fenced area. I pick them up and cuddle these soft yellow sweeties with the idea they will be friendlier to humans. The adults do protest hiss, but do not run after people and are easy to shoo out of one’s way.

My 85-year-old mother has been at the Minnesota Vet’s Home since the end of February. She has recovered nicely from her mid-February stroke. She really enjoys her life there and the care is very good. We talk almost daily and I try to make the 90-minute drive into Minneapolis about once every 10 days. Mom and I usually enjoy lunch together in the dining room and I check in for brief face-to-face hellos with her care-giving staff. Mom has been asked to participate in the Memorial Day ceremonies at the Vet’s Home, representing women in the armed forces.

Last weekend, Ian traveled to the Canadian Maritimes to attend his daughter’s graduation ceremony from culinary school. Due to being bumped from an overbooked flight, Ian flew to Halifax, Nova Scotia and drove to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island to spend Saturday with Alexandra. She will come to Minnesota from her new digs in Montreal for a much needed vacation in late May. I look forward to seeing her.

Last month we bought a two-horse, slant-load, bumper-pull trailer from friends in Pine City. This allows us such flexibility! We have missed having a trailer. This one is small enough that we can easily pull it with our F-150. This Friday we are taking Mona to South Dakota to be bred to Roy. We will be gone overnight (woo-hoo a night in a hotel with Ian) and will get to visit with some of our horse-loving friends whose paths we usually cross during February at the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show in Arizona. We are looking forward to this. After Mona’s confirmed in foal we will go back to collect her. Roy will stay put through the 2010 breeding season. Mayday will soon be ready to bring home from Eau Claire, Wisconsin too.

That’s the latest from the Auld Macdonald Farm.

E-I-E-I-O

More color comes to the farm

2010-03-01T18:04:00.005-06:00

Last week four horses were hauled home to their farm in Wisconsin (Thank you, Erik). Two of which were the sisters I mentioned some posts back that were ribby and needed equine dental work. Having had that done, they will surely continue to gain weight and be in dandy shape come spring. I'm happy to report that my girlfriend and her husband are in much better health and are now able to care for their own horses – it's all good.

Last week, Flirting With Color ("Flirt") joined our herd. We got her from a dear friend and feel very blessed. Flirt is a four-year-old Half Arabian, bay tobiano tri-color pinto mare. Her sire is Color Of Fame, a pinto American Saddlebred and her dam is sired by purebred Arabian champion, DS Major Afire. Flirt is 16.2 hh and still growing. We plan to start her under saddle this year and show her in coming seasons as an English horse.

In fact, with no foals coming this spring, we have several horses we will be starting under saddle when the weather warms: three-year-old chestnut AE Psymbolic gelding, Pskye, three-year-old bay RSA Troublesome filly, AMF Troublesome's Kiss, and four-year-old Half Arabian chestnut tobiano pinto gelding, AMF Xtreme Kiss, by Pinto World Champion Saddlebred stallion TF Xtreme. There are the 2008 and 2009 Renoir foals to work too with hopes of showing them later in the season.

In May, we are also looking forward to having Ian’s daughter Alexandra as our guest for a few weeks after she graduates from culinary school in Canada. Alex will turn 21 years old later this month and on March 9, her father turns 54!

E-I-E-I-O

Mom moves to the MN Veteran's Home

2010-03-01T10:12:00.004-06:00

Last Thursday, Mom was admitted to the Veteran's Home in Minneapolis as a resident! We have been waiting for this since we learned in November that because of the stroke Mom had in October she would not be able to safely live alone again in her assisted living apartment.

Mom was invited to stay with us on the farm while she waited for her Vet's Home room to become available. She moved from the transitional care nursing home on January 18, to our dining room that we converted into a main floor bedroom. We settled into a routine together and really enjoyed our living situation.

On Saturday evening, February 13, while we were watching the Winter Olympics, Mom showed signs of another stroke – droopy left side, garbled speech. I called 911 emergency and gathered info about her medications, allergies, and medical history, while Ian comforted Mom as we waited for the ambulance.

We went to the nearest hospital in Sandstone, Minnesota, where Mom was stabilized. A CT-scan confirmed she was not bleeding internally, so she was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC), the regional trauma center and where most of Mom's doctors practice. It was a long night for all of us. Ian and I got home from Minneapolis on Sunday morning in time for morning chores. Mom spent one night in ICU and was transferred to HCMC's neurology ward for observation and more testing.

Initially, Mom seemed very weak and still confused so I called my brother Mark who lives in Maryland to come and visit. From one day to the next, we both saw Mom gain strength and return to what I will term as her 'near normal self.' It was such a relief to have Mom show everyone that she was very determined to get well.

After a four-day hospital stay, and to build up her physical strength again, Mom was transferred from HCMC to Benedictine, the transitional nursing home where she had been before coming to the farm. Mom was there only one week when her Vet's Home room became available and she was transferred!

Mom has a very nice roommate, Catherine, who is also new to the Vet's Home. The two have bonded and are learning about their new surroundings together.

Ian and I brought Mom's belongings to her to make her room both familiar and useful. She's got cable TV and a room with a lovely view of Minnehaha Falls Park. In addition to her daily medical care, Mom will also work with a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, become enrolled in its free dental program, have access to the library with its high-speed Internet access computers, and be able to attend non-denominational church services on-site that are held in a beautiful stained glass chapel.

Surely one of Mom's favorite new things is her cell phone, which she uses to stay in touch with family and friends. When we brought it to her, Mom exclaimed: "I have always wanted one!"

E-I-E-I-O

Mom visits the Auld Macdonald Farm

2010-02-11T11:21:00.004-06:00

In my October 29 and November 24 posts I wrote about my 85-year-old mother, Joyce, returning home to her apartment after a stroke and how that happy return was short lived. Mom just could not cope with being alone in her apartment and she needed the security and comfort of 24/7 care. There were services that would have aided Mom during the daytime hours, but there was nothing available for overnight, which was a frightening and lonely time for her. Mom returned to Benedictine Health Center and soon felt much safer.

After weeks of observation, tests and doctor visits, it was determined that Mom could no longer live safely in her assisted living apartment. Mom completely agreed saying just thinking about the list of things she would need to keep track of to navigate a normal day was just overwhelming. Of course, this made the decision to give up her apartment – a place she'd lived for almost 20 years – much easier.

In November, I got Mom on the admissions list for the Veteran's Home of Minneapolis. Mom served in the US Air Force as a registered nurse. She and I toured the facility, found it to be very nice with plenty to do and we began the admissions process. Mom is now at the top of that list and as soon as a bed opens she will be admitted.

In mid January, Ian and I invited Mom to come and stay with us on the farm while she waits for the room to become available. Mom was very lonely and bored to tears at Benedictine. Our farm is 90 minutes drive north of the Twin Cities and I didn't get in to visit as often as I would have liked. Phone calls just don't replace holding someone's hand and enjoying a nice face-to-face chin-chin.

Mom uses a rollator (a wheeler walker) to get around and because the bedrooms are upstairs and the only bathroom is on the main floor, we converted our formal dining room into a place for Mom. We had emptied her apartment and brought all of her belongings here, so we used Mom's own furniture (including a piano) and pictures to make it homey. It works nicely and Mom is enjoying it.

Mom's insurance covers having an RN come weekly to set up her meds (which I administer) plus an occupational therapist, a physical therapist and a home health aide (for bathing) come twice weekly. Mom's doctor visits and medication costs are covered by the Veteran's Administration as a benefit. Nice!

It is so nice to have Mom here for these weeks. We have lived together several different times during our adult lives, so we have a connection and understand one another. It helps that we adore and admire one another too. As an added bonus, Ian and Mom have their own mutual admiration society going too. Our three dogs and two housecats take full advantage of Mom as another person to pet them and to curl up next to.

I have found that there is more structure to my days. Mom needs meds given at 9 a.m., 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. plus pain pills as needed for pain, but no more than six times a day. I have set alarms on my cell phone to remind me. I fix Mom three meals (she eats like a bird) and make sure she has healthy snacks like a sliced apple or orange. I don't do daily this for myself or Ian, but I'm happy to do it for her. LOL I've learned many things, like Mom needs a lighter weight coffee cup versus the earthenware ones we use, and to fill it only half full versus to the tippy top with hot morning coffee.

There are so many things to sort out and stay on top of. Little old people have a lot of things going on – there are appointments, scheduling rides to appointments, getting prescriptions filled, setting up future appointments, and the list goes on! For Mom, I handled her changes of address (you cannot believe how many magazines she subscribes to – and reads!), cancelled the cable TV, telephone service, Internet service and made sure these companies bill properly (some didn't and got their butts chewed!). There are tons of filling out forms, making photocopies and then filing things properly so I can find them quickly, knowing Mom's various types of medical coverage, which doctor is for what, monitoring her bills, and finally becoming disgusted with her bank's customer service and changing institutions. Plus, with Mom's short-term memory loss there are things she just doesn't remember (a doctor's name, what was said at an appointment, why she's taking X medication, etc.), so I must investigate. Thankfully, I have her durable power of attorney and am the agent for her End of Life Directive – in Minnesota these documents open doors and get all my questions answered. I have come to really admire all that Mom coordinated in her day-to-day life before her October stroke. I had no idea.

I've gone through her clothes closet – something I've threatened to do for decades – and tossed out or cleaned/donated everything that was not her size or was in tattered shape. No one wants their mother looking like a bag lady. Now, in addition to having clothes that fit and are easy for her to get in and out of, Mom's well stocked with socks, brasseries and underpants (I refused to buy white, what's the fun in that? But I did get 100% cotton). Next on my To Do List are shoes. I hate the one pair she has, but the pairs I’ve bought haven't fit right so I'm still working on that. A girl's gotta have more than one pair – even on her 80s!

The next semi-urgent item on the To Do List is to go through Mom's book boxes (again, you cannot imagine the number of books this woman owns!) and find the three that are owned and now overdue to the Minneapolis Public Library!

E-I-E-I-O

Happy New Year!

2010-01-12T11:45:00.006-06:00

Winter has certainly found us. We have had several days of double-digits below zero temps and it looks like almost the entire US is suffering with this 'cold snap.' I am so happy with our bright yellow and red Ritchie fountain. It is so nice not to have to drag water hoses and to plug in and pay the bill for heating the 100-gallon water tanks in the pastures. However, since there's no water in the barn, we still have to schlep hoses to fill those tanks. This wrong will be rectified in the spring when the barn area and building are renovated. I'm counting my blessings and the dollar savings on our electric bill.

Speaking of the electric bill, well, the heating bill in our new digs actually, I must say this geothermal system is really nice. We have no propane or wood/corn pellets bills (or any of the related work to keep the stove fed) and we are as toasty as can be. Our December bill to run the heat pump was $130 versus to fill our pellet stove and run the propane heater that ran us $600 a month at the Stanchfield farm. True, the two farmhouses are not exactly comparable, but I can count the money staying on our account as well as you can.

The horses are well, but I have some that are ribby and I don’t like that at all. There is a combination of things that cause weight loss in horses; worms, poor nutrition among them. We deworm the herd at set intervals, and sometime this year I’m hoping to have each horse diagnosed as to how often they actually need to be dewormed. There are some that only need to be done four times a year, others need it monthly. The common practice is to deworm monthly or to feed dewormer pellets as a top dress with a horse's daily grain. However, research has shown that worms, like viruses, are becoming resistant to deworming drugs so our regimens are not working as well. This is why each horse should have its own fecal egg count number and be dewormed accordingly. Click here for more info on worms and fecal eggs count.

If a horse is not pregnant (late term), in training or being pleasure ridden regularly, I don’t believe in feeding grain. In the winter, the hay we feed is sufficient, and that coupled with good shelter and 24/7 access to water keeps most horses very happy. There are other factors like disposition, age and bad habits that should also be factored in – some horses are just nervous nellys that do energy sucking things like pace the fence line or stall weave or wind suck and these types are a challenge to keep at a healthy weight and if it drops they need help to recover and maintain, especially when the weather gets cold.

In our herd there are two mares, Eve and Mara, full sisters, who have been brought in from the pasture and are now blanketed and fed the high fat/easily digestible senior equine feed twice daily. Today, our vet, Jennifer, power floated their teeth to restore the needed grinding surface. Florida-based equine vet, Geoff Tucker, has an informative site on Equine Dentistry. Geoff’s site also has a video on the floating process.

I expect with these helps the sisters will now pick up the weight steadily and be in really good form come spring.

On the personal home front, our Christmas Day and New Year’s were as we like them; quiet, uneventful. On Christmas Eve during a break in a three-day snow storm, we went into the Cities and took my Mom to lunch at Mall Of America’s Napa Valley Grille. Mom (age 85) had a series of mini strokes in October and has had to give up living in her own apartment. She is on the list to get a room at the Minneapolis Veteran’s Home and while she waits for that to come open Mom lives at a transitional care facility in Minneapolis. Mom is doing well but has problems with her short term memory. She writes in a journal to help with remembering visits/appointments, medications and people’s names. This works and gives her comfort. Ian and I will empty Mom's Minneapolis apartment this coming weekend and store her belongings here on the farm.

Ian is Ian; happy at work, happy at home. On the weekends we enjoy unpacking more of our stuff and finding places for all of it - hanging the artwork is the most fun.

This week brings us a mid-January thaw with daytime temps in the high 20s and low 30s, however there is still plenty of winter left for us here on the frozen tundra. We smile every time that geothermal system kicks in!

E-I-E-I-O

Happy December

2009-12-03T09:50:00.017-06:00

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving Day in our new farmhouse together with my Mom, son Richard and our friends Marcia and Dan. Dan brought scalloped corn, which was so yummy. Marcia brought my favorite bagged salad from Costco. Ian did a magnificent job with the turkey and all the fixings.

The night before Richard and I made three pies - pumpkin, sweet potato and apple. He joined me in the kitchen and used his iPhone connection to find me a sweet potato pie recipe. We settled on a recipe by Food Network’s Alton Brown. It calls for yogurt and I used a one pound can of sweet potatoes packed in water versus all the extra work using raw ones. It is a crowd pleaser.

That iPhone is a cool thing. I love everything Apple, but I don’t like that its linked to AT&T. Of course, we just renewed a two year-contract with Verizon Wireless. Besides, Ian and I are rather old school using laptops for our Internet connection and cell phones for calling people. Ian never texts and it is rare when I send one. I don’t know that we would use an iPhone, its droid cousin or even a Blackberry as they’re intended.

The November weather was unseasonably mild and only today have temperatures dipped to near December normal. We don’t have snow yet, but I have been getting bids from locals who do residential snowplowing. Ian and I kicked around the idea of getting our own snowblower but these cost in the neighborhood of $1500 and having someone plow the driveway and area in front of the barn will cost $35 a time. Even if we have a winter with record snowfalls we won’t come near needing to be plowed out 40 times! Besides, it’s nice to have someone else out in the subzero temps moving the snow around.

I am determined that this winter season we are going to do some kind of winter sport! The candidates are cross country skiing or snowshoeing. We’ve got plenty of our own acreage to explore and as long as it’s not double digits below zero being outside in the Minnesota winter (properly dressed) can be exhilarating.

We continue to unpack and organize the house and while the weather cooperates we are able to complete major projects outdoors too. Having the Ritchie waterer up and working will be such a blessing. Ian spent last Saturday with a rented trenching machine digging a 100-yard long trench (for its electrical supply) from the house to the pasture where the Ritchie will be mounted. Yesterday, Don came first with a backhoe, followed by a dump truck load of sand and later a skidsteer to prepare the insulated water line and placement area. Once its concrete pad cures, the bright yellow and red waterer will be placed -- we're looking at this Saturday. The Ritchie is located on a fence line where horses in both pastures can drink from it, giving the herd 24/7 access to pasture, water and shelter.

The Christmas tree has been placed in the living room and when I locate the boxes of ornamants it will be decorated.

E-I-E-I-O

Thankful on Wildwood Road

2009-11-24T12:12:00.016-06:00

Where does the time go? I guess I have a bit of an excuse as Ian and I have been busy buying a new 80-acre farm, packing up the old one, turning over its keys and then moving lock, stock and barrel – all since I last posted!

Ian and I began moving ourselves from the 10-acre Stanchfield farm using a rented U-Haul truck and stock trailer on Friday morning, November 6. We handed over its keys on Saturday afternoon, November 14. The first night we spent here in the Wildwood farmhouse was November 7. We are still settling in trying to find the best place for all the bits of our stuff. The weather has been unseasonably warm, sunny and completely cooperative.

All of the animals moved very well. We only had a moment's nonsense from our Saddlebred mare and she was quickly apologetic. Even this year's foal crop of four loaded and traveled well. I wondered if we would survive loading the Pilgrim geese, but Ian's a clever lad and all four were on the trailer snuggled safely amongst things before they knew what hit them. They are very pleased with the new digs as Wildwood Road has a pond not far from the house and they spend more time floating than patrolling.

Ian has this week off from his consulting gig and we’re making the most of it. Yesterday, we went into Minneapolis to visit my 85-year-old Mom, who returned to a nursing home again as she copes with panic attacks, some disorientation and short term memory loss following her mid-October stroke. Mom is getting excellent nursing care and therapy while we wait to see how her circuits rewire. We all hope Mom’s fog will lift and that she will be able to return to life in her beloved 17th-floor apartment overlooking downtown Minneapolis. We children stand by to help Mom with decisions about where the safest living situation may be given whatever her circumstances dictate. Time will tell. Mom will spend Thanksgiving Day with us on the farm, along with my son Richard and two dear friends.

After our visit, we did our Thanksgiving Day grocery shopping, which filled the fridge to near capacity. We bought a 14-pound turkey that is defrosting slowing atop a shelf in the garage. I’m keeping an eye on it so that we don’t die of some dreaded disease. Martha Stewart says as long as it doesn’t thaw out to warmer than 40 degrees, we’re good. I had contemplated buying one of her birds, until I detected shock in Ian’s voice when I told him the smaller of the two offered was 'only' $69.99 plus $20 shipping & handling. Evidently, at that price point it was not a good thing. LOL Our young turkey from Wal-Mart as $9.36.

We came home to find our farmhouse and yard bathed in light coming from the dusk-to-dawn light the local electric company had installed on a pole. We had one of these in Stanchfield and ordered one for this farm as soon as we closed. Being away from city lights certainly is nice for stargazing, but it is no fun when doing evening chores!

Tomorrow, Don will come from Pine City to install a Ritchie Omni 2 in the pasture to provide warmed water to the horses year round. I am ecstatic at the thought of not having to lug a hose from the house to fill 100-gallon water tanks installed with electric heaters to keep the water from freezing. In fact, there will be no more tank filling at all -- just the occasional clean out. Woo-hoo! The Omni 2 has the capacity to water 40 horses and we will place it so that it will handle two pastures this winter. In the spring we will fence so that it waters four pastures.

Since I last posted we bought a 1997 Ford F-150 white/tan extended cab pick up truck. This sure makes hauling hay (and anything else) easy. We’re going for 30 square bales later today and its bed and load capacity works great for fetching one large round bale at a time for the herd pastured outdoors. I will admit this does get old and I expect we’ll buy our winter supply of large rounds soon.

That’s all the news that’s fit to print from the Auld Macdonald Farm.

E-I-E-I-O

Wildwood Road in the snow!

2009-10-29T09:25:00.006-05:00

These photographs were taken last winter. I don't want you to think we have snow in Minnesota yet!

E-I-E-I-O

Mom returns home!

2009-10-29T09:17:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, after a 9-day stay at Benedictine Health Center, I returned Mom to her south Minneapolis apartment. She seems to have recovered nicely from her October 13 stroke and is well enough to return to living on her own once again. Her 17th floor apartment has a million dollar view of downtown Minneapolis and she really loves her life there.

Mom has dinner and visits with other residents in the building's dining room six nights a week and there are many services available to her should she need them. Mom has someone to clean her apartment and do her laundry weekly and thankfully my younger brother Matthew and his wife Connie live within five minutes drive.

This afternoon Mom has an appointment with her main care doctor and a follow up appointment scheduled with a neurologist next week. The hospital care at HCMC and the intensive physical and occupational therapy she received at Benedictine really helped Mom get back on track.

All good news.

E-I-E-I-O

Wildwood Road

2009-10-15T13:01:00.005-05:00

During the first weekend in November we will be moving from Stanchfield to our new home; a larger farm in Brook Park, Minnesota, which is 25 miles further to the northeast. Pictured is the 1918 two-story, 3-bedroom, remodeled farmhouse that sits on 55+ acres. There is a barn, a chicken coop, a large outdoor run-in shed and plenty of pasture for the horses.

E-I-E-I-O

Doctor JET

2009-10-15T12:36:00.005-05:00

PICTURED: Connie, Mom holding Tucker, and Matthew.

My 85-year-old mother, Joyce E. Tiffany (known as Dr. JET to many), is in ICU at the Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC), the regional trauma center. Mom was found unconscious on the floor lobby just outside of her 17th floor apartment in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. My brother Matthew, who lives in Minneapolis with his wife Connie, called me on Tuesday morning and they remained with Mom throughout the day.

I visited Mom at HCMC on Wednesday morning. She was not sedated and sleepily looked at me and then her eyes brightened with recognition. A breathing tube was in, so she could not speak. Mom is breathing on her own, the tube is just for fresh air and the plan is to have it taken out as soon as all the tests that requires her to be physically still are completed (hopefully today).

When I talked with Mom, squeezed her hand and patted her shoulder she nodded or shook her head in reply to my questions. She was not in any pain, she was warm and comfortable. How precious the words I love you are.

Yesterday’s MRI revealed that Mom has had two small strokes; one that triggered Tuesday’s events and one some time in the past.

Today, the docs have ordered a brain MRA scan, which is used to specifically evaluate the vessels of the brain for aneurysms, stroke and AVMs (vascular malformation)

Because Mom will not need to be sedated once the tube is out, she will be able to talk and we hope to learn more about how the strokes may have affected her. When I was there yesterday I saw none of the signs I usually associate with people who have had strokes.

I am going back to HCMC tomorrow (Friday). Matthew and his wife Connie visit Mom daily and the docs call Matthew with updates that he passes along to friends and family.

Mom is receiving excellent care. We are taking this day by day. It is scary and at times overwhelming – this is my mother – but I tend to click into my intellectual, problem solver mindset, which I am sure is the best way forward to help her. My brothers (Mark & Matthew) are ever loving and supportive, as are my husband, Ian, and son Richard.

E-I-E-I-O

August August

2009-08-11T10:28:00.006-05:00

This is certainly one of my favorite months. In Minnesota, August is absolutely summer; warm, green, bountiful and established. July was the third coolest in Minnesota history, a month that saw no readings of 90 degrees or higher anywhere in the state, which lead to slowly ripening crops, but fewer mosquitoes and certainly better sleeping. True to itself, August has brought back the warmer temperatures, more rain and our need for the oscillating fan.

The foals are all growing well. I was surprised that Mara’s colt, Marrakech, born a chestnut like the others, is beginning to turn grey. There is an entire genetic science that I don’t confess to understand, devoted to equine coat colors. The following explanation comes from the UC Davis Veterinary Medicine site:

“The Gray gene causes progressive depigmentation of the hair, often resulting in a coat color that is almost completely white by the age of 6-8 years. Horses that inherit progressive Gray can be born any color, then begin gradually to show white hairs mixed with the colored throughout the body. Usually the first signs of gray hair can be found on the head, particularly around the eyes. Gray is dominant; therefore a single copy of this gene will cause a horse to turn gray."

Mara and her full sister Eve (both are grey colored) had Renoir colts this year, yet, Eve’s colt, Memphis, remains his sire’s deep chestnut. As I said, I don’t begin to understand, but I’m happy to have the diversity.

Something else I noticed is my “grey” versus “gray.” I am positive I grew up spelling this color with an ‘e’, but apparently, gray is a color and grey is a colour. Who knew? I’m chalking it up to osmosis, which like equine coat genetics I barely understand.

Ian and I share many passions; horses, love of travel, writing, and food! We eat well, and like many residents on this continent ways too much, but that is subject for a completely different blog. However, there are times when we get into foodie ruts; serving up salmon, shrimp, chicken, pasta, homemade pizza or salad in enough varieties to publish our own cookbook. Last week, we freed ourselves and made delicious wontons stuffed with a mixture of crabmeat, cream cheese, minced water chestnuts and Chinese chili sauce. Ian put together the mixture and handled the pan frying.

I did the wonton stuffing and folding, which took a few tries to find the correct amount that did not seep out the water-slicked edges or burst the delicate wonton pasta square when I folded it into a triangle pocket. I am glad the end product was tasty, because assembling them went from adventurous to tedious with amazing quickness. At one point, as Ian was patiently waiting for me, I remarked that I wouldn’t like to be trying this at speed with someone like Chef Gordon Ramsay of TV’s Hell’s Kitchen yelling at me. We tossed a salad and dipped these bronzed beauties in a mixture of sweet duck sauce and Chinese mustard. Delightful! For brunch, I spread the remaining mixture on open-faced hot dog buns and put them under the broiler. Nice, and much easier than stuffing wonton squares!

E-I-E-I-O

Meet Macaroon

2009-07-12T09:21:00.004-05:00

It turns out our prize Arabian broodmare, Khatalina Bey, is not pregnant. She had been confirmed pregnant last fall, but things can happen. So, only four foals this season.

As I mentioned in my last post, (VG Antazia) "Taza" was due on the 21st with her first foal. Well, she decided to give us a firecracker of a surprise by delivering on the morning of Fourth of July in the pasture! I was walking toward to barn to do morning chores when I noticed a tiny horse making its way around the pasture. I had turned Khat out with the herd, rather than sequestering her in the foaling stall, and I thought it was hers. Then I saw Khat eating in the back pasture and Taza came into view guarding her foal. I ran to the house, where Ian was still in bed with his morning coffee and hollered for his help. Ian joined me in the pasture in the same quizzical state of mind, “Taza?” I haltered Taza while Ian picked up the foal and we ushered both into the foaling stall.

Taza blessed us with a beautiful filly with no premature characteristics. She has face markings very similar to Renoir's and his same dark chestnut color and the four white socks must come from mommy. We have named her Macaroon.

Yesterday, we went to the annual Isanti County Rodeo. We watched bull riding, steer wrestling, bareback riding, tie down roping, saddle bronc riding, team roping and barrel racing. The working partnership between cowboy and horse is always amazing to see. There were cowboys from France and Australia on the circuit, as well as Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Mississippi and our five-state area; Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa. The rodeo emcee noted this tour began in Wyoming in June and his comedic foil, the rodeo clown, quipped, “No wonder, the rodeo and divorce go hand-in-hand.”

E-I-E-I-O

Happy July

2009-07-01T09:14:00.007-05:00

Happy Canada Day to our Canadian family and friends. Looking ahead to our own Independence holiday weekend, we will entertain guests with BBQs on July 3 and 4. The third is my mother’s 85th birthday and my brother Matthew and sister-in-law Connie will come from Minneapolis with Mom for the festivities.

My brother Mark, who lives in Maryland, visited the farm on June 22. We had a good visit and ate dinner together. Did I remember to take any pictures? No! Darn it.

I have a sneaking suspicion that our mare Khatalina Bey is not pregnant. Our breeding calculations had her due June 19, and she’s not delivered yet. Khat is a full-figure mare anyway, so her plumpness may just be her. That said, she looks pregnant, and we’ve watched for a variety of signs that she will deliver soon, but there are none. She was confirmed in foal last fall by our vet, but sometimes things happen. It’s not unheard of that a mare is two weeks or more overdue, but I think that window is closing. So, if Khat does not foal, we only have Taza due later this month, around the 21st.

Meanwhile, the other three colts are doing well. Only Memphis and Marrakech are pictured. Madrid would not cooperate - he just wanted to play hide-n-seek and my camera is not quick enough to catch him! They share a large paddock together with their mothers and spend the days playing with each other.

On the 23rd we took in Tucker, another miniature poodle. He came to us through our dog groomer, the same person we got Buddy from, and had been rescued after being abandoned inside a house for two weeks without food and water. Tucker was there with two larger dogs and several cats. The situation got so bad that when Animal Control entered the home, the cats had been eaten, and Tucker, found in the back of a closet, may have been next on the menu. He is 14 years old and moves much slower than our vibrant two-year-old poodle Buddy. He gets along well with both Buddy and Lady and there’s a kind of détente with Tiger the cat. As the days go by, Tucker’s feeling better and more assured that he’s landed in a good place.

E-I-E-I-O

Meet Memphis

2009-06-20T12:00:00.014-05:00

This chestnut colt was born on June 6. He is a purebred Arabian, out of VG Evening Echo ("Eve"), an Aladdinn Echo mare and sired by Legacys Renoir. We also own Eve’s 2007 purebred foal, VG Pskye, sired by AE Psymbolic. Like Pskye, AMF Memphis is quite leggy and like his two Renoir brothers, AMF Madrid and AMF Marrakech, he’s also very friendly. The three colts and their mommies spend their days together in a large paddock, enjoying the sun, being outdoors and learning herd socialization.

We’ve got two more Renoir-sired foals coming yet this season. Khatalina Bey is due any time now. She bore a beautiful filly last year (AMF Renoirs Bey B) and we’re looking for a repeat performance. The last foal is due near the end of July to VG Antazia, “Taza”, a beautiful, 14-year-old, flea-bitten grey Tazaman daughter. This will be Taza’s first foal and we are really looking forward to the result.

On Monday, the vet was called to suture Madrid’s right eyebrow. He banged against something harder than his head and the skin burst into a 4-inch cut. The doc gave him some ‘happy juice’ intravenously and Ian held his woozy body steady, while I cradled Madrid’s head and neck as the vet worked. He also got an injection of Novocain at the suture site and then intravenous antibiotics. We give our foals a Tetanus vaccination the day they are born, so he didn’t need that. Madrid is healing nicely, the sutures will dissolve in a month and there won’t be any visible scarring.

Ian and I have been taking weekly riding lessons for a month now. He is learning Saddle Seat and I am learning Hunt Seat. Our instructor, Cathy, is a WSCA Judge and we really enjoy the way she teaches. We ride at her farm using two of her pinto Saddlebreds; Ian aboard Gypsy and me atop Profit. Because we are learning different disciplines we each have our own hour with Cathy.

In July, we will go to Sauk Centre, Minnesota again for the Great Arabian Get Together Horse Show. We will show Psyke (who is now a gelding) and Lookin For Trouble (2004 purebred, black bay, Sirius Trouble gelding). Both geldings will be shown in halter classes and we plan to have trainer Erik Haff show Trouble under saddle in a junior horse (5 years and younger) Hunt class too. Trouble and I have won many ribbons together. I love showing him and he’s matured into an even more beautiful horse.

The apple trees that blossomed so beautifully look to have lots of apples growing. I plan to collect bushels from both trees and will preserve ("can") multiple quart jars of sliced apples. The ones I put up two years ago into apple pie filling really tasted good in the depths of winter. I may make some applesauce too. I remember my mother and grandmother made this when I was a kid.

I’ve been weeding and watering our two garden areas; the hosta garden that encircles a Scotch pine and a raspberry patch that borders the mare & colt paddock. Both gardens are growing well. I like planting things, but I would not say I’m a gardener because I’m not big on regular weeding, although I’m working at getting better. Grandma used to walk the garden’s edge in the evenings and pick a handful or two of weeds each time, which kept the weeds from getting out of control. Now that I’ve spent time getting both areas weed free, it’s easier to employ her way-of-work.

We are really pleased to have Darrah working with us on weekends this summer. Her love and knowledge of riding and horses is wonderful and she's got some cool training tricks up her sleeve too. Darrah lives in Richfield and attends William Woods University equine program in Missouri during the school year.

Tomorrow is the Summer Soltice. The weather has been so pleasant these last few days; sunshine, blue skies, temps in the 70s and 80s with mild breezes. We have fired up the grill a few times already. One time making Beer Butt Chicken, which is slow roasting a whole, BBQ sauce covered chicken as it sits perched atop a half can of beer (this can be done using a cola product too). It is so nice to be in Minnesota in the summer!

E-I-E-I-O

Meet Marrakech!

2009-05-20T12:10:00.007-05:00

This morning I was greeted by another handsome Renoir colt. His dam, Mara (sired by Aladinn Echo out of AF Anticipation, a Gamaar daughter), had already cleaned (dropped her placenta), and was nuzzling the foal, which was already dry and folded comfortably on the stall floor. Like his sire, he is chestnut in color, and he has a prominent star and two rear socks. I telephone Ian, who was breakfasting in the house, and asked him to bring the Tetanus booster. We also cuddled the young fellow and swabbed his bellybutton with disinfectant.

We’ve named him Marrakech because his coat color reminds us of a Moroccan spice.

Proud mama Mara gently calls to him and brushes his butt with her nose as he nurses.

Older brother Madrid is doing well and enjoys his afternoons in the outdoor paddock with mommy Elly.

Our two apple trees are in full bloom and I thought I’d better snap some pics before they’re all gone. Enjoy!

E-I-E-I-O

Double The Fun results

2009-05-20T09:00:00.007-05:00

Double The Fun is two regional Arabian Horse Association qualifying shows conducted at the same location over the same weekend. Ian and trainer Erik Haff showed our two-year-old colt, Pskye, in a series of halter classes. Here are the gratifying results:

North Dakota Arabian Horse Association Classic (Region 6)
Friday evening, May 15
Class 108 Arabian Colt 2 Year Old Breeding: First Place
Class 109 Arabian Colt Junior Champion & Reserve: Grand Champion
Class 113 Arabian Stallion Breeding All Ages AOTH: First Place

Northern Minnesota Arabian Horse Association (Region 10)
Sunday morning, May 17
Class 280 Arabian Colt 2 Year Old Breeding: First Place
Class 282 Arabian Colt Show Champion & Reserve: Reserve Champion
Class 283 Arabian Stallion Breeding All Ages AOTH: First Place

This was Pskye’s second trip to a horse show and he handled it very well. The scores from both judges were good and we’re pleased with the feedback that the new scoring system provides.

VG Pskye (“Sky”)
Foaled June 2007
AE Psymbolic x VG Evening Echo, an Aladdinn Echo daughter

Pskye is a well-bred horse with an excellent future, but it will not be as a breeding stallion. He is being gelded and we will show him again later in the season. Pskye will also begin learning skills laying the ground work to start him under saddle in 2010; his three-year-old year. He looks to be a fine Hunt prospect.

E-I-E-I-O

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T09:32:00.009-05:00

"If I had a flower for each time I thought of My Mother, I could walk in my garden forever." –Unknown

I love you, Mom! I also love and adore my sons Michael and Richard.

On Friday morning when I arrived in the barn for morning chores, Elly, who had spent her first the night in our foaling stall, was nuzzling her foal. The colt was still a bit wet, but was up on reasonably steady legs, nursing. Elly had already dropped her placenta, so all had gone well and my help was not needed.

This colt is our stallion’s first son. We have named him Madrid. He is chestnut in color, like both his dam and sire. He has a Harry Potter-like lightening bolt on his forehead, that, and a right rear ankle-high sock.

Mara is the next mare to mommy. Her udder is filling with milk but I have not seen any of the telltale wax forming on the tips of her teats, which foretells birth. I will breathe a huge sign of relief when Mara’s foal arrives alive, safe, sound, and nurses.

Finally, Mother Goose, Gracie, and daddy gander George are escorting their gosling around the barnyard. After sitting on as many as 20 eggs for more than a month, this one gosling is the result of all that patience and devotion. Three other goslings hatched, but they did not last more than a few hours. I’m not sure why; whether there was something genetically wrong or they just got stepped on. This fuzzy gosling has a grey hue, which indicates a female Pilgrim goose.

2008 daughter Missy Goose still lays eggs and I’ve been raiding the nest making the most wonderful quiches and scrambled egg burritos. Cracking them against a bowl’s edge feels quite Flintstone, as they sound almost ceramic.

Ian and Erik will both show Pskye this Friday and Sunday in Sauk Centre, Minnesota at the Stearns County Fairgrounds at the Double The Fun Arabian Horse Show.

Yesterday, Ian and I visited Wildflower Farm near Pine City, Minnesota and met the owners Cathy & Jim. Both of us want to take riding lessons to gain skill, confidence and experience so that we can show our horses in performance (riding) classes. Cathy ia an accomplished show rider and judge. Ian and I will both take lessons from her beginning this week. Ian is going to learn Saddle Seat and I am going to begin with Western Pleasure and Hunt and when I'm more fit, I too will learn Saddle Seat.

E-I-E-I-O

Happy May Horse Shows

2009-05-04T10:50:00.004-05:00

Things are greening and budding, I’ve got tulips poking through in the front yard garden and leaves on the raspberry bushes planted last fall.

We have two mares due this month; Elly and Mara are both due on the 16th. We lease both from our friend Kathy and both are in foal to Renoir. Elly is an easy going soul, Mara is kind but a bit spastic because she has not been handled a lot. She is very bonded to Eve, another mare we lease from Kathy, and gets very upset if they’re separated. I will keep working on developing our bond with hopes that Mara will turn her attention to being with her new foal. Eve is due in early June.

Eve’s 2007 colt, VG Pskye, made his horse show debut at the Sahara Sands show this past weekend. He showed on Sunday morning in three classes: Arabian Stallion Breeding 2-Year-Old (First Place), Arabian Breeding Amateur To Handle (Second Place) and the Arabian Stallion Breeding Championship (Fourth Place). His handlers were his trainer Erik Haff and Ian. Sometimes young horses can have meltdowns at their first show because of too many new things coming at them at once, but Pskye took everything in stride. He looked very pretty all clipped up and ready to show. I snapped some candid pictures and plan to buy professional shots from the equine show photographer once they’re posted online.

Marcia came to cheer us on and I always appreciate having someone to sit with while Ian shows the horses. He just loves showing halter and keeps getting better and better. We’re on the lookout for someone local that Ian can take riding lessons with to gain skill, experience and confidence to ride our horses under saddle at shows too.

Pskye’s next time showing is in two weeks at Double The Fun in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. Ian and Erik will show him on Friday, the 15th and again on Sunday, the 17th. The show is called Double The Fun because it is actually two horse shows conducted at one site during one weekend. We’re working at collecting enough points to qualify Pskye to show at the Arabian Horse Association’s Region 10 show held at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds the second weekend in June. Showing horses is fun and when they compete well potential buyers sitting in the stands take notice and have been known to follow the horse back to its stall. After all, we are also in the horse selling business.

No goslings yet and I am really wondering about egg viability. Mother Goose continues to keep them warm and warns off any intruder with an insistent hiss. The other goose made a nest adjacent to her mother and laid an egg, which I took and made a lovely scrambled egg breakfast. The yoke was golden and huge, compared with a chicken egg yoke. It tasted so good, I am watching for another. Ian suggested that I tip Mother Goose up and mark each egg so if she’s continuing to lay more eggs I can take the new ones. Good idea, but I’ll need his help because she’s serious about keeping people at bay and I’d rather not get pecked or should I say “goosed?”

E-I-E-I-O

Spring Fever

2009-04-23T08:43:00.004-05:00

Spring seems to have found us here in north central Minnesota with temps in the 50s, 60s or 70s during the days and no more dipping below freezing at night. The warmer weather makes doing chores easier, especially watering horses because I don’t have to carry the hose into the house at night to keep it from freezing. These blustery spring days are very enjoyable to the horses, not only do the temperatures suit them, there are no flies to bother them. We have not had any soaking rains that really bring on the green, but the herd splits their time between the provided round bales and nipping at the new growth in the pasture. The herd happily gallops their acreage, chasing and playing with one another, especially the two geldings, Trouble and Kiss.

Last week, I happened into the barn during one of the rare times when Mother Goose was off her nest. You’ll remember that I found her on five eggs March 16, now there are 14 eggs! What the heck will I do with more than a dozen goslings! I was charmed by the thought of four or five fuzzy little goose babies, who knew she’d just keep manufacturing eggs? If I had known I would have given the others to Dan, who paints eggs with the most beautiful Ukrainian patterns and could have sold them to his Easter egg admirers. Goose egg gestation is 28-30 days and we are a week passed that timeframe for the first eggs laid. I am wondering if all are viable, which certainly save me! I’ll keep you posted.

Local farmers are already in the fields – disking the dirt, mowing down corn that wasn’t harvested, spreading loads of manure to fertilize the fields, etc. Last year there were snowstorms in late April and the ground did not reach planting warmth until late May. Rain is predicted for the weekend, so hopefully this will keep farmers from hand wringing like little old ladies about a draught or poor growing season, which in my humble opinion only serves to drive up hay and feed prices unnecessarily. It’s just too soon to tell, and so far the weather is shaping up to be on the farmer’s side.

Recently, there was an ad in a local paper for a smelt fry at a restaurant in a neighboring town. I hadn’t been to one of these for decades and remembered the beer battered lovelies with great delight. We arrived at Pace’s for the all-you-can-eat buffet only to find the smelt were on the small side and were not hot enough. Like all deep-fried goodies, they’re best when finger dancing, volcanic hot. The side dishes of scalloped potatoes, baked beans and coleslaw were very good, but that’s not why we came. Ian commented that to him smelt tastes like Mackerel. Smelt only "run" in the spring, and in hopes of improving our experience, we may go to a fundraising smelt fry for firefighters in North Branch this Saturday.

A couple of weeks ago we visited a farm in western Wisconsin. It was a very nice day, so we brought the dogs, Lady and Buddy, and all four of us enjoyed the sunshine as we walked the property. The pasture has a section that is overrun with cockleburs, while these aren’t as hurtful as thistle, they easily stick to clothes and, as we learned, poodle coats.

Poor Buddy, who was really enjoying all the new sniffs, was just matted with cockleburs. I thought I might be able to comb them out, but ended up having to shave him using a pair of horse clippers. To say I am not a groomer is an understatement, but shaving Buddy did give him relief from the pulled hair and scratching cocklebur particles. I followed up the shearing with a bubble bath. Becky, our groomer, was solidly booked readying dogs for Easter, so Buddy wore his ragged haircut until she was able to even him out on Tuesday evening with a complete body shave, leaving his coat an apricot-colored crushed velvet.

Not far from the farm we decided to lunch at the Magnor Lake Restaurant near Clayton. Our waitress suggested the fish sandwich, which arrived hot from the deep fryer, slathered in mayonnaise, topped with a lettuce leaf, all on a super soft bun. We washed this down with iced tea and enjoyed the lake cabin décor and views of the lake. For dessert we shared a piece of cheesecake, after being warned off the posted cream pie selections. The restaurant shares its restrooms with a convenience store, housed in the building’s other half. I stood with my hand on the restroom door agog at the number of deer heads mounted throughout the store. I waved Ian over and we toured the store, walking along the drink cooler, noting the many different taxidermy styles. It was weird and amazing all at the same time.

E-I-E-I-O

Happy April

2009-04-02T14:34:00.003-05:00

Winter is doing its best to hang on, but sooner or later it will give way to spring. Today there is sunshine, which is very welcome since we’ve had several grey days. March went out like a lion, as it dropped two inches of wet, heavy snow on the 31st. It snowed again yesterday, but it melted quickly, so quickly in fact, I could have just waited instead of immediately shoveling our back walkway. One nice thing about the colder weather is that our driveway and the area between our house and the barn is firm enough to drive on without worries of sinking into a muddy oblivion. Yesterday, our hay guy came, first, in his 4-wheel drive pick up truck with 40 square bales of a nice alfalfa mix hay, then an hour later with 10 enormous 5 x 5 foot round bales loaded on a flatbed trailer and pulled by a 1-ton dually truck. Neither vehicle had any problem negotiating the driveway.

It’s always nice to have a stockpile of fresh hay. The square bales are fed to the horses that come in at night; the rounds are rolled into the pasture, two at a time, for the horses that stay outside. As long as horses have free access to hay (or grass pasture), fresh water and shelter they are well equipped to live outside – even in the bitterest Minnesota winter. Actually, the coming spring weather of rain and wind is more problematic for a horse, as their coats drench through to the skin and they chill and can colic. We watch for shivering horses and bring them into the barn from the rain/cold to dry off and get their body temperatures up. Ideally, we’d have turnout blankets for all pastured horses, but between our monitoring and them using the dry outdoor shelter that’s provided, they’re OK. I will say it does bug me to look out the kitchen window during a rainstorm and see some of the herd standing with the noses near the ground and butts turned to the wind in the rain. It is their choice and I try to grin and bear it, but I have left a warm, dry house, trudged out to the pasture, often with Ian in tow, to bring rain-soaked horse after rain-soaked horse into the barn, cussing them every step. Maybe they find it amusing, who knows maybe they make bets with one another as to how long it will take until we come to “rescue” them.

Next month, foals begin to arrive. We have five mares that are in foal to our purebred Arabian stallion, Legacys Renoir. All the babies will be purebreds too. Naturally, we’re hoping for a repeat of 2008 when we had all fillies! Four of the five mares are leased from our dear friend Kathy, who lives in western Wisconsin. Two of the mares, Mara and Eve, were supposed to be foaled at her farm, but she’s been hospitalized for most of the winter and feels she won’t be strong enough to deal with foaling and dealing with the new babies. When you’ve got as many as we do, what’s two more?

The first mares to foal are 12-year-old Elly and Mara; both due on May 16. Elly’s first foal is Princess, sired by Renoir, and born last May at Kathy’s. Mara was in foal to Renoir in 2008 too, with her first foal, a filly, but it was born dead. Mara foaled at Kathy’s farm and we don’t know exactly what happened, but it was dead when Kathy arrived at the barn. Needless to say, we will be watching Mara extra closely this year. Princess is maturing beautifully and we plan to show her this season in some halter classes.

Eve is due on June 4. Her last foal is our two-year-old stallion, Pskye, who is in training at Lonesome Dove Training Center. Eve is 19 this year and has many beautiful foals.

The next mare, Khatalina Bey, is one of ours and is due June 19. She is 15 this year and is the mother of the second 2008 Renoir filly, Baby, who was born here on the farm at the end of May. Like Princess, Baby will be shown this year too.

The last of the five pregnant mares, another of Kathy’s, is Taza; 14 this year and pregnant with her first foal. Taza is due July 21, which correlates directly with her complete uncooperativeness during the 2008 breeding season. Regardless, we are excited to see what she and Renoir produce.

Foaling time is always exciting. There is a 10-day window on due dates. The equine gestation period is roughly 343 days. Nearer the 10-day window, I begin to stall all pregnant mares overnight and give them limited turn out in a segregated pasture. I watch for all the signs that delivery is imminent and the due date draws near I keep them stalled 24/7 and check them regularly – around the clock if needs be -- until the blessed event.

Here mares and foals pasture together to learn manners from their dams and their “auntie” broodmares and to bond with their siblings. I find that playmate bonding makes weaning time much easier. I like to wean all together at three months of age, which works well when they’re born within the same timeframe, but Taza’s foal will come almost two months later, so we may wean the three oldest together sometime in late August and the last two foals out of Khat and Taza together in early October. For us, there are no hard and fast rules, we monitor each on a case-by-case basis and do what each situation calls for.

As of last week, all of our horses’ hooves are trimmed. It is a nice feeling to have that done. Because hooves grow faster in the warmer months, we’ll begin another round of trimming in 4-6 weeks time.

The next things to tackle are vaccinations and deworming. We vaccinate our own horses and buy the vaccines from a vet supply company on the Internet, which sends the requested vaccines pre-measured in syringes with needles. This is generally less expensive than buying from the vet, having her give the injection and paying the $45 farm call. We vaccinate with Fluvac Innovator 5, which is an annual booster that protects against two types of Encephalomyelitis, Rinoneumonitis, Influenza and Tetanus. This year we will also protect against Rabies and Strangles. Rabies must be administered by a vet and while she’s here I will also have her do the Strangles, which is given intranasal; there’s a trick to getting the horse to inhale it.

Normally, the Fluvac Innovator 5 is more than enough protection, but because we are showing the three yearling fillies we must not only protect them when they leave home, we must protect the entire herd against whatever they may be exposed to at a horse show. You see, a horse going to a show is a lot like kids going to school – they can return home with new germs to spread and we need to vaccinate all the horses as if they had all been to the show. If a horse is not protected and they get any of the diseases mentioned, well, I heard a seasoned horse vet put it this way, “There’s not enough magic juice on the vet truck to save them.” When we’ve invested this much time, love, energy and money, why risk it?

Deworming is what it sounds like, separating worms from the horse. Horses pick up several varieties of worms from pasture grazing and poop; simply put horses are worm hosts and the idea is to keep the numbers and types of worms that live in their guts to a minimum. Primarily, this is done by giving each horse a tube of deworming paste once a month, which kills the worms and acts as a prophylactic against new ones.

Last month, we attended a seminar hosted by our horse vet, and learned that there is now a new deworming protocol, one which basically tosses out the long standing once-a-month method because research now shows that the old standard breeds worms that are dewormer resistant. The new method calls for each horse to have a sample of its feces tested, which determines how that given horse reacts to the dewormer and, most importantly, what type of worm shedder the horse is; low, moderate or high. If the horse is a low shedder, meaning the dewormer works very well on this horse and the fecal egg count is low, it only needs to be dewormed twice a year (spring/fall), while a high shedder, meaning the fecal egg count shows a high number of worm eggs still present, would be dewormed four times a year. So, using this new, more strategic protocol, no horse would be wormed 12 times a year, which has been the norm for decades. Four times $10/tube is always going to be less expensive than 12 times $10/tube. I still need to learn where I can send the horse “apples” for the Fecal Egg Count Reduction testing, but I am definitely for this new deworming protocol!

E-I-E-I-O

March Almost Gone!

2009-03-27T15:20:00.007-05:00

Ah, the last Friday in March. I will not be sorry to see this month end; other than friends’ and family member birthdays and being teased with spring-like weather, it’s the lousiest month of the 12! The sun has reappeared today, but we’re back to below freezing overnight temps that have not only iced over outdoor water tanks and barn buckets, now the once softened mud is Grand Canyon hard and undoubtedly as treacherous! Believe me, I bear an inch-long scar on my right kneecap from a fall on the frozen December pasture when a granite-hard horse apple rolled one way and sent me crashing hard on all fours. Ouch! Recalling it now I rub my knee.

Last weekend, a young Charolais bull squeezed through the common south-facing fence line into our pasture. He didn’t show any bullish manners, in fact, within minutes of his great escape he realized the error of his ways and really wanted to rejoin his buddies, all of whom were lined up like birds on a wire watching him. Our horses often entertain themselves watching Chad and Cameo’s cattle – we call this cow TV – but this doesn’t mean they wanted one of the stars in their living room! As the horse herd leadership snorted, stamped and arched necks in the direction of the offender, Ian spotted the visitor. A quick call to our neighbors to the south informed us that Chad was away on business, but Cameo called for proper bull wrangler reinforcements. While we waited, Cameo unpocketed a neighborly jar of jam for our trouble. This jar was as pretty as I’ve seen, with its two layered fabric hat finished off with a satin ribbon. This dressed up neighborly kindness inspired my inner Martha Stewart and I vowed to tailor and bejewel my entire stock of jammin’ gifts-on-a-shelf.

The wrangler arrived, located the widened spot in the fence, noting the electric was not flowing, and as Cameo and I stood visiting in our assigned portion of the pasture with arms outstretched, ready to waggle, Ian and said wrangler guided the big boy home.

A nest watch update – the count is five eggs (up from the earlier reported two) underneath the goose, which is giving them lots of warm, feathered breast time. Goose egg gestation is 28-30 days, so our goslings should hatch sometime in mid-April.

As my Facebook friends know, earlier in the week our six Pilgrim geese went on walkabout and were gone overnight. The geese routinely spend the night in the barn, whether I shoo them in or they situate themselves around dusk. This independence concerned me, as they can fall prey to out-of-season hunters, coyotes, vehicles; a mother worries! I was more than miffed with Gracie Goose for leaving her eggs unattended. Neighbor Chad stopped by one his 4-wheeler to chat bull and when I mentioned the missing geese he suggested I take a gander at our neighbor’s farm to the east. Chad was sure he’d heard pond frolics uncharacteristically coming from that direction in the early morning hours.

I must have looked confused, as those neighbors have dogs that the geese would surely choose to avoid. Chad said ‘not so’, that the dogs and family had vacated their 10-acre farm for whereabouts unknown. I was so shocked -- not that they didn’t say good-bye, we were nodding acquaintances and their two horses tended to get out and “visit” for days at a time until Ian and I would catch them and walk them the quarter mile home -- it was more that this is the second neighbor on our little dead-end road that has been drastically affected by the economy (the first returned their home to the bank at the beginning of the winter months). Six homes share this mile-long dirt road – the father of the neighbors who just left once owned much of the surrounding acreage with our farmhouse as its homestead – and now two houses are vacant with two families paths changed. I'm hoping wherever each path leads, that it is to a less stressful and much happier destination.

Ian and I strode east to the neighbor’s to find the six happily swimming amongst trees in a snow-melt lake and when they saw us they swam away from its edge; not a guilty, ashamed beak in the gaggle! Ian outsmarted them – not just a handsome pretty boy, this Brit – and got them turned to home, where I sequestered them in the chicken coop. Now reacquainted with her nest, Gracie and group seem to have put aside their wanderlust.

E-I-E-I-O

Dave Barry's Colonoscopy Journal

2009-03-27T10:28:00.001-05:00

The following is a really hilarious take on a procedure that everyone should have done at sometime in their lives depending on your risk factors – as nasty as it sounds.

A Colonoscopy Journal
By Dave Barry
Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist for the Miami Herald.

I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenterologist, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy.

A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis.

Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring and patient manner.

I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn't really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, quote, 'HE'S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!'

I left Andy's office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a product called 'MoviPrep,' which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven.

I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America's enemies.

I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous.

Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation.

In accordance with my instructions, I didn't eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor.

Then, in the evening, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons). Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon.

The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, 'a loose, watery bowel movement may result.'

This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground.

MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don't want to be too graphic, here, but: have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.

After an action-packed evening, I finally got to sleep.

The next morning my wife drove me to the clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I was thinking, 'What if I spurt on Andy?' How do you apologize to a friend for something like that? Flowers would not be enough.

At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked.

Then a nurse named Eddie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already lying down. Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep.

At first I was ticked off that I hadn't thought of this, but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose Mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.

When everything was ready, Eddie wheeled me into the procedure room, where Andy was waiting with a nurse and an anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000-foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere. I was seriously nervous at this point.

Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand.

There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA. I remarked to Andy that, of all the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, 'Dancing Queen' had to be the least appropriate.

'You want me to turn it up?' said Andy, from somewhere behind me.

'Ha ha,' I said. And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like.

I have no idea. Really. I slept through it. One moment, ABBA was yelling 'Dancing Queen, feel the beat of the tambourine,' and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood.

Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt. I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that it was all over, and that my colon had passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ.

March Mudness

2009-03-16T09:14:00.015-05:00

Minnesotans are usually happy to see winter’s end, but March Mudness can try one’s patience. Spring temperatures in the 50s and 60s have arrived and most of our property has turned into boot-sucking mud.

On Saturday, Tina came to haul a trailer load of hay that she stored in our barn and got stuck in the mushy driveway. Our neighbor Chad came with his skid loader and helped to pull her truck from the muck then lifted and turned her sunken trailer pointing it in the right direction for later hauling. The night temps still dip low enough to harden the ground making for easier navigating and Tina wisely chose to return early Sunday morning when the ground had firmed up to pull her trailer home. This morning, as he left for work, Ian sent mud splattering as he gunned his way to the road. In the coming weeks, I look forward to having a few dump truck loads of class 5 driveway mix dirt hauled in and spread on our U-shaped driveway, which should go a long way to lessening future mudness.

Our weekend was spent racking up plenty of horse-related mileage. On Saturday, we drove the 130 miles northward to Pequot Lakes to see Renoir and Pskye. Ian and I both worked with Pskye; jogging with him and setting him in a halter stance. He’s doing well. Erik introduced Pskye to the clippers, trimming his mane and muzzle whiskers. I can’t wait until he has his ear hair trimmed readying him for show grooming! Luckily, Erik’s very patient and Pskye trusts him.

During our Saturday visit to Lonesome Dove Training Center, we made a big decision regarding Renoir -- we’re not going to show him at all this show season. He is doing better and better under saddle and until he is solid in the performance arena, we don’t want anything to confuse the new skills he’s learning. As I said in the last post, we plan to debut him under saddle at the Scottsdale (Arizona) show in February 2010. This decision is both easy and difficult; easy because it makes sense to stay focused, difficult because he is such a stunning, champion halter stallion that is hard to beat! That said we have two yearling fillies sired by Renoir that we can show. In the end, having his get (foals) winning in the show ring makes Renoir a champion sire, not just a handsome ribbon-winning stallion. So, with that decision made, Ian will show Pskye in stallion classes this season. We’re still deciding when the Renoir daughters, Princess and Baby, and the Half Arabian yearling palomino filly, Tango, will make their show debuts.

On Sunday, we traveled 70 miles to New Richmond, Wisconsin to help load purebred Arabian mares Mara and Eve for trailering to our farm. Their owner, Kathy, has had a long hospital stay and will not be strong enough to foal them out at home. Both grey mares are in foal to Renoir and are due in May. Eve and Mara are inseparable and watching them in the pasture, it looks like it will be while until they integrate into our herd. They were here for two months last summer for breeding.

This morning on the way to do morning chores I watched as a noisy Sandhill Crane flew overhead. These 4-foot tall birds with 6-foot wing spans -- the largest species of bird in Minnesota -- are odd looking and even stranger sounding. Small groups of them migrate here to nest in surrounding pastures. Their offspring are called colts!

I also found two goose eggs laid by one of our two female geese. These are huge – maybe five inches from top to bottom. We’ll try not to disturb the nest and see if we get goslings.

Last Sunday, March 8, Marcia and Dan came over for lunch. Thanks for the tulips, Marcia! Dan has a new dog, 8-year-old Shepherd mix, neutered male, Buddy. Our groomer Becky called on Saturday asking if Ian and I could foster home a dog while she found him a home. When I saw this Buddy I knew he and Dan, whose Labrador Sid died last year, would be perfect for one another.

March can be a frustrating month. While I am truly hoping spring has sprung, it could also freeze and snow again before month’s end. Heck, it can even snow in April, but I’m keeping flower-filled thoughts!

E-I-E-I-O

Happy March

2009-03-01T09:03:00.006-06:00

In Minnesota, March has come in like a lamb, albeit a cold one. This morning it’s just below zero but without any wind, for which we are thankful. The skies are clear and blue. I have learned that winter days that look like a picture postcard means it is probably bitter cold. March 20 marks the vernal equinox, the first day of spring, although it almost never feels springlike at the end of March here. It can be Minnesota’s snowiest month and sometimes, if the jet stream allows the Artic Canadian cold to dip below the border, March temperatures plummet leaving even the most ardent winter fan truly disgusted. The thing about March is that no matter what weather is thrown our way, it eventually gives way to April.

Yesterday, Ian and I drove the 2+ hours to Pequot Lakes, Minnesota to see our two stallions, Legacys Renoir (2002) and VG Pskye (2007). Trainer Erik Haff is progressing well with Renoir under saddle. Since there is no rush to get Renoir in the performance ring, our timeline to debut him is February at the 2010 Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show n Arizona. Ian will show Renoir this year in halter classes, which remains a good way to market a breeding stallion and keeping him “show ready.”

Pskye is beautiful and growing so tall. He must be close to 15hh (4 inches per hand measured to the withers) with 60 pounds of new muscle from his workouts. He remains a bit skittish, but he does not have a mean bone in his body. It’s important to remember that while Pskye looks grown, at two, he is still quite the baby horse. Once he gets it all going in the right direction, including agreeing to all the show grooming, and having 100% confidence in his handler, Pskye will be a force to be reckoned with in the show ring. The plan right now is to debut him at the Sahara Sands horse show at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds during the first weekend in May. Renoir will show then too and both will have classes on Sunday morning, May 3.

As I wrote in my last post, our three yearling fillies home from Erik’s on Valentine’s Day. Erik did a very good job starting them in show halter training. All three were born in May 2008, Tango, pictured here, is a Half Arabian and is the tallest of all three. We plan to show the fillies this season too, although we’re not sure when they will debut.

Ian’s birthday is March 9; he’ll finally catch up with me by turning 53.

E-I-E-I-O

February already?

2009-02-19T08:52:00.004-06:00

Bad blogger! It’s been three weeks since my last confession! We’ve been enjoying a mild February with temperatures in the 30s and 40s, which has caused most of our December snow to melt. Surely there will be a few more snowfalls until Spring truly finds Minnesota, but it feels like we’re close to the April showers and May flowers.

Buddy has settled quite nicely into life here on the Auld Macdonald Farm. We had him fixed and immunized last Thursday and he’s recovered nicely. Buddy has some interesting nighttime habits. When Ian and I go to bed, he nestles on the bed near our feet and we find him in the same location in the morning, however, with all the things I find relocated in the morning Buddy obviously is not there during the entire overnight hours. Thankfully he is not malicious just mischievous – things are moved but not ruined. The laundry basket is used as his toy box. I find items strewn from the bed into the bathroom, mudroom and to the front door; a slipper, socks, jeans, a glove, a shoe and one night Ian’s new glasses, which started the evening on the nightstand! Now his eyeglasses are safeguarded in a small box. He and Lady are pals and while our housecat Tiger has not taken anymore swipes at him, I wouldn’t say they’re close.

The three yearling fillies we sent to training with Erik Haff at Lonesome Dove Training Center (LDTC) in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, returned home on Saturday. All were born in May 2008, and they’ve grown so nicely and are much easier to handle. Renoir’s daughters Princess and Baby are beautiful and really have a lot of his enviable attributes – big eyes, sculpted heads, coppery chestnut color and flashy prancing trots. Tango, our Half Arabian palomino filly is so tall, and looks very much like her Saddlebred sire Goldmount Royal Design. All are listed for sale on the LDTC For Sale site, each with their own video clip.

Two-year-old purebred Arabian stud colt Pskye (pronounced “sky”) and our stallion Legacys Renoir remain in training with Erik. We plan to show both in 2009, and probably the fillies too if they don’t sell before the show season begins in May. Showing horses is a great way to market horses for sale to an interested target audience. Renoir continues to do very well under saddle with Erik and is being a good student. Pskye is in halter training and will not be started under saddle until he is three years old, which is when purebred Arabian horses begin performance schooling.

Last week, Ian and I went to our primary care physicians for our annual physicals. We’re healthy, but need to adjust our lifestyle to a low cholesterol diet and include more daily exercise. We’ve begun a return to our Spanish Mediterranean recipes and a treadmill is in our future. A treadmill because it’s a machine we both enjoy and having it removes any weather-related excuses as to why we’re not out walking the Minnesota countryside.

E-I-E-I-O

Kung hee fat choy!

2009-01-26T15:02:00.005-06:00

Happy Chinese [Lunar] New Year! The year of the Ox, 4707! Many thanks to my Sitges (Barcelona) friend, Doreen, for reminding me every year by sharing her good wishes!

According to the Chinese Zodiac, "people born in the Year of the Ox (1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009) are patient, speak little, and inspire confidence in others. They tend, however, to be eccentric, and bigoted, and they anger easily. They have fierce tempers and although they speak little, when they do they are quite eloquent. Ox people are mentally and physically alert. Generally easy-going, they can be remarkably stubborn, and they hate to fail or be opposed. They are most compatible with Snake, Rooster, and Rat people."

Me, I'm a Ram or Sheep. "People born in the Year of Ram (1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003) are elegant and highly accomplished in the arts. They seem to be, at first glance, better off than those born in the zodiac's other years. But ram year people are often shy, pessimistic, and puzzled about life. They are usually deeply religious, yet timid by nature. Sometimes clumsy in speech, they are always passionate about what they do and what they believe in. Ram people never have to worry about having the best in life for their abilities make money for them, and they are able to enjoy the creature comforts that they like. Ram people are wise, gentle, and compassionate. They are compatible with Rabbits, Pigs, and Horses."

I don't know about the "often shy" and "puzzled about life" or about the rabbits and pigs, but I am definitely compatible with horses!

E-I-E-I-O

Two Wolves - a parable

2009-01-21T12:40:00.009-06:00

Artwork entitled "Two Wolves" by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

"One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

"The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Bone Chilling Cold

2009-01-15T14:08:00.005-06:00

It’s that time of year when if you’re going to venture outside, it’s best to do it clothed in a warm car! I’ve heard these weather patterns called Alberta Clippers, because they originate or pass through that Canadian province on their way here, but this morning the local meteorologist called this a Saskatchewan Screamer! Some lucky ABC-TV News reporter was dispatched to International Falls, Minnesota, situated at the Canadian border, fondly referred to as the “Icebox of the Nation,” where he demonstrated that a raw egg cracked open in a pan at 40 degrees below zero freezes solid in five minutes.

We are located 250 miles – about four hours drive – south of International Falls. Our actual temps have been in the 20s below zero and the 5-10 mph winds easily double that below zero reading. I describe it as sharp, biting, stinging when it finds some bare skin. Our back door – the one we use the most – faces south, so when I go out to do chores in the morning I am initially blocked from any north or northwest wind. However, if the wind is blowing, when I head west to the barn and clear the house frame, OMG, the shock of it is like being slapped in the face! It has taken my breath away! When the dogs and I get to the barn, with me carrying four buckets of feed from the house (I am tired of it freezing, so a barrel of it sits in our mud room), sliding the barn door shut behind us and being out of the wind in our horse body heat warmed barn feels nice.

It usually takes me 15-20 minutes to feed breakfast, to top up water buckets (they’re heated but I still must schlep water from the hydrant to each stall) and give each mare a couple of flakes of hay. By that time, Buddy is hopping around deciding which cold paw to keep off the ground. Lady isn’t bother as quickly by the cold. Mind you, Buddy does plenty to keep himself occupied and warm while I do chores. He runs up to and barks at the two barn cats, Zeus and Tonic, both of whom outweigh him my five pounds. Usually they don’t flinch, but if he’s persistent they hop up on a stack of hay out of his reach. Lady loves cats and works very diligently at cementing feline relationships. Both Zeus and Tonic show their affection for her with purring figure 8’s between her front legs. Lady stands quietly, wags her tail and licks them.

Buddy also likes to run at the six Pilgrim geese, which move away hissing with every waddle. These are the wimpiest geese I’ve ever met – I have known geese to stake their territory by latching their beak to the offending animal’s butt and giving it a good pinch! Maybe in the warmer weather the Pilgrims will become more assertive.

We have quite a few wild birds here, of course, I feed them black oil sunflower seeds year round and I make sure the feeders stay filled in the winter. We have lots of little brown birds – sparrows and the like – and in the summer there are colorful red and yellow finches – our non-migrating winter birds include blue jays and woodpeckers and I was delighted with a red flash from a brilliantly colored cardinal the other day. I’ve positioned feeders on the west and east sides of the house so I can watch the birds from either the kitchen or living room windows. Sometime last week I noticed that some plump pheasant hens are living amongst the piles of chopped wood that we have stacked along the pine trees that line the east of the property. Often the little brown birds alight on the sunflower plants that are outside the south facing living room window where we have our home office. If I’m stealthy, I can snap pics of them. When I saw the hens picking at the sunflower heads, I tried to get a picture but they were too weary and my movement spooked them. I’ve been leaving a handful of seeds near the remnant sunflower plants and was finally able to snap these three sisters. There are more – like 10 – that nest in the woodpile, but these three venture together. The blue jays have been too quick for my Sanyo digital camera, but I’ll keep trying, as they are quite comical bossing each other around, flitting in, out, up and away.

E-I-E-I-O

Another Monday

2009-01-12T08:46:00.003-06:00

Why is it that Monday morning’s alarm comes so early? I was sleeping so good when I was rudely awoken. I’d actually been up 90 minutes earlier at 4:30 when Lady appeared at bedside and nuzzled me awake. She needed to go outside and just could not wait. This does not happen often so I drug myself to the door and watched as Lady and Buddy bound into the predawn cold. I stood in the mud room, slippered and cuddled in a robe, as they relieved themselves. I worry that if I go back to bed I’ll fall asleep and Buddy will freeze into an apricot-colored popsicle. The two attended to needs quickly and we were all back to our respective beds in minutes.

Once the alarm rang, I did not pop up as usual. I turned on the bedside radio, tuned to public radio, and lingered a bit in our cozy bed. The best thing we bought last winter was a dual-control electric mattress pad. It adds a depth of warmth to a bed that is well stacked with a quilt and down comforter. About an hour before bed one of us turns on the pad so we slip between warmed sheets.

After a luxurious 15 minutes, I pushed myself up, wandered to the kitchen to heat water for coffee. When we got married a girlfriend gave us a 40 fluid ounce Frieling Stainless-Steel Thermal French Coffee Press as a gift. I love it and use it every day! When we moved from Europe I bought a Black-and-Decker automatic coffeemaker, which looked very stylish, but the machine and I never clicked. It regularly clogged and spilled boiling hot coffee grounds all over the counter. Not a good way to begin any morning. I reverted to the Frieling and it’s a trooper. Thank you, Robyn!

I’m good for maybe one cup of coffee sweetened with a bit of flavored cream, Ian, however, runs on it. He also prefers to rise at a slower pace, so I make the coffee and bring his mug bedside. He can get up, get going and keep his sunny disposition, which he’s demonstrated time and again when we traveled a lot, but if circumstances don’t call for it, he’d rather ease into the day.

The weather prediction is that 40 mph winds are on the way with -30 degree temps to follow on Thursday. This is normal January weather in Minnesota. The house remains toasty with the pellet stove in the main living area and the wall-mounted propane heater in the kitchen. When we need to do things outdoors we dress in layers, leaving as little bare skin uncovered as possible, and we carry on with our day-to-day life. Even with the coming cold, which local folks call “a cold snap,” as long as the horses have hay, warmed water and shelter available to them 24/7 they are fine.

As you’ll see on the right side of the blog page, I’ve added a feature that allows you to become a fan and “follow” this blog.

E-I-E-I-O

New Year, New Opportunities

2009-01-08T11:56:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, I resigned from my part-time Postmaster Relief position with the United States Postal Service (USPS) again. My last day will be January 30. I had resigned in November (see Blog entries 11/22 and 11/30), but went back to work to help out the Officer-In-Charge Linda, who was staffing the office while Postmaster Helen was on extended sick leave. It was nice to help out through the holiday season, but once again I feel the pull toward something more personally and professionally fulfilling. I really enjoy the women I worked with and I learned quite a bit about our complex federal mail system. I did pursue full-time/permanent job opportunities within USPS, but a career path did not present itself. No regrets, I am pleased with and proud of my 15 months of service.

Meanwhile, there’s plenty to do day-to-day on the farm, and with no USPS commitments I can travel into the city with Ian as I want/need. There are plenty of friendships that can use some rekindling and renewing and undoubtedly there are professionals to network with and cultivate too. Fun stuff!

E-I-E-I-O

Snow, cold, snow, cold

2009-01-04T12:46:00.006-06:00

It snowed again last night, about three inches. Today, it is picture-postcard beautiful outside, but the wind has picked up and the temperatures have dropped to near or just below zero. Reliably, Chris has plowed us out already. I think last year he only plowed us out four or five times. He’s already done that number since our first snowfall on December 4.

Last night, I laundered our winter coats. They get dirty from the daily wear and also collect a lot of barn grime in the way of hay, feed and other things that find their way into pockets and coat linings. Yesterday when we were at Wal-Mart, I reached into my left-hand coat pocket for a glove and my hand came out gooey. Investigating a bit more I found that a spot had soaked its way through the coat. Ian asked what I was puzzling over just about the time I realized what had caused it. I showed him the wet spot and asked, “What do you suppose broke in my pocket?” He thought for a moment, “An egg!” Yes. The chickens are not laying as many eggs as usual, so rather than six or eight a day we get one or two a week. I had topped up feed and water in their coop, I collected one egg, put it in my pocket while I finished chores and promptly forgot all about it. I probably broke it when I buckled my seatbelt. Ian looked at me smiling and said, “You’re such a farmer!”

Today, Ian’s rerouting and insulating a section of cold water pipe in the downstairs bathroom that tends to freeze when the temps dip. He did the hot water pipes during the Christmas holiday and it’s worked very well. There’s something very sexy about a guy who can do stuff like this. That, coupled with the fact that he likes to do it and is good at it. In another life (and economy) Ian would be very happy buying old houses to renovate and turning them over at a profit. Living in our ongoing renovation project, I am much more focused on the ‘been there, done that’ end of the renovation spectrum!

E-I-E-I-O

An abundant, prosperous 2009!

2009-01-01T07:50:00.002-06:00

There is a wind this morning with temps in the high teens and we're under cloudy skies with another snowfall prediction. Ian and I went to bed at 10 and slept well. We both turned off our cellphones to help ensure our undisturbed slumber.

Last year presented its challenges yet we survived quite well. The Universe is conspiring for me and I wait open armed, ready to receive all of the prosperity it sends our way.

This is a great life and I rejoice in it!

E-I-E-I-O

Snow, snow, snow

2008-12-30T10:35:00.007-06:00

Sometime during the night, snow began to fall and it is still falling as I write at breakfast time. I’ve been to the barn for morning chores – slipped and fell on my right knee (same knee I fell on and cut open on December 4) - but was able to recover and continue to the 150 feet to barn, while carrying four filled feed buckets. Recently it has been in the mid to high 30s, so the earlier snowfall melted but the colder nights left icy patches, which is what sent me to my knees this morning. The snow is like powder – not good for snowballs, but it sure makes shoveling easy.

Of course, Lady and Buddy accompany me to the barn. In fact, it’s almost impossible to leave the house without them. As you see, I am dressed like Nanuk of the North, but I'm not bundled against the cold as much as against the wet, knee-deep snow. My outwear includes snowpants, snow boots, an insulated vest, Carhart barn jacket, gloves and Canadian beaver hat. I'm toasty warm! Buddy the poodle is quite a trooper when it comes to the winter weather. He bounds along where Lady has blazed a trail. When it’s subzero I monitor his shivers or how many paws he’s trying to hold off the ground and often put him back in the house before chores are finished. He is unhappy with that and barks his fool head off in protest!

Our six Pilgrim geese are not impressed with the snow at all. They overnight in the barn, but usually spend the day outside – not today. Dressed in goose down, they waddled as far as the pasture gate – about two feet – where they nestled in until I was done with the morning feed, then they went back inside the barn.

Barn cats Zeus and Tonic patiently waited for the breakfast. They are very good mousers and get a pigeon every once in a while, but they like their chow too. Both are two years old and, like our housecat Tiger, they’re neutered.

The chickens had the run of the barn, but I’ve closed them in their coop now (a large room built in the barn next to the horse stalls). It’s warmed by heat lamps, has a heated warm bowl and it is so much easier for me to find the eggs! The geese also enjoy the chicken scratch feed, so now the chickens don’t need to compete with their larger poultry cousins.

The horses that winter outdoors are fine. Just like a well insulated house, snow stacks up on their backs. Their winter coats channel off the snow melt without wetting their hides and getting them cold. Ingenious!

As soon as the snow stops – the prediction is around lunchtime – our snowplow guy will come and do his usual great job. We plan on having hay (round and square bales) delivered today too, and I expect that once we’re plowed out Steve will come with the bales.

In the meantime, the living room’s pellet stove and kitchen’s propane stove are doing a great job and we’re really cozy. Ian continues to work from home this week, so he is not caught up in today’s snowy commute.

E-I-E-I-O

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T17:07:00.011-06:00

Today, Ian and I delivered half of route four’s mail. Ian drove while I put mail in boxes out the passenger-side window. It was more fun than doing it alone. Our delivering these boxes allowed the regular carrier to help on other routes, so that everyone could get home as soon as possible to begin their Christmas holiday. It took us about three hours. The day was sunny and the driving not too slippery, we listened to Christmas songs on the radio and talked. After we check back in with the outgoing mail, we went into Cambridge and had lunch at a Chinese food buffet.

On Monday, Ian installed the new propane heater in the kitchen and its working very well. He also rerouted water hoses that had frozen and now the washing machine fills very quickly (the water used to drizzle in) and its cut my laundry time from an hour to about 20 minutes.

Yesterday, Ian brought me a huge pink poinsettia, saying: "For my beautiful wife!" Can't beat that!

This afternoon, I’m making BBQ meatballs using red current jelly in the sauce. I'll put them in the slow cooker to marinate and they'll be yummy as a Christmas Day appetizer.

Our snow plow guy came this morning to clear our driveway and yard area again. This is the second plowing this week. Could be a very snowy season this year, but it's nice to have the moisture and if the spring is dry, then the farmers are able to get crops in the ground in April and that makes them happy!

Tomorrow, we’ll butterfly and bake Cornish game hens on a bed of fresh cranberries, sliced red onions and oranges, make roasted potatoes, grill green beans and asparagus for our Christmas dinner. It will be a quiet dinner with the two of us.

On Friday, Boxing Day, we plan to go shopping in Minneapolis after we finish morning chores. We’ll have lunch somewhere and will visit my Mother, who continues to convalesce at the Veteran’s Medical Center from right knee replacement surgery,

Happy, happy!

E-I-E-I-O

Winter Solstice

2008-12-21T10:40:00.010-06:00

Today is the first day of winter and tonight is the longest night of the year. It’s sunny out today with an actual temp of -11 degrees Fahrenheit and a wind chill temperature (meaning when the wind blows this is what it feels like on the skin) of -30 degrees! I’ve already been out to the barn to feed the chickens, geese, barn cats and the four mares we overnight inside (Bentley, Windy, Kisses and Elly). I guess my acclimatization has already begun because I thought “this isn’t so cold,” as I walked to the barn at 6:30 a.m.

We’re cozy in the house’s main living area, but Ian’s going to spend today getting a different propane stove hooked up in the kitchen area. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we bought a propane stove and tank from a friend thinking when we installed it in the basement connecting its stack to the chimney it would kick out enough heat to warm that frigid space and the rising heat would make the kitchen area (still under major renovation) livable. Well, not so much. I’m not sure what the problem is, but the stove never functioned above a low flame and burned through a 100-gallon tank of propane in five days at that low setting. Yikes! So, we’ve moved to plan B. Ian bought a vent-free (propane) gas space heater that he is installing on the north kitchen wall where it connects to the outside tank. I’ll be glad when that baby is fired up.

Ian is also working on rerouting bathroom water pipes that have a habit of freezing. He’s about halfway through with this job. With those pipes redone and the new heater fired up, we should be great for the rest of the winter. I just keep thinking how lovely everything will be when it’s all finished!

Our snowplow guy, Chris, just arrived. He always does such a good job moving the snow from the driveway, the house door and in front of the barn so we have access to everywhere we need to go.

The horses are happily eating one of the 1600-pound round bales of hay we roll into the pasture. They also have warmed water to drink from two 100-gallon tanks. There’s also a deep, south-facing shelter that allows them all to get out of the wind. We place the hay bales on the south side of the barn so it acts as a wind break from the bitter north wind too.

Ian gets to work from home now until the first full week of January 2009, which saves a daily three-hour commute. I work tomorrow at the post office and on Saturday the 27th I will deliver mail as a substitute carrier on route 4, which is the route we live on. When I delivered this route on the 17th, it took me 10 hours, which is twice as long as it takes the route’s regular carrier. OK, so being a rural mail carrier is not one of my strengths. LOL

E-I-E-I-O

Robert Virgil Tiffany

2008-12-21T09:11:00.004-06:00

Yesterday, in a snow storm, Ian drove slowly for an hour to Pine City for us to attend my beloved Uncle Bob’s memorial service at the Pokegama Town Hall; the site of Uncle Bob and Aunt Carol’s 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration six years ago. That’s right; they were married for 56 years! Uncle Bob refused to have a traditional funeral gathering, said that he hated those, but liked the gatherings afterward, so that’s what he chose. Uncle Bob was 80 years old and had suffered in recent years from emphysema, edema and an aortic aneurism. He died peacefully on Friday, December 12, surrounded by family.

Ian and I enjoyed the buffet and visiting with three (Brenda, Scott, Marease) of my five first cousins; the other two (Rachael, Michael) needed to return to their homes in Alabama and South Dakota, respectively. Aunt Carol (on the right) was holding up well and ever the perfect hostess saw to everyone’s needs. Her sister Martha, also recently widowed, was there too. I hadn’t seen her since I was a kid in the 1960s.

I told my Mom, who is recovering in the hospital from knee replacement surgery, about Uncle Bob’s death. There were only three Tiffany children and Mom, the eldest, is now the only one left. Mom’s comment was that Bob had done everything in his life that he wanted to do – being married to Carol and living on their 200-acre farm, raising their five children, and doting over the 11 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Mom and Uncle Bob saw one another this spring when I drove Mom to the farm for lunch with Uncle Bob and Aunt Carol.

E-I-E-I-O

First snowfall of the season

2008-12-07T13:41:00.006-06:00

The last two days have been in the teens with a brisk wind that takes the temps to zero or dipping just below. We have two mares out of the herd of 10 that we feed and overnight in the barn – Windy and Bentley. The others are winter hearty with heavy, dense coats. They flourish on large, round hay bales and warmed water available to them 24/7 in the pasture. Windy and Bentley are low in the herd’s pecking order and get chased off the food, and have lost weight because of this.

Bentley, a 20+ year old Thoroughbred and former racehorse, has a terrible wind sucking (or cribbing) habit she picked up during her racing career. This habit is born when a high-energy animal athlete spends too many hours standing in a stall without other distractions. Bentley locks her mouth to an edge – usually a stall door or board – arches her neck to get a flexed stretch and then sucks in air. It is an odd sight and a habit that is almost impossible to break. The air fills her gut and leaves less room for food – she feels full, and she is, but with air versus nutritious food. To compensate, we feed her a high calorie feed designed for a senior (elderly) horse, in high volume, top dressed with corn oil as an easily digested fat, and now we are seeing the scales tip in a heavier more healthy direction.

Both Bentley and Windy are mellow, although Windy, being Arabian, is on the high strung end of the mellow continuum. In the late afternoon, she will pace the pasture gate, as if she has a watch wrapped to a front fetlock. Having been a racehorse, Bentley is accustomed to a lot of handling and not much rattles her. My coming late for chores or being slow with the feed ration sets her impatiently pawing the ground, but that’s about it. The other morning I discovered that our six geese cuddle together with Bentley in her stall at night. The geese have the run of the barn, yet they choose to feather in with the 17 hand tall Thoroughbred – who lies down to sleep in her 12 x 12 foot box stall! Would I love to get a picture of that nestling, but once the barn door opens in the wee hours the geese are up, wings and bills flapping ready to go out and Bentley finds her way deftly to all fours, leaning into her morning stretch – and if I’m too slow she begins pawing the stall floor.

As I mentioned, it’s been cold the past few days, so I elected to keep Windy and Bentley in all day rather than turning them out after breakfast. Regardless that my motive was to do something nice for them, this was not Windy’s idea of a fun time. She has a Plexiglas window in her stall – one where she can see the outside horses and visit (95% of horse communication is nonverbal) – which I found open to the air because she had kicked the heavy duty Plexiglas out of its frame, allowing Windy to put her head out or for the herd to visit (one head at a time) inside. No horses were injured, but now Windy has no view to the outside because her window is boarded up. Silly mare! The lesson I’m taking away is that she would rather be outside during the day, regardless of the weather. And, after all, she is dressed for it.

The post office is busy and I am working some days coming up to Christmas – I’m scheduled to deliver mail on the 17th and 27th, which should be fun.

This weekend, Ian’s installing a propane stove in the basement to help with heating the farmhouse. Our wood pellet stove does a good job in our living area and with the propane stove warming the basement; the entire house will be that much warmer. We bought this stove from a woman I work with at the post office, after I mentioned we were shopping for just the right thing - affordably priced - to heat the basement. Coincidentally, Julie was selling exactly what we wanted.

Today, the big flakes started to fall and it's accumulating. I'd say we have two inches on the ground now with more in the forecast. No green anything, other than pine trees, from now til April or May.

E-I-E-I-O

Meet Buddy

2008-11-30T13:04:00.003-06:00

The newest addition to our family is Buddy, a purebred 18-month-old male miniature poodle. He’s apricot colored and about the same size, maybe even slightly smaller than our housecat, Tiger. I first saw Buddy on the day before Thanksgiving at the Cambridge Pet Salon. I stopped to learn the cost of having our Labrador mix, Lady, bathed. She had been smelling quite doggy and needed her nails trimmed.

I saw this sweet-looking poodle cuddled in one of the groomer’s cages. Groomer Becky explained that he was for sale and had come from a puppy mill some weeks earlier. She said Buddy hadn’t been socialized and had been very thin. I held him and he was a good weight for his size/breed, was quite snuggly and came fully vaccinated. I’ve never owned a true lap dog, although Lady likes to jump up on our laps sometimes, but at 80 pounds she is so NOT a lap dog. Buddy weighs about 12 pounds, less than Tiger who last weighed in at 14! I don’t know where it began, but I’ve always loved an apricot colored poodle – regardless of size. Now, miniature is not the smallest, which is toy (think: Chihuahua). Anyway, I asked Ian, who looked at me like I had truly lost it, but said, “Yes.” We picked up a freshly groomed Buddy that day after Thanksgiving. We also dropped Lady off for her doggy spa treatment. Both smell great now.

In coming weeks we’ll have Buddy fixed. Lady’s spay, so there’s no true rush. I want him completely settled in to a routine with us, before we add in surgical procedures.

Being a poodle, Buddy requires grooming once every six weeks and he eats small dog food versus the larger chunk stuff Lady chows down. The winter weather may also require getting him a jacket for poop/pee outings. I draw the line at boots and hats though. Since we clip our horses, we may well learn how to clip Buddy’s coat properly and be able to handle this ourselves eventually. It cannot be rocket science!

Buddy has also been introduced to the outdoors Macdonald menagerie – the chickens, barn cats, geese and the horses. He thinks the latter are the biggest dogs he’s ever seen! The horses find him quite curious and line up at the fence when he bounces down to the barn accompanying Lady and me to do chores.

The best blessing of all so far is that Buddy is not a yappy dog. It’s just not part of his nature, and this may have something to do with his time at the puppy mill. Whatever the cause, we appreciate him not being a small dog vocalist.

E-I-E-I-O

Back at USPS

2008-11-30T12:05:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday, something happened to me that has never happened before – I was asked to not go through with my resignation, which as of the 20th I had already submitted. Let me back up and fill in some details. As I had mentioned in earlier posts, my 70-some-year-old postmaster, Helen, had been off work since the beginning of September. Helen takes the blood thinner Coumadin, which by some weird twist made veins in her left arm bleed and cause a painful bruised limb. Helen also has a blood clot pressing on a nerve in her upper left armpit that puts her hand to sleep. She was hospitalized Labor Day weekend in September for several days, then went on sick leave and I worked six-day weeks as her relief (my position title is Postmaster Relief - PMR) for the next eight weeks until Halloween week.

Against her doctor’s recommendation, Helen returned to work, which meant I worked only in the mornings helping to lift tubs and trays and with mail sorting; all of which she could not do. One of the many job requirements for all who work in a post office is that they can lift 70 pounds, which she’s not been able to do in recent years. Getting up at 5 a.m. every day to work 2 or 3 hours was just not worth it to me. Also, Ian and I have been discussing going to our home in Spain and being there for long stretches of time. OK, then why am I working when I could be focusing on selling more horses, packing and getting ready to spend time in Spain? So, on November 10, I gave Helen my written resignation that would be affective December 20. I also began working the standard PMR shift, Monday and Saturday mornings only. I did tell Helen I would be available if she went on full-time leave again and for any days when she has doctor appointments or doesn’t feel well. Because Helen could not do the morning sorts, she asked Dan, a neighboring post office PMR, to work the few weekday hours.

Dan and I are friends outside of work and when I visited him Thursday morning the 20th, he said there was a new person at the Stanchfield Post Office and that Helen was going on leave again. Needless to say, I was confused and shocked. I called and spoke to Helen, who informed me that it was her last day for many weeks and she had brought in Linda as Officer In Charge (OIC) from neighboring post office Mora. I asked why she hadn’t called me and she said she thought I didn’t want to do it, blah, blah, blah. I decided why wait til December to resign and I offered to turn in my keys that day – she accepted. This is the tale I did not go into in the earlier post saying I’d left USPS.

My feelings were hurt. In September, I’d dropped everything to go to Helen’s aide. There had never been any issues with me being in charge – in fact, I’d gotten things accomplished (reports files, etc.) that Helen hadn’t because she didn’t understand how to do what was needed on the computer. Why hadn’t Helen called me? I have finally come to realize that it is not important. I enjoyed several days off with days infused with joy and hunger to regain habits I’d given up – like writing, visiting friends, attending performing arts, etc.

On Tuesday, the 25th, Linda called me. On the day I’d counted out my cash drawer and turned in my office keys, I’d told her that I would wind up any last needed details on the 28th when I collected my final check. Linda asked if I would consider staying on as PMR for at least the weeks she was there managing the office in Helen’s absence. When an OIC is installed there is no coming in part days, as Helen did when I was there. She is officially off until she is fully capable to return to her position. Very diplomatically, Linda said she thought what had happened with Helen not contacting me, my abrupt departure, etc. had been wrong. She was also very up front with the fact that she was in a pinch without adequate back up to run the office or with someone to deliver mail, as I am also a Rural Carrier Associate (RCA) if a carrier is sick or takes vacation. It was her frankness that led me to say yes. Linda quickly put the wheels in motion to find my resignation paperwork and rip it up. My keys and badge were returned to me on the 28th. I worked my usual Saturday shift and will work as fulltime PMR December 2-9, RCA on the 17th, PMR again 18-22.

I have not forgotten that joy infusion and am working to fold creative events back into my life so that I don’t have all of my outlet eggs in one basket.

E-I-E-I-O

A Prairie Home Companion

2008-11-23T11:08:00.009-06:00

We had a great time attending the live recording of A Prairie Home Companion at the Fitzgerald Theatre in downtown St. Paul. We rendezvoused with Marcia out front and then tucked into seats 8, 9 & 10 of Balcony 2 Right. The Fitzgerald uses its space well and while the row leg room is reminiscent of flying transatlantic coach, it wasn’t uncomfortable.

I knew the other friends we were meeting, Lisa and Frank, were somewhere in the auditorium, and via cell phones and roundhouse arm gestures, Lisa and I found each other during the short intermission.

The featured musical guest was Indy singer Kristin Andreassen. I had never heard of her, but over the years I’ve learned to trust APHC host Garrison Keillor’s eclectic, wide-ranging musical tastes. Andreassen’s “Crayola Doesn’t Make A Color to Draw My Love” is accompanied by a patty cake game, which you can listen on her My Space page.

Multitalented Gospel singing sisters Jevetta and Jearlyn Steele were also folded into the show’s various skits.

I marvel at Garrison Keillor’s huge talent; his capacity for memorization, spontaneity, and how generous he is with his guests, showcasing them in the best light.

Assembling in the lobby, we headed to Everest On Grand, a Nepali restaurant, which is one of Lisa and Frank’s favorites.

A 25-minute wait turned into 40 minutes, but it was well worth it. A new friend, Katherine, joined us for dinner. She had bought a last minute “rush” ticket and got a standing-room-only space on the rail. A page from the small world book, Marcia and Katherine knew one another from working at the University of Minnesota! Once the six of us were seated, we began with “Yak balls” appetizers, which are showcased on the restaurants homepage.

The wine and beer menu revealed a wonderful French surprise, a bottle of Cotes du Rhone (Rhone Hills) red wine by a tasty vintner, Monsieur Chapoutier, which we ordered tout de suite.

Ian ordered lamb curry and I got an Indian favorite, Palek Panner, which we shared. The dinner conversations were wide ranging, interesting and rapid, all done as we sampled each other's main courses. Sated, we headed to W. A. Frost & Company bar on Cathedral Hill at Selby & Western Avenues for a nightcap.

Ian, Lisa and Frank enjoyed Laphroaig (pronounced “la froig”), which is a single malt Scotch whisky. Katherine ordered port, Marcia a brandy Manhattan, I had a lovely dry sherry and four of us savored crème brulee.

Near the bewitching hour, Ian pointed our 1996 Chevy Lumina homeward and began the hour drive. Lady and Tiger were extra pleased to see us, as the pellet stove had gone out and the house temperature was around 40 degrees. I restarted the stove and turned on our electric mattress warmer while Ian closed up the barn. We had anticipated a late night and had done chores earlier in the afternoon. Windy and Bentley were brought into their stalls, fed and watered at 3 versus 6 p.m. and we left the barn door open so that the six geese would come in and settled in for the night. Ian noted they were cuddled in the barn aisle when he came to say good night.

E-I-E-I-O

Saturday freedom!

2008-11-22T13:21:00.000-06:00

This is the first Saturday in I can't remember how many when I am not working at the post office. I resigned and my last day was Thursday, the 20th. Actually, my last day was to be December 20, but things came together more quickly in a tale of events I won't go into here. I am happy and feel very blessed! I enjoyed my 13 months there, but have been feeling the need to move on for a while. I am not using my God-given talents and was really feeling the pressure of that. So, in releasing that obligation, we will see what God has planned for me ... His plans are always best!

Ian continues to work as a contractor with General Mills. He is working on revamping its entire online recipe division - this is a LONG TERM, well funded project and the Big G are happy to have Ian on the lead team.

This morning, Ian and I attended a U of MN sponsored horse program held in Cambridge at the local high school. There were a series of workshops on various topics, including the three we attended Winter Horse Care, Older Horse Care and what resources are available to people who own unwanted horses. I learned some and had info I already knew validated, so that was good.

This afternoon, we are meeting friends in St. Paul at the Fitzgerald Theatre to see Garrion Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion. The program begins at 4:45 CT and will be taped for broadcast later this evening and replayed again tomorrow. You can hear it on your local public radio station.

The program is 2 hours. Afterwards we are going to eat Tibetan food at a place on Grand Avenue. Should be fun!

Last night, Ian and I watched The Water Horse on DVD. What a great movie. I recommend it for kids of ALL ages.

E-I-E-I-O

Deaths in the family

2008-10-20T11:24:00.010-05:00

On Monday, October 13, my 2nd husband, Niels van Everdinck, died from a brain stroke after being hospitalized for pneumonia. Niels was only 50 years old. He lived alone, save for three cats, estranged from his two wonderful sisters, in the same apartment he and I shared in The Hague, The Netherlands (Holland) in 2001. A neighbor had noticed that she had not seen Niels leave the apartment in as much as a week, and notified the police, who after bashing in his door, found Niels half conscious and sick with pneumonia. He was rushed to the hospital, but died the next day. One sister contacted me for a hint about who his friends were and luckily I could put her in touch with one, who was a link to the others. As you can imagine the news was quite a shock. I can't say I thought of Niels often, or maybe even thought of him at all, but this end was certainly a sad ending.

[The balance of this post was entered at a later date] The following Monday, the 20th, my stepfather, Ernie Pfannschmidt, died from a cerebral hemorrhage that resulted from a fall in his home on the 18th. Dad was 90 years old, still living and running his home in Anoka, MN.

My two younger brothers (Ernie's sons), Mark and Matthew, and other close family members were at Dad's hospital bedside when he died. It was very peaceful. His pastor was also at the hospital and conducted a wonderful bedside service. Dad's funeral was at his home church in St. Francis, MN on October 24. Mark played Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring on viola while wife Laura accompanied on piano. Later during the service, Laura accompanied Matthew as he sang, "I Need Thee Every Hour." I'm confident Dad is happy to join his 2nd wife Gladys, who preceded him in death in 1999.

E-I-E-I-O

Fall update

2008-10-08T11:38:00.000-05:00

I bought six Pilgrim geese at a local auction. There are 4 ganders (males) and 2 geese (females). The sex of both goslings and mature Pilgrim geese can be distinguished by color. This is known as auto-sexing. Males are white and females are grey. Bills and legs are orange in both sexes, while the eyes are blue in ganders and dark brown in geese. Only the mating pair came assigned with names; George & Gracie. The remaining geese are their offspring hatched in 2007. They spent the night in the barn aisle and their days in the horse pasture eating grass and drinking from puddles. I filled the wading pool I had some our first set of geese and they like to visit that too.

I continue to work part-time at the local post office. Lately, I’ve put in fulltime hours because the postmaster Helen is out on medical leave. Helen does come in a few hours a week, which is very helpful.

After not working since February, Ian began a consulting job just after Labor Day. He commutes an hour to the Cities and enjoys the work. It’s nice that gas prices are getting lower, as it makes the commute much more affordable.

The horses are all fine. They’re all situated in the pasture closest to the barn munching on two round bales of hay we bought last weekend. The three 2008 fillies are growing nicely. They’re stabled in the barn and learning halter training and being handled.

Renoir enjoys his big box stall and his outdoor paddock. In late September, we took him to the Minnesota Fall Fest at the MN State Fairgrounds for the Minnesota Arabian Horse Breeders Stallion Parade. Ian did an excellent job showing him off to the audience. Ian showed a 2 yr old stud colt for a friend of ours at that show too.

Weekends are spent getting the house ready for the MN winter. Ian’s installing thick insulation panels around the first floor of the house and sealing the window edges with foam. We’re planning to install a new main exterior door, which will help cut down on the draft. The in-floor heating system needs to be hooked up too, which along with the pellet stove, will keep us very warm.

The autumn colors are lovely – lots of oranges and yellows and the occasional red.

E-I-E-I-O

All to happy homes

2008-09-06T18:51:00.000-05:00

This afternoon we hauled Clifford, the Half Arabian gelding, to his new home - a full service boarding stable - near Nowthen, MN. His new owner Michelle will do a good job with him - they will teach one another.

Cliffy is the last of the three geldings (the other two are purebred Arabians) we sold in August and got off to new homes - all to female owners! We've still got more to sell, but having a few less mouths to feed always helps.

The weather feels like fall in the mornings and evenings; not cold, but decidedly cooler than the deep summer weeks. It's welcome as long as we don't plunge into winter too fast. We've got to winterize the outside of the house before the snow flies. As long as we keep that on the upper most part of our To Do List, we'll be fine.

E-I-E-I-O

Selling and weaning horses

2008-08-26T07:38:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I sold our four-year-old unregistered purebred Arabian gelding, Jay, to a family in Dundas, MN. He will be going to a good home where he will be ridden and well cared for.

On August 19, "Cairo" (Windstorm GTC), was sold to a lady in Sartell, MN. He will be boarded at a nice facility and be used as a trail horse. Like Jay, Cairo is also a purebred four-year-old Arabian gelding - but Cairo has registration papers. Cairo was the first horse we bought in December 2005, shortly after we bought the farm.

Our 2007 gelding, "Clifford" (AMF Royal Red Ferrari), who was sold earlier this month, will be going to a new home at a boarding facility that has a heated, indoor arena where he can be worked during the winter months. It is also closer to where his new owner lives in Elk River, MN.

All three horses we've sold this month were posted for sale on the Internet.

On Sunday evening, we weaned our three 2008 fillies. There's always lots of noise with any weaning, but things seem quieter today. The mommies are out in the back pasture with the rest of the herd. The fillies each have their own stall and will be handled more and more each day. We'll work on halter training them and socializing them to be handled by humans.

E-I-E-I-O

AMF Royal Red Ferrari

2008-08-11T12:05:00.001-05:00

We sold our Goldmount Royal Design yearling gelding "Clifford" today to a couple from Elk River, MN. He is going to grow up to be an awesome performance horse and can begin his under saddle training this time next year.

E-I-E-I-O

Bye-bye baby Latte

2008-07-28T13:38:00.000-05:00

Sadly and unexpectedly, our 2008 chestnut tobiano colt, Latte, died. He was born on June 3, sired by American Saddlebred stallion Famous Echo SCA and out of our Arabian Psyche mare, RJ Kissthe Wind. We had no clues as to why, so I suspect the cause was something he was born with. He will be missed, but we know he's galloping in God's greenest pastures ... where the bugs don't bite!

E-I-E-I-O

Renoir gets Region X Reserve Champion Stallion AOTH

2008-06-13T03:23:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning, Ian and Legacys Renoir took a Regional Top Five ribbon and the Reserve Champion (2nd place) in the Amateur Owner To Handle stallion halter class! Yippee! There were three horses in the class and the horse that won was a Magnum Psyche son trained by Mike Neal.

So, Renoir and Ian are now qualified to show at both Canadian Nationals (Regina, Saskatchewan in August) and US Nationals (Tulsa, Oklahoma in October) in the amateur and open stallion classes.

Our friends Steve and Terri came to cheer and take photos and I’ll share some highlights when I get copies. As you can imagine, we’re very happy!

It was nice to have our former trainer, Jerry Schall, to come up and say how wonderfully Renoir showed and how great he looks. We brought Renoir home from Shada in May and are handling all his care and training ourselves.

We opted for two days rest away from the show and came home just after noon yesterday. We will return Saturday afternoon to show in the evening stallion class that closes the Region 10 Championship Show.

E-I-E-I-O

Renoir's Region X Pre Show Results

2008-06-11T11:52:00.000-05:00

This morning we showed our stallion, Legacys Renoir, at the Region X Pre Show in St. Paul, MN on our own. Ian showed in two classes; number 108 Arabian Stallion Breeding 2 Years Old & Over and number 110 Arabian Colt & Stallion Breeding Amateur To Handle.

In the first class, Ian was entry number 307 and took third following professional handlers Andy Sellman and Jeff Schall. There were four horses in that class. Then, two classes later, Ian and Renoir got a second place ribbon. There were three horses in that class. I didn't have time to find out who we were competing against - no use to psyche ourselves out beforehand. I'll look up online results after the show!

Now Renoir and Ian are qualified to show in the amateur owner to handle (AOTH) class number 301 at the Region 10 Championship Show that begins here tomorrow morning. We’re also going to show Renoir Saturday evening in class 416 Arabian Stallion Breeding 2 & Over class. Ian and Renoir will be entry number 901 for the Regional show.

I’m very proud of how Ian handled Renoir. They made a good team and looked good together. It's the third time Ian's ever shown and the first time he's shown in MN, the other times were in Scottsdale, AZ.

After tomorrow morning’s class we’re going to take Renoir home and we’ll return Saturday afternoon.

It was fun to bathe, groom and prep Renoir ourselves. We like being hands-on owners.

Right now we're with our dog Lady snuggled cozy in our trailer parked on site with rain coming down pretty steady. Thankfully, our classes were done before it began pouring. Renoir's bathed and happily munching hay in his stall.

E-I-E-I-O

Region 10 and a new foal!

2008-06-10T17:37:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow, Wednesday, is the 2008 Arabian Horse Association Region 10 Championship Pre-Show. The pre-show is a qualifying show to compete at the regional level. There are other ways to qualify – going to other shows earlier in the season and placing 1st or 2nd in your class – but the pre-show is the last opportunity before the championship classes, which run Thursday through Sunday.

This is the first time we are showing Legacys Renoir ourselves, without a professional trainer/handler being involved. We believe that God wants us to do this horse stuff ourselves and not spend money on outside boarding and training. We have learned a lot since we began showing two years ago and now, with Renoir living on the farm with us, we’re going to put what we’ve learned into practice. We show twice tomorrow morning and once Thursday morning, then we’ll go home and return Saturday afternoon to show that evening.

Renoir is already qualified from his win here last year with a professional handler, but Ian wants to show Renoir in an Amateur Owner To Handle (AOTH) class at the regional level and they’re not qualified together for that. Our goal is to continue from regional level to show at the national level. We need 10 points from class A show placements or a Top 5 placement at a regional championship. Renoir and Ian showed AOTH in Scottsdale and have accumulated five of the 10 needed.

This season’s only colt was born in the wee hours of June 3. I came to the barn to feed breakfast and his little white nose poked through the stall door to greet me. Windy had handled everything herself and all went well. His registered name will be AMF Famous Latte Kiss and his barn name is “Latte.” He is a chestnut tobiano Half Arabian pinto, with lots of white, hence his name. His sire is the homozygous tobiano pinto Saddlebred stallion, Famous Echo SCA. I can see the characteristics he’s passed on, in addition to the pinto coloring, as Latte has long legs, a strong build and a beautifully arched neck.

Princess and her dam Elly are also at the Auld Macdonald Farm. All four foals that we bred last year have arrived and are growing very nicely! We’ve already begun breeding for 2009! All of our mares are being bred to Renoir.

Send us good wishes as we strike out on our own in the horse show business.

E-I-E-I-O

AMF Renoirs Bey B

2008-05-25T08:50:00.000-05:00

Our 1994 grey mare, Khatalina Bey, caught us off guard when she delivered a filly in the pasture Friday morning. Legacys Renoir sired this chestnut filly and she looks very much like him. Her barn name will be “Baby.” She was not due until June 1, but is coming along well.

We’ve got one more foal coming; this one will be a Half Arabian pinto out of our purebred Arabian mare RJ Kiss the Wind ("Windy"), sired by a homozygous pinto American Saddlebred stallion named Famous Echo (“homozygous pinto” means he always sires pinto babies). We own all of Windy’s babies – Windstorm GTC ("Cairo"), the 2004 purebred chestnut gelding sired by Desert Heat VF, the 2005 Half Arabian pinto gelding, AMF Xtreme Kiss ("Kiss"), sired by the homozygous pinto American Saddlebred stallion, TF Xtreme, and last year’s purebred bay filly, AMF Troublesomes Kiss ("Kisses"), sired by RSA Troublesome.

This morning, Windy is waxing (sticky droplets on the ends of the teats), so we're keeping her comfy in her box stall and expecting her to foal within the next 24-48 hours. According to the gestation calendar, she's not due until June 1, but ... frankly, it will be nice to have all of our 2008 babies born before the month of May ends.

Yesterday, we went to New Richmond, Wisconsin to our friends Kathy & Larry and to pick up two of their purebred grey Arabian mares, Mara and Eve, to breed to Renoir. Mara, is actually a re-breed. She bore a filly sired by Renoir earlier this month, but sadly it died during the birthing process. As you can imagine that was very sad for her owners. Once these two mares are confirmed in foal we will haul them home again.

Tomorrow morning, we return to Larry & Kathy's again to pick up purebred Arabian mare VG Elambra ("Elly") and her filly AMF Renoirs La Tiara, who was born on May 1. The filly's barn name is "Princess" and she’s so friendly. She likes to nibble on Larry's shirt tail and then scoot away when she's discovered. Last year, we leased Elly from Kathy & Larry because we felt her double Gamaar bloodlines would cross well with Renoir’s – we were right! Princess is ours and we will breed Elly to Renoir again.

Our Half Arabian palomino filly, AMF Royals Gold Tango, born May 4, is growing very well too. Tango likes to run, run, run when she and her mother are outside. She’s friendly too, which is the way we like to keep all of our horses.

Those are today's horse news updates!

E-I-E-I-O

AMF Royals Gold Tango

2008-05-05T13:06:00.000-05:00

Our MaRoSh-bred chestnut Arabian mare, MAF Last Dance, had a huge, golden palomino filly yesterday. She was born around 9 p.m. and is colored much like her sire, palomino Saddlebred stallion Goldmount Royal Design. This Half Arabian filly is really pretty and already quite curious.

We will register as AMF Royals Gold Tango. Her barn name is Tango.

That's two fillies for us since May 1. Renoir's first foal out of a double Gamaar daughter was born Thursday.

We've still got 2 more mares foaling this month; one foal will be a Half Arabian pinto sired by Saddlebred stallion Famous Echo SCA, and the other purebred Arabian mare is in foal to Renoir.

It pays to 'think pink.'

E-I-E-I-O

AMF Renoirs La Tiara

2008-05-02T17:40:00.000-05:00

Last night, the first foal sired by our stallion Legacys Renoir was born to VG Elambra (V G Elerros x HCF Ambruzia, a *Zbrucz daughter), a 1997 chestnut mare we leased from our friends Larry and Kathy Rappley of Valglynya Arabians. The filly is chestnut with four white socks and a thin strip blaze. She and mommy are doing well at home in New Richmond, Wisconsin.

We’ve decided that her registered name will be AMF Renoirs La Tiara. Her barn name will be “la princesa” (the princess).

Ian and I are going to see the pair later today.

E-I-E-I-O

End of April 2008

2008-04-30T15:23:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe it’s been so long since I’ve written an update! Springtime is trying to spring in Minnesota. We have had some nice sunny days, but things are still a bit cool and we did have a snowstorm just last week. This weekend’s weather prediction is highs in the 40s, so it’s still cold!

The winter was tough – weather-wise and financially – tough enough to consider packing it in and returning to live in Europe, where the Euro is strong and there’s no double-digit below zero temperatures! However, with some more time and reflection, kind of like the weather, we too are on an upswing. I continue to work part time at the post office and really enjoy the people and the work. Ian has been hauling horses around the country using our one-ton truck and the 3-horse, living-quarter trailer. He finds clients online and takes horses from sellers to their new homes. The longest trip to date was from the panhandle of Idaho to Illinois. He’s been hauling a lot between Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan. He’s driven through all four seasons of weather these last weeks – snow in the Rockies, thunderstorms in Illinois, warm sunshine in Michigan and chilly Wisconsin mornings! It keeps us afloat and Ian’s seeing some beautiful parts of this country!

The animals are all fine. We’ve got three mares that are due to deliver during May. Two are Half Arabians sired by Saddlebred stallions – one of which will be a pinto, like our two-year-old gelding, Kiss. The other, a purebred, is sired by our stallion, Legacys Renoir.

Speaking of Renoir, we’re going to bring him home from the trainer. We have learned a lot about horse care in the two years we’ve had horses at home and we’ve learned another level of care and training during the time we’ve boarded and shown horses with trainers. We’re confident we can do it ourselves now.

Ian is building a lovely stall for Renoir and we’ll finish a nice outdoor paddock too, so he should be a very happy horse. He’s never lived anywhere that has an outdoor space. Of course, we’ll be using him to breed our mares and not have to pay the hefty “collection” fee charged by the trainer. We are also going to market him as a breeding stallion ourselves. Renoir is admired in the Arabian show world and even in this tough economy, his breedings should sell. We’re also looking forward to learn the quality of the babies he sired due in the coming weeks, as that will also help to sell breedings. It will be nice to work with Renoir on a daily basis.

We sold two horses recently, Whisper, a four-year-old blue roan gelding and Nutmeg, a 10-year-old chestnut Quarter horse mare. Both are going to really special families. It’s interesting that they were sold during the same week, as we bought them two years ago together at the same horse auction. We still have six more that are actively for sale and the market is picking up. I say “actively” because every horse on the farm is technically for sale!

My show gelding, Lookin For Trouble, came home from the trainer in March. I’ve not ridden him yet, but he has been started under saddle. He’s enjoying just being a horse in the pasture right now. As soon as things dry out – the snow melt and spring rain has things quite soggy – I will saddle him up and see what he’s learned.

I’ll make an effort to keep in touch more regularly. The coming weeks should be very interesting and fruitful here on the farm.

E-I-E-I-O

Renoir's Class Results

2008-02-23T15:21:00.001-06:00

Renoir’s class was this morning (Arabian Breeding/Halter 6 & 7 yr old Stallions) with our trainer Jerry Schall. It was a tough class and Renoir came in third behind two US National Champions (MPA Giovanni and Major Jamaal). He was awarded two Scottsdale Top Tens (the first with Ian), which is nothing to sneeze at. Scottsdale is an excellent indicator of how a horse will be able to compete nationally. Both Jerry and his brother Jeff said for us to keep in mind that this show is especially political – with back scratching and other conflict of interests sometimes adding to the competition. Regardless, we are pleased with the outcomes from both Renoir’s showings. Ian and I are very proud of our boy!

I’m hoping his 2008 show debut gets more people interested in breeding to him, which is where the money is really made in owning a stallion. Of course, his first foals begin arriving in April and it will be fun to see what he sires.

We met some nice horse people here, including the couple who bred Renoir. They were very pleased with his development and how we are bringing him along on the show circuit. That’s quite a compliment for us – we’ve only been doing this for two years and with Renoir, only since last summer.

We’re packing up the trailer to get it itched to the truck and will begin heading home this afternoon. It is bright sunshine, blue skies and 70+ degrees. We plan to drive as far as Albuquerque and then we’ll stop for the night. Ian expects – weather permitting – we’ll get home late Sunday/early Monday morning.

E-I-E-I-O

Ian & Renoir

2008-02-16T08:06:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a LONG day waiting for Ian and Renoir to show. Ian was dressed in his suit and ready to show by 1 p.m. but because of the large classes that ran before, the pouring rain, unseasonable cold and eventual venue change, he didn't show until 5 p.m. We made ourselves comfortable at the Shada Arabian stalls, where we waited in its living room area. Finally, just after 4 p.m. classes were moved from the outdoor Wendell Arena to covered Arena 5a, and this patient duo showed in a class of nine. The two moved beautifully together and Ian always had him under control -- no small feat with a stallion. I was proud of both and so was our trainer Jerry. In fact, Jerry was SO sure Ian had nailed the first place that when the second place horse was named he said, "Come on, Janet, let's go and get his [Renoir's] ribbons so Ian can take him back in a show him in the Championship class." BUT as we walked to the arena gate another horse was named in first place. Renoir DID get a Scottsdale Top 10 ribbon and plaque - which is a great honor too.

Today, we will be able to review the judging cards and learn where each of the three judges placed Renoir in the final class standings.

All of the supportive, good wishes were really appreciated.

Now, Renoir shows with Jerry in a tough open stallion class on Saturday morning the 23rd! They will show before a different judging panel.

Sure, it would have great for Ian to win with Renoir in the AOTH class, but neither of us are disappointed with our efforts. Ian had FUN and that's a big part of why we are doing this.

E-I-E-I-O

Happy Valentine's Day from Scottsdale

2008-02-14T18:23:00.000-06:00

This morning on the radio, NPR's Morning Edition did a segment with one of my favorite chefs, Nigella Lawson! To listen to her talk with the host about chocolate was a treat in itself.

Listening to chefs inspires me, so for breakfast, I baked blueberry/cornbread muffins and made cheesy scrambled eggs using black pepper-laced cream cheese. We bought cards for one another – Ian’ a very good card-picker-outer. He also reminded me that our first Valentine's Day together (2002) was spent amongst boxes in our rooftop apartment on Padilla in Barcelona - we had moved in days earlier. This afternoon he brought me three delicious chocolate truffles, which I shared, and a bottle of Spanish cava, which is chilling for a Valentine's dinner toast.

Here in Scottsdale it’s a day of waiting. All of the barns and vendors have finished putting their storefronts together and are ready for tomorrow’s show opening. We’ve listened to saws, hammers and staple guns for several days as things come together in the stall areas. Now all the draped fronts with farm logos are up – kind of like booths at a trade show – and we’re ready to begin. We joined in by putting up a 48-inch high, twinkling lighted horse at the front of our living quarter’s trailer.

Lady, Ian and I have walked the West World grounds watching horses being exercised. We noted how many riders multitask talking to clients or staffs back at home while either atop steeds or standing point as a horse lunges around them.

Tomorrow the vendor areas will open! There are hundreds of square feet of everything equine related that you can imagine. I rarely buy, but it is fun to shop. These tents are also dog friendly, so Lady comes along on her leash.

I trimmed Ian’s hair and beard, so like Renoir, he’s “show clipped” and ready to perform. He’s decided to wear a charcoal grey suit with a pale pink shirt and a two-tone purple tie. His class is number 50 in Wendell Arena tomorrow afternoon. The afternoon sessions begin at noon, and since his is the tenth in it could be around 2 p.m. MT. If he and Renoir place first or second in class 50, they return immediately and compete for the championship in class 51, which is composed of first and second place winners from classes 50 (Arabian Breeding /Halter 5 year & older Stallions Amateur Owner To Handle) and 49, (Arabian Breeding /Halter 3 & 4 year old Stallions Amateur Owner To Handle). The winner of class 51 will be named Scottsdale Senior Champion Stallion AOTH (amateur owner to handle).

If you’re into watching some classes live, you can do this online at Arab Horse.

Legacys Renoir will also show in class number 386 on Saturday morning, February 26. The classes begin at 8 a.m. (Arizona is in Mountain Time) in Wendell Arena and Renoir shows with Jerry Schall in the second class of the morning. We will be packed and ready to head home soon after that class runs. It’s a long way home and I am scheduled to work Tuesday morning.

E-I-E-I-O

Scottsdale Roadtrip

2008-02-12T21:30:00.000-06:00

Here’s the first installment from Scottsdale. We are here attending the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show. Ian will be showing our six-year-old purebred Arabian breeding stallion, Legacys Renoir, in a halter class for amateur owners this Friday and Renoir will also show with our trainer Jerry Schall in the open stallion class on Saturday, February 23. We bought Renoir in December 2006, and have spent the last year getting him ready for this campaign of national-level shows. He will show here, in Las Vegas in April, at Canadian Nationals in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada in August and, finally, in Tulsa, Oklahoma at US Nationals in October. As a yearling, Renoir blew everyone away here at Scottsdale when he unexpectedly won. Horse shows, like many other things in life, have their political aspects so an unknown horse and handler winning is really big and says a lot of the quality of the horse.

Now that you know why we’re here, let me tell you about our road trip from Minnesota to Arizona. We left as planned on Saturday morning, February 9, just after 10 when my shift ended at the post office. Ian and Lady picked me up in our one-ton Chevrolet dually pulling our living quarters trailer. (We have an RV spot reserved in Scottsdale on the West World exhibition lot.) It was snowing as we headed south. We decided to try an alternate route around the Cities and learned that highway 65 to highway 100 to 494 to 35W is NOT the way to go. It looks shorter, but it has its various forms of delays. Next time, we’ll just go 95 east to 35 and go south.

The weather turned a bit scary south of Lakeville when the sun that shone in the Cities was blocked by fog and blowing snow. The drifts in the ditches were high and allowed the accumulated wind blown snow to snake across 35’s blacktop. We drove slowly, following the center line, as the roadway edges were blurred. Why people do not understand that this is a time to slow their speed and put more space between vehicles is beyond me. I knew sooner or later we’d see cars in the ditch and sure enough the numbers began to mount near Owatonna. In fact, we sat stopped just past there and waited for 30 minutes as a bad accident was cleared. A one-ton truck hauling a six-horse trailer was nearly involved in that pile up, but rather than hit a car, this driver had made the good sense move toward the snow-filled ditch rather than hit his brakes, possibly jackknifing or tipping the load. The truck and trailer were buried in snow midway up the door, but all were safe an unharmed. We saw the driver patiently reading the paper waiting for his turn to be pulled out. The going was slow from there pretty much to the Iowa border where the weather improved.

That first day we drove the 700+ miles to Wichita, Kansas, arriving at 1 a.m., where we spent the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Ian fired up the generator, turned on the furnace and the bed’s electric blanket so we were quite cozy.

We were up just before 6, and after a McDonald’s breakfast, were on the road by 6:30. Here we left I-35 and took US 54, heading southwest. We saw green grass beginning to grow and saw the occasional oil derricks with their rocking hammerheads kissing the ground. Ian tells me that in the UK they’re called nodding donkeys. There was not a lot of snow, which left the palette mostly shades of brown, yellow and dirt white. The prairie stretched out before us and it was rare to see a mailbox, let alone a town. Here, I think route inspection must be done with crop duster using binoculars to spot mailboxes rather than by car!

At 8:30, we passed through Greensburg, Kansas, which was leveled by a killer tornado in May of this year. The devastation was almost complete, with its post office, and maybe two other businesses, looking untouched or maybe they were rebuilt already. What had been mature trees were nothing more than twisted, dead and dying trunks. It was very sad – a true testament to the power of such storms.

We crossed onto the Oklahoma panhandle at 10:30, where the air coated everything with a layer of frost, and a red clay color was added to the winter weary landscape. When we did pass through small towns I saw food chains I thought were long dead, like Long John Silver’s. The stretches of road were so long between towns and houses that a sign reading, “USPS rural carrier roadside stop,” just past Hooker, Oklahoma, seemed very appropriate. Surely, one must need a break from all that driving.

For many miles our road ran adjacent to a busy train track. All were running opposite us, headed northeast, all filled, often with more than two engines, but none with a caboose. I can’t remember the last time I saw train with a caboose.

At 11:30, we entered what is surely the most uninteresting part of the great State of Texas. That said, just outside of Dalheart Ian and I saw what must have been nearly 100 acres of penned beef cattle. There must have been thousands in large lots on both sides of the road. It was feeding time and grain was being delivered using a 12-ton dump truck, the same type used to haul gravel! Each pen had jet sprayers mounted at the corners and I think they’re to either cool the cattle or keep the bugs at bay – maybe both?

At 1:15, on Sunday, we crossed into New Mexico and lost an hour as we went to Mountain Time. From here it was 52 miles to Tucumcari, where we would join I-40 west. The weather was warmer and we stopped at a wide spot in the road called Nasa Visa, which is about the same size as Stanchfield, where we stood in the sunshine and ate cold, baked Cornish game hens we’d packed, while Lady sniffed and stretched her legs. The nicest building in this otherwise ghost town was its brick-red post office.

The warmer sun found us as we headed west along I-40. The prairie gave way to red rock outcropping and billboards touting jewelry, pottery and other goods made by Ute and Navajo. It was still on the coolish side and some snow was still evident at the higher elevations. We climbed to Albuquerque and stopped for dinner at the Route 66 Casino, just as the sun set. After dinner I dozed in the front seat and Ian woke me as we crossed into Arizona at 10 p.m. (CT). I took heart thinking our trip was near its end – HA! It was another six hours until we arrived in Scottsdale.

We left I-40 at Holbrook and took what amounts to the back roads. The decent from 6000 feet went well, but it was tiring as we slowed to 30 mph every time we came to a steep grade that lasted for several miles at a time. Last year, we’d gone to Flagstaff before descending into the Phoenix Valley, and that was harrowing with cars zipping around us at breakneck speeds while our truck and trailer with a combined (empty) weight of 26,000 pounds needed to be kept under some degree of control.

When the mountain road emptied into a sleeping Scottsdale, Ian pointed us across the city and found West World and our designated RV parking spot easily. Not wishing to wake our neighbors, we whispered directions to one another as the trailer was parked and we settled in for what was left of the night.

Yesterday, after a few hours needed sleep, we arose later to sunshine and temperatures that climbed into the 70s. A nice remedy for the weary.

The truck and trailer were both caked in salt and other winter road dirt. We found a Laundromat for our own wash, which was conveniently located next to a coin-operated car wash. I pumped quarters into a slot while Ian manned the high pressure spray gun and soap wand that eventually revealed the truck’s true color.

We ran other errands around the city with our windows down and we dressed short sleeved shirts and packed our winter wear in the trailer for return trip use.

Also on Monday we rendezvoused with Jerry Schall and Ian had a lesson with Renoir. Renoir has been here in Scottsdale since the end of January and seems to really enjoy his sun-filled stall and the warmer temps. Ian and Renoir looked very good together and we’re looking for a very good result on Friday. Wish us luck.

E-I-E-I-O

Happy February!

2008-02-01T14:25:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow, in the United States and Canada, it’s Groundhog Day. In weather lore, if a groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, marmot or ground squirrel, emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If the groundhog sees its shadow, it will return into its burrow, and the winter will continue for six more weeks. Well, it’s cloudy today in Minnesota, but regardless of what the furry rodent sees or doesn’t see, there will be another six weeks of winter here! Maybe even another 10!

The weather in January was really deep freeze cold with actual temperatures at 10 and 20 below zero and with wind chills that dipped and stayed at -30. The corn stove did the best it could, but there were days it was just miserable and even being indoors was best spent bundled in layers, which sometimes included ski pants, gloves and winter hat. Today, we are at 10 degrees Fahrenheit and with no wind it feels quite nice when doing chores outside.

Ian fixed three burst pipes in the crawlspace area of the basement. These old copper pipes were not insulated and of course the basement itself is not heated. Ian replaced the lengths of pipe with a plastic pipe product called Pex. He’s also placed an electric space heater facing into the crawlspace and this has done the trick to keep our water from freezing. Ian also built a hutch around the water pump in the basement because its switches, which are mounted on an outside, un-insulated wall, kept freezing open and stopping the flow of water into the tank, which meant we didn’t have water then either – in the house or the barn. This hutch is also warmed with a small heater, and we have had no problems in recent days. I can’t imagine what a plumber’s bill would have been!

For the last two full weeks in January, I worked at the post office for
Helen while she was in Mexico on vacation. It was fun and I learned a
lot. Now I am back to my usual Saturday and Monday morning shift. I am called in once in a while when Helen has an appointment or just wants a day off. She’s been working with the postal service for decades – four, I think – so she’s got plenty of vacation time she can use.

The horses we have here at the farm did very well during the cold
weather. They are quite fuzzy and well nourished. They have places to
get in out of the wind and they have access to 800 pound round bales of
hay and warmed 100-gallon tanks of water. With their shelter, food and
water needs being met, they’re quite hearty creatures.

Our stallion Legacys Renoir is in the southwestern United States in Scottsdale, Arizona acclimatizing to the warmer, drier weather that he will show in on the 15 and 23 of this month. Ian will show Renoir on the 15th in an amateur-owner-to-handle class (AOTH) and one week later our trainer Jerry Schall will show Renoir in the senior stallions open class. Ian, Lady and I are leaving for Scottsdale on Saturday, February 9. It’s 30+ hours of driving and we’ll stay on the show grounds in our trailer. Tina will take care of the horses, barn cats and chickens while we’re away. We will board our housecat Tiger at a local kennel. We plan to begin heading back to Minnesota on Sunday morning.

We’re starting to hear percolations of interest from real estate agents
in Spain regarding chalet number 11. For the English version, click on "English" in the top right-hand corner of the page, then click on the second hand listings and scrolled through to page 9 to Chalet Riofaro. We continue to pray this gets sold soon at its asking price.

I’d love to be going to Europe soon! We’ll see what the future holds!

E-I-E-I-O

Happy 2008!

2008-01-02T18:07:00.000-06:00

I guess it’s time to catch up, since I’ve not posted since the beginning of December. Ian and I had a nice Christmas get together at my Mom’s place in Minneapolis on Saturday, December 22. My son Richard, his 10-year-old brother Trysten, and my younger brother Matthew joined Mom for a lovely turkey meal. We exchanged presents and had a nice visit. This year we had a much snowier December than in 2006. I really love the White Christmas we had this year, last year’s brown Christmas was quite dreary. This season, we got a new snowplow guy that lives nearby and he’s done a good job with the two snowfalls to date. I prefer snow to the subzero temps were “enjoying” today. It is nice being back in the house but our only source of heat, our beloved corn stove, is acting up. It puts itself out, doesn’t burn as hot as last year (which was like a blast furnace). Ian’s on the phone with the company’s tech guy in Alberta, Canada; at least he’s talking to someone who knows about cold! I’m confident it will get resolved and we’ll be warm again soon.

The horses are fine in this weather. They have shelter, free access to hay and warmed water. As long as they are not wet, their thick, fuzzy winter coat keeps them dry and quite toasty. In fact, they often take baths by rolling in the snow over and over, standing up and giving themselves a good shake. There are four adult horses (two of our three pregnant mares) and the three 2007 foals that come into the barn every night. They benefit from the routine almost more than the shelter. Some horses are like that.

I put up the tree and it’s very pretty. The cats just love it – think it’s the best cat toy ever! Thankfully, most of the bulbs are not breakable and they’ve not taken to climbing it. I plan to take the tree down and pack it away just after Epiphany.

We’ve been attending a local Lutheran church that is about four miles from the farm. It’s nice to meet and worship with our neighbors. Ian says the Lutheran church liturgy and hymns remind him very much of the Church of England. The children’s Christmas pageant on Sunday the 16th was so precious. Of course, they told the familiar Christmas story with angels, shepherds, sheep, the Holy Family and wise men. Some children who were cast as sheep had woolly hats complete with pink ears on their heads that tied under their chins. When it came time for the shepherds and their flocks to visit Bethlehem, the sheep children crawled on all fours down the center aisle of the church making sheep noises as parents, grandparents, and proud Sunday school teachers snapped photos and wiped tears … we all wiped tears, they were so committed and sweet. We also attended Christmas Eve candlelight service and sang carols on the evening of the 24th.

On Christmas Day, Ian called both sisters for a chat. He spoke to his Mum, who was visiting Anne and Steve in Essex, but we did not catch up with Ken and Margaret in Scotland. Other than that, we just worked on the farm – in fact, the babies had knocked down their pasture fence and Ian erected a new area for them by disassembling the round pen (which we don’t use in winter anyway) and making an outdoor paddock for the three mischief makers. I baked Cornish game hens for our dinner and we enjoyed a nice bottle of French wine.

Tina still comes like clockwork three days a week to clean stalls and do other barn managing duties. What a gem she is! Tina lives to the northeast of the farm and her job is just west of us, so things work out nicely for all. Ian and I feel very confident that she’ll have everything under control while we’re in Scottsdale, Arizona next month. Weather permitting, we’ll begin driving the 32-hour trip on the 8th and begin the return trip on the 25th.

I’m still working part-time at the local post office. I will be filling in for Helen the postmaster when she leaves for 2 weeks Mexico vacation on January 12. I’ve been nursing a sore lower back since New Year’s Eve morning. I picked up a tub of letters wrong and – zing – I felt a pinch. I thought it was just a twinge, but by the time I was finished doing the morning sort, I was stiffening up. Not a recommended way to ring in the New Year, but rest and some over-the-counter analgesics are doing the trick. I’ll be fit as a fiddle for Saturday’s shift.

The corn stove is burning away and Ian’s just gone to get some wood pellets. The corn stove company technician thinks we’ve got a bent klinker box (where the corn pellets fall into and burn) and that is the cause of our problems. Alberta is sending a new klinker box overnight and the techie recommended we burn wood pellets in this dual-purpose stove until it arrives, something to do with airflow and whatnot. Hey, in subzero temps, whatever keeps it burning works for me!

The seed catalogs are beginning to arrive and I’ve got my eye on some beautiful flowering plants. Of course, I’m looking forward to the tulips and crocus I planted in the fall, but I really want some lilies and some plants that will attract hummingbirds. I also enjoy bringing fresh cut flowers into the house.

The hatchery catalog has also come and I’m contemplating buying a few chicks and some goslings. I really love watching our 10 chickens travel around the property, scratching, pecking and clucking. I’d like to get just a few more. I also miss my geese and would like to get about six babies. They are the best watchdogs – as nothing or no one comes in our yard without them sounding the alarm. They provide reliable notice when we’re out working in the pasture or are glued to our computers working on a project. I won’t slaughter this bunch, as geese are hearty enough to weather Minnesota winters with the barn providing enough shelter.

Ian’s been having lessons at Shada with our stallion Legacys Renoir. Our trainer Jerry says the two look good together. Ian will show Renoir in Scottsdale on Friday, February 15,in an amateur owner to handle (AOTH) class for senior stallions six years and older. Renoir is six this year. Jerry will show Renoir in the very competitive Open senior stallions class the following Saturday, February 23. You’ll recall Ian debuted as an amateur handler at last year’s Scottsdale show and won a Top 10 ribbon showing our pinto Half Arabian AMF Xtreme Kiss. (See blog entry: Top 10 Again for Kiss, 02/21/07) Showing a breeding stallion is not for the faint of heart, but Ian and Renoir should do very well.

We're not big New Year's Eve revelers, so we stayed home and went to bed early. Besides, that's when the temperatures began to dip subzero. On New Year's Day, we were invited to my maternal aunt and uncle's farm near Pine City, MN for lunch. We feasted on mayo-laden ham salad sandwiches, hot chocolate with whipped cream, frosted Christmas cookies and dense, tasty pumpkin pie. I think that covers all the food groups, right?

The stove is burning the suggested wood pellets and the house is warming up again. Tomorrow begins a warming trend that should get us into the 20s and 30s Fahrenheit. That’s the local warming trend … I’ll be glad to see 70s or warmer in Arizona!

E-I-E-I-O

Back in the house

2007-12-04T09:28:00.000-06:00

Happy December! We relocated the trailer just after the Fourth of July weekend so that major renovation work could be done in the house. We moved back into the house Sunday. Almost six months! Mind you, the trailer has many creature comforts, and we function well in close quarters, but it is really nice to be back in our house. The corn stove is blazing away chasing the chill from the house. It’s 60 degrees and slowly climbing. The house is far from airtight, in fact depending on where you stand, it has its drafts, but we’re addressing these. Some things won’t get better until they’re replaced, like the windows and doors.

For the moment, the corn stove, which burns dried corn kernels called “pellets”, is our only source of heat. It costs is $6/day to heat the house and we buy our pellets from a local farmer. If we used propane, it would cost between $18 and $20/day. Later in the winter, we will supplement with propane, but the idea is to use corn for 90% of our winter heat needs. The Minnesota heating season runs from October through May, with December to March being the coldest of those months.

The new living room/dining room sub-floor is installed (including the in-floor heating system – although it’s not operational yet) and it’s very sturdy and level. In coming weeks, we’ll install a new staircase to upstairs, put cement board over the new sub-floor and then lay ceramic tile. Knowing that work still needs to be done, we’re only occupying the dining-room half of the house. Finishing the kitchen – tiling, installing appliances and drawers – is also on the To Do list. Ian does all this work himself!

The next time we expect to spend significant time in the trailer is when we go to Scottsdale, Arizona in February for the big Arabian horse show.

On Saturday afternoon, the first snow of the season fell, about five inches. For some reason, the snowplow guy we had for the last two seasons did not come and plow us out this year. Frustrating, because we didn’t have any prior warning. Thankfully, we have 4-wheel drive trucks and can get in and out of our driveway with relative ease. We do have a snow blade attachment for our brush mover and Ian plans to move the accumulated snow with that sometime soon. Three to five inches of snow is predicted for later today. We’ll find another plow person, as it’s important to keep our driveway and area outside the barn clear.

Now, the only stored boxes that are priority to get from the garage are the Christmas tree and its ornaments. We also bought a lighted horse yard ornament that will need to be set out soon too.

The animals are all well. It was fun to turn the weanlings out to the fresh snow – their first! They snorted suspiciously, stepped gingerly, then pranced, kicked, bucked and ran the length of their pasture – really pretty! The chicken stick to the barn area, the hens are still laying and the two roosters cock-a-doodle-do and square off once in a while, with the larger, more majestic brother winning most bouts. Tiger is the sole house cat now, with Tonic and Zeus living in the barn again. These two “auditioned” all summer to be house cats, crawling into the house through the open floorboards. Lady is happy – but what Lab-mix dog isn’t happy more often than not?

E-I-E-I-O

Hay ...

2007-11-20T19:26:00.000-06:00

… is for horses! I’d say we are really close to being ready for winter this year, at least when it comes to having enough hay on hand. Seven horses come into the barn to eat flakes of hay bales morning and night, supplemented with grain that is suited to their age, weight and what they need nutritionally. The hay we feed inside is square bales, which weigh 45 lbs each. These are a mixture of high fiber timothy-grass, brome (described as a companion grass to timothy that is slightly higher in protein), and a smattering of alfalfa. I like to think of alfalfa as jet fuel for horses – unadulterated protein.

We bought about 500 square bales and then went looking for a round bale supplier. Summer 2007 was so dry and the fall so wet that hay is scarce. Luckily, we found a neighbor that has good, tightly-baled 1100-pound round bales that are a mix of timothy, brome and canary grass; the latter isn’t especially nutritious but it serves as the necessary forage horses guts need. We place these two at a time in the pasture so the horses have free access to feed as they choose, keeping themselves fed and warm during the winter weather. Our neighbor will deliver 50 round bales in total, six bales per trip (no extra charge), which should feed the horses through the end of April, when we can turn them out to pasture again. On average, they eat two round bales a week.

Once the hay bales are all here and we've moved back into the house, I'll be singing: "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."

That hay input represents a lot of manure output – think ahead to your spring garden planting! It’s green gold and you can have all you can haul at no cost!

E-I-E-I-O

Hakuna Matata!

2007-11-14T17:47:00.000-06:00

Last night Ian took me out on a 'date' for my birthday, which was Nov 5, but the theater dates didn't coincide. We went to dinner in downtown Minneapolis at McCormick & Schmick’s on the corner of 9th & Nicollet and then to the Orpheum for The Lion King. I had NO IDEA and it was fun! Some years back, we'd tried to see The Lion King in London but there was a six month wait for tickets - so we went to see My Fair Lady at The Royal Theatre on Drury Lane.

Before dinner, we visited my mother at her apartment where she gifted me with two companion books, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren and its journal. I look forward to enjoying these thoughtful gifts.

Last night, we had a great waiter - ordered a bottle of FRENCH wine from Haute Medoc in Bordeaux, since this country CANNOT seem to bottle a palatable red wine. I had deep-fried coconut shrimp as a starter with a spicy seafood jambalaya as the main course. Ian started with mahi-mahi cakes drizzled with Thai peanut sauce and his main course was catfish encrusted in pecans with jalapeno chutney. We shared a dessert sampling of apple pie a la mode, crème brulee, bread pudding served in ramekins. I finished with a dram of tawny port! I hadn't had port in years ... not something you want to get buzzed on though, WICKED headache! Ian had a glass of 10-year-old single all-malt whiskey, Laphroaig. To me, it smells like peat. I guess that’s because its barley is dried over a peat fire.

The Lion King was wonderful. We had aisle seats mid-house on the main floor. The music was familiar and, of course, we knew the story and its characters from the 1994 Disney movie. The singing, costumes, dancing, stage sets and changes were all superb. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. The entire Minneapolis evening was a great birthday gift and certainly worth the wait!

E-I-E-I-O

November's Thanksgiving

2007-11-08T17:01:00.000-06:00

Ian and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary on November 5th, which was my 52nd birthday. I worked that morning at the post office and then later that evening we went to see the George Clooney movie Michael Clayton. Ian is taking me for a birthday surprise date next week in downtown Minneapolis. Ian’s quite a romantic and I am certainly thankful for him! I'm also grateful for all the cards, calls and email greetings that came from so many different places.

It was cold enough overnight to freeze the hose that supplies water to our trailer. Because the trailer is warm, the water in its holding tanks is still liquid. We’ll have to look into insulating that hose until we can move back into the house. The barn hose is also frozen, but none of the horse stall buckets or 100-gallon tanks is frozen yet. We’ve got tank or bucket warmers, but when those get plugged in our electric bill really jumps. It will be nice to have an in-ground water system installed for year-round outdoor watering needs and an indoor heated watering system for the barn. Maybe we’ll be able to afford it before next winter. Meanwhile, Ian's working, working, working on getting the house ready for us to reinhabit.

Yesterday, Tina and I gave paste dewormer to every horse, but one – Whisper was not interested in whatever was going on in the barn and he became quite illusive by trotting off into the pasture darkness whenever he was approached. I’ll catch him later today – in fact, this morning he came over to the fence for a scratch behind the ears before I left for work. We measured each horse’s height, weight, what blanket size they wear and whether they need to see the farrier or not (most do, so I’ll be calling Dale soon).

I thought I’d explain about my Postmaster Relief (PMR) job at our local post office. The Stanchfield Post Office is a small place. We have four mail carrier routes that deliver mail to more than 1000 mailboxes six days a week. I work in the office helping to sort mail that’s delivered in the wee hours in big, wheeled cages that hold trays and tubs of all types of mail; magazines, newspapers, letters, parcels, packages and the junk mail that we all love. Of course, the post office makes plenty of money from the latter. I also work the service desk greeting customers, selling postage, handling certified and registered mail, fulfilling hold mail requests, changes of address, plus the daily administrative bookkeeping that must be communicated daily to the main office via its United States Postal Service (USPS) intranet. I like it and am considering training for a rural carrier route so that I can act as back up carrier when one of the four women takes vacation, has a routine medical/dental appointment or is sick. What I really would like to do is find a permanent position and become what the USPS classifies as a “career” employee (PMR is part-time/no benefits). I look at the postings on the intranet and talk with the postmaster Helen, who has worked for the USPS for 40 years and at this office as postmaster since 1999. Helen plans to retire in Spring 2008. I could apply for her position but I don’t know about the reality of hiring a non-career employee into a sought-after postmaster position. Of course, that won’t stop me applying.

Being November, we’re smack in the middle of deer hunting season. Whitetail Deer are plentiful in this area and live in records numbers around the state. The woods are filled with people – men and women – dressed in florescent orange hunting outfits so they don’t shoot one another. This is a popular family pastime in the US, especially here in Minnesota and in our neighboring states. We live in an area where the deer flourish so the limits for each hunter are quite high – as many as five deer per licensed hunter. There are many family-run meat processing plants that specialize in processing deer meat (venison) into steaks, roasts or salami. Of course we don’t hunt, but someone usually gives us large sticks of salami that we enjoy with cheese, crackers and wine.

The dirt road in front of our house has been widen and improved because a new neighbor to the west is building a new home on their wooded 30-acre lot. There has been a lot of noise and heavy machinery running up and down the road for the last week or so, but when it’s all done it will be really nice.

We celebrate my favorite American holiday, Thanksgiving, the last Thursday of November. We will join friends in Minneapolis for lunch at their home. There's usually quite a mix of people from varying backgrounds and everyone brings something to eat or drink and we enjoy each other’s company. Turkey is the traditional meat of the day. I’m making Red Thai curried mashed sweet potatoes drizzled with maple syrup as a side dish. I found the recipe in Martha Stewart’s magazine, Living. Would Martha steer me wrong?

E-I-E-I-O

Hunter's moon

2007-10-28T12:35:00.000-05:00

We’ve been very industrious lately. On Wednesday, we weaned two foals – Clifford and Kisses. Clifford and Mona recently arrived from South Dakota. Cliffy is a Half Arabian, as his sire is a palomino-colored American Saddlebred [Mona is a purebred Arabian] and because of this Cliffy should get quite tall. Kisses and Cliffy were both born in May; her at the beginning of the month, him, Memorial Day weekend. Usually, weaning is done at four months of age; some even do it as early as three months. We’re a wee bit behind, but I wanted Kisses to have a pal to keep her company. Happily, she and Cliffy have bonded nicely.

Ian has been working on the main floor. He’s got almost the entire 14 x 23 foot area framed with 2 x 10s lag bolted to the oak beams. He will install joist hangers and new joists soon. All of the old joists are now out. He and I removed that last four on Friday afternoon using a saws-all. That cuts through most anything like butter. Once the new joist grid is in place, Ian will put in a vapor barrier and some insulation between the basement, crawl space dirt and the new floor. There’s also an in-floor heating system to install. Then the sub-flooring gets screwed down and the cement board follows, making it ready for the ceramic tile. We expect to move back into the house as soon as the grout seal dries.

Donna burns wood in her fireplace and came with her chainsaw to whittle away at the huge ash tree we had dropped some 18 months ago. Its down to the main trunk now and I’m sure what she took will burn very well. She and I consulted together on how the two apple trees should be cut back and then she got to work. Branches from other trees were trimmed too. On Saturday morning, she and her father came and dropped three trees in the row of conifers that line our eastern border. Donna took wood from two and left the dead pine for me to cut up, using our new, yet-to-be-used electric chainsaw. I’m going to buy chain oil today so I can give it a go.

On Tuesday, the dirt road that passes in front of our house, running east to west, will be widened to double its size to allow for construction machines to get back to the property to our west where new neighbors are building a house in the woods. The new neighbors bought an easement from Donna, which she’s still grumbling about because it will change things that she’s accustomed to doing … like extending her pasture area by running electric fence across the road allowing the horses to feed on the long ditch grass. Ah, well, ‘change goin come.’ We’ll lose a stand of trees that shade our mailboxes and supposedly act as a snow break for our driveway, but there’s nothing we can do about it, as that stand is not ours. We’ll battle whatever snow drifts in by getting it plowed.

Yesterday, we hooked up the trailer and went to a friend’s home in Wisconsin to pick up an Arabian mare we’re leasing from her. Sometimes I feel turtle-like as we travel down the road, house on our back. I work at the post office Saturday mornings, so by the time we reached Kathy’s two hours later we were happy for her offer of lunch [yummy homemade chow mein, brown rice, chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies plus lemon meringue pie]. After a lovely visit, we loaded 12-year-old VG Antazia and headed home. Taza was well received into the herd. She will cross nicely with Legacys Renoir.

This last moon cycle has been extraordinary. It has been so large as it rises through the trees, lighting the fields of yet-to-be harvested corn, rising soft amber yellow at the horizon to a pearly white overhead. This is the first year I’ve heard the term ‘hunter’s moon.’ I’d always described these fat risings as harvest moons, but learned those come earlier in September. Indeed, it is the hunting season now – grouse, pheasant, deer – through November. Last night, Ian and I burned piles of limbs and stood together watching the fire and the moonrise.

E-I-E-I-O