Walk with me

We had a light snowfall last night , followed by a bright beautiful day

So after church , I grabbed my camera , to go for a walk!, are you coming?

The Phoenix looking regal in the frost

walk a little further now

 the cows , waiting for feeding time

Cactus , wanders up to say hello

 the right lighting , can even make livestock equipment pretty

note to self ,do not take a picture of a woodpecker while he is busy, you wind up with a creepy shot of a headless woodpecker!

Skeeter seeking something?



 The ever handsome Winston

deep in thought

Hi GL! hugs and snuggles from Johnnie Handsome!

Looking pretty good for an old fellow(Stryker 22 years young this year)

Wilder(Mr low key quiet guy )

Another cute overload from the blonds

a quick stop with Tommy Toes and my miniature Aslan

then back to the house for coffee and Baileys , you coming?

other than that , got the baking caught up for now , and the house is all decorated. Just have one or two last minute things to pick up. The wrap presents , make cabbage rolls, and Cinnamon  buns , and I am ready for Santa!

Stay safe and warm

Repost: messin with the music

Re posting this from some of the lost posts of the last year . Had to make a few changes to the  body  to reflect the changing faces here at Fern Valley .I will have a new post soon with hopefully some current pictures , we have huge fat snowflakes falling tonight and the landscape will be much prettier  soon .
From Johnnie to Santa
Jolly old Saint Nicholas,Lean your ear this way!
Don't you tell a single soul
What I'm going to say:
Christmas Eve is coming soon;
Now, you dear old man
Whisper what you'll bring to me;
Tell me if you can.

When the clock is striking twelve,
When I'm fast asleep
through the pastures cold and white,
With your pack you'll creep
All the horses you will find
Standing in a pen
I will be the shortest one,Somewhere near the end

Wilder wants a carrot please
Peps, She wants some oats
Cactus ,some pretty girls, with some spotted coats
Quinn wants a pail of crunch
 Stryker ,just wants hay
Annie and ,Andy , say ,they just want to play
Ritchie, Ici,Jazzy,are happy as they are,
Digger wants his DVM
Comet  wants to be a star

Now I think ,I leave to you
What to give the rest
And for me, dear Santa Claus;
mums love is the best .

 Speaking of changes , The Morgan team has found a new home , with a couple who drive heavy horses and are looking to do some light driving competitions as well . Hope I will be able to follow up on them now and then .It is always nice to be able to do that . I am just happy that this handsome pair has found a home where they will be used and cared for .

Busy days here, spent much of today outside  getting the horses caught up with feed and bedding , and then spent the afternoon baking cookies . Whipped shortbread, is done, next will be my fancy pastry cookies (its what I call them , easiest cookies in the world to make , but they are pretty and look complicated )

Meanwhile , stay safe and warm everyone!

Treasures

Most  of the decorations or collections in the previous post and in this are items I have had  for many years. Treasured gifts from family and friends . An heirloom church from my grandmothers home and of course gifts from my hubby . I got some pictures of the rest of the collections today and a couple very special items as well!

A bit random , this group, but mostly snowmen and candle holders

Snow globe train and other snow globes (the larger ones are musical) My favorite musical one is the centre one it plays The dance of the Sugar Plum fairy from the Nutcracker Suite

A ballet I saw several times as a child with my mom

The gingerbread village I commented on and liked on a visit to Hammond's Candy factory in Denver several years ago with my friend Linda. She remembered ,and ordered it for me the following year!

And a variety of musical ornaments some from hubby and  the wooden horse one is one from when I was quite young , from my mom. She would buy us one or two  decorations  per year ,so when we moved out we would have our own Christmas display .

Then

this arrived

in the mail !!!!!!!

And is Proudly displayed at my entrance! Thanks to Jennifer Mac Neill-Traylor

of The Mare's Tales - Gypsy Mare Studios for sending it so quickly!

I  mentioned also that my Nativity was not displayed this year , the old decorated shoe box that has housed it this many years , was on its last legs (I think I made it when I was about 18 )

 When I took it down last year I tried to clean it up, and sadly it really fell to disarray then . So I was hoping to make something new for it .

Well time got away on me and I had nothing done . Martin said "oh maybe when I am home next time I can help you with it ."

Well I went to work yesterday ,  came home in time to take him to the airport , and what should I find??

Hand made from fence boards he cleaned up , to make it look more authentic...

Better than a shoe box , and made with love!

There you have my Christmas treasures , the ornaments and the treasured people who help make the memories !

Stay safe and warm

Nearly there!

Martin and I brought the tree in this morning to get things going on the decorations . As you can see we had some additional technical support making sure the stand was straight!

"a little to the left dad!"

The Martin went shopping and left me with the rest .I took my time and got most of it done

My snow baby display

the view from the dining room to the kitchen

(last year , my nativity sat there , but as I said then the shoe box I had made for a creche was pretty dilapidated , and it did not come down well. hoping to make a new one for this year )

 A whimsical display of bears

 My Christmas village and  Santa train

My Carousel display , the Calliope is a little temperamental after 25 years and only plays at one volume (used to be able to turn it down or mute )but it is still going strong

 My dining room table

The Tree

And it just is not Christmas until my Grandma Horricks ' church is set out .It plays Silent night , when you wind it up. and sometimes during a particularly magical moment it plays all on its own!

I  have a few other  displays set up , but it was dark when I was done and they don't photograph well  in poor light .

Anyhow we are getting caught up , still have the cards to write and some baking to do ,but it seems manageable .

Stay safe and warm my friends

Working on it

Still slogging away at my list of things to do. As far as I got decorating was to get out my Christmas table cloths  and put them out . But I am off tomorrow so ,there is hope !

Dandy's new owner did make it out for a brief visit Friday evening , and is hoping to try again Monday in the daylight . She seems very pleased ,commenting on face book 20 min after she left , how she LOVED  her new boy! I have to say ,the more I communicate with this little lady the happier I am about Dandy going to her . Another Fern Valley  colt has hit the  "good owner lottery" I believe!

The book signing was quiet, actually I was a little worried it would be a total wash , but near the end I got a few  people and did actually make some sales . Onoway is a small town and it is pretty close to Christmas so...

Brother in law Marc, my sister Heather and my good friend Deb popped in to hang out with me , and that made a huge difference as well.

Had a visit from my Aunt and cousin as well, then Martin and I headed off to town to do some shopping and have a visit with his folks.

Today , was the Church pageant and Christmas dinner , then off to town again to meet mom and dad and give them a little help with shopping . Aside from the crowds it went well,but I do have to ask why retailers feel the need to park the 1/2 acre fragrance section ,right smack in the entrance ? Seriously ,put it in the back somewhere , where in the unlikely event that I decide I want a migraine I can got there and leave the rest of the shoppers  to their day!

Home now and blogging when I should be writing and addressing Christmas cards. Oh well I am just a renegade! Better get at it! here is a preview

Stay safe and warm everyone!

Whats up for the weekend

Falling behind a little here with posting . seems like I took that little holiday , and forgot to come back!
Lots going on these days . Martin got home Tues for his week off, and we are trying to get a few things  going for Christmas . Friday , I am off work , and we are hoping to get the decorations out so I can work on putting them up over the weekend . Dandy's new owner is hoping to stop by for a visit , and in the afternoon I am going to town to take mom out shopping for a while . Saturday I will be at a local restaurant doing a "book signing " for my book Telling Tails  I will also have some of my Fern Valley calenders there . and Sunday is our church Christmas pageant  and dinner .
Mixed in with all that we need to go get square bales , do regular chores ,write my Christmas cards  and the rest of the day to day stuff . It is manageable , but its gonna take some focus and planning to get it all done. I also need to get off  where I sit and get at some baking!
Feeling a little jealous of this guy

Winston , embracing his new "dolly"

Hope Skeeter does not shred this one right away!

Anyhow , stay warm and safe everyone!

The pictures

Greg ,Heather , and Murray , on the Kingston ferry

Greg, myself  and Murray

The whole works! well almost

from left to right . Randy , and Enid ,me again, Murray, and the tiny blonde is his sweetie Anita , then Heather and Greg. Gregs wife Shelly was unable to be with us as her mother is gravely ill . and Heather and my hubbie's, got left behind on this trip , as it was a "sister weekend "

having trouble getting the other pictures to load , they are of the house and the ferry trip we took. but I think this covers the  basics .

bustin' a move

Skeeter loves to play with Fix , I think he thinks Phoenix is "his " horse . I let it go as they are having fun , as long as we keep the fence between them

Out and about

Group Hug

So ,you may or may not have noticed that I was absent from bloggerland for a day or so.
I was on a little adventure!
Actual pictures to follow , but for now I will just tell you that my sister and I took a quick weekend trip to Seattle to visit family , and it was WONDERFUL!!!!!!!
My Aunt and Uncle there are the most gracious hosts ever , and our cousins Greg, Murray and Enid, along with their families, manage to treat us like gold every single time !Heather and I both noticed, and Greg commented  as well, that it doesn't seem to matter how long it is betweeen visits with these folks, we alway are able to pick up where we left off ! Just like we saw them yesterday . That is such a great feeling .We had a wonderful visit, and as nice as it is to come home, I almost  didn't want to leave !
So with the holiday season upon us , what better time to remember our families and reach out to those we don't see or hear from as often, and those who are close by as well. Reconnect with someone and remember all the wonderful reasons you want them in your life.
Love to all, stay warm and safe!

Why Appaloosas?

I have raised Appaloosas for a long time now . Started when I was very young with my first Appy (you can find her story under honorable mentions ) And I not only fell in love with the horse , but as the years went on the bred itself.
I started out riding the typical stock type Quarter horses that most Alberta farm kids ride . Stout solid working horses, not all were particularly kind or gently (though many were ) But they were good dependable working horses .

I tell ya, when I came home with an Appaloosa, well to some  you would have thought the sky was gonna fall! Breed prejudice?? Oh hail ya! But slowly over the years the versatility and toughness of the breed began to win over the naysayers .It also did not hurt that my beloved Catana was ,well flat out gorgeous and truly able to do it all ! The biggest of the naysayers had to admit she was one heck of a horse !

The breed has been an interesting, and wonderful  one to work with, Appaloosas are smart and thinking horses, tough and stoic, and versatile as the competition Challenge of the breeds has shown over and over .
Ranch horse,trail, driving , dressage , hunter jumper , you name it (for give me here but I gotta )

"We've got an App for that"

It isn't where I started, but Appaloosas is where I will stay .
So what brought you to the breed you chose?

Lookee lookee!!!!!

I am sooo excited ! I kind of jumped the gun on Santa , and bought myself a very cool present !!!!
Jennifer MacNeill-Traylor of The Mare's Tales - Gypsy Mare Studios is a very talented artist and among other things has painted for the Trail of the Painted Ponies ! Currently she has for sale on eBay some wonderful Christmas signs ,and until today she had this one for sale!

But not any more!!!! I had the winning bid and will be watching my mail box, like,well like a kid at Christmas!

Shirley ,from Ride a good horse , and Janice from Own a Morgan  have also posted links   to some wonderful artists And Shirley herself is also a talented artist . What an amazing group of talented bloggers we have!

A good little dog

(I know I have posted this photo many times , but I just love it! )

While moving cows one chilly night

I found myself in  a fearsome plight

Our two young bulls did take a chance

and began to dance an age old dance

They were not really after me

I just got in the way you see

As I looked round for a line of flight

my hero arrived in black and white

He nipped and danced and barked and charged

And those two bulls although so large

parted quick and went on their way

to quietly go and eat their hay

Some will read this with surprise

as this  dog can be a bit unwise

he is shy and silly often times

and has gotten into awful binds

But when it comes to cows

you see

He is fast and brave  

and that works for me

Stay safe and warm everyone

And now for the words

So yesterdays post was wordless for a couple of reasons.First and foremost I figured the boys could carry the post on good looks alone , secondly ,I was struggling with a headache.Well the headache  came and went all evening , and was apparently a warning of things to come . Suffice to say this morning sucked! big time ! I have not been that ill in a long time. We are talking the kind of sick ,where it doesn't matter how old you are , you just want your mommy!
Got chores done  then went back to bed until noonish . Finally was able to keep some chicken soup down(you know the kind , with zero food value, has never been in the vicinity of a chicken , or a vegetable for that matter) Figured it was a cheap easy thing and I wasn't wasting good food if it went wrong .
Still a little shaky all day so I pretty much laid low, I did go out for a walk and helped my BIL tow a truck out of the way of feeding , and watered the mares ,did afternoon chore a little early (and a little slow ) and got a few more pics of the "kids"

(Tell you a secret)

They have settled well, but last night was a little exciting with Quinn jumping out of the pen over a 3 rail fence I might add!Quinn was the wild child of the day actually , when I went to take them out ,it was quite windy ,so Deb was holding the gate , and Brian wound up laying over the tarp on Phoenix's bales to stop it from spooking them. Comet came out quite well on the lead , a little hesitant , but good. Quinn on the other hand ,was pretty sure I was leading him to slaughter! took  two tries to get out of the barn and then when we were almost to the gate , he bolted and took off ! straight back into the barn , and into Comets stall , then out of there and into his own! (So wish I could have got that on film! ) Three times is the charm though and he led out fairly well and into the pen. As you saw from the pics I let them rip around a bit then caught them up , took off the halters and put them in the new pen .This evening , after some turnout time they are well settled and munching in their new quarters .
Was going to work on Christmas decorations outside and do some housecleaning ,but well the way I feel the dust bunnies will live to fight another day , and the lights will have to wait too!
Before I sign off, I wanted to let you know to check out Ride a Good Horse , and Own A Morgan  blogs .Both have posted some great ideas for Christmas gifts  made by fellow bloggers!
Stay safe and warm everyone!

Do I need to add words?

Don't be a lazy forker !

(Gratuitous Johnnie shot)

Yep, you read it right,I said lazy forker!
What the heck am I talking about? Let me explain .
We have  mostly round bales here, I feed a few squares to Phoenix and the "kids " bot overall I use feeder and round bales. Early in the winter though ,before it gets too cold , and when the horses are in good condition I just fork feed to them off a round bale a couple times a day . They don't all need to be on free choice just yet .
When you fork off a round bale especially ours ,as they are a soft core type , you need to make sure you take the whole wrap top to bottom  each time . Otherwise it tends to ball up at the bottom , and eventually you wind up in trouble , grabbing a fork full of hay when the bottom 6 inches or so is all wound up , tends to yield ,well about enough to fill a cereal bowl. not a horses belly!
It takes a little longer each feeding to do it right and clean up , but in the long run it saves time .

Apparently when we had the cold snap ,I got to be a bit of a lazy forker and just grabbed  what I could and rushed off to the next chore. Then when Martin was home , he kinda did the same thing . So after a week of lazy forking ... You can imagine the mess right?
Well I started it , so today I finished it , spent about 45 min digging in and unravelling the mess, to feed Cactus , still a lot of cleanup to do , but I had a headache and it was getting dark so will finish tomorrow. So essentially I saved a few seconds a day in the cold weather to add nearly and hour of hard labour to today !
That math doesn't work for me !
The moral of the story??? well I think it is clear

Stay safe and warm everyone!

Calenders are ready !

Here is a sneak peek at the boys of January .

Way back when I started doing the calenders this year , I said , anyone who commented on the calender posts ,would be entered in a draw to receive 1. I stated I would draw for 4 winners .

Then promptly forgot about the draw ,until today . The calenders are done and here , so I figured I better get at the draw .

Roped my dad in on it , numbered each entry , then had him randomly pick for numbers . So without further ado

here

are the winners !

Reddunnappy

Cutnjump

Knotty Dogs

Nicole

Congrats to all the winners , please email me at fernvalleyappaloosas@hotmail.ca  with your snail mail Addy's!

Stay safe and warm

and to all my friend in the USA ,Happy Thanksgiving , I am thankful for each of you every day!