Happy Halloween!

  This is how my Halloween decorations looked ......

.... before the blustery winds blew some of them the way of Dorothy's house.  

Don't be alarmed if you find a headstone tucked into your bushes somewhere!

Halloween is Here

by Debbie

It's time for Halloween,

A day for trick or treat,

When the kids dress up in costume,

And walk proudly down the street.

They ring alot of door bells,

And collect alot of candy too,

And if they happen to see a ghost,

They will be greated with a boo.

Pumpkins light up the windows,

And decorations adorn the front yard,

So be careful when you come in,

Because the skeleton will be on guard.

So go have alot of fun,

And don't have any fear,

Because it will soon be over,

And you'll have to wait till next year.

Read more at http://www.theholidayspot.com/halloween/poems.htm#X0G041HMejUaHXuY.99

Autumn Blows Away

We've had lots of rain and windy weather the past couple of days and that generally blows the leaves off the trees and sends us into that dead time between autumn and winter when the trees are bare and the snow hasn't fallen yet.  Luckily, I was able to get a few late autumn photos.  

I don't think there is anything better than seeing autumn from the back of a horse!

And there are always the beautiful country road shots.  

Now we turn our minds towards winter....

In Autumn

by Winifred C. Marshall

They're coming down in showers,

The leaves all gold and red;

They're covering the little flowers,

And tucking them in bed

They've spread a fairy carpet

All up and down the street;

And when we skip along to school,

they rustle 'neath our feet

An Abundance Of Horsey Riches

You know horses are like potato chips and you can't have just one!

I started with Lady.  My little white Arabian-esque girl.

Then added Sassy and Bandit.  My mustang and paint.

And now we've added Ever (with a name change to "Willow" because it suits her so much more) to the crew!

Willow got to participate in her first "horsey beauty shop" day this past weekend.  She was terribly nervous at first, but calmed down and enjoyed the attention.  

Lady got a very special mane treatment.  

Horse yawn.  She's bored.  This took a long time to finish!

Doesn't it look lovely?  Our exchange student, Jaque, did the majority of the work.  I just finished the bottom row.

I think Flower must sense the cold weather coming.  I caught her "making her bed".

We've opened the fence between Flower and Tigger for breeding.  Funny thing...  Tigger will NOT cross the invisible line of the opened fence.  Flower has no problem walking back and forth, but he is frightened to death of it!

Fall is definitely in the air here.  There's been ice on the water buckets!

* Update.  Flower went into heat and that was motivation enough for Tigger to cross the invisible fence line.  

Autumn Odds and Ends

I had to go out to the Ulysses, Pennsylvania area yesterday for a cross country track meet and while I was there I decided I would pick up the dog carrier I had accidentally left at an Amish homestead.  

To explain, about two weeks ago, after asking around, I found an Amish family that butchers chickens.  I brought them 24 chickens I had raised.  The $3 a bird butchering fee was worth every single penny!  

Yesterday's drive through the countryside was absolutely lovely.  I wish I had taken more photos!

I think I may have to start carrying a better camera.  Although my phone takes nice pictures, these photos just don't really capture how lovely it was. 

I've seen paintings and photos of corn shocks, but had never seen them in real life.  The sheep grazing in the background give the photo a nicely bucolic feel. 

A real working windmill.  I think I have windmill envy!

I posted the picture below on my Facebook page with the quotation: "You never know what manner of 'wild' critters you'll find wandering around here". 

The other morning I looked out the window and couldn't grasp what my eyes were seeing.  Two cows were sleeping in the field next to my house!  

I called around and found out that the word "wild" in the quote above should not have quote marks around it.  These two cows have been on the lam for over a month and are truly wild!

The two cows disappeared back into the forest and I don't know if they've yet been captured.

  

First Hard Frost of 2015: Brrrr!

It's been coming and now here it is. 

We fired up the wood stove last night and it makes the downstairs nice and cozy.  But I'm just not ready yet for winter's icy grip. 

Oh so lovely.  But if I count on my fingers: October, November, December, January, February, March, April... maybe May, I count 7 to 8 months of cold weather.  There's something wrong here!

I Have An Excuse! Meet Bandit and Sassy.

I've noticed in blogger world that lately many bloggers have been a bit lax in their writing.  I'm pretty sure I can attribute it to many people who are busy getting in the fall harvest - I'm on of them.  Spaghetti sauce is made, tons of vegetables are frozen, chickens are butchered, and garden cleanup has begun.  But I have another excuse for being too busy to blog!  

Meet my new babies: 

Bandit and Sassy!

I know this isn't the best picture.  The cute little neighbor girl who helped me with Sunday Horse Beauty Parlor Day was walking my other horse, Lady, back to the field.  If I lead Bandit, the only boy in the group, ALL the girls follow him.  But this picture was taken moments before the two decided to take a walk over to another field.  We eventually rounded them all up and got them in their pasture.  

"Bandit," is my little paint gelding and just an absolute dream to ride.  He has a ton of personality and love, love, loves going out on the trail.   

"Sassy," the chestnut, is a mustang.  She even has the freeze brand on her neck that lets me know that she came from an area north of Las Vegas.  She is a sweet heart too.  

Both horses have pretty much zero vices!  Sure, Bandit will try to duck his head and run back to the other horses if he gets the chance while I'm cantering him, but if I'm firm with him he gives up.  And Sassy has a straight legged gait that jars your teeth, but she'll go just about anywhere you'll point her.  

These two horses have really re-ignited my love of riding!

Lady, whom you can see being led in the background, had a leg injured during a lightning strike which ended up in the demise of one of the other horses in the field.  She's slowly recovering, and I hope she'll be ridable again by spring.  If not, she'll live out her life as a pampered pasture pet.  

So, if you notice I'm not writing as much, it's because I'm out and about on the trails enjoying the beautiful fall foliage before winter weather really sets in and I park myself in front of the wood stove!

Happy Trails!