Followers

Thursday, July 30, 2009

FOR KEN MAC....


Greetings Ken (Greenwich Village Daily Photo ***see link)...from Target and all of us at Skoog Farm. Right about now you are waking up from your surgery. Our thoughts are with you and we wish you a speedy recovery.

If you have not been to his site and you like New York City, Ken will take you to places you have never seen before.

DR. PORTER (OF TAMPA) HAS EYES FOR GUCCI AND PHOEBE!


Frank, a follower from Tampa Daily Photo, sent me this photo of his dog Dr. Porter. He has been eying Phoebe and Gucci when his owner looks at my Journal. The girls are invited down for some beach time. Do you have a dog?

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

FLYIN' SOLO

(I must work with Abbe today. She has had several days off and I have a lesson on Saturday).

This morning Gary left for Chautauqua to attend the "Take A Seat Auction"....the one he painted the chair for. I did chores as usual, and the ponies were out in the pasture for a very short time while I was cleaning stalls. The bugs were TERRIBLE! When is this rain going to take a rest?

The good part is the way the grass keeps growing.

I picked two pastures and then started reorganizing the tack room.

Wild sky.

Grabbed Masterpiece and he was the receiver of two hours of my undivided attention. At 30, he did not give up all of his winter hair...just 75% of the length. So today I dug out my clippers and did his entire body down to his knees. He should be a little more comfortable and looks pretty darn good.

Birds on a wire.....

Before Gary left, Brian (from Stockam Lumber) came over to measure some windows upstairs in the house and all of the ones in the Studio. If we can swing it, I would love to get small panes...
Here's a different view from the Studio area.

We have hundreds of black eyed Susans.



Trina did chores tonight, and just when she went out to pick the pasture, it started to rain.

Are these two puppies adorable or what?

See those raindrops...another Macro shot.

Just when I was getting ready to go out to Glen Darach Farm to watch Darrin's first lesson with Andrea, the semi arrived to drop off the roofing materials. See the post below.

I threw the dogs in the car, picked up some junk food, and caught up with Darrin around 7:15.


The majority of his lesson was spent trying on saddles....none of which really fit Winnie well.
The best we can do for now is to use a Mattes Pad under my Tristan dressage saddle....In the end, a new saddle is needed that does not put such pressure on her back. She is going to be very difficult to fit properly. Based on my experience with the saddle fitting clinics over the past 10 years....most people do not have a clue regarding how their saddles fit their horses. Why these creatures put up with us I will never know.

Winnie is now 24 and in her younger years she was a racehorse.

Even tho her saddle did not fit well, she has been very good to her riders. Andrea thinks she has a very kind soul.

She put her Passier saddle with my Mattes pad on Win and Darrin was able to ride for a few minutes. She spent almost 2 hours with him. We will do some ground work with her to keep her in good shape, and will figure out what is going to work to make Winnie comfortable.

It rained during the lesson...when it was time to leave, it stopped and the sunset was magnificent.

Andrea's second passion after horses...is gardening. Her property is loaded!

I headed home and had to stop for gas before I ran out.

Phoebe and Gucci are such good company. They like to be with me even if it means sacking out in the car for awhile.

Drove through the village. I love the night lights.

Here's another shot of our Art Deco movie theater.

It's late, I have to go put the horses in. Night all.

THE BARN ROOF HAS ARRIVED...

The barn roof was delivered around 6:30, just when I was getting ready to leave. This gigantic semi BACKED into the lane. I give the driver a lot of credit, as there is a ditch on either side.

He was able to manage this crane with a little remote.

I am utterly amazed at how little space it took for the materials.

Can't wait to see how the roof looks in dark green.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

THANK YOU KIM, FOR THIS AWARD!


This award comes to me from Enlightened Horsemanship (Kim over there in Hawaii) via Hillbillyfarmgirl (over there in Sweden...who I also read regularly). Even tho we have never met, I have learned a lot about Kim and feel like I have gotten to know her. She consistently writes some of the most interesting horse related posts I've ever read...she is like the PBS of blogs. I graciously accept this award and her generous comments regarding my Journal.

IT WAS A HOT ONE....

Once again, the horses were back in the run in before I finished chores. I wanted to mulch the paddock so they moved out of my way for that.

I put their halters on this morning so they would be easier to catch when the farrier arrived.

Even tho it was early, I mowed as much of the lawn as I could before class started.

Sandy did a great drawing of the three X goats from Bedlam Farm.

While we were out on the porch, they started cutting the wheat in the field next to us.

Miss Gucci loves to sit in a chair during class.

At noon the roofer stopped by, then it was lunch time.

I'd say the temperature hit 87 or 88. Went out and finished the lawn and got some shots of
the work being done in the fields.









It did not take long to do about 100 acres.



Mary Pat stopped by with some cookies as a thank you for taking pictures at Kate's graduation party. Yummmmm.

Then John arrived and I was out in the barn from 2:30-5 while he trimmed the horse's feet.

Duncan has spent every day with John since he was a little puppy. Now he is a year old and a beautiful example of his breed. Today he came into the grooming room where it was cooler and I had a fan going. Poor John was very hot.

Target was done last and acted like a brat part of the time. He wanted to be out with the other horses....

I started dinner and then went out to do chores. Came in, took a shower and finished things up.
Randy and Arlene arrived about the time I got out of the shower.

We had a great meal...I have now put the horses in and am going to hit the couch...may stay there for the duration... Night all.

THE FLOWERS IN KELLY'S PARK....

At 6:30 our friends Randy and Arlene came over for dinner. It was DELICIOUS and I forgot to take pictures! We had boneless pork chops with carmalized onions, brown rice pilaf, stir fried zuchini, fried apples and onions and a pea salad. For dessert we devoured fresh peaches and blueberries with whipped cream. You would have loved it.

Then, we had our Sequence contest and tadaaaaaa.... Arlene and I finally won. The guys have pounded us for over a year.

Arlene brought over her digital camera to see if I could download her photos and put them on a disk. It worked....all 247 of them. Below are some of the shots taken at home and in her garden.
When her niece was only 4 years old (now in her 20s), she named Arlene's garden "Kelly's Park" and the name still stands.