Lisa Makes a Barn Visit

Lisa is here for a week, having brought out a carload of some of her things (she's moving back to the midwest now that she's done with school.)

She's my horsey girl, so naturally she wanted to make a barn run this morning.

And then she made another one with me later in the afternoon. That's my girl!!

 She and Trouble share a quiet moment.

 Hokey has to come see if he can mooch a nibble from her hand.

The mud wasn't too bad, and the last of Sunday's nine inches of snow was melting.

It will be fun having Lisa here sharing our mutual love of equines!

And Another Old Favorite

Yesterday Leslie and I went antiquing. A "be home by lunch" trip turned into "be home late for dinner, honey" and 160 miles. Aside from gas, we didn't spend much money. Leslie bought us both lunch, and I bought this blast from the past:

A Timber Trails book - The Luck of Black Diamond.

I still have three of the four Timber Trails books, but this was my favorite. Mine is in poor condition, so finding this one (which is in wonderful shape for only $4.50) was exciting.

The Girls

The girls of the herd have banded together this winter and are nearly always together.

 Diablo (19), Abby (13), and Dolly (5).

 Abby leans against Diablo briefly as they wait for some treats from me.

 Diablo is the herd alpha. Shortly after this picture was snapped, she chased Mason (in the background) off for coming too closely to me. You can see that her ears are pinned in warning to him to stay back.

 She also seems to have picked up Abby's knack for sticking out her tongue.

 You know, like this!

Diablo may be the herd alpha, but to my surprise, she tolerates it when Abby, wanting me (or rather, my treats) all to herself, pins her ears and chases her off.

 Diablo never goes too far when that happens, and any crankiness from the dust-up fades quickly.

And soon the gals are chummy again.

An Old Favorite

MH, a fellow horse love in my class, recently presented her classic paper and project on Walter Farley's book, The Black Stallion. I'd asked her if she'd read any of the sequels (she had, no surprise) but she wasn't aware that he had written beginner books that also focused on horses.

Like this one, perhaps the most famous, and also about a black horse:

I recommended she keep her eyes open, especially since it was an old book (1961) and no longer in print. I suggested she look in a library since I did not have a copy to loan her, even in my personal book collection at home.

Fast forward to Thursday and our IIB meeting before school. I was working in Hershey's book room with several other teachers when I saw a pile of books in a tub marked "Goodwill." Always on the lookout for older classics, I casually lifted the book on the top of the stack.

And there it was, right underneath. My heart leaped at the sight of the cover - I hadn't seen that book in probably 35 - 40 years!

A quick check to see if I could have it, and the book was mine. (I loaned it to MH right away.)

Look Closely, Mom!

What a pretty girl (despite some mud around her ears.)

 Make sure you look closely.

Neener, neener, Mom!

I Didn't, But I Did

I didn't ever do this!

(Yes, that little girl really has taken her pony into the wading pool.)

But I did do this!

That's Cee and me swimming in Burnett Creek just behind the Battlefield. Right where Mary Cutler, the Tippecanoe County Naturalist, has taken my class to do water sampling and lectured us on the importance of water quality and keeping Burnett Creek clean. I have never had the heart to tell her that Leslie and I used to swim our horses in that very spot!

Share?

Abby munches a snack from me while Diablo stretches her head forward.

 I love how Abby's mouth was caught mid-chew!

 Diablo pleads for Abby to share.

Judging from the expression on Abby's face, the answer is a resounding "NO"!