A Heaping Helping of Horses

Mary Poppins sang that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. I'd argue that a heaping helping of horses is even better!

Yesterday, I was tired and had worked late - a consequence of being gone all last week and visiting grandbabies. While my subs were top notch, there was still a lot of grading for me to do and then planning for this week, plus changing some bulletin boards. An order of supplies had come in, and other loose ends needed my attention... By late afternoon, I was dragging.

I debated going to the barn; all I really wanted to do was grab some dinner and fall into bed.  But, since I still had the tack I'd borrowed from Tim, and the snow had melted enough that I felt I could get up the lane to the new barn and tack room, I decided I'd better make a quick trip.

I am so glad I did.

Abby was glad to see me, and I, her. It was nippy and I was still in my school clothes, so I only stayed long enough to give her a couple of candy canes and a few pats.

Yet that was enough. That happy glow horse lovers feel whenever they've hung out with a horse came over me, and as I drove home, I smiled and realized that a heaping helping of horses had been just what I needed.

Abbyland!

I saw this while on my way home from The Grammy Tour - Part One at a rest stop near Lebanon, Indiana. It's even got the orange thing going (all of Abby's things are orange, from her halter to her brushes.)

Hmmm, I wonder if I could get Tim to rename his property Abbyland??

Winter Drags On

This winter has dragged on - recent measurements by WLFI say we've had nearly five feet of snow! As I write, we have had snowfall every weekend since the Saturday after Christmas. While "walking in a winter wonderland" is fun for a while, it does get old.

The horses are faring well. Tim keeps a good eye on them and has kept them well fed, increasing their hay ration whenever the temperatures have dropped below zero (which has been many times.) The herd has two different run-ins in the old barn, so they can come and go as they wish, and about eight acres to roam. Truly, Abby could not be in a better spot.

Unfortunately, the bad weather has kept me from seeing my girl as much as I'd like. While I am definitely the most mobile I've been in the three years since I had my knees replaced, the depth of the snow has been a concern for a different reason - I haven't wanted to get my car stuck in the deep snow!

This week we've had some melting and the lanes to the horses are more accessible. But I am traveling and meeting new grandbabies Julie and Cambria (Whitney, I'll see you in a few weeks, sweetie!) so I haven't been able to get to the barn. Lisa did, though, and was thoughtful enough to send her horse-starved mama some pictures.

 Abby and Diablo, together as always. Love the hay in Diablo's forelock!

While this is a typical pose of Abby (frisking you for carrots and candy canes), Lisa took it to show me that Abby's forelock is growing out. Someone in the herd seems to enjoy nibbling it off, so it is nice to see it coming back!

Diablo stares forlornly at the bag of horse cookies. Lisa had set it down on the ground and turned to give some attention to one of the other horses when she heard a crackling sound. Diablo had grabbed the bag and was trying to eat out of it! So, Lisa placed it out of reach.

Winter is certainly dragging on, but I see some bare ground in three of the pictures. Surely spring is on its way.

The Silver Barrette

In 1970 I placed an ad in Horse and Rider magazine's pen pal section, and thus began a lifelong friendship with Sue Seese, a girl who responded to my request for a pen pal.

I'll write more about her in another post, but this morning I was reminded of our enduring, forty-four year friendship when I was getting ready for church.

I pulled this out to put in my hair.  And smiled.

In 1974, after four years of near-weekly correspondence, I had flown out to California to meet Sue. What a time we had together! We rode horses (how many people can say they've ridden a horse that was owned by Gilligan of the TV show, Gilligan's Island? I can, thanks to Sue!), went to the beach, and showed Sue's horse, Storm, at a local horse show. (I still have the ribbon I won up in my office.)

A highlight of the trip was visiting Sue's silversmith, the man who created beautiful pieces of silver for saddles and bridles. I remember walking around the silversmith's workroom, amazed at the gleaming, handcrafted sterling silver pieces that were offered for sale. I couldn't afford any of them, but I sure could appreciate their beauty and craftsmanship!

After Sue finished paying for the silver she'd had put on Storm's bridle, the silversmith walked over to me and held something out. "Here's a souvenir of California," he said with a smile. And in his hand was the sterling silver barrette.

A gift for me. And one I have come to cherish as time has passed.

I keep the barrette polished and wear it fairly often. It was such a thoughtful gift and remains a souvenir of the friendship Sue and I still share all these years later.

A friendship forged through a mutual love of horses.

A Girl's Generous Gift

If you've ever been upstairs in my office, you quickly become aware that I like horses (if you didn't already know that.) Three of the four walls are lined with shelving, and I have about ::cough cough:: maybe... ::cough cough:: um... about... somewhere around 1,000 pieces in my collection.

I honestly cannot say why I love to collect, I just do. My collection goes back to 1963, so that's only twenty pieces added per year, right?? (Right...)

One of my students, TM, did a Classics report on the book Misty of Chincoteague. (I have the pony, Misty, depicted in both china and plastic on my shelves.) TM is a fellow horse lover, and used four model horses in her project, a diorama of Misty on the Beebee farm.

I told her that I, too, collected horses and since I had a picture of my collection on my phone, pulled it out and showed it to her.  Her eyes widened, and she broke into a huge smile. "I collect, too!" she crowed.

A week later, TM arrived at school toting a blue gift bag tied shut with orange ribbons. She placed it on my desk and announced, "This is for you."

I was surprised - it wasn't my birthday or a holiday. A random gift?

I understood when I opened it.

"They're from my collection," she told me. "I want you to have them.

Oh, dear. 

If anyone should be giving pieces of their collection away, it's me, not TM. 

Especially TM.

TM comes from a blended family of seven kids. Tragedy struck the family recently in that one of the mothers of those children was murdered. TM's stepfather and mother took in the extra children so that they could all remain together and not be split up or put into foster care. An admirable family, but certainly not one with any money to spend on extras. Extras like pieces for TM's model horse collection.

And here TM is giving me a gift out of her own collection.

I felt a bit teary as I placed her ponies on my shelves among my other pieces. Grabbing my camera, I took a picture and put it in the thank you note that I wrote to her. 

I'd love to reciprocate and give TM a piece or two from my collection (goodness knows I could stand to pass on a few, and who better than a fellow horse lover who can't afford to buy them?), but it isn't appropriate since I am her teacher. Perhaps when she completes her 5th grade year with me I can do it. I always give the outgoing 5th graders a gift - maybe I'll tuck a pony into TM's.

In the meantime, her two horses stand on my shelves, a reminder of a very generous girl.

Little Buckaroos Super Bowl Party

Today was the Hershey Super Bowl Read-In - a day we celebrated reading with the Super Bowl as the theme. The Denver Broncos are one of the teams playing, so naturally I focused in on them in my classroom.

After all, they have a horse, Thunder, as a mascot, and when they score at a home game, Thunder is galloped across the length of the football field. Anne Judge-Wegner, the horse's rider and trainer, is a TSC grad having attended Klondike and Harrison. She was in the class behind me.

Anne and Thunder celebrating a win.

We had a party with our reading buddies, with Jane's class providing the snacks and me providing the decor and activity (in addition to reading together.)

With help from Tim, I brought in a bunch of tack for the kids to see.

 Two saddles, a bridle, chaps, spurs, saddlebags, a lariat, and Tim's Aussie hat.

 AB loved that hat and wore it most of the day.

 LG models the chaps.

 Mrs. Fields joined us, and took a turn in the saddle.

And ropes Jane with the lasso.

I have spoken before of how tender my students are with their buddies.

Case in point: NC tenderly lifts her buddy, DJ, into the saddle so she can "ride." (My kids then jiggled the saddle so it felt like movement for DJ.)

 The kids' athletic shoes were too wide for the spurs, so they wore them with their socks!

 AB's buddies read to him as he "rides." (JO, AS, AB, WS, and AD left to right.)

 TM lassos NC while EP adds antlers. (Antlers??)

 AB finally shares the hat. WS models it as he rides.

 AD wears the hat and chaps while LG adds the spurs.

 A close up of LG strapping on the spurs.

 AS and JR play catch the bandit with the lariat.

 What's a Super Bowl party without snacks? We had pizza, little smokies, punch, and Chex Mix.

 JR was fascinated with the lariat and pretended to tie himself to the chair.

 LS and FR ride double.

As the party ended, we "lassoed" ourselves - both classes roped together.

 Me (back left) with about half of the students.

 Jane and the rest of them. Look at all those smiles!