More Horsey Drawings in Church

Sunday for the second time, I was gifted a horsey picture by a child after church. (Go here to read about the first time.)

The little girl who drew Sunday's picture is three. She is a foster child and in the care of friends of ours who hope to adopt her. A week ago, she had come over to my home to visit Molly and while here had asked her foster mama if she could call me "Grammy." It snowballed from there.

I don't know why this girl has become attached to me. Due to confidentiality reasons, I do not know the circumstances regarding her removal from her parents' home or why she is available for adoption. Perhaps I look like her real grandmother and trigger memories? Or maybe she never had one, and for whatever reason, I fit the bill?

Lots of questions with no answers, but in the meantime, I am happy to love this little girl who so freely offers me her love.

Black Beauty in the Classroom!

My students read a children's classic book every semester and write and present a paper on the book along with a project of their choice that they create. This week, a student wrote about Black Beauty, a book responsible for the founding of humane societies and better treatment of animals.

 My student made a Black Beauty trading card for everyone in the class, while my student teacher and I got full sets!

One hundred and forty years later, people are still reading the book and its effects are still being felt. Now that's the power of good literature.

Kaibab

My Kaibab is here!

A web special, I was not drawn for him so I had to buy him second hand from a friend.

His mane and tail are pearly, and his dapples very subtle and not "fish scale" at all.

I love him!

Muddy and Flooded

Yesterday when I went out to the barn, I drove on the road where the school bus had driven into water across the road and floated off a few days ago. The water had receded there, but elsewhere, it was still on the road.

 This is just before the lane that leads up to the new barn.

 As you can see, the water is still on the road.

Parts of the pastures are still flooded and have standing water. And, the lane to the water trough is mostly underwater.

To come see me, Abby had to walk around a large stretch of standing water in the middle of the pasture. As you can probably tell, she's begun her spring beauty treatments by rolling in the mud. She's a mess! (But she's a happy mess!)

Snickerdoodle and Sultanna came up with her, and the four of us had a lovely chat coupled with some neck rubs.

While I am glad the weather is warming up, I really dislike mud and rain. But it won't last forever and soon will be over. Thank goodness!

Kathy Meets Molly

My dear friend, Kathy Nimmer, helped me find Molly. (Go here to read about her role in putting Molly and me together.) She has wanted to meet Molly since we got her in December, but between bad weather and crazy schedules, it took two and a half months for it to happen.

Wednesday evening, the two of them finally met.

 Molly was hesitant at first as Kathy sat down on the loveseat and began to gently stroke her.

 Then Kathy decided to get down to Molly's level and slid onto the floor next to her.

 Gradually Molly began to relax as Kathy explored her with her hands.

Suddenly, she began laughing. "You're right about her being stocky. I am scratching her chest and it is so big compared to Nacho's. You misnamed her; her name should be Dolly, not Molly!"

That is a tongue in cheek reference to Dolly Parton whom she met when Dolly awarded her (and Nacho) with the Chasing Rainbows award in 2016. (One of Dolly's trademarks over the years, besides her wigs, is her large bust.)

Photo from Google Images. 

To watch Kathy receive her Chasing Rainbows award from Dolly go here. Kathy is introduced at minute 4:50. And Dolly gave Nacho a rhinestone collar for his part in the award at the end of the video!

We sat and chatted for a while, and eventually Molly completely relaxed under Kathy's ministrations and went to sleep.

Next we want to introduce Nacho to Molly. Since Kathy lives just around the corner from me, it would be fun to go for walks this summer together.

Flooding by the Barn

The rains have been coming down, the Wabash River has flooded areas that rarely become flooded, and roads across the area are impassable. That includes out by the barn, which has many creeks, cornfields, and pastures which have high water.

Why my school corporation did not call a two hour delay yesterday so that buses (which begin running at 6:00 AM when it is dark) could better see the roads is beyond me. And, we paid a price for that decision.

This is a photo taken next to Tim's (my barn owner) driveway yesterday morning before school.

One of our high school buses loaded with students was washed off the road. In the dark, the driver did not see the water over the road (two feet deep at the time), drove into it, and then was washed off the road and into the field. The students had to be rescued by jumping from the emergency exit at the back of the bus onto a rescue vehicle and then be ferried to another bus. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

See that line of trees to the left of the white police car? That's Tim's driveway. (He's got a truck so he can get out.)

Many school corporations are on a two hour delay this morning, just as they were yesterday. And my school corporation, just like it was yesterday, is not.

I would have hoped we had learned from our mistake yesterday.

Irish Dresden Circus Pony

This unusual piece was added to my collection thanks to my friend, Susan Bensema Young. Knowing my love of circus ponies, she keeps an eye out for them and discovered this one on eBay.

 The price was more than I felt it was worth, but after watching it for several months, I contacted the seller and made an offer. She countered, and the piece was mine!

 The Irish Dresden Company specializes in using fabrics that they fire onto their pieces. The tack and mane/tail decorations all were fabric at one time.

 The base is stamped with the company's logo and the name of the piece.

A close up of the stamp. Note that it has an "R" in a circle that the stamp from their Facebook page does not have.

 The logo from Facebook.

And, the crown is attached to the line drawn around "MV." (That stands for Muller Volkstedt.)

Another horsey piece of Irish Dresden that I found on the web - there are not many!

Information that I have found on the company thus far:

Irish Dresden began with the late 19th century Germany artist Anton Muller, in the small town of Volkstedt, under the then banner Muller Volkstedt. Muller's skills with fine lace porcelain figures did not go unnoticed and his work quickly gained a reputation. Since his death in 1937 his family has kept up the tradition of pristine porcelain craftsmanship and kept the business alive, despite it having faced a rough history that includes the destruction of their factory during WWII, the deaths of Muller and his son, Herman, as well as the family being forced to leave their homes in what was then East Germany. The family tradition was saved by Johanna Saar, Herman's niece, her husband Oskar, and now daughter Sabina who settled in Ireland in 1962 and continued the business under the name Irish Dresden. Irish Dresden continues the family tradition to this day and its collection porcelain figures are now renown worldwide.

I am loving my most recent circus pony, and send many heartfelt thanks to a dear friend who was looking out for me. Thanks, Sue!

Millie, Molly, and Me

I am home sick and was working on my computer while Molly snoozed at my feet.

Millie, who was visiting for the day, came over and sat down which prompted Molly to sit up. Craig happened to be nearby, grabbed his camera, and took a quick snap.

I got a similar photo of Lisa with the girls when she came to pick up Millie after school.

I love these two dogs!

Spanish Flamenco Horse and Rider

Breyer's sets of dolls and horses have begun to appeal to me, so I have been searching them out on eBay and elsewhere. I found this piece for a very fair price and snapped it up last week.

(Photo from eBay listing.)

In a way, it reminds me of a Circus Horse, and I think that that was part of the appeal of this particular set.

Now, to decide whether or not to remove it from its box. It was made in 2009 and so has been in the box for nearly a decade. I lean toward leaving it inside for a couple of reasons, one of which is to protect it from dust and wear.

On the other hand, I love to handle the pieces of my collection, look them over, and set them out for display. (Yes, I was one of those kids who played with their carpet herd and I have no regrets about that!) I think it personalizes my collection if I do that rather than just setting things on a shelf with a "do not touch" attitude.

I'm going to have to think about this for a while - there are good reasons for both options!

Baby Steps, but Progress!

Molly has been with us two full months now. She is slowly getting over her fears from past harsh treatment and is beginning to act like a pet instead of like a fearful barn/outdoor dog who would just like to sit in a corner and be left alone.

When she snoozes during the day, her body language indicates that she is relaxed and feeling secure. Look at the loose tail and the way she is stretched out instead of curled up protectively.

When she turns her face and body away from us to sleep, we know she is really feeling secure, and that makes us so happy. (We no longer keep the leash on her full time - we did that so if she panicked, we could grab it and intervene, helping her to calm down.)

She continues to be very gentle with us all, never growling, snapping, offering to bite, or acting aggressively despite the fact that someone has obviously harmed her in the past. She allows Mila to crawl up to her and interact, even cuddling on the doggy bed with her.

Molly's progress is slow and hard won. Sometimes we take steps backward if something unexpected happens (for example, a Valentine banner I had hung over the fireplace fell down, causing her to bolt and be upset for quite some time. I put the banner away - it was not worth scaring her again should it fall again.)

She's sleeping at my feet as I write this. That in itself is an accomplishment - she came over on her own volition and settled in. I scratched and petted her, gave her a few treats, and then got online while she relaxed into a nap. It's what I was hoping for when I got her after a seven year no-dog drought - a dog to be a family member, a friend, a companion, one who loved us as we loved it.

I think we're headed that way at last.

So Near, Yet So Far

Sometimes you make your best effort and visiting your pony still doesn't work! The snow and ice had recently melted so the lanes have been clear enough for me to drive back to visit Abby, so eagerly I hopped in the car late Saturday afternoon and drove out to see her.

 But when I got there, she was so near and yet so far!

Tim had reconfigured some of the fencing in order to protect the turf, and so I had a couple of fences to duck under and several smaller fields to walk through to get to her.

Which really should not have been bad except that I had just had some injections into my hip joints - they're painful shots to get and I am sore and a bit wobbly afterwards for a while. I simply was not up to squeezing through fence posts and trudging through the mud and uneven ground to get to her.

I could see her through the door of the old barn, across the paddock, and into the fields, and she was certainly watching me and hoping I would come out to her, but it was just more than I could do that afternoon.

A bit disappointed, I reminded myself that at least I had had a visual peek at her, and could certainly smell that lovely horsey and barn aroma while there. I finally got back into my car and headed home, carrots still in hand.