A Hobbyist Get Together!

I have been friends with hobbyists Cristine Holt and her daughter, Tara Holt Oliver, for years and years. From Iowa originally, both of them now live in Utah, and so when my daughter, Jessica, moved to Utah earlier this year, I took the opportunity to have a visit with them during our trip west to see Jessica and her family.

 Cristine, Tara, Jessica, me, and Tara's son, Nate.

Tara fixed us all a delicious lunch and then invited us to go up the mountain a ways and visit her horses.

Casper and T-Bone are Tennessee Walkers. Cris bred TWHs for thirty years or so, and T-Bone was her last foal.

Tara already had brought the horses up for us to see.

I was glad she did - their pasture is twenty acres!

Can you see one of the kids way out there, having fun running through the grass? That pasture was huge!

While seeing the horses was very exciting for the kids, so was running around in all that open space. It reminded me a bit of the movie, The Sound of Music, where Maria is up in the mountains and singing.

 Titan burning off some extra energy.

 Pony Pal Cambria taking a breather and looking around at the gorgeous scenery.

And trust me, it is beautiful! The property is surrounded by mountains on all sides.

 Tara has her trailer parked next to a small paddock and the horses' loafing shed.

 She also has a hay barn

where she also stores her tack, grooming tools, pitchforks, and other horsey necessities. (Her kids picked her those wildflowers during their jaunt out in the pasture.)

Me with Casper.

We had so much fun during our visit, and we also got to groom Casper and T-Bone. Photos from that in the next blog post.

Tornado Damage

While we were in Utah, Indiana and Ohio got pounded by tornadoes several times. Three hit the county in which I live, and one of them touched down out by the barn.

A photo of one of the three tornadoes in Tippecanoe County.

I was concerned when I heard the news, especially since the horses prefer to shelter in the old barn during storms and inclement weather. 

 I love the old barn at Tim's. (That's Abby peeking her head out of the door.)

It is such a peaceful place, cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and full of that wonderful horsey smell.

When I was a teenager, my 4-H leader had a similar old barn that collapsed and came down during some high winds. His horses were inside it, but luckily none were hurt aside from some scratches. I think about that whenever there is a bad storm in the area and wonder if the old barn will be able to withstand the winds.

I texted Tim as soon as I heard about the tornadoes. He confirmed that we had sustained some damage.

The old barn and the new barn did not have any damage but the blue barn did. Five trees came down and some of the fences need repairing. The playhouse that Tim has for his grandchildren was lost, too, but all things considered, things are okay.

Thankfully, the horses are fine, and the old barn has weathered yet another Indiana storm.

Horses Across the USA

While we drove out to west to visit family, naturally I played my favorite car game, Horses Across the USA. It's a game I made up years ago and play to pass the time in the car. (Our kids are scattered - Florida, Virginia, Colorado, Tennessee, and Utah, so we make some long drives.)

Craig and I did not see much on the way between Indiana and our daughter's home in Colorado, but on the next leg of our journey (Colorado to Utah), we hit the jackpot.

 First sighting! A park named after my favorite breed! Not a bad way to begin the game.

I almost missed this one until I suddenly remembered that Buckshot is the name of a Breyer's Bob Scriver molds.

 I would love to know the reasoning behind naming a reservoir "Horsetooth." Talk about an unusual name!

 I love the old fiberglass horses from the 1970s! This is a tack shop in rural Colorado.

A cool fairgrounds entrance (and very western in appearance with the bronc and bull rider silhouettes.)

 The Outlaw Inn sounds like an interesting place to stay. 

 Cowboy Donuts? I wonder what those are like!

 A billboard in rural Wyoming using horses to advertise a wireless network.

How about some lunch at the Cowboy Cafe?

A double tanker with a horse and rider motif.

And my favorite of all - this beautiful artwork of running horses. 

During our trip from Indiana to Colorado we ran into tornadoes; this leg of our trip had hail, snow, heavy rains (with some scary hydroplaning at 75 mph), and a snowplow or two. But we made it safely to our daughter's home in Santaquin, Utah. The next few blog posts will have photos of our horsey experiences with our Utah family.

My Son, the Horse Lover?

While my family was all gathered in Denver for JC's graduation, we attended church together on Sunday.  After the service, I noticed a horse peeking out of the pocket of my son, Cole's, sport coat.

His pocket square had a horse on it! Naturally, I asked Cole why he was wearing something horsey.

He pulled the pocket square out of his pocket and unfolded it while denying (very tongue in cheek) that it was horse oriented.

"It's a map!" he said with a smile.

Yeah, a map surrounded by horses on all four sides!

Tornadoes on the Road!

Craig and I traveled west to Denver for JC's high school graduation this past week. This year the plains states have had the highest number of tornadoes in recent years, and more storms were forecast the day we were to drive through Kansas.

Well, it was our lucky day (depending on your point of view.) As we crested a hill in Junction City, Kansas, I spied a tornado coming at us over the hill.

We pulled off at the next exit and waited the storm out in a restaurant. The sirens were blaring and we had hail and rain, but the storm passed on and we hit the road again.

Unfortunately, more storms were approaching us.

 We kept an eye on these clouds for a while, unsure if they were anything dangerous or not.

Suddenly, another tornado dropped down into the fields to the right of us.

 It was moving away from us, so we pulled over the watch it.

As it intensified, another one began forming alongside the first one. It thickened very suddenly and became wedge shaped

and then together they both began to lift and dissipate.

While seeing so many tornadoes in such a short span of time was thrilling, we decided that, since the storms were still coming our way, it would be wise to stop for the night and not chance running into any more. We pulled over in Salinas and got a motel room.

What a way to start our trip!

Old Book End

This bookend has been in my collection since I was a teenager. I found it at a flea market in southern Indiana way back in the 1970s and still love its vintage look.

 It's a mid century piece and was made by Syroco (the Syracuse Ornamental Company) in Syracuse, New York.

The foil Swank label on the back is found on other Syroco pieces, but I have been unable to find out its connection to the company.

Some Syroco pieces were painted realistically while others, like this one, only had a few details that were painted. (See its nostrils.)

For more information about the Syracuse Ornamental Company and its products, go here. They have some really neat products, including a variety of horse bookends!

A Dog and Pony (No) Show

These dogs and ponies are all going into storage. As I replace all my shelves, I have gone through my collection and decided to part with some pieces; others I am putting away in storage for a while.

Some day I would like to have a dedicated shelf for my dogs and cats, including my Breyers. Another project for another day! But in the meantime, these are going into the closet until I figure that out.

Some more dogs as well as a couple of equine pieces that I am not ready to part with. (Yes, you are seeing some unicorns!)

I've stored minis in this box before - the cardboard is very sturdy and the compartments nice and deep. I can put two or three carefully wrapped pieces in each with room on top to lay bigger pieces.

It can be hard to put parts of my collection away for a while. But what's really fun is, after they have been out of sight for some time, opening the box and unwrapping them. It's like having new pieces to add to the shelves!

Zuni Fetish Piece

Continuing yesterday's theme of  Native American horses, here is something that really is a Native American piece.

A Zuni fetish!

Fetishes are believed to have magical powers and the ability to protect their owners. The horse represents partnership, strength, power, and expanding one's own capabilities. The horse also is said to have healing powers.

Often they are adorned with arrowheads (as mine is) or other offerings for gifts that the owner would to like to receive or has already been given.

Modern fetishes are considered carvings as they have not been blessed by a shaman (those that have been are not for sale as they are considered highly sacred.)

My sister's first husband was a Native American and they had a duo wedding - a Christian marriage for her and then a Native American marriage with a shaman from his tribe. As her attendant, I was given this fetish as a thank you. I have kept it tucked away with my minis collection ever since.

If you are interested in learning more about fetishes, a good place to look  is here. They are really interesting, and not limited just to horses but include a host of other animals, all of whom have special meanings.

Gift from Sarah

Several years ago, my daughter Sarah gave this piece to me for my collection.

She and her family live in Colorado and she found it at a gift shop there, thinking it would be a nice memento for me of the place where part of my family resided.

It's quite heavy and is made from resin, I think, although it has almost a china feel to it when I run my hands over the piece.

There's a lot of detail to the piece, and the copper plate on the base says "Horse of a Different Color" and then gives the number of the piece.

The more I look at the paint job, the more I lean toward to piece being resin.

I've never heard of the company before. 

Read the small text in the lower right hand of the tag. Apparently Clydesdales were used to ride into war by Native Americans. Hmmmm...

I did a search on Westland Giftware and still am a bit confused as to who they are, but they do seem to be connected in some way to the Trail of the Painted Ponies.

Regardless of the company's origins, or having a Clydesdale as a war chief's mount, I am fond of the piece. It was a thoughtful gift from my daughter and is a treasured part of my collection.