Tally Ho!

Giveaway winners will be announced later today - stay 'tooned!

Yesterday I finally got a moment to head out to the barn to visit with Abby and to see the family bell hanging again.

Tim had mounted it on a post under the pines at the intersection of several pastures. (Our own Four Corners, so to speak.)

I caught my breath when I saw it - I don't remember the last time I'd seen it hanging at my parents' home on the river. And honestly, I never thought I'd see it hanging again, let alone hear its beautifully clear tone traveling through the air.

I stepped up to it, took hold of the pull chain, and tugged.

I heard the rumble of hooves behind me after the first ring and the ponies had high-tailed it across the pasture.

They gathered at the end of the nursery paddock and turned to face the source of that scary sound.

Abby and Sultanna looked at me reproachfully, questioning why I had made that terrible noise.

Our plan to train them to come up when the bell is rung may need a little tweaking!

The Family Bell

There has been a little more weight in the trunk of my car for a couple of months now. It's so heavy, I didn't even remove it when I packed for The Feast of the Hunters' Moon or the Great Lakes Congress show.

It's the bell that hung outside the back door of Morainewood, our home on the Wabash River.

I have no idea how old it is - it was there when we bought the home in 1970.

Thanksgiving 1970. Leslie on Pokey with (left) our great Aunt Clara, Great Uncle Howard, and (right) our mom and Grandma Martin. (Owner of O'Boy, the circus pony.) Check out my mom's hands - she's got a couple of apples for Amy and Pokey!

My siblings and I used to roam all over the place - down along the river, up in the woods, and go way back through the ravines and creeks of the moraine we lived on.

When she wanted us to come home, Mom would ring that bell and the sound would travel long distances - no matter how far we wandered, on horseback or on foot, we could always hear it. (Look between the two trees in the middle and you will see the bell.)

I can still hear its beautiful sound calling me home. So when Leslie found it tucked away in her barn and asked if I wanted it, of course I said I did. I'm not sure what I will do with it, but in the meantime, a very important piece of my childhood resides in the trunk of my car.

And I am happy that it is there. In a way, it still calls me home.