Found!! My Most Wanted Model!

I don't check out eBay as frequently as some collectors do, but every now and then I do searches for models that I would like to have. Last weekend I found my most wanted Breyer of all - the Semi-Rearing Mustang in woodgrain.

Recently he has been going for much more money than I can justify. But this one was at $230 with 22 bids and was still within the limits of what I was willing to pay. So, I put in a bid, not really expecting to win since this is a highly sought after model and already had many people bidding to buy it. To my surprise and delight, though, I won the auction! (Photos from eBay listing.)

 Diablo, Woodgrain Semi-Rearing Mustang, #985, 1963-1966.

He has some tiny rubs, but is in wonderful condition. I am thrilled as I fully expected to be outbid at the last moment.

Breyer's vintage molds such as this mold, the 5 Gaiter, and the Indian Pony are my favorites, but I also like other vintage molds including the Grazing Mare, Grazing Foal, Running Mare, Running Foal, Western Prancer, and the Stretch Morgan.  Now that I've found that "one" model I have wanted for years, I am not sure what is next on my list to look for. Hmmm... maybe the Stretch Morgan in woodgrain? Or a 5 Gaiter in a decorator color?

I'll think some more about it, but in the meantime, I am going to enjoy having found my most wanted model.

Molly & Millie Playing 1/8/2017

Molly is relaxing and starting to play! Her friend is our daughter, Lisa's, dog Millie, who is also a rescue and is usually too shy to play. These girls are good for each other!

Doggy Boots

The bitter cold here continues. This is this morning's temperature at 8:00 AM.

Poor Molly - when we take her outside, sometimes she begins lifting her paws in reaction to the cold weather!

My friend, Kathy Nimmer, loaned me something I had not heard of - doggy boots!

She explained that every guide dog comes with a set, but that she had gotten Nacho a set that had a fur lining. ("He's not spoiled!" she said sheepishly.)  And since she had a second set, she loaned me Nacho's first set for the winter.

Kathy and Nacho.

"Most dogs go crazy the first time you put them on, and they take some getting used to," she warned. Uh oh. That was not going to work for Molly. She is already skittish, and we are working so hard on helping her see that she now lives in a safe and secure spot where no one will hurt her. I think trying to put boots on her that we already know will upset her is not in her best interest right now.

So, I will hang onto them and see if we get to the point where I feel comfortable introducing them to her. And in the meantime, we are going for shorter times outside and staying out of the deeper snow which seems to activate the paw lifting.

She's come a long way in the month we have had her. It's been a lot of work, but we are making progress. 

Searching for Horse Shaped Objects

Between having some of my family here for the holidays and the bitter cold we are experiencing, I had not gotten to do one of my favorite things for a while - hitting up the antique shops for HSOs (horse shaped objects), specifically Breyers, Hagen Renakers, and Hartlands.

With my winter break coming to an end very soon, and the mercury creeping up to 7 degrees,  I hopped in my car yesterday and went to one of my favorite shops.

There were lots of HSOs to be found.

 Especially if you are a collector of clankies.

 (What is this supposed to be??)

 There were lots and lots of metal horses.

I was a bit tempted by this clock - it was only $15. I may go back and get it.

There were ceramic bookends.

 Real tack.

 Lots of cowboy boots.

 And this way cool jockey lawn ornament (if I still had my own barn, it would've come home with me!)

 There was artwork to hang on your walls.

 Which wasn't too tempting.

 Stuffed ponies and My Little Ponies really don't tempt me, either, although sometimes I look for gifts for my grandchildren.

This big stuffed horse was interesting, but again, not what I was looking for.

And then there were some of what I was looking for.

I am pretty sure this is a Hartland, but I would need to look it up to be sure. But I don't collect brewerania and so I left it there for someone who does.

 A nice Marx Thunderbolt! But I already have him (with saddle) and so he was left behind.

And an  old Grand Champion. I have one of these, a leftover that belonged to one of my children.

Melissa and Doug is a quality company and there were several sets of these for sale, but I collect mostly traditional scale (unless it is Hartland or HagenRenaker finds.)

 This poor Western Horse sans tack was $20.

 It was interesting because it was a bloaty and a shrinky. Something had sure happened to it! I wasn't willing to pay that much so I left it behind.

 There was also a Wahoo King who had a lot of rubs, but I do not collect this mold.

I ended up coming home empty handed, but that's collecting for you. Sometimes you find so many things you cannot buy them all, other days you do not. But I will be back in another month or so to try my luck again.

Barn Drive By

Yesterday afternoon when the temperature rose to -3, I ran some errands and did a drive by visual check of Abby.

Sure enough, the lane was covered in heavy snow, so there was no way I was going to be able to drive back to see her. (That's the old barn's roof you can see in the middle right.) I could just barely make out some horses on the left side of the old barn standing at the hayrack and eating.

I turned around and came back the other way. This time I did a close up with my phone. I could see horses at the hayrack on the right side of the barn, too. But Abby was not among them. I needed a closer look at the other hay rack.

There she was! With Diablo, naturally. Abby popped her head up and looked at my car, then resumed eating. (Good thing there was no traffic on the road so I could stop and take photos!)

I don't know when I will be able to get down the lane to see her. Temperatures are to remain low, dipping below zero through Friday. Sunday and Monday we have snow and a possible ice storm forecast, so it likely won't be until after that.

Sigh. I just want to wrap my arms around that fuzzy neck, hear a soft nicker or two, and hand out some peppermints. Perhaps I should have asked Santa for a truck with 4 wheel drive!

Brrr! Checking on Abby

Indiana gets cold weather in the winter, but the temperatures we are having (and are forecasted to have for the next three days) are quite low, even for the midwest.

 Brrrr!!

Just look at that wind chill! 

 Due to my orthopedic issues, walking on uneven or slippery surfaces is difficult for me and since both barns are accessed by driving down snowy, unpaved lanes, right now I am not able to see Abby unless I do a "drive by" and check on her from the county road that goes by the north pastures. (I plan to do that later this morning.)

Thank goodness for Tim, the barn owner, who goes out daily and checks the horses while he feeds them. At times like now or others when I can't get out, I can always text him and see how Abby is doing.

Yesterday I was wondering if maybe I needed to get a blanket out to her. I have done research on them and don't use them, but still I was wondering if maybe in this extreme cold I should reconsider. So, I texted Tim.

I knew from his response that she was not standing around shivering and shaking. And, there are three barns on the property, two of which she and the herd can go in and out of at will for shelter. The water in the trough is heated and not icy; the hay racks are kept full and are also accessible at all times. She will be fine.

I am hoping for a break in the weather this week so that I can go see her as I am off from school, but it does not look like that will happen. And, we are expecting a pretty major storm this coming Sunday and Monday, so it may be a long wait before I can give Abbs her candy canes and carrots!

When Collectors' Books Become Collectible Themselves

I have been in the hobby long enough that I was able to buy early hobby books when they were first being published. I bought them at the time for the reference material they contained, but now I keep them for their value as a piece of hobby history.

One is the third edition of Nancy Atkinson Young's seminal work, Breyer Molds & Models. The earliest copies were not commercially bound but were in a binder.

The books were bought directly from Nancy, and she would sign them if you wished. I also exchanged information with her about what I had in my collection, and it was fun to see my pieces referenced in future editions of this book.

 I used this book heavily and made notes in it.

While those notes may make this edition less valuable, for me it adds to it as part of my own history within the hobby and where I was in my collecting at the time.

I also have a copy of Marney Walerius' book, Breyer Models Reference and Insurance Guide.

 Her book was pricey at $39 and had many errors, but it was still an interesting read.

The pages were glued to the binding and so now the book snaps and pops when I open it. It has become very fragile and I do not open it any more.

When I bought these two books, I never dreamed that they would become collectible themselves!