Happy Holidays

Hello Readers,
As you know, Bud and I married on Christmas Eve a few light years ago and the pink cyclamen was my anniversary present. Photographs well I think.

Below is a picture of ODonna's new australian shepherd pup named Moon. So cute, and no she wouldn't let me keep him.

We've been digging out from the Christmas Eve snowstorm, while we managed to get out of the driveway to go to Helen and Bob's to enjoy a tasty Christmas meal, our neighbors came home Saturday night and got stuck in the middle of the road at Fox and 60th. They called, we tried to get them out, but in the dark it was not a happening thing. Today the road grader driver tried and then called the front end loader driver. That and a tow chain and 2 shovels freed their truck. The snow pushed to the side of the road was above my head... so very very high...


I received some lovely Christmas cards, and alas to my embarrassment, sent none. This is one of my favorites as well as one from Jackie.

So in lieu of the traditional method of well wishes, I offer this picture of Leo and my hope for a wonderful New Year for all. ap/p

PS, I've enjoyed keeping this blog and I may rename it and keep on... Thanks for your interaction and comments. :)

Thanksgiving 2009 - a very good time

Dear gold ones,

Do you remember ..."some are silver and the others gold"? This Thanksgiving was filled with gold and silver for me. Some of the silver was reliving the wonderful experience of seeing someone ride a horse for the first time... You'll recognize Hailey on Blue surrounded by her entourage...


The picture below is of Bud taking Hailey for her very first horseback ride compliments of the flashy Ebony...


Here is Hailey decked out for riding... with all of the gear I should have had for Amanda and Rachel when they were little...


This is Bud and Hailey and the first fish... look close!


And then there's the favorite "boy"... hard to believe we used to have to lift him to his feet.


So perfect company, perfect meal, perfect day... Thanks for coming to our house, ap

Black Dog Needs a Home

This lovely black dog showed up at Bob and Helen's last week. You can see where his collar used to be. He has a friendly personality and seems very bidable. Anyone need a new guy?


He has a handsome face.


Lovesssss to be petted.

Comes when called.


He is a tail wagger, friendly boy looking for a new home. Let me know.

Bob and butterflies

Dear Ones,

Here is our Bob on Tuesday with his black eye. Just thought that you would like to see how good he looks, better every day.

I had the opportunity to go to a conference in Westminster (near Boulder) Colorado and across the street from the hotel was the Butterfly Pavilion. Curious assortment??? Enjoy!

Looking forward to seeing you all in this holiday season. ap/p

Rent-a-Rower

Dear Favorites,

As blogger fans, you know that our Lawrence law student and her trusty companion, Joey, happened upon some boat races on the river during a walking tour. Coincidentally, KU staff recently received a notice from the Kansas Crew, the rowing team, made up of over 50 student-athletes and their fundraiser: Rent-a-Rower. For example, 1 rower for $12.50, 2 for $25... sounds like a deal!

We did one of those things on Saturday that leaves one shaking one's frozen face... we loaded up horses and dogs and motored out to Turon (near Pratt) on Saturday afternoon, watching the temperature drop from 40 degrees in Toronto to 32 degrees by the time we saddled our horses for our breezy ride through the very tall prairie grasses. Loosed three dogs, rode up numerous pheasants and some tiny baby quail... No time for chatting afterward as we quickly departed and turned up the heat in the truck.

Poppi, Mimi and I are watching DWTS and enjoying it... well, at least I am, I think Poppi is simply being a very good sport. If I ever get finished with my current project at work, I'm going to take some vacation time. The Sunflower All Age Championship starts on Monday. We have entered dogs in the weekend trials before and after... what are we thinking??? we don't know.

p

Out West in the Wild

Dear Ones,

On Thursday, October 1st, Bud and I headed West... well a little south, to Oklahoma and Texas. We traveled through the Little Sahara, 4 wheeling paradise and wound up south of Arnett, on a ranch for the running of the Raymond Rucker Classic. We picked up Lucky and one of our pointers, Fancy, in Pratt.

Arnett is about 6 1/2-7 hours from home depending of course, on how many times one stops. We also took Lacy the wild, Pretty Boy the good and Ebony the dependable. Isabel, pointer, was entered in two stakes, the first one she refused the front and chased deer and the second one, redeemed herself with 55 minutes of an excellent effort topped with a bit of disappointment when she then chased the quail. Whoops! West OK is based in sand and grows all things stickery, and sand burrs seem to be a specialty... In fact each and every dog's foot that ran was wrapped in duct tape. Some liked their boots better than others. And oh, heaven help your hands, if you drop your lead rope on the ground. Leather gloves are a must.

It's wide open, rolling hills of sand and what they call "chinnery", little 3 foot high oak trees, thick as bushes. Honestly, every thing either sticks or bites. Oh, and did I mention that hogs run wild??? I didn't see any but they are plentiful from all reports.

We spent the evenings at the Bar G Lodge in Texas, about 48 miles from the field trial grounds. Lovely accommodations, excellent company and meals prepared by a very fine cook. While we didn't win anything and Ebony came home with a "black" eye from an unfriendly horse, all in all quite a fine time. Not particularly relaxing, but a nice alternative to "real" life...

ap/p

Moving on to Fall in Toronto

Hello Dear Reader(s),

When I drove west out of Yates Center last evening, it was towards a spectacular sunset outlined by sunflowers in full bloom and the beautiful prairie grasses. With the windows down and Toby with his head in the breeze we motored home on the gravel road. Toby got pretty excited when we saw the deer mama and her twins sprint along side then across the road to the cottonwood trees on our place. All four of our boys in the front pasture lifted their heads when I went by. As I drove around by Frog Pond, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw my pretty black mare sillouetted against the sunset. As I drove slowly on toward the house, I stopped to watch a flock of geese fly by. I've been gone for 3 days and I smile every time I come home.

This has been a summer to remember with the timely and plentiful rains that should offer us a memorable view from our deck this fall as we watch the foliage change colors around Lake Fegan. Come visit. ap

Field Trialing in South Dakota

Dear Reader(s), On September 2 Bud and I set out for Trail City, South Dakota to attend the Southwestern Derby and Championship on the Johnson Ranch. We went to watch Babe, pictured above, compete in the Derby. Our friend, Gary Hill handled her, showing her impressive race and natural bird finding nose. She didn't win this one, but we partied with Gary, Carol, Lisa and others, happy in the fact that she finished with style. One week later, Gary called with the news that Babe (aka Shadow's Prairie Wind) won the D.E. Hawthorne Border Classic in Columbus, N.D. which certainly calls for another celebration!

The red setter shown above is "Star", Gary's granddaughter's competitor, raised by our friends, Don and Lynda Beauchamp, KS. Star was third to Babe's win in the Border Classic. Below is a picture of some of Gary's trial dogs.

Of course, Joleen traveled with us and below are pictures of her and her pal, Mac.

I was entranced by the prairie dogs. See below.
And yes, that's me in the next pic.
Field trialing is not always easy. Here's where we kept our horses.
As you may imagine, catching was tricky, the weeds are really high and treacherous, just ask me sometime. It was not all hardship though, we saw a small band of "wild" horses, we rode across the high plains with no sign of civilization other than the many many well cared for cattle, and we were rewarded with a delicious home cooked meal each noon. Those amenities were enhanced by the comfortable cabin and hospitality at Howdy House and great dinners compliments of Carol and Lisa, chefs extraordinaire. We really had a wonderful time surrounded by good friends. The picture below was taken on our last morning in Trail City looking east from Howdy House.

As always, glad to be home, here's Bud in his new seating arrangement complete with shade, compliments of Eukanuba. Happy trails to all.

Anniversary, Birthday, Art

Dear Readers,

Mimi, Poppi and I celebrated their Anniversary enjoying sparkling spumante with dinner. Kyle had his birthday lunch with Mimi and Poppi on Sunday. Then Mimi took phone calls all day on her birthday and I think she had the perfect day. And finally, we started painting on the canvases that Robin and Rachel sent in Mimi's birthday package... I must say that the box of chocolates were over the top and are being thoroughly enjoyed!

Mimi's painting is titled "frog whimsy"...


Then Poppi put together this collage titled "3 peas in a pod"... the pods are actually "enlarged" carrot seeds, very cool! Actually, I did the pink "river" but Bob definitely claims the piece!

So then Mimi drew out the last piece and I painted it for her. This is "The Silent Scream"... note KU blue and crimson??? Thanks for the materials, we hope you like our "art"... we're taking orders :)

Bob rides bareback

Hi Reader(s),
Sometimes one is lucky and realizes it. I'm lucky. I spent last evening with Bob and enjoyed every minute. He's the one with the quick smile, dares to do anything and one minded in his commitment to family. He's a good guy and he's riding bareback. Just look!


And if you just can't believe your eyes, check out moving proof below.

Seeing Rachel on her big day

Dear Readers,

This is Rachel and Joey and her green apartment door overlooking her parking area. Having an apartment with a reserved parking space is a coup, I parked a block and a half away. Early on August 20, I tried to get to Lawrence in the trusty Miata, but due to a billowing white smoke problem I had it towed from Yates Center to Chanute to the car doctor, tracked down Bud, got a ride back home and set out again in the old "little" red truck for my meeting in Lawrence, but especially for my "real" reason... to see Rachel on her first day of Law School... and I have pictures to prove it. It was a lovely day all around. Thanks Rachel!

Hummers at home

Dear Readers,

I had the nicest surprise last night. I received this new hummingbird feeder from friends after dinner at Flint Oaks near Fall River, Flint Oaks is a world class shooting club. Beautiful accommodations and excellent restaurant.

About our hummers: We have 4 (and now 5) feeders up and we have to fill most of them every day. Sometimes the deck is truly filled with hummers. We have hibiscus in bloom on the deck and they take advantage of the flowers as well as the feeders. Bud got a new red cap the other day and one of the hummers took a really close look at him just in case he might be a new feeder! So enjoy seeing the "kids" and don't wait for an invitation to come here for some "deck" time.

too little too late too sad

My dear readers,

I did get up at 3:30 am, turned out Joleen, world's cutest English pointer pup, convinced her to camp in the kennel for a few hours and went back in the house to get the trusty Toby for company and possible protection ... from who know what and headed out for Perseids viewing. My first clue, should have been this: at no time have I had to use a flashlight, the moon is straight up above and shining like a huge beacon lighting the landscape so it seemed more like dawn. Oh, well, I put the lawn chair in the back of the little red truck, loaded Toby and me and drove up to the meadow, parked and peeked out... no meteors and where, the heck is the big dipper... the landmark to look for according to my internet source. I thought I could sit in the truck with the door open, but no, because the truck interior light shown as bright as the moon. So I pulled on the hat (again, internet advice) and climbed from the truck seat to the back of the truck... without touching the ground I'm pleased to say. I watched and waited... and waited and watched, but no 100 meteors an hour in my part of the sky. So I gave up and headed home, paused to peek out the window at the top of the hill and WOW I saw a good one. So I parked, moved myself to the back of the truck to my lawn chair and waited. I saw 2 small ones or possibly they were fire flies. So my report on meteor watching at our place in Woodson County, Kansas is that really, seeing 6-10 meteors in an hour between the hours of 10 ish and midnight works for me... wishing to see many at 4 am was disappointing and I'm sleepy. So next year when they come I'll try again... and I've got a year to work out a better plan... Mimi says that we quite often as children, joined her on a blanket in the yard and star gazed, maybe once or twice a month when it was warm... I wish I remembered that. She says that it's the climbing in the back of the truck that is troublesome with my plan, so next year, it's me and my mom in the miata. Now that's a plan. :)

Chasing the Perseids

Dear Readers,

I'm entranced with the Perseids. Poppi and I took his truck up to the meadow and facing northish, stretched out in the back of the truck and watched the sky for drifts of astral dust to fly by. (I'm listening to a book about Alaskans, thus the descriptive language.) I saw about 7, one really impressive one and Poppi doesn't admit to seeing any though we both saw several planes zoom by in the night sky. It was a perfect night in Kansas, warm, no wind and the sky as clear as could be. So that was August 11, pre Amanda's birthday. Then on the actual night of Amanda's birthday, Bud and I duplicated the previous evening, although this time Bud saw maybe 8-9 while I saw fewer. I think we were looking too early in the night, but we couldn't stay awake. I'm going to get up at 4 in the morning, that being 2 days after Amanda's birthday and try my luck. I figure at least Toby will go with me. Wish me luck. Love to all, p/ap

Here's a bit about the Perseids:
The Perseids is the name of a meteor shower associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle. The Perseids are so-called because the point they appear to come from, called the radiant, lies in the constellation Perseus. The stream of debris is called the Perseid cloud and stretches along the orbit of the comet Swift-Tuttle. The cloud consists of particles ejected by the comet as it travels on its 130-year orbit. Most of the dust in the cloud today is around a thousand years old.

The Perseid meteor shower has been observed for about 2000 years, with the earliest information on this meteor shower coming from the Far East.

The shower is visible from mid-July each year, with the peak in activity being between August 9 and 14, depending on the particular location of the stream. During the peak, the rate of meteors reaches 60 or more per hour. They can be seen all across the sky, but because of the path of Swift-Tuttle's orbit, Perseids are primarily visible in the northern hemisphere. As with all meteor showers, the rate is greatest in the pre-dawn hours, since the side of the Earth nearest to turning into the sun scoops up more meteors as the Earth moves through space. In 2009 the peak zenithal hourly rate will be about 120, but fainter meteors will be washed out by a waning gibbous moon.

A glimpse of the past...

Hello Readers, this is my story. It's been almost 3 years ago, sometimes it seems like yesterday...

At 1:15 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, September 30, 2006 we were 12 ½ miles south of Arnett, OK in the company of friends having just finished the morning braces of the all age derby at a field trial and were eating lunch. It was 101 degrees in the sun. Which is mostly what it is in western OK. The afternoon braces were postponed until the next morning because of the heat. We headed home to Kansas. At 5:15 pm our red 2006 Ford F350 diesel 1-ton dually pickup pulling a 28-foot horse trailer hauling four Tennessee Walking Horses and two English Pointers rolled to a stop 9 ½ miles east of Enid, OK. The engine had quit running and would not restart.

As the temperature hovered in the mid 90s, we put the hood up on the truck and opened the trailer doors to protect our animals from overheating and moments later, a couple traveling home to OK City (among the 3 vehicles that stopped) offered the use of their cell phone. We called roadside assistance. Expressing to the person answering the phone in PA the circumstances we found ourselves in took a while. Contact was made with a wrecker service and the OK City couple left us with their good wishes and our thanks.

Enter Todd. Driving an enormous wrecker capable of moving semi tractor trailers, Todd, employed by Stanley’s towing service, Enid, OK arrived within about 45 minutes. As he carefully pulled our truck and trailer back towards Enid we discussed our dilemma. Ford Dealership in Enid is not open. We have 4 horses and 2 dogs to water, feed and turnout and it’s getting dark. Todd’s fingers never quit tapping in phone numbers as we approached Enid. He called Ford, no answer. He called mechanics he knew. No answers. We came to realize that the truck was not leaving Enid on Saturday. What to do with our animals? Todd to the rescue. More numbers tapped into his tiny cell phone. Yes, Casey would allow us to leave our horses at his place. At about 7 pm, it was almost dark when we pulled up in front of Casey’s, wrecker, truck and trailer. We unloaded the horses into a safe, clean pen with fresh water, fed them and locked the gate. We unhooked our trailer, Casey moved it with his truck and parked it in his driveway. It’s now after 8 pm.

We realize that in order to get back to Kansas and borrow Dad’s truck so that we can get our horses home, we need to rent a car. Todd takes us in the wrecker back to town, we stop at his convenience store owner/friend’s to use the telephone book to locate a rental car. Meanwhile, Todd, using his trusty cell phone has notified his young son that he won’t be home until later, evening plans have been postponed and he eats his dinner standing up in the convenience store.

Companies that rent cars in Enid, OK are not open on the weekend. We call anyway. Luck is with us again. Robert, Avis owner, answers the phone, listens to our dilemma and agrees to open his business and rent us a car. It’s now about 9 pm. Todd’s convenience store owner/friend offers his regular sized pickup so that Todd can take us to the rental car office. We leave the wrecker and pile into the pickup. Robert rents us a car. We are grateful. The car is readied, we shake hands with Robert and fasten our seat belts. We follow Todd back to the convenience store, thank our new friends, pile our stuff into the trunk of the rental car, wave goodbye to Todd, the wrecker and our red truck. Now, it’s almost 10 pm, Saturday night, we go back to Casey’s, check on the horses, put our two pups in the car and head for Kansas. It’s a more than 4 hour drive back home. We pull into our driveway about 2:30 am. On Sunday at 7:30 am, we head for Mom and Dad’s, borrow their truck, drive to Enid, load up our horses and get back to Toronto, KS at 6 pm on Sunday. Safe and sound.

On Monday, Todd delivers the red truck to the Ford dealership. On Tuesday, it’s repaired and Bud heads south, returns the rental car with our grateful thanks to Robert of Avis and picks up the red truck. Gets home about 6 pm on Tuesday.

We are grateful to the people we encountered in the midst of this very stressful situation. We appreciate beyond words the kindness and concern of Todd of Stanley wrecker service for protecting the welfare of our horses and dogs and us. What was potentially a deadly situation for us with the heat of that day became the day we’ll remember as the day we met Todd and his friends. While there is no way to repay them, we’ll take a lesson from a favorite movie and gladly “pay it forward” in their names.

There is a plethora of information explaining how to provide excellent customer service. Todd must have read them all. Or is customer service quite simply what Todd describes as people helping other people? Todd says he doesn’t think that people offer a helping hand as often as they could. Well Todd does and Stanley’s towing service is lucky beyond words to have Todd as their representative. So, if you are ever stranded in Enid, OK, call Stanley’s and hope they send Todd to the rescue. You’ll know him when you see him. Look for a man, long blond hair, colorfully tattooed arms. You’ll know him. He looks like an angel.

The rest of the story. The Ford dealership suspects that the fuel injector was broken at the factory and was sucked in to the motor and caused the truck to stop. Bud says they worked non stop to get it fixed, gave Bud a lift to the car rental agency, paid the bill and got us on our way with a minimum of further stress… However, at one point, Bud did describe Plan A to them: tie the horses and stake out the dogs in their parking lot and camp there ‘til Monday. I can only be grateful for Plan B.

Well, that's my blast from my past for the day... it rained a bit here today, I rode Henry early this morning, the perfect start for a lovely day. All the best, p

These are just problem solving opportunities, Pollyanna...

Dear Readers,

Tomorrow hopefully I get my car a/c repaired (bad time not to have air conditioning!) Thinking I was going to have to take Bud to his Wichita doctor, I borrowed Mimi's car at noon today. I'll go back over in the morning and drive the miata to the car doc... anyway, Mimi's car started flashing "check the tires! check the tires!" I did, I got out and gave them a good kick, looked ok to me, we'll see if they are flat in the morning. Bud's big truck is in Burlington at the car fixit place because a rotten rat chewed some wires in half... and they, of course, have to order the parts... so when I drove Mimi's car home I protected it as best I could...

I took the little truck in to yet another town and car garage for tire repair, turns out they put the new tire on, but didn't repair the bad flat tire... Let's review... big truck in Burlington, Miata in .... oh well, this is just good problem solving opportunity and so, I did what all good problem solvers do... I took a nap.

:)

North to Abilene on a Sunday

Hello Dear Reader (s),

Poppi/Bob/Dad and I traveled to Abilene on Sunday, August 2 to attend the Abilene Free Fair open horse show. I got up at 5 and Toby and I drove over to H & B's. Toby spent the day with Polly and Bob and I went to Abilene. Mimi/Helen/Mom held down the "fort" so to speak. We got to Abilene about 10 a.m. and enjoyed every moment we were there. The first picture is Rachel and Diddy, what a good boy on his first "show" weekend.

We missed seeing Rachel show the pretty mare, Diva, so all of the pictures with Rachel are with Diddy, cool name. The picture of the three horses include Diddy and Rachel, far left and Megan and Tucker, far right.

Then of course there is a picture of Rachel and her "I won the horse judging contest" trophy and if you know us, you know the rest of the people in the pictures.

I had a fabulous time at the fair. We ate Robin's wonderful vegetable entry, delicious round cucumbers, why do they grow any other kind? It made me think of a time, years ago when we were at the Wilson County Fair and as I remember, we were with Beth and ate her 4-H entry... I hope after it was judged.

Robin was robbed of the recognition she should have gotten for her "fish" and her flowers and I'm sure no one's tomatoes tasted better. An added plus was the opportunity to talk briefly with Amanda, made a perfect day even better. As I write this, favorite family are scattering across the globe, travel safely. You are much loved. p