Fun in Flatland

I..

think I'm going to buy a longboard soon. Yeah, watch out here I come, wild woman on the loose.

It is exciting to see the readership of my blog increasing. It would be even better to hear back from all of you who read my blog. I know how it is.. sometimes you just don't have anything to say. It happens to me too, I read my favorite blogs and enjoy the pictures and stories, but then I leave without writing anything.
I'm trying to be better about leaving comments in other's blogs-- and to my regulars who comment here, I thank you very much! The more blogs I read the more I learn about blogging and about myself. It is interesting you know.. we are all very much alike, and I'm not referring to bloggers.. I mean as people. When I read about people who like to make things, draw or paint, talk about their animals, and take photographs, I think "yeah, me too." We are all connected in so many different ways it's amazing. I've noticed the same kind of connectedness in places like the grocery store also. The more observations one makes the more connections one sees and that is pretty cool.

So next time you come here to read or check out the photographs let me know what you think. You can be as brief as "thumbs up", "thumbs down" or "thumbs neutral"

✬

Cash and prizes

Today I had my first review since starting at le magasin. I earned a good score, got a raise and lots of compliments from my supervisor. After the store closed we had a tasting of some new products. When we were finished with the tasting we were asked to cast a vote for our fellow employees who we thought were the: 1. most valuable team member, 2. most improved employee, 3. most helpful, 4. most helpful at customer service. I won the vote for most helpful with customer service and received a $25.00 gift card to Barnes and Noble. Nice!

When I came home from work this evening there was a package in the mailbox from the equestrian magazine that hosted the photography contest I had entered. I received a blue ribbon for my photograph, and a very nice camera strap. Yay!

Once upon a time it wasn't so nice

This is a story about a horse who used to not be interested in his owner. He would see her come to the pasture gate, stop grazing for a second to look in her direction, then resume grazing or walk away in the opposite direction. It always broke her heart when the woman saw her horse walk off like that. To add to her sadness she felt as though her horsemanship was being judged by others at her stable because they knew she was interested in this so called natural horsemanship.

This is also a story about that horse's owner.

This young lady had enthusiastically told an old woman, the stable's proprietor, that she was planning on taking her horse to the Parelli International Savvy Center in Florida later that fall. "Well be sure to get them to help you learn how to catch him," said the old woman. It was a snide reply that the other lady hadn't expected to hear, especially after announcing such happy news that she and her horse were actually going to Florida.

The young lady and her horse had a fantastic trip to Florida where they stayed for two weeks. When they returned home they were greeted by the withering look of the sour old woman who didn't ask many questions about their trip, nor the school, but wanted to know if the lady had learned how to catch her horse.

Coming home to the dark, negative atmosphere of her stables after enjoying two weeks of natural horsemanship with positive, like minded people- who had FUN with their horses- was more than the young woman could stand. She knew she had to leave that farm as soon as possible. All the weeks and months, and years of unpleasantness at the stables had finally gotten to the young lady, and now going to the stables had become a great source of anxiety. The lady's horse was tuning into her anxiety and now more than ever kept a distance between the two of them. The day she mailed her notice of intent to leave the stables she immediately felt a huge weight lift off her body.

Fast forward one year..
The lady found a wonderful boarding facility where she is welcome to do what she wants with her horse. She has the option to take her horse's health care into her own hands. No one dictates that her horse needs to have a certain deworming or vaccination schedule. Best of all she is free to sit in the pasture with her horse, getting to know him all over again, and the horse has gotten the chance to get to know her as well.

Pat Parelli has a saying when playing and working with horses; "take the time it takes, so it takes less time."

The lady sat in the pasture with her horse. She sat with him during the day and in complete darkness, she went out in the snow, the rain.. it didn't matter what the weather was like, she took her time in getting to know him again. Her confidence in being a good leader for her horse came back. Now her horse comes to her.

Agave

I'll Think On This

Write a paragraph about yourself in the third person. Make yourself one of your own characters- describe everything about yourself, even if it's unflattering. Describe your habits. Are we supposed to love or hate you? Don't be afraid to flatter yourself, either! If you're a great dancer but a horrible cook, mention both. This can be a character sketch or even a scene that you think shows a lot about you. An actor? Write about yourself in rehearsal or running your lines. Remember this is in THIRD PERSON.

Le Dude, part 2

I had a great afternoon visiting the little pinto and playing with him for about an hour. He is just as cute as ever and getting quite bold as far as crowding into the handler's personal space. I don't know his 'horsenality' at all, so my play sessions are like getting to know you events, where I play friendly games and then see how he responds.

He tends to anticipate being asked to go into circling game and at times would take off on the circle, pulling all the rope through my hands till it got to the end and I would let go.. After a few times of doing that I would interrupt his running off pattern with a big wiggle of the rope and he would immediately come in and stand next to me -after trying to bulldoze me with his shoulder first. I would porcupine him back a step or two then he would stand calmly and lick and chew a few times. It was interesting to watch how he would calm down quickly after being so fired up. Then after the calm he'd get frisky again.

The circling game and friendly game that I mention in this post are two of seven games used in the Parelli Natural Horsemanship methods. My brief definition of the games is this: they teach us to communicate with horses in a respectful manner in a language they understand.

August 2005

July 2006

October 2006

April 2007

The B side
All photos taken by my friend KM ☺

What Pattern is My Brain?

Your Brain's Pattern

You have a tempered, reasonable way of thinking.
You tend to take every new idea in, and meld it with your world view.
For you, everything is always changing. Each moment is different.
Your thinking process tends to be very natural - with no beginnings or endings.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

"You have a tempered, reasonable way of thinking.
You tend to take every new idea in, and meld it with your world view.
For you, everything is always changing. Each moment is different.
Your thinking process tends to be very natural - with no beginnings or endings."

Thanks to PoopeeShmoopee for forging the way to this website. Now that I know what kind of pattern my brain has I'm going to sleep.. I will dream of green, softly rounded bumps. :)

And now... The Dude

Last year I wrote about this sweet pinto warmblood that my friend K and I dubbed "lil' dude". I posted two pictures here along with a short blurb about how I fell in love with those long eyelashes, and cute face. One year later I took the second photo. Later today, 4-27-07 I am meeting my friend K and going to see "the lil' dude." I took my lead rope and halter home with me so that I can play with him while K plays with the other foals on the farm. After all this time "the dude" hasn't sold... I don't know why.. but shhh, maybe it's happening so that I will end up with him. K has been telling me "you should buy him" since I met him August of 2005!! "You should buy him, you should buy him." Meanwhile his price tag continues to grow higher as his owner is paying for board, farrier, and health care. Oh my little nugget horsey... I don't know what will happen.. I only know that if it is meant to be it will be.☺☺☺

Reliving the Best Saturday Ever

Saturday November 19th, 2005 is known to my friend K and I as the best Saturday ever. We STILL talk about that day and reminisce about the entire two weeks we spent at the Parelli ISC in Florida. Since we didn't have class on the weekends we were free to do whatever we wanted after feeding our horses and cleaning their pens. Rather than going sight seeing and exploring Ocala and its environs, K and I decided to stay with our horses and take full advantage of the facility. We took walks, lazed about on the grass while the horses grazed, and played in all the beautiful pastures and play areas from one end of the campus to the other. K and 'Rocky' ended up playing in the pond at one point, while 'Aristoitle' and I stayed dry and explored the log maze, car wash (two large vertical poles with a horizontal cross beam from which hang large, plastic strips that one can walk through), and small log jumps.

Stay tuned for more pictures from the Best Saturday Ever.
[middle and last photographs taken by KM]