Sunday, July 31, 2011

See Spot... canter?!? A Look at the Sugarbush Draft Horse

For as long as I can remember I have loved horses. Big horses, little horses, ugly horses, pretty horses, plain horses, loud horses, young horses and especially old horses. This love embraces every breed, every color, every stereotype known to man and doesn't discriminate, ever. A horse, is a horse, is a horse.. of course! Some horse owners on the other hand.. well, let's just save that one for another post shall we?  "/

My "verra" good friend Jamie DeHart of Florida referenced my freezemarking services out to Stephanie Adame on Facebook and in the process of discussing freezemarkings, my eyes were opened to a whole breed of horses that I'd never even heard of! How exciting is THAT?! To say I was intrigued would be an understatement.

So taking a moment, let's have a look at the Sugarbush Draft Horse and why they are so special.
What Is A SugarBush Draft?

About 60 years ago, the owner of Sugarbush Hitch Co. decided that a touch of flair was needed, something to catch the public's eye and make his company stand out among all the other companies offering their services. He decided to cross local Percheron horses to loudly colored Appaloosa. This created a horse strong enough to pull the heavy hitches that also displayed the incredible coloring of the Appaloosa horse and the Sugarbush Draft Horse breed was born.

Sugarbush Harley Quinn
Wait, They Come In Colors?

There are no color requirements for the breed, but it is best known for loud, Appaloosa type markings.  Sugarbush Drafts come in most common coat colors ; however, Tobiano and Frame Overo are strictly not allowed within the breed. Sugarbush Harley Quinn, a stallioncredited for inspiring a renewed interest in the Sugarbush Draft. Sadly, this beautiful stallion passed away in 2006 but his bloodlines can be found in most current Sugarbush Draft horses.
The breed is not based in color markings alone however, and quality breed standards are as highly desired as brilliant markings. Modern day Sugarbush Drafts come in most common coat colors.

Foundation mare with her Stonewall  Sporthorse foal.
How Many Are There And Where Is The Breed Headed?

With the stir caused once the breed was fully realized, a count was done in 2008 on the retirement of Everett Smith and the change in registrars. It was with this count to be only 12 living horses left in this little known breed. Unless something was done, the breed would disappear in one more generation. Concentrated efforts began at that point to share information on these beautiful, noble horse.

It was decided that opening the books to other breeds would help build a foundation base to rebuild the breed itself. It was important however, that the qualities that made this breed more suitable for riding than other draft breeds, be maintained.  Therefore, foundation horses of at least 51% draft dreeding with ancestors of Appaloosa coloring are accepted. This crossbreeding will be allowed until enough horses are included to provide genetic diversity.

Taken from the Sugarbush Draft Horse Registry Website, the breed characteristics are as follows:

Height:
15.2 h.h. to 16.2 h.h. but height should not disqualify an otherwise good example of "type"
Sugarbush Harley's Classic O isbeautifully marked colt

Color:
Any base color is acceptable, with LP pattern or characteristics being common but not required if the horse meets all the other requirements, including bloodline. Tobiano and Frame (Overo Lethal White) are prohibited.

Body:
The body should be wide and deep. The back should be of moderate length in proportion to the overall size of the horse, and should be strong with muscular loins. The shoulders should be sloping, deep and muscular. The quarters should be level, powerful, long and oval, the tail springing well from the quarters.

Head and Neck:
The head characteristic of the breed should be bold and not too small. It should be well carried on a long proportionate neck.

Eyes:
Eyes should be large, well set and kindly in expression.

Ears:
Tend to be large and fine.

The Limbs:
Arms and thighs and gaskins should be muscular.

The knees and hocks should be large and well closed.

There should be 9" upwards of good flat bone below the knee measured at the nearest point on a tight tape.

The pasterns should be strong, sloping and not too long.

The Feet:
Feet that are shallow or narrow are undesirable.

The Action:
Action must be true, straight and free. High action is not characteristic of the breed, but expressive motion is desired. The horse will move freely from the shoulder and will flex his knees and hocks sufficiently. The action required is free all round, is ground covering and has some degree of suspension.

Dedicated breeders are working now to preserve this truely rare breed. For further information on joining the cause of the Sugarbush Draft Horse, or to make a donation, please contact The Sugarbush Draft Horse Registry .  SDHR can also be found on  Facebook by visiting the  SDHR Facebook  Fan Page .
 
With concentrated breeding efforts and the introduction of suitable foundation lines, and more than a little luck, the Sugarbush draft breed will be around for a long, long time. 

Thank you Jamie for introducing me to Stephanie Adame and thank you Stephanie for opening my eyes to these gorgeous horses!














Sunday, July 24, 2011

Cutting Boards

So I got this article to write on cutting boards. You know the kind I'm talking about, the big old chunk of wood boards that were popular in kitchens right up until some hippy schmuck decided they were "unsanitary" and harder to clean. I admit I fell right into this like a good little follower when I was outfitting my own kitchen, and opted for one of those fancy acrylic boards instead. I even had a glass cutting board at one time which in retrospect seems a little... well, odd.

In the process of researching this article I found out some things that made me remember fondly my mothers old cutting board and what a staple it was in our kitchen as I was growing up.
First of all, I found research had indicated that the USDA has never really said to not use wood boards. They do however, recommend close-grain wood boards (and maple especially) up there with the acrylic boards. Interestingly enough, glass boards were not recommended at all by the majority of the experts due to the danger of breakage. 

Wood boards can be made of a variety of close-grain wood, including bamboo and many times you find them with interesting patterns in the wood grain and color, making them true folk art pieces. As a matter of kitchen decorations, I think I might have to start looking for old boards, but I'm betting I won't find many that are older or unique simply because they last forever and people don't tend to get rid of them!

So the USDA has said that wood boards are actually ok?  COOL! Because I found out some other things as well. Edge-grain boards are very durable and strong. Think of some old mountain man (or woman!) chopping wood on a tree stump.

I realize this may be a stretch for some of you city folks, but work with me here, 'k?

The tree stump, if you look at it straight down, is the "edge grain" of the tree, the strongest side of the wood. Hence why it works so well, and is so long lasting, for things like chopping wood. For that matter, I don't care how excited you are about chopping potatoes, unless you are cutting them up with an AXE you will be fine with a good quality, edge grain cutting board.

Another thing I realized, that I guess I already knew but had forgotten, was that natural wood is self-healing to some degree. This means that with time those little cuts and nicks that occur naturally in the course of every day use, will close up on their own. They may leave a mark, but in truth this just gives the board some character.

Apparently there is a proper way to care for and maintain a cutting board. Treating it with a mixture of 10 parts mineral oil to 1 part paraffin will keep the wood from drying out naturally. Wood being very porous will soak moisture and then dry out, which expands and shrinks the wood. This loosens the binding and can greatly cut down on the useful life of a board. A rule of thumb is a new board should be oiled once a day for a week, once a week for a month and once a month forever. All sides of the board should be liberally coated.

Reading this I was reminded of my mother's old cutting board, a big old chunk of wood very much like the one pictured here, that we used the entire time I was a kid at home.  I don't remember ever oiling it, but I do remember that it was soft to the touch, honed by years of use. It had old battle wounds and to my memory, was a platform for cutting everything from vegetables from the garden, to chicken meat, to whatever us kids decided to mutilate on it. Washing it was dunking it in water (strictly preached against) and drying it was wiping it off and putting it back under the cabinet. Thinking about it, I'm sure the lab rats would have a FIELD DAY with locating all the different bacteria found on that old board, but in truth... we were a healthy bunch and I have to think if it harbored that many germs we'd have all been dead from the bubonic plague or something similarly nasty.

To this day it stands proudly on the counter on it's little feet, and my mother uses it regularly. It is still heavy and strong, still thick and soft, still carries old battle scars from ages ago and frankly, I'm kind of looking forward to seeing it again. It's one of those things from childhood that just sticks in your memories I suppose.

Doing a quick search this morning brought me to Arizona Wood Crafts that does some beautiful boards, as well as Cutting Boards, Etc which feature some really neat designs as well. Actually, a site like The Maple Cutting Board Gallery could get me really excited about collecting these boards. They are exquisite!!  Who would have known that a simple chunk of wood could be so beautiful and so functional at the same time. I am really looking forward to finding a great piece or two for my own kitchen and am sure I will enjoy the search.

And Mom? Don't get rid of the old cutting board either.. I have a feeling it's going to become an heirloom piece.





Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Preparing For A Sojourn Into Hell... or... Taking A Trip To Electra, Texas

Tomorrow, bright and early, I will get up and drag the teenager out of bed. After making sure Daniel is vertical and coherent (those two don't always go hand in hand with him), we are getting in the truck to drive to Electra, Texas to do some yard work and clean up around the house there. Also, give Daniel a chance to work on his truck and do some things he needs to get done as well.

Sounds like fun, right? Well, before you make that assumption let me explain some things about Electra.

The town itself originated as part of the Waggoner ranch. It was actually Waggoner for a time but after a post office was built and a railway station was added, the town was dubbed Beaver Switch. At some point they realized the folly of this name, as there is very little water available, so the town was renamed Electra after one of Mr. Waggoner's daughters.

Today Electra is a small town of about 2,000 give or take a family, and boasts gas stations, a Sonic, a Family Dollar, and a tiny grocery store. The countryside surrounding the town is flat and dry, as is most of north Texas at the moment, and there is not much to see beyond pump jacks, cattle, and lots of mesquite trees.

Mesquite trees themselves are a whole other blogpost themselves, but I digress.

So tomorrow we are going to work outside in 100+ degree heat, weedeat and move some trash around. I'm actually kind of looking forward to it as I've not gotten to really work outside any since I've been here, and I miss it (in a sick kind of twisted sort of way). My patio plants have all died except one due to the heat and Daniel has had more than a few laughs at me trying to keep them alive. I'm looking forward to kind of standing back and seeing a job well done. The grass will be short... still be dead, but at least it will be short.

Once that is done, I'm going to sit under the tree with a drink and watch Daniel cuss and throw tools while he's trying to get the truck running.  I figure it will be good payback for him picking on my poor dead plants.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Life in Texoma

On April 22, 2011, I moved to Texoma. For those of you unfamiliar with this term, Texoma refers to a part of Texas that is right on the Oklahoma border.. hence Texoma. Of course, Texans would never dive to low enough levels to put Oklahoma first, say Oklahexas perhaps? Nope, in Texas things Texan ALWAYS come first and God help me, I'm becoming more fluent in Texan every day.

Saying this, it leads me to think about what I like about this area and what I miss about home. So for the sake of an easy blog post today, let's do a comparison between Texoma and central Alabama... shall we?

Things I miss about Alabama:
  • The greenery. The big trees covered with kudzu and the flowers that bloom pretty much all summer.
  • The smell of fresh cut hay stacked in the barn and the sound of horses chewing.
  • Making jelly with my mom and winding up with a kitchen that looks like someone was murdered in it.
  • Laughing about said kitchen until I can't breathe.
  • My Mom and simple things like soup and salad at Olive Garden on a lunch hour.
  • Muscadines.
  • Red dirt roads.
  • Family.

 Things I don't miss about Alabama:
  • Stress.
  • The job I left quite happily when I moved here.
  • Traffic to and from work every day.
  • The humidity at 90% most days - oh. my. god.
  • The history - which isn't entirely true, there was good history too but far more that needed to just be let go.

 Things I have come to love about Texas:
  • The superb school system for my daughter.
  • The easy friendliness of most people I've met. I've never been anywhere where people were so quick to start a conversation with a complete stranger. Whether this is Texas or just Wichita Falls and Texoma I don't know, but it's a nice change.
  • The size of Wichita Falls, Texas, which is big enough to have everything you need but far enough away from Dallas and any big metropolis to avoid the traffic and crime rate.
  • Low humidity - can we say 20% most days?  Boo yah! No longer am I soaking wet before I get to my car.
  • The friends I am making here.
  • Realizing that a fresh clean start was the best idea for me, even if I left many things I loved far away in Alabama.
  • Night rides with Daniel on the bike when we get a chance.
  • Daniel.... need I say more? Really?

 Things I am still adjusting to in Texas:
  • HEAT - I would have to move on the year that is one going down as severe drought. I would have to look up the statistics but we have had a good month of 100+ degree days. See above about humidity though, at least it's dry heat and cools after the sun goes down most of the time into the 80's.
  • WIND - Granted we haven't had any significant wind since the heat set in for the summer, but I bet it's coming back. Not breezy but hurricane force wind which I guess comes off the plains hard enough to blow a motorcycle over. O.o
  • Trying to keep my patio plants alive - who I am kidding, I'm about to give up and buy plasti plants but they would probably melt in this heat!
  • Flatness of the landscape with almost no hills to speak of.
  • No green pastures or very few. Most horse facilities have dirt and haybales - which if you think about it kind of reminds me of home around our place at least :)
  • Trying to find a place to put my horses so I can move them soon and missing my animals, both of which will be resolved when we find a house or a house with a little land to have the animals.
So I guess, overall, I'm pretty happy where I am now. I like my job (most days) but the angst there comes when I'm having a bad day, not because the job is bad. Actually, for what I get paid the job is pretty awesome and I'm happy doing what I'm doing. Daniel and I are doing well and the bills are coming into line slowly and life is good in Texoma.

When asked do I miss home the answer is "you betcha!" but saying that, if you turned around and asked me again if I was ready to move back the answer would be a resounding "NO". I'm starting to feel like a local to Texoma, if not a native and I find something new to discover here every week. So to my friends and family, I love you and miss you and even look forward to a visit home... but I hope you would come see me in my new part of the world as well and find out why people in Texoma tend to STAY in Texoma. ;)

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Jack Russell... Terrors? O.o

I first want to apologize for my lack of posts over the last few days. I got some bad news this weekend and it really took the wind out of my writing motivation. I found out that a dear little friend, my sweet Jack Russell Terrier Cookie, died on Saturday and frankly I have crawled into an emotional hole to heal. This blog post is not going to be about Cookie herself, that wound is still way too raw and close to my heart, but as I’ve sat here days and nights thinking it through I went through all the phases from “I’m never going to have another pet get that close to me” to “You know, I might consider another dog at some point” to “I want another JRT puppy”.


Which led me to think about why a JRT in the first place.. hence this blog post.

Jack Russell Terriers are affectionally known among Jack Russell Terrors, come in several varieties, but my favorite is the smooth coat shorty. Stocky little dogs that are smart as a whip, funny as hell, quick as a cat and ferocious as a Rottweiler, they are a great pet. I heard a lot of things about them not making good house dogs and being cat killers, but like any other dog it all comes down to how they are raised and trained. My JRT was excellent in the house, a real couch spud and loved the cats, playing with them often. In fact, if they played too rough she would run away scared.

I am definitely going to be looking for another JRT however. The spot on my pillow is forever empty now where just last week I was planning and looking forward to her being here in Texas with me. I know in my heart though that above anything else, that little dog knew she was loved and she soaked it up and returned it 100 times over. Knowing she is in a better place makes it a bit easier and let’s me think about maybe having another little bundle of energy to share a home with.

For a great little dog with a ton of heart, soul, personality and outright moxie, do check out a Jack Russell Terrier. Also at the same time, check out appropriate training suggestions and lots of exercise for them. Properly trained and cared for they are wonderful companions and very smart little house mates.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

I write, therefore I am.

First let me preface by saying I have always been a writer. I know there are people that go to school and get educated for writing, and in truth their writing is probably far more grammatically correct than mine. All of this aside however, first and foremost I have always been a writer. I can remember as a child carrying a notebook to the woods with me and how the poetry just flowing out of my fingers. Reading back on some of it now I visibly cringe. Yes, some of it was saved and no, you can’t see it. I’m a writer, not a sadist after all. There is some speculation that writing flows in family lines and though I do not have the research on hand, I can say that my Grandmother Mary was an avid writer and my mother as well can phrase a pretty prose when suitably inspired. So where this came from I can’t say definitely, only that it is and it has been for as long as I can remember and it is a connection with my ancestry that spans years and generations. In fact, it might be interesting some day when I have the time to research exactly how many writers we had in our family. Perhaps one day when I have more spare time.


For years and years I wrote with no particular goal in mind other than to release these words that came to my mind. I liken the experience of being inspired to a poem or a piece of flash fiction like this pressure that builds up with the only release to be to let go, and let it flow out my fingertips. Over the years, pencils and spiral notebooks were replaced with keyboards and 20” flat screen monitors, but the effect is always the same. There was a time that I slept with a notepad next to my bed so that waking inspiration could be jotted down quickly. Many times, especially with poetic lines, they were there for only a few moments before disappearing into the mists of oblivion. If they were not captured quickly, like a glimpse of a fairy wisp in your peripheral vision, they were gone forever.

After many years of writing just to be writing, eventually I happened upon people who actually read my writing and commented on it. This encouraged me to explore it more, to share it with others and the feedback I gained was always complimentary. Well, except from other writers with who offered critiques. I do think that as a community, writers are our own worse critics. There are simply so many styles and like training horses, there is something that works for each individual not necessarily making it “wrong” for others, but just different from what they are used to; therefore, odd to them.

In any case, the people that matter are the only ones I’m concerned with and about a year ago I joined a site called www.Textbroker.com. This site is a ghostwriting site. It gives writers a chance to accept jobs from clients, mostly for website content, some sales pages, some blog post, etc. Since starting to write for them I have written over 150 articles and blurbs and have maintained a 4 rating, with the highest rating being a 5 reserved for professional writers. I aspire to this level so continue to work on grammar and punctuation (those darn commas are everywhere!). Regardless of ranking, I have been writing more and more for them and it has really stretched my writing abilities. Try coming up with 23 different descriptions for a pleated air filter sometime and you will see what I mean. ~.~ Keeping in mind this is a ghostwriting site which means no credit as a writer for your work. In effect, you are writing so someone else can put it up under their name and ownership and you release all claim by benefit of being paid for it. My daughter Megan fusses at me frequently for this because she says I write well (I do love my Meggers hehe) and that I should be getting credit for my work. As for me, I consider it a learning experience and I do think this site has made me a much better writer who is more aware of what exactly is coming from the fingertips and onto the paper or screen. The fact that ghostwriting pays better than most paid writing sites out there doesn’t hurt and in truth, the bulk majority of the things I write for www.Textbroker.com I would not necessarily want my name attached to mainly because it’s just advertising text and dry content.

The site www.Textbroker.com has a forum for their writers to compare notes, share stores, visit, etc. and so far, it has none of the drama shared commonly on message boards. A interesting question was raised the other day however which made me think in several ways about my writing. It made me sit back and consider how I’ve arrived where I am, along with how I’m going to get where I want to be with it. Currently I am far from making a living writing, but the revenue increases each month and this last month I actually made enough to cover my truck payment (yay me!)

The question they asked was, as writers for www.Textbroker.com, are we salesmen or are we authors? This question probably stemmed from the fact that 99% of the content available on the site is for blurbs, advertisements, reviews etc. It’s not creative writing by a long shot, though there are some clients that want excessively elaborate adjective laden descriptions. As I sat back and pondered this I realized that even though it’s sales writing for the most part, I am an author by the purest sense of the word. I am given a website or a picture with a few lines of descriptive bullets and told to write a 150 word description for the item, which I do. As writers, we are painters of words. We take simple words and paint them into a picture in the reader’s minds. Those few lines of bullets are woven into a tapestry of meaning that wasn’t there before. That simple silver office chair becomes something beyond what it is at its truest form and this can only be done in word form by an author. Are we encouraging buyers to buy a product yes, but what we do is far more than being a salesman. It doesn’t matter what you are writing, whether it is simple advertising prose or the most elaborate creatively inspired sonnet, writing is an art form unto itself and there is room in the world for writers of all kinds and all styles. It doesn’t matter if you are ghostwriting for a office supply chain website or at the top of the bestseller list, at it’s essence, writing has to come from the soul and truly good writers have a passion about their writing that cannot be learned in any classroom, it simply has to … be.

When people ask me what I am, who I am, what I’m about I can answer a lot of things. I am a mother, a lover, a cook, a cleaner, a lover of fine horses and really any horse fine or not, an avid fiber artist, a day dreamer, a pure romantic but at the end all of these things coalesce into one answer. I am a writer pure and simple. I write, therefore I am and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

*Photo credit Arielle Fragassi


Friday, July 8, 2011

Anything To Make The Water Taste Better

Now, understand I'm a country girl. I grew up drinking well water and before the collective lot of you recoil in a quick "Ewww!" you have to know that the well water I'm referring to was artesian well water from over 400 feet down in the ground. Yes, artesian. You know the same stuff you buy in the stores for $3 a bottle and ooh and aah over. The only difference is that ours was always free. Yes, FREE! Like straight out of the ground free... if you can imagine. Ok yes so there was probably some sediment in it, and some minerals. Big deal! Here we only have city water. Have you SEEN what floats around in city water?

O.O (I'd gulp with this but I'm too dry right now)

No way I'm drinking that.  Nuh uh, no way no how. Moving to the middle of the Mojave desert* however one thing that becomes very evident very early on is the need for water. Not coke, not koolaid, nothing sweet.. just beautiful, gorgeous, wet, tasteless water. The problem however, is that the city water here is far from tasteless. Oh no and you don't even want to know what it tastes LIKE. Momma would wash my mouth out for saying but lets just say a good long swig of it will have you blurting out the same 4 letter word it tastes like.

Uh huh, knew you were right there with me ;)

In any case, as I was shedding my third layer of dry skin in this heat the thought occurred to me that I could fix the water problem with a good water filter. Great idea! Well a great idea except for one catch. Have you priced those things lately?? A quick trip to Walmart provided not only the pricing, but a convenient pharmacy close for when my heart failed me. What has to be done however, has to be done and we left with a brand new Brita Water Filter system that filters SIX cups of water at one time! I couldn't wait to get it home to try it ^.^

Within a few minutes of getting it home Megan and I wrestled over it (she's used to well water too) and I won, of course, after stuffing her under the cabinet. Quick rinse of the picture and I turned on the tap to allow the sewag..err.. tap water to float through the filter and into the pitcher. The moment of truth had come... would it taste as good as the water back home? I couldn't wait to find out so I poured a big glass... took a big drink.... wallered (that's rolled for your city folks) it around in my mouth and then swallowed.

*gulp*

I thought about it. Rolled my mouth around the flavor again and decided that other than tasting like new plastic, a downside of a new plastic pitcher, at least it didn't tast like $*%&* and I was happy. I have water to drink again that doesn't cost a small fortune and come in a plastic bottle. Now I have a filter that will only cost me a small fortune when I go to buy new filters for it. But hey, at least I'll have the pharmacy to get my heart pills from and half decent tasting water to wash them all down with!


*Disclaimer - not really the middle of the Mojave but Wichita Falls is starting to feel like it with 186** straight days now of heat over 105 degrees, no humidity and every plant in my collection being DEAD!

** Ok not really 186 days but it feels like it!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

And Miles To Go Before I Sleep...

So those of you that know me well know that my life took on some pretty significant changes over the last few months. I tend to be one of those souls that, once I have made my mind up, acts without looking back. I like to tell people that I have very few grey areas... I either am or I'm not. In this particular instance it was finally coming to the realization that an 8 year marriage was dead and had been dead for some time. The choice then was simply do I stay or do I make some life changes. At 43 (gack!) I'm getting to the point in my life that life changes are not nearly as scarey. At least for me anyway I realized that it's now or never and I sure didn't want to stay in the quagmire I had been rutted into for so long.

Fast forward now and I'm 800 miles from every home I've known and now living in Wichita Falls, Texas after meeting a truly gorgeous soul that still to this day, takes my breath away. Packing up everything in my little Escape and hauling west was an adventure in and of itself, but it's taught me some valuable lessons as well. New job, new digs, new life... all come together in one big kaleidoscope of activity that has turned out quite honestly, to be very good. Oh, of course there are all the usual concerns about bills and money but I learned long ago that money comes and money goes and worrying about it isn't going to change anything. We have bills paid and we sure aren't hurting in the grocery department. I lucked into an awesome job, have my beautiful (if somewhat smart mouthed) daughter with me, am with a man that I love heart and soul and am looking at moving my two remaining horses very shortly to be here as well. All in all, life is good.

Not to be forgotten of course is the venerable Cookie mutt which also is waiting for me in Alabama. I hope to bring her over soon and she, along with Daniel's pug Gabby, should be quite a site (not to mention cheap entertainment playing together). This is the longest I've gone without dogs or horses and I miss them more than I thought I would. I hope to be in a house with a bit of land within the next year or so with luck and back to a more normal lifestyle. Right now we are content and as I said, overall life is good.

Saying that, one thing that I want to focus on again more heavily is my writing which I have missed in the hubbub of a cross country move. I have been doing more and more ghostwriting for a site called textbroker.com and quite enjoy it, once I got my head around the dry, somewhat silly sounding marketing blurbs that seem to be the norm there. A little side income never hurt anyone and it's giving me some much needed extra income which.. if I continue on track.. will pay for my babies to be here with me. Yay!

In keeping with this returned focus however, much to my daughters delight who fusses at me for ghostwriting when I should have my own name attached, is the chance to do some serious blogging. So bring on the suggestions for topics.. have keyboard, will type! If you follow blogs as well feel free to add me to your list as a follower and I will be happy to do the same.

Anyway, that's the barn goddess life in a nutshell.. quietly living the life in Texas, killing the patio plants in 110 degree heat and missing her ponies and family. I will leave you with a poem that has always been my favorite. It speaks to me and reminds me that our journeys are never really done, only postponed sometimes and roadblocks and crossroads come at the times in our lives when we need them most to keep us on the track we need to be on. I look back at the last few years and though I'm saddened about what transpired, I know it all happened for a reason even if that reason isn't easily apparent. I know without a doubt I'm right where I am meant to be. How can I be so sure? That's easy, because my inner muse tells me I am. :)

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
~by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
 
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.