A farewell and a greeting

Zaaz was adopted on Memorial Day. I was completely unprepared for that to happen. I think she found a great home though, so it's hard to be too sad. (But oh how I miss those eyes!)

Another reason not to be sad is Tucker!


This one's *ours*! His mom and siblings were rescued from a kill shelter 7 weeks ago. The day he turned 8 weeks, we picked him up. He's the biggest boy of the batch, at 2lbs, 3oz.

We've been wanting to get Squirrel a buddy, so I was very excited to find out about these kittens. Unfortunately, Squirrel is not yet interested in being his friend - though she is fascinated by him. We'll see!

The rain has finally stopped and has left nice cool days, acres of green green grass, and some very satisfied horses!


Aren't they a cute little herd? Really though, this is such an ideal situation for a horse. 24/7 turnout on 30+ acres with a happy, healthy group of horses. Safe fences, shade, and a natural watering hole. I love it, and I hope Addy does too.

Speaking of love - who doesn't love feathers?! Addy's are thin for much of the year (darn that Thoroughbred half!), but they're looking pretty good at the moment. So freakin' cute.



I think I've finally figured out a way that I can actually ride several times a week, even when we have a foster dog around. And it will be perfect for when the days start getting hotter, too. Just need to talk to the boss. I get so depressed knowing I have such a cute, capable mare just living her life out in a pasture. She's one of those mares that likes to work too.



Someday we'll get back in shape. Hopefully before winter. ;)

Zaaazie!

It's been awhile! Life has been busy. No real knitting content to add, as all my current projects are top secret. ;) (Well, except for the Puppy Love sweater, and I have yet to get good pictures of that.)

So, here's our latest foster hound, Zazie!


Is that not the most adorable face!? I was smitten with her the instant I saw her photo online. When I found out she was to be our foster dog, I was incredibly excited. And then I met her!

I seem to fall for animals that are timid and/or skittish. Maybe it's the underdog in me? Whatever it is, Zazie seems meant for me.


I wish wish wish we could keep her. Unfortunately, it would mean hiring a dog walker several days a week just so I could go ride Addy. I asked around - that's ~$18 a pop. Ugh. Adopting Zazie would also restrict our ability to go backpacking on random weekends, which is something we hope to start doing now that we have most of the gear we need. And then there's also the issue of moving to another country. I know that animals can be imported/exported.. but do I really want to put a pup through that twice in a few years? (Since we'd be moving there and back again.) I'm unsure about doing that with the animals we currently have. I don't want to be irresponsible just because those cute little eyebrows look worried, or the one ear flops over. And I don't want to fall for that enormous smile.

Hopefully she'll get adopted into the perfect family soon.

In other news, we have a (partial) garden! This was a huge undertaking, and I nearly turned it over to the pros a few times. It's not nearly as fancy as it could be, but I am so proud of what R and I accomplished.

It involved lots of planning. (If only I still had all those sheets of paper!) Many trips to many nurseries. Digging out hard-packed clay. Extracting rocks and roots.


And the trellis. My darling R actually built that for me!



We dug all those rocks, and piles more, out of the little bit of ground that was to be the garden. The exciting part is that I got the rock border that I wanted at the price that I wanted to pay ($0). Jackpot!


I wanted native plants that would grow in morning sun, require minimal care, and would attract butterflies and bees. I think I accomplished all that.

There is still a little left to do, but we have gotten the hard part out of the way. Wooohooo!

Process

Knitting has taught me a lot about following through from inspiration to planning to finished product. I'm easily inspired, but easily frustrated. Especially when I start digging deeper and realize that things aren't as easy as they might seem.

Like, for example, just about any pattern made to fit a an adult female. Hey! Looks great on the model. Looks great on knitters in blogs and on Ravelry. But hey! I'm generally too tiny for even the smallest size of most knit patterns. So anything I knit for myself from a pattern is going to take some modifying.

But of course, modifying isn't always as easy as it sounds. Sure, you can take out a pattern repeat here or there - but then it affects how the sleeves come together or how this-or-that is shaped. I often feel like I'm in way over my head when I start doing all those gymnastics. However, some projects inspired me enough to do the math, think of all the alternatives, try it out, rip it out, think again, try again, rip again.. etc. Like my darn Hourglass Cardi. (More on that monster some other day.)

I do have a point.. somewhere.

Spring is doing its thing, and there are beautiful flowers and lots of green popping up in all my neighbors' yards. My yard, however, looks like a wasteland. Well, okay. We have some dandelions.


And some cute little purple flowers. And some more cute little purple flowers. And some not-entirely-unpleasant white flowers that I'm fairly certain are weeds. And lots of nasty spikey things.


I guess there are things growing. But all in all, it's a darn pathetic yard. (It could use another good mowing... guess I should get on that.)


A few weeks ago, I hopped over to Lowe's to buy some edging, mulch, and flowers. Uh, yeah. The edging was ugly, and I didn't even get past that. Haha.

So I've been reading, researching, and wandering around nurseries. Each time I start, I'm motivated and excited. About 10-15 minutes into it, I'm completely dismayed at the amount of planning necessary.. as well as the extreme lack of knowledge I possess.

I need plants that grow well in shade. I need to test the soil. We have an erosion problem, so I need to grade the area in front of the house and build a small barrier. We need retaining walls - 2 on each side (leaving that to the pros!). I need to make sure that everything drains properly.. away from the house, but also around it and down the hill.. instead of forming a lake in front of the house. There are pipes and wires to consider. Termites to beware of. Clay soil to amend.

I'm beginning to realize that this will be a long process. I want to do it right, and I want to do it (mostly) myself. I've got a lotta learning to do.

But I'm pretty sure I can at least stick to it.

Abba has gone home

Yesterday an approved adopter came over to see Miss Abba, and was instantly smitten. I convinced her to take a look at one other dog (she already had the appointment), but she called me right after to say that Abba was the one. So - Abba went home yesterday! I'm so happy for the pair - they seem very well suited. And Abbs was extremely happy to see her when she came back that second time!

I'll miss having her around and going on our long walks.. but I am very excited to have more time now. There has been a definite lack of Squirrel and Addy time lately. Plus, we'll be getting our next foster in May.

I went out to see Addy yesterday, and all the horses were snoozing around the watering hole. I guess they've finally gotten their fill of that green grass! This is just one corner of their 40-something rolling acres...


Addy is shedding - I love this time of year. Haha. I was covered head to toe in orange hair almost instantly. You can't really tell from the picture, but her undercoat is that dark purpley chestnut.. so gorgeous.. but it looks funny with all the sunburnt orange! Too bad her dark coat will get bleached very quickly this year. (She lived in a shaded sandlot (perfect for ponies!) down in Florida, and had the most amazingly shiny, dappled coat)


We had our second "real" ride of the year. She was, as always, wonderful. We are both decidedly out of shape, unbalanced, and uncoordinated.. but I don't think it will take too long to get it back.

Edit: I forgot to add the Proud Mommy brag.. Addy's with the "cool kids" in this picture. That's Pie, behind her.. the boss man's main girl. And those dark legs and ears sticking out in the far back are Boomer, Mr. Boss Man himself. Addy attached herself to Boomer almost immediately upon becoming part of the herd, but she teases all the other boys too. Asifa, the older unbroke Arabian gelding, screamed for her the entire time I had her out yesterday. Silly boy. Or maybe my girl's just a little slutty. ;)

Spring time =....?

Being from Florida, I never thought much of spring. It's not really a season that exists there. The one thing that marked spring for me was the arrival of the foals.


This is my second spring up in Maryland, and my second away from the farm. I really need to go visit and see the new babies. Actually, I feel terrible - I don't even know which mares are due!


It's hard not to fall in love with every foal. They are so full of wonder, and are so darn cute! I really miss working with them.. and I miss being greeted every morning with nickers and love. *Someday* I'm going to work with foals again!


Unfortunately, I find it difficult to justify breeding more horses/ponies when the U.S. is already swamped with them.. so my kidhood dreams of being a small time Welsh pony breeder will likely never come true. But I'd surely like to go play with other people's babies!

My first tag! ;)

So I guess it took me awhile.. but I finally figured it out. Thanks Stellify! Here goes!

The rules:

1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules.
3) Share six non-important things / habits / quirks about yourself.
4) Tag at least three people.
5) Be sure the people you tagged KNOW you tagged them by commenting what you did.

1 - I harbor a bit of an unhealthy fixation for Publix. (Wow, their website is ugly!) We moved up to Maryland last year from Florida, and I still complain on a weekly basis about how much I miss a good grocery store. Nothing compares, nothing compares.. to you....

Haha. Sorry.

2 - I always swore I'd never own a chestnut mare. And yet.. I do. And I wouldn't trade her for anything.

3 - My sense of smell is terrible. (And there are times that I am truly thankful for that.)

4 - I get a little crazy about symmetry. Always have. Even my Lego creations had to be symmetrical.

5 - I dislike drinking water. Actually, I dislike most drinks other than tea. Black teas are my favorite.

6 - This really has nothing to do with anything.. but I guess that's what this tag is all about. ;) I miss the beach. Diving under crashing waves, listening to the gleefully squealing children, absorbing all the warmth of that hot hot sun, dry salt on every hair of my body. And sand castles! Walking down to Publix for sushi and pineapple. :( Beach. sniff sniff

I'm tagging.. Bea and Meredith! (Yes, I'm aware that's not 3)



In other news - more Abba pictures. Two families are coming to look at her this weekend, so she might be moving on to her "forever" home... I'll definitely miss her, but right now the weather is so gorgeous and it's killing me that instead of going riding I have to go home to take the dog out.



How can anyone resist this face? (She was having a pretty bad day. Lots of new dogs around.. and not just greyhounds! Who knew there were other breeds of dog?! ;) It's amazing how sheltered these dogs are...)