Horse Week at the Farm

This was a great week at the farm. Peyton Grace attended a local horse camp. She loved it so much. We also took the opportunity to read a book from my childhood "The Black Stallion and the Girl". P G was exhausted at the end of each day at camp, so we saved our reading until bedtime. I lived for horses and read all the books just like her at this wonderful age of 8.

This is second day at "horse camp". It was in the Canton area and run by two very capable women, one a western teacher and one an English teacher. Peyton loved both. Riding english one day her horse even made a little jump over some flowers. She was thrilled! It was probably the high light of her week.

"Oh, just let me get a little taste of that sweet Peyton Angel Grace farm hair." Pleease?

Please notice how squeeky clean she is at the beginning of the day, day one.

End of day one. After a glorious day of riding the kids went to the lake and had a mud fight. I'm serious, mud from head to toe. She had to be hosed down practically. And she loved every single minute of it.

P G and her instructor Carolyn Stambaugh from "Horses from the Ground Up". Every picture I took, Peyton was grinning from ear to ear, just from being on the horse. Carolyn has a beautiful way with horses. Her strength is horse communication, much like the horse whisperer. She is gifted in that area and hopefully will teach P G those skills too. P G likes to go by Peyton Angel Grace at her camps. It's her alias :)

This is a trust lesson. She has to close her eyes and take her hands from the reins and trust that the horse will protect her. She was a little hesitant the first time, but then had it down.

A girl and her horse. That is true love and the end of a wonderful week. She is living her dream!

Coolest kid in town!

My youngest grandson Zachary. Is he a cutie or what?!?! One of his best talents, among many, is that he is an amazing cook. He is one of those cooks that looks in the cupboard and just creates. He and his "sue" chef Peyton Grace made the most awesome pancakes. He added a little vanilla, just the right amount of cinnamon, and voila, gourmet pancakes. They were so good you didn't need butter or syrup. We had made pasta from scratch the night before. Next time I will turn him loose with that and watch what happens! What a great kid. Watch out world, Zach is getting ready to take you by storm!

Victory!! They RAN up this humoungous hill. That noise you hear is me huffing and puffing in the background trying to make it up the hill. Abby would raise her paws up if she could.

How sweet is this. They are probably looking for more worms, or discussing the life cycle of a bug. They are both brainiacs.

Cousins!

These are my youngest two grandchildren. You all are familiar with the little cutie Peyton Grace, now 8, how did that happen so fast. The handsome one is my youngest grandson Zachary. He is 13, how did that happen so fast, and a really terrific kid. He has my passion for art. He is smart and funny and sometimes a little quiet. He can literally make art out of nothing. His mind amazes me. I don't get him so often, being 13 and all, so I treasure the times I do. Peyton Grace thinks the sun rises and sets on her cousins. She about sucks the life out of them when she gets a chance to see them. Each one of them is good with her in different ways. Zach is like a big brother to her. They have a lot in common. When he was here this weekend they both hit the ground running digging up worms and exploring. What fun grandchildren are I'm telling you.

New blessings!

These are our new babies at the farm. I discovered one last week as I was watering my hanging plant. When I went to take a pic this morning there were four more additions. Nature is so very cool to me and one of the ways I worship God. I love just appreciating the wonder of all He creates. So here are the babies nestled safely between wave petunias and sweet potato vine. What a wonderful place to be! I'll keep you posted as we watch the miracle.

We also have our own resident red tailed hawk. He glides overhead, sometimes with some pesky crows trying to nip at his heels, but he looks at them with disdain and does exactly what he set out to do. Good life lesson there. We keep binoculars near so we can watch him when we see him. Peyton Grace does a lot of farm exploring with binoculars around her neck, a scientist in training :)

Hersey. Seriously, is there anything cuter than this face!!!

And this is the infamous J.J. He can be ridden. He has a tiny little saddle. But the whole time he is being ridden, he is letting you know it was never his idea in the first place. He lives in the field with about four horses, but lately has been hanging out right next to the pen that Hersey is in. It's like he is saying "finally, someone who speaks my language" and "wait a minute, I'm even bigger than him". They seem to just enjoy hanging together and every now and then, much to my delight, they have an in depth conversation in bray language. Oh the things donkeys could tell us, about their work load for being so small, about their great to the 1000's degree ancestors carrying Jesus. What tails they could tell.

And this is another neighbor we've nicknamed Lonely Boy. He lives alone in a great big field. He mostly hangs out under a tree by himself. He is owned by a family with two boys. Although, I have never seen him ridden or even talked to. They do ride their four wheelers by him really fast. I think all creatures need friends, even four legged ones. We have a plan to ply him with carrots and sweet feed so he runs to us when he sees us. Then, one day we think he will run so fast he will jump the fence and come live at our farm where we will ride him and soon get him a pet of his own.

This is Hersey, our new neighbor. He is a miniature donkey and ca-ute T pie. He is still a little shy but we're working on it. He starts braying talking to Peyton Grace when he sees her walk up. Check out those eyelashes!

Strawberries R' Us

For two days in a row I have been able to go out and pick fresh strawberries for breakfast, what a treat! They are backed by some coreopsis I brought from my Stn. Mtn. home. It's such fun to grow my own food. The other day I had some beautiful strawberries ripening on the vine. I was saving them for Peyton Grace to pick. Unfortunately they were on my back porch, big mistake, when we went out to pick them there were our two dogs standing with a guilty look on their faces yet still licking their chops. I immediately moved the yummies to higher ground.

We were walking the property yesterday and discovered that the pumpkins I had placed in the field from fall had started to sprout. I was so very excited. We have always wanted to grow our own pumpkins. I now have to scurry and learn what I can about pumpkining. Hopefully in the late summer I'll have pictures to show. If anyone has any hints out there I am a sponge.

This is a small picture I just finished for my sister's birthday. It is actually only 5"x7", just a token. I love to paint. I could paint for hours. The sad truth is is that I paint seldom. I now have a studio at the farm where all my creativity can rest and remain messy if necessary. It is a treasure for me to have this. I am long on the creative gene and short on the tidy gene, so this helps keep the rest of my home peaceful and uncluttered. This is the first time I have ever given myself the space to spread out and create. Until now I had different areas that I sewed, painted and did woodwork in. I always had to scurry and clean when company came or I needed to walk across a room. For my oldest daughters' wedding I created everything from wedding dress to bouquets to cakes. There truly wasn't an inch of my house that didn't have a creation alive in it. It was so much fun and I was sad when it was over. I hope all your dreams become wishes and your heartfelt wishes become reality.

This is one of the many reasons I love the farm. Everywhere you look there is another blessing. The sun comes up outside my bedroom window each morning in all my favorite colors. It sets each evening off my front porch in a spectacular sunset. I so desire this place to be a blessing to all who come here. I want them to feel a sense of peace and God's spirit here. I always hold this place with an open hand, wanting to be a good steward of this opportunity and bless others with this land and home.

Peyton Grace with the farm hairdo which out here is always windblown. These are her two cohorts, Bailey is the black one and the black sheep of the duo. We got her as a pet for Abby the blond one, my every present loving companion. Those of you who have been fortunate enough to have a golden know what a love they are. Bailey's love tank is never full and if there is trouble she can find it, but she also is a love, sometimes love gone wrong, but still love. They are going from being inside dogs to being outside farm dogs. They are making the adjustment fairly well. Their favorite spot is in the back end of my SUV, so sometimes I open it up so they can feel safe but still be the valient protectors of the farm.

Yet another picture by my friend Paige on that sweet day. She has the ability to really capture the moment!

Please Lord, don't let them grow up too fast. The sweetness of this age is so wonderful.

Farm Girls

These two cuties are just hanging out at the farm on a beautiful pre-Easter Sat. They are waiting for the horses to come out and play. One of the best things about the farm is seeing how kids react to the freedom they have here. They run and play in a beautiful, safe environment.

That day they flew kites, played badminton and horseshoes and made up more outside games. These are the things kids did before the DS's and other computer games were invented. I've been teaching my little Peyton Grace how to play jacks. She gets better each time, and I have to call up my memories of how to play to keep one step ahead of her. She already can beat the sox off of me at Go Fish and Trash. We start each game with one of us declaring "I feel lucky today!"

This is one of my new creations. I saw a bench on Shabby Chic that was covered. It gave me inspiration to create a coffee table. It has a removable, washable cover. I made the base out of Lowe's purchased legs and MDF board. I love to create and love to do woodworking. I only wish I was better at both. But, the only way to tap into the God given creativity we all have is to do it and then do it some more. An artist I met once told me the only way to become a better painter is to paint. Sounds wise to me. I am filled with the "I can do it" mentality, short on patience, sometimes bite off more than I can chew, and remain undisciplined in most everything. I have huge goals, most only God can make happen. The jury is out on where all this takes me and the farm. Always prayer is needed.

Give me land, lots of land neath the starry skies above. Don't fence me in. I've always wanted a farm, so this is part of a dream come true. The rest of the dream is to be continued! My days are met by a beautiful sunrise behind the house and end with a beautiful sunset over the mountains in front. It's a feast for the eyes.

Red Barns are the bestest!!!!

Neighbors are great- Especially ones with barns and miniature donkeys!!!

This is one of the great views I wake up to each morning. Usually there are five or more horses and one donkey named J.J. They like to talk to each other. I'll try to catch them next time in the picture. There is a new miniature donkey named Hershey. He is very, very cute. I'll try to get a picture this week end.

And here she is, Sweet Grace. This is actually my grandaughter Peyton Grace and her friend, Jake, a heavy horse on the Harmel Ranch is Colorado. We went there several years and PG was allowed to be a wrangler at six. It was one of the highlights of her few years. Now, she says she wants it as a lifelong career. She is just great with animals and has no fear. One of my treasured memories is being on a trail ride at the ranch and trotting the horses. She giggled the entire time. She lights up my life and also everyone she meets. She has a sweet Godly spirit. Naming the farm after her was a natural. She is much of the reason we started this venture, to help give her a future. We will be adding animals to the farm as soon as I learn how to keep them alive. We're so excited about this adventure!!

This is the very beginning of a new venture that my youngest, Gretchen and I have started. We have had a dream for ages of having a farm that would host all kinds of events, parties, classes, etc. We just desire for people to come and enjoy! We found this place over five years ago and have struggled (to put it mildly) (yet another story) to bring it to a reality. It is just lovely here and we can't wait to share it. We are also trying very hard to listen to God and His plans for it.

Did I mention I'm on my way to being 67 on this new journey. What? 67? It can't be. I feel 27 unless I pass a mirror. Remind me to turn them the other way. A friend once told me that there wasn't anything in the bible about retiring. I take that to heart plus there just isn't any financial way that could be a reality for me. Plus, I really like working.

One of my jobs in this venture is to tame some of the pasture and make it beautiful with lavender, herbs, maybe a vinyard and some bees and flowers and crazy heirloom chickens. We invite you to go on this journey with us and we so ask for your prayers for us.

Thank you all that care about us!

This is our family room with family standing by the fireplace.

Sweet Grace Farms Revealed

This is the first picture of our newest venture Sweet Grace Farms.

My sweet daughter has a fabulous blog.