H.P. Gary's wonderful horse!

H.P. (High Performance), was a part of my life for a long time, about 16 years. He was a true Grand Champion. He had A NOBLE bloodline. He was a descendent from the Polish Arabs that Napolean brought back from his Egyptian Expedition. His sires were Calvary and show horses. I have a box of his ribbons and trophies at the apartment.
He also had a quirky sense of humor. Always gracious and never mean or unpredictable. He was a far more talented horse, than I ever was a rider. Fortunately now, he has a rider who can really allow him to express his potential. My Dad was a true horseman. I'm certain that he can take time from his missionary work to ride him. I'm so glad that H.P had someone to greet him at his passing.
He will be deeply missed. He was a beloved friend.
Gary

Happy Birthday to my Sweetheart

It was Gary's birthday, on the 15th. I am so grateful for this wonderful man. He makes me laugh everyday, more than once everyday. He is my companion in everything and I am his, most of the time. When he is seeing his patients, I opt out.
I encourage him to draw, he is so gifted and can draw anything, if you ask him to. If I am working, in the studio, and he is caught up on his work, he is experimenting with my stuff and learning what all the bits and pieces are for. If I am doing things on the farm, he is right with me and talking about how his dad did things, he was a cowboy! Gary is a cowboy too. He seats a horse beautifully and his horse companion is a Polish Arab named HP. They are a great team.

Gary is an animal lover, he has a very soft spot when it comes to animals and suffering. If he could, he'd have this farm covered in rescues, three of our horses are rescues and so are most of the cats.

He is a voracious reader, which I love, since I am too. It is wonderful to be married to someone who sees the value in reading. He remembers everything he reads, dates, events, peoples names. In fact, he remembers lines and details from movies, the same way. It blows me away! What a gift.

He is a wonderful stepdad, encouraging and teasing, which does drive the kids crazy, sometimes I have to tell him "down boy, they don't get it". He regrets not being around more when his own children were young and constantly says that he is grateful for the second chance.

He is my very best friend, I can talk with him for hours, sit with him and say nothing for hours. He is a comfort and champions me. I am so very grateful to have him in my life.

Planting for the farm

My studio is filled with flats of seeds. Starting early? Yes, because I hope to have everything growing in half gallon containers by May 1st. I have planted a lot of Lavender for the Lavender walk, Echinacea, because I use the root in preparations and Passion Flower, Artichoke because, unless they have a head start in our Zone, I'd never harvest some of the longer season growing things.

Our Greenhouses open this year, to the public, including a petting zoo and a Sweet Pea Maze, idea gardens and lots of fresh garden produce. We grow everything organically, pesticides and all that sort of thing, haven't been used on this land in 10 years and so we maintain it that way. Also, all our animals are of heritage variety and our plants are heirloom seeds and plants, no hybrids or GMO's.

This year we are also taking a bit of a turn as far as the poultry. March will bring Buckeye chickens to the farm, a rare chicken breed, hardy to our climate and also brown egg layers, Muscovy Ducks, also a hardy Heritage breed and great for meat. We feel, that by focusing on a couple of breeds, we will be able to provide our customers with better chicks, ducklings, meat, eggs, etc.

So it is a busy time and a fun time, reminds me that Spring is around the corner.

I don't like knowing...

that the years march on and that death is inevitable. I don't like knowing that my parents are mortal. This week my mother suffered a stroke and lost most of the vision in one eye. We are hoping that they treated it quickly enough. Time will tell.

In the first 6 weeks of this new year, I have been made so mightily aware of the fact that my parents can be taken, at any minute. It scares me.