the MOP has been CROPPED

 EEEEEEEEEK

and its done. xx
 my friend is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. just so she doesn't feel alone.. my hair is gone too. I've been raising money with sponsorship and the link to that is in the post below. I'll try to copy it up here.

Crop the Mop

on 10th September I am having my hair cut off... buzzed off, not shaved... to support a friend who has cancer and is being treated with chemotherapy which causes hair loss.
she is being supported by a charity called Breast Cancer Care so I am asking for sponsorship donations for this charity. photos to follow...
this is a link to Just Giving where you can make a donation for which I thank you .

playing with ponies

building blocks....
training from the ground up.
its not all about riding, its getting used to different things, its accepting that when you're asked to walk past something scary you can trust the rider and go...
she's learning trust, sometimes very sceptical...

sunny summer

having a great lead horse is so important in training others. I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to help me. Quince did not leave the farm environment till she was 9 and then spent two years in a quiet out of town place though she did get used to cars and bikes there. for the last six months she has had to get used to going past houses and people, and all the mad things they do. scaffolding to re -roof, cutting grass and hedges, washing cars, putting up new fences and just as she gets used to that they paint it a different colour. a childrens play park and the children who run screaming to see a horse. .... just beyond the houses we have lovely off road paths to wander, only a few miles but I love it.
on the subject of houses... I am still camping in my daughters spare room. I sorted through some boxes this week that have been packed in a hurry in various places over the years. there was a few surprises in there. I got from six boxes down to four, a bag of stuff for the charity shop and some stuff to sell on ebay. and a few good finds to use, some t-shirts and a waterproof jacket. I need those.
I'm not feeling too great today. I came home from work early last night not feeling well. either sun-stroke , food poisoning or a combination of them both. I left Quince to cool down before getting a feed.. myself? I was rushed into the farmhouse and given a wonderful lunch containing a lot of mayonnaise , eggs, cream , fruit.... I usually don't eat that much during the day particularly before going to work as I have heavy duties to do.
and my work has a policy that if you have been ill you cannot have an extra shift. so I am not allowed to work the shift that was an extra today.. that leaves them short staffed and me short of money.

reposting from 12 years ago.. 12 !! ''Sunday morning''

this little black viola has self seeded. these are meant to be edible but its too pretty to pick.
Cerinthe major purpurescens, grown from seed.. I am sure I planted seeds for a yellow one as well but they have not appeared yet.

sweet pea 'Borderline' , lovely colour and good scent too. there's no point in haveing them unless they're good and smelly!
this is a funny plant, Parahebe perfoliata, common name - diggers speedwell, its kind of spidery and creepy with these lovely little sprays of flowers.
and here's the cold frame still full of stuff which should have been planted out by now? and I do believe there's a fine crop of dandelions growing up the front of it too.....
I am going to an open garden this afternoon so will hopefully have some nice pictures from that to put on through the week.

fat shiny pony

summers here with dry weather. lots of buttercups in the field. .. looks pretty but not really what you want . still plenty of grass as all ponies putting weight on.
looking forward to a week of warm weather so I might give Quince a bath, not sure what she'll think of that.,,, got some citronella shampoo that helps to keep the flies off.

trailer loading

my aim is for Quince to stay calm. there's a net of hay hung inside so she can eat in there .

horse care article

feeling a bit down today, found this article to read and its given me a bit of hope for the day.

http://www.soulfulequine.com/natural-horse-care-principles/

took a nice bit of video of our loading practice yesterday and I'll get it on here tonight or tomorrow.
a wee photo to be going on with. 💗

to go in the trailer

a bit dark but a record of out practice. Quince is not fond of small spaces. if I want to take her on outings then she needs to learn to tavel in this box to tow on the road. a friend very kindly took the time to bring her trailer down so we could walk through... its okay walking in but a panic starts at midway and Quince just wants to get out and quickly... so we spent an hour just walking through till she could do that calmly. I used a clicker to mark good moments and treated with pony nuts.
hopefully get another practice soon.

to see the sea

a recent visit to friends in Dumfriesshire. we are looking over to Auchenlaire Caravan Park, but I forget the name of the viewpoint we are on. the car was parked close to the sea on a rocky beach, I thought briefly about dipping my toes in but too chilly.
there's a couple of little islands there, sure that I have kayaked this area in the past.

sleepy bees

a sleepy bumble bee on a  fencepost at the farm. the sun was shining and they are appearing here and there. there is a frost forecast for this weekend, I hope its not too cold for them.
the farm has a hive and honey bees look quite different. I haven't seen any of them yet.

snow to mud, cold

lots of snow. halted Scotland for four days... its all turned to mud now which Quince says is a much better thing...
I had booked a week off work, just as well as there would have been no getting there. I was meant to travel to visit friends but cancelled with the weather reports... we've re-arranged for a couple of days at  the end of the month.
the horses were out in the big field for the snow storm, with big round bales of hay and extra bins filled with water. there was no traveling to them either so they were left to the farm owner to check .
feelings are generally that winter is too long, too cold, and everyone is fed up.
the nights are getting lighter and hopefully it will warm up soon.

the dumbing down and poisoning

I read labels of food when I shop. sometimes having to choose between affordability and nutrition...
large conglomerates of shops leading the market with their products... not food... non food?
lemon curd as an example. homemade is eggs, lemons, sugar. butter.
Asda... a Walmart shop... er... none of those are in it....
and everything, it seems everything, has palm oil in it. bread, biscuits, peanut butter. like biting into blood....
shop local, shop health food stores... better for you but I can't afford it.
very grumpy about this.

to lighten my mood up a bit, the sun is shining and  I'm having a lazy day, watching Star Trek Voyager.

sunny but cold

the sun is shining on me and Luna the dog so we're snoozing.... the cats have not come back after the screeching over the laptop..
I've a bad cold so I'm slouching on the sofa with dogs and cats for company... and Sam, the cuddliest one, he nudges you just as you drink your coffee...  today he spilled it right over my laptop... oh my.
its taken a lot of drying and 20 minutes of system restore to get it back on... all seems to be working and files are calling up as usual,,, I'm going to leave it on now so that it keeps good and warm and hopefully any residual damp will be heated off. and I will back up files to a store later on too.. just a reminder of how easily things can be lost.
the weather is just winter yuck horrible, snow, that melts into muddy sludge, nice sunshine but freezing temperatures. I'm glad the nights are now showing a noticable difference in lightness.
photograph is of coffee in the bottom of my keepcup that was left in the car.. frozen solid !!

Christmas is coming....

decorating the pony. bless her she's such a good girly.

realised its Winter Solstice today.. wishing happiness and peace to  everyone. x

marching marching

we're getting out and about, marching down the road.

https://plus.google.com/+TourismsaskatchewanCanada
http://www.tourismsaskatchewan.com/

I just watched a tourist video for this town. looks lovely... but in my grumpiness I have this to say,,,
-they do tourist adverts like this for Scotland too, quite different from actually living here, in the cold and the wet. difficult to find decent decent jobs and affordable housing. the violence, not even hidden anymore, the drugs, people seem proud to be involved... children left to fend for themselves... overcrowded prisons.. is there anywhere in the world actually ''nice'' ??-

retirement with a view

Abbey has settled nicely into her retirement and is looking lovely and relaxed. 

Abbey and Quince

 it was always my dream to have these two girlies... this was the morning Abbey was leaving to go to her retirement. hope to visit her in a week or two. this is the one decent photo  from a series of about 20 where they wouldn't stand, moved around, made faces at each other, i had my eyes closed etc... lol
Quince is convinced she can't have her front feet lifted to be picked out... we're working on it... the hoof trimmer is due this weekend so she might not have much done this time. her fronts look like they've been cut too short anyway so they need to recover. Abbeys feet are perfect.

ooops... bought a pony....

I have decided to retire Abbey from riding, she is 17 but has spooked violently all her life and its getting worse, I sometimes think she can't see properly but vets cannot give me any clue.
she is returning to the people I bought her from and they are retiring another welsh cob called Glen, 22, so she will be his companion.

and .... ooops... bought another one...
a horse I know from a few years ago, another welsh cob.. I do like them... Quince, she is 12 and we've been out a couple of walks together now so hope to start  getting out for some longer rides soon.
Abbey on the left and Quince on the right , picture from a few years ago. 

no objection to men in dresses....

 quite clearly a man in the background wearing a dress.... lol

this episode .... wondering if there is a special club somewhere for trek bloopers.

hmmm, blogging as a daily goal..

there might be something in it... but could I commit...
https://medium.com/higher-thoughts/how-one-year-of-daily-blogging-changed-my-life-fc20fb79d1d1

a humorous article?

well its tongue in cheek humour, about how a woman feels about her life now she has given up drinking alcohol ..... and I see echoes of my own thoughts in there... here is the link if you would like to read it https://qz.com/762868

good girls

 Ellie and Abbey,

a rosette each for Horse Agility



the cats whiskers

somewhere in the reflection in those feral welsh eyes is a small sparrow, chirping merrily from the top of the roof.

this is reposted from June 2006. I was just thinking of wee Daisy today. my sweetheart kitty. I miss her very much. 

homemade skin nourisher... video makes it look simple

https://www.youngliving.com/blog/diy-lotion-bar-recipe/?utm_source=oso&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=DIYlotionbarvideo&utm_content=05817

road trip

myself, my daughter Rosie and her wee dog Luna, road trip today to visit friend Sandra who I've not seen for a few years.

set a goal of visiting two people a month to keep friend connections alive.

March..... like time marches on and on.

a warmish day in Januarys where I let Abbey out without her waterproof rug on, she got good and muddy, stayed in overnight to dry off, she was groomed clean and rug back on to go outside again. I think they like to get good and dirty and its because I like her clean and ridable that I keep the rug on.
Abbey is my little Welsh Cob, we're not up to doing much in bad weather.... Endomondo has us at 16 miles for February and that's more than I would have guessed so not too shabby. even at age 17 she needs to be kept in regular work to behave, we rode out with company on Sunday, then by ourselves yesterday, there was a warmth in the air and she was very chilled after some initial ''monsters'' that we have to pass to leave the yard.



I  got a FREE ticket to go to the Parelli Masterclass next weekend to watch!!
er...free ticket... my hotel is costing £140 and petrol costs sharing the drive with someone already going will come to about £60....
so that's my excitement. I put a load of stuff up for sale and have raised £35 towards it , anything helps really.

all my angels

 think all my angels were having a meeting?? there were more on the gravel leading up to the car too. I have a lot of angels, miss all of them

 moved some of the snowdrops from my garden to the farm for 'in memory of', this fat leaved snowdrop I think is 'cats whiskers', nice big flower with lots of green inside, they are for Eric, the farm's old dog.

and a wild type snowdrop with narrow silvery leaves, a gift early on in the garden from my friends dad, who has now passed on, so this brings him to  memory too. these are over Daisy and Smokey. I am a bit sad Tansy is not near them... but its only a body.. and she'll be remembered with them always, many blessings xx

wee Daisy

this is Daisy... on top of the shed.... she's 14 here.
sadly she was put to sleep today, just old age , nearly 18 yrs old.
over the rainbow bridge with her sisters now. good girls. xx

solstice and holidays

I intended to update my christmas greetings... but I couldn't find batteries... eventually found some , then couldn't find lights... then found both , scraped mud off the pony and got camera ready.. then the lights didnt' work... oh well. ... maybe a new picture next year... many blessings xx

and I can't believe I forgot to update on Abbeys picture by Helen Wilson. its been mounted and framed. awesome awesome!!

november

 November seems to be passing quickly, this photograph from the beginning of the month, I think most of the leaves are off the trees now. dark nights and cold weather, I go to bed earlier to keep warm, so read a lot more than do anything else.

I like this photograph except for the pylon in the background. not sure  my editing skill are up to removing that, Abbey is keeping well and I ride out when the weather is not too bad. needless to say this waterproof rug is now in the 'to be mended' bag... again... wish for endless money to buy pony rugs...

ellie learning the 'curtain'

Ellie has a few issues with people and confinement, working with her for a while now. starting off with the plain hoop very high and bringing it lower, today I added two ribbons and here she is being so awesome with that. hopefully have her up to full curtain soon. bless her.

shadow rider

I'm hoping to get a lot of riding miles done in October, I log my rides with Abbey and its surprising to see how far we get. So far we're at 29miles and I aim to do 65miles this month. 

Hempfling - HorseLand - The Movie - A Documentary about a Path of Life-M...

might take me more than one sitting to watch , liking it so far.

reposting from 1.4.2006....Saltheart Foamfollower

This is Saltheart Foamfollower(the name comes from a character who is a sea-faring giant in a novel by Stephen Donaldson) a Valley Nordkapp original, I think they are now calling it 'heritage' instead of original, ha. The beach looks a bit messy as they are doing some building on this island, its a National Trust island I think. This trip to Loch Lomond today being the first I have been on this year! A Scottish Canoeing Association trip run by Mike Thomson, well attended and great weather. I ran out of steam towards the end though so tomorrow I am going to be more than a bit sore!Ben Lomond still showing snow, a seagull obligingly flew into shot just as I pressed the shutter, a good photo moment by accident as usual!
I came home to find this crocus I bought last week had flowered. It is called Barr's Purple and I couldn't find it in any books so I had no idea what it looked like until today, and I like it! It is quite small so I suspect it is an alpine kind of thing. 'Stuff'is germinating away in the greenhouse, veggies and flowers but I am too tired out to make a list- I can do that tomorrow when I am so stiff I can hardly move, great!!

Goodby Smokey Tiptoes

from the top- Smokey, Daisy Tansy



I am suddenly cat-less. it was already organised that wee Daisy will live with my daughter, being 17 she is in good health but her mind is wandery now... she has periods of agitation, if it rains she isn't seeking shelter, and she's been sitting sunning herself on the road... lucky its quiet but neighbours were concerned. I am happy that she will be safely inside and spoilt for the rest of her life.   Tansy was put down last year, age 14 with a very large ''lump''. so I was just  having lovely Smokey, age 10...then Wednesday she was so ill, very not like her,  it was heart failure and she was put to sleep. looking back over a couple of weeks she's maybe not been herself.. but its hard to tell as she rarely got out of bed anyway, an outside farm cat who came to live with me when she was 2 years old... oh my how she loved to be a house cat, bed, sofa, dinner... what a life. she did go outside but was always first back in for the best sleeping spot. I didn't expect her to be gone so soon.

Helen Wilson Animal Art

this is Abbeys portrait,  its fabulous!! I was very luck to win a draw to have this done. its by Helen Wilson Animal Art  and its so completely gorgeous!!

16 Ways To Use Apple Cider Vinegar | Beauty Junkie

I use ACV sprayed on Abbeys hooves daily to keep them in good order, she also gets it in her dinner! A friend of mine told of this many years ago, she used to feed it to her goats.

"Liberty" Mary Ann Kennedy and David Lichman [Official Music Video]

enjoyed listening to this , and it has horses...lol

re-posting garden flowers, from June 25th 2008.

these pretty little flowers are from a sempervivum, a house leek. it lives in the greenhouse and seems to quite like it.
I took several photographs to try to show the bees in the foxglove flowers but this is the only one that shows, its very dark inside a foxglove flower and the bees can dissapear totaly out of sight!
and just look at all the flowers on the broad beans! I imagine every one turning into a lovely pod of beans. everything in the veggy garden seems very behind, some folks seem to already be harvesting these. I am getting great lots of lettuce, some nice baby onions and have had one teeny baby courgette.

some peace

May your troubles be less,
may your blessings be more,
and may nothing but happiness come through your door.

goodbye Granny Ann

not my photograph, lifted from facebook





Rock Rebel Granny, I called her Granny Ann.
nobody in the world was excluded from her world, an amazingly kind woman who will be missed by her family and internet friends.
leads to the discussion of how we could be friends never having met....
the world becomes a small place with the addition of a keyboard and a laptop... or even smaller now you can do everything (it seems) on a pocket phone.

awesome awesome !!

I'm excited!! I won a Pet Portrait from http://www.helenwilsonanimalart.co.uk/ so this is the painting of Abbey she is going to do.. final picture will not have a background or her headcollar on... just the lovely Abbey and she's got such a nice expression on her face in this picture. I spent ages deciding on which photo to use... as you may realise I only have a few.... er... thousand!!

gratefuls for today

 i'm grateful i can continue to afford to keep this little lady, she is such at poppet, bless her

i'm grateful the owner of this lovely young horse is going to let me take part in her education towards learning to be a riding horse. such a sweet horse.