1st Snow

Well here it is Sunday, 10/21/07 and we have snow. I woke up this morning a bit disappointed because I thought I would wake up to snow and there was none. By the time I got dressed and headed out the door to check on Jasmine, it had begun to snow. The dogs and I headed to the stable to check on how Jas did during the night and if her blanket actually kept her dry. The trip was a bit nerve wracking. What began as snow turned to hail and it was foggy, by the time we got to Stocktons it had turned to snow.

I went to the field where Jas in pastured and called her. It was if she were waiting to hear my voice and let out a neigh and came runing, blanket firmly in place. I put her halter on her and led her to where I had parked my car. The dogs were terribly curious, this was the 2nd day in a row they had accompanied me to see this super huge dog. Bugs and Murphy were desperate to get out the car but since I didn't have their leashes with me, they had to remain in the car. I gave Jasmine her ration of sweet feed and checked under her blanket. Happily I can report that my 20 year old mare was toasty warm and dry. The only part of her that was exposed to the weather was her head/neck and tail, the rest of her was covered and dry. After losing Fancy this summer I've vowed to be sure my remaining horse will be protected from the elements if I can accomplish it.

Now we're home sitting in front of the TV watching the Dever Donkeys and have a nice fire going. Life is good.

Pagan Wedding

Yesterday Jonathan and I went to a Pagan style wedding or good old fashion Hand fasting. Friends and former coven mates of Jonathan's, Alice Woods and Rich Matthews were wed. The event was held at the Hudson Gardens (http://www.hudsongardens.org/). In true Pagan fashion the seating was set in a circle with candles for the 4 quarters and a beautiful altar in the center of the circle. The ceremony/ritual itself was very moving. The guests were a mixed bag of Pagan friends as well as mundane friends and family. The expressions on the faces of guests who were not Pagan was quite interesting.

Rich and Alice and their attendants were led into the inner circle by a lady bagpiper. I do believe it was the first time I've ever seen a woman blow the bagpipes not to say there aren't women out there who do, it's just usually something I see a man or a group of men doing. There is something hauntingly beautiful about the sound of a bagpipe and I suppose being of Irish decent that could be the reason I'm drawn to them. The piper circled around the outside of the group of chairs where guest sat/stood and led the procession into the inner circle.

Behind the piper were their High Priest and Priestess, Robin Vinehall and Mary who were wearing purple robes and the head pieces that denoted their ranking as Priest and Priestess.




Rich and Alice followed. Rich was clad in a gold robe to represent the God and Alice in a silver robe to represent the Goddess. Alice was just beaming.

They were followed by their attendants, clad in maroon robe who would be calling the quarters.



The thing I found most interesting and most annoying about the majority of guest was the overall casualness with which they treated this most special occasion. There were many guest in jeans, some in T-shirts, one couple wore their "formal" crocs and saw nothing wrong with it and then there was the fellow in his new bib overalls, work shirt and baseball cap.






I'm sure he bought them just for the wedding. I found it to be very disrespectful of those who were so causal. Okay so maybe it's my southern upbringing but in the South, church, weddings, and funerals were times to bring out your very best finery. In fact for weddings we would go to great lengths to find the perfect dress to were. We didn't want to out shine the bride on her special day, but we damn sure didn't want to dishonor her, the groom and their families by showing up in clothes we would have worn in every day life. It was just shameful. There were a few who did bother to dress for the occasion and those were mostly the mundanes, although some of them were also in jeans as well.



Mary and Robin cleansed and cast the circle as the guest watched and those who had no idea wondered what the heck was happening.




The couple were beaming as they exchanged their vows, vows they had written themselves. It reminded me of Jonathan's and my hand fasting 4 years ago. While we weren't legally married, we were equally as committed as these two. I couldn't believe I wasn't reduced to tears with the emotion of it all.

The unfortunate thing was we weren't able to stay for the reception. Jonathan had scheduled a job at 1:oo pm that afternoon and we had to leave at 12 noon. At that point lunch had not even been served. No wedding cake for us and it looked yummy. I'm not a fan of wedding cakes but this one was different to say the least. A castle of all things, who would have thought.

All in all it was a nice way to spend a Saturday morning in the fall and it was nice catching up with old friends.

Free and easy down the road I go

Camping is defined as to live temporarily in a camp or outdoors. Why am I defining camping? Because it's a favorite past time of mine. My camping experience has evolved from tent camping to something bigger and much more involved and ultimately more comfortable and fun.

As a child, my family only went camping once and it wasn't the most pleasant of experiences. Dad had purchased an old army style canvas tent and decided to take the whole family camping at Cave Mt Lake near Roanoke VA. I don't remember much about the trip except that I got to sleep on on of those horrible mesh webbing folding lawn chairs. I also remember Dad getting us all up in the middle of the night in the pouring rain to come home. That was the extent of my camping experience until I entered my 20's.

In my 20's I camped out of tents, off of motorcyles and even out of a van that had been converted into a camper. I took to camping like I had been born doing it. In those days all I need was the bare essentials, a cast iron skillet, dutch oven, cooler of food/beer, snacks, matches and the top rack of the oven. We'd build a rock fire ring, build a fire and I'd cook up a storm. Nothing fancy mind you but we ate well. I didn't need much in the way of clothing either, everything I needed would fit into a small duffle bag that could be strapped on the back of bike. Ahhh how things have changed.

When you're young your body seems to accept the punishment sleeping on the ground dishes out. No matter how much you groomed the ground before setting up the tent, come time to get into your sleeping bag for the night and bingo, there was a rock or stick that had surfaced mysteriously right where you wanted to sleep. Of course no matter how you tried to manuver around the offending rock/stick, it would follow you. Not anymore..........I no longer sleep on the ground, nor do I use a sleeping bag. As I said when I started this post, camping has evolved for me to a more comfortable experience.

In 2000 I upgraded from the tent/sleeping bag and air mattress that was constantly deflating to a popup camper. I came out to Colorado to spend a week in the Rockies camping with Jonathan. He had rented a popup camper for us to use. This was luxury!! There was a kitchen sink, small fridge, stove that could be used indoors or out and a bed with a mattress. No more sitting huddled in a tent a night. Nope I had moved up in the world. In fact we enjoyed the popup so much that a couple years later we purchased one similar to one in the picture.




























We used it for several years and then Murphy, our 110 # Bulloxer came into our lives. We took him camping and quickly discovered that our little house on wheels was no longer big enough for us.

This was ampified this spring when along with Murphy, our newest family member,Bugs a 75# boxer/great dane mix joined us in the popup for a weekends camping. This wonderful camper had now become extremely cramped quarters.

Aside from the popup becoming to cramped, we no longer wanted to deal with attempting to pack everything inside, lower the top, stuff in the canvas and then stuff more equipment inside to pack up and go and then reverse it all to unpack and set up. I'm the sort of person who when a task is started doesn't want to stop until that task is completed. This includes setting up/breaking camp. Jonathan on the other hand is a stop and start sort of person. Unload a few things, take a break, visit with camp mates, sit around and then go back and do some more setup. Not my style at all and we argued a lot about this.

After the weekend trip with both dogs, Jonathan started looking for a RV. We had talked about them before but I wasn't really sold on it. Jonathan started checking Craigs List and found a Toyota Granvilee RV. I still wasn't completely sold on the idea but he had to have it and so we came how with a RV we dubbed Nellie. I will admit this opened up a whole new world of camping. This thing had an indoor bathroom/shower combo, a stove and oven, fridge/freezer combo along with a pantry and lots of storage. Once I got everything stowed away in the RV, going camping was easy and fun even if really slow. Nellie was only a 4 cylinder engine and as such would only go the pace of snail up steep hills. I laughingly referred to Nellie as the "low rent" RV. She was better than the popup camper but just barely. We took the dogs and off we went camping 3 times before the week long trip.

The first trip was to a really secluded spot near Woodland Park. It was perfect for us and the dogs although getting there was a bit iffy. At one point we were going up a hill at about 5 mph and I truly though the dogs and I would have to get out and meet Jonathan at the top. Poor Betsy had no power at all. She was sure and steady but slow. We had the most spectacular view of Pikes Peak and the dogs could run loose unlike at the Lone Duck Camp Ground. We spent two nights at this spot and decided it was a keeper as far as camping spots were concerned. We went back twice during the summers. I can't decide who loved it more us or the dogs.

The other nice thing about this camper was the fact there was enough room for us and the dogs, unlike the popup camper. The boys loved laying on the sofa to nap while we traveled down the road or while Jonathan and I played scrabble.

We started making plans to do a 3 week trip to Canada and back. Again I had concerns, would Nellie make it? Was there enough room for Jonathan and I to co-exist inside? I had my doubts but he was gunho so I went along with the planning. We tooke Nellie and the dogs and went to Dragonfest for a week. The dogs were only with us 3 of the 10 days we were there but it was enough to realize that Nellie wasn't big enough for the 4 of us to co-exist comfortably. So after our vacation was over the quest was on for a bigger, faster RV.

My requirements were a RV with seperate sleeping quaters, self contained w/generator, and a larger bathroom. Jonathan wanted something with more power as well as more room. We were leaving our local Walmart one Saturaday and saw a RV with a for sale sign on it. On a whim we went and looked at it. Low it had two bunks, an over the cab queeen size bed, Nellie only had a double, and was self contained w/generator and micro wave and it wasn't a 4 cylinder, nope this baby was a gas hog,,,,she had an 8 cylinder engine. YOOOHOOO!!!

We called the number and had the owner come show us around. This was quite an improvement over Nellie but I didn't want to get to excited. Jonathan and I went home and discussed this RV and I told him I wanted to sleep on it, even then knowing I had lost the battle. We were going to own this RV if Jonathan had his way. We called the owners to have a 2nd look and to test drive and we came away with another RV.

This RV we named Betsy and she has become Jonathan's baby. I do belive she will be very comfortable to travel across country in. The night we took her out for our maiden camping trip was wonderful. There was room to move around, get dressed, make coffee and not trip over dogs. I'm so looking forward to spring/summer next year, cause "Free and easy down the road we'll go". Camping has just become so much better. I bought a small crock pot, toaster and blender to have in Betsy for those occasions when we are at camp grounds w/electricity. No reason not to have all the comforts of home will traveling around this country. While our trip to Canada is a little over two years away, I can hardly wait. Between now and then there are lots of places to go in CO and there is of course Yellowstone to see.

My Fancy Horse

Owning pets is such a rewarding experience and heartbreaking as well. Most people have their pets from 5-10 years. Some of us are lucky to have them in our lives longer. I had my horse Fancy for a quarter of a century.

Dad bought Fancy as an 18 month old filly. She came with her own pony Sugar who Dad gave to my son Rhett. She was an Arab/Tennesse Walker and full of fire and spirit. When we got her, we found her halter was inbedded in her head behind her ears. Her previous owners had said she was green and hadn't been handled and this was proof positive. I strongly suspect her halter had been put on her at about 10-12 months and had not been adjusted to match her growth. We cut the halter off of her and allowed the wound to heal.

Dad's plan had been to breed horses when he retired. He had already purchased two in Florida, a pretty little palamino mare called Apple Annie and a chestnut quarter horse mare whos name escapes me now. Anyway, Dad came to Virginia to look at Fancy and purchased both her and her pony companion Sugar and moved them to the farm my now ex-husband Danny and I were living on. We had my old pony Ginger there already and were now adding Sugar and Fancy. Dad's health was not the best and so after a year of my tending to Fancy he asked me if I wanted her. Well DUH!!! BIG RED TRUCK!!! Did I want her?? I was the original horse crazy child. I lived and breathed horses and to have one of my own.

I started working with her to get her used to the saddle and realized that she was a bit more horse than I could handle. We located a farm that spealized in Tennessee Walkers and had them begin her training and mine in the process. The picture here is of Fancy and my sister Jeanne after she had learned to go under saddle. One thing Fancy never did learn and that was to stand quietly while we mounted her. Once she felt your weight in the stirrup she was ready to go and go she could. She floated when she cantered. It was a sight to see.

Fancy and I went through a lot together. There was some question as to if I would ever be able to ride her. The Arab in her made her very high spirited and a handful at times. We moved from the farm in Piney River to the family home in Amherst, built a barn and fenced in the field and brought Fancy and Sugar to the live there. I learned quickly Fancy had a very sensitive mouth when I used the reins and her mouth for leverage to mount her. She stood straight up on her hind legs and flipped over on me. I was fortunate enough to get everything out of the way but my right foot and she landed on that and broke it. That was the first and last time she ever dumped me. After a couple years of riding lessons at the college where I was working, Fancy and I We learned together to become a team and trust one another.

We bred her when she was 4 1/2 and got Jasmine, who I stil have. That seemed to help calm her down some. One thing remained constant however, Fancy was not a man's horse. Even as she got older, she didn't care to carry a man on her back. I taught a couple people to ride on Jasmine but Fancy was my girl and that was that.

In 2000 I moved to Colorado and had to leave Fancy and Jasmine behind for a year. I hated it!! I missed looking out my kitchen window and seeing my girls. I missed calling to them from that kitchen window and seeing them come up to the back gate in anticipation of my coming to feed them. And I just plain missed them! 2001 we headed back to VA to Rhett's high school graduation and to bring the horses here to CO. What a trip that was. Rhett and I alternated driving my Explorer which was pulling the horse trailer with my precious cargo. I knew Jonathan would be freaked out by the girls shifting their weight and thus causing the trailer to move. We spent the night in Nashville and in Kansas City before pulling them into Colorado. Along the way I developed a new sense of being. Previously I had been terrified to drive I25 in CO. Now, after pulling the horse trailer across country, I knew I could drive anywhere. It was liverating to say the least.

Here in Colorado I was finally able to say I had riden horses in the west. My girls however never got over being Southern horses and as such thought the whole idea of being in the west and being a cowgirls dream was just plain silly. Well this is the impression I got anyway. Fancy and I spent the next 6 years riding the trails in Chatfield State Park next to where she and Jasmine were boarded. She had begun to show her age, although if you had even alluded to the fact that Fancy was getting on in years she might have bucked you off to prove she wasn't. This past winter was particularly rough on her. Acutally it was the late spring that was the hardest. She had blown her winter coat when we got a late spring snow storm and as a result lost a lot of weight in an effort to stay warm.

I had managed to put weight back on her and Jasmine (who hadn't suffered nearly as much) and she was starting to look good again. Considering Fancy's age, I had decided to formerly "retire" her from being riden any longer. I thought that now when I went out for a ride on Jasmine, I would pony Fancy so she too could go along and enjoy the adventure. Both girls seemed to enjoy each outing so much it seemed a same to leave one behind. Little did I know my decision would not come to fruitation. On June 21st (the first day of summer) Fancy decided it was time to cross over that rainbow bridge and really retire. I was distraught with grief and still am. How do you cope with losing a beloved pet that had been with you for 25 years? She was family and my girl. We had such a bond. No matter how frightened she became when I was on her back, if she spooked she never dumped me. If she left me hanging in mid air because she went left while I stayed centere, she came back under me. She might prance and jig but never did she run away with me, nor anyone else who happened to have the privilge of being on her back.

I've had people ask me if I will get another horse and my answer is immediately no. I still have Jasmine and I can't imagine committing another 25 years to another horse. But the real reason I won't own another horse is she/he would never compare to Fancy. We were as one and finding that trust and loyalty again is not a given. I think that if she had to leave this world the day she chose was a good one. She too was my familiar and I miss her so much.

Dona

Losing a Pet

If you're a pet owner then you've gone through the trauma of losing a pet. It's a painful experience and never gets easier no matter how many times you go through it. It had been years since I had lost a pet. The last one was Sasha, our German Shepherd/Wolf hybrid back in the early 90's. I still grieve for her but that's not the point of this particular post. No this is about losing two of my beloved pets in the span of a year, from July '06 to June '07.

My first loss was of my familiar Miss Pitty Pat. Now let me preface this with the fact that I am NOT a huge fan of cats. They're okay but just to darn independent for my liking. My kids had cats and they were fine but I, personally had not had a cat who I could really call my own. Enter Miss Pitty Pat.

Miss Pitty Pat was a little grey/brown tabby kitten born on Mother's Day 11 years ago to Tiger, the cat of my granddaughter Miss O'livia. You could say it was love at first sight. This little kitten attached herself to me and made it clear in no uncertain terms that she was MY kitty.

Miss Pitty would climb up on the counter in the kitchen and sit quietly and politely watching me prepare meals for my family. The only thing that would set her off to yowling was the smell of shrimp. How that kitty loved her shrimp. I swear she could eat her weight in the seafood. One of her favorite perches as a small kitten was on the edge of the tub where she would observe the human ritual of bathing. That all ended the evening she fell into the tub while I was running it full of hot water. I had left the bathroom to tend to some urgent need in the kitchen when I heard the most pitful cry coming from the bathroom. My son Rhett rushed in and pulled a soaking wet, extremely unhappy kitten from the hot water. Fortuantely she wasn't in there long enough to harm her, but it ended her time spent view the human bathing ritual.

When I decided to run away from home in 2000 at the age of 50 to move to Colorado, Miss Pitty was by my side. We started out from Amherst, VA with her in the cat carrier and I'm here to tell you she didn't like it one bit and let me know in no uncertain terms that if this was where she was to ride for the next two and a half days I would be hearing about it the whole way. Needless to say, we stopped and I took her out of the cat carrier, put her little kitty harness on her and proceeded on our way. Miss Pitty was quite happy now and rode on a towel placed on top of the cat carrier where she was close to me or on the dash of the Uhaul truck where she could see out of the wind. She was really good company along the way and when I was in panic mode because of traffic in St Louis or because of the fog in Kansas City she was right there on my shoulder with her little claws dug in, letting me know that she too was frightened.

She spent the next 6 years attempting to adjust to becoming an indoor kitty. There was never a time when the front door was opened that Miss Pitty didn't make a run for it. Once outside however, she changed her mind and immediately decided that maybe being an indoor kitty wasn't so bad. July 13 of 2006 Jonathan, my significant other, and I took a trip to SD for his birthday. We did a kitty count to make sure all 3 cats, his two and Miss Pitty were accounted for. Miss Pitty had the really bad habit of running into the coat closet when we opened the door and getting locked in there when we left, once for 3 days. All cats were accounted for and seemed healthy enough. When we came home on the 16th Miss Pitty met us at the door fussing at us for leaving her home alone. All seemed well. We had no idea that was the last time she would greet us.

The next morning we got up an prepared for work. Jonathan, as was his habit, fed the cats. We called for Miss Pitty because she hadn't appeared as usual to the tune of the can opener. Jonathan went upstairs to our bedroom where we last saw her and found a very distressed kitty. She had crawled out from behind our bed but was unable to stand. Jonathan called me in a panic stricken voice. His biggest fear in the past 6 years was he would lose my cat and woe be unto him should that happen.

I ran up the stairs to discover my poor little Miss Pitty Pat crying pitifully and unable to stand or walk. I picked her up as if she were a dishrag and carried her into the spare bedroom to lay her on the bed. I thought some how she had broken her back she was so limp but that wasn't possible. Neither Jonathan nor I could figure it out, yesterday she appeared to be healthy and happy and today she appeared to be dying. And that was it, my kitty was dying although at that moment I didn't know it. I called our vet, called work to tell them I would be in and rushed Miss Pitty to the vet's office. I had to leave her there alone and in looking back I wish I hadn't. I wish I had been with her at the very end but I remembered how painful it was to be with Sasha when she took her last breath and I couldn't do it. I went home and waited for the vet to call me with the verdict. It wasn't good. Miss Pitty's kidneys were failing. Apparently she had been sick for quite awhile but. as cats will, had hidden her illness. Fortuantely for me, Miss Pitty Pat made the decision for me and was beyond help. We put her to sleep and thus ended the life of the only cat in my life who was trule mine.

Next - Fancy