You may have garnered from other pages on my website that my career focus is going through some changes. Foremost, I am not booking any outside horses for training next year, but rather hoping to train people to train their own horses. I have several reasons for this change, not the least of which is that it is so obvious to me that every one who handles a horse is in effect a trainer, and most of them don't even realize it. How many times I have heard someone say, "well, I am no trainer, but..." The fact is, if you have a horse, you are a trainer, if you do anything more than just feed it. My goal for the next season of my career is to help people realize the effect they have on their horses through different actions that they may not even know the horse is noticing, and teach them to communicate and work with their horses, not against them. For information on lessons, clinics and camps that I will be offering, please check the fees and guarantees page.My holiday was wonderful. It was not quite long enough, however, and when I got home after 2 weeks of longing to ride every time I saw a horse and dreaming of my cow at night, I had to go again. I spent 5 days at home, milked the cow, caught up on a bit of farrier work, then headed up north for another 5 days in the bush. Through all this holiday time I figured out what I needed to do. No more outside horses. Focus on hoof trimming and horse/human interaction education. I am going to try it for one season. I already feel my resolve slipping from time to time, I have a hard time saying no and am addicted to training, but I will stick to it. When I got home from second holiday, I went to work for 3 weeks straight, doing various things including hoof trimming and shingling, and enjoyed every minute of it. Getting hay in was a bit of a nightmare and a major part of my reason for not taking outside horses this fall, but I got it done. Now I am in a lull between intense farrier dates and taking advantage of this time to winterize the place. I have been blessed with a long fall which has given me some much needed time to get caught up and I finally got the third water bowl installed! What a long time coming that was! So I now have automated water in all but one corral. I am still hoping to get a shelter built in the first pen, but not sure if it is going to get done, as I have some priorities in the trailer, but we'll see how long the weather holds. The winter residents include 6 (or maybe 7) horses, DayZ, Dahlia & Davenport -er- House for bovidae and about 16 chickens. The chicken coop has been renovated so the flock has a cozy little room on the north end which will be equipped with heated water, nest boxes & roosts, as well as a feeding station. They will still have access to outside if they want it, and access to the south half for sunning when it it too miserable to go outside. Those birds are tough though, and still nesting in the tree! Cino, of course, will also winter here, and a select few cats. My dear old dad is talking about moving out, and a friend of mine is moving in from December until March. It will be nice to have someone around on the chilly winter nights when the blizards blow through.Stone and Wilbur were supposed to be going to sale in October, but I was a little slow on the uptake and missed the sale deadline, so I guess I will feed them, and hopefully ride them, through the winter. I have been riding Chutney and she is coming along very nicely. She walks about like her mother and I am toying with the idea of her being a keeper. Danza is not doing as good as I had hoped. She is good to ride at a walk and slow jog, but any exhertion and she breathes horribly. She still, of course, wants to rip up the neighbourhood in traditional Danza fashion, but I worry about her well being. I have been riding the black bandit, also known as Tandu, son of the great Dancing Queen, who has been known to some to be a bronc fit for the rodeo circuit, bareback with a halter. He is quite good under these conditions, though we are still walking. I just can't quite give up on this one, and if it takes me till he turns 10 I will get a partnership out of him. I have a few rides on Wilbur, and he is a real gem. Stone I haven't ridden since summer. John is talking about moving Pride, but hasn't said when, so who knows? I still maintain ownership of one little ewe, though she stays at Gillian's. Some of you may know of Tinkerbell, the Cheep Sheap who thought she was a chicken for the first 3 months of her life. We are currently looking for a ram to sire her first offspring as the shetland Gillian has is her daddy and her other ram is quite big, Arcott, and perhaps not the best choice for first lambs. So, if anyone knows of a wool ram who is looking for some girlfriends, we have about 5 I think.I have decided to give up on leaving for the time being and start living here, making it home finally after 4 years. I am looking for various bits of furniture as well as will have various bits of this and that to rehome over the next few months. That which I am seeking includes: shelving! practical and functional, and not unattractive, preferably solid wood. I am open to picking up unwanted bits for free and also paying reasonably for pieces I most crave. Like a solid oak table, for example. Preferably 48" with a leaf or 2. Chairs with it would be awesome. Prefer a pedestal, or a sturdy (not wobbly) legged one. And bookshelves. Not particle board. I will be redoing the kitchen as well and looking for cupboards if you or your neighbour happens to be renovating.One of my spring projects will be a greenhouse, and if you have any old windows or heavy plastic you would like to get out of the yard/garage/shed/bassment, do let me know. I am also looking for 16' rails to complete the arena.That's all for now. I will try to be more current. I know, I know. I say that a lot.
The weather is perfect, the colours are beautiful, the air is lovely.Well, I stopped in Sicamous yesterday for the traditional ice cream cone from the dairy there, and being homesick and missing my critters, I went to visit the animals before getting my ice cream. I didn't get any ice cream after all, just pictures and video and a sore heart and a bitter resentment and a firm decision to end that traditional cone. Telling my family will be difficult. I had a good time in Airdrie with Courtney, and a good but long drive to Kamloops yesterday. I am at my aunt's right now and we are visiting (my cousin Lindsay is here too, currently visiting with Ev). She has an absolutely beautiful place, this is my first visit to the "new " house that they have lived in for only 4 years - moved right after my last visit. I started my day with BC plum and an expertly brewed bodum coffee with DayZ milk, which has so far survived the trip. Then we got the tour of the yard complete with strawberries and raspberries and the last apple from the apple tree. Gramma is all done golfing for the year (Ev thinks maybe for good, but gramma says for the year), so I guess I was a little late on that one :( She is going to come over for supper tonight though. I will likely stay here again tonight and head north-ish in the morning after doing some postering around Kamloops.I resurrected my old 35mm canon and Courtney lent me a 75-300mm zoom (mine is 28-80) so that'll be awesome for getting lost in the mountains, which I intend to do this week. I think I will go to Williams Lake/Big Lake after all, so probably Tuesday - Friday I will be offline. White Lightning likes the mountain driving, I got an extra 200 km for only 4 more liters between Calgary and Salmon Arm! Of course, gas is .15/liter more in Salmon Arm than Calgary, so it still cost $40, but much better than I had anticipated. I am very happy with the little car thus far. As for gas prices, the big cities (Edmonton/Calgary) are totally random! Within a block gas can vary .10/litre. 121.9 here and half a block down, 125.9, and shortly after, 128.9. I fueled up at 118.9. That was okay with me. Calgary I found one selling for 119.9, but mostly it was 124.9 or higher. Golden, as Jesse warned me, was a full 146.9 (I didn't need fuel, thankfully) and the station at Roger's Pass was 148.9! I was glad to find prices back down to 135.9 in Salmon arm, though I could have made it to Kamloops on the Calgary tank. Kamloops is not much different from Salmon Arm, though I believe the price varies throughout the city. Speaking of salmon, we are having some for supper :)Kamloops is so beautiful at night. I pulled in shortly after 8. The sky was black and the city to the south was twinkling up the hillside. I am going to get a picture of that tonight, as I am fully prepared for it this time around (I have failed in the past). I just sat down to fill out my passport application and botched it twice in 2 minutes. Perhaps it is just not meant to be. I am definitely missing the physical activity. I have been mostly in the car or sitting visiting since I left home on Tuesday, with the exception of the bike ride & walk in Edmonton and dancing up a storm in Airdrie. We also walked to and from the bar, so I guess I have been out some, but I feel like a cooped hen. So glad my hens aren't cooped. I think I will go for a run today, and would like to find a park with some monkey bars and invert myself. I have been threatening that since Lloyd and haven't been there yet.
Well, epiglottis or none, I am going on a holiday after all. Today is day ... 3? Inclusive. I sent all my client horses home on the weekend of the 13th and hit the road Tuesday afternoon west bound. Somehow, I managed to leave an hour and a half behind schedule and still get to Lloyd on time, without speeding! Remarkable. I am obviously getting better at planning. So Tuesday I went for supper in Lloyd with Jason, Erin and Ayden, and then headed over to Lynda's for a quiet evening in, involving lots of stretching and chatting. Wednesday morning dawned with me trying to apply for my Canadian passport, only to discover that I needed my birth certificate in hand and did not have it - after an hour and a half of working on it. So, forget that, I will hand it all in on the Monday after I get home. Lynda had to work a couple hours in the morning and I ended up leaving before she got home, tracked down Mel's Hair Shop for a visit and a cut and then headed out to find a post office, for which I had an address, to pick up a passport application and mail a letter. I did not find it. After finding that the address I had did not exist and getting directions from 2 random passers-by, I decided Lloyd does not, in fact, have a Canada Post office, and carried on to Charles Lamb to get my passport photos done.The lady at Charles Lamb was very dear and it was difficult not to smile in my passport photos, which, interestingly, look not entirely unlike my first driver's licence photos - not too bad :) Slightly less natural born killers without space between my lips. Anyway, so Mrs. Lamb asked me if I had my application yet and I told her my post office story and she said, "you don't need a post office, go out the door and look to your right." ... effectively pointing me at the travel agency. She also sold me some batteries for my old camera and tried to sell me film and a $300 zoom lens (which was tempting, I gotta be honest) and gave me a real strap for my camera which, coinincedentally, was made for my camera. I am not certain the old girl (my camera, not Mrs Lamb) still works actually... I have to get some film in it to see - I don't remember if the auto focus is supposed to work with no film in the camera or not, but it currently doesn't. Hmm.So I haven't yet got the cheque sent (the other need for the post office) but I am sure I can get that done without.I returned to Lynda's to day good bye and play a few tunes before hitting the merry trail, once again 1 1/2 hours behind schedule, and once again arriving relatively on time. All in all things have been working out pretty well.I rolled into Edmonton at rush hour and managed to find Jesse & Jacquie without getting terribly lost, and after a brief interlude at the house we wandered out into the world and found an open stage at which we all sang, and most of us played. It was entertaining to say the least. After that we went to "The Pawn Shop" where Jesse was playing with a band (who's name escapes me), followed by NQ Arbuckle (who were quite good) and Elliot Brood (who I could take or leave). Had a relatively early night and slept like a baby with a cat on my chest, only to dream of cows and snow. Never mind.Today Jesse and I had a fantastic breakfast that he created with fresh veggies and curry, topped with Saskatchewan free range eggs. We then went postering for the show tonight and looked at some $30'000 guitars at the biggest Fender dealer in Canada, apparently. The weather is fabulous and I am thoroughly enjoying myself. Tonight we'll make a feast including some more Saskatchewan produce and then go to the show (featuring Jesse Dee & Jacquie B) at the cafe. I am not sure which cafe. Tomorrow I head to Airdrie for suppertime.
