LOOK! Mariachi Serenades a Beluga Whale!

Anyone out there? Take a look at this special Corn Maze!

Do you like the corn mazes' that are popping up at the farms at this time of year?

It appears that now there are maze's grown for the Blonde's only!!

‘Jesus, what have I done?’: rock star Steve Tyler’s traumatic encounter with abortion | LifeSiteNews.com

‘Jesus, what have I done?’: rock star Steve Tyler’s traumatic encounter with abortion | LifeSiteNews.com

Everyone who has watched American Idol this year has had a renewed exposure to Steven Tyler, the lead singer with Aerosmith.

I was not an Aerosmith fan in those days, and did not know much about him. I personally felt that he did a good job as a judge on American Idol, certainly better then Simon.  When I did see the shows, it appeared that he made an effort to point out the best in the different singers with his comments.

I was at the blog for OPUS #6, and found this article which talks about Steven Tyler, and his statements about the effect of watching his own son's abortion while he was in his late 20's with his young girlfriend Julia Holcomb....and the trauma it caused him afterwords...

Also, to read Julia's side of the abortion story click her for it at http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/the-light-of-the-world-the-steve-tyler-and-julia-holcomb-story

This is the picture Julia referenced in her article, as she was trying to get out of the burning apartment, while she was 5 months pregnant with Stevens child.
 

Take a moment to read the two articles...

For Sunday Stills...Looking High, Looking Low..

A view as we were leaving for dinner one night, while in Puerto Vallarta, about a week ago.

 Looking up at the church from the Malachan in old town part of Puerto Vallarta...

And the last shot is one of my favorites, the sun was red as it went down this particular evening.

 For Sunday Stills...

Hola from Puerto Vallarta and San Sebastian Mexico....

 Hola!

This is what it looks like, once we were able to access the locked blue door, I mentioned in my blog last week..what a difference a working key can make!

We stayed for an additional 6 days in the old town district of Puerto Vallarta and have to say, it was warm and muggy...and wonderful!

The people were friendly and fun, the restaurants were eager for our business and had offers to come and eat at their place, over the next one up the street.

We ate, we walked, we shopped from the vendors, and did our best (within our shoestring budget ) to help stimulate the Mexico economy. 

We went on a 7 hour excursion to San Sebastian on one of the days, which was full of the history of the region, and the silver mining in that area. It was lovely, and entertaining.

We went to a coffee factory, were the owner was the youngest of 21 children born to a woman whose face now adorns the packaging the coffee they produce called 

Cafe de Altura "La Quinta Mary".  This is where we saw the parrots, and also the sad looking donkey. 

Donkey at Coffee Factory

We were offered the use of the bathrooms as well...

Table where they package the coffee at Coffee Factory.

Looking down the cobblestone street into San Sebastian

This looks into the jail... which was empty. It was all concrete inside, and dark and cold.

Inside the church at San Sebastian

Yes, they have 24 hour service at the local funeral home in San Sebastian

A home along the narrow cobblestone street.

 So, this was just one day while my sister and I were on our short holiday... yet it left a deep appreciation for what we saw, and what we learned about the people of this area of Mexico.

This kind of trip makes me very thankful, and less whiny about the fact that I can't retire yet...what do I have to complain about, as we have so much here in the US to be thankful for.

A Colorful Friend from Mexico....for Camera Critters

As you can see, we finally got in to our room in Mexico..and I will cover that later..

I just thought I would show you this great looking parrot we saw on a coffee farm in the mountains near San Sebastian in Mexico...(for Camera Critters)

The Blue Door...

My sister and I are in Pto Vallarta Mexico and after 3 nights away from the downtown area have come down to the "old town" part of PV for some new adventure...we found some new adventure on our first evening here!

We got to our rented condo, which is a quaint small apartment overlooking a cobblestone street across from the Tropicana Hotel.

We were told that we must always lock the big blue door,which is the street door. When we arrived, the door was not shut, so we just came on in..and of course shut the door behind us.

After going up the  cobblestone steps to our cozy casa, we unpacked and left with just our small purses to explore.

We arrived back at the blue door around 11:00 pm...and the big key for the big blue door did not work. Not good...

I had thrown my cell phone in my bag, thank goodness. When we got back we could not get the door to unlock.

 The bad news is, all the numbers for our local contacts were  in the casa..and we were not!
So here we sit on a small cobblestone street, and a giant locked door, late at night...

to be continued...

"Alex & Me"... one amazing bird

I was at my favorite "thrift" store, and ran across a book that looked interesting. It was titled "Alex & Me" by Irene M Pepperberg. 

After just starting to read the book, all I could think was how did I not hear about this amazing bird, and wanted to see some of the things he was able to do before he died suddenly while only 31 years old.

Are you concerned that I may have not made the right choice with the move of Betsy and Zoe?

My life as 
a horse owner all came to and end yesterday, as my two girls got into that shiny silver slant load trailer, and headed down the road to their new home...Equine Life Solutions. 

They left with a signed contract agreement between both parties in my hands, to start the process of their new life.

It is true I still have the antique pony, who is 40, but that is a rescue/quality end of life mission we are giving him, so that is different in my mind.

Let me kind of bring you through the process that got us here. My second chapter as an adult with horses started with Ken and I getting a horse, after we got together in 1989. I had had many horses over the years, previous to my divorce and had thought that they were no longer an option in my life.

Ken and I had gone together in high school..and after high school had gone separate ways in life ending up married to others, had children...and divorced. We ran into each other in 1989, each of us divorced and single. The rest is history there.

Ken had loved being around my horse when we dated in our teens, and now encouraged me to get one again.  That "one" led to 15 more (including foals) over  the years. 

We were involved with a Paint Horse Club in our area, raised some foals, had some horses shown, and sold some good young horses to some good homes. 

We had one foal leave Washington to a new home in Florida, and another (our favorite, Zoe's first foal "Robin Fort Knox", aka Bailey) go to Wisconsin where he was the most loved youth horse in the barn he was in and did very well as a youth Western Pleasure horse.

Now to the current situation, which is the two horses we have had long after the others have found new homes long ago. 

We found Zoe,  a palomino APHA mare, in Oregon in 1993 when she was two. We bought Betsy, also APHA , as a weanling when she was 6 months old in 1995.

Zoe will be 20 on 6/9/2011. Betsy will be 15 soon, on 4/5/2011.

So, Zoe has been my "girl" for 18 years, and Betsy almost all of her 15 years. They are very bonded, as you can imagine, and that was what made the re-homing option very challenging. I was not willing to sell or give either or both of them to anyone I did not feel extremely good about, and know how they took care of the horses they were responsible for.

It was a comment my husband made to his brother and sister in law, that started this whole thing. Ken mentioned that we were hoping to find safe good homes for the horses, and my sister in law mentioned her cousin volunteers for a barn that may be interested. The networking started, and it was this person we did not even know, who told Robyn at Equine Life Solutions, (ELS) about our mares.

As all of us have stepped into this agreement, we are all on the same page as our number one concern is the horses and their future. We have been honest about the mares, their personalities, quirks, and abilities.

Did I mention previously that Zoe is deaf? They is actually something they are excited about. She will help kids who have disabilities to see how well she does with hers. She is also one of the most honest horses I have had, and (don't tell Betsy) but one of the most loved one's we have had. Everyone seems to be drawn to her. She is bred to be a reining horse, so her 14.1 size is ideal for kids.

Betsy is sired by a well known Paint who has sired champion youth horses, known for their good minds. She also is a kind mare, with no meanness in her, though she can be kind of tricky. For example she will open stall doors, and considers herself alpha, at least over Zoe.

So fast forward to today. I do not want to be that person that later hears a horror story of the horse I released in good faith to someone. 

I look back and think of the stories I know personally of some horses I have known that were owned by friends, and the outcomes of these horses. I have seen horses I knew that ended up at the local horse auction in Enumclaw, Wa.

I myself saw horses that had at one time been owned by my 4-H friends, and sold at some point to end up at this auction later. One horse I know went  to the slaughter buyer, and I was horrified to think what my friends family would of thought if they knew this was her end. 

Another horse who was called Belle Star,  was a wonderful little gaming mare when owned by my 4-H friend Bill.  I saw her at the auction years later, being sold by a local horse trader I somehow doubted Bill's family had sold her to. I contacted Bill's folks, who said they actually never sold her as she had been pastured at a friend of Bill's and just disappeared. They followed up with the auction to find out the new owners name and follow up to make sure she was in good hands.

I also have a friend who had two very nice high quality Paint horses, that were less then sound, and needed expensive foot care to keep them as sound as possible. She didn't feel anyone would care for them as they needed, and did not want to risk their potential outcome by releasing them to others who may not really spend the money required to keep them as sound as they could be, and comfortable. 

After years of expensive maintenance of their feet and health, they were both humanely put down at their home.  It broke her heart, but she felt that after exhausting all her options, this was the only solution for them.

Another Paint breeder I know of made the blog "Fugly Horse of the Day" when they took many of their older well bred broodmares to the local horse auction. I understand that the Canada slaughter buyers come to our auctions. 

Unbelievable, that after these mares with world champion bloodlines, were just cast aside when the owner did not even offer them a humane ending to their lives. The  blog Fugly Horse of the Day, which is vocal watchdog for horse related cruelty, did a blog on them last August. They work with an Auction Horse Message Board to catch this type of neglect.

So, to give you all as well as myself, peace of mind for the future of these two mares, I think we did our homework as best we could.

We checked the references, our vet knows they are going to ELS and gave them a good reference. We have gone through the facility. We observed the lesson program in action, with the clients and employees.

We saw their feeding program, the feed rooms and special need feeds and records. We saw their new stalls, and paddocks, as well as outdoor field areas. 

Our own farrier is now their farrier. 

We have a signed contract with a holding period for final release. 

Their philosophy for the program is a nice match to ours..don't know what else we could of done.


These are good horses, and they need a job that is appropriate for them. They need more attention and "loving" on them, than we have been able to provide due to our schedules. With all the youth in this barn, I think they will get all the attention they could hope for!

On top of all of this, we will be coming by to see them, as my granddaughters want to take riding lessons here as well. 


Both parties are viewing this as an open adoption!

I feel good about this..look at their website, and tell me what you think?

New home update for the horses....

Today we went to the facility where the two mares will be going... and to say the least, I am very pleased!

It is a very well run barn, that teaches natural horsemanship to individuals from young to old. The horses are not pushed into the program, and go through a holistic heath check to make sure they are in perfect health before they start their schooling. They use bit-less bridles, and treeless saddles in the program.

The facility is extremely clean, and the people are wonderful. The mares will share a paddock to start with adjacent stalls, and they all have outdoor time every day, and lots of people time with them as well.

I honestly cannot believe this solution fell into our lap, through some networking of family members. The facilitator told me she has turned away 100 horses which I believe is true. 

This is a dream home for a horse. No abuse, kind loving caring people running the program. The people who work with and handle the horses understand the horse, and if there is something going on causing the horse to be irritated or act out, they realize something is causing this and it is addressed.

The best part is that the person who is the barn/program facilitator and oversees the program is a strong Christian, whose desire and commitment is to apply the principles of scripture to both man and animal in her program, and it is working very well.

Galatians 5:22-23


But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

Now, how could this be anything but good for both the horses and the people working with them? 

We think the move should only be weeks away... my gosh, the horses will finally have a job!

Horse changes ahead...

I have had my two Paint "pasture ornaments" almost since they were born.

Zoe is the palomino, and will be 20 in June. We have had her since she was 2.

Betsy is a Strawberry Roan Sabino, and will be 16 this year. We have had her since she was 6 months old.

I know that some of you do not have kids this old...so as you can imagine, they are really part of our family and we are very serious about what happens to them.

My daughters almost consider them "sisters"!

So this is where we are. My husband and I are making decisions as to our future, and know that the horses really need to be somewhere where they actually are being loved on more (and often) and have a good horse life... 

We rarely ride the horses, and know that they are very expensive pets! We also think we are ready to size down as we prepare for retirement in the hopefully not to far off future.

They are great horses and were started with professional trainers when they were 3. I think they probably had about 3-6 months professional training, so are broke to ride with no buck in them. They are broke to ride sweet horse's, and easy to be around.

It is important that they are not split up if at all possible, as they are each of the family.

They are both healthy and sound and had not been abused or pushed hard when they were young, which is why I think they are still sound. 

We think we have found the perfect place...

The future home we have found is an answer to prayer, and a "God " thing we think! 

It is very difficult to know that the home you are sending your horse to, will be a good home. The home is more important then selling them to just anyone. 

Many folks would jump at the chance to take a horse, that is being given to them...but I would not consider that to someone I do not know, or cannot confirm that they will do as they say. 

Having a horse now days is not an inexpensive venture, even if you have your own property. Also, keep in mind a nice big grassy field is an invitation to trouble if you do not schedule their time on the fields... to much rich grass can lead to many health issues, some that will be lifetime (laminitis for one..and you want to avoid this at all cost..)

The cost for upkeep (feed being a really expensive cost) as well as trims/shoes, vet upkeep, etc is more then many can commit to. The decision to own a horse is a serious and expensive commitment.

So before I share our decision for my two girls (horse girls of course) I ask you..what would you do?

I am curious what others would do in my situation...

Tablets ..and some of their many uses...

I bit the bullet, and ordered a new Motorola Xoom Tablet, which was voted best in show at the recent Electronic show in Vegas. I am looking forward to having it upgraded to 4G data speed, soon.

So while I wait for it's arrival, I wanted to bring myself up to date on some of the many functions and uses for these marvelous devices.

I had not considered some of the optional uses for my animals enjoyments....


....now all I will need is a cat!

Time..please slow down...

Man, where does the time go and why cant time just slow down?


Loved ones grow old and die, my children grow up... and become my age...wait I got older too? I don't feel older, do you?


My mom said she didn't feel older, and yet she couldn't keep death at bay any longer.


Last Sunday my firstborn turned 40, can that even be possible? Didn't I just turn 40, or does it just seem like I did?


My grand kids, are getting so big so fast, and one will be able to drive in a short while. It seems like not that long ago when he was born...


The time factor for this period on earth is going faster and faster. The older I get, the faster time goes by.
Do you know that even though a year is a year, it feels like it takes 6 months to get through it, gone...like that!


I guess I need to focus on loving those around me...


To be thankful for what I have been blessed with... family, friends and yes, the critters.


I think there is really something to the saying "Don't sweat the small stuff, it s all small stuff"


What do you think?

Oh my, my neighbor saw the cougar!

Yep, here it is 3 months after Milli's demise, and I received an update on the villain cougar who took our little Milli.

So you have an idea of our area, we actually are not that far off the beaten track. Every one of the seven families on our road has 5 acre parcels. The neighbors around us have anywhere from 1 acre to 10 acres as a rule. Still, not the feel of isolation from society.

The neighbor directly across the street told me they saw the cougar out their back window, 3 weeks ago. It was their teenage son who saw it, and they said it was a big cat, much bigger then he had expected.

Guess what, they also said the deer have bedded down under the tree's in their back yard in the past as well. I mention this, as the wildlife agent said the cougars love deer, and not as a friend.

Cougars have there own territory they cover, and he seems to be showing up regularly. I continue to stay on alert to keep the other dogs from meeting the same visitor as Milli did. I also make lots of noise when I go to the barn at night!

What was really confusing at the time of the attack, was that we also had a bear in the neighborhood at the same time, who was enjoying the fruits of the neighbors garbage cans. He was helping himself to the cans and the fillings as well. He was carrying off the cans and then after getting the garbage out, eating and rolling in the refuge...yuck!

Oh my how a little house in town can be so appealing to me at times like this....(sigh)

Milli, a small brave Corgi with a big heart.

Milli..my first Corgi and a very special little dog.

She was a Craigslist find, and I thought I was so fortunate to find her. The owner was very careful to place her in a home that was a perfect match..I believe we certainly were that!!!

She quickly became our little "Queen Milli" dog, and she ruled our terrier Randy as her royal servant (he seemed content with this arrangement) .


We did not declare her queen, she self proclaimed her position!



We found her "partner in crime",
Oscar, about a year later on Craigslist as well.
He was the standard size
Corgi and the same black tri-color as our Milli.

Because Milli was so small, people who would see her thought she was a miniature Corgi. Well, since Corgi's do not come as miniature breeds, she was just a very petite little dog.


My Milli was attacked in my front yard in the evening of November 16th, by a Cougar.This was just 10 days after my mother passed away.

After coming back from the barn that evening she was attacked, and taken to the wooded acreage behind our property. I had left the dogs out for just a few extra minutes after coming back after the evening feeding.

With the help of Oscar, who was the hero who helped me find where she was, I cannot believe we found her. I called and called with flashlight in hand, pointing in the direction I thought she was.
While Oscar barked ferociously, I saw her little body come slowly out of the underbrush.

If she had not been in shock, there would of been no way that she could of come to the calls from me and Oscar. She was hurt so badly I cannot describe it. I was horrified by what this animal did to her. We rushed her to Pilchuck Emergency vet, who after trying to save her, said the claws of the large cat has penetrated her body so badly, and actually come out the other side. The damage was to severe to save her.

I still cry when I think of what my brave Milli went through to come to me when I called, and am thankful I at least got to have her in my arms and assure her of what a wonderful and brave dog she was before loosing her forever.

She is buried in my flower garden, next to my little Delilah cat.

My Oscar really was a hero, as I had no way of knowing which way Milli had been taken, and he kept looking down to the backside of the property, which made me go that direction. He was truly calling her as his barks escalated while I called her, and I am sure made the cat release her and let her go.

It used to be that when going to the barn for morning or evening horse feedings, Milli would run out the door, and turn to the other dogs barking non stop, as if to say "Come on!". She would always bark and yap, and Randy and Oscar would run after her, they did not bark, only Milli.

Now, when going to the barn, Oscar has carried on Milli's tradition, and when asked if he wants to go to the barn, he will look at me and bark as he runs beside me, as we go to the barn...as if to say..this is for Milli!

I had the State Department of Wildlife out after this happened, and they sent out a cougar warning to the schools as a precaution. We have lots of deer around hear, and the Wildlife agent said this is the meal of choice for a cougar.

I wanted to share this as a tribute to a wonderful little dog, that truly will walk all over my heart forever.

Pony grooms cat by www.worthashotfarm.com