Candy Candy Nico Neko

 

 (Bear with me: I'm learning a "new blogger interface" and there are some glitchy things to sort out!

Above, is our new horse Nico. Or is that "Neko"? And as mentioned, her name was "Candy" so now I'm transitioning her my chanting "Candy Candy Nico Neko" to her as I ride... no wonder she looks confused! Everyone at the barn has been so complimentary about how pretty she is (and she is!)  So far, so good. She's had her feet and teeth attended to and I'm contemplating a saddle fitting as she's much broader around then Maggie or Crispin, my two previous mounts. 

The farm where she is temporarily residing is entertaining. They have (in no particular order), chickens, ducks, ferrets, sheep, goats, donkeys, and most entertaining of all, alpacas.

Several of these individuals reside in a stall near Nico/Neko and utter otherwordly space alien sound effects:  a cross between purring, humming and Chinese. They're friendly in an odd way, more like they're observing us to report back to that other planet.

The farm is a bizarre petting zoo. Sue, who is alpha-mare and Dr. Dolittle rolled into one crazy lady multi-tasker, keeps adopting animals from nasty circumstances. That's a good thing! Most of them are very sweet and have made the horses utterly bomb-proof around a menagerie But some of these animals are dodgy four-foot juvenile delinquents- the goats in particular. I have been warned that the goats will consume EVERYTHING including tack (saddles/bridles/straps and general horse-related gear for you non-horse individuals) and horse's tails. (There are several unfortunate equines sporting brutally chewed off stubby tails!) I warned Sue that if my horse's tail goes missing, there'll be goat stew. Never a dull moment!

Thus far the new horse- call her what you will!- is in general a good egg. I hacked her around the farm yesterday, after I had ridden in the outdoor arena and she was great. Didn't spook once, even though a trip around the farm passes not only the aforementioned mammal menagerie, but huge dumpsters, abandoned trucks, functional farm equipment, gargantuan piles of manure and spent bedding, random discarded tires, lawn furniture and general havoc. I'm having fun!

 

 

Playing Hooky

The weather was so nice and there were several projects involving gardening and I confess: I played hooky from studio work and spent the better part of the afternoon outside. I said to Bob before he departed for a railing installation job, "I feel guilty, but I really want to be out of doors." I realize- and Bob reaffirmed- that there was no reason to feel badly. Sometimes, you just need to listen to those internal voices that beckon you out into nature...
Blooming plants, like the Sand Cherry above (Prunus pumila) are a good a reason as any to want to be outside! The long border that the Sand Cherry resides in needs a partial make over and today was a good day to start. I lifted and removed a whole slew of periwinkle that was running amuck through my phlox and Siberian iris (and everything else). I replanted that along the side of the Blue Garden. In itself, it was a major undertaking because those spreading ground cover things tend to multiply like crazy and when you lift a seemingly small area, there are seven million plants to be re-planted. But it was worth the effort because the border looks better, the periwinkle (Vinca major) is useful at the perimeter of the Blue Garden and I had a space to plant the Arborvitae "Forever Goldy" (Thuja plicata) we got on sale at Home Depot looks great there... gotta love Home Depot. They may not always water their plants, but they're affordable and they actually have some interesting specimens!
And an additional benefit was that Robin the Good ran around like a possessed demon and got all tired out and didn't even protest when I sent her back into the house to rest when I went "outside the fence" to plant that Vinca. Robin was very helpful and made sure to eat my sunglasses (granted: the crummy, scratched lenses around the house pair...) and run straight through my newly watered, freshly dug area and generally cause havoc.
And later in the afternoon, post reviving shower and clothing change, I did manage to get into my studio and get a start on assembling a copy of my latest artist's book. A good day!