Brushy Creek

On Saturday, Daddy, Annie, and I loaded up our horse trailer and headed for Brushy Creek to trail ride. We took Jack, Peg, and Buddy. We would have liked to take Momma and Rusty as well. However, Rusty is not physically fit enough for the work, and our trailer only holds three horses. Rusty was sad that we left him out of the fun.

It was a lovely day, and there were quite a few groups of riders at the trail. One of the groups had a donkey, whose loud, unearthly bellows had Buddy rather concerned. We headed out onto the trail right after lunch. The first obstacle was a wide, clear creek, and all the horses willingly crossed it. This was exciting to us, since Jack has been known to refuse to cross water. The last time we rode at Brushy Creek, Annie had to wade back across on foot to lead Jack through the scary water. As we continued along the trail, Buddy plopped down on the warm, sandy beach with Annie aboard. He thought it was a good place for a nap. Annie got him up, and we laughed as we kept going.

The trail at Brushy Creek is rough, with plenty of mud, protruding roots, rocks, and steep grades. We like it, because the scenery is pretty. Our horses, especially Jack, need the practice and experience that such a trail can offer. We covered about 5 miles of the trails and had a very nice time.

This is part of the trail. We almost went down this way, but realized that it was the wrong direction. There is no clear map of the trails, and there are many paths winding through the woods. The first time we went to Brushy Creek, we got lost.

I took this picture near the end of the ride. You can see the creek, the sandy bank, and a fallen tree. There are a lot of trees down along the trails.

I was the photographer for the ride, so there aren't any pictures of me, and there are few of Peg. I took this one to document our presence. Taking pictures from the back of a horse can be a challenge. He always seemed to move at the wrong moment.

Annie and Buddy had to stop after a big climb to adjust the saddle. She was borrowing my saddle, since she is waiting to purchase a new one. It slid back as they went uphill because it isn't an ideal fit for Buddy. He was glad for a chance to taste the grass while Annie fixed his gear. Isn't Buddy cute?

Today's scripture:

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 KJV

A Batty Update

This is the 30 foot ladder that Daddy used to climb up to the roof of our house. He was going to stop up the bats' entrance hole after they flew out for the night. We all sat outside to watch them leave, so that we would not seal any latecomers up in our wall. We waited and watched, watched and waited. No bats made their appearance. After further bat research, Momma discovered that they hibernate in winter quarters until March, then fly away to other roosts for the summer. Therefore, the bats are gone. It was an answer to prayer, and we did not have to do anything. Daddy is still going to block up the hole so that we won't repeat this experience next year.

Lessons From a Horse

One of the things that working with the horses has shown me is that I am a somewhat impatient person. I knew that I occasionally became impatient with my family, but it never struck me as a big problem. It is easy to focus on what the other person is doing wrong when there is a problem, instead of on myself. When I am training a horse, however, what goes wrong is clearly due to me. For example, as I teach Jack to turn on cue, I will respond to his awkward attempts and protests in the correct manner 15 times. Then, when he still hasn't figured it out on the 16th try, I may jerk his head around and force him to obey. This is wrong, and I've just taught him that the 15 gentle responses meant nothing. He can't trust me and yield his tender mouth to my control if he thinks I'm going to pull hard without warning. In the same way, if I am sometimes impatient with my family, I cannot build a true, close relationship with them.

I don't want my horses to be unable to trust me, and I don't want to use my relationship with them to foster sinful attitudes in my heart. As I have made an effort to deal patiently with them at all times, I have begun to learn to be patient in my interactions with my family as well. I am thankful for the lessons that God is teaching me through my horses. I have a long way to go, but He is still working on me. It is good to know that He never gives up on me.

Here is the Scripture of the day.

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV

Planting Corn

Yesterday, we planted corn. Although I was the only human on the job, I had lots of help and supervision.

Peg and Jack observed me curiously. They seemed to wonder why I kept walking up and down the garden so often.

Abby thought the seed corn was for her to eat. I'd drop some into my furrow, and she would come behind me to find it.

My very best helper was my kitty, Spunkabitty. He followed me up and down the garden, watched me hoe the dirt (at the risk of his little pink nose), and actually planted a few seeds for me. He pounced upon the corn as I dropped it into the row. As he dug around in the soil in pursuit of his seed, it was thoroughly buried. Thanks, Bit!

We have 150...

We have recently discovered that we have 150 uninvited houseguests living with us. They are bats, and they are living in the wall next to my room. We can hear them scratching around in the wall as they come and go. It is really quite interesting.

How did we discover these guests? One of them was so bold as to come down the chimney and join us in the house. He apparently thought he was entitled to better accommodations than his crowded attic room. It was difficult to persuade him to leave, but Momma and Annie finally did so. He reappeared a few nights later, and we were once again forced to escort him out of our home. The cats, offered their assistance, but Momma had recently mopped the floor. She didn't want them to mess it up, if you know what I mean.

Annie estimated that we had about 20 bats in the attic, so we went outside at dusk to count them. It was amazing to watch them come swooping out of their entrance hole one by one. We kept counting and counting, and my neck grew sore from looking up for so long. At 150 bats, the noises in the wall died down. We went inside, and Daddy began planning how he could get rid of them. I'll keep you updated as there are further developments.

After the Mother and Daughter Tea

On Monday, we hosted the Mother and Daughter Tea. It was lots of fun, and we ended up having 28 people. Annie did a lovely job with the decorations, and our friend Rachel's cheerful help was much appreciated. Our friend Jessica made two kinds of scones, plain and cranberry walnut, which we served with lemon curd and mock clotted cream. The savory course included radish tea sandwiches, cheese crisps, stuffed eggs, and spinach phyllo triangles (phyllo pastry filled with feta cheese, spinach, and onions). Our dessert plate consisted of brownies, date blondies, Greek lemon-herb cookies, and cream puffs. I really enjoyed baking all our tea food. We provided four tea selections, as well. The teas were Bengal Spice, Tropic of Strawberry, Vanilla Apricot White, and Scottish Breakfast, which is my personal favorite. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and we stayed up late talking about the experience.

Here are two of Annie's lovely tea tables. We enjoy using our collection of antique teacups and table linens. It adds to the charm of having a tea.

The puffs are waiting for their cream as they cool on the counter. Mmmm!

These delicious-looking pastries are the spinach phyllo triangles, hot out of the oven. They were surprisingly easy to make.

This is what our kitchen looked like after the tea. I don't think there was a bit of empty counter space in the whole kitchen. We left the clean-up for the next day, because it was late.

The Date Approaches

Yesterday was the RSVP date for our Mother and Daughter Tea. We have a count of 25 people who are planning to attend. One of them is a friend of ours who is coming early on Monday to help us finish our preparations. I'm looking forward to having her over to help. I always enjoy her company, and it will be a real blessing to have her assistance with the baking and cooking. Another friend is going to make the scones for us. We're thankful, because her scones are always a big hit. Our oven is going to be pretty full all day, so I'm glad I won't be baking scones, too.

This tea is an opportunity to minister to mothers and daughters in a special way, and we enjoy allowing the Lord to work through us in it. My prayer is that the families who come will be able to grow closer and more loving toward each other and toward God. We are excited!

A Chocolate Cake

Yesterday we had a friend over to experiment with baking a wholesome, dairy and gluten free, chocolate cake. This delicious cake contained no flour of any kind. Our friend had discovered the recipe on the internet, and we had all the ingredients. It was a lot of fun, and it turned out amazingly well. It actually tasted, smelled, and looked just like a white flour, white sugar, and butter cake. You will never guess what was in it, so I'll tell you. This lovely cake was made of two 15 oz. cans of black beans! It was quite good, too. After spending the afternoon baking the cake, we devoured a quarter of it in about five minutes. I'll even confess to going back for seconds.

Since our family has quite a few diet restrictions, it was really neat to make a cake that we could all partake of that also tasted like the real thing. However, too much of a good thing is not a good thing. With that in mind, we sent the rest of the cake home with our friend. She decided to give it to her family without telling them what it contained. I can't wait to hear what they thought of the chocolate cake. If you would like the recipe, let me know. I promise that you won't be able to tell what it is made from.

The Mother and Daughter Tea

We are preparing to host our third annual Mother and Daughter Tea for the local homeschooling group. The tea will be on March 22nd, so we are getting our timeline together. There is more to planning a tea than one would think. We have planned our menu and selected the teas we'll serve, but I still have to make the grocery list and finish drawing up the timeline. I need to type up the menus for the tables, and Annie has to determine how she wants to decorate. We are quite excited about the tea. I won't post the menu on my blog, because it must remain a surprise to those who will attend. This year we will be attempting a few new things, so I can't wait to see how it goes.

He'll never forgive me...

... But I can't resist posting these photos of Spunkabitty.

He's so cute...

... and he is always laying around.

I love to take his picture, and he is usually on display when I have the camera. In this one, you can see his messed-up lower lip if you look closely.

A Good Report

I went to the oral surgeon for a checkup on Monday, and he told me that my surgery site is healing well. I can now go back to regular activity and eat whatever I want. Although I may experience pain for up to 3 weeks, I won't damage anything by physical exertion or eating crunchy foods. I was glad to hear that, because I was growing tired of fruit smoothies. I celebrated by going home and eating a large green salad for lunch. It was delicious!

I am looking forward to being active once more. I can't wait to ride my horse, take a long walk, work in the garden, and clean stalls again. :) It will probably be a few days until I can do some of those things, however, since we've had some heavy rain. The first activity will probably be stall cleaning, and my horsey friends have provided me with plenty of work in that department. They are always happy to oblige.

I am deeply thankful for my family's care while I was recovering. They took good care of the horses, the dog, and all my seedlings for the garden, as well. I love my family. I was also blessed during my recovery by a visit from some friends of ours. They brought me cards and pictures that the children had made. Annie took them to pet the horses and cheer up Peg, who was feeling lonely without me. I think he did feel better after seeing them, and I know that I did. It was really nice to see our friends.