Villa de Micaela

2011-04-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

I spent this weekend with members of my spinning guild doing a dye study. We spent hours (days!) painting, steaming, and rinsing wool rovings. They turned out beautifully. The colors are awesome. Some, I didn't think I'd like too much (they weren't what I think of as my colors), but after rinsing and hanging, I don't think there's one I don't like. You can see most of them in the picture here. However, some are hiding behind others. I really enjoyed the study. Once the rovings are dry, I get to work on getting them spun up! Rueben helped rinse the rovings. He is so sweet and always so helpful. I don't know if I could have rinsed them all myself. It was a lot of hard work! Rueben said he thought they looked very "hippie" or much like what one would see at a Grateful Dead concert! I love them!

Birthday Gift from Levi and Seth

2010-06-27T20:57:00.001-07:00

Early last week, we received our gift for our 50th birthdays from Levi and Seth. It is an awesome farmhouse table that they made. They told us they wanted to make the table for us and asked us (when we were visiting over the Mother's Day weekend) what style table we wanted. We looked at all the styles to choose from in the shop where Levi works and selected the style we wanted. They used recycled wood (from some building) that actually came from Washington. I guess the wood came home. The table is beautiful and will be an heirloom for Micaela and her children (or for the new little one to come).

Levi and Seth also carved into the underside of the table. A lasting tribute to when the table was made and who made it.

And, now that John and the girls are here (Micaela and April), here is the first mess on the new table!

A New Arrival at Villa de Micaela

2010-04-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

On Sunday evening at about 6:30 PM, when I fed the horses, I had a hard time getting Ranger to come eat his grain. He kept wanting to go down the hill toward the fence between the horses and the sheep. I didn't want Beau to eat his grain and Ranger's, too, so I waited until Ranger finally came into the run-in shed before I dumped his grain on his hay.

Then, I went down the hill to feed the sheep and the llamas. Corina was making sounds more like grunting than baas. Once I got in and fed the sheep, I saw Corina was ready to lamb. I ran back up the hill and told Rueben to grab the camera, that Corina was lambing. He quickly got off the phone with his mom and came down the hill with the camera.

When Rueben got down the hill, I had him watch Corina (she'd gone into the sheep-shed by this time) while I fed the llamas. When I came back to the sheep shed, I found that he had placed a plywood board against the opening, keeping Corina inside and the other sheep outside. Then, we watched while Corina lay in the corner. It didn't look like anything was happening, but after a few minutes, Corina got up, and there was a little lamb in the corner, wrapped in a placenta. We had a new arrival to Villa de Micaela.

I got lots of video of Corina cleaning up the lamb. I finally pulled the last off of the lamb so it could try to stand up without being tangled up in the placenta. Finally, it was able to stand and I was able to tell it was a ram lamb. I got several pictures and video clips of him trying to stand.

Yesterday, we moved Corina and the lamb up the hill to the pen inside of the shop that we had ready for them. When I bent to pick up the little lamb, after I had Corina on the lead, he just stood still. He didn't even squirm when I picked him up. Rueben carried him up the hill while I led Corina. Before we placed the little lamb in the pen, Rueben weighed him on a baby scale we have for weighing feed. He was about 12 pounds. We'll weigh him again in a day or two. He's growing so fast.

Rueben picked him up again this morning. He's nothing like Joy was last year. He doesn't really run and hide behind his mama like Joy did. He just stands pretty still and looks up until Rueben picks him up. This evening, he was a little more skittish when I bent to pet him, but he never really tried to get away.

We called Micaela last night to tell her about the new lamb and to ask her opinion on what we should name him. First, she asked what color he is. I told her he is white. She said we should call him Whitey. I asked her to think more of a people name. She suggested Eli, Jayden, and Whitherspoon; all names of people she knows. Then she started talking about one of her teachers named Ms. Lambert. I told Rueben and we thought and thought about the name. Rueben said Lambert was one of his favorite cartoons when he was little. I remembered it, too and also really loved it. You can find the cartoon (about 8 minutes) on Youtube if you search on Lambert the Sheepish Lion. We decided to name him Lambert.

Michelle's Jacket, April's Placemats, Experiments

2010-03-21T19:36:00.000-07:00

In the last month, I've completed two projects, started another, and have been experimenting with a fourth.

First, I completed Michelle's jacket for her birthday. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it after I put the clasp on it. Anyway, I really enjoyed creating the jacket. I think I may also have inadvertantly created a monster along the way. Once Michelle received the jacket, she made one for herself without any pattern or instructions and has now borrowed my cd on creating other jackets out of sweatshirts.

I also finished April Vargas' mini placemats for her tea set for her birthday at the end of March. I personalized the placemats with her name, as well. The picture shows the front on the top and the back below. For my first design, my first project using the paper-piecing method, and my first attempt at actual quilting, I think they came out pretty good, if I do say so myself. I really enjoyed making these and I just started making a set for Micaela's birthday, too. Hers will be with the same fabrics (in a different order), except for the back with a lavendar binding. I will post pictures of Micaela's placemats once I complete them.

I've also been experimenting. I got Mom's felting machine from Michelle and I've been playing around with it. At first, it worked really well and I was getting addicted. It was really fun. Scraps of felt and wool couldn't satisfy me for long. Then, I started breaking needles. It got a bit frustrating when the needles started bending and breaking. Then, I discovered that forgetting to lower the cloth foot (presser foot) was the problem. Once I discovered the problem and remembered to lower the cloth foot, I stopped breaking the needles. Next, I cut out a pattern of a sheep from brown felt and appliqued it to some olive green felt. Then, I started experimenting with felting wool from Bella that had been washed, but not carded, to the applique. I was using wool locks. I started breaking needles again. After lots of frustration and seven broken needles in one sitting (a pricey endevor since needles are about $4 each), I realized that the needles were probably too long. They hang lower than the cloth foot when it is in the down position. As I was moving the fabric and wool around, the wool would catch on the needles and bend them. Then, as the needles lowered, they broke.

Anyway, the Bella that I tried to make looks okay when looking at the picture. Actually, better than I thought the night I was working on her. She still needs some defining embroidery such as the eyes, nose, and mouth. I'll need to felt some 3-D ears as well. Maybe next, I will try a baby Corina with Bella. I'll have to try some more, using Mom's suggestions. She suggested I use some wash away stabilizer over the wool as I am felting it. That way, the wool shouldn't catch on the needles and break them. Then, I can wet the stabilizer and dissolve it. I'll try again and see if I can get the machine to work without breaking so many needles.

Mary's Jacket

2010-01-23T20:19:00.000-08:00

Well, I finished Mary's jacket. I made it for her birthday (at the end of March) but I can safely post a picture here since she doesn't have access to the internet. I found the instructions in one of the books Mom lent to me. I started with a red sweatshirt and took the collar, cuffs, and hem ribbing off. I cut it up the center front, then used a plate to copy the curve for the upper and lower portions of the front of the jacket. I then sewed bias tape around all the edges. Mom also found the fusible bias tape for me to sew onto the front and back of the sweatshirt.

Last night, on the way home from work, I stopped at JoAnn's and picked up the fabric for the placemats I'm going to make for April and Micaela for their birthdays. They will be able to use them with their tea sets. The picture shows the fabrics. Nice, pretty, bright colors. I created the pattern I'll use from one of the books that Mom lent me on paper piecing. Moms sure are great! Once I get them sewed together, I will post more pictures.

Sweatshirt Jacket

2010-01-11T18:59:00.001-08:00

This post is for Mom and Michelle who asked me for pictures when I finished the jacket I was making from a sweatshirt. Well, it is complete now except for the clasps to close the front. I'm waiting for them to come in the mail. It took a little while (I began it on the Tuesday after Christmas while I was on leave from work and finished it yesterday). I had a few challenges, too. During the construction of the patches, and while putting the panels on the sweatshirt, I found I had used too small of a seam on some of the strips. Especially on those strips with a loose weave. Some of the seams I had to re-do while putting it together and one, I had to hand-sew when I found it after the panels were already on the jacket. I will have to be very careful when I wash it and be sure to put it in the washer on the gentle cycle.

Spin in Public Day

2009-09-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was World Wide Spin in Public Day. Rueben took me to Allyn (a very small town South West of Port Orchard) where they were having a Spin in Public Day in the Gazebo at the waterfront park. The weather was kind of cool, especially when the wind blew, so I wore the shawl Michelle made for me from her sheep (handspun yarn and hand woven) over my t-shirt, kept closed with the shawl pin I bought in Colorado Springs.

I thought it would be cool to take my Great Wheel to spin on. I made that decision for a few reasons. That was the wheel I'd been working on lately to spin the yarn I received in a yarn swap and I want to use that yarn to make a hat for Rueben. Also, I thought there probably wouldn't be another Great Wheel there. I was right, there was not another Great Wheel. Also, it didn't seem like anyone there had even seen a Great Wheel in person. I was told more than once that it was good to see the Great Wheel and even more so, that it was good to see that someone was actually spinning on one.

This is me and my friend Renate with the Great Wheel.

At one point, someone asked me if it was true what they'd heard; that the wheel was in my family for a hundred years and that I had just learned to spin on it. I told them, no, actually, this was my greatest ebay find.

It wasn't until this morning that I realized that it was my friend Renate they were talking about. She was using the wheel she got from her husband's uncle. It was last used by her husband's grandmother or great-grandmother and was in her family for at least 100 years. At one point, she blamed me for her new hobby obsession. I told her, all I did was tell her it could work.

This is Renate and her 100 year old wheel (to the right of center).

I was also interviewed by a reporter from North Mason Life. I haven't seen any article or picture, yet, but maybe tomorrow!

Micaela visits Villa de Micaela

2009-06-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

Micaela got here on Tuesday for her summer visit at Villa de Micaela. Villa de Micaela means Micaela's country house.

Since she got here, Micaela has been helping feed the animals. After her second day, she can already feed the llamas and the dogs all by herself. She's a natural. And when the llamas tried to mug her for the food, she seemed to know exactly how to keep them out of it until she was ready to put it down. That is...except when I wanted to get a picture of her feeding them. Then she did that perfectly, too.

Last night while she waited outside the sheep pen for me, she picked daisies. Then she posed for lots of pictures with her bouquet.

Today, she went on several errands with Grandpa. One took them to a hardware store where they saw a pink mini-bike. When I got home, I wasn't sure if she or Grandpa was more excited to have seen a pink mini-bike. The guy at the hardware store loved her t-shirt - a black shirt with a pink skull and cross bones and a pink princess crown.

They also went to Horseshoe lake park. It wasn't quite warm enough to swim (Grandpa didn't want her in the water without me there, anyway). They had a wonderful time. Micaela got to show Grandpa what a monkey bar champ she is. When they got home, it was time to mow the lawn. Grandpa moved the seat all the way back and had to use his tippy toes to run the lawn mower just so Micaela could stand up in front of him and help him mow.

Joy comes to Villa de Micaela

2009-04-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday evening, I went down the hill to feed the sheep. Bella didn't come to eat. She stayed in the small sheep shed, just lying there. She was quiet and not moving anything more than her head. She tried to stand, but couldn't seem to get her legs under her. She just didn't seem strong enough.

I brought her some hay and she began eating, so I knew she wasn't too bad off. Later on, Rueben helped me get her on the sled and drag her up the hill to the shop where we made her a bed in the kennel. We thought she might be in labor, but she was so quiet. She looked great except that she couldn't get up by herself and couldn't stand.

On Friday, Rueben called the vet since Bella still had not gotten up. She was eating and drinking and was also peeing and pooping just fine, but she couldn't get up. The vet came and told Rueben that Bella was definitely not in labor, but she couldn't tell us if Bella was pregnant or not. She took blood and a fecal sample and told Rueben she would get back to him on Saturday.

Rueben had to run some errands and when he got back, he heard a ruckus down the hill with the other sheep. Corina was making all kinds of noise like she was really hurt. Rueben rushed down the hill and realized at once that Corina was in labor. He got the camera and took lots of pictures and videos. At one point, Corina was lying on the ground, not moving, not making a sound. Rueben went a little closer and saw that the lamb was half born. It was breach. The back legs were out, but the shoulders, head, and front legs were still inside. He had to help. He pulled the lamb out and cleared its face of the placenta and it took a breath! Then, he backed off and began filming again.

After I got home from work (yes, I missed it ALL!), we brought Corina and the lamb up the hill also to the kennel in the shop. It got down to freezing (or lower) Friday night and we didn't want the new baby to freeze. Though Corina is a new mother, she has turned out to be a great mother. She seems to know all the right things to do. It's amazing how God made mothers know just what to do!

We tossed around several names for the new lamb including Sunshine, Spring, and Blossom. We decided on Joy since she has brought Joy to Villa de Micaella!

On Saturday, the vet called about Bella. She is very weak, has a low white blood count and bands in the white blood cells. She has some kind of infection going on so the vet gave us some antibiotics to give her for seven days. Hopefully, this will make her well.

Sampson

2009-03-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Rueben went down the hill to feed the sheep. When he got there, he saw that Sam was inside the feed trough. Apparantly, he had been there all night. I guess he had been trying to nibble up the very last morsel of food in the trough when stretching his neck was just not enough. He must've put one front foot inside, then the other. As he was reaching for the very last morsels, he must've walked inside and then, just didn't know how to get out. I didn't see it first hand, but it must've been so funny. Rueben ran back up to the house to get the camera. The sheep had to wait to eat. Then, Rueben had to turn the trough on its side so Sam could get his feet between the slats. Once Rueben put it all the way down, Sam could walk out. He hasn't gotten stuck in there since. Maybe he learned his lesson?

It's almost Spring, but snow AGAIN!

2009-03-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

Next Friday it will be Spring! But I was so surprised this morning when I woke up and there was about 3 or 4 inches of snow on the ground! It continued to snow for another 3 or 4 hours. It was so beautiful. Even the animals look good in the snow. By late this afternoon, most of the snow in the drive and in front of the shop was gone. Everywhere else is still white, though.

Sewing Expo

2009-03-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

On Thursday and Friday, Mom and I went to the Sewing Expo in Puyallup. Michelle was able to join us on Friday. We had a great time. We all saw lots of things we would love to have and got a lot of new ideas looking at all the great exhibits.

I got a book on felting. It gives a lot of instruction on different methods. I never realized how many methods there are. I will experiment since I have many fleeces that I can work with. Now, I need to learn how to dye the fleeces so I can have colors to work with. Another thing I bought was a CD of machine embroidery patterns. Mom helped me with a sample I sewed out on a piece of scrap fabric. It turned out so well, I think I'll make it into a pillow cover. Mom went home yesterday morning and last night, I decided to practice with the embroidery patterns some more. So, I sewed out a few of the patterns on the corner of my table cloth. It turned out very nice. I think I'm going to like this. Next, I want to use the pattern in a manner similar to the table cloth on the front of a skirt that wraps around the front. I will put the corner piece on the botom of the skirt and embroider up the edge and across the bottom. I'm not sure yet if I will embroider all the way around or only as much as I did on the table cloth. We'll see how I like it.

Scary Moment

2009-02-22T19:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning, I had a scary moment. Actually, it lasted longer than a moment. I went out to feed the animals. I saw Cousin waiting for his morning hay and hoping for some grain. I didn't see Guy. He must've been under the overhang and staying out of sight. I prepared the hay for all the animals and passed by the overhang. My heart just about stopped when I saw Guy's rope on the ground next to the open clasp that is supposed to hold the rope to his collar.

I knew I needed to feed the other animals and I could just see having to search 5 1/2 acres and maybe the whole neighborhood. I woke Rueben and he got up and dressed while I fed the other animals. After I fed the other animals, I happened to look to the side yard while coming back to the shop to put the wheelbarrow away. I saw someting big and brown in the side yard. I looked closely, and sure enough, it was Guy, grazing away in peace with no idea that anyone missed him. He had been tied in the side yard the day before and must've remembered that the grass was greener than the grass by the shop where he had already grazed almost down to the dirt.

I told Rueben, who was on the phone trying already to reach the Humane Society. He hung up the phone and gave me one of the horses' lead rope and I got a bucket of grain. I walked over to Guy and shook the bucket. He lost all thought of yummy, green, fresh grass and immediately came close enough for me to grab him and put the lead rope on his collar.

I was so thankful and so relieved that he had only gone as far as the side yard. I think the llamas are used to us now and actually like living here. Apparently, Guy never even thought of leaving. He was just interested in greener grass.

Drying fabric

2009-02-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

During the Super Bowl, I decided that I would wash some fabric I had purchased that needed washing. I washed and dried the fabric. I pulled out one piece of fabric and took it to the kitchen to fold. It took awhile, it was a slippery fabric and I have about four yards. Finally, I got it folded and went back for another piece of fabric (I had four pieces in the dryer). This, too was about three or four yards and took a few minutes to fold (especially since the game was exciting and the commercials were good, too). When I went back to the dryer, I was shocked. There was Simon looking up at me. I had left the dryer door open and Simon was inside, wrapped up in the nice, warm, fabric with dogs and kitties all over it. He was so comfy, he stayed there, through my yelling at him and, even more surprising, while Rueben got the camera for me and I took half a dozen pictures or so. Here is the best picture.

Mom's Felted Hat

2009-01-02T22:02:00.000-08:00

After Thanksgiving, I took Mom to the yarn store to pick out the yarn she wanted me to make her a hat out of. I knitted and felted it for Christmas. She said she forgot I was going to make it, so she was surprised. It fit her perfectly and looks so good on her. I forgot to take a picture of the slippers I knitted and felted for her. I took a few pictures of her in her hat before she left for Michelle's house. Here is the best one.

Baking Christmas Cookies

2009-01-02T20:45:00.000-08:00

While we had Micaela and April here these past two weeks, we decided to bake cookies with them. So, on January 1st, the girls and I baked sugar cookies and they decorated them. The girls learned how to measure (flour, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, etc.) and pour into the mixer. They also learned how to raise and lower the mixer bowl and turn on the mixer and turn it off, too. They only sprayed us all with flour once or twice! :o)

April's plate of cookies turned out so beautiful! So did Micaela's!

On January 2nd, Papa Rueben baked cookies with Micaela.

Christmas Eve Snow Fun

2008-12-29T15:26:00.000-08:00

Well, we had a lot of snow fall in a week and a half. We got about 15"-18". That's a lot for the lowlands of Western Washington (we're less than 500' above sea level). It was so beautiful, though, and we all had fun in it. Rueben's brother Alex and his girlfriend Nikki were here for Christmas and along with Rueben, April, Micaela, and Seth, built a gigantic snowman. Here is a picture of April and Micaela with the big man himself!

And here is Micaela, Alex, Nikki, and April, relaxing on the couch and mugging for the camera. Alex and Nikki took the girls out to see the horses and got a great shot of April and Beau.

Micaela's Adventure

2008-12-21T21:19:00.000-08:00

Now that Micaela is here, and we have lots and lots of snow, we had to take her out to play in it. We started her out on the toboggan on the "bunny" slope; not so steep, a nice gradual descent, where she wouldn't go too fast. She loved it!

This afternoon, her Daddy took her out to the driveway, a much higher hill. As Micaela put it, she wanted to go down a hill that "goes all the way up to the sky." From the bottom of the hill, the driveway does go all the way up to the sky. Watching her on this slope was amazing. She went so fast, she looked like an Olympian doing the luge event. It was great and we even got it on video. Unfortunately, with only dial up Internet access, I can't upload the video. :o(

I did get some beautiful pictures of the driveway, though. That's Seth and Micaela also in the frame. They're straightening out the "luge" run with the shovel so they stay on track and don't go into the bushes or the culvert.

Snow

2008-12-21T00:14:00.000-08:00

It's been snowing now on and off for several days. I didn't go into the office at all this week. I teleworked four days (took leave for appointments one day). Thursday, it snowed so hard. It was so beautiful!

Today, Rueben and I went to the airport to pick up our grandaughter, Micaela. We left home about 3: 30 PM and got home about 10:15 PM. The storm was at high force this evening. Of that 6.75 hours, we were at the airport only about 1.5 hours. And we live less than one hour from the airport. On the way there, I don't think we drove more than 40 or 45 mph and on the way home, I don't think we went more than 30 or 35 mph. It was very slow going, but we finally got Micaela home! No pictures from today, I forgot to bring my camera! :o( But, I'll try to remember to get some great pictures tomorrow when we are all tobogganing down the driveway in all the fresh powder! :o)

Storm in Port Orchard

2008-12-14T12:15:00.000-08:00

We were expecting a great storm in Port Orchard this weekend. When I got home from work on Friday, the power was already out. Rueben was prepared, though. He already had bottled water ready and two battery powered lanterns lit. For dinner, he cooked chilie on the camp stove. We invited our neighbors over for dinner since they had lost power too. We sat and talked for awhile while the chilie was simmering. When it was done, we all enjoyed the chilie with crackers and butter. We had shredded cheese, diced onion and diced pickles to go with it, too. It was delicious. At about 9:30 PM, the lights came back on.

We didn't get the low temperatures or snow on Friday night that the weather forecasters had predicted. However, on Saturday, it tried to snow all day long. Finally, after dark, we got some snow. It snowed on and off all night, but it wasn't much. The flakes were so small, they were like sugar crystals, not like the big lofty flakes we got last year. So, we only got enough snow to dust the grass and trees and make the yard look pretty. Today, it has tried to snow a few times, but mostly, it looks like the snow is melting off the trees.

This morning, I saw the snow on top of the sheep trough. It was about an inch thick, and smooth. It was the only place the snow was undisturbed, pure white, and beautiful. I almost didn't want to open the trough to feed the sheep. I didn't want the snow to change. I was very careful and was able to feed the sheep without disturbing the snow. I left it just as pretty as it was when I got there.

ALONG CAME THE LLAMAS

2008-11-30T18:58:00.000-08:00

Early this summer, our neighbor told us about a man down the street who was trying to find a home for the two llamas he had. He had been given them two years earlier when their owners moved and the people they were going to sell or give them to didn't show up to pick them up. The llamas are very skittish, but are oh so sweet! Their wool is so soft, too.

We named them Guy and Cousin. Initially, Guy was tied up in the back yard and Cousin in the side yard. They got their names because I would go out to feed them and would go to Guy first and say something like, "Hi, Guy. How are you, today? You're such a pretty guy! You're so sweet!" Then, because the man who gave them to us told us they are cousins, I called the other Cousin. Once we got their papers and knew their real names, we kept them as Guy and Cousin as these names were better than the real names.

Guy

Cousin

THE START OF OUR FLOCK

2008-11-28T21:58:00.000-08:00

My sister Michelle has been spinning for years. She tried several times (unsuccessfully) to teach me to spin. However, one day, she took me to a "fiber fun day" and I decided to try one more time to learn to spin. Something was just right that day because it just came to me and I've been spinning since.

At the time, Michelle had sheep of her own and one of them was Bella, a Lincoln. I absolutely loved Bella's wool; it was a beautiful brown with silver in it and was so easy to spin. She was such a friendly sheep, too.

One day, Michelle told me she was going to get rid of all her sheep and she asked me if I wanted them. I was not prepared to own sheep, but I didn't want to give up Bella's wool if I could help it. So, I asked my husband, and he agreed. Soon after, we brought Bella and her lamb Corrina (a white Lincoln, Cheviot cross) home. Their pictures here are after we had them sheared last year, Summer 2007.

Late last summer, 2007, we got Jed, our Cheviot ram. We were hoping for "sheeplets" this spring. Bella and Corrina got bigger and bigger. But, it turned out Jed didn't do his job. Neither Bella nor Corrina got pregnant. They were only fat. The picture is of Jed at his old home the day before we brought him home.

Since Jed didn't do his job, we were going to have him butchered after we had all the sheep sheared this summer. However, we found that Jed had the best wool out of all the sheep (light, fluffy, and so soft) so he got a reprieve. He is like a puppy, too. He just follows us around when we're in the paddock.

Then, late this spring, someone gave us Sam, short for Sampson. I don't remember what kind of sheep he is, but he's a good looking ram. His wool is rather coarse, but he should make good meat lambs. We're hoping again for "sheeplets" in the spring.

THEN THERE WAS RANGER

2008-11-16T19:17:00.000-08:00

Once we got Beau, we knew he needed a buddy since horses are herd animals. Besides, Rueben needed a horse to ride, too. We looked in the newspapers and online. Finally, at a farm not too far from home, we found Ranger.

Ranger is a beautiful brown and white Pinto. He's been a great friend to Beau and has taught him many things; some good and some not so good. Ranger taught Beau to use the run-in shed when it rains. Beau used to stay out in the rain. Now he stays fairly dry. Beau used to be "house-broken" before Ranger. The run-in shed was always clean. Now, during the rainy season, the run-in shed is never clean. I have to clean it twice a day just to feed them! Yuck!

Oh well. They are great horses and have given us many hours of enjoyment.

IT ALL BEGINS

2008-11-14T19:05:00.000-08:00

Hi. I'm Tracey and this is my first attempt at blogging. I've created this blog to chronicle my lifelong dream of living on a "farm." As a little girl, I remember going visiting with my father to a home in the foothills in Northern California. This home included a lot of land, brown with the summer sun; an inground pool (fenced) that did not hold a lot of intrigue for me as we also had an inground pool; and a horse - that was exciting! The little girl who lived there was not much older than me. She put me on the back of the horse and led me around the property. I was in love. From that time on, I can rememeber wanting to live in the country.

While growing up I enjoyed camping. Once married, I enjoyed camping with my husband and sons. So, when my husband and I moved to Washington State to our little "farm" I was in heaven!

We moved here six years ago and I've been loving it ever since. When we first moved in, we kept saying we weren't going to have any animals...besides dogs and cats (that's Madison, the chocolate lab you can hardly see in the photo above). That lasted until 2004 when, for our 25th wedding anniversary, my husband, Rueben, bought me my first horse, the horse of my dreams. His name is Beau and he was foaled on my 40th birthday. He was just the beginning...