Family Fun

 Get ready for the three week blitz! 

Teacher Daughter Lisa picked up Beach Son Kyle in Indianapolis yesterday and the festivities began! Kyle's wife, Ashley, sent him here for a mini vacation for Father's Day and while he will need to work remotely, we will still be gathering together for our annual 4th of July Bocce Tournament and picnic and doing other day trips and activities.

We will spread out between three homes (ours, Lisa's, and Curt and Vanessa's) plus a hotel. (This is the first time ever that we ran out of beds.)

Pepper, Nash, Molly, Gus, Blue, and Rhett will all be with us so they will have lots of puppy play time. (Nash is the only dog I know who loves having his paws massaged.)

Gus would rather play ball than do anything else and will have plenty of people who will throw for him. (Craig stashed 25 tennis balls in the laundry bin - he got tired of throwing them and Gus has yet to find them. Note that key word, "yet.")

Tim has said we can borrow Hokey and do some riding while everyone is here , and if I am feeling up to it, I may hop up, too!

Chances are very good that I may be late or even miss a blog post or two. If so, I will be back ASAP, so stay 'tooned!

  

Easter, 2023

 (Clearly, I am catching up on some blogging!)

Canadian Smoke: Day 2

There was heavy smoke in the air all day yesterday - you could even smell it. 

This is downtown Lafayette looking into the town center which you can barely see. There are no clouds so the sky should be blue. At least you can see the sun! (Photo by Dave Bankert.)

We sit out and enjoy our patio a lot during the summer and early fall,

but with skies greyed by smoke and drifting particulates, we aren't risking it right now. 

The air quality today is still very poor but it is improving.

Our air quality index has dropped a bit and while we are still in the bracket for Unhealthy, yesterday we were at the top of that bracket at Very Unhealthy and just under the line for Hazardous. 

Who'd have thought that wildfires in another country could affect us so badly? I have never experienced anything like this.

It's going to be another indoor day.

 

The 2023 BreyerFest Ambassador Tee Shirt

 I hadn't ordered anything from Breyer recently, so I wasn't expecting to see a package in my mailbox yesterday. What could it be? I had a pretty good idea and was hoping I was right.

My Breyer Ambassador tee shirt!

I was hoping for Breyer blue and yellow, but red stands out better and will make all the volunteers easier to find if they are needed.

Of course I had to try it on right away.

I like the logo and the fabric is super soft and comfy. 

Thank you, Breyer! I look forward to wearing it during BreyerFest!

An Unusual Swish

On Monday I wrote that I would share a distinctive trait of Abby's, one that makes it easy to find her when she is at the far end of the pasture. Long time readers may have already noticed it.

Abby doesn't just swish her tail side to side, she does a lot of up/down up/down flapping!

You can see it in this grainy picture taken from the news video done when she was rescued with 19 other horses in Beech Grove Indiana. 

The pattern is two side to side swishes and then three very quick and vigorous up/down! up/down! up/downs!

Appaloosas tend to have thinner manes and tails. Is that why she has such an unusual tail swishing pattern? Because she has less fly protection and has to work harder?

That's possible, but it does make it easier to find her in a crowd. 

It also makes me smile.

Canadian Smoke

I'll be spending the day inside today - a quick run to the mailbox will be it. Smoke and particulates from the Canadian fires has reached Indiana.

Yesterday afternoon it was so bad that it appeared as though fog had settled in, but it wasn't fog, it was smoke. After only a few minutes outside, my head was hurting and my chest felt tight and wheezy. 

The smoke has been around for a week or so, making for pretty and unusual sunsets like this one, but yesterday was like nothing I've ever experienced. There were warnings to stay inside, cautions to be prepared for sudden blind spots while driving, and to stay home if at all possible.

It was scary and I quickly went back inside where I could breathe more easily.

I feel for those who work outdoors and the animals who live outside and can't get away from this. This is awful.

Stu Bentley

Stu Bentley passed away Sunday morning at the age of 90. For "hobbyists of a certain age," Stu and his wife Arlene were pillars in the early years of the model horse hobby. 

Bentley Sales Company was the one of the first model horse sales companies and we early hobbyists used to pore over their current sales pages.

More than once I sent in my money and then waited excitedly for my new model to arrive. 

Stu and Arlene took very good care of their customers, and were beloved by many. I have kept this pencil they sent me on my desk for decades as a reminder of them.

I've been working on recording memories of our early hobbyists. Liz Cory was close to the Bentleys and she was going to go with me in 2020 while I interviewed him. The pandemic put that on hold and when people resumed gathering again, we tried but had not yet found a date to meet with him. 

Since I can't interview him, I'm gathering memories with the working title of, "Thanks, Stu." I'm looking for memories, words of thanks, experiences in meeting Stu, etc.  I will post this on the blog, but I also plan to send it to Liz and see if she wants it with the GLC history I wrote for the club a few years ago. Stu was a big supporter of GLC and very much a part pf the club. 

Even if it's just a few words, I'd love to hear from you. Email me at horsiemama8@gmail.com

Rest in peace, Stu.

Fleabane - Summer Delight/Bane of Fall

The weather here in Indiana has been sunny, hot, and dry. This is going to affect the hay supply for the coming winter, and Tim is already working on ensuring that we have enough for the herd when the snow begins to fly.

Despite the weather conditions, my favorite summer wildflower, fleabane, is in full bloom and gorgeous.

I love how it lines both sides of the fencerows - it never fails to make me smile.

A palomino parade! Can you tell who is mama and who is baby?

Those pretty little flowers, such a welcome sight now, will not be so welcome in autumn.

The flowers turn brown and become burrs that get tangled in the horses' manes and tails. (Well, not Abby's so much!)

While I am sad that someone (I think it is Hokey) chews Abby's mane off, I am glad I don't have to spend time detangling her mane.

Tomorrow - a distinctive trait of Abby's. Stay 'tooned!

 

A Big July Surprise

I had been feeling down because I am not up to the rigors of BreyerFest and had chosen to stay home. And then I got a text -  Surprise! Kyle is coming for an extended visit! Kyle and his family are not able to visit often and so now all his siblings (except Jessica) are coming too! Oh, my... it's going to be crazy.

Kyle and Curt "dancing"  in the dining room several Thanksgivings ago. The crystal and china survived; hope it does this visit, too! LOL

Kyle (white hat) helping with clean up after Hurricane Irma came through Florida.

Hope there are no alligators in those floodwaters, Kyle...

For three weeks I will have family popping in and out and that has lifted any FOMO I may have been feeling about missing BreyerFest. Much as I'd like to attend, family always comes first for me. There is no way I would ever miss a visit from any of my kids or their families.

It's not the first time I've had to choose between BreyerFest and family. In 2019 I attended BreyerFest for a Thursday/Friday then travelled down to Nashville on Saturday to spend a few days with Music City Son Cole and his family to celebrate his birthday.

As for Jessica, she and her family auditioned for the musical Matilda and they all received roles. (Grammy brag: Titan has a lead and plays Nigel.) 

They have been rehearsing since April and the musical has taken over their lives. 

Jessica is a veteran of many musicals and operas so she knew Matilda would be a huge time commitment, but she is still sad to miss seeing her brother. 

We are sad to not see her, too, but we are getting together later this summer in Utah and she is coming out for The Feast of the Hunters' Moon and Thanksgiving.

As for me, BreyerFest has a virtual component and I have participated in that every year it has been offered. It's a nice alternative - no heat and humidity, no lines or crowds, and air conditioned comfort!

This is going to be quite a July!