It is not enough that yearly, down this hill, April
Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.
~ Edna St. Vincent Millay

Did someone say 'Spring'? Well the flies certainly know it's spring. Note the flytrap hanging in the tree to the right. I have them hanging everywhere and our first batch of fly predators arrived and were put out over a week ago. A friend christened the flies here in New Mexico 'resurrection flies' because they never seem to die.

When we moved here what served as an orchard was a scraggly group of young trees that could barely produce leaves, much less blossoms and fruit. They had been untended for years and it is amazing they had survived several years of drought. We immediately put food spikes around them and hoped for the best. The last few years have given us abundant moisture here on the mountain through good snowfalls and generous monsoon rains. The runoff from both snow melt and rain travels down the mountain and through smaller mountains of horse manure, left by the horses in what is called 'stallion piles', and finally through the orchard. This year we are really seeing the effect of that nutrient rich water feeding the roots of what were once sad little trees. The bright leaves and flowers are more abundant than we have ever seen them and if it doesn't hail before the blossoms set, and if it doesn't hail on young fruit knocking them off, we might actually get to eat a bit of their glory this year.

Apple blossoms with a fat bumble bee...


Pear blossoms...


Plum blossoms...


Cherry blossoms...


And the deck garden is coming along magnificently. Herbs are bursting with growth now that they are out in real sun with fresh dirt and food. The roses don't look like anything yet, but they are covered with new leaf buds. Sadly, the lavender didn't survive the winter but now I know I have to overwinter them indoors here. On Thursday when I go into Santa Fe I will replace them with new plants and put them in smaller tubs for easier handling. This year I am also going to put out pots of Moon Flowers and Morning Glories to grow along the railing and up into the close pine trees. What a little haven we have for peaceful mornings watching the sun come up and drinking coffee, and quiet evenings under the stars.

Forest Stewardship

The photo above is a good example of the result of clear cuts done sometime in the last century. This is an over crowded forest where individual trees do not get enough light or water to thrive, and other ground species have been crowded out. The uniform size and age of the trees are typical of clear cut regrowths that didn't receive any kind of management.


In this kind of forest, the dead and dying trees cannot even fall to the ground. We have roughly three acres just like this.


This is what is known as a 'dog hair thicket' composed of recent growth trees that bolted up following a clear cut. You can barely move between the sickly and stunted trees. The only thing this thicket is good for is mushrooms and a really hot fire. We have probably two acres of this.


The New Mexico forestry department recommends a minimum of fifteen feet between the crowns of trees, not trunks, in high fire risk areas. Also, removal of ladder limbs up to ten feet above ground and removal of underbrush. As you move away from high risk areas, the trees can be thinned to ten feet between crowns and in remote areas, the rule of thumb is you should be able to drive a truck easily between trunks. A forest managed this way can thrive with healthy trees evenly mixed with old and new growth. The small stand to the left in this photo will be thinned this summer to help support the large older ponderosa pines in the background and fir trees in the front.


The practice of clear cutting results in single species forests, like the ponderosa pines that surround us. One of our goals is to restore diversity to our small piece of forest land by clearing around all fir and spruce trees to give them room to grow and thrive. There is also a species of scrub oak here that we will work to preserve.


The upper portion of our land is mostly granite outcroppings which has resulted in a more natural forest. It was probably too difficult to cut timber up here and as a result we have old growth trees with a healthy mix of other species. I didn't feel quite up to hiking to the top to take photos; but there are old growth trees at the top that show evidence of a forest fire sometime in the last century. The only sign is charcoal on the trunks of trees that survived because they were strong and spaced well enough that a really hot fire couldn't develop and instead passed through quickly, removing only underbrush and small trees that couldn't survive the fire.

When we moved here, it was during an extended drought period and hundreds of thousands of acres of trees across the southwest had died from bark beetle attacks. When I began to research the beetles to understand how we could protect our own forest, scientist Mike asked me what their natural control is, because nature does plan that way if humans don't interfere too much. The answer is a healthy tree and a healthy forest. This tree died from a bark beetle attack last year. The first sign is yellowed needles that quickly turn rust brown and then fall. Between here and Santa Fe, there are miles and miles of over crowded pinon pines killed by bark beetles.

When bark beetles hatch early in the spring, like a chick with a yolk sack, they have a limited amount of energy to draw on. Bark beetles are attracted to pheromones put off by sick or distressed trees. If the beetle has to fly many miles to find a suitable host, it may not have enough strength left to penetrate the trees defenses. This tree was attacked last summer and you can see where it attempted to push out the beetles with a thick opaque sap. If it had been successful, the sap plugs would be as much as three inches long and if you opened them, you might find the drowned body of a beetle. This trees roots were damaged when we leveled the ground for the yurt and you can tell it was not successful by the entry and exit holes in the sap. By next year the grubs laid inside its bark will have eaten paths around the trunk and this tree will be dead.

Gardeners understand that plants must be well spaced and well watered to thrive and the same is true for a forest and its inhabitants. Health and diversity in a forest means health and diversity for every plant and animal that should be there. Since we humans have disrupted the natural balance of forests through old practices of clear cutting and controlling the natural cycle of burning, we must take responsibility by restoring the balance ourselves.

In Celebration of Vannie


Vannie came to live with us in April of 2004, only a few days after her ninth birthday. We had just lost our greyhound Birdy, a week earlier. Birdy had been only eight and his sudden death, most likely a heart condition, took us completely by surprise. Mikey was ten then and very much in need of a companion since Birdy had been his best friend in the world. We put out a call to the greyhound adoption network, asking for a senior girl to come live with us and be Mikey's pal. In only hours we learned of Vannie up at Almost Home for Hounds who had just been relinquished by her family. Again the greyhound network jumped into action and a ride was provided to bring Vannie from Colorado to our home. For Mikey and for us, it was love at first sight.


For a dog who had lived with the same family for seven years, Vannie never looked back and embraced life with us. She and Mikey finished up the spring with the four of us living in the tiny old 1950s trailer that has since become our workshop. It was cozy to say the least. And in May we all moved into the yurt together. Vannie seemed to love the yurt and would lie in the doorway on sunny mornings, watching for chipmunks or anything else that she might need to chase off with the characteristic 'huffing' sound she makes instead of a bark.

Just a few weeks after she arrived, Mike and I went to different events that happened to fall on the same weekend...the first and last time we ever did that. Since I was sharing a booth with someone allergic to dogs, Vannie and Mikey went with Mike to a greyhound event in Utah. It was quite an experience for Mike to manage the booth and the dogs by himself, especially one very social girl new to travel and the world of greyhound gatherings. There were many photos that circulated the internet that spring of Vannie peeking out from under the display tables to make sure she didn't miss a single thing. I didn't have nearly as much fun at my event...

Vannie loves Mike. There isn't any other way to say it but that the other woman in his life is a dog. When he is gone, Vannie looks for him. When he is home, Vannie is sure to be close by. I know it was hard for Mike to go back to work with Vannie in the hospital and I kept telling her she had to hang on because he needs her.


Vannie might be twelve, but she has never lost her joy in life. She will toss toys in the air, squeeking them madly only to begin spinning and chasing her tail. She insists on running with the kids. It's hard to see how much weight she has lost in the last four days yet she still headed out the door this morning in a determined trot to 'huff' at magpies that dared to settle in her trees.


Greyhounds are the longest lived large breed dog with many living well into their teens. We adopted a twelve year old who had been abandoned by his family and he joyfully stayed with us until we let him go at fourteen due to bone cancer. Vannie isn't done yet and we will provide her with whatever she needs for as long as she wants to be here. Clearly she had more squirrels to chase and cookies to eat.

Mike will be working on a series of wells this summer where he will be living onsite in an RV trailer. We are hoping that once Vannie is fully recovered, she can go spend the summer keeping him company in the RV and riding into town with him in his truck. They both need that time having each other all to themselves.


And so Vannie is safely home again with her very own bedroom tucked under the stairs. I made her a new bed out of a memory foam topper to softly support her old body. And at night, the youngsters won't be able to bother her there. For as many more days as you give us Vannie, you will be well loved.

Vannie is home!!! The old girl bounced back like gang busters...complete update tomorrow!

Proof of life.


Even though we are still a month away from the last official freeze date, I have been getting the deck garden going...I can't help it, I crave stepping out on the deck in the mornings and seeing my herbs and roses growing and thriving and so I push the envelope a bit. In fact, it was 31.7 degrees when I got up this morning but I had been careful to cover the tender plants when the sun went down last night.


Mike bought some really nice anti-gravity deck chairs for us for my birthday and I'm looking for a small table we can put out here to hold our coffee cups. He has been busy felling trees as part of our fire safety plan and now we can see down to where the horses have their morning romps. We are both looking forward to sitting on the deck, drinking coffee, enjoying the plants and watching horses at play.


I have felt a bit guilty about cutting so many trees with all the 'plant a tree' admonishments in relation to global warming. The truth is though, a large forest fire would be far worse for the atmosphere than thinning our trees to make them healthy would be. We have a neighbor whose land is on three sides of us who does absolutely nothing for forest management. If we do have a fire here, it will approach us viciously through his land and so we are creating a well thinned barrier between us. Our five horses keep the underbrush fully cleared which will prevent a fire from traveling along the ground. With this band of health and our own forest thinned to a level it can thrive and be resistant to opportunistic pests like bark beetles, a fire just might go around us.


Completely off topic, I have been losing weight since the snows started last winter. I am not a dieter and the only change in what I eat has been the need to reduce my cholesterol just a bit. What has done it is doing all of Mike's chores as well as my own, especially in the snow. A week ago I went in for a bone density test (past fifty maintenance!) and the man giving the test was shocked I didn't know how much I weighed. I asked him, 'What's the point? If my clothes are tight I've gained weight; if they're loose, I've lost weight.' Well, my clothes are pretty darned loose. I've resisted the idea of getting new, smaller jeans because I don't know when my metabolism will level out again, and, I just bought myself some nice new things for Christmas. But when I pulled my jeans on this morning I realized I had about four inches of extra waistband going on...I think it's time to order new jeans or the horses will be seeing more of me than I planned.


I have some orders to get to the post office this morning and then I will be taking Vannie her favorite RAW breakfast of fresh ground turkey with some canned salmon and pureed veggies in hopes of enticing her to eat a bit of food from my hands and in her own bowl. I'll post an update on how she's doing when I get home.

Prayers for Vannie...

Wednesday update for Vannie's many friends around the country who have sent her notes of well wishes: Vannie is continuing to improve and I was even able to take her for a walk around the clinic today, carrying her IV bag. When several basset hounds in outdoor runs barked at her, in true Vannie form she tugged at the leash, torn up leg, bad back, IV bag and all, to go give those bad dogs a piece of her mind. The only things keeping her from coming home now are a bladder/kidney infection they are working to clear up and getting her back on solid food. This old girl is not ready to give up and we won't give up on her.

Tuesday update: Vannie is much better today. She has been able to stand and walk and her blood chemistry is beginning to level out. If she continues to improve like this, she should be able to come home in the next couple of days once she is off IVs and able to eat solid food again. Thanks so much to everyone who has sent notes of support...hopefully soon I'll be letting you know she is home for a real celebration.

I had been working on a post celebrating both Vannie's twelfth birthday and her three year anniversary with us this month; instead I am asking for prayers and good thoughts for her recovery.

From what we can figure, late Saturday night Vannie attempted to get in a dog bed Ellie was already sleeping in. Ellie apparantly woke up in a typical dog startle reaction and Vannie was bit pretty badly under her left forearm. It was complicated by the fact she was still recovering from a back injury she received when Duffy came racing around a corner and ran right into her, sending her flying. At twelve she still insists on running with the kids.

We took her into emergency Sunday morning and because of her age and the complications of two injuries, her vet wanted to keep her there to monitor her closely and keep her on twice a day antibiotics, pain meds and steroids for her back injury. When she was not doing any better Monday morning, blood work showed liver complications and her vet feels things don't look good at all.

I spent most of yesterday afternoon sitting with her and massaging her from end to end, making sure she knew she hasn't been abandoned. By the time I left she looked much brighter and more interested in her surroundings which gave me hope. Her three years with us have been full of love and adventure and our grand old girl deserves a few more. I don't feel she is ready to quit yet so prayers for her recovery are welcome and appreciated.

The maximum 'Awwwwwwww!' factor.

A little over a week ago, a friend's mare had her first baby and a group of us went to meet him this morning. First babies often aren't easy, especially with an older mare, and this little boy almost didn't make it into the world.

He tried to be born with his front legs folded back instead of pointing forward around his nose. If his human guardian hadn't been spending the night in the barn with them, we probably wouldn't have been there today helping her celebrate her first new Hanoverian baby. Quick action on her part and a hard struggle for the vet and her husband managed to get the foal sorted out and successfully born.

So say hello to Prairie, all of nine days old today with so much of life ahead to experience.

Now doesn't he just make your day and give you a big smile after the shock and sadness of the last week?

Trust

Watching distant freedoms lost

You lower your head

To look at me with quiet eyes.

We sigh in pleasure over choices made

And I am humbled by your trust.

Spirit Horse ~ Trust

Griton was the inspiration for our Spirit Horse design called ‘Trust’. My big, sweet, goofy and sometimes obnoxious horse has touched me as deeply as any horse ever has. I’ve told his story before, but I don’t think I have ever talked about how Griton has affected me personally.

When I read the classified ad describing Griton, then named Travis, I knew we would buy him. I usually have those feelings about horses, which ones are meant to live with us and which aren’t. In my adult life I have never sold a single horse other than horses purchased to be school horses. When it was time for those hard working horses to move on, finding the right home for them was more important than their price. Of my own horses, if age, health or circumstances meant I could no longer provide for them, I found homes for them where they were able to live out their lives in safety and with love. My good horse J.R. is a wonderful example of that, close to thirty now and still loved and cared for by his California family.

I prided myself on seeing the ‘truth’ of a horse and not their outward appearance and always said the fact of my horses’ beauty was accidental. So when I looked into Griton’s eyes for the first time, I knew he was meant to be with us and at the same time I was ashamed of my embarrassment over his gawky homeliness. This is very hard for me to admit; but I actually wondered how I could ride such an unattractive horse. And then he would look at me with those wide brown eyes, fringed by long white lashes and my heart would see his truth all over again.


Griton had no reason to trust humans. We really don’t know anything about his first home with the people who adopted him as a two year old at a BLM auction. We know they only kept him for the legally required year to get title on him before they took him to a sale. What we also know is when he was rescued from going to slaughter by the woman we bought him from, he had pressure scars all over his body from a bad fitting saddle and he was terrified of being saddled or mounted. And yet, there were those big, hopeful brown eyes always looking at me, anxious to please and do things right. He had no reason to trust, but he was willing to try.


From the very beginning I allowed Griton, whose name means ‘One Who Shouts’, his own voice about things. I never restrained him, though there were people who told me I should snub him up to a post and get on and off him a hundred times to cure him of his fear of being mounted. Instead, if he was afraid he was always allowed to leave without punishment. When I worked on his hooves, I listened if he didn’t want to pick one up and would work on the one he wanted me to pick up. With these small steps, he began to believe he had a voice in things and that he would be heard. He began to want to be close to me. When he needed to leave, he didn't go very far and the time it took for him to choose to come back became shorter as well. And he became more beautiful with each passing day.


It was well over a year before I slipped up on his back for the first time, without a saddle or a bit in his mouth. Both of us trusting it would be okay. I admit that I cried for both of us…for myself because I didn’t know if I deserved to hold his big heart safe, and for Griton because he gave away his fear to allow me to sit on his strong gray back. And so his long, homely, sweet face inspired a jewelry design, and a poem, and my own heart melts a little bit each time I go out and invariably see him looking for me while the other horses go on about their business of being horses. Last month was Griton's two year anniversary with us and I truly am humbled by his trust.


I have been invited to be a speaker at the Voice of the Horse Conference which will be held at Iowa State University June 30th and July 1st this summer. The conference is a unique concept being presented by The Tapestry Institute, a non-profit whose work we strongly believe in and support. I was very honored to be asked to speak since many of the other speakers are quite well known and here I am, a fifty something semi-hermit living on a mountain in New Mexico. Certainly my realm of influence is quite small! I am beginning to work on getting my thoughts together and with so much information I would like to share, trying to compress it into a thirty minute presentation won't be easy. We have been asked to share our stories of how horses have spoken to us and these are some of my stories.

Our thoughts and prayers for those who died at Virginia Tech and for their families and friends whose lives will never be the same.

The sun is back.


And the breakfast scouts are back with it this morning, waiting to see when we'll make it out the door to feed them. The skies cleared last night which dropped the temperatures dramatically. It was just over twenty degrees when we got up this morning but seeing the sun come up without any clouds was worth it. We ended up with about ten inches of wet snow which should be melted completely in the next couple of days. For our part of the country, snow is the best water source of all because it slowly goes deep into the ground. With so much solid granite here, rains tend to run off without really soaking in. This late snow will do a lot for nourishing trees and native plants. I don't know about my not so native plants though...the snow was so heavy on the drapes I had over the deck plants that I decided a nice insulting blanket of snow was a better option than being crushed.


The winds came up for a while yesterday after the snow stopped and that sent the horses to higher ground to escape having the trees throw snowballs at them.

No...


These aren't photos from last winter, I just took them at seven this morning. So far we have about eight inches of very heavy, very wet snow and it's still falling. The power has been going on and off and this is exactly the kind of snow likely to take down power lines. Interestingly, it's still just above freezing but I expect that will be the high for today. This much snow in April is hard to accept unless you know it means a bountiful summer and no fires.

Corazon and Llego

Besol, Valeroso and Griton

'Now just where did Duffy go?'


'Here I am!'

Nicodemus watches the snow fall from inside the yurt.

Dump Day.

Now come on, you didn't think that a place with no street addresses or mail delivery would still manage to have trash pick up did you? All property owners here pay $90 a year to support a dump station maybe fifteen miles from us. We generally make the trip about once a week or so as needed, more often if we are on a property cleaning binge. It's actually a nice drive with many old adobe structures and even an alpaca farm on the way. Today there was yet another late spring snow storm coming in and I took these beautiful photos from the top of the dump site. Beauty is truly where you find it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"She fought hard, she did. But in the end, I tamed the beast!"

Winters past.


On our way home last Saturday, we stopped in Santa Fe to do a little shopping for the house. One of the things on our long list of needs was a new mattress since we both have pretty serious back issues. We were taken by surprise at finding a memory foam mattress at a very good price so we jumped on the opportunity and brought one home. Though I have to say getting that baby up the grade, into the yurt, up the stairs to the loft and unwrapped didn't do either of our backs any good! The funny thing is these mattresses come completely compressed and folded up into a small package and as soon as you remove the wrappings, they start to decompress and grow into their final mattress size.


I remember when I was a child and learning to swim, I first learned to float on my back with my mother cradling my head with one hand and the small of my back with the other. As I began to relax and trust that the water would support me, she would slowly reduce the amount of support until I was free floating. I loved that sensation of being carried by the water so much I still frequently have dreams of floating down mountain streams and I have even been known to doze off floating on my back in a pool. Well, a memory foam mattress is a lot like that feeling of being gently supported in a warm pool of water and since Saturday, I've had my first relatively pain free nights in a long time.

As I was climbing into bed to nestle down in that floaty mattress, I couldn't help but remember our first winter in the yurt. I laughed and reminded Mike of the single feeble kerosene heater we had that barely kept water from freezing inside. The dogs wore pajamas and slept on heated beds. And our pre-loft bed consisted of a platform with a futon mattress, a down topper, a memory foam topper, flannel sheets, two down comforters, a poly comforter and a bedspread. And still we put on more clothes to go to bed in than we usually wore during the day. And here we are now, our third winter passing and warm to the point of being hot with our wonderful wood stove. The sleeping loft is finished except for some of the railing and now this delightful new mattress. Life is good.

Hey! Hasn't anyone noticed there is a DOG'S FOOT on me?!?

Happy Easter.

Whatever you celebrate on this day, we wish you peace, health and many blessings from Star's Rest.

For Janet...will cow horns do?

Or, how about Ellie killing a giant pink bunny?

Birthday adventure...

Thanks so much to everyone for your birthday wishes! We had a wonderful day away from responsibilities and everyone at home survived without us, in spite of snow and a high today of only thirty degrees. Having a chance to enjoy each others company without feeling hurried, or stressed, or having any schedule to keep other than making it to dinner on time was exactly what I wanted as a birthday gift. We both agreed we need to do this more often and that a jacuzzi here on the mountain is a future must. Dinner at The Prairie Star Restaurant was exceptionally good with great service. I had grilled lamb that was cooked to medium rare perfection and a chocolate birthday dessert so rich even I couldn't eat it all.

Scenes from the Hacienda Vargas Bed & Breakfast ~

The snowy drive home ~

Today is my birthday.

We have a house/animal sitter coming this afternoon and then Mike and I are headed to a romantic bed and breakfast near Santa Fe...a private suite with its own jacuzzi! I am so ready for that since my back is still not completely recovered from the Dallas trip. I'm just hoping, hoping, hoping the suite has a comfortable bed. Guess I could sleep in the jacuzzi if it doesn't and be all pruney but very relaxed by morning.

And, we have a reservation at the Prairie Star restaurant which is part of the Santa Anna Pueblo. It comes highly recommended and I am so looking forward to an excellent meal this evening that I don't have to cook! So horses, dogs and cats will just have to do without us so I can have my birthday wish of a great dinner and a night away with Mike.

"I've been writing a book for years. It's called Horses That Owe Me Money, and I haven't come to the end of it yet." ~~ Sophie Tucker

I came across this quote yesterday and had to laugh out loud because we already had appointments set for Besol and Griton to go to the equine dentist, and for Besol to get a chiropractic adjustment. There's another old saying I grew up with, 'buying the horse is the cheapest part of owning the horse' because there is always some additional expense that comes up. You see, horses have grinding jaw teeth that continue to grow through most of their lives. Domestic horses will need to have their teeth checked and leveled out (called floating the teeth) on a regular basis. Otherwise, horses in domestic situations often get sharp edges and hooks on their teeth that interfere with eating and can actually create big holes inside their mouths.

We knew Besol needed to have his teeth worked on because of the amount of food he was dropping and he was also creating little cuds of hay that he would drop on the ground. Both of these are indicators of a misaligned mouth. We also knew from his visit with an acupuncture vet last month that he had subluxations in his neck and back. Here is Besol getting a nose to tail chiropractic exam and adjustment.

And here he is getting his teeth worked on. They are sedated for this process which makes it easier on both horse and vet.

Griton has a very healthy back and neck and we knew he didn't need a chiropractic adjustment. We also knew very, very well his teeth needed work. About a year ago I stuck my fingers in his mouth to check his teeth, something I have done all my life and know exactly how to do; but he had such razor sharp ridges on his teeth that when I pulled my fingers back out, he had accidentally sliced the entire nail off the top of my right index finger...OWWWW!!!!!!! So Griton, open wide for the dentist!

And, even little tiny horses have to visit the dentist every now and then.

Mike's home!

He actually got home late Saturday, driving eight hours on three hours of sleep. He has been on a night crew for the last three weeks so the reintroduction back to day life is always a bit hard. I worked quietly around him yesterday as he napped and tried to get back to his normal funny and good natured daytime self. In between soaking Griton's foot, working in the shop, and so on, I had more 'fun with macros' taking photos of the beautiful flowers he brought me. He also brought chocolate...the man knows the way to my heart...but they didn't last long enough for photographs.