Moe Teaches One More Time

Moe mostly just lives the good life here at Salsipuedes--grain twice a day, all the hay he can eat, free roaming in my pasture with his buddy, Bochica, and open stall doors just in case he wants to come in out of the weather. He doesn't ask for much attention, but loves it when children come to visit and give him some lovin. So when my friend mentioned that one of her grandsons had received cowboy boots, hat, and clothes for his birthday, I jumped at the chance for her to bring him to my house for a photo shoot.  She has a new business, Simple Journeys Photography--check out her beautiful work!

First, we went out to the pasture to catch Moe. I explained to him about being calm around horses and the fact that they cannot see directly in front or directly behind them. The little boy was listening very closely.

Moe loves treats!

We had no trouble catching him--Moe will always come right to you. The little boy learned to hold his hand flat--Moe is pretty loose-lipped. He thought giving him treats was great fun!

Then we had a short lesson on leading---Moe is a BIG  horse!! But a total sweetie.

Come on with me, Moe

Finally, riding time! They went for a nice long ride. What fun for both of them! I think Moe enjoyed being a "lesson horse" again.

Now I am a cowboy!

We are looking forward to a return visit.

It is very heartwarming to see a child ride a horse for the first time. If I were younger, I would work with children and horses--but I guess I'll just enjoy the occasional visitor to Salsipuedes and my horses.

Stay tuned!

Thanksgiving 2012

Happy Thanksgiving from us at Salispuedes








On this Thanksgiving morning, I awoke around 4:30 a.m., thinking of the tough things my family has faced in the last few months. Wow--seems like most of us have either had health, financial, or other  issues!! But I read an online article this morning that made me stop and be grateful  for my many blessings. It talked about being "not dead". The author was glad he was "not dead". But the trick is to "be alive"--to enjoy our life and be grateful every day!! One of my goals has been to "enjoy the moment", but so often I find myself living in the past or future instead of the present.

So,this morning, I choose to focus on  some of the things I am grateful for this Thanksgiving day:

First of all, my family-especially my sons and their families.
My grandchildren.
My mother's  continuing improvement  from her illness
The special man in my life and his family
My animals and the joy they bring me daily
My co-workers who are so supportive
The beautiful fall weather we have had this year
The fact that I live in this the USA.
My continuing stable health
Friends
Being able to live in the country.
Having an abundance of  the necessities of life--food, shelter, love

I feel renewed this morning--and determined to enjoy this holiday season day by day--to try to recapture that childlike pleasure of the holidays. Wish me luck!!

Autumn Colors

I mistakenly believed that Salsipuedes would not be as pretty this autumn as it was last year. My trees were late turning. . What a feast for the eyes this week has brought! Last year it seemed that red was the dominant color--this year yellow is definitely the "in" color.

First I noticed  this little hickory:

My first glimpse of autumn

Then I noticed that the trees along my road had begun to turn:

Autumn is here!

Yesterday I awoke to an abundance of yellow with a little orange sprinkled in:

Lovely leaves!

The sweetgum takes the prize:

My favorite!

Even the oaks are pretty this year--some are reddish, but this big boy (behind the elm) is yellow-orange!

Elm in front, oak next and then sweetgum

The yellow is especially pretty peaking through the pine boughs:

I do have some glorious red thanks to the sumac!

A beautiful red!

I'll keep checking this week for more trees turning. Isn't life wonderful???

Perseverance Pays Off

Remember my post about the unidentified tree I saw at Los Dominicos market in Santiago? I've been searching the web periodically in hopes of finding it. Perseverance  does pay off--success at last!. 

Blooms of a Jacaranda Tree

I read that this tree is native to South America, but can grow here in the U.S. in warm climates. It would be very difficult to grow at Salsipuedes because of our cold winters. So I guess I'll just have to remember its beauty!! Wish I had taken more photos, but I can always go to the "web" for many great images!!

A Perfect Fall Day!

Every year since I moved to Salsipuedes I have been wanting to take the Talimena Drive through Oklahoma and Arkansas when the leaves turn. This year was the year finally!! The "special man in my life" was nice enough to take me! What a beautiful day it was!! Cool, crisp, and sunny. After a 2 hour drive, we arrived at the beginning of the drive--unfortunately the visitor's center was closed. Alas, no info-- but we decided to just "go for it" and began our journey. Our first stop was the "three sticks" site. 

The sticks represent land,wood,  and water

There were many overlooks  along the way. We had brought sandwiches, and found a nice place to have our lunch. One particular tree nearby caught my eye.

My lunchtime view!

We spied one tree we could not identify--any ideas? I have one like it here at Salsipuedes, so will delve more into this matter later.

Our mystery tree

My camera just could not capture the beauty, but here are a couple of shots--

Just one mountainside of many

Another one!

A little different angle

At every curve, the colors were just breathtaking. I oohed and aahed the entire trip!! The "special man in my life" was so patient, stopping every time I asked him to and letting me take my time reading the signs and taking photos.

Thank you "special man".

Lucky me!

We were tired puppies by the time we rolled in about 7:00 p.m.  We left at 9:00 a.m. that morning, so it was a full day. But we both agreed, it was a VERY NICE one!!

Stay tuned for my next adventure!!

Treasure Hunt at Salsipuedes

When I first moved here, I heard stories about two eccentric ladies who lived on my property years ago. I was told they acted very strangely, ran and hid when people came by, etc. There were rumors that they had buried their money. For some time now I have wanted to find someone with a metal detector and search for the "treasure". 

Well, the "special man in my life" told me he had one! We made plans to search the property but never seemed to find time. When he mentioned that his granddaughters were coming this weekend for a visit, I suggested that they might like to hunt for the treasure. 

So Saturday, a crisp  fall day, they came over and we set to work.

Digging for treasure

Soon they were hard at work! The metal detector found something in the first spot I had suggested!

Our Find!

Even though we tried several other places, our search only turned up "junk". Oh, well, maybe next time. There is still a lot of ground to cover!! I haven't given up yet.

Our Treasure!!

Stay tuned for our next adventure here at Salsipuedes.

Bucket List Update

Time to update again!!






 learn Portuguese (no progress)
Train Bochica to be less afraid (more or less) (I've decided to let him just be a horse and he is becoming less afraid)
Pass on my love of the land to my grandchildren (in progress)
Become proficient in using  Photoshop Elements (Not much progress)
Write a book (I may have to delete this one)
Learn more about web design (deleting this one--interests have changed))
Vacation in  Charleston, S.C. (Still hopeful)
Visit the redwood forest (Still hopeful)
Make a good friend that I can talk to about anything (This one is making rapid progress)
Sew a hand pieced quilt for my granddaughter (soon to be begun) (Definitely this year)
Teach my youngest grandchildren how to fish (maybe next summer) The special man in my life taught them this summer--they each caught some!!
Learn to do pen and ink drawings(No progress)
Learn all about cows (any ideas how I can do this???)(No progress)
Finally learn to meditate (know of any classes, anyone?) (No progress, but good intentions)
Organize my house! (in process) (fear this is a lost cause)
Visit Lost Maples State Park in the autumn (plan to do so)
Learn to do watercolor(No progress)
Learn about dragonflies(Maybe this summer)
Learn to use my new camera(Slow progress)
Enlarge my garden in the Spring. Most of my crops did not do well, but managed to win blue ribbons at the county fair for my spinach-see next post!
Find my talent (Wish me luck--maybe my talent is appreciating others' talents).
Cook more dishes "from scratch" - good intentions but not much progress!
Learn about butterflies - did learn some things this year
Make two books-trees of Salsipuedes, Flowers of Salsipuedes - Decided to just enjoy them.
Learn enough French to read a menu. Maybe this winter
Build a meditation wheel - Need to find rocks
Take a drive through Oklahoma when the leaves turn - planning the day
Start exercising - Waiting for Dr. okay

Have you noticed that I continue to add things!! I'll never be bored!

And still that mystery one!!

Stay tuned!

Our County Fair

My First Blue Ribbons!!

I'm finally finding time to post again. Soon I'll update you on my summer. It was all too short!

Fall is definitely in the air. I can always feel the slight shift in the sun's rays--I can't wait for the leaves to turn!

Meanwhile, I'll share one of my favorite things--our county fair. Ours is one of the few counties in Texas that hosts a free fair. This year I decided to enter some things in the produce division. Most of my crops were long gone, but I did have an excellent crop of Malabar Spinach. I entered it, as well as my Italian Flat Leaf Parsley (which was past its prime). Can you believe it--I won two blue ribbons for my spinach--one in the flower category for its blooms and the other in the greens category. Wow!! Now I'm really enthused for next year. Think I'll get busy on a quilt!!!

Malabar spinach blooms

This is the first time in many years that I've been to the fair at night.  The special man in my life made it a lot of fun!! We toured the exhibits,visited with people, had burgers and fries, and listened to music. Memories of my childhood came floating back--I felt like a kid again. Thanks!!!

We watched goats being shown and toured the animal area.

I want a goat!

I'm glad to know that 4-H is going strong in Red River County. I don't know much about this organization, but am intrigued--another project--to find out exactly how it works.

These rabbits look like toys!

Aren't they cute?

I also entered a cucumber from our children's garden at the library. We won 2nd place. Hurrah!! I can't wait to tell the kiddos.

Wow!

The night lights brought back childhood memories.

Lights from the carnival

I can't wait until next year--guess I'd better get busy on my entries. 

Bucket List Revisited

It's time again to review my bucket list.










To learn Portuguese (no progress)
Train Bochica to be less afraid (more or less) (I've decided to let him just be a horse)
Pass on my love of the land to my grandchildren (in progress) 
Become proficient in using  Photoshop Elements (Not much progress)
Write a book (I may have to delete this one)
Learn more about web design (No progress)
Vacation in  Charleston, S.C. (Still hopeful)
Visit the redwood forest (Still hopeful)
Make a good friend that I can talk to about anything (This one is making rapid progress)
Sew a hand pieced quilt for my granddaughter (soon to be begun) (Maybe this year)
Teach my youngest grandchildren how to fish (maybe next summer)(Hopefully in June)
Learn to do pen and ink drawings(No progress)
Learn all about cows (any ideas how I can do this???)(No progress)
Finally learn to meditate (know of any classes, anyone?) (No progress, but good intentions)
Organize my house! (in process) (fear this is a lost cause)
Visit Lost Maples State Park in the autumn (plan to do so)
Learn to do watercolor(No progress)
Learn about dragonflies(Maybe this summer)
Learn to use my new camera(Slow progress)

Enlarge my garden in the Spring (Success-but still a learning process)

Find my talent (Wish me luck)(Maybe my talent is appreciating others' talents)

Cook more dishes "from scratch" (Saving recipes)

New Items:

Learn about butterflies (in progress)

Make two books--Trees of Salsipuedes, Flowers of Salsipuedes (Taking photographs)

Learn enough French to read a menu

Build a meditation wheel

And still that mystery one!!

Stay tuned!

Bochica and the Bird

Even though I normally dislike brown headed cowbirds, today was the exception. I was sitting in the rocking chair on my front porch, taking a break, when I noticed a little brown headed cowbird just behind Bochica's front foot.

Any bugs for me?

Then I noted that the little bird went around just to the front of his nose.

Hurry up and scare up some bugs!

Then it went even closer, right up to his nose!

Hi There!

Just as it touched his nose, Bochica ever so gently pushed him back a little.

Too close, huh?

The little bird came right back. I sat there a good 15 minutes, just watching the two of them. My sweet little horse!  Just one example of the joys of living in the country!

Butterflies, Butterflies, Butterflies

Wow--this year the butterflies are abundant! I literally have had hundreds flying around. These are just a few photos of these beauties:

I wonder if this one is laying eggs--she (or he) has been resting in the petunia for three days. Moves just a little each day.

Viceroy

This little beauty landed on my golf cart to say hello.

Question Mark

Can you spot this tiny one?

Haven't identified yet

This is my favorite.

Red Admiral

But the best is to come:  I looked up at the barn, and to my surprise, there was a line of butterflies hatching! Wow! This is just one of the twenty+. One of the children in my nature group, Library Learning Patch-Children Discovering Nature,  gave a report in which he educated us about butterflies. Apparently, they hang on like this until their wings dry. 

This one was just sitting quietly, shortly after hatching.

Resting for a while

Then, later, one spread his wings for me.

Mourning Cloak

There is still one I haven't been able to photograph--a tiny yellow one.

I can't end the post without showing you my favorite moth:

Luna Moth

Stay tuned--maybe I'll capture the yellow one yet--on film of course. :)