Horse Time in Nature

Here's some photos of our fantastic recent horse camping trip at Jack Brook Horse Camp at San Mateo County's Pescadero Creek County Park. We all four LOVE being here.

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They only have eyes for one thing–dinner!

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My favorite point of view

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Ranch Kitties Need a Loving Home

These four adult kitties need loving homes as soon as possible. They are all very friendly, and I believe will do wonderfully as house kitties. They would probably prefer an indoor – outdoor lifestyle.
There are also some other adult cats at the ranch that are striped or black that are tame and need homes also. Many of them are spayed or neutered.
These kitties all live at the ranch where we used to keep our horses. The ranch is closing at the beginning of August, and the odds are good they will be picked up by the Humane Society, which probably means a shortened life.
I'd so appreciate any help you can give in finding these sweet kitties a home.

Valentine

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I  am a very friendly kittie who loves to be held and petted. I am  a two or three-year old female  who has been spayed.  I have always lived at the ranch. I'm kinda small for my age, and I make up for it with love.

Mooshie

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I was a house kitty once, and my owner couldn't keep me so she took me to the ranch. I am a five-year-old male who has been neutered and had many of my shots. I've gotten kinda skinny at the ranch. I think it's because I need a home.

I like to be the king of the pack so I'd probably do best in a home where I am the only cat. I love to be petted. I sometimes get carried away and try to play with you.


Ebony

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I'm a spayed female born about 6 or 7  years ago at the ranch. Connie recently helped me be more trusting of her so I'm going to need you to be extra patient and work with me slowly until I trust you. I love to be petted. It just sometimes still feels uncomfortable to me. I'm healthy and have a good appetite. I know I can be a good kittie in your home.

Sandy
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I am an older female kittie who has been spayed. No one knows much about my history. I am a very friendly kittie who loves to be petted. Connie even wrote a blog post about me. Here it is… 

We have an older kittie at the ranch where we board our horses whom I’ve named Sandy.
We know nothing about her history, but she has been at the ranch since
we arrived 5 years ago. She’s very friendly and has a timeless, ageless
quality about her.

 She’s a basic looking cat with all the cat parts without the cuteness or beauty one usually sees in kitties.
In fact, you might even say she is plain with a coat of blended back
and gray without a faint striped pattern. She has skinny bowed legs
that look as if she’s been riding a horse for too long.

Sandy’s beauty is easy to overlook because there is really
nothing physical that is outstanding about her. Yet when you look
beneath the surface, her beauty radiates brightly.

Sandy has a heart of gold. While other cats are sometimes
aloof, timid or not in the mood, she is always friendly and eager to
being petted. She settles into your arms and trusts you to take her
almost anywhere. She is truly a good-hearted, loving soul-always.

Sandy is also a phenomenal communicator. She meows a lot to
say “hello” when I arrive at the ranch and makes it clear when she
needs to be fed. Granted, this sounds like pretty “normal” cat
behavior.

However, I’ve had interactions with Sandy that amaze and fascinate me with her ability to communicate her needs and desires. The most frequent communication has to do wanting clear, fresh water in the water bowl near our tack room.

One thing you need to understand is the cats, many of whom are
wild and feral, share the water bowl with the equally wild and feral
chickens at the ranch.
Chickens are not as dainty and fastidious
about having clean water. In fact, they often scratch dirt into the
water in their search for food.

Sandy is the spokescat for the group, waiting by the water
bowl and making sure I see the dirty water as I pass by cleaning
Destiny’s stall. After she has successfully gotten me to put fresh
water in the bowl, she immediately begins drinking.

Another more fascinating story occurred a few weeks ago. We
feed Sandy and a couple of other cats in our tack room, which is about
15 feet from Destiny’s stall. One morning after feeding the kitties, I
went into Destiny’s stall to clean. After a few minutes, I hear a meow
that was intended for me.

I look up, and there is Sandy, standing in the doorway and looking at me with sincere interest and attention. She meows a few more times as I continue to clean the stall, pausing only to say, “Hello.”

After a while, it dawns on me this is unusual behavior for her. I realize she is trying to tell me something and begin to walk toward her. As I do, she walks toward the tack room with me in tow.

Moments before we arrive, I think, “The chickens are in the tack room eating the cat food.” Sandy
stops as we reach the open tack room door, and looks back at me
pointedly as if to say, “Look at this. Would you please handle this
situation?”

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From now on, I pay a lot more attention to what Sandy tells me plus I
appreciate her beautiful, innocent spirit that greets me every morning.
  I realize she is much smarter and more capable than I previously believed.

Sandy is like your child, communicating with you whether you pay attention or not. She is also like your child when her beautiful, innocent, loving spirit greets you every morning. Treasure and enjoy your amazing child you have been given.

Sebastian Meets the Horses

We recently took our five-month-old grandson Sebastian out to the ranch to meet our two horses Destiny and Echo. It was a major photo opportunity! Nichola and I were "all over" every beautiful photo. Here are some I like that she and I took. We feel blessed to have such a loving connection with Orion and Nichola and feel so grateful for the many moments we get to spend with Sebastian. Such a joy!!

If Sebastian’s hat looks a little small, it is! He’s grown so fast he almost out-grew the cowboy hat before we got some horsey photos. With a little tugging, we were able to get it to stay on long enough to take the photos.

I made the purple sweater Sebastian is wearing. The joys of being a grandma!

Enjoy!!

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The “Right” Attitude

Doug and I share the responsibility of caring for our horses Destiny and Echo. I take the morning shift and Doug the evening shift on his way home. Every morning I put them in a round pen or the arena so they can have some exercise, clean their stalls, make sure they have water, and feed them each a flake of alfalfa hay.

I often see Barry out at the ranch taking care of his horses. He walks around with light step and a smile on his face. We exchange the usual, "How are you?"

His reply to me is always, "Glad to be alive!" His answer is always the same, "Glad to be alive!", and I can hear it in his voice. He’s not taking the precious gift we call Life for granted.

This statement always makes me stop and see if I can shift my attitude even more to one of appreciation and joy in living. We all live such blessed lives in so many ways.

Try waking up tomorrow morning and say to yourself, "I’m glad to be alive!" See how this affects your day. See how this allows you to be a more loving parent or teacher.

Magnificence Beneath the Surface

We have an older kittie at the ranch where we board our horses whom I’ve named Sandy. We know nothing about her history, but she has been at the ranch since we arrived 5 years ago. She’s very friendly and has a timeless, ageless quality about her.

P8250084
She’s a basic looking cat with all the cat parts without the cuteness or beauty one usually sees in kitties.
In fact, you might even say she is plain with a coat of blended back and gray without a faint striped pattern. She has skinny bowed legs that look as if she’s been riding a horse for too long.

Sandy’s beauty is easy to overlook because there is really nothing physical that is outstanding about her. Yet when you look beneath the surface, her beauty radiates brightly.

Sandy has a heart of gold. While other cats are sometimes aloof, timid or not in the mood, she is always friendly and eager to being petted. She settles into your arms and trusts you to take her almost anywhere. She is truly a good-hearted, loving soul-always.

Sandy is also a phenomenal communicator. She meows a lot to say “hello” when I arrive at the ranch and makes it clear when she needs to be fed. Granted, this sounds like pretty “normal” cat behavior.

However, I’ve had interactions with Sandy that amaze and fascinate me with her ability to communicate her needs and desires. The most frequent communication has to do wanting clear, fresh water in the water bowl near our tack room.

One thing you need to understand is the cats, many of whom are wild and feral, share the water bowl with the equally wild and feral chickens at the ranch. Chickens are not as dainty and fastidious about having clean water. In fact, they often scratch dirt into the water in their search for food.

Sandy is the spokescat for the group, waiting by the water bowl and making sure I see the dirty water as I pass by cleaning Destiny’s stall. After she has successfully gotten me to put fresh water in the bowl, she immediately begins drinking.

Another more fascinating story occurred a few weeks ago. We feed Sandy and a couple of other cats in our tack room, which is about 15 feet from Destiny’s stall. One morning after feeding the kitties, I went into Destiny’s stall to clean. After a few minutes, I hear a meow that was intended for me.

I look up, and there is Sandy, standing in the doorway and looking at me with sincere interest and attention. She meows a few more times as I continue to clean the stall, pausing only to say, “Hello.”

After a while, it dawns on me this is unusual behavior for her. I realize she is trying to tell me something and begin to walk toward her. As I do, she walks toward the tack room with me in tow.

Moments before we arrive, I think, “The chickens are in the tack room eating the cat food.” Sandy stops as we reach the open tack room door, and looks back at me pointedly as if to say, “Look at this. Would you please handle this situation?”

P8250081
From now on, I pay a lot more attention to what Sandy tells me plus I appreciate her beautiful, innocent spirit that greets me every morning.
  I realize she is much smarter and more capable than I previously believed.

Sandy is like your child, communicating with you whether you pay attention or not. She is also like your child when her beautiful, innocent, loving spirit greets you every morning. Treasure and enjoy your amazing child you have been given.