The Things You Find When You Declutter...

Like the cartoons you did for christmas cards 20 years ago...

1997, Isabeau the horse, Nermal the cat, Keech and Sam the dogs. 

1998, Isabeau the horse, Nermal and Massey the cats, Keech and Sam the dogs.

1999, Isabeau, Nermal and Massey, Sam and Tam.  

Yes I used to have very long hair.  And Roo had no beard and numerous piercings in those days too!



  

Hey, What Happened to the Weekend?

Apart from passing my truck license (Yep still pretty stoked about that!) it was a typical sort of week and weekend here. 

Writing outdoors with chickens in attendance...

 
And writing-ending kitty smooch-attacks...

There was walking in nature...

There was fire-brigade business to enact... (Check out the cool new jackets organised by me and put away in their new owner's pigeon-holes!  So pretty to see! )

There was property maintenance, mostly involving the chooks... 

The chook-dome is now completely Fort Knoxed!

A replacement for the fallen tree perch that finally fell right down. Yes, of course they hate it and are ignoring it!

Music was made, indoors and out...

And last but not least, art was done!  (Shhh, it's still a secret but I can trust you, right?)

Fly Free, Pegasus!

Our family lost a horsey stalwart this week.   Jerry, at 28 years old, who thought he was Pegasus, got his wings back. 

Of course I am fond of all my sister's family's horses just as I am the family dogs, but Jerry also spent some time living here with me as a companion pony, so I am especially attached to him.

He was particularly gorgeous, even for a pony, like a little Andalusian, with his high crest, showy action and frequent showing off. 

        
He so gently took Jen's kids from their first fascinated explorations into horses...

 To lead rein lessons...

To first ridden...

And on to more advanced riding.

 

 

 

 
Along the way, they had so much fun...

 

And extended themselves beyond what they thought they could achieve...

 

All the way, he always remained himself; naughty, cheeky, fiery, eager, wary of vets, and annoying to other horses.  He very much enjoyed attention and being fussed over...
 

 

And he was so loved.

He will be very missed. 










 

Past and Present

Sis wasn't well this week so I popped in to grab her dogs to take them for a walk with mine up the block.  I love this pic of Tuppy, Kelly and Pippa's butts taking off.  So funny! 

They were heading off to the long grass at the bottom of the block.  They just love that grass and graze on it like a herd of cows.

Nom nom nom!

We all get deprived of green in the summers here but I'll stick to enjoying the look and smell of it.   It never tastes as good as you think it will!

I did a little bit of drawing this week.  This quote, if quote it is, has been in my mind the last few days.

I just idly doodled around it while listening to a Druidcast podcast.  I might add some watercolour next week.  It's good to be back to doing some drawing!  Sometimes it seems like one type of creativity takes over from the others, but eventually I swing back a different way and add in a forgotten thing.   Going to a childlike, non-judgemental mode when returning to a creative stream is always helpful to get things moving again.

Yesterday I scanned some old pics of mum's.  These are my faves:

Me minding Jenny's Qh/Arab cross, Tigger, at a show.  He was such a nice horse and his name suited him very well.  He was very much an optimist.

One of my only (the only?) photos of JJ, Appy bred, with Jen and Tigger at a 40km endurance ride.  I only had JJ for a while.  He had some serious mental issues, poor boy.  He was a rearer and napper, and inclined to leap at people and bite them, though never me. Not really safe at an agistment place!  Looking back, I wish I had taken more time to sort out his issues by trying to see what a vet might find, but one generally didn't in those days, one just moved on to a new horse.      

Mum and Da very young and in love.  Those eyebrows!

Little Tina holding up even littler Jenny.
 

Mum's Cocker Spaniel, Danny. He was such a sweet boy.  I remember him as a very old dog when I was tiny. 

Cheeky mum!  It's hard to think of your parents being young enough to be naughty, isn't it?  Actually I'm getting so old its hard to remember when *I* was young enough to be naughty!  :D  

It's so nice being able to scan these old pics and bring them back to life!