We finally bought a horse for my daughter and me and brought them home last nght. We had started the day at 8:30 and finally pulled into our driveway at 11:15. It had been a long and tiring day.  The trailer we thought we had lined up had fallen through so we went on a frenzied hunt to track down another one that didn’t cost us the bank.  I placed a Kijiji ad which a woman down in Aylmer responded to.  I crossed my fingers that someone closer would respond but when no one did, we rented out her trailer, which wasn’t so bad since she was only chargng $30/day.  It was our gas guzzling truck that we put the majority of the money into.  But I won’t complain about my truck because of all the moaning and groaning I do about her, that baby has pulled through for us so many times.  She’s gotten me and my family home safe through some of the wickedess storms.  We’ve pushed her further than we really ought to.  Even sick that girl doesn’t let us down.  She coughed and sputtered the moment we put the trailer on her but she refused to die.  We knew we were asking too much of her since she hasn’t been feeling to good lately, but we had no choice.  Rest assured at the end of the day, I gave her a great bg kiss!  And a promise for a visit to the truck doctor soon.

Anyway, this blog entry is not about our wonderful, hard-working and loyal truck.  It’s about our two wonderful new additions to the family.  As I said, we left our home at 8:30 and didn’t arrive at the farm until 11:30 and discovered that Jeff, my husband, had no idea how to back up a trailer.  We spent about 30 minutes just gettng the trailer all the way down the farm’s laneway (backward) to the horse’s gate.  I’m pretty sure Jeff is now an expert on backing up a trailer!  Anyway, I anticipated that Sandi, the older show horse would not give me a hard time loading as I assumed she’d done it many times before.  Kip on the other hand was only six and I was pretty certain he hadn’t been on a trailer for a very very long time so prepared myself for the worse.  However, since Freeda was only five and loaded on the first try when we sold her, then I really hadn’t anticipated too much trouble.  Well, I was surprised when Sandi refused to go on the trailer.  So I did all the tricks I learned on Youtube and after about 30 minutes she finally went on.  I got to admit I did a little victory dance, I was mighty proud of myself.  Well I had gotten a little ahead of myself as Kip was next.

This horse absolutely refused to get on that trailer.  Every Youtube tip on the net did not work and I was running out of ideas.  The previous owner really was not a horse woman and had no idea herself what to do.  Between me, my husband and the owner’s friend, we tried for three hours straight to load that stubborn mule.  He reared, he kicked, he rammed the gate with his butt and hind legs when he backed out too fast, he even somersaulted butt over head twice…I mean this poor horse, he did NOT want to get on that trailer.  Don’t doubt today he is feeling a little sore and bruised.  Anyway, by 3:30, I told the owner we couldn’t wait around much longer as we had to return the trailer to Aylmer that night.  That’s when she decided to call in Carrie who was “a horse expert”, she apparently would know what to do.  When Carrie showed up, I was horrified to see a girl about Courtney’s age.

If you’re wondering why this horrified me then you must not know the story of how badly Freeda’s loading went the day we sold her.  Yes, as I mentioned earlier, she went onto the trailer on the first try.  The new owner was too frightened to load Freeda so Paige did it.  Paige had never loaded a horse before.  Thankfully, Freeda trusted Paige completely and loaded onto the trailer nice and calmly.  The new owner took over the job of tying Freeda to the trailer.  Suddenly, I hear shouting coming from the trailer.  I’m shocked because it had gone so smoothly.  The new owner was having troubles securing the lead inside the trailer to Freeda’s head and started shouting angrily at her.  That’s when a nice and calm loading went bad.  Hearing all the angry shouting, Freeda suddenly went from being calm and receptive to panicky and frightened.  And that’s when a young female who I shall name M got involved.

M was the “experienced” horse handler that the new owner had brought along.  Accept M was familiar with Freeda and had told me outright “I hate Freeda”.  This being one of the first words out of her mouth when introduced to me.  M was about the same age as Courtney, my twenty year old daughter.  And had one of the shortest tempers I’ve ever seen.  Her approach to handling a diffcult horse was by hitting and screaming at it.  It horrified me to watch and at one point I had to send Paige away because I didn’t want her to witness this treatment of a horse she adored.  Let alone think it was appropriate. 

So when I see this young horse “pro” I am weary and admittedly, peeved.  I was certain this was not going to turn out well.  However, this girl, Carrie, was unbelievably patient, calm, quiet and when one thing didn’t work out, she simply tried a new method until eventually, she loaded Kip into the trailer.  Only touching him to push his butt inside.  When she was done, I gave her a great big wholehearted thank you and she turned to me with the greatest biggest warmest smile.  As we finished shutting up the trailer she started chatting up with Paige and later I learned that she was the one to train Kip and that she had ridden Sandi in the OBRA circuit….and if trained hard enough could possibly even reach 1D level!  Oye!

Anyway, as we drove away from the farm  Paige couldn’t stop talking about this girl.  She was so impressed. I’m grateful that she was able to meet and witness someone of her own peer level that new how to really treat a horse with care, a gentle touch and lots and lots of patience.  And that a hot temper is not the way go.

So we eventually arrived at the horse’s new barn which sadly is not at Betty’s (where we boarded Freeda).  We adore Betty and love her facility but she only had the one stall available (Freeda’s) and since we now have the two horses, we were on the hunt for a new place to board.  We found one only three minutes out of town, literally.  It’s unbelievably close.  And though it’s nowhere near as nice as Betty’s, it does back onto the Hullett Marsh. If you know me at all you know that I’m a huge nature freak and me and Jeff hike in the Hullett Marsh all the time.  We’d often see hoof prints along the trails and would envy the people who were able to trail the Hullett on horseback.  Now it’s walking distance from the barn!  Yay!  Though the barn is only a temporary stop for Sandi who will actually be going over to Betty’s barn to occupy Freeda’s stall.  Betty has a huge training indoor arena and Paige needs to get started on training for barrels.  That leaves poor Kip behind.  Guess I’ll just have to go out and start shopping again for another horse!

I’ve gone and went AWOL on this blog again.  I apologize to the few blog followers I have. To update the going on’s of my life, business has been slow since Christmas which has allowed me to relax and enjoy photography the way I did before I launched my business. Not that I’m complaining, but photography as a hobby and photography as a business are two totally different things. One thing I’ve started for fun is a 365 Project, which is basically I take a photo per day. Some like to document the year’s growth of their toddler while others select a certain theme. Self-portraits are also a pretty popular choice. I’ve decided, however, to mix mine up and take some artsy photos, portraits, personal photos and anything else that catches my fancy. If you’re interested in seeing what I come up with on a daily basis, you can follow me here, http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutterpeg/sets/72157623145299980/

On the business side of photography, I’ve decided to add equine photography to my portfolio so if you have a horse and would like to have photos done of her/him let me know. If you can wait until the spring, I’ll be posting a casting call then so be sure to look for that on my blog and on my Facebook Fanpage. If you’re not a fan, then why not? Haha! Be sure to add yourself to keep up with all that’s going on at Peggy’s Photography. You can add yourself by following this link, http://www.facebook.com/peggysphotography. I’m looking forward to the spring and the beginning of a new season.

On a personal front, we sold my daughter’s horse, Freedom, due to she had poor legs. It was a tough decision but in the end, it was for the best. We board our animals and don’t have the space or money to have kept her as a pet only which was basically all she was good for. So we’ve been on the hunt to replace her and have found some very close contenders. Initially we planned on getting a well trained barrel horse that my daughter simply could take into the shows and compete but since then she’s fallen in love with a young barrel prospect and we’ve been working on finishing the deal there. Hopefully, it will all work out. There are some that think we are biting off more than we can chew on purchasing such a young, green horse and a month ago, I would have thought the same thing. But this is something my daughter really wants to do, and I support her all the way. There are many nay-sayers out there and I refuse to be included in that group.

Truthfully though, I probably would never have supported her if it weren’t for Betty G. Betty G is the woman who owns and runs the boarding facility where we keep our horse. I’ve mentioned her before but haven’t given this woman enough homage or credit she deserves. We’ve known her for over two years now but have really gotten to know her even better since this past August when Freedom first arrived at her barn. If it weren’t for Betty, then there would never have been a Freedom or any other horse for that matter. It was she that made us believe that we could indeed own a horse. You see, there is exists a horse snobbery (is that such a word?) in the horse community that if you’re not born to horses or wealthy enough, then you don’t belong. Betty does not belong to this way of thinking. She believes we can do anything we want. Including training a young green horse. Even though we may be greener than the horse! The woman is a god-send and we owe her a lot. I couldn’t ask for a better mentor.

Now the problem with purchasing a green horse is that he won’t be ready for the show season which my daughter was truly looking forward to. So, looking upon my daughter as inspiration, I’ve decided to fulfill my lifelong dream of also owing a horse. So we’ve been on the hunt for not one horse, but two. The horse I choose will be already trained in barrels or at the minimum be healthy and able to run them so that my daughter will be able to borrow her for the show season. So, needless to say, I’m super excited and crossing my fingers that we find me a good contender. So stay posted for that announcement. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Since this blog post was way longer than I intended, I’ll add a photo of the green horse we are hoping to buy soon. His name is Flash and we’re hoping he lives up to his name.

He was a little nervous when we arrived since there were so many bodies surrounding the paddock.
Then my daughter went inside the pen and he took to her instantly.

What really impressed us most, was when my daughter climbed up onto his back…and he accepted her. This is a green horse, hasn’t been broken yet.  Admittedly, I was nervous about her doing this especially the fact that she climbed up while I was distracted by my son and she didn’t even bother putting her helmet on. Kiddos, never ever climb onto the back of a green horse without a helmet!! I may be green but I know that much!

“What are you doing in there?”

“Nothing.”

Hmm.

Oh Lord.

“Have you been into Dad’s chocolate birthday cake?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“No.”

“You haven’t been eating dad’s chocolate cake?”

“No, no!”

Then points to the counter. “I’ve been eating that.”

Koodoo to the kid for not lyng.

I love Toronto like I love New York City…it’s nice to visit but there isn’t enough money on earth to convince me to live there.   Ironically, the concrete forest has been beckoning my oldest for years now and she has finally made the move.  She transfered universities this semester and is now living in Toronto.  We raised our kids in small towns to avoid the crime and pollution of the city, so my kids aren’t exactly packaged for life in the big city, so needless to say, I’m a little nervous.  She, of course, is excited and doing just fine and loving Toronto life.  The drive is about 2 and 1/2 hours which long as that is, can still be done in a day, so if my baby needs me, I’m still within a few hours drive away.

Last weekend my husband moved her in during a snow storm and since the truck was packed to the rim, there was no room for me or Curt.  So we went to visit her this weekend bringing a load of items they couldn’t fit into the truck and to help her find her way around the city.  But she didn’t need my help.  The girl was always one step ahead of me.

Infront of her new school.

We travelled downtown by bus and subway (something new for my son) and stopped briefly for a visit at Union Station before walking through the City Skywalk.

I wanted to leave before it got dark because driving at night is very hypnotic for me and makes me very drowsy but when the sun sets at 5:00 these days, that was hard to avoid.

Sunset on the 401.

The year 2009 was a great year for me both professionally and personally.  In May, I launched my business officially and in August I fulfilled a lifelong dream of visiting the Rocky Mountains.  My children continue in good health and happiness and I’ve enjoyed my 22nd year of marriage.  Here’s hoping 2010 brings another wonderful year.

My favourite photos from 2009.

The best way to spend a snow day. Watching tv in your PJ’s all day long.

Building gingerbread houses.

Baking chocolate chip cookies. And have their aroma fill the house.

Cuddling with your best friend.

My one and only ornament from my childhood tree.

Love my angels!

Homemade ornaments take up 1/3 of my tree.

My girls “First Christmas” matching ornaments.

Ornaments from my girls childhood will always adorn my christmas tree.

And my son’s.

My most favourite ornament. A reminder of the reason for the season.

Introducing our newest family member…EMMA!