Froggie Friday
Last night, coming in from the barn after critter late check, a figure on Julia’s ox-goad caught my eye.
We’re blessed with lots of frogs and toads around here but usually, they hang out in the creek, pond or marshy areas. When I leaned in for a closer look, a frog jumped from the goad onto the kitchen window. Julia ran inside to see the frog up close and… Continue reading
From Starved to Star
A kind soul rescued him from a herd of eighty feral horses, some of which were starved, others of which had broken legs. And yet, he survived. Read the amazing story of Magneto the Magnificent, my wife Julia’s new horse, at her blog Saddle Under the Stars.
Snake Bites Mule
A while back, Julia and I rode spent six weeks traveling with two saddle and one pack mule from our farm in western North Carolina to Virginia and back. We posted a lot of stories on this trip but here’s one I never got around to sharing with you.
Julia was riding a mule named Dusty we’d borrowed from our friend Ronald Hudson. I was riding my mule Brick. As… Continue reading
Obituary for an Imperfect Dog
Snookie was imperfect like the rest of us. This week he was put to sleep under our chestnut tree. Julia wrote him a beautiful obit at her ConsideringAnimals.com blog. It starts “He was comfort. He was afraid of thunder.” He also channeled Keith Richards and sometimes drank too much whiskey. Check out the full obit at: ConsideringAnimals.com.
Snookie: 2008 – 2021
He started life in a ditch, could out-howl a tin coyote and cleaned a skillet better than a scrub pad. Today, his life ended under our chestnut tree. Our dog Snookie is gone. My wife Julia and I are torn up over this. The longer story of his life is coming.
Robbins Farmers Day: Wagons, Faces and Feet
A teamster, a parade and a mule. This weekend mule Polly and I hung out with Ronald Hudson at Farmers Day in Robbins, NC. He and I were in the parade and I made some photos I thought you’d enjoy. They’re loosely in the order they happened.
Mule Mushroomimg: Hunting “Aeyer Schweumli” from the Saddle
My mom used to point them out to us as kids. We’d be walking through the forest in western North Carolina and she’d point down at an orange mushroom and say, “Lueg. As Aeyer Schweumli”. “Lueg” means “look” in Swiss German, her native language. Aeyer Schweumli is what she used to call chanterelles. *
My brother Christian recalls a… Continue reading
How do you Pony Your Pony?
Let’s say you’re out riding your mule or horse and leading another next to you. What do you do with the end of the lead rope attached to the animal you’re leading? Do you Bunny Ear it, Under the Leg it or do the Loose Around the Horn thing? Or maybe something else?
Pony Sunday: How to Exercise Three Mules at Once
This Sunday morning my wife Julia and I exercised our small herd of three mules and one pony all at once. I thought you might enjoy a few photos of how we did it.
Usually, when you think of saddle riding, you think of a person sitting in the… Continue reading
The Hoof Boot Report: 3 Boots After 32 Days on the Trail
The word “report” brings to mind images of white paper, statistics, lab coats and, yawn, boring facts. This is not that kind of report. Rather, it’s the account of what my wife Julia and I learned after spending 32 days on the road with 3 mules and 3 different kinds of hoof boots. This may be the… Continue reading