Latest News
Casper the Super-friendly Cat up for Adoption
AUGUST 26: CASPER UPDATE Great big thanks to our neighbor Brandon Lane Darrin who recognized Casper, the mucho-cool cat who showed up at our barn this week. It turns out Casper is “Kit Kit”, our neighbor’s cat. He disappeared in late March and has been reunited with his family, a mom and dad and three kids. A great ending to the story. Our barn’s a little quiet now since he left….
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?
Hill Top Sunday Morning
Sunday greetings from high above the Shoe Box Canyon. Yesterday, my wife Julia and I rode to the top of the mountain behind our cabin. I thought you’d enjoy some photos of the ride.
Julia rode her pony Pie. I rode my mule Cracker. From the clearing high above the cabin, we just looked out over the Brushy Mountains to our South. We listened to the “chimp pang” call… Continue reading
Wagon Riding in the Sandhills of North Carolina
How many different ways can you combine horses, mules, donkeys, wagons and carts? Last weekend, I attended the wedding of my friends Kenny and Myla Tyndal in the Sandhills of North Carolina. Talk about a whole lotta pine trees, crazy knots and ways to fix a wagon with a beer can.
Weekend Plans
Want to attend a Dog Hair Cutting Festival with my wife Julia and me this weekend? How about a Mule Ride. You might get a good one. You may not. Fun like Russian roulette!
You can tell Julia and I have a little too much time on our hands this weekend. She wrote an invitation to our neighbor P to join us for any or none… Continue reading
Buck and Smile
Sometimes, life throws a little buck your way. The best reaction is to stay balanced and grin. The photo above is of Brick sneaking in a little heels-up action at last week’s Ty Evan’s clinic at Leatherwood in Ferguson, NC. She did great and we learned a lot. I guess she’s recovered from her 2,300 mile walk from our farm in western North Carolina to Idaho.
Great big… Continue reading
Measuring Pie for Hoof Boots (Part 2 of the 3 Part Series on Transitioning to Hoof Boots)
We clipped her nails and pulled her shoes. In my recent post “Off With Her Shoes” I wrote about how my wife Julia and I are transitioning her pony Pie from steel shoes to bare feet. In this update, I’ll show you how we trimmed and measured Pie’s feet for hoof boots. But first, to recap, a few pics of Pie having her shoes removed.
What is the Best Hoof Boot: 3 Boots After 32 Days on the Trail
What is the best hoof boot for your horse or mule? My wife Julia and I spent 6 weeks riding from North Carolina to Virginia and back with three brands of hoof boots. This post is what we learned about these hoof boots after 32 days on the road. The 3 boots reviewed are Cavallo hoof boots, EasyBoot hoof boots… Continue reading
Christmas Greetings
Merry Christmas from the homestead up the holler. “I’ll be Home For Christmas” is playing (the Bing Crosby version), the wood stove is glowing and Snookie is pondering another cookie. “I’ll be Home for Christmas” rings true this year, just not in original way it was meant (it was written from the point of view of a WWII soldier stationed abroad). With Covid numbers spiking, my wife Julia and I are hunkering down… Continue reading
Pickle Raft Crushed, Rebuilt and Refloated
Crunch! Last winter a tree crushed our beloved Pickle Raft. This week, we rebuilt it. Here’s a quick (30-sec) video of how that went followed by some pics.
Introducing the Pickle Raft
A few years ago, my wife Julia and I assembled what looked like a patio on top of a bunch of plastic barrels and pushed it in to our pond.
We christened it the Pickle Raft and life was good.
