Short but Sweet

Busy weekend -- too many social events planned, so we only had time for a short ride on Sunday. But what a perfect day for it! It was so beautiful outside -- warm and clear.

We had to fix a broken spot on the fence while we had daylight. We think a deer must have gone thru it -- that happens sometimes. Once that was done, we only had about an hour for riding, due to the really early nightfall since we moved the clocks back, so we decied to stick to the trails through the woods around our house. We hadn't ridden them in a while, so it was nice to be out there again.

Zora (John's horse) was way too charged up, so we put Divna in the lead. When we got to the spot where the little stream sometimes trickles (and I do mean "trickles") across the trail, I was surprised that Divna was afraid to cross! I thought we had gotten past her water fears....here is a horse who goes in water up to her chest when the Dunes are flooded in the spring. Now she is having a problem with a little, teeny, tiny stream of water! Well, she had to learn that I was not going to ask her to do anything that would hurt her....I just kept urging her to move forward. She finally got brave and went across, and I just kept petting her neck and telling her what a good girl she was....

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, except for having to backtrack around a fallen tree (another project for John and his chainsaw). We got to a harvested cornfield, and let The Girls stretch their legs and run a bit. When we got to the other side we could hear voices -- we had ended up on the backside of this really cool spot someone made. It is a place called "Dave's Pond." There is a little pond (hence the name) and they have a fire pit set up, a bunch of benches, a small trailer, and another small box-car looking thing that I suspect is a kitchen of some type. This place is just set up too cute -- there is a group of friends/family who use it for parties at warm weather holidays and birthdays, etc. We are always ingrigued by this place and the ingenuity that went into it. Well, they were all gathered there for some reason on Sunday. They heard the horses, and the next thing we knew, our Girls were getting loads of attention. It was pretty neat.

We got home just at dark, and The Girls got well deserved treats of carrots, and then of course their grain and dinner. Another really nice ride!

Divna Zora

Eventful Ride

This time of year we wear orange -- too many hunters out there!

We actually rode twice last weekend -- a short ride (about an hour) on Saturday, and then a longer one on Sunday. I really should have waited another week or so to let this ankle heal up a bit more, but it was just too nice outside, and it has been too long.

The Saturday ride was pretty uneventful, outside of the pain. On Sunday it was much more interesting. We had seven riders in the group. We haven't ridden with that many people in a long time. The ride started at our place. Our friends Tom and Dolly came with their Quarter Horses, Dee with her Rocky Mountain horse and her friend Juliette with her Tennessee Walking Horse. We were to meet Karen on her Tennessee Walker at the park. I got photos of everyone except Karen....

(From top left --Dee with Shawney, Juliette with Beauty, Tom with Hawk, and Dolly with Duke)

The Quarter Horse riders decided to ride the trails thru the woods around our place -- not necessary to go on any roads or cross any railroad tracks. They were into a more leisurely ride. The gaited horse crew took the abandoned railroad line, across the toll road, then back on the line all the way to the park so we could meet Karen. We did not have to do much street riding thanks to John -- he cleared a trail around the big washout area on the first leg of the railroad line. I will have to get a photo of that.....

We were quite the sight with three black Tennessee Walking Horse mares!!

We should have known it was going to be an eventful ride. I rode with my injured ankle out of the stirrup most of the time. Thank goodness for the saddle horn...We were only on the trail for a little while when we thought we saw two deer on the trail up ahead. John and Zora were in the lead, and he yells out, "Those aren't deer! They are coyotes!!" Sure enough, the two coyotes ran down the ravine and disappeared into the woods...thankfully none of the horses spooked.

Dee and Juliette cross the Indiana Toll Road!

We made it down to the park in really good time, and as soon as we got to the park grounds we ran into Karen. She had just become a grandma for the first time, and was just really glowing. Karen and Dolly decided to head back up to our place. The three black mares wanted to stretch their legs, so we turned them loose a bit on the deserted wide grassy area near a bean field. It was pretty neat.....Then when we were slowing down and coming around the corner of the field, the horses spotted a "horse killer." It was one of those strange bicycles where the rider sits low to the ground with their legs straight out in front of them. To make matters worse, the bike had a long pole attached to the back of it with an orange flag -- most likely a safety feature. Well, Juliette's mare saw that and made a really fast move to the right. Juliette had too much momentum going, and ended up falling -- actually more like sliding out of the saddle. She hung onto the reins, and everything was OK. No one hurt, no big deal.

Then as she was getting back on, down the path comes a group of "horse killers." It was a miniature horse pulling a cart being driven by a woman, a teenager on a bicycle with a dog on a leash, a young girl walking with a dog on a leash. Well, this group was more than our mares were ready to deal with. Zora starts acting up -- she can't handle all these strange looking critters. Everyone was very gracious and knew what to do. We all worked together to handle the situation. We turned the horses around, and the group passed us. All was calm until we overtook them.....when we got close to the group again, the miniature horse (who had blinders on) could sense something was going on behind him/her, and started getting really agitated. So again, our two groups had to work together to get thru the situation. We stopped our horses, the woman driving the cart turned it around so the little horse could see us and calm down. The guy on the bike with the dog on the leash rode way up ahead and out of the way. It all worked out once more.

When we got back to our house, the Quarter Horse friends met back up with us. Dolly lost her cell phone somewhere along the trail.

What a day! What a ride! Uusally we come back to our place nad John throws something on the grill for a meal, but this time Dolly brought meatloaf and bread, Dee brought shrimp cocktail, and we all had beer. It was so nice of them -- Dolly even brought the cutest fall-themed paper plates and napkins. So we gathered in our dining room and had a great meal and talked about our adventures. It is fantastic to ride with friends!

Peak Colors

(My attempt at creative photography-I put the camera on the tree trunk and shot the photo straight up...)

Here in Northwest Indiana, we had our peak colors of fall in the last two weeks. That is all over now, because it has been raining and the rain knocks all the leaves off the trees. I believe most people in the country don't think of Indiana as a beautiful state, if they think if Indiana at all...but actually it is really pretty here; and at different times of the year there are specific times where it is particularly striking. In the fall, people come from around the midwest to our state parks to see the colors at their peak.

That is one of the best times for horseback riding --in the fall at the peak of the colors. That is what I missed this season...but I do have some photos of scenes around where I live. Of course the pictures do not do it justice. We had a lot of golds and yellows this year. On my drive to work there are two spots I go through that I swear just glowed with the color.

So here we are, another fall season about gone......you know what comes next!! Snow!!!!

Kiva -- Loans that Change Lives

When John and I started our real estate company, Dunewood Homes, we decided to do something when each deal closed. We feel very fortunate in our lives, and though things have not always run smoothly, we have a lot to be thankful for. So we decided that at each closing, we would give a monetary donation to a charity. At first we would send something to the local Humane Society and the battered women's shelter. In looking for other organizations to give to, we found the Unity Foundation. It is an organization in LaPorte County that sets up endowments and gives regular donations to a number of local charities. Then the war broke out in Serbia. John has relatives there. And while we could not send anything to Serbia while the war was on (our government put a ban on the postal service delivering there), after the war was over we were able to help his cousin. The country's economy was in shambles, and she is a single mother who really needed some help.

Recently, I saw an interview with Bill Clinton the PBS news program "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer." He was talking about microfinance and how it helps people in poor countries. One of the organizations is called "Kiva" and they make small loans to people who are struggling to get their small businesses to succeed. These people do not qualify for traditional loans thru banks because they are too small, have no start up capital, or things like that. Many times, these loans help people get started on a venture that lifts them out of poverty. I was really intrigued, and went to the website kiva.org to find out more about it. I have a link to Kiva on the upper left corner of my blog here. I also put one of their banners at the bottom of the page. I think I am going to change to a different banner -- this one looks sort of lost there. For $25 you can help someone....

We had two closings recently (unbelievable -- the market may be beginning to pick up) so I selected four people to loan money to. It was hard to choose....I wanted to send something to an entrepreneur in Eastern Europe, but they were all funded. I also wanted to send something to someone in Vietnam because I believe we have a lot to live down in that country, but they were all funded too. But I did find 4 -- two in Asia (one in southeast), one in Dominican Republic, and one in Africa (because John wants to go there and I refuse).

I thought I might let all of you know so you can check it out for yourselves.

One Week Down. How Many Left to Go?

I have been out of commission with this sprained ankle for one week now. It is just making me crazy, because this is a really great time for riding in Northwest Indiana. Our trees are almost at peak color, and the temperatures are mild.

Sunday was particularly difficult -- it was really nice outside, and it was exactly the kind of day when we would have gone for a ride. I was in the kitchen cooking and I heard a friend's voice calling out a "hello" to me. Sure enough, it was Dolly, Tom and Terri stopping by for a visit. They had been out riding -- I was so envious!!! Here they are, on their horses getting ready to leave. Look at these pictures of them on their horses and enjoying a wonderful fall day....

Now look at this picture of me with this contraption on my foot, unable to ride.....Who do you think is having the better time????

You have to look up on the deck of the house to see me.....

Count Your Blessings

This happened about a week and a half ago. I cannot seem to get it out of my mind, so I thought I should post it.

I was driving to work, and stopped at a red light. The car in the lane next to me was a big, beautiful Mercedez Benz. I sat there looking at that car and thinking about the person driving it. I was thinking things like “Wow…it must be nice to be able to afford a car like that. This person must really have it made – no money worries or anything.” As I was thinking this, a small face appeared in the window of the backseat – it was the face of a child with Down’s Syndrome.

This hit me like a ton of bricks. I was reminded of something I already knew, which is – you never know what challenges people are facing in their lives. No matter how wonderful everything looks on the outside, we all have difficulties to deal with. I believe God put me at that red light to remind me of this. Perhaps lately I have not been as patient and compassionate as I should be, and I needed a wake-up call. I can tell you this – I got the message.

Horseback Riding Friends to the Rescue

I did it again...for the THIRD time I have screwed up an ankle! First time was when we were building our house -- I twisted my right ankle and broke a bone in my foot on an uneven stair step. Last summer I twisted the other ankle simply by stepping off a small retaining wall onto the driveway. Now Sunday I twisted my right ankle while stepping out of the barn with an armload of hay. All I did was take a step down onto the ground like normal, like I do at least twice a day every day....I heard a loud cracking sound, and then there was blinding pain, and I was on the ground. I knew immediatelyI was in trouble. And I was really TICKED OFF because we were going to go riding Sunday afternoon........

By the time I got in the house it looked like I had a baseball attached to the side of my ankle. Thankfully we had some Vocodin left over from when John had to have a root canal....

So I am sitting there, bummed out because I can't ride and because I know what I am in for over the next few weeks. The phone rings, and it is our horseback-riding-cell-phone-talking friend Dee. She and Dolly and Karen and Terri are out riding the woods near our house. Of course we told them to stop by. Thank goodness! Made me feel much better to see horses in my yard and be able to have a beer and some laughs with friends.

Here is Karen and Dee arriving on the scene.

The chickens came to visit Dee's horse.

Dolly's horse making friends with Zora and Misho.

Karen's horse -- He is a handsome guy, isn't he?

I should have gotten some photos of us around the table, but didn't think to do that (duh). I took a lot of other pictures, but they are too dark -- you know my photographer skills are not the best.

So I have been to the podiatrist, had x-rays.....it is not broken, just a severe sprain. I won't be riding for a while (BUMMER!!!!). But at least he gave me a boot-type thing so I don't have to use the crutches anymore.

I hope it heals fast................