Friends are Here

I have friends visiting this weekend. The Akers have been dear friends for almost 30 years. Ashley, their daughter came along with Karlie, their granddaughter. Karlie is an animal lover and she loves horses. She took off her boots beside mine and I just thought it looked adorable. We took a walk around the lake and visited the goats, pigs and sheep. We have two horses missing. I turned them out to eat some grass and they have wandered off so tomorrow we will go on a horse search. We will be cowgirls. Big and little.

Life is far from boring

The camp is coming to life this spring. The lake is almost full. The grass is green and the horses are happy. I just returned from Waco where I attended a horse instructor certification class. I am happy to say I passed with a Level III certification. Makes me want to take more lessons and continue learning. My Mom came to help with the dogs and horses.

I just came in from working around the barn. I noticed a skunk in the barn aisle and he was sick. I was able to trap him in the tack room. I called Jeff, the camp manager, and he came with his gun. I had to go into the tack room and find the skunk and shoo him out for Jeff to shoot him. Luckily he was too sick to spray me. It was another "camp adventure". I love it that my life is far from boring.

Storm is a comin - Look Up!

This is the sky at camp this evening. I took this picture out in front of the barn and I was working Indira. We are expecting rain. They say up to 4 inches tomorrow. I hope it fills up the lakes.

As I stood there feeling the wind whip around us. I just looked up in awe at the beautiful mountains and the clouds moving overhead. I could feel the energy in the air, so could Indira and she wanted to run. I have been practicing gratitude and I had to say "Thank you God for your awesome beauty and allowing me to live here and enjoy it". I became aware of the gift of HIS beauty is for everyone. We all can look up - no matter how much money we make, or how little we own, it doesn't matter what country we live in, how old we are, whether we live in the city or country,etc. We just have to LOOK UP.

SPRING

I am feeling myself awaken with spring. It has been so many years since I had a Texas spring. I have missed the smells, the sight of green grass under oak trees, the white chalk bluffs, the blue sky. It is good to be back home where I belong and where my heart will always be. It is a familiar and comforting place.

I took a walk just to the gate at the top of the hill when I got home. I took Indira, Calvin and Lily and I think we all enjoyed the breeze and nice cool weather. It was refreshing and the view of the hill country always inspires me. We walked back home in the dark with the full moon peeping out between the clouds. I saw a skunk down in a gully but luckily the dogs missed seeing it. I am so thankful for this place that I am blessed to call home.

A thankful heart brings back many blessings

It is good to be home and in my own bed tonight. It has been busy this week. I am driving to Houston to work at a competitive trail ride this weekend. That is something I did 25 years ago when Ryan and Blake were little. We would camp in a tent and I would ride the two days. I have good memories of those days. Now it is time to go back and enjoy it again. I will be helping the judge this weekend so I will learn what they are looking for. I hope to compete with Indira in the fall. I don't have my fancy trailer with air conditioning and will miss that but I am trying to figure out how to make it somewhat comfortable by the fall. I may get a slide in camper for my truck. For this weekend I'll take a sleeping bag and will fold down my seats and sleep in my Prius. I have a little bit of pioneer woman in me and love the adventure.

We have a "horsey" couple coming out to the camp Thursday afternoon to look at our facilities for doing a Parelli horse clinic here. That would be wonderful if it works out. I live out in the middle of nowhere and horse people are coming to me! I am just so thankful for this time in my life and where I am blessed to live. Part of my job is to buy horses for the camp. I sold 4 Friday that weren't kid horses and I have bought a total of 9 in the past 2 weeks. I probably need to get 15 more. I am going to look at one in Marble Falls that was a prison horse. They are wonderful because they were ridden everyday and have been desensitized to spooking. I bought one last week and you can identify them because they all have a star branded on their left shoulder.

It has been drizzling rain the last two days. I did walk 4 miles to the gate and back in the rain. It felt good, the temperature was just right. I am enjoying the hill country and the birth of spring. Some of the mountain laurel is starting to bloom and the hint of sweet grape is in the air. Tonight I was out working around the horses in the barn and heard a whiporwhil (I'm sure I spelled that wrong). I love the peaceful sound that they make at dusk. I am thankful for all the sights, smells, sounds that God has given me as little gifts in my day. I pray that I don't get to distracted to notice His daily gifts. I have been reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. She tells us how important being thankful is to God. When we cease to give him the glory we loose our way in this world and begin to follow our own sinful desires. He lets our hearts guide us. So my prayer is...Lord keep my eyes open to your works and your truth. Make my heart pure and clean as I turn to you for forgiveness so that you can flow through me. I want to stay on your path for my life. That is my prayer for all of you too. Count your Blessings!

Lily Lu and Pizaz

I love traveling around and talking to people. I have been recruiting college students to be counselors and wranglers for the camp. I ask them about their passions and what they want to do with their lives. It is a joy to listen to their dreams and watch their eyes light up as they share their hopes with me. I am so blessed that I work for Meg and she wants people to do what they love. She says that when you are doing what you love it doesn't feel like work. She is right. I have been looking at prospective horses to purchase for the camp. I will be buying 15-20 horses before May. I have traveled off the beaten path to try out these horses. Some good, some not so good. I have met some interesting characters. They start out telling me their history with these horses and pretty soon they are sharing their stories too. I love driving down these back roads of Texas and seeing the beautiful ranches. I enjoy talking with the owners and riding the horses. I can usually tell by the horse's personality and demeanor within a minute if he will work or not. Does he trust people? Does he stand still or fidget? Does he have a relaxed kind eye? When you get on him is he nervous, attentive or uninterested? Does he like to be touched or just tolerate you? These are all things that I naturally notice after spending many years around horses. I think these are the reasons why horses help us to be better listeners, better at being honest about our own feelings, hopefully better people. I love what I do. I thought you all would enjoy seeing a picture of Alamo's Rowdy Pizaz. I went to buy two lesson horses on Saturday in Marion, Texas. He was out in the pasture with them and I made a package deal. I think he is going to get lots of love this summer from the kids and he will be a great addition to our program. You just never know what you are going to find on these adventures.

Recruiting at West Texas A&M

I woke up to snow this morning in Canyon, Texas. We recruited at the college and talked to lots of students about working at Lonehollow. It took me back to my college days. I'm now in Lubbock and will be recruiting at Texas Tech tomorrow. We will have a pizza party tomorrow evening. I am enjoying this road trip. Talking with the college kids and hearing about their hopes and dreams is very positive. It makes me think about every "season" of our life and how we all have a future with potential for living our dreams and pursuing our passion.