the eternal return

Monday, I had a late afternoon chiropractor appointment... so I was rushing around getting all my end of the day stuff completed. 2 of the pony mares had already foaled... still watching OYY Demeter - who has presented us with some false alarms over the past 2 weeks.

Here is a nice photo of her from last summer.

As I looked over at her in the paddock - wondering.. should I bring her in or leave her out ? I decided I may as well bring her in once again just in case. I tied her at the hitchrail to give her a good brushing, which might make her feel more comfortable in her late waddle fat stage of pregnancy. Yikes - I barely had the safety knot tied and my brush out -- her water broke just as a big wind swirled up and blew the gushing birth fluid all over me !! Wow, this is a new and different experience. Demeter could barely toddle to her waiting birthing room --- once there - she plopped down and pushed out a nice curly colt !! All day, she appeared quiet and relaxed so I did not suspect much from her. She must have been holding it in for me to put her in the stall ? I was also was present for her 2009 foal .. lovely OYY Matisse, but that day she paced and rolled, laying down, getting up all day long.

Here is that classic photo of Mom meeting baby... when mares rest a bit after those BIG contractions. The foal's hind legs still inside the birth canal and the life cord unbroken. At this point, they remain one.. As I was snapping this photo - I was reminded of the oroboros -- the universal symbol of constant creation -- cyclicality.

The oroboros is represented in every ancient culture. To me, it illustrates how observant and 'in-tune' humans once were. Along the side of my blog page is a photo I took of the placenta -- the perfect Tree of life depicted in the physical design. It's no wonder that people revered these symbols and incorporated these motifs into all into their belief systems.

Patterns born in such ancient times re-creating themselves every day in the mundane universe around us -- for us to enjoy and celebrate, a reminder of the eternal return.

Here's the little fellow the following day - soaking up some sunshine. I have been calling him OYY Rizzoli.... my chiropractor's name is Dr Rizzo :)

I think he's a dun palomino (dunalino ? ) as he does have a dark dorsal stripe. He's a handsome young man for sure !

What a cutie !! His sire is OYY Finnegan.. so he's full brother to last year's OYY Matisse. He'll make someone an outstanding medium pony mount or perhaps a little stud pony !


This past week has been vacation week - so Zoe's children were at the farm all week. They had fun playing with the pups and running around the yard -- BUT this meant no riding for Zoe and me -- eeeek. Saturday arrived with perfect weather -- Zoe was itching for saddle time, I wanted to drive my Nimue !! We had opportunity to do both actually - since Nimue can cover so much ground in such speedy time... we had a super drive - trotting the 12 mile loop in under 2 hours with time to chat with neighbors, and also detour off into the woods to do some 4-wheelin' ! I just LOVE the way Nimue flies :)

Past Hidden Valley pond - where the two geese glide lazily through the water.

We had to stop and stand quietly for Zoe to capture a close up of the painted turtles who sun themselves on this rotting trunk. She's becoming quite the photographer as I have mentioned before-- now if I give the camera over to her - I end up with infinite photo's to sift through and edit :) That's a good thing -- as it proves she is noticing the world.

Lots of ponds on our trip - Mineral Springs pond is one of my favorites. I have not seen nor heard the kingfisher here this year -- I wonder if he moved to another location ?

Beautiful views and scenery along the way.

I love the video's of our road trotting -- Nimue just moves out with such joy and enthusiasm !


on our approach to homebase - we decided to detour into woods for a trail drive. This is FUN ! We met up with a couple of large trees down across the trial .. with deep water filled ditch along the right side -- not sure if I could make it through with the cart - I asked Zoe to try to move one of the trees.... not possible - so here we go.













Nimue is completely unfazed by this obstacle.








Here's a video of her on the trail.



When we arrived home - Zoe satisfied her saddle urge by schooling Elektra in the big ring... in preparation for a June show. I had little jobs to take care of (like cleaning up Nimue's harness !) .. but next time I will go down and video them together. OYY Elektra is performing her flying lead changes like a pro --- these two have come a long way together !




Then -- Zoe rode OYY Little "Z" for a bit -- Elektra's maternal sister. They resemble one another some .. "Z" is perhaps the more beautiful of the two (don't tell Miss Elektra). "Z" is a bit more naturally forward with a wonderful big walk.
I love it when both rider and horse are smiling :) Are they a happy couple or what ?




"Z" loves getting out of the small arena.. next time she's going down the trail ! She has a very comfy sitting trot -- what a great horse. She is wearing her sister's old bridle, since Elektra earned a new one.

If this gorgeous girl has not sold - I think she will do a few intro classes in the fall. She'll be a nice Curly representative in the show ring.











We often use the ATV to pony our horses down the road or move them in groups from field to field. It's fun to see how fast they can trot alongside the 4-wheeler. Here are OYY Iko Iko and OYY Buster Brown -- trotting over to the wooded pasture across the street.


Iko is a pony stallion still... he's staying smaller than I thought he would so perhaps he'll have a mare or two one spring. For now, he hangs out with his pal Buster - who is a handsome gelding just waiting for us to have the time to ride him !
Iko is a nice dunskin color - an extreme colt out of Tall Trees Sassie and Classic Dreams Cherokee Storm (our cremello stallion). I hope soon he will be a driving pony... he's been introduced to ground driving already but for now -- he's going to have to deal with some time off.
Busy week -- full of wonderment and fun :)
Enjoy ~