Bon Voyage Bastian and Svoelnir !

Au Revoir to

Bastian and Svoelnir...

whom were adopted by Cathy & Tracy

a wonderful couple who live up 

in the mountains near Jackson, California !

I went up to Jo's and we walked them down 

the ranch road to an easier location 

for horse trailer loading.

It was a gorgeous sunny day and 

the boys looked so handsome...

I think they were quite excited 

to go on an adventure.

Bon Voyage 

and

May you be happy 

with your new herd and people !

xo

Another Beautiful Day...

Another beautiful day up here in the mountains... It looks beautiful- doesn't it ? 

Actually we've been having tons of wind, with some pretty hefty gusts, over the last 3 days so outdoor work has not been very appealing- not with oak pollen, ceanothus pollen and dust flying all over the place ! 

My friend Jo ('yo') has been out of town these last five days and I've been going further up the ranch road to her place to give her Icelandic boys their treats and help her partner out with their extra care. 

Roger has been letting them out in the mornings after their breakfast and when I go up around noon, I entice them back into their respective paddocks with a little hay and then give them their treat mix (beet pulp, grains etc). 

They have been shedding so each time I've raked one or two of them... atchoo ! There's only 5 ponies there at the moment: FlyBoy, Mimir, Bleikur, Andi (top) and Bastian (bottom). The other two are already down in Petaluma grazing on the 'fat' of the land. 


Andi is so handsome with his rusty red coat and caramel mane. Bastian is a looker too... he tends to 'run away' so recently Jo divised a plan that appears to be working quite well. Bastian now has legal permission to break out and wander in the neighbor's field (the grass is greener- metaphorically speaking). It makes him feel so free and powerful. 


So... after getting the other 4 ponies 'secured' and fed- I have been wandering down the road to find Bastian and then egg him on to race me back 'home'. He always gets there first, of course, but the bowl of yummies awaits him... clever trick, that !

Ah yes, another beautiful day...
xo

In memory of Nimue

Lately, I have found myself feeling unusually introspective about life and its philosophical ins & outs (the more you know- the less you know ?) I think witnessing death and feeling loss created & intensified that opportunity for me.

Nimue's passing was so unexpected... sudden... final. With the help of ranch friends her body was laid to rest at Twilight by sunset. The overwhelming sadness lingered... and many questions were raised within myself. One of my dear friends is an animal communicator with the incredible ability to reach out & speak to animals on all planes of existence. She was able to talk with Nimue and help us both thru this transition. What a healing gift ! I feel so blessed to have had that service available to us.

I wanted Nimue's memorial ceremony to be a celebration... She was born right before spring and died a month after her 7th birthday. Named after the Welsh Spring Maiden, Nimue ('Nim-way'), her energy was bouncy and lively. Clearly I needed some time to get to that energetic place within myself. When I felt ready to set the date... it was to take place a month after that. It gave me time to process... to create ceremonial items... to order things... to be able to look at photos and... put all the pieces together.

Sunday April 18th arrived and some of my dearest Californian girlfriends & I gathered together here on the ranch and enjoyed an unusual gorgeous sunny day. We spent the morning up at Jo's taking a walk with some of her Icelandic ponies, and then returned to Twilight for Nimue's memorial ceremony, followed by a potluck feast... and in celebration of spring we indulged in a clothing swap !

In memory of Nimue... Altar

Altar dressed in yellow with honeybee hexagon motif... Favorite photos of Nimue throughout her life adorn the wall... A statue of a dog that reminds me of her... a cream dahlia flower that Melinda brought... a vase full of white calla lilies & yellow flowers that Julia contributed... four buddleia butterfly bushes in yellows and pinks... a sunflower platter filled with yellow & white wild flower heads... Nimue's food bowl filled with 70 yellow ribbons... a scrapbook filled with photographs, poems, animal communication scripts and other Nimue related memories... two long burning white candles... a mini skeleton dog dressed in a skirt, scarf & hat... Nimue's dog collar with tags... a white & yellow Brizel silk tapestry memory box with Nimue's fur in it*... A white, yellow, red multicolor Brizel silk tapestry heart plush with a custom Nimue's photo on it*... a wood pendant netsuke carving of Kwan Yin gifted to me by Jo... a platter of ceremonial canine treats and bundt cake*... a white chocolate 3d dog*... an art tile with a dog that reminds me of Nimue*... a platter of individually wrapped dog shaped white sugar cookies made by my friend Laura in VA.

In memory of Nimue... Ceremony

Light candles at altar

Invoke Nimue with Mama Calling

Procession to grave site... celebrants carry Nimue statue, platter of wildflower heads, yellow ribbons in dog bowl, and Buddleia bushes

Set statue in rock nook, plant & water flower bushes, listen to Nimue's Ballad, scatter flowers

Procession to Upper Orchard... celebrants tie 70 yellow ribbons to the fruit trees whilst reciting Nimue's Poem

Return to altar... cut Nimue's bundt cake in three, Merlin & Dingo officiate the start of the feast !

In memory of Nimue... Feast Foods

Many of the edibles were white or yellow or canine theme... dinner the previous night had been a creamed cauliflower potato soup with corn & crusty white bread with white chocolate bark for desert... breakfast was an assortment of eggs, dog shaped toast, baked beans, paw shaped french toast, a fruit salad with bananas... lunch had a variety of yummy salads: marinated sliced yellowed cucumbers, red beets with nuts, an eclectic green salad, vegan wheat gluten faux meats and lemon chicken... we had lemonade & apple juice and even some white wine available... I made a banana vanilla coconut tofu pie in a graham cracker crust... and then there was Laura's dog shaped white sugar cookies which we had all the way at the end !

In memory of Nimue... Gratitude

Thanks to my friend Karen Lisa for all her incredible love, energy & help

Thanks to all my EFA Team mates who have been so very kind & understanding

Thanks to my Etsy friends for all your loving convos of concern

Thanks to my friends Julie & Melinda for sending me sympathy cards

Thanks to Jo for making time to have fun with the ponies (Flyboy, Andi, Kappi, Svoelnir, Mimir)

Thanks to Julia, Melinda, BJ, and Jo for officiating in Nimue's ceremony and for all your gifts of love and generosity

Thanks to my friend Laura G. for the home made ceremonial dog cookies

Thanks to my father & Anne and to my siblings for being in touch and for all their support

In memory of Nimue... *Resource information

Lovely animal buttons & embellishments...

theanimalsmagicshop

Yummy dog & animal treats...

CiaoHound

Canine shaped chocolate dogs...

BeasCreativeCorner

Gorgeous animal artwork & tiles...

carolscanvas

Brizel Silk Tapestry box...

brizelhandcrafts

Brizel Silk Tapestry heart plush...

brizelhandcrafts

Beautiful vintage glass earrings...

lkfarnsworth

Entertaining chocolate mints...

purrfectgifts

All photos are copyrighted 2010 by photographers

Design copyright remain with the artists

Introducing Jo's herd of Icelandic horses

When I was growing up in the Geneva area in the late sixties... my siblings and I used to take horse back riding lessons on a regular basis. I loved the smell of the arena and looked forward to seeing the horses.

Later on when I was a young teenager, I realized that the allergies I was developing were keeping me from seeing clearly where i was leading the horse. I stopped riding and alas stayed away from equines... at first it wasn't too difficult as I didn't have access to horses or I was living in cities and my attention floated to college, boyfriends, developing careers etc.

About 10 years ago, I went to a gathering at Greenfield Ranch and low & behold in a pasture close by was an old horse. Looking for a place to play my penny whistle- I ventured up a tree to do so... and to my surprise, the horse came to investigate. I came down and said hello... and although my eyes began to moisten a little with allergic sensitivities, I realized that it wasn't all that bad and that I could spend a few moments with him. Time evidently was healing my allergies !

My friend Jo ('Yo') who owns property on the same ranch as I do, has 7 Icelandic ponies under her care. She used to be an Icelandic horse breeder (Farandi Farms) and has been working with & training horses most of her life. All 7 of her boys (6 geldings, 1 stallion) are currently wintering on the ranch and I have been going up to visit them and hanging out with this herd for about 3 months.

Let me introduce them to you !

This is Andi, who is the boss of the herd

He has a lovely caramel coat with a vanilla mane

Bastian to the right & Mimir to the left...

Bastian likes to be the boss when Andi is away

Mimir is the youngest with 6 yrs of age

This is Bleikur, the stallion... Mr Icelandic !

Kappi is horsing around in this photo...

he wantz to kiss me !

Here's Fly Boy who is the elder in the herd...

about 20yrs of age... and a complete softie !

This is his best friend, Svoelnir ('Svernia')...

...whom I spend a lot of time with.

I just completed a 6 day 'mom is away from home' daily horse care experience... in not the best of weather conditions, I might add. It was a wonderful experience... with some adrenaline moments... but all is well that ends well ! I look forward to seeing them again soon :)

Aren't they beautiful and handsome ?

Animal update @Twilight

GREETiNGS on Hallow's Eve... and also full moon night !

Here are some recent photos of me and my family and animal friends...

My new avatar showing off my new GreenWoman hat, with coordinated earrings and Bee-licious necklace... created by two of my very favorite Etsy artists: Cerublu, a crochet & textile Goddess, who lives much as i do in Australia... and lkfarnsworth, a talented writer and maker of colorful adornments, who is currently under a snow siege in Denver, Colorado.

You can press on their store names to explore their wonderful Etsy shops. I will be posting more photos of some of their delicious wares and in the upcoming future will be featuring them on this blog !

Dingo wanted to participate in the self portrait series so here she is in all her glory... she is doing well and loving her new daily diet of three home cooked meals consisting of baby oats, chicken, spinach... sweetened with honey and topped with slippery elm syrup & two papaya digestive enzymes. If I wasn't a vegetarian... i'd be sharing one of her meals... at least... lol

This is what happens when I leave the property... Merlin & Nimue congregate at the gate... waiting... waiting... until my return. They enthusiastically throw themselves into the van upon my arrival and ride up the hill as if they were the charioteers :)

Ah yes, Zippy Zip... now king of felines at Twilight... a wild thing who zig zags up the Empress trees when the wind is blowing- miow-ing in defiance at the swaying leaves. Such an independent soul... but always comes home in the end to cuddle up with the dogs & me (or is it the dogs and I ?).

And lastly... meet Svernia, an icelandic pony who lives on the ranch at Jo's house, along with 6 other stallions: Andie, Fly Boy, Cappy, Memur, Bastian, and Bleiker. Her two mares live off property as the boys tend to misbehave when they are around. Ha ha ha- ain't that the truth of it :)

I've been taking Svernia for walks once a week and last week actually got to ride him. WOW... The first horse back riding i have done in.... 30 years. I hope to get together with Jo and the stallions once a week for some horse loving fun !