Country Time Acres Blog

Handmade gifts are always special.

Ok, I hear this every Christmas, I’m not giving out cards this year. Once I buy the stamps and the cards it’s just  too expensive. Here is my thought on this. First of all, I know that Christmas comes every year . You are probably going to get one card from me this year and Christmas will be it. I purchase my cards after Christmas or when they are on sale. I  purchase my special horse cards in October. Then I start buying stamps as soon as the Christmas ones are available. This year I got a call from my friend, Carol Deas telling me what a beautiful card she had received from me. Nothing makes your day like going to the mailbox and getting those cards. Forget the e-cards, sure you can send them all with the click of a button but, oh, how impersonal!  During Christmas mine are strung across the livingroom wall. Those cards are as much a part of my holiday tradition as the Christmas tree. So, prepare for next year, I hear the cost of stamps aren’t going up. For the cost of about a dollar or a little bit more you can send a greeting that will warm the entire household and tell everyone just how much you care.

Did you visit?  Leave a comment. Don’t forget to check the side bar Pages/Events 2010 for performances and store showings. happy New Year!!!

The bond of love ties a family together.

Well, in a few hours my daughter Jenna, will be on a plane flying back to California. When will I see her again, I really don’t know. I can not imagine a Christmas without her but, I don’t want every Christmas to end with the gloom of saying goodbye. Sometimes it’s hard being a mother. For twenty years my whole life rotated around my children. Then suddenly, they are all grown up and making a life of their own. One even moves to the other side of the country, how do you deal with that? You want your  child to be happy; to grown and the only way to do that is to let go. Even if it is breaking your heart. You don’t want them to feel guilty for leaving you but, now there is a emptiness. Everytime something good happens it ends with, “Gosh, I wish Jenna was here” or “My mom would have loved this”. You wait for her calls but, it’s just not the same. The only way to share your excitement is through pictures on your blog or video’s on You-Tube. When she is sad or hurting the only comfort you can give is the sound of your voice when all you really want to do is give her a hug. Modern technology is great, the telephone and web-cam are “the next thing to being there” but, the reality is, you just want to be there. Out of sight out of mind, the farther away she is the less I will see her, until one day she is just a figure in the background; that family member we “don’t see very often”. At some time or another we all face that question of moving away. Maybe it’s a job or great opportunity. I would love milder winters and more room for my horses but, I keep coming back to the same thing. Just as being a mother was important to me, so is being a grandmother. I didn’t have grandparents in my life. I want to see their first ballgames and schoolplays. To teach them to ride and care for a horse and do simple things like picking tomatoes from the garden and playing Go Fish.  The family tie is like the bow we tie our shoes with. The loop is the members that leave and come back, the string,the  ones that want the connection of family without the committment and in the center is that tight little knot, the mother and father that hold the family together, no matter what. In the end we only want one thing, to love our children and to be a part of their life and we will do that in what ever manner we have to. Yes, sometimes it’s hard to be a mother, but it’s the most important thing I will ever be. Of all things great and small, a mother’s love is best of all “Unknown”.

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A Good Horse is Never a Bad Color by Mark Rashid

Here is the last of my reviews for books by Mark Rashid. Until, I read some more that is! I really enjoyed reading the stories in this book and got a few lessons out of it myself. A good horse is a good horse no matter what breed, color, size or sex it happens to be./It’s just like when your in school. If your teacher asks a question that you don’t know the answer to, would you want her to help you figure out the right answer or would you rather have her hit you with a stick until you guessed the right answer?/What separates a good owner from a bad one is a good owner understands his responsibility to the horse. Without that understanding it seems, the horse often becomes nothing more than another tool in the shed, a tool that is easily discarded because it never worked properly, when all it may have taken for it to be useful to begin with was the owner to read the directions.

I know a lot of people that think this “natural horsemanship ship stuff” is crap (excuse my language). Having studied horse behavior for  several years I can only say this, the lessons learned from my horses have had a huge impact on my life. I have patience, compassion and the ability to look beyond the obvious. It is because of this knowledge I have been able to do some amazing things with my horses. They are not material things. They give me purpose; they empower me.  I am so glad I have them in my life. He who takes time to learn the lesson shall enjoy the journey.”Jowana Lamb”.

This is another great book by Mark Rashid. Learn more at Mark’s website. Don’t forget to see the side bar Pages/Events 2010 for performances and store showings! Did you visit?  Leave a comment!

Horses Never Lie by Mark Rashid

Another great book by Mark Rashid and the lessons he learned while growing up with horses. This book gives great insight on just what a leader is. Many of us think that to be a good leader you must be aggressive, headstrung and somewhat dominate. Mark, explains the heart of a passive leader. Here are a few things I got from this book; The hard part is keeping trust once it is given. What helps most is to be quiet, consistant and dependable at all times./ I believe that horses know the difference between when you are doing something with them and when you are doing something to them./ You can slowly and unwittingly begin to change your own focus from that of trying to understand the horses perspective on things to that of reaching the next rung on the ladder./ Your relationship with your horse comes from your heart not your hands./I am beginning to realize that a person never gets “there”. This is a journey, not a destination. Everything that is important is “as you go”, not when you “get there”. Because there is no there./In the end, all we really have is ourselves and our horses. No technique, tool, or tack is going to change that. But then, I guess it never should. Visit Mark’s website to learn more. I was reading his blog and learned that “the old man” in his books was Walter Pruit!

A must read!  Did you visit? Leave a comment.

Don’t forget to see the side bar Pages/Events 2010 for performances and store showings.

Considering the Horse by Mark Rashid

Once I read this book, Considering the Horse, I was hooked on Mark Rashid. The book tells stories about his life growing up with horses and the lessons learned. This is just one of several he has written and they are alll well written, entertaining and inspirational. Here are a few things I got from the book; I’ve often thought of how some people’s attitudes towards horse training are a lot like that old pole-unyeilding and unforgiving and buried so deep that you can’t get them out. /Old attitudes can change. Sometimes it simply takes a little more effort and time than we’d orginally thought. Just like that old pole that stood dauntless in the middle of the round pen all those years. It finally came down. It’s  just that it took an eight ton bulldozer to do it. /You can’t help somebody who doesn’t want to be helped, especially when it comes to them and their horses. To ask for help means you first have to admit perhaps you did something wrong. /All it really takes to develope that kind of trust is three little things, time, patience and understanding. It’s the people who don’t take the time to do things right, don’t have the patience to help the animal instead of force him or don’t try to understand his point of view, who run into trouble.   Learn more at Mark Rashid’s web-site.                 

This is a great book. Did you visit?  Leave a comment! Don’t forget to see the side bar Pages/Events 2010 for performances and store showings.

A new year begins!

In just a few days a new year will begin. This is a time to put the past behind and start fresh. I won’t complain about much but, their are a few things I’d like to put in writing so I can keep track of my goals for 2010. 1. Loose weight and get in shape, cut back on eating out.  2. Dance more, dancing makes me feel good physically and mentally.  3. Put 75-100 hours on my Ride America with Dakota. 4. Take my Parelli levels tests. It’s time I get those peices of paper to valididate  my hours of hard work with my horses.    5.Write more. I have always dreamed of writing a book.  6. Spend more time having fun with friends and family. 7. Eliminate the things that are negative in my life. I want to enjoy life!  8. Spend more time enjoying my horses.  9. Get my house organized once and for all! 10. Get my photo’s organized. Memory cards are great but, I need to put them in albums. 11. Take some craft classes. I need to feel creative again and would like to meet some new friends.

Have a great New Year’s and spend the next year living each day as if it were your last! Did you visit?  Leave a comment. Don’t forget to see the side bar Pages/Events 2010 for performances and store showings.

Masked!

All fired up!

Things are never dull at Country Time Acres. Makhi and Jenna enjoyed modeling the masks I gave Jenna for Christmas. Jenna also did her performance using fire poi in the snow. Bet she can’t do that in California. Well, maybe she could is she really wanted to. Last year Jenna gave me poi for Christmas. At Thanksgiving she showed me how to make hoops and do a few tricks. I used my new toys to do a routine in my production of “LeCirque of Horses”. This year Jenna gave me some beautiful scarves to dance with. I am hoping I’ll get to use them in my next production. Remember, we don’t stop playing because we get old, we grow old because we stop playing, George Bernard Shaw.  I don’t plan to stop playing anytime soon. Don’t forget to see the side bar Pages/Events 2010 for store showings and performances. Did you visit?  Leave a comment!

The Lamb Family, Terry, Tracy with Tessa, Jowana and Jenna.

 

My daughter, Tracy's Family, Tracy, Makhi and Leon.

 Hope everyone had a great Christmas!  We had a very nice day complete with family and gifts and most of all, no more snow! I think the 15 inches we got last week is enough to last us for this winter. Today’s rain has almost washed all of it away and now all we have left is mud. Makhi, my grandson was quite happy to find that he wasn’t on the “naughty list” afterall. He finally got the barn he wanted as well as some games and puzzles. His family will enjoy their new Weii game station and Tracy will love cooking in her new cookware. She was pretty surprised to get her very own tupperware hamburger press. Boy, are they a hard item to find! Jenna was home from California and is very hard to buy for. I purchased some very pretty masks at a festival I attended, bought her some fabric (she makes her own costumes) and she got a fire hoop. Maybe someday I’ll get to see her spin it. Terry   and I kept it simple as we are headed to Atlanta, to see Calvalia. We got some much needed socks and warm weather gear and of course, I got lots of new books.  Happy New Year from the Lamb Family!!! Don’t forget to see the side bar Pages/Events 2010  for performances and store showings. Did you visit?  Leave a comment.

Savannah's First Snow.

The other horses check out Savannah's new blanket.

Well, we just got our first snow and what a storm we had! We seldom get snow for Christmas, let alone 15 inches or more. The horses were cooped up for about two days when Terry finally got a path  and a play area cleared for them. Savannah got her first touch of the snow and didn’t know what to think of it. The other horses were more interested in her new blanket, they had never seen her with it. She does look adorable in it. After a few minutes of being silly everyone calmed down and enjoyed eating hay. Cheyenne is my snow bunny and just had to try out a few hills of snow first. It might be pretty but, I really don’t care for the snow. Hopefully this will be our first and last snow of the year. Only three months till spring! Did you visit?  Leave a comment! Don’t forget to check out the side bar- Pages/Events to find performances and store showings for 2010.