Country Time Acres Blog

Spending time with kids is great!

This week was the start of this year’s “I Love Horses” reading program. Tuesday I paid a visit to the Kent County Library in Dover, Delaware. I had a very attentive audience of eight children who heard interesting facts about horses. Then I read them two stories. The fun begins with our question and answer time to see who was really listening. Afterwards, I asked them to pose for a picture with  me. Thursday night I attended Literacy Night at the Lake Forest North Elementary School in Felton, Delaware. My table displayed a nice section of horse books as well as grooming supplies and samples of my stamped cards for the “Stampin’  for Camp Lenape”  project. I talked with about a hundred or so children and their folks. Hopefully some of them will attend summer camps or attend our fundraiser for Camp Lenape in October.  I plan to make a lot  more visits with children this year, spreading the word about the great things horses bring to our lives.  Thank you for visiting. We are sorry, but the comment box for this post is full.

Horses feel safe in the company of the herd.

I was sitting with my 4-H members doing  a word puzzle (matching one word with another, example  horse – shoe) and the word barn – sour came up. “What is barn sour?” they asked. When a horse would rather stay with his buddies  then ride with you or races back to the barn at the end of a ride, it is often referred to as barn sour.  But, is this what your horse is really telling you? Horses are prey animals. They eat grass and therefore are at the bottom of the food chain. They live in herds as there is safety in numbers. A foal is taught to stay close to it’s mother and that the place of safety if he is separted from her is with the herd. If the lead horse senses danger he runs and all the other horses follow. He who stops to ask questions ends up being dinner. Horses who live in domesticated surrounding find the barn as their comfort zone. When we ask a horse to leave his buddies and the barn we are taking them away from their safety and out of their comfort zone. Until the horse feels we are a good leader this will not change. When spending time with your horse it is best to venture a short distance away from the barn, adding distance with time. As you develope a trusting relationship with your horse he will respect your leadership and feel more confident about leaving the herd.

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Chocolate Chip Blondies, when a little chocolate is all you want.

All this snow has left me with plenty of time for baking, however that’s really not what my new exercise program needs! Most of the time I bake and send my treats over to Shining Time Daycare to my taste testers. They said these were GREAT! Here is what you will need. In large bowl mix, 1- 1/2 cups  packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter, 2 eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix until blended. Add 1 -1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well, Stir in 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips. Spread into a greased 13 X 9 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into bars.  Did you visit?  Leave a comment!

Baking Powder Biscuits, great for any meal.

When your low on flour but, feel like biscuits this recipe is perfect! Here is what you will need.  Pre-heat oven to 450. Mix 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tbs. sugar, 3 tsp. baking powder and 1 tsp. salt into a large bowl. Cut 1/2 cup shortening using pastry blender, mix until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in 3/4 cup of milk. Dough will be soft and sticky. Place dough onto lightly floured surface, kneed about 10 times and roll to 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured  2 inch biscuit cutter. Place onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake about 10-12 minutes. baking tip: for crusty sides place biscuits about 1 inch apart, for softer sides have biscuits touch. Each biscuit is 160 calories (80 fat).  Did you visit?  Leave a comment!

Off the shores of Lake Michigan there is a place that has become one of the most popular places in Michigan to visit. You can only get there by ferry and once you reach the dock you will discover there are no automobiles. Cars were banned from the island in 1898. Visitors must walk, bicycle or travel by horse. Yes, I said horse. The Mackinac Island Carriage Tours is the oldest and largest horse and buggy livery in the world. The island is home to more than 600 horses. It also hosts several well known festivals. The Lilac Festival was started in1949 and features a Grand parade where all the floats are horse drawn. The annual Fudge Festival celebrates the islands sweetest souvenir and is the most popular fudge in America. There are many sites on the island which include Fort Mackinac, The Dixie Saloon, Mill Creek and Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. At Jacks Livery, Terry and I rented a carriage and our guide, Dorie took us around the island. We had never driven a carriage before, it’s that easy.  Enjoy shopping downtown and stroll through the State Parks. If you are ever in Michigan this is one tourist spot you won’t want to miss!  Did you visit?  Leave a comment!

Country Time Creations will be at the Delaware Horse Expo March 27, 10 at the Delaware State Fair grounds in Harrington, Delaware. Plan to stop by, lots of new jewelry and show specials.