From A Filly's Best Friend, I recieved the Kreativ Blogger Award:


 
For this award, I am supposed to share 10 things you may not know about me:
1. I love sardines! Mmmm. The ones with the tomato sauce are my favorites.
2. I wasn't allowed to have pets as a kid. Maybe that's what I'm making up for now!
3. I wanted to go to vet school, but didn't think I could deal with the people. Plus microbiology kicked my butt in high school!
4. I was originally a physics major and was REALLY good at it, but I couldn't think of a job I'd want with that degree, so I did communications instead.
5. I had a photography teacher tell me I sucked and had no talent. His exact words were, "You should quit while you're ahead."
6. I grew up racing sail boats. I sailed at least three days a week and felt more at home on the water than dry land.
7. I have not seen most movies. Seriously, name a 'classic that everyone's seen'. I probably haven't.
8. I used to mountain bike with my dad ALL THE TIME. It's something I really want to get back into.
9. I want to live in Montana/Colorado in the worst way. I even looked into park ranger jobs in the Rocky Mountains.
10. I hate olives. I ate one as a kid, thinking it was a grape. Definitely. Not. A grape.


And now six blogs who I'd like to pass the award on to:
1. Isobelle Golightly the Beautiful Goat
2. Braymere Custom Saddlery
3. Laughing Orca Ranch
4. Pretty Peas
5. The Polarkeet Den
6. Throw the Ball

Mike and I drove down to Island Beach with the dog yesterday. I almost left my camera at home, figuring you guys had seen enough photos of the beach at sunset and Herbie running through the waves.  I would have kicked myself for THAT decision, let me tell you!

We stopped at a deli on the way down to pick up sandwiches for us and fresh water for the dog, then paid the five dollars for parking and started the long drive to the far end of the island.

Only minutes into the park, we spotted a beautiful fox sitting by the side of the road. My secret hope for the day had been that I might get close enough to a fox in daylight to sneak a photo. Wish granted! I pulled the car over, grabbed my camera, and tried not to pee with excitement. Herbie was worrying out loud in the car, and Mike was keeping an eye on traffic so I wouldn't get myself killed.

The fox was incredibly bold, and seemed just as intrigued by me as I was by it. Every time I turned my back, it would take a few curious steps toward me and I was able to get really close for photos. I was even able to shoo the fox to the other side of the road for better lighting without scaring it away.

A friend of mine commented on FB, saying that it's sad that the foxes have gotten so domesticated. I told her I was thrilled, for selfish reasons, but that it's also a good situation for them. The foxes are much harder to spot during tourist season and they are healthier than any foxes I've seen elsewhere in the wild. Coexisting with humans is a pretty good adaptive strategy for wildlife. Also, I GOT TO TAKE PRETTY PICTURES.

When I got back in the car, I told Mike that the trip was already worth it for me, even if nothing else exciting happened. He told me the smile on my face made the price of the camera worth it.

My only regret is not handing the camera to Mike to get a picture of me sitting in front of a wild fox with my fox hat on. Next time!

We parked the car, let the dog loose, and walked down the deserted beach. We saw one other person in the parking lot, but he left shortly after our walk started. Otherwise, we had the beach to ourselves. That's the beauty of going to the ocean on a Monday in January. We sat in the sand, eating our lunch and watching the waves roll in with the tide.

From there, we strolled up the beach to the bay. It's amazing how much faster we walk when I'm not stopping every two seconds to take pictures of everything.

Herbie, of course, had a blast playing with Mike. I think the beach is her favorite park of all time.


We got to the rock wall just as the sun was starting to go down. The waves were pretty calm and we were able to walk all the way to the end without falling to our deaths or getting washed away by the waves.

I was crouching down, taking pictures of a sand piper as he tried to stay on his rock when Mike suddenly gasped, "Is that what I think it is?" I stood up and came over to see what he was looking at. "Look. Look. Right there, by the rocks..." Sure enough, something had bobbed out of the water for a second before disappearing back into the Atlantic. "Do we have... otters or something?"
"I'm sure we do, but I've never seen..."
"Look! Right there!"

The head had reappeared to the right of the rock wall, floating quietly in the mouth of the bay. I zoomed in and snapped away, then zoomed in further on the screen to see what I'd gotten. It took a second for it to sink in. The critter swimming right in front of us was a SEAL.

"Don't they usually swim in groups?" I asked.
As if on cue, another head bobbed out of the water, then another. It's like they were saying, "Why, yes we do. Why do you ask?"



It was surreal and Mike and I couldn't tear ourselves away. There we were, beach to ourselves, watching seals play in the sunset.
"This date has everything," I grinned at him.

It was completely dark by the time we got back to the car and Herbie was exhausted.
"It's no wonder people think I make this stuff up," I mused. "I have a hard time believing that just happened, and I was there!

As always, have a ton of photos:

Lynn, who I met last week when we went horse sledding, has joined the blogging world! Check out her adventures with her gray quarter horse, Max, who you saw in the photos I posted, over at Over Fences, Under Trees. 

Forgot to share how dirty Ozzy was the other day when I went to ride him:


My lesson student came back from her trip and went back to lessons today. I guess Ozzy enjoyed our trail ride because he came right up to the gate when he spotted me today and was very disappointed when I grabbed Art instead. If it ever stops raining, we'll have to trail ride more often!

For anyone out there who still thinks pitbulls are vicious killers who can't be trusted, I present photos of Herbie and our bunny, Kodak. They are, of course, carefully supervised at all times, but Herbie just wants to watch him and Kodak couldn't care less. Photos from my point and shoot because I haven't charged my real camera, haha.

Mike and I went biking on the D&R Canal today because it was another beautiful 50 degree day. We were out for about an hour and we took it easy, only biking as far as we walked last time. I haven't been on my bike in a year and a half and it BURNED. Thankfully, he's out of shape too so I didn't feel like a total fool. We both recovered quickly, but I think my legs will be sore tomorrow. Now it's time to shower and take the birthday boy out for sushi dinner :)

Today dawned bright and clear, with a high of 51*F. All the snow melted over night and it was a gorgeous day for a ride. Mike went home to go work on his truck (the brakes went out when he was taking the quad somewhere a few weeks ago) and I went to the barn to exercise my fat horse.

I didn't have much of a plan when I started out. I've been dying to take Ozzy for a trail ride for quite a while now, but my schedule and the weather just haven't been cooperating. My only goal for today was to get Ozzy off the farm.

Early in the ride, we met a woman and her two young girls. Ozzy stopped for pets and scritches, and when mom asked where I was riding to, I told her I might just go to the end of the street and back. As it turns out, I rode much further than I planned!

We got to Duncraven in record time and I decided I wanted to see if the power line trail was accessible from the road. We wandered slowly along the front pasture fence with Ozzy's hooves squelching in the mud. Then we crossed a very busy Bear Tavern Road and I took Ozzy into the grassy field across the way just to be safe. There were other hoof prints already leading the way and I was hopeful that I'd find some real trail access.

Taken from the ground. Oops.

And then I fell off my horse.

I wasn't paying attention because I was fidgeting with my camera in hopes of getting a good shot of the big barn at Duncraven. Ozzy wasn't paying attention either and got his back legs crossed in the mud. He panicked and fell over and I just sort of toppled off over his hindquarters. He had this look on his face like he wanted to run. Don't even think about running into that road, I thought, gripping the reins tightly while trying not to yank his face. Out loud, I quietly said, "Whoa." Ozzy thought for a second, then stood still. The reins didn't even come over his head.I'm really relieved because the car that was zipping down the road at 65mph didn't even slow down. It's nice to know that I could die on these roads and nobody would even look over their shoulder. *grumble*

Other than a bruised elbow and a thick coating of mud, I came out unscathed. Ozzy looked alarmed, but unhurt. I waited for a lull in traffic, then swung back onto my horse. As usual, we carried right along like nothing had happened. Hopefully that is my fall for 2012.

The trail at the bottom of the powerlines is indeed accessible. However, it was pretty drenched and slippery and I'd had enough muddy time adventures for one day. Ozzy is completely immune to traffic of all kinds so we continued down the street.

Just a little ways down was the entrance to Washington's Crossing State Park, which I've been meaning to go explore on horseback. You may remember my entries about taking Herbie walking there. Bryce tells me there are 14 miles of trail out there, many of which are specifically designated for horseback riding. I only got a brief glimpse of those trails today, but I'm excited for rides to come.

Ozzy and I rode around a big field, across the campgrounds, and down an access road to a big bridle trail. I even found a cross country bank which Ozzy was more than happy to jump up. We came out by the parking area on Church Road where Jenn and I parked the first time I ever went to Baldpate Mountain. I took time to take pictures of the pond, then crossed the street into our second state park for the day. I really lucked out. Today was the one day this week that Baldpate wasn't closed for 'deer management'.

We had a lovely ride on trails I'm very familiar with. It was pretty slick and muddy, but we made good time and even got some trotting in as we went up the hill. Ozzy hasn't even SEEN hills since April. Haha. I saw lots of side trails and endless opportunities for adventure. I'll have to study some maps before the next time I head in that direction, but I'm very excited at the possibilities. It's been a while since I boarded with any kind of access to real trails, and the proximity to Baldpate was a big selling point for Cattail Farm.

Since I'd already gone so far, I cut the most direct route to the trailer parking area where Mike and I watched the meteor shower and took Ozzy straight down Pleasant Valley road and back to Carolyn's. Because of all the mud and road riding, we mostly walked today, but I was pleased to see how far we'd gone. I was guessing about 8 miles. We went 7.99. Pretty good guess, no?

And of course, I took photos along the way.

Aw, Boston Kate's adopter just posted this photo of me and Ozzy from Rabbit run last year:

I spent Friday working for Carolyn at McSNIP, her spay/neuter clinic, which she runs out of Cattail Farm. Following my experience over at Animal Alliance, we've been tossing around the idea of getting some tech training in as a possible job path this spring. The clinic has only been open since September, and already business is booming.

I wound up working eight and a half hours that day. A local trapper had set up at two local farms and captured almost forty cats that needed to be fixed. The last batch were due for surgery on Friday. I spent the day sedating, weighing, shaving, killing ear mites, doing paperwork, updating boards, cleaning traps, supervising cats through recovery, and wrapping packs for the autoclave. All but two of the cats that day were females. I also ran Andre to school and vaccines over to AA.

It was a busy and productive day. Once again, I felt accomplished at the end of the shift. It's definitely a feel-good career, and working at Carolyn's meant a more relaxed pace which allowed for more questions on my part. I learned even more and slept well that night.

I've been casually job hunting and just applied for a live-in position at a nice farm in north Jersey, but I'm still not feeling the pressure to just jump on any job that comes along. Working with Carolyn is a promising path that seems to combine the potential for steady work with something I enjoy doing.

Time will tell!

More horse sledding video from yesterday. Shot by me from the sled.


Just trotting along.


In which I can't steer and tape at the same time.


I try to kill Mike and Herbie... and Max knows it!

Kim invited us to come over for some Snow Pony Fun today. We weren't doing anything else and I jumped at the chance. So Mike and I bundled up and drove over to Kim's 'new' barn (new to me anyway). I was thrilled to see Gali, her super awesome Percheron x TB. He's one of my favorite horses and I'd take one like him in a heart beat.

We had a fun filled afternoon of horse sledding and made some awesome new friends. Gali worked his butt off, towing everybody in turn. Kim and I took turns cantering him around the track. I really got him amped up and he gave me a nice gallop a few times. He even did the warhorse charge takeoff at one point. Haha.

Lynn's quarter horse, Max, was not nearly as amused by our shenanigans. He came from a hunter barn once upon a time and has never seen anything like this in his life. It was a great desensitization exercise for him. LOL.

Herbie got a good bit of exercise, running with the sled, playing with her jolly ball, and discovering peacocks. I think the sledding confused her and she thought we were in danger. At one point, a bunch of geese took off in front of me and Mike and Herbie dove in to the rescue. She grabbed the back of Mike's jacket and pulled him clear off the sled. I felt bad yelling at her for trying to 'help', but I really don't need her getting in the habit of grabbing people.

I also hopped on Bekka's TB mare, Katie. I've heard a lot about her over the years, but have never actually met her. We just futzed around bareback for a while, but I want to come back and play with her for real when Bekka's there.

All in all it was a great afternoon. It was the most riding I've done since I quit SRF and I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow, but it was great to just go out and have fun with horses again. Maybe they're not COMPLETELY ruined for me after all.

Of course we took tons of photos in the process.

We finally got snow!

It was a comfort food kind of day so I borrowed the recipe for Cream of Potato Soup from Katherine's Corner. It was easy to make and absolutely delicious. Definitely a recipe I'd recommend and one I plan on making again (and probably modifying as I go).

Mike and I went driving today. It was overcast so I didn't take many photos, but I did make my first ever attempt at an HDR photo. Have two shots from the afternoon.

Liebster means “dearest” in German, and the award is intended to help up-and-coming blogs get the attention they deserve. Here are the rules:

1. Copy and paste the award on our blog.
2. Link back to the blogger who gave us the award
3. Pick our five favorite blogs with less than 200 followers, and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award.
4. Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs


I got the award from Achieve1Dream over at Living a Farmer's Life. Thank you for the award!!!


Now onto the five blogs I'd like to spotlight:

The Hoge Homestead- Country life at its best! Beagles, horses, great photos! What's not to love?


Jessica Lauriano Photography- Stunning images full of emotion and detail. This blog definitely needs more followers.


The Blog of Becky- Becky cracks me up even on my darkest days. I was sure she must have at least 500 followers over there. Word of advice: don't drink coffee and read Becky's blog at the same time.'


Make Mine a Draft- Kim and her handsome draft horse, Gali, are some of my favorite online-turned-IRL friends. What other horse would tolerate my clumsy efforts with a polo mallet... bareback?


Gotta Love the Farm- Horses AND goats? Yes please! 

Mike and I had enough time for a walk between the Horse Park and birthday dinner with Erin tonight. We went over to the D&R Canal, about ten minutes from home. In all the years I've been living down here, I've never been to the canal. There's a big competitive trail ride there every year, but I've never made it. It's about time I got out there!

It was a chilly, but pleasant walk. We didn't run into many people and it was nice to know how far we had to walk to get back to the car. I imagine the canal would be GORGEOUS in the fall and intend to go there more regularly in the future.

Herbie even got to make a friend, a big black lab named Winston, who happens to live a block over from us. He's only a year and a half old and had energy to match Herbie's even though he'd hiked nine miles today.

The trail was pretty severely damaged by Hurricane Irene a few months back and some of the bridges are under construction, but Mike and I plan on biking as much of the canal as we can come spring.

As usual, have photos of our stroll.

Mike and I got up early today and braved frigid temperatures to go show our support for Erin at the Horse Park. She has been taking Jabby on new adventures on a weekly basis and he's really getting an education. Today was the Woodedge schooling and Erin took Jabby over to look at some new and exciting jumps and to practice going around an unfamiliar ring with a bunch of other horses.

Mike held an anxious Herbie (why can't I jump the jumps, mom??) while I took  pictures. Jabby was nervous, but Erin rode like a pro, sitting quietly while he worked it out and encouraging and reassuring him when he did well. She was far and away the best rider in the ring and the progress Jabby made in just an hour was visible.

I was busy judging a girl on a gorgeous, leggy chestnut. The horse was a lovely mover, honest jumper, and all around beautiful creature. It was clear that she paid a ton of money for him and isn't qualified to ride an animal of his caliber. She went around in spurs and a big honkin' double bridle and yanked him around after every jump. Poor thing. I heard her complaining that he rears from time to time. Gee, I wonder why. At one point, she commented that he's the dumbest horse in the world. I wanted to tell her I'm pretty sure it's not the horse.

ANYWAY.

After schooling we took a walk down to the cross country course. Erin introduced Jabby to banks and I let Herbie run off some of her energy. It's cold, but the weather is gorgeous and it was nice to be outside.

The whole morning made me really wish for a second horse to futz around with. I miss jumping (and, let's face it, Ozzy is not a jumper) and playing around on the XC course. And endurance. I miss endurance more than anything (not that I could afford to do it right now even if I had a horse).

Regardless-- have some photos from this morning.

Not much to update on on the horse front.

Ozzy got a little stiff in the cold weather and I switched my lesson student over to Art while she learns to trot. The student is on vacation in Poland for three weeks and we'll probably need to use the indoor by the time she gets back. She picked up posting and is gaining confidence.

Mike is seriously interested in trail riding in the spring and has been taking some lessons himself. I've paired him up with Art because Art has been dying for a job and Mike would be riding him while I take Ozzy out. Art is not a social horse and prefers work to lovey dovey time, but he seems to be warming up to Mike. Mike has a good seat naturally and learns fast so they should be galloping around in no time. Andre isn't particularly interested in Art so I get to use him as I please. He's 17 this year and just what I need in terms of a lesson/boyfriend horse. He's also fun to just hop on here or there. Mike wants to build me some jump standards so we'll see where that goes in the spring.

In the mean time, I've decided to put Ozzy back into regular work. I promised I'd give him a full year mostly off so we won't do anything serious until the spring, but my New Year's resolution is to ride him at least twice a week. I plan on going over there tomorrow after I follow up on a potential job at Animal Alliance to trail ride him for a few miles and I schooled him in the outdoor on Sunday. He's fat, out of shape, and pretty stinkin' happy. A few schooling rides will do him good, but I'm just focusing on having fun and enjoying my horse.

Today we were going to drop some trees for Carolyn, but it was too windy when we got there. We wound up hanging out in the spay/neuter clinic for a while, just chatting with Carolyn. I was going to hop on Ozzy, but it got cloudy and bleh so we just played in the field with the horses for a while. Ozzy appreciated the visit and I took some photos despite poor lighting conditions.

So... yeah... I still have a horse and I still ride, but nothing exciting to report.

Christine (ws_topdeck) contacted me earlier this week to see if I was up for a puppy play date/hike this weekend with her and her family dog, Dahlia. Of course I was!

We had both been wanting to check out Cheesequake State Park. Mike and Bryce both wanted to come along. Everything I'd found on the internet showed picturesque salt marshes with nary a person in sight, winding boardwalks, and dogs running happily off leash.

To say the day was a disappointment would be a vast understatement. I started off in a crabby mood because I felt rushed and behind schedule. Christine only beat us there by a few minutes and we had no problem meeting up in a parking lot off the beaten path. I was worried because there were TONS of cars up by the park office, but the white trail didn't seem to be crowded.

We took off down the trail and let the dogs off their leashes to run and play. Dahlia has a great recall and Herbie wasn't about to leave her new buddy for anything.

It wasn't long before it became clear that this muddy little bike path wasn't going to take us through anything scenic and I wasn't pleased with the fact that it ran close to the Parkway. There wasn't even a fence separating the trails from eight lanes of bustling traffic. Eek! We leashed the dogs and hit a paved trail to find our way back to the car and re-group. Sadly, that would be the best part of our walk.

We drove our cars up to the main office and found the trail head for the rest of the park. There were no parking spots available and we wound up having to make one up at the maintenance area across the street. The trail map promised boardwalks, lakes, and marshes. It looked promising...

Apparently it wasn't just us it appealed to, though. We couldn't go more than ten feet without running into another person and the walkways really weren't wide enough for passing. Granted, today was a beautiful 50 degree day, but it's JANUARY. I was hoping we'd get some privacy out there.

The kicker was this yuppie woman who squealed all over Dahlia (omg, black labs are her FAVORITE!!) then scowled at a wagging Herbie and scoffed, "And THAT looks like a pit, which I never pet..." I was halfway down the trail, making  a point of blowing her off, as she called after me, "My friend's daughter was attacked by a pit once...."
"That says something about your friend," I retorted, without looking back.

I should have said, "And you look like a fat old woman. My old car was totalled by a yuppie so I make a point of not talking to YOUR TYPE."

We had given up on the park by then and cut our day short to get out of there. The screaming children, badly behaved dogs, and crowded trail were more than I could handle.  The day was a bust and Mike and I have both been in a foul mood since, but it's nothing some Taco Bell and hard cider won't fix.

At least Herbie got to mud wrestle and make a new friend:

Learned to ride a quad today!

Mike's Raptor 660 has been in and out of the shop (and by shop, I mostly mean his garage) for the past few months and he's finally got it running. It still needs a tune up (clutch cable needs to be replaced and first gear is pretty finicky), but at least it starts and moves now.

Mike took me out  for a spin on the trails behind his house. He was originally just going to have me ride around on the back, but we were already out there and I'm always itching to try something new so he put me up front and showed me the ropes (or, gears, as it were).

It wasn't long before I was out there doing laps on my own. There was some bucking and I stalled it a handful of times, but I got it figured out. Second gear is my bitch! Not bad considering all the toys I've played with have been automatic and this is not an easy quad to ride.

Maybe he'll let me drive the Corvette next (ha!)

"It's like riding Ozzy," he told me on our way back to the house. "If you can ride this one, you can ride any one." I guess we're even now!

I see a fun new way to exercise the dog!

Despite frigid temperatures, we slip out of the house at 3am and drive to the top of the mountain. The dog thinks she wants to tag along, but two steps outside send her running back to bed. We park under the power lines and spread blankets on the side of the hill. He's shivering despite his Carhartt and I laugh because I don't think I've ever seen him cold. We're only out for about an hour, but the time spent is magical. Snuggled under the blanket with his arm around my waist, we point out constellations and planets and watch for falling stars. The wind stirs the trees and tugs at my hood, trying to reach my face, while a coyote's call echoes up from the valley. We lay still and quiet for some time, smiling when meteors light up the cobalt sky, but it isn't long before he's got me laughing and scaring the wildlife. Eventually, I call it quits, admitting that maybe I'm chilly too, and we shuffle back to my car. My headlights seem unreasonably bright after our jaunt into the wilderness, and we wonder out loud about the other people we see on the roads. Minutes later, we tip toe back to bed and warm our hands and feet on each other before drifting back to sleep. It's my favorite kind of date.

Have some videos of Herbie over the last few days. I'm still trying to figure out how to edit clips so these are straight off the camera.
At the end of our beach walk. Herbie was pretty tuckered out.


Playing fetch on the beach.


The digging game I mentioned in my other entry.


At Schooley's yesterday.

Another day, another hike. This time Schooley's Mountain with Mike, Tor, and Bryce.

The boy is learning to ride :)

2011 went out in style. Bryce had his friend, Amber, down for a few days, but Mike and I snuck away for a day by the ocean. We were originally going to hike Cattus Island, figuring nobody would be there in the dead of winter. Once we arrived, we found a park crowded with families, children, and unruly dogs. We didn't even get out of the car. Since we were right around the corner from the bay bridge, we just drove over to Island Beach instead. It was the perfect way to spend the last day of the year before coming back to drink and watch the ball drop with Dev and C.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year. Here's to all the best in 2012!