Twice a year, I have a "bottle day"...I round up all the bottles of stuff I use, from hair gel, to fly spray and shampoo, and ...well, you get the picture...and spend an afternoon, cleaning things up, and putting things away. Winter bottle day, things get put inside to keep from freezing...Spring bottle day, they all go back outside, ready for bathing and use all summer. Some might find this a chore, but I always enjoy it, to me it is just another way to connect with my horses. 

You might have noticed a lack of blogging lately. Well, I have been gone from home, and at home, been  involved in business dealings. We made a major job change in the last couple months..going from a day to day business operation ( not my horses )  to a more of a few days a month business operation. This change will allow for a less stressed life, and a little more time off in the time of year we also have a less load of work on the ranch...winter!

My Mom, bravely went through open heart surgery, and is now in the recovery stages, with her surgery being about 2 weeks ago. That was a long day, waiting and worrying, but she came through like the strong woman she is, and is doing well in recovery.

Roger, Mike's brother is at home, living on  his own again, after that summer massive stroke.  I would never have believed you, if you told me less than 4 months after his stroke he would be  home on his own again. He still has some progress to make, but he is doing rather well, considering.

and about the horses ;-)

I finally got a good glimpse of "Tyler" today. The mares have been out on pasture, and with all that is going on, I have just let Krinkles do the colt raising for now. We will soon bring the two of them, for extra groceries over the winter, but for now, they are having a great time. Tyler is learning all the herd rules, and that is always a bonus....he will just be that much sharper about rules when we start asking alot of him. Mike has been doing the "herd checks" as our weather has been so bad, and I have had so much office work to do. Things look good, all the "girls" look happy and content..

Well,  I hear alot of whinnying going on, so guess I will venture out and see what HeartBreaker is hollering about! I can tell it is him ;-)

There is not so much work to do around the ranch this time of year...The mare herd is all out on pasture, along with the newbie colt "Tyler" and as long as they have plenty of feed, they will not need much care,  just a check during the day to make sure everyone is happy and healthy....
HeartBreaker is in our arena, and I am waiting for his bridle to arrive, as I forgot it when I picked him up from the trainers..Trainer Mike had promised to send it to me.
And...we have the 2 weanling babies, in the pasture here by the house. Princess and Packer are enjoying the luxury of their own round bale,  plus of course, the extra feed they require. While here, I am touching up their halter breaking, and advancing their training a bit...we are learning to tie ( on a tie ring ) learning to give all their feet, learning to lead, learning to move haunches and shoulders over...just alot of fine tuning that will benefit them all their lives. They are a fun bunch, they both have so much personality to share. Princess was the same height as Packer, when we weaned her at the start of October,  she is way taller than him now, her genes are showing! Both these babies are covered in curl, and both are striking to look at, and a joy to be around.

Each year, our local newspaper, runs a contest of pet pictures...there is always alot of photos entered, and this year I tried my luck at it...and....I WON !!!  I won the category of "most unusual pet pic"  with this picture of Marissa ( the cat ) actually reaching out and petting "Sage" one of our mares....

This photo shows a good example of how much "Marissa" enjoys having a horse herd around ;-)  Thanks girls for the opportunity to photograph such a cool shot!

Just a note for those that remember me blogging about my brother in law..Mike's brother "Roger"  and the struggle he has gone through after his massive stroke last July..Well, today he returned home, to live by himself ;-)  We also got good news, Mike's brother in law, has a clean bill of health, after a bout of lung cancer earlier this year...so, it is a GOOD family matters day today.

Hi everyone,  I have put a new feature on my website, the "Creekside Photo of the Week".... I have so many nice horse pictures to share, and am limited in where they fit on my website,  so, this is a great way to show them off!

Check it out here....http://www.creeksidecurlies.net/photography.htm

I will share mostly curly horse photos, but occasionally share a photo I may have taken at a horse show or other venue, that I think is worth sharing. enjoy!

I had the pleasure of visiting Izzy at the trainer's last week. Izzy has been with Nicole ( www.customcowgirltraining.com )  for a couple weeks now.  I waited until Izzy was under saddle for my visit, so I could see how things were going. I was very impressed with Nicole's work. Together they are making a great partnership. Izzy has a kind, willing attitude, with no fuss or fear of the training process. She is progressing nicely. Nicole was even kind enough to ride her out in the open pasture for me, on just her 5 th day of under saddle work, so I could get a shot of her in the lovely fall colors. Izzy took everything in stride. This is a wonderful start, for a long journey of training on this filly, and we are mighty pleased with the early results.


and..the fall colors!


Yea !!  a lovely start for this mare...can not wait to see what she looks like in her dressage saddle ;-)

We are in the middle of enjoying the fall colors here. I could not help myself,  just had to get a few pictures taken ;-)  here is Princess, a weanling filly, she had this nice "pose" for me, so I could get the colors in the background....I LOVE how the colors in the background look like water colors!

Ever since the first time I heard the music....the music of the night....the music of the opera..."The Phantom of the Opera"  I have been hooked!  I own the CD, with the opera in its entirety, and love plugging it in, turning up the volume, and getting my office work done. I have seen the opera in person, once...and for a very special birthday gift,  Matthew bought me 2 tickets to see the "Phantom" again. The Broadway road show has come to Spokane for the 2 nd time, and I was determined to see it live again....last night was the night!

Since Matthew has no interest in the opera, I asked his "Fiance"  "Lauren"  to go with me...she was quite willing to accept the invitation, and after juggling some of her college labs, we planned to meet and head out...and...even managed to sneak in a little shopping time before the opera was to start.

Lauren arrived at our meeting spot ahead of me,  gathered her stuff, and got in the car with me..." I hope you don't mind,  she grinned,  but Matthew is going with us!"  He decided he could go to Starbucks and do homework, while we enjoyed the show, and be our driver for the trip home....so, the 3 of us, set off. We did some shopping, had dinner out, and he walked us to the door of the Performing Arts Center in Spokane. The crowd was arriving quickly, and we set out to find our seats...It did not seem like any time at all, and the lights went down, the crowd hushed, and the opera started. What a luxury, the music, the scenery, the  singing voices of the actors...wow...I doubt I will ever lose my wide eyed wonder of the luxury of this show, no matter how many times I am lucky enough to see it.  Lauren and I just lavished every moment, and it seemed way to soon to be over, but it was....Matthew picked us up at the door ( that was another luxury!) and we had a quiet, enjoyable drive home. I arrived home at 12:52am,  8 minutes early!!!  I had give Mike an approx time, to hopefully save some worrying on his part......it was a  wonderful night....including all the music of the night ;-)

After 2 months at the trainers, HeartBreaker is home! We headed up yesterday, and picked him up. It is good to have him home,  but I have WORK to do!  While we were at Twin Willows yesterday, I had Trainer Mike do a warm up for me,  then I took  my very first dressage lesson on HeartBreaker. I have no dressage training, this was my first lesson, but it won't be my last!!!  This is the start of what I expect to be a long a satisfying journey for us.  It will not be the end of Trainer Mike riding HeartBreaker though,  right now, my job is to keep him in shape all winter, and through breeding season, so Trainer Mike can hit the ground running, and compete in First Level in 2009. HeartBreaker was a champ,  he rode like driving a fine tuned sports car,  lots of power if you need it, smooth and easy to manuever....course, he and I will start at the walk...LOL...this also helps my "getting in shape plan"  for me...not just him...so, away we go!

here is a pic of Trainer Mike and his last 2008 ride on HeartBreaker...I almost had to pry HB out of Mike's hands...they certainly have a special bond.