HH Khari-Me-Home goes Home!

 Khari will soon be on her way - to the land of her ancestors;

 Saudi Arabia!  

When I first read King of the Wind - I was fascinated by the Arabian horse.  In my early teens, on a sunny Sunday; I asked my Dad to take me to visit the Lazy VV Ranch in Golden, CO - to actually see & maybe touch... my first Arabian horse!  Up to that time, my only contact with the breed was watching a costume horse in the yearly Pow Wow Parade.   Bask wasn't imported until the same year, 1963 - so Arabians in the US were still somewhat of a rarity.

Dad drove then & still owns his 1954 Cadillac.  We hadn't called first, just pulled in & were met with handshakes & smiles all around.  Dad explained this his eldest daughter was completely horse crazy, but that he was humoring me by the visit.  We were invited to the mare pasture & with a whistle, the entire band of mares started moving in our direction.  I picked out a charcoal gray!  I was told that she had a blemish on one leg & therefore could be sold at the very low price of $60,000.  I was thrilled!  She was For Sale!!!  Dad was aghast!   We had a tour of the farm that I will never forget.  Whether the stallion I saw was Rifage - I don't know, but I do know that whoever it was - he was the most beautiful animal I'd ever seen...

Once Dad had me back in the car, he said;  "Honey...  you could buy a Caddy for the price of that horse!"  :-)  Almost thirty-years later when Butch bought me my first Arabian mare - my awe of the breed had not diminished...

Khari on Dean's farm~

Now...  Khari will travel to a new land, to race across the sand of the Arabian Deserts.  It hasn't been easy - but what an opportunity & thrill to think of her going!  She sold herself, her record speaks for itself & the pre-purchase exam by James Bryant, DVM of Pilchuck Veterinary in Snohomish, WA - could not have been better.  (Dr. Bryant accompanied "Team USA" to the 2008 World Endurance Championship in Malaysia.)   Khari's upcoming trip has been the talk of the staff at Pilchuck & a few select friends :-)

http://www.ez2spotranch.com/ will be the agent responsible for her transport.  They have an interesting presentation complete with photos of the entire process.  My hope is that she will thrive in her new home; making not only her new owner -- but all of us who know & love her -  PROUD!

Khari in SA~

Amazing Day in the USA

Flag flying at Glacier View Nursery

To Darrington we go - to do a project at our youngest daughter's home.  It was just a perfect day for what is a beautiful drive east of Arlington.  While Butch was "working" we drove to what has become my favorite nursery.

New buildings!

 We weren't disappointed, two new little buildings & what is becoming the usual selection of unique & healthy bedding plants.  With prices what they are this season, I'd cut back on my flower purchases, but still couldn't resist buying a few that I knew I couldn't do without :-)

Thimbleberry Bloom

 Before heading home, Butch & I took the walk out to the river to see how it had changed & how much water was flowing.  On the way, the woods were punctuated with the beauty of the white fresh blooms of the Thimbleberry.  

 The Sauk~

Once at the bank of the Sauk, the river was down from it's early Spring high levels, but there was still a lot of water & strong current.  It's changed so much since the kids first purchased their property, will be interesting to see if at mid-summer we'll be able to cross over to the delta.

Beautiful way to spend another sunshine Sat. in May!

Farah gets out!

Trails vs. Roads~

Finally!  Farah gets the "OK" for a trail ride!  I hadn't had her out since the 24th of March - after which - her leg was worse.  It's dry enough now, that there were only a couple of times we had to turn back & take a slightly different path to stay out of water or mud.   Garmin Stats.

Farah's ears West

 The day got hot - at least well hot enough for me!  Up to probably 80 in the sun, but when the breeze came up off the water it helped.  I'd forgotten - again - how wonderful a good walk is!  We walked the entire loop, had a couple good climbs - & Farah let me know when she needed to take a short rest.  She's a tough girl & after a few breaths - started again without urging.  When she got excited - thinking Count was going to "leave" her.... I put her in front & boy did she walk-out!  Such a big, swinging stride!  A little disappointed when we reached the trailer parking & her trailer wasn't there, but she lead the rest of the way back!   Next time I'll use the running martingale, hopefully it will help with her excessive head tossing.  She does not like being rated - but otherwise could not have been better!  Now... fingers crossed that the leg doesn't "relapse"!

Toward Mt. Washington~

I decided to have my saddle shipped home from the Horse Saddle Shop.  After over a year without any bites, I think it's worth trying on Farah.  If it works, so much the better - at least for a while.  Linda reminded me that one of our Competitive Trail Judges used to say that it took;  "Three saddles from fat to fit."  Looking forward to getting it back & trying it out.

Mother's Day~

Cottage

What a day it's been!  We Mother's must be doing something right here in Western Washington - to get such a day on our special day!  Was so great to be invited to eldest daughter's home in Duvall for a wonderful mid-morning brunch with the other grandparents & our son-in-laws sister, brother etc.    Food was outstanding!  But the best part of the day was spending time with two of our grand-kids!  Both had grown at least a foot from the last time we'd seen them!

On the way home, we stopped by Machias Nursery & bought a couple of my favorite lemon cucumber plants!  Sitting on the counter was a cute little plant - Stevia!  When we ate a leaf, it was like tasting sugar - only better!  It came home with us!  Can't wait to try it in my Market Spice Tea!

Tomorrow, I'm finally going to hit the trails again.  New shoes on both mares - finally!  I'd taken a couple weeks "off" just because I could!  Khari is as fit as a fiddle, loves cruising around the yard - no idea how silly she looks in her fly mask!  I visited Farah at Dean's farm last week, to find her enjoying herself in her private paddock - doing what all horses love to do... EAT!

Farah in dark gold~

With her hind leg 90+ percent healed, it's time to get her out & work off some of the excess of energy that she's stored up the last few months!  Oh Boy! :-)

Walk in our Woods~

Salmonberry Lane

It's May!  One of the two months of the year that I think are the most beautiful here in Western, WA!  The greens are so intense & the foliage so lush that I can almost spend my days drifting away inhaling the negative ions!  Since I'm going to be working on the farm the end of this month, I've been trying to get all the Spring "stuff" done!  Moving my geraniums out of the greenhouse & into pots around the house & yard.  Planted zucchini & summer squash in the garden.  Just a couple plants of each - but it should be plenty for the two of us.

With the beating that the Woods took this last Winter, we still have one very large limb out of the biggest of our Big Leaf Maples to chain saw up & figure out what to do with.  I try to find places even for the trees & downfall that ends up on the ground & usually on my paths!  It's a long way to haul it down to the yard & takes forever to use our small wood chipper - plus the noise...

Creek at West Woods

 I've found that the very best thing to do on these lovely days - is just to enjoy them!  I take that extra bit of time to walk, listen to the birds, admire the fresh green of the new ferns & the tinkling sound of the creek...  Time to be thankful for being alive!