Category: Family

Family

Summer Break

This week starts the summer break for the kids, about three months off from school. For daughter, the time will be spent riding. What hasn’t been worked out yet is whether she spends the weeks here at the stables riding her horse, or splitting the week riding here and several days at the stables south of Santa Fe, where she gets her training. The great thing about the latter is that she gets to work with many different horses.

There are other advantages for splitting the week. She gets some professional training with people watching and coaching. This is something that she doesn’t get riding at the stables closer to home.

For son, his summer will be spent at several camps. The majority of the summer weeks will be spent at art classes. Interspersed between the art camps are camps for hiking and outdoors, and a two week robotics class. The hiking explores the landscape around where we live and the forces that shaped the local mountains, getting wet and dirty. The second week explores the creatures that live in the dirt, the water and the mountains.

Then there is robotics. There they will learn how to build, program and control basic robots. We thought this would be great since he likes computer games. Reading up on the subject, it looks like they use LEGO

kits. Hopefully this will allow him to learn basics, to be creative, and to have fun.

Anyway, this summer should be fun, busy and keep them outside.

Tags hiking, horses, riding, robotics, summer

Family

Ruby

Post author By themckeespot
Post date May 29, 2019
No Comments on Ruby

When the kids were younger, we would often go to the local stables and slowly drive the roads and look at the animals. Chickens, goats, a couple of cows, a llama and some turkeys. The main residents at the stables are horses. All different sizes and colors. A coworker of mine had a stable and several horses and on one of our trips, he and his wife were there. We stopped. Big mistake. Shortly thereafter, daughter was sitting on the back of a horse. A big grin across her face, she was immediately hooked. At that time she was three.

Eleven years have passed, as has several loaner horses, two rented horses, the local US Pony Club horse. Today she has a horse, a stable, and rides regularly and in competitions. Her horse is named Ruby, and she has become another family pet, much like the dog.

Here she is, greeting us for her evening feeding. She gets fed twice a day, and depending upon daughter, ridden every day. Daily practices are often in preparation for dressage, show jumping and cross country. My daughter competes in all three at the beginner novice level.

She enjoys it. It keeps her and her friends out of trouble. Yet, when I see her with Ruby, she still has that big grin across her face.

Tags daughter, dog, horse, pet, stables

Family

Terrarium

Picked my son up from school this past Friday. In his hands were parts of a school science project. A plastic cup with green water, a snail, two fish and some grass. He was excited, as was I. More animals to add to the menagerie that live at my place. In addition to these new creatures we have the hampster, gold fish, one silver dollar fish, a dog, and of course a horse. The animals come and go. Over the past five years of setting up our second home, we have had an older dog, many aquarium fish, lizards, hamsters, birds, and guinea pigs. The guinea pigs were rescued from their daycare. Of course, we have talked about goats to keep the horse company at the stables, rabbits, snakes, huskies, and cats. No cats because we think daughter is allergic to them.

The terrarium fish and snail have been transplanted into a more permanent home: the brandy sniffer. The dog has migrated from the cage to the floor to the sofa. Just another member of the family. The aquarium sits in the corner of the living room, noisy because of the constant running of the filter.

Not sure of what Sunday has in store for us. Daughter has another riding lesson so there will be a morning car trip. I have things to do around the house, and the stable, and hopefully find some time to read. Son will play games on his iPad, invite me to enter our Minecraft world, and then quickly move on to some other games. Enjoy your weekend.

Tags fish, pets, Son

Family

The Journey Begins

Site under construction. I decided that I needed a hobby. So I am new at this. More to follow. Stay tuned and come back often.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton