Animals

Happy Birthday, Mr. Tall, Blond and Handsome!

The sky is gray and cloudy.

The air is moist and foggy.

The ground continues to be white...a fresh coating of snow fell over night.

And so winter continues....

I thought, since it is his birthday,

that today would be a great day to dedicate to my favorite tall (relatively), blond man.

He's the strong, silent type...

not overly affectionate, but just once in a while he will surprise me with a little tenderness.

He's a paradox for sure...

one moment big and clumsy,

the next graceful and quick.

Have you figured out who he is?

Why, he's Moonbeam, of course!

This month, my gentle equine friend turns 14 years old.

It's hard to believe that I brought him home to the farm 8 years ago...

from a local Amish farm where he had worked pulling carriages and farm equipment.

I was impressed with his disposition from the start

as I watched a family of small Amish children climb all over him.

From the moment he arrived on the farm, he fit in with the herd..

which, at that time included a quarter horse, Briggs,

and our pony Donnie Brasco.

Over the years, we have had some wonderful adventures together...

trail rides and lessons.

He was never formally schooled in riding, but rather his past accomplishments were in the world of driving.

As a riding horse, he is slow and steady. That is until he decides he is finished...

and then the back legs go up in the air and he starts bucking like a wild man.

When this happens, one of two things happens to me...

I either ride out the buck and end up peeing my pants (seriously),

or I fly off.

Luckily, this has never happened on the trail...just in the arena.

I am sure that all of this could be fixed with lots of work and patience,

however, I have decided that I don't need to ride to be happy.

I love caring for him and he is such an integral part of our equine family that I could not bear to part with him.

There are so many activities that I enjoy, and so much work that needs to be done...

so, an injury from flying off of Moonbeam would most definitely cramp my style.

We have agreed to just be friends on the ground.

He is very sound and very quiet and extremely willing on the ground.

He lets me do absolutely anything to any part of him without complaint.

I trust him completely and don't hesitate to allow Tyler and other children around him.

He has never, ever kicked or nipped or even shown any aggressive tendency.

Aside from that one bad habit, he is an utterly perfect gentleman.

Happy Birthday, sweet friend...you have a forever home here at Bee Haven Acres!

PS...

Yesterday I received an email to me personally asking if I would be interested in the following:

"NOW CASTING!!! MAJOR NETWORK “FEEL GOOD” TV series LOOKING FOR ALL TYPES OF OUTGOING, DYNAMIC, LOVING FAMILIES/FARMERS THAT DON'T ALWAYS SEE EYE TO EYE ON FINANCES!

Those chosen to participate will be PAID for your participation.

Whether one of you is the spender, saver, thrifty or over the top, if you ever disagree over finances, we want to talk to you!

Whether you are presently dealing with issues related to finances or JUST have very strong varying opinions on each other's spending habits, we want to hear from you! I have included the general information about the show below."

Of course I am not the least bit interested in participating, but thought the email rather comical. After all, Hubbs and I agree on just about everything....so we would be a rather boring family!

Did I ever tell you..... years ago I received an email asking if I was interested in being on the show "Wife Swap"! They were looking for a goat farmer/goat farm to swap wives with a city family.

Needless to say....I wasn't interested in that one either! True story!

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Animals