Stalking the Wild Asparagus

Back in the 70s Euell Gibbons was a popular spokesman for Grape Nuts cereal. Even today it is hard for me to think of asparagus that I don't think of Mr Gibbons. He wrote a book that was titled "Stalking the Wild Asparagus". I never read Mr Gibbons book and I really don't know why I think of it at all. Except it is a catchy title.

When I was growing up, I was privileged to live on a dairy farm. Along with all the hard work there was also many rewards. One special thing we were privileged to have was a huge garden. I am sure I didn't see it as a privilege then. It was a lot of work.

I can almost smell the newly turned soil in the spring. That was after a lot of cleaning in the barns. The manure was forked out and hauled to the fields. This may seem very distasteful to many of you but the smell of manure on fields in the spring was not an unpleasant smell to me. I can almost see some of you turning your noses up at the thought. The smell of the manure on the fields signaled spring in the air. It was a time that we drove with our windows down. No air conditioning in our cars made it necessary to get the fresh air through the windows.

Then next came the smell of newly turned soil. Oh what a wonderful smell that was. Recently when Bob was working Code of Honor along the side of the barn, Cody's hooves turned up some fresh soil and the smell came back to me. Then we were treated to the wonderful smell of fresh cut hay. What a scent in the air. Did I just hear you sneeze?

I can never find an air freshener that satisfies me. I think because I remember all too well the real smells of spring.

But back to the garden. After the manure spreader had done it's work and the plow had turned the soil, then came the planting. Yes all of it was hard work but the rewards were great. Mom spent the spring and summer picking and canning for the next winter. The first reward from our garden was the new potatoes and asparagus. Mom would cut the asparagus and dig new potatoes. Then for supper we would have new potatoes with asparagus and it would be creamed with a wonderful cream sauce made with rich cream from our Jersey cows.

Those memories were still fresh in my mind when we bought the farm from Dad in 1971. My mother had died in the previous summer after a bout with cancer. We moved here in January of 1971 and I knew I had to have an asparagus patch.

Planting asparagus is a work of faith in many ways. First you dig a hole about 18" deep. The mix the rich soil with a generous amount of dried manure. You then spread the asparagus root out and barely cover the new planting. As the shoots begin to come through the soil, you then keep covering the plantings until the hole is fully filled in. The first year you do not cut any of the new crop. The second year you only cut it lightly. The third year you are beginning to get the benefit of the hard work you put into your patch several years before.

I had a tough fight on my hands with my new asparagus patch. We had a stray dog who found her way to our house. My husband almost never saw a dog he didn't love. Of course she was adopted and fed table scraps along with our own dog, Ginny. Now the new addition to our family loved to dig in the newly planted asparagus bed and I would rant and rave over the roots I was finding that had been dug up and laying on top of the ground.

Finally our visitor left and followed someone else home. We only saw her once more and that was at a neighbors house. I denied any knowledge of her and I never saw her again. It was good riddance and I was once again calmly attending my new asparagus patch.

Soon we began to see the fruits of our labor. Every spring I would watch carefully for the new fat shoots and cut them and we would have new potatoes with creamed asparagus. By the way we also had a Jersey milk cow. But my dish just did not compare favorably with Mom's creamed asparagus.

Time passed and we moved to Taylorsville into a house in a small subdivision. I cried every time I went home to the farm and Bill hated to take me with him. I guess I had it coming but eventually I got to the farm less and less often. I would always check my asparagus patch and it slowly disappeared over time. Asparagus suffers when cows graze it and a lawn mower does it's devastating work on it. Our renters didn't have the taste for asparagus that I do so they continued to mow that troublesome weed until it finally didn't come back.

When I moved back to the farm in 2008 my asparagus patch was completely wiped out. We had not had cows in the fields for several years and the pastures had tried to go wild. The first summer I was here, I spent hours on the tractor with the bush hog. I mowed until the bush hog broke and I couldn't mow any more.

But along with getting the weeds and various other growths knocked down I found a new asparagus patch. There is not doubt that birds carried the seed from my old asparagus patch and dropped it into one of the pastures. Because the field had not been mowed or pastured the asparagus had grown up and thrived.

Yesterday i was stalking the wild asparagus. I had looked for it last week and found nothing. Yesterday I got a text message from Bob while I was at the dentist that said "The asparagus is ready to cut". He had been out on Satin and seen the patch with the beautiful mouth watering shoots poking their beautiful heads above the grass.

This is the time of the year when all sorts of wild edible foods can be found. There is a an abundance of greens growing. Some of you may be familiar with poke greens. My son loved this time of the year when he could gather poke and we would mix it with kale and have a big pot of mixed greens.

I know several people who hunt wild mushrooms. I was always fearful I would pick the wrong ones.

Tomorrow is Easter. God is good. He has provided us with an abundance of good food to nourish our bodies. We find them in the wild when we know what to look for.

But God is good to us because he sent his one and only son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to die for us on the cross. Aren't we blessed.

May God bless and keep you in his loving care. And may you know the joy of Easter and what it means for all of us.

Regards

Mary

Luke 14:46 And said unto them, Thus is is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day.

God is so good to us.

The plans for the next trail ride on May 26-27 are going full steam ahead now. Prize bags are being filled. Ribbons are ordered. The barn is being readied. The crew is gearing up for the best ride yet. I think we are getting better all the time with our rides. I was very pleased with our ride in November but we are not going to rest and say that was the best we could do. We are full speed ahead. We hope you will be able to join us. There will be more great pictures that will be posted before the ride from previous rides.

Even if you don't ride, come and enjoy the food and the friends. We do not charge a fee to get on the grounds. We will be having the Lawsons to entertain on Saturday night and there will be no charge for anyone to attend.

We still have our past crew in place. David and Mike will be taking care of the barn and parking. You may remember David. He was everywhere. Helping people park, carrying water etc. He was doing his best to make everyone feel welcome.

Mary Beth and her husband Mike are taking care of the food. They are the planning good menus again. They are making some changes to the menu but they are going to be serving up the same high quality food at low prices.

Debbie and Natalie are once again taking care of the check ins. You will stop at the camper to check in and get stall and parking assignments and to pay your fees. This really worked well on the last trail ride. We have 16 stalls available and you will need to reserve a stall on the ACTHA web site. I do not want to over or under book stalls.

Lucy will be behind the camera again. She takes some really good pictures and she and Jessica make them available for a very reasonable price. They take hundreds of pictures and they are very good.

Bob is planning the obstacles. It is not easy to come up with new variations on the list of obstacles that is available for our use but he somehow does it for every ride we have. The trails have taken some hits with all the storms we have had this spring. But they are getting back in order.

Bob will lead our Cowboy Church on Sunday morning. He always has good insight to the Scription and he applies it to everyday life.

ACTHA has changed the rule on sign ups for the rides. There is no longer any way that a rider can sign up at the last minute. You must sign up on their web site before the ride closes.

We are very excited to be a host for these rides. We try our best to make them the best ever. We know we make mistakes despite our best efforts but we do try to be as fair as we possibly can be. We try to to treat everyone as honored guests and that is what you are.

So watch for more news. I will be sending you emails as we have new updates.

We hope you will spread the news of our upcoming ride. If you can't personally attend the ride we will miss each of you but we hope you will be telling everyone that we are hosting another ride and if you can pray for us that we can honor God our creator in all that we do.

May God bless and keep you in his loving care.

Regards

Mary Lipginski

A horse can lend its rider the special speed and strength he or she lacks but the rider who is wise remembers it is no more than a loan.

Pam Brown from Chicken Soup for the Horse Lover's Soul

For Service, Ring the Bell

Venture's Golden Satin ridden by Bob Rogers in the UMH Summer Celebration 2011. Satin's sire is Chocolate Venture.

Bob and David have been using a new way to get the horses to come to the barn to be fed. I taught them to come when I whistled.

Bill and I liked to watch Westerns and we watched a lot of movies when he was sick. One movie in particular was "310 to Yuma". Perhaps if you have seen it you will remember the scene where one of the characters whistles for his horse and the horse comes running.

I thought that was awesome. So I thought I would teach my horses to come when I whistle. It didn't take long for them to learn that when I whistled it meant dinner was soon to be served. They are very smart. Especially when it comes to food.

Bob and David decided to use a cow bell to call them in for feeding. It is like the old time dinner bell.

Bob was trying to teach the horses that cow bells are ok. One was used in an obstacle in a competition that he was in and some of the horses didn't like the cow bell very much. Bob is always trying to expose our horses to new situations. He wants each of them to realize there is nothing they should be afraid of. He wants them using the "thinking" side of their brain instead of the "reacting" side. We also need to learn to trust God in every situation in our life. Psalms17: 1 tells us that the "Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom should I fear. The Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid"
Tonight when I went to feed the horses, I discovered they were all at the barn waiting to come in for their evening meal. I didn't let them in right away. I wanted to feed the pregnant mares first. It wasn't very long before I started to hear the cow bell ringing. I looked around and there were the horses standing by the gate. There was Velvet a beautiful bay mare that is in foal to Blue on Black. Satin was there. So was Flair for Fury, Rockin Andi, Blue Gene,Treasure and Lady Ace. They were looking at me like they were laughing. Velvet reached up and rang the bell again. I had to laugh. They are so smart. They had learned if they wanted service they should just ring the bell.

It is perhaps a lesson we should learn from them. They have learned how to talk to us by use of the cow bell. And in so many other ways. Tonight they are saying "Here we are and it is time for us to get our feed." Shouldn't we also learn to communicate with God.

I have had people ask me how to pray. They tell me they don't know what to say. I tell them to talk to God as one would their best friend in the whole world because that is what God is to us. I tell them to talk to God and tell him what they have on their minds. Their troubles, the fears, their cares and also their happiness and joy of the day. The way they are thankful for the blessings God has bestowed on them. I have also pointed out that trails and tribulations can also be blessings in disguise.

Have you ever been delayed leaving work? Then get behind an accident that delays you even more from getting home. Did you ever stop to think that perhaps had you left work when you should have you might have been in that accident?

Code of Honor has been home for the winter. Perhaps you have seen pictures of him on Facebook. Frankly, he doesn't look like the same horse. He gets out and runs and rolls in the dirt. We don't have a facility to give baths in the winter so he is DIRTY. Oh he is still very beautiful. But on top of that beauty is a good layer of dirt. But his mane and tail are still combed out and they don't have any "Pasture Braids"

He gets ridden every once in a while. Not the everyday riding he gets when in training. He has his favorite stall. It took us awhile to"hear" what he was telling us about his stall. He has a big roomy stall that is actually large enough that it could be two stalls. He loves that stall. When we walk by he hangs his head over the gate and expects us to stop and give him some special attention. He always gets it too. We have learned how to listen to him. That is part of communication between our horses and us. We do our part when we learn how to "listen" to them. There is another lesson we can learn from our horses. Learn to listen to what God has to say to you just as you learn to listen to your horse or your friends.

Have you ever been around someone who does nothing but talk about themselves. Oh they may ask how are you or what have you been doing but before you get to answer they launch into their story of how they feel or what they have been doing that is of interest to them. I often think that perhaps I too am like that more than I like to admit. Do I let God get a word in edge way? Or do I just do all the talking?

We have tried keeping Code of Honor in the lower barn and he hated it. He was in the free standing stall and he hated that as well. So he has found his spot and let us know right away he likes it there. We finally "listened" to him.

It is no news to horse lovers that they are very smart. Code of Honor is no exception. Bob has been working him in the round pen. He was not sure at first but he has become more and more sure of himself every time he is worked. Perhaps it is just the difference in the way he is asked to work in the round pen. Or did we just learn how to "talk" to him. I know Van Bert's work horses in the round pen. He is becoming less pushy and more respectful every time he is worked. It is my opinion that he is smart enough that he was testing the waters to see how much he could get away with.

Now he is learning and he is getting settled into a new lifestyle. And we are learning to talk to him and listen to him as well.

He has been on the Van Bert Farm for several years. He was settled in to the routine there. He knew what his feed was going to be like and what kind of hay he would get. I am sure my feed is different and we have a different sort of hay but he has been a champion about all the new things around here. Of course, our trails are different and he has new horses around him. But he is so smart and good natured that he seems to accept every new thing with good humor and grace.

Needless to say, I am very proud of my beautiful stallion. I love his disposition. I love his beauty. I love his good conformation. He has been out on the trail with mares and he is fine. He goes out with geldings and he is fine. In the arena he shows with other stallions and he is fine.

But you know that is what Mountain Horses are all about. That is what initially attracted me to them. I read about Mountain Horses and I knew that was what I wanted. Code of Honor has been everything a Mountain Horse should be.

God has blessed me with so many horses that are the picture of the perfect Mountain Horse.

I see ads for Mountain Horses in my email. I know they are true. I know when they say beautiful, sweet, smooth gait and first to meet me at the gate they aren't making any of it up.

That is what makes us all so glad to own these wonderful horses. I look with pity sometimes at people who ride other breeds. I could never get the hang of posting and perhaps others have that problem as well. Thank God we don't have to do it.

It is like we were created to bond with these wonderful horses and they with us.

It makes me think about God and how the human spirit longs to bond with our Creator. If one doesn't know the true living God they find something else to worship. The Jews of the Old Testament saw the miracles that God did. The parting of the Red Sea, the manna in the wilderness are two examples of how God took care of his people. He led them into battle and when they followed him and did his will they were always successful. But they strayed and worship idols and God turned his back on them. When we know the true living God and we know Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who died for us, why would be turn away and let other things crowd him out? But to my shame I know I do that too often.

May God bless and keep you in his loving care. May he place his hedge of protection around you and those you love.

Regards

Mary

Mike Fell Down the Hay Hole

This is my daughter, Mary Engle. This was her first ride on Tennessee Revelation aka Blue Jean.

In the life of a family there is many fun times. We probably had more than our share but also the usual amount of hardships and grief that goes with everyday life. It was one of those times the day Mike fell down the hay hole in my Dad's loafing shed. For those not familiar with the term, attached to the dairy barn was a big open barn that the milk cows could go into on cold winter nights.

I remember as a young girl growing up that we also had calf stalls in part of the loafing shed. The manure would continue to get deeper and deeper as winter continued its long journey to spring. In the spring the stalls would be cleaned by hand and hard work but the rest of the barn would be cleaned out with the tractor and loader. The manure spreaders would make trip after trip to the fields with the accumulated manure mixed with straw that was used for bedding.

The fields would be fertilized by the use of the manure and bedding mixture. For those of you who like your food grown without use of chemical fertilizers there it is. As natural as it gets.

As one drove in the spring with their windows rolled down (cars didn't have air conditioning)the rich smell of naturally fertilized fields would fill their acute sense of smell. It was not a bad smell to me. I guess I was accustomed to the smell of manure. It smelled like spring to me and the promise of the new growing season.

Soon the smell of manure would turn into the smell of new mown hay. If you ride through the country in hay cutting season the air around you will be filled with the sweet smell of newly cut hay. It is a scent that can't be reproduced by all the candle makers or the air fresheners in the world.

The barren ground would soon be springing to life with the fresh green sprouts of corn stalks sticking their heads up from the soil as they seemed to be testing the weather to decide whether to pop up or stay put. Of course with the laws of nature, they had no choice. They popped through the soil and started to grow as if they already knew they only had a short time to reproduce. Of course, with the way God created the plants they do know without knowing they only have a short time.

My cousin once said that on a hot summer night you could hear corn growing. I never tested that theory to see if it was fact but I liked the idea.

The newly planted gardens one would see would be springing to life as well. It was a time of planting and growing and keeping the garden free of weeds. That would soon give way to harvesting green beans and all the other produce in the garden. The kitchen would become hot and steamy with the kettles on the stove cooking the vegetable of the day. Soon jars of freshly canned vegetables would make their way to the shelves in the basement to wait for the winter months when no fresh vegetables were available. The freezer would start to fill up with corn, strawberries and peaches as well as many other fruits and vegetables. We were getting ready for winter.

Meanwhile in the fields food for the winter was being prepared for the numerous heads of livestock we had on our farm. Corn was harvested on the cob into the corn cribs for the hogs. The silos had already been filled with the whole stalk of corn to ferment for the winter into the nice smell of silage for the dairy cows. Alfalfa was cut and baled into small square bales weighing probably 80 lbs each. The barns were beginning to fill to the rafters with that sweet smelling alfalfa for the milk cows for the winter as well as for the beef cows we raised.

The barn was designed for ease of feeding. The aforementioned loafing shed had a big hay loft above it. It held thousands of those square bales of hay. It had an earthen ramp leading into the loft. The big trucks mounded with their precious cargo would back into the barn where the hay was unloaded and stacked high until no more could be stacked in the barn. Every available space had a protein rich bale of milk producing hay.

In the loft there were hay sized holes that we would carry the hay to, cut the strings and drop it into hay racks below where the cows would reach up and grab big bits of delicious forage.

My mother was sick and dying with cancer the summer of 1970. My sisters, brother and sister in law helped take care of her. The girls cleaned house, provided the meals, did laundry and kept mom clean and comfortable. Bob and my husband did the heavy lifting. We would call Bob or Bill if he was there and one of them would come in and lift our Mom for us to move her around when necessary.

Let me say this about our Mother. She was the sweetest kindest person I have ever known. She suffered but she did not complain about her suffering. Her only complaint was that she was causing us a lot of work. It was a labor of love on our part and a privilege to take care of our mother. She was a good woman and a picture of the saint waiting for the reward of heaven to come.

It was at this time that our boys learned to love the farm. We lived in the city, Jeffersonville Indiana in a house on a small lot. Although it was a big double lot it was still small to a girl that grew up on over 500 acres. We were frequently at Dad's farm caring for Mom. The boys were out with the men most of the time. They played in the hay loft, rode in the big trucks and helped in the fields where they could.

They loved going into the hay loft and helping throw hay down to the cows. They were young. Mike was 7 and Steve was barely 6 but they were big when they could help on the farm. It was in that setting that they were helping feed the cows.

My brother Bob was coming out of the dairy barn into the loafing shed ready to go to the loft to put down hay when Steve came down the stairs. Curious, Bob asked Steve where Mike was since they were always together. It was then the Steve proclaimed, "Uncle Bobby, Mike fell down the hay hole." Bob looked over to the hay racks and sure enough there was Mike setting on top of the loose hay with several startled cows wondering why he was sitting in their hay and disturbing their dinner.

There were many times we had funny stories to share after a visit to the farm. Kids can always add spice to any gathering.

The next January Bill and I fulfilled our dream of owning a farm when we bought the original farm from my Father. He and his brother had farmed together all their lives. My uncle had died a little over a year before and my Dad was ready to retire from farming. Everything had changed. In the space of nine months, he had lost his only brother and his wife. He was tired.

The next years of our children's lives were lived growing up on the farm I own .

We were feeding our cows in the field one afternoon in the spring. We were hurrying. The kids had a function at school. I saw a cow whom I had been watching for several days. I knew she was due to calve any time and that day she looked like she had calved. But we couldn't see her calf anywhere. She kept running around like she knew she was missing her calf but she didn't really know where it was. We looked and looked. She was distressed and we started to get frustrated the longer we looked.

Finally one of the boys spotted the calf in a sink hole. We walked all around that hole and didn't see it until we were right there. We had to be standing on the edge of it before we could even see it. There the little calf laid waiting patiently to be rescued. We pulled the calf out of the hole and finished feeding and got to school on time.

To me that is a picture of our lives at times. We unexpectedly fall through the hay hole or into a sink hole. Little by little we have positioned ourselves closer and closer to an unseen hole and we fall into it. What we do in those times tell the story of where are hearts are and where we go for rescue. Actually it is not the going, it is the waiting for the rescue. It is in those time we learn some of the most valuable lessons in our lives. The waiting patiently for God to rescue us. We stumble and we fall. Despite our best efforts. We pray and then we wait. In God's time and in His own way He comes to our rescue. There we wait, in the hole for our deliverance. Suddenly we smell the sweet smell of his presence. A smell sweeter than the smell of new mown hay. Our hearts are souls are filled with His presence more fully than the barn filled with stored hay. Filled with His loving presence.

Filled with His love and mercy. Filled with the joy of our deliverance from all the world puts upon us. Oh we are not delivered from the cares of the world by any means. Not until that day when we see his glorious face. But we become full of his grace and knowledge that he is our deliverer and the one who carries our burdens.

May you bask in His glorious presence this Christmas season and always. The season of celebrating God coming to earth to rescue us from our sinful natures. May He keep you in His loving care and surround you and those you love with the sweetness of His presence.

And she brought forth her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger"because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 2: 7

Regards and Merry Christmas

With love in Christ

Mary Lipginski

I Know I Am in Trouble

I know I am in trouble with some of my followers for my absence from the blog for the last two months. No excuses. But I do apologize to those of you who tell me you enjoy my blog.

There is always something going on around this farm. We have been hauling horses home from the trainers. We have been hauling horses to the breeding shed. We have been doctoring horses. There is always something going on with the horses. The better they are the more likely they are to get into trouble or hurt themselves.

Case in point..... Yesterday David went to feed the horses. We have two weanlings in the lower barn. It is a tobacco barn we have been remodeling. Of course, I am the gofer. Go for this and go for that. That has been my main job for several months now as we were getting ready for the ACTHA CTC. For those of you who don't know that is the American Competitive Trail Horse Association and CTC stands for Competitive Trail Competition.

But I am off track. All of that really has nothing to do with David going to feed the horses. Except we have two weanlings in the remodeled tobacco barn and two at the stock barn. The two at the stock barn were nowhere to be seen when David walked into the barn to feed yesterday morning. The gate was wide open and the two weanlings had escaped. One we have named WOF Watch Me Go. Melissa calls him "Phoenix".. The other is his sister WOF Whispering Hope.

David called me in some what of a panic telling me he had looked in all the usual places the horses go when they escape. He had looked in Mike's yard, in my yard and around the barn. I told him he needed to looked in the woods below the barn. It is right next to the fence that runs below the barn. He had looked there. So he hung up and went back to looking for them.

A couple of hours later, I received the following text message on my phone:

"BREAKING NEWS:

This just in, in a major horse hunt taking place in Spencer Co Ky, two suspects were just apprehended in the southern region of the Whispering Oaks Farm near a horse pasture. When asked why they attempted their daring escape, Watch Me Go aka Phoenix replied, 'we just wanted to see our mommies.'

I am David Luttrell reporting for WOF News."

Tell me this place isn't a million laughs a day.

But sometimes things are not so funny on the farm.

There was the day we went to feed in the morning and I noticed a terrible cut on Phoenix's leg. The only thing we could think that could have caused a cut such as that was that he cut it on the tin on the sliding door that opened into the barn. We have not used that door for years and it had rusted on the bottom. He must have laid down and when he got up he caught it under the door. It was a little thing that we had not noticed and it caused a big problem. We are still doctoring his leg. David changes the bandages every few days. We have had the vet with him several times. The first thing he did was stitch it up. It hurt me to look at it. But after several weeks we can see he is healing and will probably not have a scar.

Another happy experience we had lately was Flair for Fury's homecoming. This story will be in the next issue of the UMH magazine. You will be able to read that magazine on line when you go to www.unitedmountainhorse.org. The publication date is sometime after Christmas.

Bob backed the trailer up to the end of the barn and backed her off of the trailer. You could tell when the door swung open that she was excited. She was excited because she was home. She knew it in every fiber of her body. Bob led her to her stall and she didn't want in there. She called to the other horses. She paced, she jumped and she was ready to go out because she had been away from home since last March and she was ready to run free.

But we didn't let her out until the next morning. She was almost trembling with excitement when David led her out of the barn and removed her halter. She didn't run right away. She stood in the field for a brief moment and then she ran. She ran, she bucked, she jumped and then she would stand in the field and her nostrils would flare. She was smelling the sweet smells of home.

It is rather strange in a way that she considers this home. She was raised and trained at Van Bert Farms until after her second show season. It wasn't until the end of her Yearling Show Year that she was brought here. Then we brought her home and turned her out for the winter. It was just before her second birthday that we loaded her up and took her back to Van Bert's to put her under saddle.

She has freedom here that she doesn't have there. She surprised me this last spring when Brandon rode her down to the arena and she bucked some. It was still cool and she was feeling good but I really didn't expect her to do it. She didn't buck when the saddle went on her the first time and Brandon climbed into it. But last spring she had the winter off and now she had to go back to work. And she was feeling good. No big bucks just a few little hops. I suppose you couldn't really call it bucking.

So Flair is home again and enjoying her turn out time. She is looking nice and shabby. Her coat is getting thick ready for winter.

Code of Honor is also home and ready to be turned out. He now has four colts on the ground. The last one is a filly out of a mare named Dock's Darling. I think the filly's name will be WOF Bill's Lil Darlin. I have had several suggestions. Tell me which one you like best. WOF Bill's Lil Darlin(she was born on my late husband's birthday) WOF Code's Lil Darlin, WOF Maid of Honor, WOF Code's Hello Dolly, WOF's Code's Hello Darlin. All good names if you ask me.

Well it all starts me thinking of the homecoming that awaits us at the end of our life on earth. I think we will probably be like Flair. We will be so happy to meet Jesus face to face that we may jump for joy as Flair did when she got home. As we get older I think our thoughts turn more toward Heaven than we ever think about it in our youth. Why should we. We are young, we are full of life, we have so much energy and so much to which we look forward as we face the future. We are eager to see what life has in store for us.

As I get older, my body is tired, my feet hurt and my bones ache. Now more and more I look forward to rest. It is God's way of preparing us for our homecoming. We will be free of the worldly trails and tribulations. We won't have to go to the funerals of people who have died too young. We won't have to say good-bye to old friends. We won't have to worry about our future health. Will our minds leave us before our body gives up?

Those are questions for another day but today I am enjoying the thoughts of my family being here Sunday as we celebrate Thanksgiving. Today I am thanking God for the safe return of my son Steve who has been in Guam for several months and just landed in Gulf Port just hours ago.

God bless you Steve for your service to our country in these very trying times. Welcome home and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. I love you all dearly. I have missed you.

Also Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your families. May God bless and keep each of you in His loving care. May He place his hedge of protection around you and those you love.

Regards

Mary

From Dear Abby (years ago)

God bless these dirty dishes

they have a tale to tell

While other folks may go hungry

We're eating mighty well

With home and health and happiness

We shouldn't want to fuss

For by this stack of evidence

We see God is very good to us.

Horse Shows

David and Rockin Andi are ready for the World Show



Vanessa and Welcome to Paris





David is READY to show



 Thanks  to Kelvin Robbins for the lovely picture and his permission to use it.  Paris won 2nd in the Breeder's Cup and then went on to win first in the weanling fillies conformation class and then to the weanling championship where she won by unanimous decision.  She is a beautiful red chocolate filly by Sam I Am owned by Carol Woods  and Clint Morrow.  Her dam is Tobet owned by Van Bert Farms of Stanton Ky.                                                                                                                                                           

Paris is leaving for New York where she will be making her residence. I am looking forward to seeing her in the show ring in the future.  She will make a beautiful mare.                                         

Two more shows to go this year.  We still have the Mountain Pleasure show later this month and then the KMSHA show in October.  It has been a intense show season and the last two weeks of the World and International Shows have been back to back and now for a full week we have to get back to the real world and do the real world things of weanling the babies, preparing for our upcoming trail ride that will happen November 5 and 6.  Hope you can all join us.  I am looking forward to seeing Kelvin and Dolly at my trail ride this time around.

 But back to the recent shows. The world championship classes were really great and the show was a great success although the weather was not.  The first of the week found competitors, spectators and horses wading in mud.  It was rainy, cold and of course everything any of us owned was wet and muddy. 

We did get some clearing in the middle of the week and by the end of the week the weather was really nice for the grand finale.  I can't name all the winners in the show but Van Bert Stables that train most of my horses were in the fore front with trophies and ribbons.  Flair for Fury did the usual good job she is well known for.  She gave my grandson, David a good ride in the pro/am class.  Venture's Golden SATIN gave Bob and David a good ride in the pro/am Trail Pleasure Class.                                                                    

I am so proud of David and Bob for the way they have worked together to get the horses ready to go from my farm in Taylorsville.  They have worked to get the horses ridden and keep them looking great for the shows that we have been participating in this year.                                                                                      

This post looks odd.  I am not on to the new format yet so I apologize for the odd way it may look when I post it.

Then on from there to the Rocky Mountain International Show.  I think my favorite part of the week, besides Flair first two good classes in which she won the first place ribbons and ttrophies was the Celebration of Champions.  No Celebration could ever be complete without mention Paula Morgan's great stallion, Choco Dock.  Paula was there to see him make his grand entrance into the show ring as the first of the Parade of Champions.  Many of his get were there to represent him in the Parade.  I was pleased to see the sires of so many of my herd represented there.  I had never seen Shepherd's Snowy River and I got to see him for the first time.  My mare VBF's Once a Hobo is by Snowy and she looks just like him conformation wise and in fact her markings are very similar to him.  Jason Stefanic had several champions represented that he has trained over the years as well as the Brummer's from EmDee's Mountain Horses with Chris and Stacy and Judy riding.  Just too many great champions to remember and name but was an amazing parade of great horses. 

My congratulations to all of the owners, trainers and grooms of all the the magnificent horses that showed this past week in the Rocky Mountain International Show.  It was a great week with many fine competitors and champions riding into the winner's circle.                                                                  

Of course H T Derickson and Blue on Black won more than a few of their classes and then the Rea Swan Award.  Congratulations to all the Van Bert Farm riders and trainers for a job well done.  I was proud of all of our horses.

You know as I often think of these wonderful horses God has blessed us with, I am in awe that I am allowed by  God to own,ride and show these wonderful horses.  All are so unique in their own way but also so much alike in temperament, ability and willingness to please their owner and trainers.   

We should all take time out of our busy days and nights to ponder the wonder of it all.  The earth and the beauty it holds.  For the double rainbow in the sky that Leslie and I saw on our way to the horse show on Saturday morning.  For the awesome things we see everyday and often see but done really look at.  The beauty of the sunrise, the beauty of the sunset, the rainbows, the trees, the flowers, the horses.  It is such an awesome world we live in.  And most of all created by such an awesome God.  Thank you Lord for allowing me to live in this time.

And may God who created the earth, hung the moon and stars in the sky and created our wonderful mountain horses bless and keep you in his loving care.

Genesis 1:1  In the beginning, God created the earth.  

Regards and best wishes for the next shows 

Mary

mary@marysmountainhorses.com  

                   http://www.marysmountainhorses.com/                        

                                         

To Grandparents Everywhere

Kailey with Uncle Bobby's cowboy hat. She has such a sweet face. The poem I wrote was about her sister, Stephanie when she was even younger than Kailey

Stephanie

by Mary Lipginski

for Steve

She runs in,

with face all smiles and says,

"Hi, Pa"

Her blue eyes widen

over peach jello

and pineapple bits,

She sits on books to make her

taller at the table,

and rides in Daddy's lap

to drive his blue truck.

Her curls bounce as she

searches the house

for Nanna and Daddy,

playing hide and seek.

Her laughter breaks the silence

of an empty house

as she echoes her Daddy's voice

of twenty years ago.

"Bye, Pa," she says

The door closes,

the house sighs,

and quiet settles once again

into the corners of the rooms.

A poem I wrote for creative writing class in 1987.