Negativity bias is the description of our brain's tendency to focus and remember the negative or scary things that happen to us. It really did serve a purpose because it's how humans stayed safe from saber toothed tigers and the like. It's important to remember the times you saw a predator or the near misses to ensure they didn't happen again. This was great until it wasn't. There are very few predators in our modern life, yet the way our brains are hooked up didn't change along with civilization.  This is not unlike modern domestic horses living in fenced pastures and barns far from gri ..read more

Taking a break from cleaning out yet more flower beds, I decided to sit in the shade next to the hot tub pond. If you sit very still while the chickens are out, they will wander over to you. Some may even pose. The roosters even joined the fun.  Fluffy, who is now six years old. See his spur? They are wicked looking things. And Zorro who is about nine months old and just starting to grow a longer tail, but the spurs are yet to grow. And spring is officially here because the very large frog that lives in the pond has reappeared.  This picture m ..read more

Today was one of those beautiful though somewhat rare days that are both the perfect temperature (high sixties, in my open) and sunny and fall on a weekend with nothing on the calendar. We did quite a bit of cleaning up outside, but some time was also spent working on the tree house.  Floor boards are getting installed, so I sent L. up with my camera to the some pictures.  The ones of J. and L. working on it I could manage myself. Here is a better picture of how high up it is. I sat for a while and watched. It was a perfect day just to sit outside and enjoy spring. I had ..read more

I spent the evening at our church's inaugural disability inclusion game night for older teens and adults. I think it went very well. H. had a great time.  But since I have nothing left, I'll leave you with a fritillary picture. This afternoon I discovered the fritillary in our side garden was blooming, but I hadn't noticed because it was hidden in the dried ornamental grass I had yet to clean out. I freed the fritillary and discovered this year it has six blooms! I was so excited because I love it.  ..read more

I made the realization today that it was seven years ago today that we signed the contract on this house. (You can read about that day on God's Provision.) It made me sit back a bit and appreciate how much has changed in the past seven years. It is also a little painful to read all my emotional roilings from that time. We were in the throws of possibly the biggest change in our married life and I was a mess. I knew I was a mess, but couldn't be anything else. There were too many unknowns and too much imminent loss which could not be counterbalanced by the vague hopes and dreams I had for what ..read more

Today was a gorgeous day and the first day where it felt comfortable enough to have teatime outside. Here was our view. Everything is starting to bud out and there is a light green haze beginning to cover all the trees and plants. I do love this part of spring.  But onto Lonesome Dove. After three months, we are now a little bit over halfway through. Yesterday we read chapters 57 and 58. They were brutal. In my looking to see if this was an appropriate book for high schoolers I never saw these chapters mentioned. Had I known they were coming up, I would have skipped them and given a s ..read more

Because, really, what else could today's post be about? We did do other things, such as learn about Renaissance music, did some math, had a business call, paid bills, and did the grocery shopping, but aside from that it was the eclipse. L. also spent part of the morning researching eclipse conspiracy theories for fun.  But after lunch we all headed outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and use our eclipse glasses. R. looked through her glasses, but I think she was pretty be baffled by the whole thing. Y. and K. H. understood something of what was happening. Our explanations about ..read more

This morning my friend and I headed out to collect Buddy the pony and bring him home. You always kind of expect the worst when loading a horse you don't know, so we tried to be realistic in our expectations. It turned out to be incredibly easy with Buddy being a very cooperative well behaved gentleman. Actually, that describes how the whole day has gone. I've never seen a new horse added to a herd with such little drama.  First a meeting over the fence. Actually, Major provided some drama. See the ears? That pretty much describes his opinion to begin with. Buddy seemed completely u ..read more

Vienna continues to improve, though she could use a few more pounds on her frame which seems an odd sort of concern for a pony. Usually concern about a pony's weight goes the other way. But she is lonely, especially when the big horses are in the far pasture. She calls for them quite a bit. Getting her a small friend who can live in the dry lot with her had been the plan.  As I was discussing this with our farrier, she said she might know of a pony who would work and asked if she could pass along my name. A few days later I received a text about a pony and the next day J. and I went out ..read more

We have lived here for nearly seven years and for the most part feel very settled. There is still one area where I just can't quite get over the grief and challenge of living in a new place. And what is that one thing? Grocery shopping. I still miss my fantastic grocery store where I could get all the ingredients I routinely cook with. This would include Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Indian, Middle Eastern, Mexican, and European ingredients and produce.  I have found places to buy them all, but I have found them in five different stores in very different geographical locations. Instead of ..read more