Monthly Archives: September 2019

Who blesses Whom?

This past Wednesday morning made a gentle, lovely entry here on the farm. Good. We needed it for the folks coming to visit. It showed all the signs of a day made to order.

These delightful visitors had special needs. “Make sure you put the canopy up for them. It is going to be hot!” our daughter called out before leaving for work. ‘Be sure the chairs are on level ground, with room for the van to get around easily”, was her last detailed order before closing the car door and departing.

A week in the making, everything was in it’s proper place. Except…the canopy! It must be set up! Our visitors must be in shade. A big sigh of relief was heard with that last detail was completed.

“We are loading up! We will be there shortly! The text came across my phone, and immediately put my two helpers and myself into high gear. “Tack the horses, Sarah! Sam, I’ve already brushed them, get your riding boots on. I want you two riding out in the yard when the van pulls up!”

Smile, and enjoy yourselves! It’s our Show Off Day!

I was so grateful for my two riding students, and their mom’s willingness to bring them out to help. I could not have done it without them.

“Today is our Show Off Day! Smile, look lively, and most of all enjoy yourselves!”, were my last minute instructions once they mounted up.

Our students were a huge help!
I could not have done these visits without these two terrific students. Love, love those smiles!

The van quickly arrived with our delightful guests. Off they came in their wheelchairs and walkers. These lovely guests were from Shenandoah Valley-Westminster Canterbury. Our daughter, Helen, is their Activities Coordinator. This past week was National Assisted Living Week, and Helen planned two visits here with the residents.

The van quickly arrived. Whoopie, our official greeter, was the first to say hello!
Our guests were a joy to have.

One group came in the morning. The second group arrived early afternoon. Time between the two visits was filled with pizza and an ice cream trip to Pack’s just down the road.

Animals have a sense of their surroundings and people that I do not fully understand, but can clearly see. They are quite, gentle and patient with these senior citizens. They move slowly around them and stand quietly for a scratch. I hope you enjoy these special photos:


Everyone got a big chuckle watching the chickens following me! #chickensmakeuschuckle

Who blesses whom? I think that is easy to see. What do you think?

Our Perfect Hostess

We had the pleasure of entertaining special visitors here on the farm this week. Our daughter, Helen, works as an Activities Coordinator at Shenandoah Valley Westminster Canterbury Retirement Community. A premier retirement community here in Winchester. I will be posting a blog with delightful photographs soon. This little blog, however, is about our perfect hostess, Whoopsie.

Whoopsie is the perfect hostess by unanimous vote. This little blog is a photo story illustrating her keen hostess abilities. We are sure you will agree!

Whoopsie takes her greeting/hostess job very seriously.
She must be sure she sees every single guest!

Just look at that happy little greeter giving our guests a hearty “Hello! Welcome to the farm!”
Ahhhh, our perfect hostess is being unceremoniously excused from her job! For shame, Helen! (Actually, she had to move to make way for the wheelchairs.)

The Lazy Man

I may be lots, I told myself, but one thing I am not and that is lazy.

Is that so? The next thought begged the question.

My thoughts immediately turned on their defensive mode. I grew up in the tourist industry on a big farm. We twinsters started earning paychecks long before our hours could be legally reported. No, no, I am not a lazy man!

Yet, there they sat, all ready to go. My photographs. Carefully place in frames that added to their visual appeal all ready to be entered into the county fair. Why bother with this fair in this other county? You have already won ribbons from your own county fair. You do not want to take the time to drive all the way over there. Think of all the work you could get done here in the time wasted doing all that mess! My thoughts nagged me.

Does anyone else have thoughts like these? These: don’t do it; it’s a waste of time; it’s not worth it, kind of thoughts? What a battle! I was exhausted! When suddenly floated in the encouraging words from my daughter:

“Yeah! Go for it, Mom!”

“You will have fun!

“Your pictures will win, they are great!”

The urge to not let my main cheerleader down pushed me to grab up the photographs and head to the fairgrounds.

It was in this struggle that the truth of Proverbs 13:4 hit me head-on:

“The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.”

Just how diligent am I being toward gaining my personal goals? What are my personal goals? It has struck me that I am a worker. I know how to work. But this Proverb did not speak of work. It spoke to me of desires. These are two different notions.

I do work hard. It is hard work to keep our animals healthy and well cared for. It is hard work maintaining the gardens and farm. However, I desire to become a better amateur photographer, a better blogger, a better horsewoman, a better Christian.

I realize I must be diligent in working toward my desires. After all, they will not improve just because I want them to. I must not be lazy in working to improve them. These desires add a great richness to my life. A cheerleader is another important piece to this puzzle. I did not want to disappoint her hope in me. Everyone needs a cheerleader in life.

As for the entries in the fairs? I won eight ribbons between the two fairs. It was a fun surprise to see which ones won. Call me sappy if you like, but when I saw that blue ribbon hanging from the photo of our steer, it put a lump in my throat!

I am rich indeed.

Ribbons won from both the Frederick County and Clarke County Fairs.
The blue ribbon on this photo of our steer put a lump in my throat. Yes, I am sappy.



Trouble the photos—Grrrr…..

Computers are like cars. They are great when they are running as they should. But when they do not! Grrrrrrr…….so blasted aggravating! What have I done with the photos?

Since my last post, ‘something’ has happened to my photo gallery. I am unable to post photos. I know they are in here somewhere. I just do not know how to ‘find’ them and put them back where they belong so they can be added to my posts. Man! This is so frustrating!

I need help, and am hoping my computer savvy son will be able to set it aright. Will be back ASAP! 🙂