Thistleblooms Rambles

[Beekissed]

I love it that you are teaching .....what an amazing teacher you would be!!! Wish my grandchildren lived next door to you so you could start a little school. My DIL has a teaching certificate but still can't seem to homeschool the girls to the point where they are learning at a steady rate...or at all.

Love also hearing about your horse and love the pic of your student and your Larka.....a lovely child and a lovely dog!

 

[thistlebloom]

Thank you for the sweet compliment Bee!

 

[Baymule]

She is like having a teenager. So sweet, smart, loving, then a smart alec little snot! I enjoy how much she and you are growing together. You are teaching her, but she is teaching you too.

 

[thistlebloom]

She is like having a teenager. So sweet, smart, loving, then a smart alec little snot! I enjoy how much she and you are growing together. You are teaching her, but she is teaching you too.

So true. She has the advantage of a young brain, my poor little gray matter is slightly atrophied, lol.

Took her out this afternoon and walked her down the road in front of the property doing.... something I can't remember the real name for... see brain comment above... anyway, it's an exercise where I walk forward with her slightly behind on my right and ask her to pass me, go ahead of me in a semi circle and around on my left to walk there, slightly behind, all while I continue walking forward at a moderate pace. Walk several steps more than have her pass on my left go forward ahead of me and around to my right side. Repeat. My goal is her softness at a forward pass and calmly moving ahead and around. Eventually I will just have her moving from side to side without the pause of several steps between the passes.

She is not a fan of this exercise, and gets rushy and a little 'tudy about it. She has been making progress though, and she has always been very soft and responsive on the line. But this afternoon she seemed to think that she had done it enough and as she passed me from left to right she let out a little kick and tapped my hand. Now this was obviously not a kick intended to damage, but I immediately got all up in her stuff and backed her rapidly down the bank off the road into the snow and kept her moving fast. The snow is about halfway up her cannons, she was moving backward so fast she was nearly sitting down. The look on her face was priceless. Hahaha! I kept her moving back for about another 100 feet around my garden shed and down the driveway then we went out to the road and tried again. She was humble and after two more "nice" passes we stopped and did something she enjoys more. Love that darn mare.

 

[Baymule]

Oh she tries you!! I laughed at that! Talk about a sullen teenager response! Hahaha! I guess she found out MOM means business! LOL LOL

 

[thistlebloom]

I've been doing more of the "over here over there" exercise I described above with Syringa. I figured out the key to getting her to do it calmly was just to keep going farther down the road until it was just an easy smooth movement and she settled into the rhythm of it. I think we both had fun doing it.
I also sat on her bareback off the fence, which I haven't done all winter. She was calm and hardly noticed, just turned her head to sniff my leg. I think the first ride will be uneventful.

Her saddle is now supposed to be done by this weekend. All of the delays are wearing me out. I was supposed to have it mid November, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I know they had difficulties this winter. I'm very excited to be getting it soon, and get riding my mare at last.

Today was a beautiful bluebird day, and by all appearances we are going to have a decently early spring. I saw a Robin yesterday at dusk! First one of the year for me. Little Miss and I had a great time together. She is catching on to her pre reading lessons well. We spent a lot of the day outside in the sunshine. She loves Huckleberry, my little mule. While I pruned the apple trees she led him up and down the driveway. I'm teaching her to tie a Highwaymans hitch when she grooms him.

Everybody needs a little advice on pruning from their cat.

 

[Bruce]

Mom, cut THIS branch

 

[thistlebloom]

Mom, cut THIS branch

He's so nosy. I had to be careful with the loppers because he kept climbing over to the side I was working on. Don't want no three legged cat! 😄

 

[B&B Happy goats]

Happy Birthday tommrow

 

[thistlebloom]

Syringa is a risk taker. The sign says "Warning!! Do not scratch your itchy rump on this sign!!"
I guess I need Brooke to start working with her on the alphabet.