tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post7711023954458944597..comments2024-03-26T05:15:39.663-07:00Comments on Equestrian Ink: Survivors and JoyJami Davenporthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05259390150273030284noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-47268115155362130102013-03-01T11:29:51.474-08:002013-03-01T11:29:51.474-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-76242803721402093972013-02-27T14:51:07.892-08:002013-02-27T14:51:07.892-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-52829652960243464482013-02-27T07:33:46.906-08:002013-02-27T07:33:46.906-08:00Susan--Yeah, to begin with I planted anything that...Susan--Yeah, to begin with I planted anything that I admired and I learned the hard way that lots of plants aren't suited to this place. Like you, I discovered a couple of local nurseries that specialize in the sort of plants that thrive here, and that helped a lot. My mortality rate is probably only 50% now (!)<br /><br />Yay Aarene. You're one of my heros, with your constant focus on "life is good." That's exactly how I feel, too.<br /><br />Jane--I agree. You have to move in the direction of your dreams and be open to the help you will get. It works for me, too.Laura Crumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15200878892304748308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-63953979071423524992013-02-27T06:52:43.906-08:002013-02-27T06:52:43.906-08:00I'm a firm believer in The Footwork Principle....I'm a firm believer in The Footwork Principle. I grew up in a large, very urban city, but I was born with a country heart, and unsuited to city living. I knew this when I was six. I wanted a garden. I wanted animals. I wanted horses. I wanted quiet.<br />I would do whatever it took . Somewhere along the way I came to believe my job was to do the footwork, and the rest would come when I'd cleared all the literal and metaphorical weeds. Want a garden? Prepare the land. Keep it up. People began to bring me plant starts for which I'd been searching. I shared what we already had. I guess my point is: i tired to make it easy for the universe to help me. I didn't have a horse, but I made room for one in my budget and my life, and learned everything I could (ongoing project!) about horses. So far, when I've done the footwork, it's worked out for me. Thanks goodness!Janehttp://theliteraryhorse.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-81211054105305282592013-02-26T21:00:01.487-08:002013-02-26T21:00:01.487-08:00You are totally right, Laura: people choose what ...You are totally right, Laura: people choose what they want. Sure, there are setbacks (as Dom can attest), but I don't believe adults who say they've "always wanted to ride" but never did.<br /><br />Oh, yeah? So, what's stopping you? <br /><br />Me, I'm living the life that I would have chosen as an 8-year-old kid: I spend the vast majority of my time surrounded by family and friends and animals and books. And these days I'm old enough to say "NO" to things I don't want to do--a blessing that I couldn't exercise when I was 20! <br /><br />So here ya go, Laura: our dreams have survived pretty nicely, too.<br /> AareneXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18072169739345465380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-9892460344554757182013-02-26T16:42:14.087-08:002013-02-26T16:42:14.087-08:00Your 75 percent mortality on plants makes me feel ...Your 75 percent mortality on plants makes me feel better. Between the harsh climate, getting eaten and other problems, I lose a lot also. Luckily there's a plant nursery just down the road that specializes in plants for this area. I worked there for three summers and learned a lot, which helped my gardening.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04986249712144982103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-80843642115359306472013-02-26T14:46:54.086-08:002013-02-26T14:46:54.086-08:00Susan--I would love to have had an old ranch. But ...Susan--I would love to have had an old ranch. But I do know that it is an endless repair job. That is the plus side of building your own place. Everything is relatively new and there are less repairs. But there is always something (!)Laura Crumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15200878892304748308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-41982436400772003072013-02-26T14:27:55.575-08:002013-02-26T14:27:55.575-08:00We have a similar situation. Tom and I have lived ...We have a similar situation. Tom and I have lived here for eight years now and make improvements when we can. The entire place needs refencing, instead we repair fences and make them as safe as we can. Sometimes it seems our little house is going to fall apart. One side is definitely settling. We wish we had the money to build a new one, but not yet. The barn is in the same shape. We love it here, so inch along, a few dollars at a time, making improvements when we can.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04986249712144982103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-89307494293312898872013-02-26T13:02:52.829-08:002013-02-26T13:02:52.829-08:00Cesca--I think your parents were braver than me. M...Cesca--I think your parents were braver than me. My little travel trailer DID have running water and a bathroom--plus at the time I did not have a kid (!) So I'm not really so brave and nothing like a pioneer. I am just somebody who didn't have a lot of money and was determined to have a place where I could keep my horses. I was willing to make sacrifices to wn the sort of property I really wanted.<br /><br />Dom--I hope you find a home that suits you as much as mine suits me. I think that just your clarity about what you want will serve you well. What I find is that many people would "like" a horse property, but they simply aren't clear enough in their minds what it might take to achieve this goal. So they buy that suburban house cause, you know, its the normal choice, the wise investment, and they never do live the way they want to live. I have a feeling that you will follow your dreams.<br /><br />FJ Thomas--The one thing I am sometimes sad about is that I grew up on an old ranch and loved the old barns and houses--but that ranch got bulldozed. So building my own place is neat, but there is nothing like the feeling of an old barn or home. I would have loved that, too. All the work one puts into maintaining/remodeling an old place creates just as much intimacy as building a new one--or so I think.Laura Crumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15200878892304748308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-47383227704798981242013-02-26T11:59:02.633-08:002013-02-26T11:59:02.633-08:00We have lived in our place for 10 years and just r...We have lived in our place for 10 years and just remodeled some this past year. Its over 100 years old and needs a good bit more work. We need more land and hope to sell within the next year or so. But like you, we have sacrificed a lot to have what we do and have put a lot of time in on it. I think the longer the toil, the sweeter the rewards and the survivors. So many today want that instant gratification and yet they never realize what they miss in the process. Your place is beautiful!F.J. Thomashttp://www.fairweatherfarmtn.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-71930545966678777352013-02-26T11:12:25.204-08:002013-02-26T11:12:25.204-08:00This describes everything I want in life. This describes everything I want in life. Domhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00139769676714813261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5037107797013641705.post-41109375401981715322013-02-26T11:02:07.332-08:002013-02-26T11:02:07.332-08:00Wow, Laura, what a story! You're so brave! You...Wow, Laura, what a story! You're so brave! You're like the pilgrims, or the people who crossed America from the East coast in wagon trains...well, to me you are! You're also like a character in a book...no, really, you are! <br /><br />Impressive, especially for this little Anglo-Italian-Swiss girl... <br /><br />My parents did something similar when I was about ten, in neighboring France. Maybe not quite as extreme as you, but they bought a plot of land and built a house. We moved in without running water, or bathrooms, and my father did a lot of construction work himself, and they both designed a beautiful garden. They still live there now.<br /><br />Thanks for that!Francesca Prescotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16312915602595615476noreply@blogger.com