Merry Christmas to all

Wow, where has this year gone? It's flown by and only speeding faster and faster, so Christmas is suddenly upon us and next it'll be 2011 :o)

Next whale watch attempt is going to be for my birthday too, fingers crossed they'll make an appearance for us end of January!

Heading to Christchurch for Christmas, I know the family will be very conscious of Mum being absent but with 4 rowdy boys running around full on all day I'm sure everyone will be distracted just a bit from the sadness which is good :o)

Pete and Marcus are going to stay down an extra couple of days to keep Dad company for just a while longer and then they'll come home on the train. Can't wait to go and pick them up and hear all about the trip up and the tunnels from Marcus, he just loves the trains and tunnels around Kaikoura.

I'm working my way through a couple of Eckhart Tolle books right now, have devoured A New Earth and onto it a 2nd time and getting started on the Power of Now too. I love the way he writes, sets it all out very simply and the 'gap in the thoughts' were you can sense a background awareness is exactly like sensing animals when talking to them, except the Awareness/Consciousness (God) doesn't have a personality like the animals do. Very good author if anyone is looking for some holiday reading :o)

Anyway, would just like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, a wonderful New Year and some incredible bonding times with your loved ones (animal and not!)

From my tribe to yours, Merry Christmas :o)

catch up time, you first, then me ;o)

Been pretty full on here for the last couple of weeks, a good steady workload to keep me occupied at night is great, some fantastic updates from owners of cats, dogs and horses which is lovely as I know they're all working in a better partnership to get those results :o)

A couple of new additions here, bet you can't guess ;o) Yeah OK the mad chook lady has been collecting again. A beautiful picked on baby who was getting a hiding to the point of her comb being pecked too came and made herself known to me by jumping on me. I made sure she had a feed of pellets and water and tried to take notes of what she looked like so I could keep an eye on her in the shed in future. I got up to shift and she came running after me, being attacked by everything she went past on the way. This happened the entire 3/4 hour I was in the shed. I popped her up on the feeder out of the way while I took the cart and eggs outside to the quad bike and then I went back to get her, she was gone!!!!! I looked everywhere! Disappeared into thin air! I thought to myself that she was not meant to be and went back to the quad bike and Marcus and there she was! Sitting up on the cart waiting for me! I got her home and asked Marcus what he thought her name might be, he said "I think she's Mary"... now Mary is the first ever chook who I was going to take home when the shed was due to "go" unfortunately she died in a 2 week period I was away and only 2 weeks before I could have brought her home with me :o( Broke my heart! Mary would follow me around the shed too and jump on me if another chook came to close to her, jumped onto me head once, I laughed so hard she nearly fell off again! Well this Mary is the same and when I checked with her if she would like Mary as a name she was more than happy with it :o)

28th of November and I found an injured young one, maybe only 8 mths old or there abouts. She'd been scalped, the skin stripped right away showing all the flesh from just behind her comb and bigger than a $2 coin. Her face was swollen and her eyes looked like little beady things (more than normal! LOL) trying to peer out of the swelling. She also had a big hole in her neck about the same size but thankfully all I could see there was blood not a gaping hole like in her head! Anyway I put her in a quiet place on her own and told the owner he'd need to do the deed to her. I came back the next day and he'd forgotten!!! Poor wee darling! However the head wound had dried and the skin had stuck back to the flesh rather than sliding around when she moved, and the swelling on one side had gone down ever do slightly, so I got her some food and water and she ate and drank, so I thought what the hell and told the boss I'd take her home and try to keep the flies away from her!!!

So, she came home on the Monday afternoon. On Tuesday my Father in Law in Christchurch rang to say Petes mum was in hospital and the Doctors had said she had from 2 days to 2 weeks (she had cancer) so Pete was going to head down on Wednesday and Marcus and I would follow on Friday as we were supposed to head down for the weekend anyway. Tuesday morning and dad rings saying the family has been called into the hospital as the time is close! I rang Pete and he headed straight down, just the clothes he was in and Marcus and I would follow on Wednesday morning after sorting out someone to look after the animals.

Mum died at 11.10pm on the Tuesday night, Pete had got there at about 2pm so he was able to be with her and dad when she passed very very peacefully :o)

Now of course I had a scalped chicken to deal with too! I couldn't leave her here so she came with us! Stayed in Dad's fly free laundry and got her head bioptron'd and sprayed daily with colloidal silver, she was a very good girl and altho she talks to you, she is a very quiet talker.

We came home Sunday and she and Mary now share a chook pen all by themselves. Mary is scared of Felicity (Little Flick after the fire engine in the old kids radio story, she loves that song) and Little Flick is not interested in harassing Mary. I think they'll be best buddies very soon :o)

It was Little Flicks first night out of the cage last night and I went out just as it was getting dark to make sure she knew where she could sleep. A hedgehog came under the fence into the pen and Little Flick took the 3 steps needed to have a look at it, it waltzed right up to her legs and stuck his nose into the feathers, not sure if he had a nibble or not, but Flick squawked and jumped away and he followed! They did this about 5 times, hedgie following Flick and going in for a love bite hehehe. I had to nudge him out the way with my foot to get him to leave her alone as he was ignoring my growling and clapping of hands, hope it isn't sick as it was very pale coloured too!

Had to put the girls up on top of Flicks cage in case he came over to eat their pellet and nibbled their toes while he was at it LOL.

Came home from Christchurch after 5 days away and Mac's a bit hoppy, nearly foundered the podge! So I've pulled him out of the dressage on Sunday, mentally he's still not quite right on the mounting part (showed this at a lesson yesterday!) so better to give him the time he needs than rush it and blow it.

He and Smokey got their teeth done today, as suspected Smokey REALLY needed his to be done! Unfortunately the usual dentist we get couldn't come up from Christchurch till after Christmas (and who knew WHEN after Christmas) so I booked in with another one coming up from Christchurch..... I should have asked the price first! Oh My God!!!! That was an expensive exercise! hey, good job but still it wasn't worth what I had to pay for it! Not a pleasant surprise this close to Christmas but at least the boys are done and happy I suppose!

And now of course I'm still playing catch up after being away with work! Never mind, nearly caught up!

There you go! All caught up you are, and I'm nearly caught up and Christmas is just around the corner! EEK!!!!

On a plus side, after Christmas Smokey will be coming back into work! YAY!!!

Interesting shift from animals to Earth...

it seems to be that I'm getting surrounded by clips and reminders about the planet as a whole rather than just animals. Probably started with the subconscious shift from land to sea while thinking about the whales and suddenly I'm more "aware" of things to do with the planet around me.

These have all been shared on the FaceBook page but I have found them important enough to me that I'll share them here too... they are long clips as far as you tube clips go and I know that will put most people off, it certainly put me off when I first got emailed the link to the movie "Home" about a year ago, but after I'd watched the 24 min clip of Kiesha talking about the changes the planet is undergoing, and having a chat myself with the whales consciousness and then the planet, I found that link for the "Home" movie pop up in front of me again and watched it.... WOW!!!! What a great movie, I'm actually watching it again today, the camera work is absolutely AMAZING, the message is timely and although it starts out being one of those heart breaking "what the hell can we do about it?!" things, the movie actually finishes outlining how we as countries and governments ARE changing things for the positive, which makes the whole movie extra special :o)

So, here are the 2 links, again I know most of you won't watch them due to the length of them, but if you're ready to engage with Mother Earth I'm sure you'll find yourself just clicking on them and loving them too :o)

Kiesha from the Tribe of Many Colours speaks in Zurich

"Home" a movie by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

and lastly some "thoughts" I had while driving to Christchurch on Friday just past...

the day I was supposed to be first going to go and see the whales, my oldest bitch Karma asked as I was leaving if I would ask the whales to send her some healing, struck me as odd, but I said OK to her and off I went. Of course the whales weren't about so we didn't go out and when I got home I got a "well?????" as I got in with her. Told her we didn't get to see any.

I'd watched that 20 min clip talking about what we've done to the planet and how it's affecting different species around the world, and of course it mentions the Gulf Oil Spill too... Now ages ago straight after the CHCH earthquake as I was sending some energy to Mother Earth in the Christchurch area it was sucked like a vortex into the Gulf of Mexico instead, like a bottomless pit, didn't think much of it, obviously mother earth decided that was much more necessary for her, so be it.

So today as I got down towards Kaikoura I thought I'd just see what I could pick up from any whale consciousness down there. I simply asked whey they were not around when we'd wanted to see them. Who knows what gave this back to me but I got them out in deep waters doing healing (now I'd never thought of whales as healers before, dolphins yes, but not whales, until Karma had asked for some from them!) and when I asked what for I got the Gulf of Mexico. Got closer in to Kaikoura and looked at the mountains thinking how little we could guess was going wrong around the planet looking at the beauty she still contains on the surface and I did as was asked in that clip. I sent Mother Love and Love for healing. As I was doing this (and you have to remember my head doesn't shut up so I chatter incessantly!) I asked about the earthquakes. Certainly unusual for us as a country to have them ongoing like they are, so I simply asked why they were happening, and I got back quite simply "to move the plates". So of course I asked why they needed to move? and got back the Gulf of Mexico again.

Would love to know a couple of things..... firstly are the whales being seen LESS since the Gulf of Mexico due to them being out deeper doing the healing? and secondly what is happening with the plates here after the quakes, movement, directions etc and how that may (if it is!) be linked to the plates around the Gulf of Mexico.

Was interesting anyway, and a good little bonding session with old Mother Earth :o)

Well the Whales have got Stage Friight!

Last Saturday was canceled due to rough weather, so we rebooked for Sunday, Sunday's weather was PERFECT, calm seas and not a whale in sight. They didn't even send the boats out as the spotters couldn't find anything, so rebooked AGAIN for today and there are gale force winds and no whales seen at all yesterday so boats canceled again!

I know I need to learn patience but COME ON!!!! LOL

Birthdays and Whale Watching...

November seems to be a month of birthdays! Happy Birthday to my little bro living in the USA, a friend just turned 40 two days ago and another turns 50 in 2 days time. For her 50th birthday Lisa wanted to go whale watching in Kaikoura, so we are off there on Saturday!!!

As a kid I used to dream about swimming with whales and saving them after they were harpooned (I think that started after I saw a TV doco saying the whales would drown after being harpooned) so I would get to them, get them up to the surface, remove the harpoon and we'd swim away, needless to say I have a lingering love for whales so am really looking forward to it! I'll report back with what they have to say and some photos after Saturday!

In the meantime Guy Fawks is upon us, we are very lucky to live rurally so we don't have a big fire works issue, just enough in the township to ensure we all, animals and people, have something to go oooooh and aaaaaah over.

If you have animals fearful of them, just explain what they are, how they work, and that we let them off as a celebration and it's a happy event. The horses and dogs listen here, the goats don't, they just blast around the paddock (good for the fatties to be honest!) and eventually go and hide in the implement shed LOL. I have noticed Leo has actually been 'fearful' of a few gunshots heard here over the last week, that is a new behaviour for him, so I'll have a wee chat to him when they start up and we'll sit down and watch them (if it's not raining!)

So enjoy the fire works if you have them, keep your animals safe and have fun!

A Young Cats Take on Life...

I had the opportunity to talk with a young cat last week, he's not even a year old yet and yet his take on things is very deep and wise and he was very happy to share... so here is some of what I got from him for his mum...

What is his take on life? it is there one moment at a time. I ask him as a cat, how he thinks we people should live, he says we should take things more lightly, the only thing that is really important is each other, and we should be more aware of others and enjoy our contact with them. I ask him then about the other cats who don't always understand the Laughing Buddha (a nickname I gave the boy after seeing the first photo of him lying on his back, eyes squeezed shut and mouth open, grinning (probably mid sneeze LOL) and he liked it) and related that back to people...so what should we do when there are people who just don't understand us or vice versa... he shows me you blowing them a kiss and turning away - send them love and move on. I ask him, what about when we're tired and just don't feel like laughing? He says then you are to receive the love and he inserts himself in the picture, he will laugh for you and will wrap you in love until you find your own again.

So now putting some heavier stuff on the young fella, I ask him why we are all here... and he says a life is going to happen a soul has to fill it, that we see what is about to live and we choose which one we want to be, I ask why and he indicates that it would be a waste of opportunity, a waste of the complexity of the chemical things happening to allow 'life' if they (the souls/spirit etc) ignored it and didn't participate, like it is their responsibility to enable it to reach it's full potential, to realise all the possibilities, hard to explain properly, haven't had one put it across from that perspective before. The bio-chemical part of expansion or creation is 'ripe' to happen, but without the soul it is not complete, so the spirits responsibility (and opportunity) is to complete that process by participating in it.

I ask him what is the purpose of the separation of spirit, of it being split to be contained in a physical body like it is and he gives "identity", self awareness I guess, which is funny because all the books and quotes are of "One-ness" of us remembering or recognising that we are all part of the "One", all part of the same energy, all part of "God", and that we should see past our individuality and be aware we are all part of the same thing, and yet he is saying the whole reason we are here in these bodies is so that we can get/obtain/hold on to a sense of individuality, a sense of "self" which we don't have if we remain 'energy' and simply a spark of energy within the Energy... so that is interesting to hear (and I guess it does make sense that we could do both, just seems like it shouldn't be such a battle to recognise that "One-ness" when we only incarnated to find a sense of Self LOL.)

Pretty deep for a young fella huh?

and because that was getting too long...

This is about Smokey going jumping on Sunday!

He had 3 classes, one show hunter, and 2 show jumping. Unfortunately it had been indicated that the show hunter would be on after lunch due to the rings, but due to lack of entries the rings were different to what the schedule said and show hunter started in the morning so it was pretty good timing I wandered over to see what they were up to, to find them putting the jumps up for the warmup round of my class!!! EEK!!!

I raced off to saddle him up, he wasn't plaited, he didn't get a warm up round (BIG mistake!) and wasn't warmed up well, well all the disorganisation showed and we were eliminated by jump #2 (oops!) but after jump #2 he continued on and did them all.

Another hour or so later and it was show jumping time, 60cm first and he had a clear round and came 2nd (it was a small class, but still, he did well!) Then the 70cm round where the wall came in and he did well right up to there! One refusal at the wall and 2 time faults and that was it, we were 4th and there were only ribbons to 3rd, collective "aaaaaaw" (silly Smokey LOL). By the end of that round he was sooooooo ready to finish, we'd been there over 7 hours already and he was mentally had it. But it was our first time out doing 'proper' show jumping and I'm still proud of the wee boy, considering the Show Hunter thing was my fault.

Here are some stills I got off the video's of the rounds...

3rd time lucky on this jump in the show hunter round!
and the wall cost us a placing too with one refusal at it...

Insecure dogs and horses

If you're on Face Book you may feel like adding your ideas about Animals NOT living in the "Now"

Have just been talking to the most beautiful, loving, soft natured dog who has some obsessive compulsive behaviours, a low self image, basically he feels/thinks he doesn't have the right to be happy, he fears being left. Have given his a few pep talks spread over a few days, linked him back into the Universal Energy or God Force, reminding him what his potential truly is. Unfortunately I just don't know whether that will be enough to get him through when the compulsions hit him, so have recommended some emotional type energy healing for him, fingers crossed that, combined with what mum will be putting in place emotionally for him, may get him through. On my 3rd or 4th link in with him, I got snuggled, he got right into my neck and face area and just snuggled in there for cuddles, sweet boy even told me he loved me, how's that for a softy?! Absolutely adorable troubled boy, am hoping it all helps enough he can stay healthy and have a chance to allow himself to be loved instead of just loving everyone else...

On a personal note I'm flying high! After 10 mths of Mac not being ridden, he now has been! TWICE! Go my gorgeous Maccy Boy! (and go me! I don't bounce like I did as a kid, and everytime I get dumped in the last 6 yrs I've ended up in hospital, probably why Mac has actually gone 10 mths since the last one!) But we were both ready, the first mounting session was a lesson in town with my instructor who is Mac's security blanket (and mine in a way because I know she can cope with whatever happens even if it is me crapping off hahahaha). The lesson came the day after some fantastic groundwork, but the fantastic groundwork followed me having to have an emotionally charged talk with him, letting him feel just how much I love him. Altho he's never shown it he has gotten a little insecure since I've been riding Smokey so much as he did before Smokey even arrived. I was so excited about all the things I'd be able to do with Smokey that I simply can't with Mac (like ride him bareback, and take off a jacket while I'm on him!) that Mac got rather depressed that he wasn't able to give me everything I wanted. Now the insecurities were back and everytime I tried to tell him (when ever I do anything with him!) how much I loved him I would find my mind drifting to Smokey, and I'd feel guilty and pull it back to Mac. It happened so often I thought I was starting to love Smokey more than Mac!!!

When I told him all the soft mushy stuff before our groundwork it felt like just words, there was no emotional connection with him, and quite suddenly my thoughts went to Smokey and a doubt came in. That's as well as I can explain it. Mac only comes to me in feelings, no words, no images, just straight emotion, can be REALLY tricky getting specific answers to anything from him by the way, and yet he'll "talk" to others LOL (I say it's because we're soooooooo connected ;o) Anyway this doubt came in as I thought of Smokey and eureka! I got it! Basically Mac was saying "Are you sure? I don't think you do" and inserting Smokey in there instead, aaaaaaaaaaw, my staunch as, dominant ass of a sensitive horse was thinking I didn't love him anymore! And it was HIM who kept making me think of Smokey, it wasn't ME! (Gawd, see how much they are always in our heads causing us havoc?!) So I told my boy the truth... I told him just what he means to me, just how much I love him, he brought tears to my eyes, but he let me back in and accepted all I was saying and hey presto, that emotional connection was back, it'd been HIM blocking that too!

We also had a little chat about letting go of past issues, that his past is just the first rung on a ladder that brought us together, that that ladder and his journey up it was infinitely precious because of where he has ended up, that his journey up that ladder has been a blessed journey and that I'm eternally grateful that he decided to take that journey. We had a lovely groundwork session, relaxed, calm, focussed on me completely (not a small thing since I'd put the other 2 out of the arena and into the back yard for more grass and Mac was 100% certain when I caught him he was going there too! hahaha!) My Maccy Boy was back with me.

So the next day was our lesson and he stood like a rock, it was like we'd gone back in time to last October before everything happened and just picked up where we left off.

And the next day we got back on at home, all by ourselves! I must confess I was nervous, for my ADHD boy who needs his routines, although we'd been doing ground work in the arena he's never been ridden in there before and the wind had flicked round to a sou'east which he hates more than the usual nor'west which he also hates, how dare the wind change direction?! But again, he stood like a rock and after 15 mins of walk and trot he decided he'd finished and stopped dead! He's never done that before (tried it at the lesson to when I was just finishing off with some mount-walk off-dismount)

So very proud of him, and very proud of myself getting over my lack of faith in my boy (cause lets face it, altho falling doesn't hurt, landing on the deck sure does!) but we're FINALLY all go again!

Spring is busy time!

Have caught up on work after that flu (phew!) and although I was only away in Auckland for a week it feels like it's been forever since I did anything! Had dressage on Smokes the weekend I got back, small classes (unregistered) but he got a 1st and two 2nds over the 2 days (nothing to skite about the marks were crap LOL) Mac was supposed to have his lesson today which would have seen us back on him, but the toad has put his back out under the saddle. I was brushing him a couple of days ago ready to do some more groundwork and the rubber curry comb along his spine nearly had him drop to his knees! I think I'll have to have a good chat to him about releasing some worries of being ridden again! Chiropractor is in town on Friday thankfully! Smokey has a jumping lesson on Thursday, chiro on Friday and Show Jumping and Show Hunter on Sunday :o) and Mac's lesson has been rebooked for NEXT Tuesday! Can't wait to get back on him!

Dogs are good, chooks are good and laying up a storm. Another shed is due to go any time now (well not "due" to go but a glut of free range eggs has seen the distributor telling all egg farmers to cull numbers! So my favourite shed might be going early! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!) Have about 20 sorted for a couple of horsey girls when it's time, hoping others will want some too as they're great gentle girls!

Marcus is learning stuff daily, today he drew a clock and numbered it and then put the hands at some significant times (like 3 o'clock for afternoon tea, 4 o'clock for cookie time etc LOL). He's a smart wee cookie! Don't know what he's going to do at school next year, he's doing it all now!

Nothing exciting to pass on work wise, nice to have people getting back to me afterwards confirming things though :o)

Pet and Animal Expo and the Flu!

crikey, without having gone to the Dr to get it confirmed I'm 99.9% positive the child and I ended up with Swine Flu and it sat me on my butt for about 2 weeks!!!

Actually I don't ever recall having a flu quite like that one even as a kid! But it has finally passed and the cough that preceded it is pretty much gone too (who would get the "100 day cough" and swine flu together?! Well, we don't do things by halves around here LOL)

So Marcus and I got up to Auckland where my mum looked after us and I had nana naps every day, and loved the fact I didn't have to go out and feed animals twice a day! Pet Expo rolled around on the weekend and I was actually feeling quite a bit better on the Saturday, although that damn cough was still doubling me over and my ribs are still buggered from all of that.

Expo from a stand holders perspective was good! A lot of people and a lot of people stopping to talk with us :o) A few comments about not enough freebies to be found (really the only freebies were from the feed people, not a lot of other stands had freebies they could offer!) something to consider for next year though, maybe some free little magnets or something! The Himalayan Crystal Salt sold really well as did Jeanne's Bach Flower Remedies.

Had a play with some rats there from the Ratty Club (quite like those intelligent little critters!)

Was nice to see the Ultra K9 dog food represented there (I'm the Marlborough distributor for that, good food!) and lovely to see Mirijana there with all the Bioptrons. Such a lovely helpful lady who sat me down and turned 3 bioptrons on me as I stopped to say hi, it was bliss :o)

So a good weekend was had but it was lovely to get home again too. Mac SCREAMED his welcome home to me and continued screaming until I went down there and gave him more grass to shut him up LOL.

Smokey has dressage this weekend after 2 weeks off, lucky he's such a good boy huh?!

Here are a couple of photos of the stand at the Expo...

My Main Man Mac

has been on the back burner for a while hasn't he?! 2 mths of very wet weather meant he didn't even get much groundwork, but I've pulled him out of the paddock lately and we're getting some groundwork under his belt again. He had one wee instance of testing who was boss, (gosh I love that dork!) but he's settled into the groundwork again well, still worried when I get into a position to mount him (not that I'm going to, just setting him up for success as he needs to have done, and desensitizing him again as it's being mounted that is his "issue") so still a bit of work to do but I am missing riding him, and he is finally getting bored in the paddock (he obviously needed a bit of a holiday!) I have promised him I'll take him jumping again too :o) He is looking forward to being ridden again, but he worries, about hurting me, about his reactions that he can't stop, of course that worry of his tenses him up and takes him that much closer to that breaking point where brain shuts down and he just reacts, so a bit of a catch 22 with him at times, but we'll get there again and soon! Before all that spring grass kicks in too much!

I just found a photo of him very recently uploaded onto our local photographers site when I was spotting the trail ride photo's of Smokey, so had to get it!

This was Mac at our 2009 winter dressage, he was doing level 3. What a handsome devil he is!

Pet Expo in Auckland is Drawing Close!

Just a reminder to all Aucklander's I'll be at the Pet Expo on the 18th and 19th of September. It runs from 10am-5pm Sat and Sunday at the Nth Shore Event Centre.

Adults entry is $10, Children under 5 are free.

I'll be at a stand with Jeanne Northwood from Energy Works, an energy healer, and Niki Wright-Jackman will be spending a wee bit of time with us too, Niki has just recently started up communicating with cats and is doing some great work with them :o)

I will have 'Pet Expo Specials' on vouchers for consultations and Himalayan Crystal Salt.

I will be there for the week leading up to the Expo too and available to do some consultations while I'm there.

Well Smokey has been busy!

Since the last post (gosh that was a while ago, where has the time gone?!) Smokes has done another Show Hunter day and his first competitive trail ride.
Show Hunter first :o) I thought the heights were 55cm, 65cm etc, but got there and found out it's 50, 60, 70cm etc so since Smokey hadn't seen ANY jumps since the ODE over a month prior I thought we'd just do the 50 and 60cm rounds (he'd done 65cm at the ODE) so entered him for those and decided to let him choose if he wanted to pick up a canter into the jumps etc (last lesson before the ODE was all just trot approaches) and he did a very nice 50cm round. The 60cm round unfortunately I was distracted by asking hubby to keep photographing the rider following me, turned away from him and lined up and jumped the last jump as jump #1 so was eliminated. He was jumping VERY nicely and I asked two of the organisers on the side line if they thought he looked like he'd do the 70cm OK (he was clearing everything with plenty of room!) and they were very much in agreeance that he'd do it no problems so we entered the 70cm round too. A little off in some of the striding for them, but cleared them all no hesitation at all, very very happy with the boy! And he won the 50cm round! Go Smokester!

Here is the only still photo I have of him jumping 70cm and it had to be taken off a vid clip as hubby had the camera on video mode by accident LOL. All the rest of the photos were completely mistimed and he didn't actually have the video camera running :o(

It's the first jump. The Flying Smokey LOL, a little out on the striding!
Last weekend was his first trail ride, just a 15km ride, he had a starting heart rate of 32, we had to push the end of the ride a little more than we wanted to make the time so his finish rate was 51, and final heart rate was 37. We came in 30 seconds under time and Smokey won!!! Was a GREAT ride, we had a gallop through the vineyard, and just had a ball. Very proud of his attitude throughout the entire ride :o)

oh yeah, the finish line!!!!
something about seeing Tracey the photographer there was obviously hilarious!
tidy your hair up there Smokey, the camera is out!aaaaaaaaw, I'm as proud as you are my wee dude, I luff you!
and here is the video of Smokey's winning round at Show Hunter :o) Jumps look so weeny!

It is so nice to see respect develop

Marcus now not only respects the dogs (altho he still delights in making Phoenix move because he knows she will) but he (apparently) now Loves the dogs too. He's always loved the chickens, "hey girls, hey cutie, I love you, thanks for the eggs, how are you?" etc etc non stop LOL, but the dogs is a new thing, because they've been here longer than he has and inside with him a lot of the time, the young child who had no siblings delighted in harassing them just to get a rise from them. However now he treats them more like he does the chickens which is so lovely to see. Zak the baby lover has been waiting a looooooooooong time for this and will now accept touching and cuddles from Marcus without the warning growls :o)

and just because Leo would be so embarrassed by this one hehehe

And a lovely farm ride with Smokey today, a solid 3 hours, up hill and down dale, in fact up so many steep hills all in one go he gave up and had to walk half of them poor poppet, when I even said to him "come on we'll do a trot up here" his breathing would get so laboured just thinking about a trot I'd give up and tell him to just keep walking! Still by the time we got back 3 hours later, he was recovered and enjoyed a cruisey canter along the nice flat raceway...

Me and my shadow...

Oh! and an update on a tree!

Talking about plants "talking" elsewhere and it reminded me!

I was up picking up horse poo the other day, up around the gum tree I'd transplanted up by the roadside. It was a year or 2 old when I asked hubby to dig it out from where it was so I could shift it (property plan had changed a little!) Pete dug it up but busted the roots up pretty well, knocking off the tap root, figured it wouldn't live so chucked it in the garage to take to the dump. I rescued it and transplanted it to where another baby gum tree had been planted and then pulled out and chewed up by Mac!

I asked the tree what it wanted/needed in order to keep living... it had been scared of being eaten like the last one so all it wanted was me to promise to keep it safe from the horses. I put a drum over it and then taped that corner off completely so the horses couldn't reach it at all. It was touch and go for a while, leaves dried up and went brownish, took it some water over summer, gave it some energy "healing" when I was up there in that first wee while, and gave it lots of pep talks.

That was perhaps 2 yrs ago now. The drum came off it last year and when I was up there the other day I untaped the corner. The horses now wouldn't be able to reach the top branches/leaves anyway and now it's not so teeny it won't taste good. I just checked in with it, not to ask it anything in particular, just to feel it, and make sure it wasn't screaming in fear with the horse eating the grass around it, and it felt like an adolescent!

Really strange to feel that young maturity there, where it had been nothing but fear and pain when I first spoke with it :o)

Is it Spring already?!

We've been having glorious days, frosty starts but warming up to T-shirt weather, the promise of Spring just around the corner is in the nesting birds (love the sound of Magpies calling!)

My mini arena (square pen LOL) has the crusher dust spread in it, just need to string line the tyres around the sides and fill them all with poo and rocks (good way to get rid of both!) so they don't walk off across the paddock but Smokey and I have been using it last week getting ready for Dressage yesterday.

He is feeling a wee bit insecure about his floating at the moment and is happy to follow me on but not keen on self loading, but we'll get it back again. He's been very smoochy in the paddock for the last week or so too, and a bit of a spring in his step when being ridden. Warmed him up at the dressage yesterday and he was lovely :o) Soft contact, forward, not Olympic standard by any means, but a step up on how he has been going so very happy with him.

He got a 61.53% in his first test which put him 5th, and a 60% in his 2nd test (another 5th!) and I was very happy particularly as the 2nd test (1.6) is pretty much a level 2 test and had HEAPS of canter in it which Smokes needs a lot of work on yet! AND they were decent size classes so he was in the top 3rd for both tests :o) Of course to top off the day it was the guys official birthday so Smokey was celebrating his "official" 5th birthday.

It was a rainy windy day and I was rapt with his work and attitudes, very very proud mummy :o)To top off a lovely day when I got home and checked the chickens I had 12 eggs from 15 girls to greet me, the most ever! You go Girls!!!! (what the heck am I going to do with all these eggs?! Any bright spark got some good ideas for someone who hates the kitchen, cooking and baking! LOL)

Now need to get another jumping lesson or 2 in as we have another Show Hunter on the 15th, see if we can canter a round this time instead of trot it LOL.

Smokey goes Eventing

The day dawned cloudy!!! Which was just perfect because it meant there would be no slipping and sliding on frosty ground! :o)

Smokey didn't want to head off in the dark so he delayed departure by refusing to go on the float LOL. In fairness he has a brand spanking new canvas cover, that I'd thought to leave on him for the trip as it was still a bit chilly, but the cover scratching along the side of the float was enough to put him right off! Marcus up the front of the float with a carrot was in the end enough to prompt him (with cover off) to enter the float and off we went.

Thankfully after a hurried gearing up and getting changed we had enough time to warm up for the dressage (his first time on an arena set up on grass with chains) and he did a nicely average test and got a 67% (which gave us a start score for the day of 33)

Onto the Show Jumping which was only 65cm, but somehow managed to look big by the time I was ready to go in and the nerves were EXTREME! A couple of "eek" moments, but no stops, altho he dropped one rail, and tackled the Toyota sponsored wall like he'd seen it a thousand times before so I was very happy with him. He was even wanting to pick up a canter a couple of strides out so he's ready to start cantering some jumps now.

3 hours break until Cross Country time gave him plenty of time to have the breakfast grass he'd missed hehehe. Pete and Marcus and my horsey groupy Lisa arrived in time for the X-country and we were first out on the course! Smokey was already Tired with a capital T... not physically, he was rearing to go, but he objected to a few of the early things I asked of him (including not wanting to go down a slippery hill, and a refusal at the 2nd jump) and altho he didn't stop, he was still objecting at jump #5. After a good canter up a hill he was going more forward and the 2nd horse caught up to us so we let her slip in ahead of us and Smokey followed her down a wee drop and then she pounded off ahead and we settled back into our a lot slower rhythm LOL.

So those last 3 jumps were very settled and no objections and he hit the home flags having done all I'd asked of him and pretty much without having gotten a sweat up :o)

It was a huge day for the wee fella, and a big ask for the amount of riding and preparation we've done, so I'm very proud of him.

1 rail SJ, 2 stops in XC and a ton of time faults, but he was my wee dude. And he managed to get 2 ribbons!!! A first in the Combined Training part of the day (just Dressage and SJ) as the other person got eliminated in the SJ (a top show and dressage horse might I add!) and she didn't do the XC so we were it and we didn't manage to eliminate ourselves so I feel we actually earned that red ribbon, no matter how many faults we stacked up!!!

Tired boy then couldn't eat all his dinner at the float and Pete and Marcus were going to take him home for me so I could steward a XC jump for the rest of the day, so a bit more 'persuasion' was required to get him on the float to go home, but on he eventually went and they all got home safe and sound :o)

Our lovely neighbour came over on Saturday too with his digger and shifted my pile of crusher dust that was still dumped in the grass and finished spreading all the rest for me (God bless the man, you should see my blister, cracked, oozing hands after doing 2 piles with a shovel!) so no excuses now eh?! Smokey WILL be prepared for his next day out! (Dressage in 2 weeks time LOL)

And Mac will have somewhere to get his brain back into work mode and I'll have a potentially soft landing place for when I get back on him hehehehe.

And best of all.... another frost this morning, with a gloriously sunny day! The weather gods played the game for us on the weekend, gotta love 'em!

Sunshine and Jumping

what more could you ask for in the middle of winter if you ride horses?! ;o)

We have had NO rain during July yet, the ground has dried out, the frosts have hit and beautiful sunny, and semi warm days, lovely!

Smokey has had dressage day, a cross country training day, and has his first One Day Event on this Sunday (lets hope for NO frost that day or we'll be sliding out of the dressage arena and skipping the show jumping!)
His dressage was good, he got 5th in both tests and happy with his work.
His cross country training day was a blast, he had a ball, we jumped mostly the 55-65cm stuff but picked and chose and did some of the 75-85cm stuff too and he was great. He was unsure of a few of them and just needed to be able to put a nose to them and then it was all go.

Ditches (empty) and water will be somethingn we need to work on however, he indicated a wee bit of a dislike to those, a bush pony who doesn't like getting his feet wet! Who'd have thought it LOL.
So an early start on Sunday for his ODE, and really really hoping it's not frosty, I don't want to have to pull out of any of it for safety sake!
He just got a new cover bought for him today and looks fab in his burgandy gear (will pop a pic of him at the dressage up :o)

Chickens are all great and healthy (touch wood!) dogs are good, have new beds getting sorted and last bits for them should be ready tomorrow (the bean bag and massive soft toy horse they had claimed as theirs all disintigrated and went to the dump and Karma didn't appreciate nothing warm UNDER her in front of the fire, poor shivering little girl, so new beds sorted :o)

Work has slowed down a little which is allowing me a bit of a break so appreciating that too while I have it :o)

As time goes on and I see how fragile life can be

for the chickens I'm getting more and more sucked in by the wee darlings.
Another shed is due to go in 2 weeks at the free range farm, this shed has had others added to them from the last shed to go to boost numbers up but production has taken a nose dive and breaking even isn't good enough so they are going early (nice in one way, one less shed to go into for a couple of months till the babies are up and running) but so sad :o( Any I can't spread the word about and get rehomed will be composted! Some of the girls have survived the shift from the last shed AND the moult they have already gone through (or are in the middle of for a lot right now) and are looking beautiful with feathers having come through again and they'll get turned into compost :o(

I hate it!!!! I want to save all the most scraggly, skinniest, baldest babies and give them a chance to live like a hen should, but I have no room! I also want to save the ones that have survived the shift and the moult (big things on their own to get through in sheds like that!) and are looking beautiful again so that suffering wasn't in vain! But I have 12 here already (10 was supposed to be my limit but hey, when they need you they need you!) I'm already eyeing up the "orchard" (was a HUGE horse yard I never used so planted fruit trees in) to chicken mesh and turn into a 2nd chook pen so I can have another 10 (or 12)

If I could find buyers for all the eggs they should be able to almost pay for their own food once they're up and running again...

Someone please tell me to be sensible and leave them be and just have my one crew!!!

OK, Feedback....

Like the new look? Or return to the way it was? No comments and I'll gather it doesn't matter one way or another LOL.

It has been WET and COLD!

No riding for weeks! Been tired too, going to bed very early which is unusual, but am finally rid of the sore throat that's been bugging me for over a week :o)

Dozer the bull mastiff has just had another hot spot (wet eczema) flare up after Leo punctured his neck AGAIN! and Karma washed it beyond clean AGAIN! but yay! Got it under control and dried up without the vet visit or steroids or antibugs! 2 washes in copper sulphate, and daily washing with the Himalayan Crystal Salt and it's dried up, WOOHOOO!

Fantastic timing, I read about using tea and asprin to dry it out too, a wholistic vet sent out a newsletter with this in it just a couple of days ago, brew a cup of strong black tea, add an asprin and hold a cloth soaked in it on the site for 5 mins, then wipe over 4 times a day with apple cider vinegar (the same as the salt) so something I might try next time Leo plays too hard!

Communication wise not a lot that is new to report, tips are still getting put up on the FaceBook page for anyone interested.

A busy May YAY!

Thanks to the wonderful people and their support this month I've said I'll definitely do a Silver Sponsorship for the Kai's, save one life, and I hear at the last hour the applications came rolling in and they have about 80 confirmed homes for some horses and a record number of 2-4yr old's being sought by people, fantastic!!!

Smokey did his dressage, his first test was the best, we entered at A, we exited at A :o)
.... at a canter!!!! Little sausage came round off his 20 metre circle at A and zip, out we went! however I was happy with the test and only wish the judges had actually kept up with the marking and comments as the big elimination was actually very early in the test!
2nd test was rather crappy, he was tired and fighting and not wanting to canter and we came last there :o( However again, his manners there for the day were great, and although disappointed, was still happy with him....

We snuck in a jumping lesson ready for the Show Hunter outing we were going to have last weekend, but the chiro was in town on the Friday and Smokey was out down by his bum so would have missed the Show Hunter anyway, luckily for us in more way's than one, it was a rather wet weekend and the competition was actually postponed until this weekend, so we didn't miss it after all!
So we went and did that this morning, a practice round and 1 round at 50 cms, he did very well considering we're still just doing trot approaches right now :o) Doubt we would have been placed (left to come home before it all finished) but very happy with him, not even a hint of him wanting to stop :o)


More rain forcast for the next few days, good if the temps hold up just a little while longer to get that grass growing! And I'm setting out tyres for a partial arena in the paddock. Only 20m squared at the moment, a full size arena would take a whole months worth of grass for my boys, can't afford to get rid of that much grass! But it'll mean I have some where to school some circles at least in the middle of winter without fear of slipping over or chopping up their precious grass :o) All the tyre shops are gagging to get rid of their old tyres so using them will make that part free at least.

Chooks are all great, yesterday was 10 eggs from 11 girls so production is picking up again :o) Dogs are good, Leo is finally maturing, still a hyperactive noonah but he's turning into a very likable mummy's boy :o) Zak the old dude is 12 now and still as fit as a fiddle, my beautiful old boy. Marcus has started morning kindy 3 days a week YAY! and the martial arts clubs are expanding well for Pete, so all ticking along well here :o)

May is upon us... So it's all about the Kai's

just a reminder that 25% of all consults this month goes the the KWHWT (Kai Trust) to help sponsor a horse or 2 from the muster this month, perhaps the last muster of it's kind if the contraception trials work out, peoples last chance perhaps to get a horse straight from the wild!!!!

If you can help by taking a horse, or sponsoring one, or even just a $20 donation, I urge you to do it, these sweet ponies never asked to be mustered and slaughtered, they never asked to be ripped away from their families, their babies, their home and be trucked off to yards and people or death. We have taken it upon ourselves to "manage" these dear horses and kill off those not "wanted"... my darling Smokey was supposed to be one of those unwanted ones. Smokey, my gentle, sweet, giving young boy should be dead.... please help us save another Smokey, to give another young one a chance at life....

Again, the Kai Trust on facebook Facebook

Their website www.kaimanawa.homestead.com

Or of course, to make a donation at the same time as a consult, email me (email is all through the website)

And talking about Kai's, Kaimanawa Disciple (yep, that's Smokey :o) is doing his first level 1 dressage tests tomorrow, wish us luck!

Marcus is now 4 yrs old!!!

He had his birthday on Tuesday and unfortunately I spent a lot of the day trying to sort out Amanda the chook I'd rescued starving to death, she came through the moult and had a beautiful new coat of feathers but had gone off colour for about a week, having just lost Becky to having been off colour, I grabbed her out of one shelter and was instantly covered in mites, oh my god, it was gross she was COVERED in them! I doused her with sulphur powder and then some surface fly spray to top her off (she wasn't going to be grooming herself so figured that was safe) and put her in the dog crate on her own. A couple of hours later she was on her side. Mites were just everywhere! Syringed some food and water down her and a couple of hours later she died. Unfortunately stupid stupid me syringed her to damn hard and I drowned her, evidenced when she died and exhaled egg and water :o(

I had her inside with me by then and was just plugging in the bioptron (have heard green light helps with fleas etc) but never got a chance to test it.

So now I need to find out where the mites are!!! have the powder to treat the girls even though I've checked another 3 of them over and found nothing, maybe Amanda took them all with her!

So it was a very sad day for me my poor girl died by my hand after she'd come back from the edge already...

But Marcus loved his day anyway, had chocolate cake with candles in it, he hates cake but loved the candles part and Pete and I loved the cake so all good!

Smokey has another dressage competition next weekend, two level 1 tests to do this time so worked on his canter tonight, not too bad once he stopped being frisky LOL.

And lo and behold while collecting eggs today I found a dwarf chook!!! She must be about a year old now and it's the first time I've ever seen her! I asked the boss about her and he only saw her for the first time about a month ago so I asked if I could have her, her face is just so "pretty". Everything on her is just small, although some of the photo's of her trying to look out the top of the nesting box when I lifted the lid makes her neck look like a giraffe! Amazing how they can stretch!

So here is Pet, the newest addition to the mad chook lady's flock LOL

Busy busy... and it's nearly muster time again!!!

have a fair bit of work at the moment which is of course great, hopefully it will continue as May is the month I give 25% of all consults to the Kaimanawa Wild Horse Welfare Trust for use at muster time. The are taking the numbers down to 300 (from 500) and it was a big muster last year and this year 150 will be coming out to get it down to the 300. Unfortunately we're STILL in the middle of a drought and as of a few days ago they had only 11 horses placed and the muster is at the end of May, not looking good! The KWHWT is committed to saving ALL foals and yearlings at their own cost if necessary (will handle them and then find homes for then in the following months) but it basically means anything older than 1yr old will be going to the works and slaughtered....

So..... I know not all of you followers are Kiwi's but for those that are it is time to spread the word, these are GREAT ponies, most of them are worth their weight in gold once started.

Check out the KWHWT website for application details and more KWHWT inc or their FaceBook page Kai Trust on FaceBook

If you can't take a horse there are sponsorship deals where you can sponsor a horse, have naming rights, photo's etc, if you can't afford that then even $20 from 10-15 people each will save a horses life so PLEASE if you can help in ANY way, now is the time...

If you're thinking about a consult but have no spare money after that rest assured 25% of your consults booked in May will be going to these guys too :o)

Smokey's First Dressage Competition

aaaaaw another Smokey post! He is maturing mentally really well by the way, still asks for his "treats" when we get to the float (usually has all the gear in it so just tie up to that) but he's certainly no longer a baby, he's a really lovely young man now! Coming up the 2 yr anniversary of him being mustered from the wild too :o)

Anyway, we headed off to his first ridden show (he'd been to one inhand show about a year ago) and had only entered him in the morning's training test (no canter).

Was talking too much by the float and a little late getting on him so he only got 5 mins warm up! Naughty me! There was a dog show going on next door to the arena by a partly finished fence that was distracting for all, and stupid me learnt the wrong test so we got a course error pretty much as soon as it started!

BUT, apart from MY mistakes, he was lovely, did a reasonable test for 5 mins warmup, and did another 5 mins of work after we came out of the arena that was just LOVELY work, he stayed tied up to the float while I went and helped score some papers etc and was just impeccably behaved. My wee dude :o)

So, here he is!!! Starting from first hopped on (and some distracted tension) to the end of the test.... (we came 6th out of 10 even with our course error so happy with that!)

I am just Oh So Proud of my wee Kaimanawa

I could rave about him all day every day!!!! No doubt everyone everywhere would get sick of hearing it but he is just so wonderful!!!! We did a lot of canter work at our lesson on Friday, we even went overtime to try to get the breakthrough but he was just too tired and it was too much. So he's had a couple of days off and jumped on him today, a nice gentle warm up working all the cricks out of muscles for him and then into canter, about 15 seconds into that first canter and wham bam thank you ma'am he softened, rounded and his balance was 100% better than it has been. Did another 3 canters in total and finished, what a short but great ride :o)

I don't think he ever wanted to be a wee dressage horse but he's shaping up nicely :o)

Mac on the other hand is as frustrating as hell, it's like a roller coaster ride with him. He was so great on Wednesday I could have jumped on him, today he didn't even want me catching him! So FRUSTRATING! Still, he did get caught, and we did get some ground work done and he certainly earned that feed he got! Brat!

Chooks are still alive and kicking, one of the scrawny girls got stuck (upside down I might add) between one of the dog shelters and the fence (they are in the unused dogs pen!) Was fun and games to get her out, but she hadn't been there long and was OK :o) All the older girls are pretty good with them, not going out of their way to harass them which is great (and expected! I tell all the new comers my girls are lovely, gentle girls, I expect them to live up to that!)

Don't forget to check out FaceBook page - Talk To Your Animals for discussions, communication tips and all those quick day to day updates :o)

Love Hearing Good Feedback!

Who doesn't?! But it's so rewarding to hear of the animals who having shared what they needed to share, then modify their behaviour after it's explained to them why it would be preferred if they did. They are smart little guys who know they've been heard and know they can relax again.

Unfortunately there are those around who even if the message has been passed they know the situation won't change and it's a little harder to convince them they should still alter their behaviour, particularly if they feel what they are warning their family about is dangerous :o( I feel for them because they put an awful lot of stress on themselves trying to pass these warnings on...

On a more personal note tried to rescue another couple of sick chooks a week ago but they only lasted 1 day max, but died peacefully in their sleep without being pecked to death so I'm OK with that. Unfortunately I lost one of my girls too a couple of days later. She was into her moult and had been "off" for weeks and not eating much, but she had just given up and got too weak and died unharassed too and had lots of cuddles before she went (probably hated that but couldn't really complain LOL)

Have 4 more here today as one of the other sheds "goes" next Saturday. Two are girls I would have removed from the shed anyway as they'd have been dead by tomorrow the way the others were ripping into them, both skin and bone, but both still have a spark in the eye so hopefully will pull through. A bigger girl who has no tail and was just terrified of any other chook (all the "no tails" are picked on something chronic!) She was so terrified of being hurt she tried to take a chunk out of me after I nabbed her and then tried to escaped the box every time it was opened! Silly chook, still she was straight into the free range thing when we got home and happy to be ignored for the most part by my girls.

Lastly is Angel who made herself known to me yesterday and was just identifiable enough that I thought I should be OK trying to find her again today. Got the eggs done, got the 3 other girls sorted and went back into the shed for a quick look to see if I could find her. Within 4 steps into the shed there she was spotted and she turned to the feeder and started eating (permission for me to grab her without her stressing about it) and no room in the box so she was carried home.

She is a big healthy girl, lots of meat on her so she's done well at the farm, but is gentle enough (not a bully) and gentle with me and when put down in with my girls it was like she'd never been anywhere else. Just getting dark now so I'll zip out and make sure they're all in bed somewhere :o) (there weren't all sorted but are now, Angel has found her way straight to the nesting boxes and the other 3 are huddled in the same place as a photo I took a couple of hours earlier will show.

Mac is getting ready to be ridden again, touch wood, no pain issues for a while now, no trying to avoid being touched, and he is now watching me intently every time I ride Smokey, so a lesson booked for him just over a week away and Smokey's first dressage next weekend, can't wait, I am just soooooooo proud of the wee dude! Here he is at our lesson with Saskia a couple of days ago, just about to breakthrough with his canter work and then it'll be full steam ahead!


It was a hard lesson for both of us, both absolutely SOAKED with sweat (it was a hot day!) and he sure thought he deserved Saskia's lunch she was about to start!

Home Sweet Home :o)

Was a fantastic time in the Nth Island, caught up with friends, family, met new people, met some wonderful and cheeky animals. Had a great day at the Kaimanawa Range Trip, apparently we didn't see as many horses around as other years (Army was doing exercises in the Valley they are usually seen in) but those we did see kept us company for a good distance, racing along side the bus something they don't usually do (a little encouragement at the beginning and a lot of flattery helped hehehe). A beautiful piece of "desert", some lovely land in there! Very worthwhile trip to do!

this is where we stopped for lunch, the horses obviously spend a bit of time in here amongst the trees as there was poop around :o)

Got a feel for where some horses were and it felt like some off to the left and forward of the hut so asked if they could come down towards the Valley floor (where the Army was). We headed out in the bus after lunch and saw these 3, a young foal ...


We also stopped at the yards and saw where Smokey made his break for freedom... the yard on the right was where he should have been and they went to the works, the yard on the left was where he ended up with the babies to be rehomed, and the gate he barged thru to earn his freedom :o)

Autumn here Again Already?!

A nip to the air in the mornings, getting dark earlier at night, but still glorious hot sunny days :o)

We're heading up to the Nth Island on Friday, looking forward to meeting some people I've previously done some work for, will be nice to put faces to names and meet some more of their babies in person :o)

I'll miss my babies though, it's 10 days! Ah well, we'll all appreciate each other when we get home I suppose!

Smokey is going to have his first dressage competition on April 11th :o) Mac will sit that one out, by the time we get home and I get back on him again he'll have a week or 2 of work under his belt after nearly 4 months off and for level 3 he needs just a little bit more work than that!

Dogs are good, chickens are cute and good, Marcus is nearly 4 eek!!!

Finally emailed the Kebzeh foundation again in relation to doing their course, looked at when I was last enquiring and it was 2 1/2 yrs ago!!! Where has time gone?! Will be interesting to find out where expanding the energy work in that direction will take me :o)

Long, but nice :o)

The Invitation
By Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for,
And if you dare to dream of meeting
Your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
For love, for your dream,
For the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
If you have been opened by life's betrayals,
Or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain,
Mine or your own,
Without moving
To hide it or fade it or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy,
Mine or your own,
If you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
Without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself,
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithless and therefore be trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty
Even when it is not pretty every day,
And if you can source your own life
From its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure,
Yours and mine,
And still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon,
"Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair,
Weary and bruised to the bone,
And do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
In the center of the fire with me
And not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
From the inside
When all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
With yourself,
And if you truly like the company you keep
In the empty moments.