Barn

This is a barn on a small road next to the Perkiomen Creek. It's a little off the beaten path but right across the main street (not the street pictured) is the local ski resort. This is typical of the types of barns in our area and I think that this one has been converted to a living space. The style of barn seemed to lend itself to sepia.

Sunrise and Sunset

Nearly every morning, I get up, get ready for work and take a quick trip to the barn to check on the minis and give them hay. As the days are getting longer, I have been very privileged to see the most spectacular sunrises. The colors have been beyond description. I started taking my camera with me. The best view is provided from a soybean field on the hill near my house.

This is today's sunrise. We are expecting a rain storm this afternoon.

This is the sunrise yesterday morning.

This is yesterday's sunset, as clouds are rolling in for the rain storm. This is the sunset over a horse pasture on the way home.

Skywatch Friday No. 33

We have been hit with a very cold winter for this area but one of the few upsides has been the spectacular color of the sunrises and sunsets on those cold, crisp days. This particular sunrise was the day after a snow and sleet storm where temperatures warmed up just enough to create a thick fog. I pass these horses every morning on my way to work and every morning they bring a smile to my face (the horses are in the lower right corner of the picture). This particular morning they were postcard-perfect.

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Silly Dog

These are 2 typical Bandit faces:

"I love you. Can I have a cookie?"

"I've got my ball. Can you throw it? I'm cute, right? Did I mention that I have my ball?"

Wordless Wednesday - Evergreen in the Wind

Antes House

This is a window from the Henry Antes House. I love the simplicity of the way these houses were built - functional but with a beauty all their own. The building is made from natural field stone. The reflection in the window is of a tree branch but because the glass is wavy, the reflection is fractured.

Amish Farm

This is an Amish dairy farm near Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I love the simplicity and the functionality of the buildings. I feel very fortunate to live near so much of this rich and beautiful farmland.

Sunday Stills - Architecture

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge - Architecture. This one would be fun and I knew that I wanted to focus on more than one subject. I had one picture in mind from my archives from a day trip to Philadelphia a couple of years ago.


This is City Hall in Philadelphia on a bright, sunny day. I kind of like the way the sun bleached the outside of the building and the arch frames the marble structure inside.

This is the Henry Antes House in the town that I live in. It was built in 1736 and is a wonderful piece of history. Every year there is a folk festival held here which showcases the Pennsylvania German folk heritage. This is very typical of the types of home built in this historic area. Not classic architecture like City Hall but they sure don't make them like this anymore.

This is the Trinity Great Swamp Church of Christ in Spinnerstown, PA. It was built in 1872-1873 and is truly impressive to see. I have no idea how high the spire is but it soars into the sky.

Fence Post

Since I have been taking photos for this blog, I find myself looking at ordinary things with a different eye. Especially from the car window. I purposely take back roads on the way to and from work so that I can appreciate the scenery and the farms. This is an ordinary fence post at a random house at a stop light. It was a gray day that lent itself to black and white. I added some texture in the photo editor and I like the result.

Merlin and Bandit

We adopted Bandit in July of last year and Merlin in September of last year from the local SPCA.

We named Bandit because on the mask on his face. He has lived up to his name as he can be kind of sneaky when he wants to be. He's a good dog who shows signs of being mistreated earlier in his life (he was a stray). Not always the sharpest crayon in the box but he tries. His favorite thing in the whole world is a tennis ball. He'll chase it until he falls down from exhaustion.

Merlin came with his name and he certainly lives up to it. He makes things disappear...usually behind the couch. His favorites things in life are basically anything that he can steal and hide behind the couch. He's lucky he's cute! And he's definitely smarter than Bandit. Pretty funny to watch 9-pound Merlin beat the tar out of 50-pound Bandit.

Skywatch Friday No. 32

Sunset through the bare trees

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A Close Call

We had a bit of a scare Tuesday night. Pumpkin was being his usual silly self but was laying on his back with his feet in the air (not surprising with him) when Craig was doing the water tubs in the afternoon. Eleanor's neighbor Leon (who works for a commercial horse hauler) told one of the other boarders that Pumpkin had been up and down more than usual during the day. I went up to check on him and Raider. His personality was just fine and he was eating but he was stretching out like he had to pee and was trying to roll a lot. T and I brought him into the riding ring and he was still playing with Raider but seemed to have a belly ache. He would run around like an idiot and then stop and try to roll. I checked his feet in case he was having a founder issue (never happened before but I wanted to make sure), no hot feet, no digital pulse. He was not dehydrated. Gave him a shot of banamine, gave him a small bran mash since he wanted to eat. His temperature was normal and his energy level was still good. He didn't show any more signs of a belly ache. He nibbled hay and drank water. Craig was prepared to spend the night with him but came home around midnight. Pumpkin pooped a chocolate chip cookie wrapper (!) and then regular poop. Not sure if someone has been feeding him (paddock is along the road) or he got a hold of a piece of trash. He seems none worse for the wear and has been his usual self. I am very glad that we pay close attention to the horses and know them well or the outcome may have been very different.

Backscratching

Wordless Wednesday - Suspension

Jet & Charm at Sunset

Jet with the setting sun in the background.

Charm in the lowering daylight. It was one of the few times that she wasn't checking my pockets for treats.

Lots of Happy Feet

We had a snow shower on Saturday night which melted with the sunshine. Everything is slowly defrosting which leaves mud. T and I decided to ride today but thought it would be best to let Jet and Charm run around in the ring for a bit in the firm footing. Charm was definitely feeling herself and spent about 10 minutes cantering around and bucking. It's the most she's done since we've had her so I guess her fitness level is improving with having to walk the big pasture with the hills.

Frisky
Jet got some serious air

He was pulling her tail

More bucking

Galloping

Jet the Circus Pony

Jet is certainly worth his weight in gold!

Sunday Stills - the Moon

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge - the moon.

An early moon, before sunset

This week's full moon, at moonrise through the trees. There was some humidity in the air which created a halo around the big orange moon. The second pic is hubby's contribution, taken from a 2nd story window in my house.

A busy day

Today was a busy day running errands and cleaning up the tack room. We went to the feed mill for some grain, stopped at a really nice rustic furniture shop, and then hit the new Amish bakery across the street. They make the best doughnuts and the smell alone will make you want to completely pig out. We had the Buxmont Riding Club banquet tonight which was a lot of fun. The food was good and the DJ got people up and dancing. T did some line dancing and we all did the Conga. No pics to post yet as I haven't had time.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Skywatch Friday No. 31

The weather has been warming up and it has been misty in the mornings because there is still some snow on the ground. This is a corn field on the way to work. The power towers seem to go on forever.

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Camouflage

Eleanor owns the barn where we keep our horses. This is her 4 year old Appaloosa gelding. As the snow melted, he blended into the background.

Wordless Wednesday - Elsie

Cowgirl

I grew up in a very suburban area in New Jersey, about 15 miles outside of New York City. I was not surrounded by farm animals and my only time horseback riding was on a couple of hack rides as a kid. When we moved here, Craig gave me a group of riding lessons as a Christmas gift. Little did he know that it would be a lifestyle change :)

We bought Diego when T was 4 years old. She spend many hours at the barn and doing little pony rides and leadline stuff. She doesn't remember life without horses. Even at 12, she has become quite the horsewoman. We are very fortunate in that we have very quiet and patient horses in our lives (by design - I'm getting too old to hit the ground too much).

After we let the minis run around in the slowly defrosting ring, it was time for Jet and Charm. T called them up from the big pasture, haltered them both, got them through the gate, got the gate closed and walked them both up to the ring. I'm very proud of her horsemanship skills - and having good horses helps too.

Pumpkin is so patient! No pics of Raider since he decided he didn't want to be caught and I spent all of my energy following him around. It took about 20 minutes to catch him but I wasn't going to give up.

Minis, minis and more minis

After several days of freezing temps, snow and ice, it finally warmed up enough for stuff to melt and the footing was halfway decent. The minis had a very good time playing in the ring and I remembered to bring the camera with me. They look like they are being really mean in a couple of the pics but I assure you that no minis were harmed ;)

Sunday Stills - Reflections

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge is reflections.

This is the Perkiomen Creek. This creek meanders for miles and has several branches that shoot out all over. This is a wider view of the pic posted earlier this week.

A Flowerhorn Cichlid watching his reflection in the glass.

Skywatch Friday No. 30

Sunrise after a snow storm

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Winter Wonderland

We had yet another storm this week. It snowed all day Tuesday but didn't stick until late in the day. It continued to snow into early Wednesday morning. Luckily it was a coastal storm and we were far enough west to only get about 2 inches. Everything looked like a winter wonderland. Dawn was cold (7 degrees F) but clear with a light pink sunrise.

Coneflower seed head in my garden

Silver maple tree at sunrise