Trail Ride Weekend

What a weekend! After lots of preparation by many people, the 4th of July trail ride ended up a hit. The ride went out from our little Stone Bridge Farm and people from the Southern Maine Association of Riding Trails enjoyed 2 days of pleasure trail riding plus camping and meals. It's quite the event.

We have a professional photographer (and friend of mine, thanks Dusty!) who came out in the deerfly filled woods to photograph riders on their way through. This is the view on Saturday. I think she took a fabulous photo of the King and I. :)

check her work out at dustyperin.com

This was on the way over the mountain on our 20 mile day. I was actually riding the trails with another lady on "point" which means we go out early and check that all of our markings are still in place for the riders to follow. The day was hot and steamy and peak deerfly season so we all donated a lot of blood to those...but the trails were fantastic and I had a great time. We had some long sections of good trail for cantering as well as some very technical trail going over the mountain.

The folks who were camping we set up in the back field where everyone had plenty of room.

The day trippers parked out front. Sunday's ride was through Branch Hill so no mountains, but a good river and a good brook to cross as well as the emaculate trails in that conservation land. Riders had options to cut the ride short as the temperatures were soaring into the 90s with high humidity. I think we only had 15 miles of trail marked out there anyhow. I didn't ride on Sunday as I was working back at home and going to the parade in town with my family. There were too many things calling me to stay home so I couldn't go and ride it. That's okay, I rode most of it marking the trail and I'll be back out there taking down the markings...the work isn't over yet!

here is another view of the campers out back. I can't get everyone in a single photo but 13 horses spent the night out there. I heard rave reports of "the campground" with the nights filled with fireflies. The neighbor donkeys kept the horses entertained too.

Whew! What a weekend.

~Rachel

Monkey Trunks

We enjoyed a day at Monkey Trunks in Tamworth, NH with other homeschoolers recently. This place is amazing. Pricey, but well worth it we think! There are different courses and interesting challenges which all 3 boys enjoyed all afternoon. Here is our middle son out in "the jungle".

And our oldest in the jungle too.

The little guy doing a zipline.

The middle boy out on the big structure.

And our oldest on the big structure too.

~Rachel

June - so far

It's been a busy time around here as usual. We're having loads of fun. The garden is mostly in but I have not taken photos yet. Each child's school year is almost done and my mind is already wrapped around summer.

The little guy and my mom and I made it to York Beach one day. He spent a long time in the water! Too cold for me, but not too cold for him I guess. He's the one in the black shirt. He made a fast friend at the ocean and rode the waves for a long time.

We have a "long story" about a couple of cochins, house-sitters, vacations and it all ends with a couple of hatched chicks. Here they are on their first outing. They are now fully integrated with the flock and doing well. The moms were enjoying a dust bath after sitting so long.

I've been trail riding every chance I can get! It's been a wonderful spring for riding as we didn't get floods. Here I paused on an overlook with friends who were willing to take a quick photo. On a good day we can see Mt. Washington from that spot. This is a hill that's just an hour's ride from my dooryard. Very pretty.

We enjoyed a visit with John's sibling, Judy and husband Nate one evening. Their cute little dog was timid of our slippery floors so our oldest boy made a "Biscuit Bridge". We really enjoyed the visit as they were passing through the state!

Oh, and I do still knit. This spring I've made some hats, socks, a sweater, several lace things, fingerless gloves, a gift bag....hmmm. I think that's it but I'm not sure. Anyhow here are a couple of little triangular lace shawls that I managed to remember to take a photo of!

I hope your spring is going as well as ours.

May

Well it's certainly a nice spring around here. The ground is drying up beautifully. It's strange for us to see what a "normal" spring is like after having flooding during the past two!

I love this robin's nest in our yard. The nest is lined with horse hair, recycling at it's best. :)

It is also Trilium season. Usually I get out on some trail rides where the red trilium grow but that hasn't happened this year. Now the Indian Moccassin is out (Pink Ladyslipper) so I fear I've missed the season. In my yard there are lots of Trilium plants. It took me 2 years to realize that they were flowering. They are nodding! So here is a photo of those hidden beauties. The flower buds erect but then nods under the leaves to bloom!

It's not all work and no play around here. John plays golf during the summer for a team from his workplace. He gets out once a week to play. This year he got a treat of some hand-me-down clubs. It inspired him to buy a new bag! Quite dapper. He finds our front yard to be a good place to practice from. There are so many clubs in this set that he doesn't even know them yet. Irons he never had before. Fun!

The teens are back at work on the weekends to their summer jobs and I'm still enjoying as much saddle time as I can. My horse is really pleasing me this year! All of the work of the past two years to help this boy out is now paying off. He looks and feels healthy and strong. Boy, does he like to go! Here's hoping it is sunny where you are today!

~Rachel

Mystic

We took a family vacation! It was the first time ever for these growing boys to stay in a hotel. Okay, the older 2 did that before when they were under the age of 4...so I guess they don't remember that.

We spent 3 nights away from our little farm to enjoy the sights of Mystic Connecticut. The older boys really loved the seaport and they could have spent a week there.

We enjoyed the staff at seaport village as they were some of the most forthcoming and enthusiastic folks we've encountered at a museum of this type. I think John & the older boys spent well over an hour each with a couple of the interpreters. One was in the print shop. The little one and I did lots of wandering around as he didn't find the conversations as stimulating. LOL

The boys all got to help "set sail" on one of the ships and we enjoyed seeing how they restore tall ships today.

We also spent a day at the Aquarium. Here is our little one petting a shark! He really enjoyed the beluga whales and the sea lions. We also got to touch the rays and that was a fun thing too. Slimy. Not rough like the sharks. We enjoyed the cable TV at the hotel and realized why we don't do cable TV here at home (so many commercials!) but it was fun to see what we're missing out on. The pool was a lot of fun too. John enjoyed the hot tub. I even got in there one night. Too many chemicals for me though. Too much sting for my eyes and nose. :)

We have some great memories and it was just the right size for a family vacation for us...people who like our vacations at home!

Hope your spring is a fun time too!

~Rachle

Happy Spring

This was today. I got out for a 2 hour ride with friends. The horse was a muddy legged beast at the end so a good hosing, some tick removing and a little scrubbing later found us relaxing in the sun with the dog. We happily soaked up the moments out there until he was dry enough to return to the paddock. (which would most certainly inspire him to go rolling in the dirtiest spot.)

The teens were off with friends, John went out golfing with friends, I went out riding with friends and then took the littlest one off bowling with a friend. It was a great day! Happy Spring Indeed!

~Rachel

Where do you want it?


John decided to move a bridge. It started out as a "yard feature" up in the back field. It was on the property when we bought it in '05. This year it found a new home over the stream.





A Happy Birthday party was had in January. It was a sledding party complete with sugar on snow. What a wonderful day we had.







No spring seems complete without a trip to VT. John and the boys got to help the family with a little bit of tapping. Great fun for them. I was home dealing with a storm which took out the power. It was a nice and quiet time sitting by the fire, knitting. :)

~Rachel