Order Your Calendar Today

Good morning everyone! Since I'm looking ahead to the coming holiday season, I thought you might be too. Thanksgiving is next week already. I can't believe we're so far into November and before I blink my eyes again, Christmas will be here. Oh my! I have much to do.

Thought you might consider thinking about holiday gift giving with me for a minute.

This blog alerts you to the really wonderful calendar I've made featuring campers and staff from our 2009 summer. It's filled with photos you'll want to remember and friends you won't want to forget. I went through the pictures from the entire summer and selected a bunch of the best. They are filled with laughter, horse moments, connections with friends, and memories of evening programs galore.

The photos are framed on a black background. I like that because it highlights the photos and helps them stand out. You can see from the selections I've chosen to share that the black background is awesome.

At the bottom of each collection of photos for a particular month, there is a caption that captures the spirit of the page. Best of all, every page is different so you stay interested and caught up in the fun of the calendar.

Lots of pictures are also included on the actual calendar dates. I love that I found a calendar program that would allow me to insert photos here and there randomly. I was also able to write in comments here and there that let you know how special you are or reminds you to send in your registration or forms for camp.

This is a perfect calendar for you to hang by the desk in your bedroom. It's good for an office, the kitchen, even your den. It's a Christmas or Hanukkah gift that you'll treasure no matter whether you are camper or staff.

You'll be able to mark off the days till camp starts on June 27th and feel like you are counting down with your friends. Or you can guard your calendar with your life and save it as a camp memory for years and years.

What is important is that you get your order to me soon so that I get the calendar in your hands by mid December. I already have an order of 20 calendars in my home ready to mail out. So contact me by email, phone call or letter and I'll send one to you. Cost if I hand deliver to those in the local area is $20; cost if I mail the calendar is $25. You can even pay with paypal on the camp website.

Make your holiday gift something special for your son or daughter. This is a gift that I know you will value. Hang it in a place of honor because we love reminders that the Sprucelands Spirit connects us all. Sprucelands forever! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Caption Contest: Photo #3

We have had two photos in our captions contest. I want to take time to mention that this last photo had four comments made. They were clever comments. This was the photo. Thought you'd get a kick out of knowing what caption we chose.

The winning caption - drum roll please - goes to a reader out there named Emily. Not sure which Emily that would be. The caption however is: "Blech! That's the last time I try eating a lead rope!"

I always like to give an Honorable Mention too because it is usually difficult to decide the best caption. So here goes. Honorable Mention goes to an anonymous entry: Inhaling flies is not my favorite pastime.

It's really fun to hear your input on these photos. By the end of the winter, we'll have quite a collection of fun pictures with photos to match. I'm putting them together in a little slide show for you to eventually upload onto your computer.

I hope you will have fun now with this new photo. It's one of those photos that fools you into wondering what is happening.

Use your imagination a tad especially knowing that Andrew is actually a spotter in the clinic. He was playing around and we were all having fun with it. In some ways, Andrew has created an optical illusion here. Kind of neat.

Remember. All you need to do is enter your comment at the bottom of this post. Click on the comment tab and slip in what you think would be a good caption. Have some fun! Be clever! Be serious or silly. Doesn't matter.

You might even consider what your perspective would be. Write your comment from the viewpoint of Boomer or the scout or Andrew. Hmmm.

I'll post another photo in a few weeks depending on how much of a response we get to this one. Enjoy. I look forward to hearing what you've got to say.

November News

I am finally re-entering my routine. Was out of the loop for a week with the flu. Not fun. However, we did a wonderful scout clinic over this last weekend. The weather was beautiful, probably perfect would be the better term.

It was great seeing all the clinic helpers again. I love when we sit around the kitchen, talking, giggling, sharing music, even studying together.

Before I slipped into bed for my week's flu retreat, I enjoyed having Tsz and Hayley out for a lesson and trail ride. They had such a good time together. That was another pleasant Saturday and we were surrounded by beautiful color in the trees. The perk was that awesome rustle in the leaves underfoot as you walked in the woods. Lily enjoyed the girls. She was their guide.

I must say we have had periodic respites this fall from cold weather. I keep saying, "This must be our Indian Summer." Fact is we've had several of those 3-4 day stretches when the weather is seasonal and lovely. I take them as gifts and enjoy the moment because all too soon we'll be in the middle of freezing cold and blowing snow.

Thanksgiving is about here. I've ordered my home-grown turkey. The kids are making plans to come for the day. I'm figuring out my menu as many of you must also be doing. At the same time, I find myself reflecting on what I'm thankful for in 2009. This has been a good year with lots of good friends and enthusiasm, a top-notch Dr. Seuss summer, miracles that can't go unnoticed, safe trail rides, and the promise of better economic times ahead.

Sugar, the new horse, is settling in just fine. She had a lot of fun watching the scouts ride in ring #1 this weekend. She's learning we all work here. Actually, I think she and Ellie were eyeing Thunder. They're the three musketeers these days. They go everywhere together.

Anyway, Tarrah surprised me with her presence this last weekend and so she hopped on Sugar for a lesson. Sugar is a willing ride. She even jumped a bit. Doesn't like the rider pulling on her face. She much prefers seat and leg. I like that kind of horse. Really soft mouth.

So this blog catches us up with each other again. I'll start writing more regularly. Remember to get your early bird registrations in because soon the discounts will decrease. I've tried to leave them in place longer than usual so you can take advantage.

Signing off for now. Please leave any comments you might have about this post. I love hearing from you because then I know we're connected again, and connection is everything.

Horse Swapping

Yesterday I said I'd tell you about the weekend. One highlight was a horse swapping that we did.

Our barn manager, Lorie, connected with the previous owners of Buddy. They were the folks who traded Buddy for our paint, Spanky. You might be interested to know that now Spanky's name is Rocket and he's an award winning star at team penning events. I have to tell you I'm impressed. I'm glad we hung in there until we could find a good place for Spanky.

Anyway, these folks have been interested in our 7 year old paint, Cody. They love paints and since Cody chose a bucking bronco mindset last summer (just ask Agy), I decided we needed to talk with them more. The result is that we swapped Cody for a chestnut mare named Sugar. (I think you'll be pleased, Agy.)

Sugar is seven years old and presents with a positive, quiet attitude. She's very personable, loves attention, and seems to go by the rules. I love how she moves. Of course when she first arrived on Saturday, she was full of it. We put her in the round ring and she rolled, ran circles for what seemed like forever, bucked and kicked and rolled some more. It was fun to watch. Tarrah was here. I asked her if she wanted to ride her and she wisely decided to let her settle in.

Well, it didn't take too long. Sugar began to watch the horses in the pasture, looking like she was very ready to meet her new friends. She is sweet, if I do say so myself. We'll fit her to a saddle and bridle and try riding her this week. Then I can let you know more.

For now, we have a horse that will work more effectively and safely than Cody. Sad to say we had to make the decision to trade, but when I realized Cody was standing in the pasture much of the summer, I knew he needed a different placement. He will be ridden western, probably becoming a team penning pro. If he's happy in his new life, then this is a positive move for him.

If you have something to say about this horse swap, feel free to make your comments on my blog. I always love your input. Keeps us in a dialogue of sorts. Happy Tuesday!

Beauty Underfoot

This is a quick good morning. I'm running a bit late, but wanted to say hi to everyone after what turned out to be a lovely weekend with riding lessons, trail rides, horse swapping, and out of town company.

I'll write more later about the trail rides, horse swapping and out of town company. What I want to share right now are some of our Sprucelands views in the fall. The leaves have been so pretty. I so wish those of you who come in the summertime could see how lovely camp is when the colorful leaves are floating from above and covering the ground with yellows, reds, oranges, and shades of fall green.

There are all kinds of poems out there about the fall. I still think the best feeling is when I take a trail ride into the woods. The carpet is crispy colored leaves and as you walk along the trails, our horses swish the leaves underfoot. Often I think I must be dead and everyone is with me in my heaven. It's so beautiful.

Anyway, here are a few photos that I wanted to share just for fun. They give you a sense of camp's beauty in the fall. Enjoy them. I've got to jump in the shower! Happy Monday.

Any comments you want to share, please post them on my blog. I would love knowing whether you'd like me to make fall happen in summer so you could see the color!

Horse Thoughts

Days come and days go. I smile when I do riding lessons though, generally after school and on weekends. They are really fun. During camp, I teach some lessons but am more involved behind the scenes in making sure things move forward.

What I love about lessons first and foremost is my contact with riders. Our weekly rides give me an opportunity to hear about school stresses and homework loads. They also are a wonderful way to watch individuals grow and you know I'm big on how you all 'blossom and grow'.

I get such a kick out of watching my riders master a new skill. I am even more excited when they work with a project horse.

Week after week they struggle to help with attitude and skill adjustments in the horse. Their persistence and genuine loving care makes such a difference to whether or not that horse has a purpose to their off season life. Then when the rider feels a positive difference in their rides, they know success is theirs. The smiles after those lessons are the best. I love it!

Erin is becoming a rider who can partner up with almost any horse in the barn and do well. She is a quiet rider who soothes the horse and politely says, "No. This is how you do it." I am amazed at how well the horses accept her. Lately Erin has worked with Mikey, Marea and Ellie. She even hopped on Honey yesterday. I think Honey had the ride of her life.

Courtney loves Bugler. She makes him feel like a king and I think he makes her shine like the queen she is. Recently Courtney has ridden Fella and Honey to work on balance and using her seat and legs more. Soon she will return to Bugler and I believe she will be surprised by how her riding has improved.

This last weekend Kristen and her mom came for a trail ride. Kristen rode Sunrise and her mom rode Patti. I have to tell you I was flabergasted with Patti's energy. She literally did not want to stay behind me on the trail ride. It was go, go, go for her. We actually had to slow her down. Anyway, here is a picture for Kristen's mom. Is this one for your bulletin board, Sue?

I have quite a number of riders come for lessons who are beginners. Many of them are working with the masters and doing well.

What I mean by working with the masters is that these riders are learning on Fella, Honey and Ozzy, horses that partner with me in teaching new riders how to be confident and skilled on their horse. I thoroughly enjoy their enthusiasm. I've in fact taught many a beginner rider their basic skills so they can move on to compete and do well.

At this point, I want to add a footnote for a horse named Glory. She was one of our masters who taught many of you out there how to manage a canter. She worked long and hard here at camp. We retired her to a wonderful family with a daughter named Zoe who connected heart to heart with Glory these past years. Well, I received word this week that Zoe had to say goodbye to Glory, and I know that was hard. We truly feel your sadness Zoe. Thank you for loving Glory the way we loved her. Glory was a special friend to us all.

Odds and Ends

This is just a quick post this morning to check-in with you all and mention a few things. First of all, winter is coming. Did you know that? Of course you probably did. Wanted to say we've already had two inches of snow here on a few occasions. This week however has been lovely and warmer. Must be our Indian Summer. As far as I am concerned, it can last forever.

Secondly, October 31st is a Saturday. Did you know that? I'm sure you know Halloween is coming and that's Halloween, isn't it? I have a few special needs riders returning with Carol Reis in the afternoon of that Saturday. If there are a couple of clinic helpers wanting to join us, I would love it. If you came early, maybe we could get in a trail ride? That would be fun.

Third, the November 6th weekend is a girl scout riding clinic. Did you know that? Probably not. If you are a clinic helper and would like to come help out, we could have a lot of fun. It's been a while since we've seen each other. The scout troop is bringing about 20 people. This will be Sandy Spencer's girls. They are awesome kids. So bring your enthusiasm and let's connect again.

Finally I want to say that we have things straightened out with the girl scouts. Apparently last spring the young woman who paid us the annual update visit didn't process things and also no longer works for the council. So we fell through the cracks. Now that Yvonne - one of our Hill Moms - talked with the council leaders, we are on the list again. Hallelujah! Thank you, Yvonne. You're our hero for the day!

So have a wonderful Wednesday. Did you know it was Wonderful Wednesday? You do now! Good morning, sunshine! Leave a comment on my blog should you be so moved. Meanwhile, hugs to you all. Go out there and make a difference. Oh and by the way, Lily and Pudge say 'hi'.