Snow covered farm!
Category Archives: kids
Christmas Eve in Dixie
The kids have been enjoying their time in Alabama with cousins and grandparents. Tonight it was time for Grandpa to read The Night Before Christmas. This particular book is made of cloth, made by Grandma for reading to grand kids.
Vicki’s cake
Stayed up late tonight making Vicki’s birthday cake. Can you tell who we tried to model it after?
Life lessons in the woods
Today at work, I ended up with an unexpected open afternoon. Cold snap last night, bad weather coming tomorrow, first week of November, and Alex was out of school! I headed home at lunch and loaded my new (off Craigslist) 2 seater ladder stand in the truck to take Alex out for a hunt, his second with me this year. Earlier in the season, I had hunted a new property and found a promising area that I was saving for this new stand. However, when we got there, I was disappointed to find another stand in the same area. Ok, we can find a different spot on the property.
However, I also found a pile of apples and a corn feeder. While I am completely supportive of baiting, I limit my baiting to legal areas only. This bait pile is illegal. I’ll let the landowner know (because I know he didn’t put the pile out), but it gave me the chance to discuss with Alex the legal and ethical aspects of hunting.
It was disappointing that I won’t be hunting there anymore, but it was an excellent teaching opportunity for my young hunter wannabe.
I’m sure he will explain it to his sisters when we get home since they were both disappointed that they didn’t get to hunt this year.
What’s new?
Can you tell what is different?
Amanda the milk maid
Amanda loves to help with milking the goats.
Kid quote of the day
Vicki was just standing by the table, learning to sow a little dress. Out of the blue, she says, “Dad, I know you are a farmer and a barefoot horse trimmer. What else are you?”
I responded, “I’m in the Navy.”
She said “Oh yeah.”
Then I asked, “What is Mom?”
She responded, “A farmer. And a Facebooker.”
Ledyard Horse Show
Yesterday we took the kids to the Ledyard Fair Horse Show. They showed in four classes, three beginner walk-trot classes and one polebending class. The kids and ponies did well, each earning a red ribbon for second place, Vicki and Devil in walk-trot pleasure and Alex and Precious for walk-trot command. They enjoyed the polebending and both cantered their horses to the finish. They got four ribbons each and had a good time. The horse show was fast and prompt for a change and we were home by 1 pm. More pictures below.
Saturday at the museum
This morning, Alex, Vicki, and Amanda went with me to the Submarine Force Museum (my office) with Alex’s cub scout pack. The kids had a great time checking out the boat and participating in the summer activity learning about damage control.
Thoughts On A Week At Pony Club Camp
This past week Alex and Vicki spent five days at Ayer Mountain Farm participating in Shetucket Valley Pony Club’s annual camp. They are part of Mystic Pony Club, but our club had been invited to join them at camp. The ponies stayed at camp all week, but Alex and Vicki came in the morning and went home at night. They had two riding lessons per day and chores and crafts in between. I (Anna) was there every day with Amanda helping out and watching over the kids. It has been an exhausting week, but it was a very rewarding time spent with the kids.
The kids got to experience several different things during the week. Besides regular instruction twice a day they also tried fox hunting with hounds (in the walk-trot group), Alex got to jump cross-rails for the first time ever, Vicki cantered over ground poles, they both did pony club mounted games and they crossed the water on the cross country course. Alex even got to have a lesson with two other boys his age. Amanda was quite the little trooper, hangin out all week and she got lots of attention from older and younger girls.
So what are my thoughts after spending a week at pony club camp?
Well, I believe Pony Club is good for the kids. It exposes them to other kids who also ride and gives them opportunities to do things with the horses they would not get to do otherwise. Horse kids are generally good-natured, hard-working kids. I wish there were more boys involved, but such is life with horses…in a few years Alex may come to appreciate being a boy among lots of girls.
As in any organization, volunteers make a difference. There are individuals out there that sacrifice their time for YOUR children. I wish more parents appreciated this fact, not just in Pony Club, but across the board in kids’ sports and recreational activities. Salute those energizer bunnies that make things happen.
I ‘ve decided I want to ride my horse more. I need to have some sort of goal with my riding. King is 18, but to be honest he isn’t really showing any signs of slowing down. Watching other people ride all week makes me want to ride too.
Being at camp all day made me exhausted and I want to get in better shape. Who wants to be walking around in breeches and a tucked in polo shirt and not be in shape? Besides it will make me a better rider (theoretically).
All in all, we had a great week at camp. The weather was good, the kids behaved, the ponies behaved, and nobody left in an ambulance (though one girl broke her arm and another fractured a rib). Below are some more pictures.
