RIP

"Death is very likely the best invention of life. All pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure, these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important."

- Steve Jobs, 1955 - 2011

The Orchards

Just a few pictures from the Orchard rides in Deep River and Glastonbury we do every weekend, including a couple of shots of some cute "hitch hikers"!

Full Steam Ahead (into Fall)

Last time I looked, it was still Summer. Warm temperatures and sunny days abounded. But suddenly, Fall is upon us and our schedule went from moderate to sometimes nearly impossible. We are now at TWO Scott's Orchards - our long-time favorite venue in Glastonbury (Woody's) and now in Deep River for the first season ever (Winston's, Woody's brother). We are loving it. Other long time contracts are being fulfilled and we are loving them, too, in both city settings and country, in state and out. And, of course, the weddings.

We have a new addition to the family, too. Skittles. Adopted from a state rescue, Skittles is a sweet natured appy pony, with the same reddish brown coloring as Buttercup, only with a splattering of spots. We are hoping they will make a good little pony pair! Until we can evaluate Skittles' abilities, he and Buttercup are getting to know each other, and getting along quite well!

Photos: Top: Danny & Dakota at Edgerton Park's "Sunday in the Park".

Second: Diesel and Lincoln are overshadowed by a ballerina on stilts at Edgerton Park.

Third: Chatham Square is hands down one of our most favorite venues!

Fourth: Our "new" Scott's Orchard, in Deep River: www.scottsfarms.com. Visit us at Scott's Orchard and Nursery in Glastonbury, too! www.scottsorchardandnursery.com

Bottom: Skittles (left) and Buttercup.

Hurricane Irene

It has been a couple of weeks since we had opportunity to post anything to this blog. Hurricane Irene wrecked havoc here on the eastern seaboard, from South Carolina all the way to Maine. We had heavy rains and wind, which knocked down trees onto power lines and kept us in the dark for 6 days. Wouldn't you know, with two generators on standby, neither one worked when we needed them, and we waited five days for a borrowed one. Although we had water stockpiled in holding tanks, they only lasted us so long and we were going back and forth to the neighboring stable, who had a generator hooked up to a pump in their their farm pond, for water. Showers were taken at my parents' house a half hour from here. No lights, TV or internet meant going to bed early, and reading a good book during some quiet time. By the fifth day, that generator was a god-send to this little farm with its big horses - but still, we enjoyed some of the quietude the storm allowed us.

Photos: Top: During the height of the storm, the dogs wrestled each other on the couch, undoubtably grateful for being allowed to stay indoors and out of the rain.

Bottom: A large tree came dow from across the road, downing power lines a narowly missing our neighbor's house.

Jessie and Bullfrogs

Things have been so busy here at Cedar Knoll that, as usual, I am apologizing for not blogging! Jessie as most of you know has been "off". Although her bout with colic has come and gone without too much fanfare, she wound up with a high temp just a day or two later, and we are still waiting to hear the results of blood tests. The vet has numerous suspicions (Lyme being one of them, naturally) and we are in the waiting game stage. Her temp has been normal, however, and her demeanor is good, as is her appetite. We put two loads of sand in the fillies' paddock, to help clean things up a bit (heavy rains haven't helped things around here, in terms of muddy conditions). Although sand in paddocks and stalls can pose a threat to sand colic, the fillies eat out of a hay manger so we think the benefit will outweigh the risk.

My pond garden is growing well, filling in nicely. Again, the rain. What might make a mess in one area of the farm is not only beneficial but mandatory to other areas! The goldfish (barely visible in the above picture) all come to the surface on cool days, and hide when it is warm. We have a whole colony of bull frogs, big enough to be bonafide princes in disguise, but they all jumped in the water as I snapped this shot. I need to sit in the garden not with my iPhone but a zoom lens to capture the wildlife around here!

What's New?

There have been a few developments here at Cedar Knoll Farm, one of which is the acquisition of a phenomenal driving pony, whom we named Buttercup. Buttercup's role here at Cedar Knoll will become more apparent to you all as time goes on. Needless to say, we are excited to have him here and are enjoying him!

Another development has been the hatching of three adorable little ducklings, just this morning as a matter of fact. Two yellow and one brown, I believe the yellow shall grow up to be white and the brown will likely retain the feral look of his mama. No ugly ducklings here!

Less happy go-lucky news: I spent the day nursing what turned out to be impaction colic in one of our yearlings, Jessie. Lucky for us I caught it early, took her out of the paddock before she did any damage by aggressively rolling; walked her, bathed her, gave her banamine, called the vet. Friends Linda and Ed, always there when needed, hurried over with a concoction of epsom salts and Karo syrup, an old timer's recipe which acts as a laxative. By the time the vet got here, Jessie was relaxed, her gums were pink, and she handled herself like a lady. The vet did think it was best to check for impaction or a twist, and sure enough, found an impaction. A gallon of mineral oil was administered, and I spent the remainder of the day keeping watch. She nibbled hay, she has passed manure numerous times now (always a happy moment to the horseman who isn't sure if his horse's innards are working properly), and she seems to be well on her way to recovery.

Photos: Top: Terry takes my mother on a "pony ride" with Buttercup at Sunday's Cedar Knoll Party. We had 70 friends here for a BBQ!

Middle: Me and Buttercup.

Bottom: Three ducklings, none of which are in the least bit ugly.