New Discoveries

I got to see My Boy tonight. I am leaving town with for the weekend and wanted to check on him after his vaccinations and head shaking episode. He had already finished his dinner by the time I got there so he was hanging out under his tree. On our way up to the arena, he always stops and drinks out of the other horses' water trough. This time, My Boy and Fritzy drank double style (this was after she gave him a big mareish squeal. So sassy, that Paint!)



My Boy is thrilled to be in the arena. As you can tell. There are lots of buggins there at this time of the night. He has a full belly of hay and he'd really, really rather stand under his tree. But Pony Girl is insisting he stretch his legs a little. Elevate the heart rate. Warm up those arthritic reiner hocks. Notice, I'm giving you all a little hello wave!


The weather was weird tonight. Always the smorgasbord around these parts. It was warm and sunny. Then black clouds would pass by to turn out the lights. Toss in a sprinkle of rain now and then. But overall, a pleasant evening. My Boy finished it up doing what he loves best.....


After I played with my horse I set about the task of releasing Clara the frog, as she was named by the children. They were really sad to see her go. I have to admit I was, too. I had not intended to turn this into a Frog Blog. But it is hard to not to include all these other components of nature as they are a big part of my life with My Boy up on my sister's farm. That, and I happen to be a nature-loving freak at heart. Yes, as a young girl I raised my own tadpoles and had a chipmunk for a pet. Now do you see where it comes from? This is probably why I love teaching. As a teacher I see children make new discoveries every day. Two weekends ago, before the frog finding extravaganza, I collected some pond water from the farm to take to school for a science lesson. You know, the day I spotted that hairy spotted pond monster? I was very disappointed because that day, I did not find a frog, or tadpoles, or anything that would be of interest to young children. Just some green duckweed and some brown sludge. But I took it in to school anyway, along with pictures of the pond. I set up a science station, with books about ponds, magnifying glasses, and observation sheets for the children to record what they saw. And lo and behold, at some point a child said they saw something. What?! Sure enough, that water with the brown sludge of death, was filled with life! Goodness! Who knew? A tiny spider was crawling around on the water's surface. One child was convinced it was a baby water strider. I was pretty sure it was just a baby spider blessed with walking on water skills. Another child discovered underwater centipedes, with little hairs on their bodies. They were swimming in and out of the brown muck. The children thought they were baby shrimp. They also found pin-point sized white moving "things" (for lack of a better word. I have no idea what they were. I just put the science stuff out. I do not claim to actually be a scientist.) The children were crowding and shoving to get a look into the little jars. I had to impose crowd control. We used a flashlight to illuminate the creatures through the jar.


This had me thinking about looking deeper into things. Making new discoveries. I am sure that I have many things to still discover about My Boy. I have only known him for a little over a year. The last big thing I learned is that he is a naughty pill for his shots and that he has to be twitched to get anything medical accomplished. But the other day, while looking at photos, it dawned on me that My Boy has a star marking on his forehead. Now if you'd asked me a month ago what markings my horse had, I would have told you a big white snip on his nose, and a white hind sock. But lo and behold, he also has a star! It is has mostly roaned out. This is why it has never really "popped out" at me before. In pictures of him as a foal or yearling, the star was very distinct against his coppery sorrel coat. This is picture of My Boy when he was two years old. I am sorry the quality is not great. But you can see his sorrel color, he is not roaned out at all. And his star shines bold and bright!



But as his coat has roaned with age, the star has faded out. Isn't it silly that I didn't even realize my own horse had a star?

Who knew I could make such a discovery. And I didn't even need a flashlight or magnifying glass to do it! What new discoveries have you made lately? About your horse. Or, pond water.
By the way, I am really excited about where I am going this weekend. I will fill you in tomorrow! No, it is not cowboy shopping! Well, maybe......