OCTOBER 2019

Ark, the emerald ash borer is what got all the trees. If you peel off some of the bark you can see the tracks made by the bugs.
I've wondered what the Louisville Bat Company will do. They have their own ash forest in Pennsylvania. There is an injection that will help save ash trees, but it's expensive. Doing a whole forest would make the bats a LOT more expensive.
We used to take the school kids to Louisville Bat Company on field trips. It's a very interesting place to go.

I finally got a ride in on Friday.  I was soooo very happy to be back in the saddle and my boy was a perfect gentleman.  He is sometimes a brat, but not on Friday!  Rode with Robin and Lori.  Had to laugh at my dear friend who had often said there will never be a mare in my pasture!!!!!   So the foundation bred bay mare (Sally) must just be a figment of my imagination For those thinking I might should have tried to ride sooner, I promise the bowel obstruction surgery was as hard if not harder than the cadio-vascular in 2006.  So delighted to be healthy and stronger now.  I am watching my diet, drinking heaps of water and plenty of fiber.Hugs all around!

ROSE:
    Hurray!!  I am so glad you are back in the saddle!!   I can see why your latest surgery would have been harder to recover from before riding.  Lots of moving around in the saddle.   Did you take pix?     Hurray again for you!!

 We got a lot of rain off of Nestor.  I had a small, empty container for Cool Whip sitting next to the chicken's house that is completely full of water this morning....so over 2 inches.  The mud is nice and muddy, too...   We sure needed the rain, we've been under fire hazard warnings for weeks.

It was nice of the rain to wait until overnight to do its thing,  we got in our ride yesterday without getting wet.  I wish I could say that Ivan was a perfect gentleman yesterday, but he was not.  A group of horses left the parking area before our group was ready and Ivan turned into a fire-breathing dragon wanting to go with them.    He didn't even know them, but one was a palomino TWH mare who looked like Daisy.  Apparently Ivan thought she was leaving him.  He was a fight for about an hour until he finally calmed down.  I made him stay behind his long time friend, Noble the TB, and never let him go in front of the line of five horses.   I almost got tossed a couple of times.  When Ivan is good, he is very good.  When Ivan is bad.....   He hadn't been this bad since a January ride.  Once he finally calmed down, he was just fine.

Thank goodness he calmed down Ark! Jack stomps his right foot, nickers (hollars) for his friends and does this little pop-up, half rear when he is unhappy! So believe me I understand Ivan's bad behaviour!!!!! Yep, when he's good, he's very good, but when he's bad.........

Yes, Robin got a couple pics and I will send them when she emails em' to me!

Way to go ARK & ROSE............Very glad you're better ROSE.............can't wait to see the pics
of you & Robin when Robin sends them to you. Great pics of your ride ARK.

I love the person on the horse that looks like a giraffe.......
great creativity...........

It's good to see that Rose is back riding again. Ark, you just keep going, like the Energizer Bunny.

The giraffe horse is really cute. I'll bet it took a while to get all the paint on him.

It was a windy, rainy day. So, I made bread. The stand mixer makes it a cinch to do.

I have sad sad news. I just received a email from GDOLMARE or as we know her Ann's husband Michael. Ann passed away this morning. If you would like to send Michael a card, their address is Michael Kaser 1974 N Heitter Road Freeport, IL 61032 Ann & I became great friends on the old Horsenet forum many years ago in the over 50 group. I will miss her so..

TRUDY, I didn't really know her but I think she had turkeys, right? It's still sad as we're
all reaching that age where something can happen to us at any time........

I'm feeling lucky as I survived a stroke and don't take anything for granted...........

TRUDY:
I am so sorry to hear about Ann. She and I corresponded off and on since the HorseNet days. She loved her dogs and cats and horses and was a big fan of England. She appeared to have a wonderful marriage. I sent her a postcard when Donnie and I went to Scotland and she mentioned she still had it a year or so ago. I had noticed I hadn't seen much of her on FaceBook lately, but figured it was a case where FaceBook had changed who got notified of posts. I didn't know she was sick. I am very sad she has left this world....she was one of the good ones.


GRAYMARE:
You are thinking of Diana Thomson, aka "Turkey". She is the one who had turkeys including one who lived in her house named Mr. Puff, who was featured on an Animal Planet show. She died a few years ago. Another good one gone.....

I was not very familiar with Ann, but I'm sorry that she is gone. We've lost quite a few of our original group.

Michael sent me the obit for Ann, if anyone would would like to read it the website is www.leamonfh.com. Even though we had never had a face to face meeting, we had become great email buddies over the years, thanks to our love for our horses, cats and dogs. I shall miss her so much.

TRUDY:
That link isn't working. Can you try again? Thanks.....



Hard frost this morning. Cold.

ARK: I just did a cut and paste. But you can go and sign the guestbook by accessing their web site. I just typed it into the search box and it opened right up. www.leamonfh.com

Leamon Funeral Home


Ann G. Kaser
( July 22, 1941 - October 22, 2019 )

Ann Gail Reed Kaser’s spirit took flight when she died peacefully at home early Tuesday morning, October 22, 2019.

Born July 22, 1941, in Chicago, Ill., she was the daughter of teachers William Frederick Reed and Edith Muriel Baxendale Reed. She grew up in Northfield, Ill. and attended New Trier high School, then Illinois College and the University of Dubuque. She also took classes at Highland Community College including basic auto repair (which especially impressed her children) and many pottery classes, in which she created beautiful bowls and plates.

On September 2, 1983, she married Michael Kaser at the Unitarian Universalist church in Stockton, Ill. They made a life together on their Morningside Farm between Freeport and Lena, Ill.

Her family and friends were most important to her, and she made all feel special and loved. Her life was additionally enriched by her animals, including her 33 year-old-quarter horse, dogs, cats and chickens. She also loved gardening and kept lovely gardens throughout the property and regretted having a back and knees that later prevented her from maintaining them as she wished. She often said that she could be content as long she could sit in her chair, look out at the beautiful view from their hillside and watch the birds. She enjoyed and will be missed at an annual golf outing riding along for the shoot-out at Wolf Hollow. She enjoyed many adventures with her friends that took her on the roads less traveled.

She was warm, gregarious and always interested in other people. She seemed to make serendipitous connections in some of life’s brief, everyday encounters. It seems she never went anywhere without making a friend.

She was a life-long learner, artistically talented and curious about so many things. She was incredibly observant and had a wonderful memory for special people and times in her life.

She was an insurance underwriter for many years before she became a full-time building and grounds keeper and animal caretaker at home.

She is survived by her husband, Michael, of 36 years, children Daniel (Maggye) Hoefle, Karen (Tom) Sibenaller, Jonathan (Dawn) Hoefle, Nicholas Kaser (Ashleigh), Ryan Kaser; grandchildren Ryan and Melissa Hoefle (Adam), Anna and William Sibenaller, Hunter and Walker Kaser and Brandon and MJ Kaser; mother-in-law Bonnie Kaser; brother-in-law Ron (Brenda) Kaser, sister-in-law Connie (Chuck) Shepard; cousins Tony (Ulla) Webster and Terry (Kathy) Webster and their families in England; and by her first husband and later friend, Thomas Hoefle.

She was preceded in death by her parents and father-in-law Floyd Kaser.

Family and friends are welcome to a visitation that will be held from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 3, 2019 at the Leamon Funeral Home in Lena.

Ann’s family anticipates planning a celebration-of-life gathering when the flowers are blooming next spring.

That's a very nice article about her.
I've often thought that obituaries should be written while the person is still alive so they can hear the nice things that people think about them. All too often, people never hear what they actually mean to others.

A good friend was a ballroom dance teacher. She's a very nice person, and too often, her students (mostly single males) would become too attached to her. As I watched her teach some of her lessons, I realized that it was very likely that during the students' lessons her encouragement and praise were the only good things said to them in the course of a week. Not that others were nasty or unpleasant, but nobody bothered to show any gratitude or appreciation for the work they did or the small things they accomplished.

Thanks, TRUDY. The link worked this time. What a sweet memorial to her. Did you hear what caused her death? I sent a message to them and will get a card out as soon as I can. I am so glad you were able to pass this news along, I am not sure we would have heard of it otherwise.
Very sad.



Our carpenter showed up today. It is always such a surprise, and two days in a row is an incredible surprise. He got a lot done today on the arena fence and gates. It may eventually get done. We have a list of small, and not urgent, jobs he can do when he does show up. We are trying to get things done before Donnie's surgery in late January for his knee replacement.

It was a very pretty, and chilly, day here today. The leaves look very fall-like. We have more colorful leaves this year for the first time in ages. The summer heat that lasted throughout September and early October kept the leaves mostly green until the sudden frost killed most at once. So the colors are better than we usually see. I had forgotten we have as many maples as we have, they are mostly bright yellow, but we do have a few more orangey ones. The lumbar company is going to come check out the old huge maple that fell last week to see if it is usuable for lumbar. They said that trees that big are rarely solid, they tend to be hollow, but will come check it out.

Looks like Ohio State is whooping Wisconsin.........the crowd is screaming the radio is blaring.
Sounds exciting.............

Wisconsin will be the next in line to fall to Ohio State. So far, this season, they are undefeated.

Did you see the game, Ellen?

I'm inside now...........The LSU vs Auburn game is exciting too.............it's more fun to
use my imagination when it's on the radio............LSU just had a chance to score and
didn't.............

Gotta go...................going out for dinner with friends. No more football.

No, I didn't see the game, but I sort of follow OSU scores since most of my cousins live in Ohio and are BIG fans.  I did see most of the Indiana/Nebraska game.  Indiana doesn't have a history of great football, but so far, they are having a pretty good season.  They won over Nebraska, but not by much.

It has been raining here ALL DAY.

Hello all,

A lot has happened here since I last checked in. So glad to see Pirko home safe and sound and sleeping in the recliner the last I saw. A tooth removed with no ill effects. Another dentist office promoting tooth decay and continued business. A fallen tree. A fire breathing dragon who was afraid of a plastic bag. And with the passing of time came the change of weather and the color of leaves.

So I took Tiberius on a fund raising trail ride for the local theraputic riding school. (ELLEN, I think you were asking his breed, he is TWH) The weather co-operated and although a bit chilly, at least it was sunny. I was very pleased with how he behaved considering he's only been trailered off property with other horses twice before. I ride off property but always by myself. He's not used to being around other horses. He is also terrified of plastic bags. He was so interested in seeing what was around the next curve. We started out at the back of the pack and ended up being the second one back in, On top of that, we never went faster than a walk. Now mind you, he has figured out how to power walk very well. Once he worked his way to the front of the group, he settled into a flat footed 4 beat stroll. We strolled for about a quarter of a mile of the 8 mile ride. Because he power walked almost the entire ride, I wanted to do it a second time to see if I could actually see some of the beautiful scenery we zipped through the first time. The ride organizers weren't keen on the idea. pfffttt.

AHA! Ill post while i can! Finally let me log in!
First...ann loved her family and always smiled in pictures and lived her cats and old guy horses...i will miss hearing from her and so sorry she left us so soon.

Indy app....we got twh and could never ride with friends who had quarter type...ours walked to fast even a nice walk...they just seem to flow so easily.  We went back to quarters and appys...plodalongs...as i live to talk and visit while i ride....but i love to glide along....miss that.
No snow forecasted....i went to kitchen and about had a heart attack...our pine tree had the branches wrighted down and looked like a huge arse person looking in our window....i dropped my glass of tea...screamed....woke everyone up and to find out its a wet heavy sniw 6 to 8 inches of the stuff. I dont have my snow tires on yet....geesh weatherpersons....thats a big miss screwup!
$#@%\*(&!!!!!!!!-
Have so much more to do here....BEFORE it snowed. Patio tables are still out....sheds to finish.  Dang.
Hubby has been mumbling and grumbling since i woke him about all he still has to do. Nuts! Too early for this!  Major snowfall really for here at one time and totally unexpected!
Fairbanks AK doesnt have snow yet!  
Hugs to all while im able to post!

CB:
Wow. That is pretty....and pretty depressing. I am not ready for snow. I hope you and Harry and the animals stay warm and dry! And don't slip. Shheeesh, where were the weather people last night, they should have been able to see that coming.


INDYAPP:
I have ridden with a bunch of TWH folks off and on over the years and spent a lot of time trotting, stopping, walking, trotting again...to keep up with them. The folks around here tend to let their TWHs go at a fast walk, not thinking about the trotting type horses. So folks often tend to separate out into gaited and non-gaited riding companions. That group that we ran into last week that turned Ivan into a fire-breathing dragon were TWHs, all the ones in our group were QHs, TBs and one lonely, frustrated Arab, who was sure that blond TWH was Daisy that left without him. Ivan loves Daisy....


We got a lot of rain overnight, but today is gorgeous. I wish I had a trail ride on the agenda, but I don't. We will be working around the place today and hoping that CB's snow stays in Idaho!

Ohhhh, noooo. Not ready for snow yet! It's pretty, but I don't want any yet. Winter is long enough when it starts in late December. We have had snow in October, frosting the brightly colored leaves with white.
Today started out gloomy and cloudy, but has turned into a beautiful bright fall day. We had a lot of wind yesterday that thinned the leaves on the trees. We have good color this year, lots of reds and oranges. Some years, they just turn brown and fall off.
Tomorrow I'll "mow" leaves again.