Family Reunions, Stewy's Tendons, As the Garden Grows, Finding Myself...

Lots of news from the farm.  

Family has been the dominating life force these last several weeks.   All kinds of family.

Starting with 2 family reunions.

First the Dunbar Reunion...

Then the Burwell Reunion...As you can see it was a chilly Aug day.   Summer in Ontario...You just never know the weather.

                                      

Me with my 2 beautiful nieces!

The Grill Masters

The kiddies

Auntie and Dad

Laura (+1) and Mom

Uncles

Dad has been released from the hospital and is recovering really well at home on outpatient care.   Good to see him up and mobile again and socializing with all the relatives at the family reunion.  :-)

The garden has been growing like mad.   The heat turned up in the last 2 weeks and the plants took off!   The gourds and squash are somewhat out of control.  Tomatoes are a slight jungle.   The rogue sunflowers are blooming and beautiful...much to DH's dismay!

 

The first harvest of tomatoes.

Bottle gourds are hanging on the garden fence.

My Baby Stewy was able to avoid surgery so far!  Hurray!   He did require drug therapy and splinting to help stretch and support his tendons.  Fingers crossed that this procedure corrects his legs.   I am feeling hopeful. He's been such a little clown with is big clumsy wrapped legs, cavorting and cajoling on his play time from stall rest!

Had a chance over the last few weeks to recover from a bruised arch which put a significant damper on my running.   I am back running regular again now that the heat wave has also passed.   I planned no running races in July, thinking it could be hot and life would possibly be busy with Baby Stewy arriving.   I'll be back racing this coming weekend with a 5K.  During that heat wave and down time I spent a nice evening out on the Grand for a paddle.

I had a couple of days off work in the last few weeks so I enjoyed a couple longer runs.  One was to Dover for breakfast at the Crepe House.   Just love that place for both savory and sweet crepes.   The other was River Rd to Cayuga.   Not as hilly as Jerseyville Rd in Ancaster but some long slow hills and a good steep one as you make your way into Cayuga.   Kicked my butt good on that hill!

The route to Dover on the left and hill therapy on the right.

 

Molly also had the displeasure of wearing the cone of shame for a week as she got a hot spot on her tail that she just found irresistible.  I received more than a few scratches from that cone ramming into the backs of my legs as she tried to pass without giving her head a wide enough berth. 

 

A new horse has arrived on the farm and she has settled in and is a lovely fit.   Lilli is a pleasant and well-mannered mare that both DH and I have found wonderful to handle and care for.  

DH and I spent some time revamping the outdoor riding ring.  To make the ring more secure for riders, we have now placed 2 board fencing around the perimeter.   This will also make it less inviting for any little monster to escape when in pasture #6!

 

I also wanted to give mention to this beautiful orchid that still blooms in my bathroom.   I think I first reported it was starting to bloom in my post back in April.   It’s still in full glory and still beautiful.

 

I found beauty in some unexpected places lately too.   Like this standalone sunflower that is growing beside the dirt piles for the pasture shelter at the back fence line. 

 

And this heart that Izzy left me after she scratched herself with her nose.

 

Now…a bit from the insides…

We humans have an interesting way of remembering our wholeness, our gifts, our power.   We remember by experiencing who we are not.   By stumbling, by falling, by making mistakes that we are meant to learn from.   Ironically, the universe also keeps presenting these same opportunities in greater magnitude to us, if we didn’t get the lesson on the first, or 5^th or 50^th go around!

Sometimes the universe sends us people and events to test us.    Not to show us our weaknesses but to show us our strengths.

I am finding my strength…and no…it’s not my first go around!   The universe knows me well, as a stubborn and strong willed learner!   I think all of us go through times that test us.  Times that teach us the stuff we are made of and the stuff that we know we need to let go of to let us grow and evolve into our better selves.   These times generally fill us with self-doubt, heartache and sorrow.   We realize that grief never ends; but it changes.   We begin to understand this is a passage in time and not a place to stay.   Sometimes we get lost.   Lost from the things that grounded us or the people that fed us the positive energy that helped nourish us.    There can be beauty in getting lost.   Sometimes we have to get lost to find ourselves.   Sometimes we have to get lost to find each other.   We can’t always control what the universe sends to us.   We don’t always know what will set us adrift.   We just have to trust that the universe has a plan for us.   

Then one day, slowly we wake up to the vibrations of the universe that will help us navigate through the changes that these people and events bring to us.   We have to be still; breathe in the moment and try and be open to whatever the wind is sending our way.    We acknowledge that trauma always leaves a scar.   We reconcile the pain and the fear.  We emerge more powerful, more enlightened and enriched with inner courage.  We find peace in the anger and forgiveness in the bitterness.   We eventually emerge into gratitude with the knowledge that we have to sometimes get a little messed up to step up.   

I am...finding my strength….