Checking in on Harry ...

Not far down the road is an equestrian center for handicapped children. They do such wonderful things for children suffering from both physical and emotional problems.

It is amazing to see how the interaction with horses is both an aid and a comfort.

Harry is in charge of the "feel good" department. He is one very big love bug that manages to keep just about everybody happy.

He sure makes my day !

About my new home ...

Now, about this adorable little pup,
she belongs to my friends.
They sent the details and photos.
I just couldn't resist sharing the story.

~~~

As Harmony tell it ...

Here I am, snug as a bug in my new home. I didn't arrive here by accident, you know. It took planning.

I was at that age where people were coming to look at me and my brothers and sisters. It was something about getting a new home. When the doorbell rang, I thought, "oh, no, I don't know these people"!

I liked the sound of their voices. That's when I decided I wanted to live with them. I tried to get their attention by yipping "me, me, me", but they thought I was just making those cute puppy sounds.

Then I thought of a plan.

I wrapped my paws around the man's foot and hung on for dear life. It worked !!

I jumped right in to show them how good I was at eating.

I had no idea how exhausting that would be.

This is my first portrait taken in my new home. Cute, huh?!

I loved showing off my other talents like rolling around in a towel.

Now this trick is more difficult.
It seems it is ... a cat thing.

Let's see, stretch the paws ... put head between paws
... turn back paw. Humm, not easy.

I live in North Carolina with Roger and Jean,
my mom and dad.

They are both musicians...
and named me ... Harmony !

My parent's have a friend in California.
She is writing this for me.
So that means I'm a ... cyber pup!

A Little Outing ~ Balboa Island

Balboa Island

~~~

We decided it was time for a little adventure away from the farm. The hay barn was full, which means the truck from the local feed store had just delivered and stacked about 60 bales of hay.

You see, we don't exactly have a North 40 or even a South 40 around here. So, cultivating and cutting hay isn't something we can do or know how to do, even though we sometimes think that might be terrific, especially if we had two beautiful black Percherons to help us. (but you've already heard about that fantasy ... click here for a little reminder.)

So, with all the feeders, water bowls, cat dishes, dog bowls filled and the horses turned out ... we were on our way along the Pacific Coast Highway to one of our favorite places ... Balboa Island.

After the usual drive-around to see the old time cottages, we were off to the ferry dock. It's a tradition around here. It takes about ten minutes on the ferry boat to go to the "other side" ... where all the fun stuff is.

Along the way we can see the once endangered California Brown Pelicans, who fancy sitting on docks and taking delight in selecting the most expensive boats that are moored in the harbor for their sun bathing perches.

Even though the ride is a short one,
the views are wonderful and the sea breezes so refeshing.

Kayla, of course, knows the procedure very well.
She has become a regular passenger.

In the distance can be seen the Balboa Pavillion dating from 1903,
a landmark for the area.

At the turn of the century, it was the scene of dances, parties
and all kinds of hilarity for the Los Angeles bunch.

This was the place to be, and this was no small excursion.
There was no ferry boat to shorten their trip.
They took a trolley or other historic means of travel to arrive at
what really was a fancy structure built on a very large pile of sand.

However, today, at the end of the ten minute ferry boat ride,
is the well know "fun zone" with rides, cotton candy
and, of course, fine dining at the old Pavillion.

This was our day to spend wandering the familiar walkways
... and a day away from the horses.

However, it seems we always manage to find them.

Finally, it was off to the beach to watch the surfers ...

And then we were headed back home
along the beautiful sea coast drive.

It really was a wonderful day!

By the way ... did you know Lucy could read?

Would you turn the page, please?

Lucy much prefers history books. Certaily not historical novels, but books that are well documented and filled with ... foot notes. (mostly hers)

One of these days, Lucy could very well become a book, herself.

She grew up with Kayla and quite fancies herself to be a dog. It is rather ordinary to see her following the dog through the barn, into the horse corrals, up the hill and into the gardens.

When everyone has gone in the house she struts from one door to the other. Eventually, she settles down to just being a dedicated ... window peek-er.

Probably her greatest pleasure is being carried around the yard, next to reading history books, that is.

She's somethin'. There's even more about Lucy ... here.

So, what exactly is wrong with the hen house?

We spent a great deal of time at the drawing board designing the perfect ... hen house. Plenty of room, plenty of nest boxes, just the right amount of light and fresh air. Seemed pretty spiffy to us.

Not sure what went wrong.The girls hung out in their new castle for awhile and did a pretty good job keeping us supplied with eggs. Then ... zero. Nothing. No eggs, ZIP-O!

They still went about the gardening thing, but seemed to be ignoring their purpose for ... being here!

It was quite by accident that we discovered what was going on. Actually, the horse gave it away. Royal would only eat on one side of his feed box, carefully avoiding the far corner... the side that was filled with eggs ... and a chicken.

Hummm ... was this an opinion of our architectural skills? Was the hen house the wrong style? Did they prefer English Tudor?

So, we rounded up the girls and had a little conference. They were given some time-out in their quarters for a few days. I mean, Easter is one thing with this egg hunt business, but everyday?

They got the idea. Now, they are agreeable to laying eggs in the proper place.

What a relief. We weren't exactly looking forward to building another chicken house.

Wish we'd thought of this ...

Even though this isn't our Golden Retriever, I just had to add this photo to my collection of "irristibles". Now, really, you'd buy soup from this salesperson, wouldn't you?

Homeward bound ...

Kirk and Royal heading back to the barn.

This guy was born in a saddle and there's not a happier pair than these two boys out on the trail early in the morning.

This former movie star reminds me of Clint Eastwood on some days and Gregory Peck on another. It's really quite confusing.

The only way to tell is to check the riding boots ... are they cowboy boots or the high English knee boots?

Whatever, he sits tall in the saddle and always has one big smile when heading down the trail.

Geranium ~ The Flower of Summer

Kayla on a dog day of summer

From The Garden ~ Cyclamen