Tag: Trail Ride

3 Things

On By AveryIn Horses, Life18 Comments

I had a friend tell me that she was feeling blue yesterday after a great weekend and that she did not know if it was because the weekend was over or because of the unknown future. It got me thinking as I have often felt the same way myself and my suggestion was to:

Focus on something good from the weekend (or past), something good right in front of you, and do something fun for yourself tomorrow. Nobody knows the future, so you are not alone!

Too bad I can not seem to do that for myself in those moments, so I think I will do the same thing for myself right now. We all have something to be grateful for even when it is all going up in smoke and hitting the fan. AHAmoment. It also seems like a good idea since I am supposed to be practicing self love and all that. Disclaimer, this may or may not turn into another love fest, and I will make zero apologies for it.

  1. Something good from the weekend.
    I rode 3 amazing horses.
    Saturday I took Second Chance, Chance on a road ride with some long time friends. It was terribly HOT. Like sweating at 8 in the morning hot. He was amazing even though he made some ugly faces at some other horses. It was quite comical, really.  I also got compliments on his butt. It is pretty big. I really need to show you what he used to look like. I love how he shines like a penny even when he is a woolly bear.

    Sunday morning I rode the my best gal, Cheetah. We did some arena work with transitions and ground poles before going down in the pastures to check the cows and let her really open up and stretch her legs. I did not get any photos because I was having too much fun. I finished out the morning doing some chores and unpacking the trailer. Then, my parents (the most amazing parents ever) met me for lunch at a nearby town on their way home from out of town and then came back to the farm so I could ride my Lito. I could not ask for better parents or a better colt. Seriously. This horse. I think it was his 10th ride or so and the first ride in a couple months. He was AMAZING. He was much more forward and fluid than he has been. That was a little bit of a worry for me. It reminds me to stay the course and do not lose heart. He is still learning. AHAmoment. He is just so easy, brave, and keeps getting better…and taller. I will stop before I explode.
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  2. Something good in front of me from today.
    My dog is tired and happy from running at the farm and my boss told me she was proud of my work. Boom. Enough said.
  3. Something fun for myself tomorrow.
    My bible study is having a Valentines party as our class. Thank goodness because I do not like Valentines Day!

Pretty dang good at present. Certainly can not complain.

What are your 3 things? Something good from the weekend (or past), something good in front of you today, and something fun for yourself tomorrow?

Walk in love, dear readers!

Love Fest

On By AveryIn Horses5 Comments

Forgive me for this. I am just going to have to brag on my horse here for a bit. An absolute love fest.

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Fire with Pops Friday night with great music buy Jason Eady and Courtney Patton.

Saturday, we had the best day! We went on a road trail ride with some friends. Something we do a few times a year and something she typically tolerates for me. She also commonly makes sure I know that she is doing it for me and she would rather be doing something else. Like riding by ourselves out in the middle of nowhere. That is also my jam, but the middle of nowhere is harder to find and it is nice to socialize sometimes.

She was amazing and really seemed to have a good time. Seriously. Ears pricked and licking her lips the whole time. Not overly mareish, pinning her ears and telling others what to do. She was also very outwardly loving and affectionate. In public. Ha! It was more than the great weather. It was more than the great company (It was so wonderful to be with some of my best friends doing what we all love to do. Laughter. Fellowship. Good for the soul). It was more than her being on her best behavior. It is hard to explain. Part of the wonder of horses. We both had a great time. I just love her and she loves me. Love fest. That is all I know. I know it sounds funny and a little out there, but if you have animals you know what I mean.

My good friend, H, and her mare, Chica, were there. Chica Rey did not get the ears pricked memo.

My other really good friend, R, was there with the gelding she rides, Ronan. We have a mutual affection for horses and Baker plaid.

My Cheetah girl and I have come a long way together and I would not have her or our journey any other way. I am so blessed to have her in my life and I know without a doubt that she was put in my life for a reason. I am also blessed and grateful to have my friends. It is special to do what I like to with like minded people.

I am excited for what we have planned for the year.

Do you have friends that like to do what you like to do?

I hope you all had a great weekend and an even better week.

Go shine your light!

Walk in love, dear readers.

A Soft Spot For Stars Blog Hop: Location, Location, Location.

On By AveryIn Horses3 Comments

This is my first blog hop, and it will not be my last! It has rained basically non stop since Friday, so I have no fun riding stories. I basically did chores and fed while getting wet. Then on Sunday, my parents and I got the family Christmas tree. I finished decorating it last night with the help of wine. The decorating is almost finished. Normally, I would be finished with Christmas deco within a couple days of Thanksgiving, but given the events of late, it just has not happened.

I digress, I am going to jump on the TB pedigree blog hop bandwagon eventually, but I can not remember who started that one? Cheetah‘s dam was an OTTB and has a fun pedigree. I did all the research while I was in grad school. It was great for procrastinating.

Today’s blog hop comes from A Soft Spot For Stars. I already like her because we both have dun mares. Anyway, I too am curious about fellow bloggers locations and what it is like where they are.

8e2fb13d66cac7d6dd11209131704afeNo secrets here, I am a Texas gal. I reside in the ‘southern half’ of the state, in a big city. My horses stay at our family farm an hour away. That makes things difficult for me and my fuel consumption. However, it is an easy hour drive and I can go out after work whenever I need or want. The time change makes it hard to ride when I go after work during the winter, but I can blanket the old guy and feed him before it gets dark on cold nights. I will be doing that the latter half of this week.

Demographic? Most people that live in and around the city board their horses if they do not have property outside of town. There are several equestrian friendly communities outside of town where you can live and keep or board horses. We are probably 50/50 mix of western to english riders of all kinds. There are many shows and clinics in the ‘general area.’ Most shows and clinics are just far enough away from where the horses are to not be ‘convenient’ (1.5-2+ hr haul). This is very frustrating for me as I am hungry for more knowledge and do not want to let my riding get stagnant. BUT there are many great trainers and I have a few that I plan to haul to for lessons in the near future. We have a few good tack stores in town (good or bad considering how you look at it!). There is a big tack store in the area. It is generally an hour from town or an hour from the farm, but I ride horses for people out that way sometimes.

Costs of horse keeping in my region of the great state:

  • Trim-$35 (Lito just gets a trim, as do the other geldings and Petunia)
  • Front shoes-$70 (I keep front shoes on Cheetah Beets)
  • Average cost of a month of full time training-$800
  • Average cost of monthly pasture board-$400
  • Average cost of monthly stall board-$600 (All kinds of board and prices range wildly. These averages might be on the high side, but there are places I have seen that have exorbitant prices. The ones that I have looked at and work for me are not all that much closer than the farm)
  • Hay, good horse quality Bermuda-$8.00 (I have not looked at the prices for this year yet)(We high quality pasture and have had good rains this year…I do not think we will need to buy too terribly much this year)
  • What I consider priceless? Feeding in my pj’s. That Texas sky. Sunrises and sunsets viewed from the back of my horse. When I am at the farm, I can do whatever, whenever.

Weather? In the summer it is hot and humid. The only ‘good thing’ about the humidity is that it keeps us from generally having too many 100+ temp days. The heat index is the killer…and the bugs. All of our cows have some percentage of Brahman in them to help with coping with bugs and humidity. I ride all year round. In the summer on the weekends, I wake up and feed in the dark so I can be tacked up and mounted by the time I can see with the first light. I generally ride 2 horses (groom, ride, cool out, hose down) and get some chores finished by 11 AM. I do not do much else until 7 PM when I will ride another horse. It also limits when I haul. I do not like to haul during the hot, middle of the day. During the work week, I hustle out there and get 1 horse ridden and get back home late. Sometimes I stay out there for the night and come back super early in the morning for work. Winter is pretty easy by majority standards. It will freeze a few times. Lows are generally in the 40’s. A cold night is in the 30’s. It will only do that for a few days. It is not uncommon to be riding in short sleeves in January.

Lito has what I think is an allergic reaction to mosquitoes or flies. Does anyone else have this problem???
Hot Darcy.
A ‘frosty’ morning ride on Cheetah, looking at the geldings.

Other notes? Hunting season. It cramps my style a little bit because some in the family like to hunt at the farm. That is all fine and good except that requires me to not ride. That bugs me. Other than that it is fine. Our property is on a river and there are some duck hunters that like to come and park themselves behind the barn. The barn is not right on the river, but it is close. Anyway, I can hear them and let me tell you, it is funny. They are not very good at their duck calls and I can hear them talking. That is not how you do it!

Frustrating things?

  • The drive. I wish they were closer. However, I like not having to pay board. I have contemplated it so I could have at least a horse closer. I also like them being able to live like horses. It is also simpler to have them at the farm with the others. I have also contemplated moving to a place somewhere in the middle.
  • I miss the barn community. It is a great thing. I have horse friends that I ride with, but most of them are not in our neck of the woods.

Join in on the blog hop if you have not already! I have had fun reading them!

Cheetah

On By AveryIn Horses8 Comments

The time has come, y’all. As I promised, here is Cheetah’s story.

I was sent off to college under strict orders that I was not to take a horse to school and I was not to get one while I was there. The thought of this conversation with my father still makes me chuckle. I had been trying to find a loophole since I left.

I began an internship in my second year for the director of the university’s equestrian center where I schooled/trained program and sale horses, assisted in horse sales, led summer horseback riding camps, and helped run local horse shows. I had anywhere between two to five horses on my ‘string.’ The best part about it was I could ride two to three horses a day while going to school and I still got good grades…my parents could not complain! Anyhoo, Cheetah was in my first group of horses (could have been the second group, but that really is not an important detail) during that first fall of my internship. It was practically love at first sight. No one at the center wanted to use her for anything, being the strong, opinionated mare that she was is.

I have learned that the majority of the horses I fall for begin with this descriptor…probably not the best thing in the world. Oops. I was asked to put some miles on her and either get her placed in a university program or aid in her sale. After the first week of riding her, I was a goner. She was 4.5 yo at the time and did not know much of anything past go. She turned…some…and was not the biggest fan of stopping. She was also a booger to catch. Most days it took me a solid 30 min to bring her in. She made incredible strides in the riding department in just a matter of a couple weeks. Knowing the opinions about her and her personality, my Cheetah girl would not be a match for any of the school programs. She would have to be put up for sale. This thought broke my heart. I constantly shoved it away as I found new things that she ‘had’ to work on.

One horrible day, you know the kind where you are just all over the place emotionally and have that sick feeling where you have no idea what you are doing in life and that you are doing the wrong thing…that all too common feeling during that time in your life where you are just figuring it all out, I went out to the barn all bottled up like a shaken bottle of champagne. Everything was just beneath the surface, ready to explode. As I entered Cheetah’s turn out, we made eye contact and I said a little prayer, “please, just let me catch her today. I have had an awful day and I just need to stick my face in her mane.” When I turned back around from locking the gate to walk out and try to catch her, she started walking to me. We met in the middle. I then sat and cried with her head in my lap for the remainder of my allotted catch time. That awful feeling of her being sold kept creeping up on us.

I went home after finals for Christmas with a plan. I attempted to convince my father over Thanksgiving that my life could not go on without this mare to no avail. I had my mother and my Aunt though. Game changers. I gave him my best pitch at Christmas and I do not even remember what I said. I thought it would never work out until my Aunt stepped in and said he had to say yes. Well, I never did get a ‘yes,’ but I got something that was not a ‘no.’ I texted my boss on Christmas and asked if I could buy Cheetah. She probably thought I was crazy when she said yes, but I doubt she was surprised.

Yawn.

My boss and I ended up working a deal where I worked off the payment. It was a win win for everyone. I have to be honest though, I think I got the better deal on all fronts. I have lost count of the times I have cried into her mane and she has been great to catch ever since that one day. I honestly do not think I would have finished college without her.

Stripes for days.

We have logged countless hours in the arena and out in the crop fields. We trained. We showed some. We conquered. We made life long friends. The best part is, our story is not over yet! She is only 12. We are still doing even if sometimes it feels as if we are not. We enjoy our time together even if I am just standing in the pasture next to her while she grazes. She knows me better than anyone and has changed my life for good. I can not imagine my life if she had never mare glared galloped her way into it. I thought about changing her name when she first became ‘mine’ (my boss’ daughter named her), but you know they say that is bad luck and really, it suits her personality. I went through the hassle and ridiculous advanced age fee to get her registered with AQHA because I had our next adventure planned. I just had to graduate first.

This, my dear readers, brings me to Lito’s story. That is a story for another day ;).

Go walk in love.

 

Back in the game

On By AveryIn Dogs, Horses6 Comments

Happy Monday morning!

Y’all. This weekend was pretty great.

I will try and keep it short and sweet on the word front. We know how I can be a bit…long winded. Yes, I surprise myself. Another fun thing about blogging. Anyway, I got in tree rides this weekend. These days that is pretty good!

So, first. I rode the mare horse. That is what my dad affectionately calls her, ha! Cheetah. Cheetah Beetah. The Beets. She goes by many names. On Saturday she was my angel girl. She was being so sweet and was surprisingly focused and relaxed for just coming back into working regularly. This might mean she will be not so great for the next ride, but I am not going to focus on that. I am choosing to focus on the good and allow the good to come through on our next ride. AHA moment. I round penned her briefly to get her warmed

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SOURCE HERE! SO FUN!

up before I even mounted. She seems to appreciate that most of the time. In the beginning, I thought she might have had a broom stick up her bum as she was doing her best old west bronc impersonation. It was not a very good likeness, but for me it was quite comical. Once I mounted up it felt almost like I had been riding her every day…except that she is pretty out of shape which is to be expected. She was relaxed and forward off my leg and seat, very between my legs, thinking not reacting. On the aids, if you will. I kept it pretty basic so we could stay well seated within her brain. If I start to ask her too many questions before she is ready, we move straight into the reactionary running side of her that has no bottom to the tank. She was the perfect Appendix Quarter Horse, the best of her full 50/50%. Man, it felt great! We did some big relaxed circles with some yielding in both trot and lope/canter and then called it a day to go for a cool down walk/hack up to the front gate and back. I wanted to continue going, but I decided it would be best to finish on a positive note…another AHA moment. We have all the time in the world for longer rides when she is back in shape and going consistently.

Pre-ride photos…It was one of those crazy foggy days where the fog does not clear for hours.

Pre-ride photos. She was not amused.
Pre-ride photos.
Pre-ride photos.
Pre-ride photos. I have a photo just like this when she was 6mos prggers.
My gal pals

Cool down walk and post-ride photos…

Follow the Darcy.
LOVE HER EARS!
Look at that bird dog point.
Cookies for Cheetah! LOOK at that face!
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She has model poses.

Then I rode Second Chance, Chance/Give Me A Chance, Chance. I am not sure which descriptor name I like more. His name is Chance and we took a chance on him. He has worked out very well for us! He has his quirks, like they all do, but once he realized we were team players, he blossomed. I need to show you his ‘before’ pictures. Anyway, he was pretty darn good too. He is a very lazy horse and I am not sure who worked harder, me or him. If he could get paid for stopping and resting in the shade, he would be a rich…err…horse. Just the thing we want for beginners! We had a good arena work and then went down to check the cows. He is your typical ranch style, grade QH. Built like a tank with an unknown history. The poor guy already has half a winter coat (makes me worry that winter is going to be bad!) and needed a good hosing off after our ride. Good thing it is warm enough for that.

He likes checking cows.
Look at this tank.

Last but certainly not least, I rode the Lito Man. He was pretty good. Not as amazing as he has been, but certainly not bad. I was a little all over the place, so it was mostly all me. It was is ninth ride I believe. We worked in the arena first. It lasted a little longer that I wanted it to, but I was looking for a good stopping place. He is very hard to get forward in the arena. Anyone else with young horses have this problem? I think I am going to get a friend to come out and ride another horse while I ride Lito and get a good forward pasture ride soon so he can see what it is all about. After the arena, we took a walk to the river and back. Here is his pre-ride shot. Can you see his 50% PRE blood? He deserves more text, but I said I would keep this short and I have not! He will get his own post soon.

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What positives did y’all have this weekend that you are going to focus on?

Have a great Monday!

 

A ride in the Hill Country…

On By AveryIn Faith, Horses2 Comments

Please enjoy this scroll through of my ride with friends and fellowship in the Hill Country along the Frio River! Not many words needed, I dare say! If you missed the reveal of my gifts, check out yesterday’s post.

I had a little bit of traffic on Friday, but it was OK, I had great music. Petunia thought she would help herself into the yard when I got there. The Sunrise on Saturday was just…just. Beautiful!

So excited to be in Friday traffic on the way to the farm!
This song…I listened to it about ten times on Friday.
Look who let herself into the yard. This is Petunia running away after being discovered.
Waiting for my friend to pick me up Saturday morning! Could not ask for a prettier day!

Loaded up and pulling out Saturday morning!

Look at the beautiful rig!
Ikey poo patiently waiting.
Ike’s buddy Ronan, the red roan. AKA RoRo.
Heavens. Look at all that stuff in there. We are girls…

We were so blessed to have no incidents while hauling and no traffic, either way!!! We only had great conversation and music! Oh, and plenty of great Texas views and beef jerky. Hey, we did not want to get hungry!

driving, driving
We had plenty of provisions.
I got my sun coverage
On the road again
Hey look what we found! A cross on the hill!

We met at a friend’s place in Bandera for a couple of days along with some other friends before heading to the Frio. They were all going on the ride. We had great times, story telling, rest, and sunrise/sunset times. Yes, that is me with my nails done. I had to hide the horse ruined nails, but who cares when your horses are that cute!

THAT is me with my morning coffee. I like to feed my horse in my pjs.
Too cute for words. Ikey poo and RoRo.
Beautiful sunset. Could not help but put the rig in there. Kinda hard not to with a 34 foot trailer.

We lost someone along the way!!! Ha! Just kidding…

Ike getting fancy in his stall! I then added more shavings. I like to really bed them down. I also documented his BMs. You horse people understand that.

Ikey settled into his stall. I think he liked pretending to be fancy with a stall full of shavings.
Look at that kissable face.
We horse people like when our horses poop. It means they are healthy, so we take photos and send them to our friends!

Now time for the good stuff…Riding snaps!

It sprinkled a little and it felt so good.

Hydrating…

Such beauty! God’s beauty!

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Me before we headed home…Ha!

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I hope you enjoyed! Have you gone on any fun trips lately?! Share!

Lead with love, dear readers!

When you need perspective

On By AveryIn Faith, Horses, MusicLeave a comment

OK, so I am still processing my last week…and am still tired! Tomorrow, be prepared for a picture book of my week riding in the hill country! For now though, we must all wait. I can not begin to process that just yet. Yawn. I am still recovering!

Oh!!! I can show you the gifts I gave! Looky looky!!! Remember I told you about a few gifts I made for some friends that were going to be on the ride this past week? Now that the gifts have been given, I can show you! I gave each a photo transfer of their horse on a block of wood with character (have a look at this post to learn how!) and a piece I found created by Alex Ladner, also on a block of wood. I think they are just exact. I really tried to work with the character within the wood and let it shine and compliment the photo. I gave a few more photo transfers to some others, but these two are my favorite. Do you like them??? I hope so.

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OK, back to perspective. The Friday before I left for my trip, I rediscovered an artist! I love when that happens. I started listening to Sean McConnell while in undergrad. He was getting some air time on a local Red Dirt station at the time. I loved his sound, but then somehow I did not keep up with him. Not sure why. Crazy how that happens. Anyway, while at work on Friday, I was listening so some shuffle mix that came up on YouTube. I was working away when I heard the song ‘Lie Baby Lie,’ but a different version than what used to be played in the flatland when I was in college. It intrigued me and I went to go look at who it was that was playing and singing. To my surprise, it was Sean! I immediately went to look up all of the material he has created since I stopped listening to him. I still dig his stuff and I am still listening to it this week! One song in particular really spoke to me that Friday. Have a listen, and when you need perspective, give it another listen. I have added it to my mental file of ‘when I need perspective.’ I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to the man himself, Sean McConnell, for posting this vid on YouTube. He also has several faith based songs. I have no doubt that I will be post on his songs again!

Have a blessed day, dear readers, and lead with love!

Tune back in tomorrow for the big recap!

One more thing

On By AveryIn Faith, Life, MusicLeave a comment

Before I go off the grid to ride horses for a week *excuse me while I giggle and jump up and down like a little girl*, I want to share something with you. Remember that bit about your light from the other day? Well, you also probably know by now how my brain works with songs. This song came up on my shuffle yesterday while I was running errands to prepare for my trip and it made me think about letting my light shine through my holes and cracks. Thanks to Cody Johnson for recording this song and to Rachel Richardson on YouTube for the vid.

Now I get that he is not my typical type to recommend as he is not always my style, but I just really like some of his songs. This one in particular. The lyrics speak to me. That last verse. Climb out and let it shine, man. AHA moment right there. I sing this one loud in my car. Makes me think I am a good singer! Ha! This song makes me want to post several more songs. Do you think I should? Does anybody listen to these??? I will just in case anyone is curious what I have to share.

The middle part of this song where he talks about conversations he did not have with his dad reminds me of Brandon Rhyder‘s (I know, I know, I will not wax poetic today. Well, only a little) song, ‘Fingers To The Bone.’ Seriously, listen to this one. He never disappoints. I also sing this one loud in the car. Fine, I always sing loud in the car! Thanks to Brandon Rhyder – Topic on YouTube for the video. It is funny the things we do and say to our parents when we are young and then how the future plays out. Grace. Reminds me to tell my parents I love them. I put them through a lot! AHA moment, again. This one I dedicate to my parents. The best I have heard this song was live at an intimate, unrecorded concert here in town. Bummer for y’all. Stop, hold the phone. My mother just called me! I told her I love her. I am serious. That just happened. Just go on and listen to this song.

I could go on for days connecting these song dots for you, but I have to go work!

Have a great weekend and week next week. I look forward to sharing my adventure with you upon my return! Do not worry, I will try not to kill my travel buddy with my horrid signing.

 

Gettin’ crafty.

On By AveryIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Does today feel like Friday to anyone else?! It sure feels like Friday to me, but alas, it is Thursday for all of you who have not figured that out yet. Happy Friday eve! Ike and I leave Saturday for my week long trail riding vaca! This is why it feels like Friday to me, I guess. I am so excited…and anxious, but it will be fun! It is getting real. Have to pack today so I can leave straight from work tomorrow to get to the farm and pack our stuff there.

Anyhoo, I got crafty yesterday and created some gifts to give my compadres who are going with me on the ride. If any of you are reading this, STOP. I mean it. OK, now back to business. I will not show what I actually made or bought in case they are not listening to me.

The crafty part that I created was a photo transfer to wood. I used The Saw Guy‘s method (there is even a video!). I have actually done this now three different times. There are a few different ways to do this apparently, but I have only used this one method with the recommended products. Mainly because I still have all said products and I like the way it works. In my research done previously, it appeared that there are a few different products that can be used to create the same or a different look. Here are some examples of her
finished work from the post.

I never seem to accomplish the level of antiquey look that she gets, but I am guessing she applied filters or edited the photos prior to printing. I have not watched the video or read the post in a while, so she might explain that there. I just really like the look of these! The next photo transfer I do will be of my dun duo and my Darcy dog on pecan wood from the farm. It will be big ;).

The second part of a couple of the gifts came from a local gift shop here in town. I do not know how I got lucky enough to find these! I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what to get to finish out my gifts. I kept coming up empty. Then I went into this shop figuring I would not find anything that I felt was good enough, and bam. There they were. There were only two, which is exactly the number I needed. They perfectly fit the bill. They practically spoke to me and told me to buy them for my friends. I just love when that happens. To me, the best part of gift giving is finding that little something that screams that person’s name and seeing the joy it brings the person when they get it. That feels like an AHAmoment. I love gift giving. I suppose it is one of my love languages. I take it very seriously. Anyway, I digress as usual…the pieces I bought were created by artist Alex Ladner. I hope the gift shop gets more of his work because I would like some pieces for myself. The pieces I got were no bigger than a 4×6 photo and have a block of wood as the canvas! Again, I am not going to show what I got or made until after I give the gifts, but here is a teaser of his other creations (his photos).

Does anyone know how to accomplish this look? Is it like a plaster? Clay? With glaze? I want to figure it out. I just love these! Alex, if you ever read this, I just love your work!

Tomorrow or Saturday morning will most likely be my last post until I return from my trip. Do not lose faith in me! I will return and with many photos!

I am excited to show you what I created and bought! Until then, walk in love, dear readers!