Well yet an other county fair has past. And what a different year it was. At the end of last year my riding instructor got married and moved away taking the horses with her. I ended up meeting a family that has horses though a Spanish class my mom and I taught. I leased a yearling from them and worked with her through the summer. When I started working with Missi she was untouched by human hands. That was a big difference in itself. By County Fair I had taught her many things and advanced her to level two in the training project. I placed third in the training division and to my surprise fifth in showmanship out of 18 season show horses. The rest of the fair was spent helping my friends with their horses. I really enjoyed the different year and seeing my friend do well.
Hobbies
21
Dec 06
First Snow
It finally snowed in Minnesota today, but much of it was rain and sleet since the temp has been in the 30-40s.
Looking south from our house:
21
Dec 06
Outdoor Christmas Tree
Because we were so busy this Christmas (or more likely – we never took the time) to put up a tree, we decorated the pine located in front of our picture window. Here’s some photos (click to enlarge):
27
Feb 06
Christopher’s ski guy!
This is Christopher’s rendition of an olympic skier; or is it a self portrait from his day at Andes Tower Hills?!
27
Feb 06
John’s Best Friend
In the middle of January, Sarah Race asked if we wished to obtain her 4 year old dog, Katie. It had not worked out well to have the dog at their new location on the Silo Farm. John agreed to be the primary owner and caretaker of the golden retriever/lab mix, and Joseph agreed to help us find a kennel for her, AFTER the “college at home” seminar. Little did we know that Joseph’s dog was going to leave us in the meantime.(see previous post). After picking up Katie on January 23rd, John was able to bring her home to Dusty’s recently vacated kennel and run. She was a little anxious to be in the habitat of her old Crown Farm neighbor, but she soon learned that she would be run 5 times a day, and that it was OK to push the dog igloo door open to get inside it. Good thing for her, as the weather dipped to teens below zero, without the windchill!
John and Katie are learning a lot from each other, and both are quite teachable. 
Joseph has joined John on a few runs to give him some experienced pointers. Having Katie around has helped us all to adjust to the void Dusty left. John is looking forward to baseball season, when Katie’s passion for retrieving balls can be put to good use!
See their picture in our photo blog.