Pony Nom Noms

I know a pony named Taz. He is a very picky fellow. After searching the web, I have discovered a treat recipe that even he likes. Actually, he loves it. Thought I'd share it with all my pony friends. Its easy and healthy. What more could you ask for?

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Chop up finely 3 carrots. I actually just used a peeler and shredded them. Mix carrot pieces with: 1 cup of rolled oats (or just plain dry oatmeal) 1 tbsp sugar 1 cup flour 1 pinch of salt Add in 1/4 cup of molasses and 1/4 cup of water Mix all together. Mash into little balls and then flatten on a baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes Its THAT easy!!!! Tell your ponies I said "you're welcome"

Long time no Post!!

Well, I said in the beginning that I would keep up with this blog. I have failed miserably! I guess life has just been turned a bit upside down for me lately. When camp begins, my life pretty much gets put on hold. Its tough sometimes, but in a way its nice too. Its like I'm submerged in this tiny world called High Rocks. I am very lucky to have a wonderful staff that always has my back. Camp is a fun and beautiful place to work. I have to remind myself this on some days when I'm exhausted, hot and smelly. But then you get to see the excitement on the faces of the campers and you get to spend your day working in the mountains with horses. And that makes everything alright again. Here are a few photos of camp life through my eyes...

Camp truly is a magical place.

How Bad Can I Be?

I went to go see the new version of The Lorax yesterday with Boo, Izzie and Grace. I had my reservations about it in the back of my mind. The Lorax has always been one of my most favorite books in the entire world. I wish it was a book that was read not by just children, but by adults all around the world. Its such a wonderful story.

I was blown away by how well they did the new movie. Obviously movies are much brighter and realistic looking today. The older one was made in the 70's. So the colors and animation alone are quite fun. But the way that they did the characters was just wonderful. The Once-ler and the Lorax were spot on.

There was one song in the movie that really struck me as important. It was sung by the Once-ler. He sings it as validation for cutting down trees. I thought I'd share the lyrics:

"How bad can I be? I'm just doing what comes naturally.
How bad can I be? I'm just following my destiny.
How bad can I be? I'm just doing what comes naturally.
How bad can I be? How bad can I possibly be?
Well theres a principle of nature that almost every creature knows.
Called survival of the fittest. And check it, this is how it goes.
The animal that eats has to scratch and claw and fight and punch.
And the animal that doesnt winds up someone else's lunch.
I'm just sayin'....
How bad can I be? I'm just doing what comes naturally.
How bad can I be? I'm just following my destiny.
How bad can I be? I'm just doing what comes naturally.
How bad can I be? How bad can I possibly be?
Theres a principle in business that everybody knows is sound.
It says the people with money make this ever-lovin world go round.
So I'm biggering my company, I'm biggering my factory,
I'm biggering my corporate size.
Everybody out there take care of yours.
And me? I'll take care of mine, mine, mine, mine, mine.
Shake that bottom line!
Let me hear you say 'smogulous smoke, schloppity schlop!
Complain all you want, its never ever, ever, ever gonna stop.
Come on, how bad can I possibly be?
How bad can I be? I'm just building the economy.
How bad can I be? Just look at me pettin' this puppy.
How bad can I be? A portion of proceeds goes to charity.
How bad can I be? How bad can I possibly be? Lets see.
How bad can I be? All the customers are buying.
How bad can I be? And the money's multiplying.
How bad can I be? And the PR people are lying.
How bad can I be? And the lawyers are denying.
How bad can I be? Who cares if a few trees are dying?
How bad can I be? This is all so gratifying.
How bad? How bad can this possibly be?!?!!?


Ok, so I know that its a bit repetitive at parts. But if you think about it, hes repeating a phrase that I hear from so many people every day. It can be really really bad, as you find out in the movie.

If you have never read this story, I am begging you to go read it! And if you have a few extra bucks and a bit of time, go see it in the theater!!! If you don't want to go by yourself, let me know and I'll go see it with you!!!

Moore's Cove Falls

Since I live in the mountains year round, its easy to forget all of the fun things there are to do around here. Today was a lovely day so we decided to go on a hike with the dogs.

Pisgah Forest is about 20 minutes from our house. Other than the super nice trails and the beautiful things to see, the really nice thing about Pisgah is that you can have your dogs off of the leash. If you've never been to Moore's Cove falls, I highly reccommend it. The hike is super easy and lots of fun with bridges and cute creeks.

I just love going places like this with my little family. I often forget how many fun and FREE things are right in my backyard! The coolest part about this waterfall is the fact that you can walk BEHIND it!

I love, love LOVE living in these mountains!!!!

I'm lovin' this guy...

Its hard to believe that I've had this horse for only a few weeks now. I swear, I just adore him. He has brought so much happiness to our family. I would never have thought I'd love another horse like I love this one...but I do. Draggo is so laid back and sweet. I am trying to not jinx myself with him, but we have had so many wonderful rides together already! I've even ridden him alone out in the pastures and he was a DOLL!

He has been steadily gaining weight and is really settled in at the barn. His favorite of all the horses here is Redford. How ironic is that? He loves to snuggle and be groomed. And let me tell you, he will do ANYTHING for a peppermint!!! We are so blessed to have him in our lives. I feel so lucky. I hope he feels just as lucky to have us.

Sweet and Spicy Moroccan Snack Mix

So, I've never been someone who has been very excited about watching the Superbowl. I will admit, I enjoy the commercials...but truly the thing I enjoy the most is the FOOD!! So, instead of blogging about what team I'll be cheering for, I'll blog about a recipe you should try for the big game day!

Sweet and Spicy Moroccan Snack Mix:

4 cups plain air-popped popcorn
3 cups multigrain cereal squares
2 cups miniature pretzel twists
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine popcorn, cereal and pretzels in large bowl. Combine melted butter and all other ingredients in small bowl. Add butter mixture to popcorn mixture and toss well to coat. Transfer to large roasting pan. Bake, stirring occasionally until lightly toasted (about 30 minutes). Cool completely.

This snack mix can be stored up to 1 week in an airtight container. I imagine thats how long it will stay fresh. In our house, it usually only lasts about 2 days because thats how quickly we eat it! Its so good and much healthier than the normal chex mix you get in the stores.

Enjoy! And since I don't care who wins the superbowl, I'll just throw this in for good measure....Go Pirates!

Welcome Home Draggo!!!

So, for a few weeks now I've known that I was going to be getting a new horse. I was afraid to blog about him because I just didnt want to jinx the situation. Now that hes finally here, I can share my wonderful news with everyone!!

I miss Truman so much. I especially miss seriously riding. Redford is definitely my trail buddy, but I wanted to get into combined training. I really miss jumping. I finally decided to look for another horse. I definitely wanted another Off The Track Thoroughbred. I was referred to a wonderful organization called After the Races. The people that are involved in the program are just unbelievable. I just can't say enough nice things about them. They are located in Pennsylvania. They take retired thoroughbreds and find them new homes. I told Jessica (who is the person in charge) what type of horse I wanted and she mentioned Draggo.

After looking at his pictures and videos on their website, I really knew I was interested in him. After a long, long trip, Draggo is finally here with us at camp!!! The moment Boo and I saw him in person, we knew that he was everything we were hoping for. He is SO sweet and laid back! I just couldnt believe how sweet he was! When he met Redford for the first time, they touched noses and my heart melted.

I know I will always miss Truman. There will always be a place in my heart just for him. But I'm also really happy that I can give Draggo a second chance. Hopefully, he'll be willing to give me a chance too.

"Every horse is good for something. You know, you don't throw a whole life away just 'cause he's banged up a little."-Tom Smith (Seabiscuit's Trainer)

More Tack Room Re-Vamps

Well, the ceiling is totally up!!!! We are getting new lights too! The walls for the saddles are also ready!!

How beautiful are these walls!? The ceiling looks so great too!

I went with Boo to the paint store to pick out colors today. We decided on black for the windows and window sills. For the walls in the tack room, we finally decided on a color called Crescent Cream. I just love that the color has the word Crescent in it since thats one of camp's dogs names! You wouldnt believe how many varieties of cream and khaki there are. For the bathroom we chose a lovely green color. I am so excited to paint this weekend!!!!

Shorty's surgery

Well, today was a bit of an interesting day....

I have recently blogged about our super cute new horse Shorty. Since he first got to the barn, he has had a bit of a 'weepy eye' going on. Runny with lots of gunky ooze coming out of it. Townsend and I both thought it was just an infection. We have been cleaning it every day for a month. It still won't go away. We decided to call the vet. I was very happy to see the vet today, but it was very bittersweet for me. I have not seen Scott (the vet) since Truman colicked. So I was a bit teary eyed at first. But I am glad that it happened. There are other horses out there in the world. Thats why Scott was at the barn. And I know that I did every single thing within my power to help Truman. For some reason, God was just ready for him. I know I'll see him again one day.

Ok, enough sappy sad stuff. On to Shorty.....

Well, Scott took a look at the eye and thought it was infected also. We sedated Shorty so we could flush out his sinuses. Then Scott started messing with the eye and realized that Shorty had a HUGE growth down inside his eye!!! We decided to perform minor surgery right then and there. It was stressful and tough since we had to put such a large horse down on the ground. But after seeing how big the mass was that was removed, it was such a relief! Shorty was so brave and such a good boy. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery. It was so fascinating watching the vet work. I swear, if I won the lottery, I'd go to vet school.

Tack Room Re-Vamp

I am a lucky girl to spend every day working with horses. Few people enjoy their job as much as I do. At High Rocks, we have not 1 but 2 barns to house all of our sweet horses.

Camp itself was built in the 50's. The first barn was built towards the middle of camp. In the 70's they built 2 new barns in a different part of camp. These are the barns that we use today. They are both wonderful and some of the nicest facilities on camp property. However, with all things used over time (especially in the horse world) stuff tends to develop wear and tear. Case in point- the tack room. The tack room in the upper barn (which is the larger of the 2 barns) is the hub of the equestrian program. Its where all of our equipment is stored. Its also where the staff keeps all of their personal items and tack. It is actually very large compared to most tack rooms. Unfortunately, the tack room needs some love...the floor is ragged, the paint fading and the ceiling is literally falling in. Its a shame that our tack room can't be nicer with such a lovely barn and such a wonderful program.

I'm happy, no, thrilled to announce that our tack room is now getting a full makeover!!!!! The maintenance staff has begun working and it is going to be unbelievable! We're talking new ceiling, new walls, new floor, staff cubbies, new desk, shelves, paint...the works. I am SO daggone excited about this!!!!!

Here are a few BEFORE pictures. I can't wait for the AFTER pictures!

The back part of the tack room (where you can see the 3 saddles) used to have a shelf. On that shelf was where all the staff had to keep the majority of their belongings. With the re-vamp, the staff will all have their own cubbies with room for their helmet, boots, pants...and all the other stuff us crazy horse ladies need.

Here are the walls where the saddle racks go. We are re-doing the saddle racks with new saddle holders. We are also putting up board on this wall instead of this card board looking stuff. These walls will also be painted.

Here is our meds and sink area. We are re-wiring outlets and switches here. I think the shelves are going to be worked on a bit too. I had to clean just about everything out of this area. I won't even tell you all the crazy stuff I found in this area!

Last but not least, here is our lovely bathroom. We are one of the lucky few who have our very own washer and dryer down at the barn. This room will have the ceiling and floor re-done and will be painted as well.

I'm so thankful that we have such a wonderful place to work. This tack room is going to be so amazing and I hope that the barn staff are going to be as excited about this as I am!!!!