The Darby Diaries - Lines in the sand

Buckles is now allowing Darby to eat in the same area code as him. This is a big achievement to Darby.

While things with Buckles are going well, Darby and I are having a little battle over whether or not it is okay with me if he bites at me. Let me be clear, he has not bitten me but he swings his head around at me in a rudish manner as if he is going to be the one to decide where I am allowed to stand around him. Needless to say, I yell my pirate war cry and chase him, again, out the back door of the stall.

Let's just say Darby is testing boundaries, like a two-year-old child does, and I am busy drawing my lines in the sand.

I want to remember that among the little things we are working on are the very important manners of backing away from me (especially when I am delivering his grain and his hay) and moving over (from the lightest touch).

And he is learning his name. I say it every time I give him his food. I also say Buckles when I give the big guy his food, which Buckles probably thinks is strange because he has known his name for a long time. But now I want Darby to know that Darby stands for him and Buckles stands for Big Boss Dude.

Well, for now Buckles is the big boss dude. But look at the photo again. Buckles is 16'3" which is pretty darn big. Darby is a yearling; he's gonna be huge. Buckles better lay down the law now or Darby is gonna make his life miserable in a couple of years.

Making Salsa

Mom and I spent yesterday making salsa.

We started with this:

(The garlic and the bells peppers were purchased at my local farmer's market but the tomatoes, onions, and jalapeno peppers are out of my garden.)

Mom squishing up the tomatoes.


Me stirring, and stirring, and stirring.


The finished product:


We had a fun day working together and ended up with fifteen jars of salsa.

Here's the recipe:

12 cups peeled, squished tomatoes (drop the tomatoes into a pot of boiling water until the skins split (about 30 seconds), remove to a large shallow pan to cool and the peels will come right off. Also, it works well to squish the tomatoes and remove some of the excess juice from them before you put them in the cooking pot. The more watery juice there is, the longer you will have to cook it down.)
2 large onions, diced
2 cups bell peppers, seeded and diced
3 jalapeno peppers, diced (if you like it hot, leave the seeds; lessen the heat by lessening the seeds. I say leave the seeds or this turns out very mild.)
6 cloves garlic, chopped
Add the following ingredients after you have skimmed off the excess watery juice:
1 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbl. salt

Wash your jars in the dishwasher and leave them there until needed (or boil them for ten minutes or so in your canning pot.)

Mix all the vegetables in a large, heavy pot, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer. Using a spoon, begin skimming off the excess water/broth into a heat-proof bowl (you can let this cool then freeze it for soup starter). After you've removed most of the excess water, add the cider vinegar, sugar, and salt. Continue to simmer. Stir frequently to keep the salsa from scorching on the bottom of the pan.

If you sterilized the jars in the dishwasher, now is the time to start the water boiling in the canning pot. If you sterilized your jars in the canner you should already have water boiling in there.

When the salsa begins to thicken, set a small pan of water to boil; place the lids and rings in the boiling water for five minutes. When you've removed a good bit of the excess water and the salsa is fairly thick, spoon it into the sterilized jars (a sterilized funnel is a big help here), then cover with the boiled lids and rings. Place jars in the canner and boil for 12-15 minutes. (The original recipe does not call for the boiling in the canner but I do it anyway as a precaution against any mistake I might make in getting my equipment sterilized. I really don't want to kill my peeps.)

When you remove the jars from the canner, Remove the rings and wipe the jars clean. Listen for the tell-tale ping of each lid as it pops down and creates a seal that lets you know your food is safe. Any half jars should be stored in the refrigerator and used first, or else eaten right away as a taste test. Don't be alarmed at how mild it is - the flavors ripen with age and it gets a little thicker, too.

The Darby Diaries - The little things

Darby's been here for two weeks and one day and we have done a lot of training in that time. For the first ten days he was nervous and squirrely and I may have been nervous, too, but I hope I wasn't squirrely.

We are working on little things: standing still, for instance. Standing still out of my personal space. Keeping his nose and teeth off of me. Combing his mane and forelock (today I even combed his tail). Cutting his mane and bridle path with scissors. Being petted on his face without flinging it around and hitting me. Picking up his feet, standing tied, leading, stopping, backing.

When I feed in the morning I spend time cleaning the stalls while they eat. I want Darby to be used to me being around, even when he's eating. I don't want him to think he has to challenge me for his food so I make sure I'm constantly in the background while he eats. After breakfast, I close Buckles and Darby in the pen/barn, give them their hay,and leave.

I come back in a couple of hours with treats in my pockets and commence training - maybe I will tie him (using an old innertube around a post in his stall) and brush him all over and pick up his feet. It takes five to ten minutes and about sixteen treats. When he stands very nicely, facing forward, I click my tongue and give him a treat. He learns his lessons fast and is standing tied like an old pro.

I don't want to make it sound all peaches and cream, though, because sometimes he still swings his head around as if to bite me. When he bites at me, I roar at him (it comes out like a pirate AAAARRRRGGGG) and chase him out the back door of the stall. Hopefully, he'll rethink the whole biting thing because it's not working for him. Also, I am now walking comfortably around behind him; he no longer feels the need to protect his hind end from me.

In the afternoon I do another short training session - maybe a leading lesson around the pen. Then I pick out their stalls again and give them more hay before I leave.

In the evening, I feed again, pick out stalls, and then they get the best part of their day: turnout and grazing. They look so much alike, it's no wonder I fell in love with Darby when I first saw a picture of him. In this photo, Darby's up close and Buckles is in the background.


Another photo of Buckles at dusk. He has his go-go fly socks on because the flies really bother him.

It has been a productive, successful, and good two weeks.

Logan's 16th birthday

I look at this photo of Tim handing over the keys to Logan and I think, first of all, man, they are Good Looking. And then I think, parents are the most amazing creatures. Here is Tim handing over the keys, literally giving Logan his wings to fly away from us, when what we really want to do is keep him in our pocket where we know he'll always be safe.



How do you teach them to live really big lives when all your instincts scream, keep them close, keep them safe?


Stay safe, bright-eyed Snog. Live big.

My fambly

I'm posting this here just because I like it. And in case Luke ever gets homesick and needs to see a photo of his fambly. Wait. Luke? Homesick?

Luke, Logan, me, Tim

The Darby Diaries - The beginning

Here are photos of my future Olympic mount, Don Verde, whose barn name is Darby. He is a yearling Oldenburg colt, the first Premium colt out of the young stallion Don Principe.

Darby grazing behind our house.


Darby's lovely head.


Just off the trailer, still wearing his shipping boots. (I was playing Monday night volleyball when he arrived.)


Darby's first run in the pasture.


Speckles was turned out with Darby because he was being quite nice. (Buckles, not so much.)


Speckles kicking up his heels.


So much to tell. Speckles was good to Darby from the start but two days after Darby arrived, Speckles left to go back into reining training. As soon as Speck was gone, Buckles straightened up and decided a bratty yearling colt was a better friend than no friend at all. So things are calm again.

I've started working on basic ground stuff with Darby; he already leads well so we are adding stopping and backing. He has personal space issues that we are working on (not his personal space, mine.) Also, he does not want me to comb his forelock (bangs, according to my neighbor) so we are working on that. He would like to whack me with his big club head.

Overall, my impression after five days is that he is beautiful, smart, ornery, and more good-hearted than not (he has raised a hind leg at me as I tidied his stall while he was eating but he did not kick). I am pleased with my new boy and very excited about everything going on with the horses.

Speckles went to a new trainer who thinks he is the bomb; I think we'll be showing him in reining classes very soon. Plus, he was amazing with Darby. He's just a very, very, good boy.

Oh, the possibilities. I am so excited.

All About Luke

Luke graduated last Friday. I did not cry. (Tim did.)


To totally brag here, Luke was a National Merit Scholar Finalist which means he was in the top one percent in the United States. He was also an Ohio Regents Scholar which is awarded to one of the top 1000 seniors in Ohio. Between his academics and his piano scholarship, he's about got his four years of college paid for.

Now he's ready to burst into his new, adult life. He'll always be my baby, but he's ready.