Season's Greetings

Forgive me. This is late.

Merry Christmas to all of you.

I just want to say a big thank you to all of you who read my ramblings, of which I have not been very good at these days.I will work on it, I promise. But you should all know. There are many days that just seeing your responses makes my day, just knowing that some of you read what I actually write. It's hard to believe but I am very grateful. Writing this blog allows me to connect to others in this large world that I wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to do.. so thank you.

Since I was late for Christmas, I may as well be early for the next holiday.

Happy New Year !!

I know, I know, 2011 isn’t quite here yet but I am really looking forward to a new start. Heaven knows I need one.

2010 was one of the roughest years I can recall. It was a year of many stressors. It had a few high spots like completing Maggie’s first limited distance but overall, 2010 was a year of big challenges for me. Everything from health issues with family and friends, divorces, deaths, injured horses, expensive vehicle repairs and just when I thought I had reached a point where the year's misgivings couldn't possibly get any more difficult, it did just that.

I found myself faced with having to say goodbye to my best friend of over 12 years, my dog Munci. On December 23rd I had to make the devastating decision to say goodbye to Munci. He had developed cancer and by the time we saw any symptoms, the cancer had metastasized into his lungs. There was nothing we could do except keep him as comfortable as possible, give him lots of love, pray for a miracle and wait. Prayers are often answered in ways that you don’t always understand. My prayer was for Munci to make a miraculous recovery so we could have more time but most of all, my prayer for him was not to suffer. I didn’t get the first part of that prayer answered but the second part was. It was only a period of 5 days from the time we learned of the cancer before Munci and I had to part our ways. It will take some time to adjust to the silence that remains after a dog is no longer there in your home anymore.








Looking back at 2010 , I have to believe there is some other force out there that explains why so many difficult times ensued in 2010 for me. Maybe 2011, I get a clean slate. Atleast that is what I am hoping for.

Usually this time of year, I begin putting together a plan for training and conditioning for endurance, getting ready for at least one ride. Unfortunately, Hooves and Company, the local distance riders group I am part of, won’t be putting on a local ride like they (we) normally would. That means that I won't have access to a local ride in 2011. That really stinks butat this point, I am not going to stress about it.

Instead, my plan is pretty simple… just ride, as often as I can, as long as I can. JB will need many hours of rebuilding, mentally and physically. Maggie just needs many hours period. If a ride works out that I can attend, great, even if I have to travel. If not, I can still ride and log miles. I am planning a few weekend horse camping trips with friends. I am just looking forward to a summer of good times spent with good friends and good horses.

There are other things in store for 2011 at Acer Farms as well.

Stay tuned and once again, thank you for reads Barbs Etc.