it's 96....

Well, here it is again... the annual Firemen's Muster that is held in the old home town.. the third Saturday in August. For the department it's number 96... for me number 52... in a way, it's a silly, old fashion event.. but for me, extremely near and dear to my heart... and already, everyone is looking ahead to the 100th.

The parade as always was good, with a nice turn out of all kinds of fire trucks... from the antique to the ultra modern. Our little beetle had the honors of caring the "queen" (Miss Flame).....

and you could certainly hear all the sirens and air horns that accompany such pieces of equipment... often much too loud, but that's part of the fun.

Abbie has kept tradition, and riding for the first time this year on the trucks. She, by the way, is the fourth generation of this family to be a part of the festivities...... She told me later that " it was the best, Baby!!!"

I had Bogey with us this year. He did very well with all the noise and excitement. I'm beginning to also think of the muster as "which service dog did I have that year".....

good ol' "Protection 2".. I just love this old hand tub (as they are fondly called). Ed and I feel very proud to be the care takers of this fine piece. The "Red shirts" that own this piece are so happy that we enjoy taking care of it. She only makes this one appearance each year, but it's like bringing out an elegant lady to a grand ball.....

After the parade, it's onto the muster, where the firefighters compete in all sort of games. Bogey thought riding "topless" was pretty neat... actually all our service puppies have "gone topless" once or twice and all have enjoyed it....

So great to meet up with the people we have known (literally) all our lives. This is Bob, a very dear friend of the family... he knew Ed and I as children, and of course our girls, and now Miss Abbie.....

whom... later, got one of the best seats in the house. From her "perch" she had a bird's eye view of the entire muster....

However, the bouncy house was way more fun that sitting and watching the teams run. She spent the better part of the afternoon there... Bogey, I think would have loved to join her.

by the end of the afternoon, one little girl was beginning to run out of steam. Time to wrap it up.. go to Tee Tee's house for a nap to rest up for the evening's events...









Supper is cooking!!! In traditional style.. a "real" New England clambake...

 

The banquet is held at a local clambake. It comes with all the fixin's.. and it is very good....

Sadie and her dear friend Jenn....

this is certainly a night for taking lots of pictures and making lots of memories...

Our whole family was there for the lobster bake and celebrations. Here I am with my two sisters, Sadie and Abbie (Kass was off somewhere... and Naomi with a friend).. but for the most part, we were all together...

I was so hungry, I ate half the meal before I thought to get a photo... still though, there's lots to eat!!!!!











My Mom and Dad enjoying their meal...

Now, this is a picture worth a thousand words... this is my Dad, and Chuck... both these men have been members of the fire department and are still volunteering. Chuck received an award for 58 (!!!!) years of volunteering and my Dad for 56 (!!!!) years of volunteering... both are still very active in the fire company, and I dare say.. will hit the 60 year mark!!!!

A nice photo of the entire family... yup, it's safe to say that the firemen's muster is a real tradition in our family....

I wish you could have heard Abbie as I took this photo... she said to her Papa...


"This day was the best!!!"



I totally agree Ab!!!!

the start of fun things...

My run of fun events began last Wednesday evening with the graduation of another dog class. This particular class was great fun (well, they're all fun, but some a little more than others)... one being that there were six students (two missing in this photo)... who not only had some really neat breeds of dog, but also.. all the handlers were men. Usually it's the gals that seem to do the training and once in a bit, a guy will come threw with his dog.. but this class was just the menfolk. We had a really good time (they laughed at all my jokes) and their dogs did very well. So, congrats gentlemen... keep up the good work

We also had an "extra" service dog visiting during the week. Remember our little friend Vicki.. well, she is getting ready for her turn in, and before she goes, she needed to go out on a puppy swap. She went to Linda's for a few weeks, spent her time at Cabela's and then came to the farm. Bogey thought it was great to have another golden to play with.... Vicki did quite well on her "swap" and will be heading to advance training quite soon..  

Thursday afternoon my dear friend Linda, and her family, arrived from New York. They were in Maine for a family reunion, and decided to take a few extra day to come and visit with us. They stayed in the camp, so the kids could have some time at the lake, as well as on the farm. Ian was quite in love with Mocha.... 

Rachel had come a number of summers ago, and spent time with me and the horses. Since that summer she has gone to be quite a young lady and her love for horses has not changed. She was more than happy to pull each one of the boys out and do a proper grooming on them. Here she is showing younger brother Johnathan how to groom... he was very brave around the big guys as long as his sister was there.

Kaitlyn has also turned out to be quite the lover of horses... Silver certainly enjoyed all the attention that the girls gave him. (he just about fell asleep during his grooming session)....

Nice photo of two friends reunited. Silver was (is) such a great horse, and so many young kids had their first horse experiences with him. I'm glad Rachel got the chance to visit with him again.....

After a busy day around the farm and the lake, Linda and I thought it would be fun to take the kids down to the beach. Sadie, Abbie, Kass and Nate joined us.. and we just had fun letting the kids run and enjoy the time together.

Johnathan had been asked not to get too wet in the ocean.... hummmmmmm

Since they live "inland" the ocean is a real treat for these guys, so Linda "gave up" and just let them enjoy. The water was pretty cold, but I guess they didn't mind....

From the beach, we moved over to the playground. Nate challenged Abbie to a race on the slide......

and with Mom's help, she conquered the wiggly  walk way....

As did Johnathan.... the whole evening flew by, but it was a tired happy bunch of kids (and adults) that headed for home.... the neat thing... the weekend has just begun....

new arrivals...

About a month ago, a friend of our's came and asked if we might be able to find some room on the farm for her two horses. I won't go into detail, because it's private, but will say that she needed a spot where her horses were safe and she could easily see them. We made a "quick stall" under the eves of the barn and have been using the round pen as a enclosure for the time being. Since it was decided that the horses will be here for a bit, Denise went looking for a more "permanent" house for them.

She found a company who works with the Amish and ordered this sweet little barn for her horses. It has two stalls and a tack room (in the middle) and the building arrived yesterday. (On her birthday no less!!!). It was built in Pennsylvania and trucked up. I didn't know exactly what to expect, but was surprised to see it come like this. 

We had an area all cleared and a "pad" made of stone dust to set the building on. The gentleman who delivered it was pretty happy to see what we done (and said it was one of the easiest deliveries he has ever done). 

Once it was all lined up (girls... we are so picky about "where" it had to go...) He lifted the trailer and it began to gently slide off....

just as easy as could be... it was fun to watch and I was amazed....

He "unlocked" the doors, made sure everything was to plumb...

And there you have it... instant barn!!! Allie and Abbie were quite thrilled to be the first ones inside and checked it all out.

It's very nicely made... sliding windows in the stalls and tack room... all "barred" to protect from any chewing...











Very roomy.. ceilings have a good height to them...



Now dark skies won't be a worry any more!!!!!

And it looks so nice and really "adds" to  the farm. Denise now has the fun of "moving in" and getting settled. We have fencing to do - but even that is a fun project... and her horses will be free to go in and out, like our guys do....

And our "little" farm increases a bit more......we're going to have a good time together.....

wonderful weekends ahead

Having my coffee this am... looking over the rest of month on the calendar.. figuring "who is in and out of the kennel"... "what dog events are still on the books"... and basically how quickly the summer is coming to a close :(

Starting this week, we have company arriving... the fireman's muster in the old home town... afterwards, items will be heading to the local fair for "judging".. then the fair...

got some extra hours at the post.... NEADS check in coming up quick... Labor Day.....

whoa!!!!!

sad day :(

Yesterday was a very sad day here on the farm. Our little grey pony, Kringle, had to be put down.  Though these photos don't show it (I purposely hid that) he was very frail and was really beginning to show his age. I was in fear that "something" awful would happen, so before it came to that, I made "the" decision.

We only had him here on the farm for about two years. We kind of "rescued" him from a farm close by.. where he was always escaping and letting himself and two other horses out. His previous owner just wanted him to leave, so Sadie brought him here. We never really knew his age, other than "old".. but he was sweet and kind, and became Mocha's buddy.




They quickly became friends, and were together all the time. These pictures show how they were.... so, aside from us greatly missing his sweet spirit, Mocha will certainly miss her friend.  The "good" thing is, he went very peacefully, with the taste of apple and green grass in his mouth and loving hand petting him, the vet even commented that she would love to see all old horses "go that way"....and I will picture him galloping across wide green pastures in Heaven.......(and Abbie's request...."I want to  kiss him before he goes to Heaven"-- which she did)

Storyland.....

 We have been anxiously waiting for the time when Abbie was truly "old enough" to visit Storyland.. and last Sunday the day arrived. We invited our niece to join us, and just couldn't wait to take these two little gals. "Na" came to stay overnight, so the weekend stated with supper out and ice cream!!!!

Sunday morning we were up bright and early and on the road. Storyland is a wonderful little park in Glen, NH. It was built in the 1950's but they have done a very good job of keeping the old charm and staying up with the times. There's something for everyone!!!

Course, you must get your picture taken in the frame... I know there are photos of me and my sisters, and of course, our own girls, and now the next generation... (scary)

Abbie was pretty thrilled that she got to drive her Mom in the cars!!!!

And we tried to do every ride that the offer. Naomi loved this water ride... she laughed, screamed and giggled the whole way threw...

 Abbie, on the other hand, was less than thrilled, "I don't like this ride.. let's get off".. "let's no do that again"....

The flying Dutch shoes were another hit. And (didn't get photos) we all rode the roller coaster too. It's just big enough to thrill the adults (or thrill us) and yet small enough that Abbie could ride. She liked that one......

Abbie is a huge fan of Cinderella, and she was told that Cinderella "lives in Storyland in the summer and Disney in the winter".... so, when she finally got to see the pumpkin coach......that certainly made her day.

Course, my all time favorite.. the carousal. Now there's a ride that I could do over and over again.

The horses rock back and forth, so you get a double ride. The girls loved this one too... but with so many rides to do (and just a day to do them in) we hurried along. Some day, though, when I visit, I am going to have the family just leave me there for the day....

We had a wait a little to visit with Cinderella (she had a tea with some other guests).. but when the time finally came, both Abbie and Naomi were pretty excited. She even let them sit in her Princess chair!!!! Abbie said she will visit her in Disney too.....

Just as we were thinking about heading for home, the weather made the final decision. Dark clouds began to roll in...









But the timing couldn't have been better. We weren't even a few miles down the road, and this was the view in the back seat!!! Quiet children and pretty screney made for a nice ride home.. filled with many happy memories...