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Sunday, November 28, 2010

For Willow

The Willows of Massachusetts
Animal willows of November
in pelt of gold enduring when all else
has let go all ornament
and stands naked in the cold.
Cold shine of sun on swamp water,
cold caress of slant beam on bough,
gray light on brown bark.
Willows -- last to relinquish a leaf,
curious, patient, lion-headed, tense
with energy, watching
the serene cold through a curtain
of tarnished strands.
--by Denise Levertov (From the collection, The Life Around Us: Selected Poems on Nature)

Monday, November 22, 2010

This is Huge

Huge is a four year old filly who has returned home after racing up north all summer. She'll be here for some well deserved rest and relaxation in the warm sunshine. Next month we'll have to determine if she will rejoin the race circuit or join the rest of the brood mares. We have made fast friends and I hope she stays.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Ira Hanford (1918-2009) onboard 1936 Kentucky Derby Winner Bold Venture

     By the time I  met Ira, he was already feeling poorly but still found the energy to take his wife Virginia out for a beer at our local watering hole. Although Virginia still stops by once in awhile you can't help but notice that Ira is not sitting there next to her.
     Ira would come alive whenever I would ask him about his life as a jockey. The last time we talked I asked him if he saw the movie Seabiscuit. Tilting back his baseball cap he said,  No, I didn't see the movie, I rode him though. At that moment I became fully aware of who I was having a beer with.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Heavy traffic on the ranch

                                                                           

Lissie: The Longest Road......Gitty Up!