Simple Pleasures

All you have to do is take a quick look around and you'll find so many reasons to be thankful.

I know that I do. I can become grumbly and dissatisfied so easily in this life. But, if I just slow down for a moment and take a breath, have a look around, I see that there are so many blessings in my life that I am very thankful for.



Harley is a huge blessing in my life. I love this guy. He loves me too. In fact, he carries me all over the mountainous trails every summer. Gotta be thankful for that.
And you see that white flowered tree in the background there - those will become this summer's sweet, succulent pears...a very sweet blessing. We just have to be quicker to get to them than the horses. They love them every bit as much as we do.


I'm thankful for how the light shines softly through these leaves here. And for how these trees provide a cooling blanket of shade for the horses and us in the summer's heat.

There's our little home. It's certainly nothing fancy, but it's where my hubby and I call home. It's warm in the winter and cool in the summer. See that deck off the back there...we've spent many relaxing evenings sitting there watching our horses graze in this little pasture. It never ceases to amaze me, just how much pleasure we derive from watching our herd. They are an endless source of amusement. We are thankful every single day for them. We are also thankful that we are fortunate enough to have a small piece of acreage in the country where our horses can live. And look, there's another pear tree. Sweet, juicy bartlett pears - scrumptuous!! The horses eat them until the juice squirts out from between their lips and runs out of their mouths in a sticky river of goo!

Harley is most thankful for the gift of sweet, delicious springtime grass - yummy!! Oh, and for horsey sunglasses too!!

We built our horse barn several years after we moved here. But before that, we relied on several old barns and outbuildings to house our horses and to store the winter's hay. We still use the old barns today for hay storage, bedding and our farm implements. They may be old and not so pretty, but we are still thankful to have them. They provide shelter for the barn cats too, along with a lot of barn swallows.

I have no idea what kind of flowering bush this is, but every spring it bursts forth with abundant color and much appreciated beauty.

Pansies and violas are one of my most favorite spring flowers. I think they are just beautiful. My mom used to think that they looked like little monkey's faces.

And here's our beloved Annie. I am very, very thankful for her. She's one of my nearest and dearest friends. Every single day she's at my side, wherever I may go. She's the best walking buddy a gal could ever wish for too!! I just can't imagine life without dogs. Annie's 5th birthday is coming up this week, on April 30th. Guess I should surprise her with a little something special for the occasion. Everybody loves surprises!

The ponies waiting for suppertime. It looks like Ladde enjoys his meals huh? He's getting a little round with all this lush spring grass. We'll take care of that before long. I have plans for their conditioning coming up real soon...

And here's Sally and her kittens...what would a farm be like without springtime kittens?

Our life is a simple one by many peoples' standards. And that's okay, generally we like to keep things pretty simple. Life and its' bountiful blessings are not to be found in a shopping mall, or in fancy pocessions. But instead, in the beauty of our surroundings and in the laughter of good friends and family. And, time spent with our animals and the people we love.

Life is good. Be thankful, and take the time to count your blessings...

Cingspots