My Kingdom For a Horse

It seems like my horse life and my writing life are always jogging each other at the elbow, trying to crowd the other one out.  Lately, my horse life has been winning.

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An older friend recently told me that I needed to start feeding Indy.  He's always been a skinny bone Jones,  so I just took it as part of his genetic makeup.  But the endless feeding swarm of mosquitos, flies, and other summer bugs, weren't helping anything.  I got him some of Purina's Strategy feed and it's been working quite well.  I go over to feed him every morning, and he's already putting on weight.  His eyes are much happier too.  I also gave him a dewormer which should help - I found out my stable guy only worms the horses twice a year.  Hmm.

Since our trail ride, in which all my prayers were answered, I have 100% of my confidence back.  First time since my accident a couple years ago.  I am fearless! Well, as much as is sensible... Indy and I lope all the time now, and it's as if my horse knows something has changed.  He's so much calmer, just as I am.  It's true that they sense your feelings.

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Also, two of my friends just got horses.  Remember Shelby? She bought a horse from the stable named Apache, who needs a lot of TLC.  But when that's over with, she'll have a good pal.  And you knew Whisper got a horse named Marquessa.  We hope to ride together next weekend.

quessa - look at her elegant head!

The last bit of news I will give you is that the two lovely ladies you will see below, Alpha and Red, have been sent off for breeding.  Know what means, right? There may soon be one or two foals at the stable.  How awesome!

alpha

red

Have any of you ever had / raised / trained a foal?


Love,

Ellyn


P.S.  Pray for Seaspear...

For the Glory of God

I am continually fascinated with the story of our nation and the careful work and bloody battles that went into its making.  The dedication and sacrifices that our founding fathers made are really amazing.  

This Independence Day, let's not forget America.  

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But more importantly, let's not forget why America began.


"Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia [...]" - From the Mayflower Compact


"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

- Patrick Henry

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Let's not forget why America is.




"The hand of providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations." - George Washington to Thomas Nelson Jr.


"We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come." - Samuel Adams

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Do me a favor today, will you? Spend a few minutes praying for America and her future.


"The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained." - George Washington 


"The time has come to turn to God and reassert our trust in Him for the healing of America….Our country is in need of and ready for a spiritual renewal." - Ronald Reagan

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Happy Independence Day.

Pixar Strikes Again

For all of you who love tasteful humor, suspense, and great animation....

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Pixar's newest film, complete with horses, a Scottish princess, and beautiful animated scenery.

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It's coming Summer of 2012, folks.  Click here to watch the trailer.


- Ellyn

Good as Gold (Better, Actually)

This is a post about the long-awaited "camping trip" - it turned into a trail ride, because my friend Kaylee had to work the day before the ride.  But as you will see, it was no less fun for that.

I spent Thursday afternoon preparing all my tack for the trail ride the next day, and on Friday afternoon, I went over to sponge and groom and spiffy up my horse.  I prayed like crazy as I worked, hoping that Indy would load well and get along with the other horses okay.  He would be trailered with my friend Kaylee's horse, Honee, and another mare named Sami.

God is always faithful.  Indy was good as gold.

indy in his awesome makeshift stall at kaylee's.  her little brother liked him :)

Saturday morning, early, we left for the trail ride.  It was a long trip, and I flinched every time the trailer went over a bump.  But there was no need to worry. Indy and Sami were loving it up inside, and Honee was calm as well.

Finally, we arrived.  

kaylee and honee, accompanied by a wonderful view

ditto the above caption!

The trail ride was supposed to start at 9, but we got there at 9:30 and no one was tacked up.  (There were only nine riders, sadly.)  But we had this lovely field behind our home base.

ze field

I've never raced Indy against another horse at full gallop before.  Never.  I didn't think he was competitive.  Was I wrong.

Kaylee's friend Anna, who I had met before, had her horse Shiloh there as well.  Anna and Shiloh are a wild pair who love to gallop, and she suggested a race.  No one was sure about that at first - we didn't know how the horses would react.  But then I grabbed the chance and said, sure, I would race.

Indy took off at full gallop when I nudged him and barreled down on the ever speedy Shiloh.  At a certain point, I leaned down over his neck and he shot off even faster, like he was determined to catch Shiloh.  Shiloh still won the race, but we were in second, and I was so proud and exhilarated that I couldn't wait to gallop again.

The trail itself was very stony and muddy, and Indy was not enjoying himself.  Therefore, I wasn't either, at first.  He almost scraped me against trees a couple times.  But then I realized something.  I was concentrating so hard that I wasn't breathing.

I started taking regular, slow breaths, and it was an instant change.  All of a sudden, Indy didn't try to lope through slippery mud, he just pranced or plodded.  After that, it was fun.  And finally, the trail group emerged on a high, grassy hill overlooking a beautiful view.  Sorry I don't have a photo - I couldn't risk my mom's Canon in the saddlebag.

kaylee and anna, tandem on shiloh

The last hours at camp were spent eating hobo dinners, lying around on bareback horses, and doing Redneck Barrels - using a manure pile and two buckets in your cloverleaf pattern.

I didn't want the day to end.  But it did, like all good things do on this earth.  But usually, I've found that when one good thing ends, another one is on the way.  Indy and I are off to search for it.

we're a team

*Thank you, Kaylee's family and mine, for making this work!!

The Inside of a Horse

Have you horse lovers ever heard that quote by Winston Churchill? "The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man"? There's no denying it's true.

But with therapy riding, you can almost switch things up and say that the inside of a horse is good for the outside of a man.  Or a kid.

remington on keebler

Besides getting self esteem and encouragement from being in a good environment, physically disabled kids get stronger and improve their balance and coordination on horseback.

jack on amigo

Sitting a horse's walk make your hips move the same way as if you were walking yourself.  But this way, there's not as much danger of falling.

At the therapy riding place where I volunteer, we go in teams of one horse, one rider, one leader, and, depending on the stability of the rider, zero to two side walkers.  

We do exercises with the kids like hands on helmet and arms "out like an airplane".  We weave cones and stop and start to increase balance.  There are flags, balls, and squishy rings to hold and throw, all in vivid, bright colors.

amelia on beauty

During each session, the therapy horses patiently carry riders on to peace and progress, physically and mentally.  Each week, both our riders and volunteers reap the rewards that come with the inside and outside of a horse.

Along with very sore limbs the next day.

- Ellyn

Worldbuilding Tips

Worldbuilding - what is it?

Building a world.  Duh.

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Usually, fantasy novels take place in a different country, land, or universe.  But what is the point of that if the country / land / universe is exactly the same as Earth? This is where authors can take advantage of a whole, new clean page and just....create.

Beware, though - it's not always a picnic.  What's involved in this worldbuilding thing?

Here is the 3S list that I made up.  The three s's are Setting, Sociality, and Structure.

Setting:
Terrain
Living quarters
Style of Architecture
Climate
Geography
Overall description of surroundings

Sociality:
People relationships (foreigners to natives, etc.)
People description
Accepted etiquette, ethics, and customs
Religion
Superstitions
Fashion
Language
Food
Education
Crime system
Waging war
Imports / Exports
Relations with other countries / planets / tribes
Magic

Structure:
Dating system
Keeping time
Years, months, weeks
Holidays

That's a lot, right? I know - but it's meant to get you thinking and blossoming out into categories of your own.  There are many creative ways to worldbuild - drawing maps, cooking up a gourmet meal typical in court, sewing clothes, testing fighting techniques live, whatever.
I myself don't like worldbuilding that much and tend to insert random pieces into my manuscript whenever I need it.  That's muffing Tip 1, below.

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Tip 1:  The writer should know more than the reader.
A writer I know loves building her world even more than she does writing her story.  She knows everything about her world, she has pictures of outfits, maps of cities, diagrams, you name it.

But do readers really want to get bogged down in all this while they are trying to follow the story? No.  That's why I believe the number one rule of worldbuilding is this - the writer should know a lot more about their world than they let slip to the reader.

Why is this? First of all, the more you know about something, the more confident you can be in writing about it, which means what you write will be pretty believable.  You won't sound shaky or unsure.  And if you happen to need extra details, you have them right there to snatch up.


Tip 2: Don't overbuild.

On the flip side, you don't want your worldbuilding to get in the way of writing your story.  Don't worry about the little details that don't add to what you're putting into your manuscript.  Act like you know them.  Your reader will believe you, and you'll be a lot more productive.

Worldbuilding can turn into procrastination.


Tip 3: Be realistic.

Even if your world may not hold to the laws of gravity, you can still make things realistic.  To help with this, try thinking of disadvantages of not having laws of gravity.  How do they get around these disadvantages? This will make your readers think, and make you look like you know what you're doing.

A friend of mine who created a world where it never stops raining.  She shared this in our Inkblots writing club, and another member said, "So...where does all this water go?"
That's a prime example of questions to think of when trying to be realistic.

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If you've got any questions or ideas for future writing tip posts, let me know in a comment.  I'd also love to hear about the world you may have created.

I hope this post about worldbuilding educated you and helped you somehow with your novel - I hope you also appreciate a bit more the power that fantasy authors have, as opposed to some others.  Heh, heh, heh.

Not that I'm biased or anything....


- Ellyn

Pretty Rocks and Water

About vacations.... it doesn't matter how far away you go, as long as it's somewhere you can relax.

the biggest, cleanest, and (i think) most sparkly great lake

And that's a good thing, because with a family of seven (eight, counting Grandma), it's hard to travel across the country whenever we need to get away.

my brothers and i aboard the "vista star", a tourist boat.  it was a cold ride, but a fast and a fun one.

This week, we took a road trip to Duluth - a city on Lake Superior.  This is the Boston and New York City of Minnesota, in my opinion, and you can't call yourself a true Minnesotan until you've paid it a visit.  This was my second time there.

the famous lift bridge

We only stayed for two nights, but we milked them for all they were worth.  Besides the trip on the Vista Star, we went indoor rock climbing (I enjoy these battles against my inner fear of heights), swimming at a waterpark hotel, and got malts at a malt shoppe on the boardwalk.

The second place at which we stayed serves s'mores every night.  Needless to say, those were much enjoyed.

my own brother wouldn't hold his marshmallow still, so this picture is of another kid's sugary treat.  i seem to adopt little brothers wherever i go.

remember what i said about 'most sparkly'?

The high on Thursday in Duluth was in the fifties, quite a drastic change from our hundreds at home on Tuesday.  The average water temperature of Lake Superior is 39 degrees fahrenheit.  So, no swimming.  But there were boulders heaped up along the coast near our hotel, so we climbed around on those.

Also, in the pebbly sand, we searched for sea glass.  A piece of sea glass is glass that has been worn away and tumbled in the water.  This pieces look a lot bigger than they actually are - don't be deceived.  That green one on the left is a little larger than my thumbnail.  

But we found a lot.  And if we found a piece of regular glass, we tossed it into the water to be sea-glass-ified, as was our duty as sea glass hunters.

Oh yeah - my family got to see this movie - one of my favorites in the entire world. 

Rapunzel: "Well...I do like ducklings!"

Flynn Rider: "Yay!"

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"Hey! Gimme back my guy!" - Rapunzel

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"Rapunzel, please, stop with the mumbling. You know how I feel about the mumbling. Blah blah blah blah, it's very annoying! I'm just teasing, you're adorable. I love you so much, darling." - Mother Gothel

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"Here's your pan, here's your frog." - Flynn Rider

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"BEST! DAY! EVEERRR!" - Rapunzel

After so much climbing and sailing and rock hunting and wave watching and huddling on boulders in fifty-degree weather, it was no surprise that our time of relaxation backfired into exhaustion.  

But I mean the good kind.

- Ellyn