From "You Suck!" to "You're Perfect!"

Happy Saturday friends!

I swear, sometimes you don't realize you've been mistreated by a doctor until you meet a really, really good one. I want to tell the world about my experience with Dr. Haque, a dermatologist in Cary, NC! I want more doctors like this!

I'm 56, I was raised in southern California in the 1970s and 80s. The only sunscreen available was straight zinc and it was a mess. It didn't get applied very often. I was born a strawberry blonde that faded to blonde, thus my nose was in a constant state of peeling in the summer as a kid. 

To all the crappy doctors that have shamed me about that, you suck. 

To all the crappy doctors who have told me at every visit, "You have an extremely high risk for melanoma," also, you suck. You think I don't know that?!

To all the crappy doctors who insist I buy their line of full-of-chemicals sunscreen to slather on my ultra sensitive body and who have told me that it's the only way to keep from dying...you suck!

Anyway, Dr. Haque was a kind, grace-giving human who didn't try to scare me to death or sell me anything. She froze three spots on my face, biopsied a spot on my arm and I'll see her in two months to make sure my freezie spots are okay. 

When I told her that I wear long sleeves, a huge hat, gloves, and stay under an umbrella if I'm out in the sun gardening, she said, "Perfect! That's a great way to protect your skin!"

Past doctors have always said that it wasn't enough, I needed chemical sunscreen as well. Suuuuuuck.

Check her out here!

THE RANCH:

Not only are the orange day lilies at the pond blooming for the first time ever:

But I found a yellow one too:

Sunset behind the barns:

I can't get enough of them:

I made the "mistake" of posting a pic of a butterfly on a, gasp! butterfly bush on Nextdoor and the "natives police" descended lol. Yes, natives are great and I do, and will continue to, plant them! But when I went to Logan's Garden Shop in Raleigh a few weeks ago to spend Mother's Day money, I stopped to look at the butterfly bushes. I love them (the horror) and Mom liked them to so I was thinking of her while I was looking. I often take her spirit with me while I shop because she was the shopping queen and still likes to go :-). He told me that the variety I was looking at were sterile so they wouldn't spread over the kingdom. Perfect. I bought two and I had a third to go with them. 

I know, I know, the critters can only feed from them—they don't lay eggs or eat from them but never fear, I also have echinacea, black eyed susans, bee balm, agastache, rudbeckia, elderberry, American holly, native ferns and a million native weeds that make up for my hideous lack in judgement ;-) 

The goal I'm working toward is a pollinator garden in the whole front area between the secondary driveway to the lower pasture and the pond (the area behind Sweetness):

It's about a third of an acre and I have such big plans for it! I will keep a little circle of grass in the center and maybe eventually grass paths between beds (this is Brad's wish) or maybe some low growing native would be even better! So much fun to dream and plan and know that I'm finally well enough to make it happen.

Eastern Bumblebee in a pumpkin blossom:

On Father's Day Sunday, we were all walking around the yard and I was showing Dad and Delores what had changed since they had been here last. I let Sweetness loose to graze with us and then suddenly he decided to go against the "terms and conditions" set by the staff. He's not allowed to go beyond the driveway! I had a whole discussion with him about it, reiterated the rules and that they were for safety, told him he needed to come back and be trustworthy, so, he did:

Right through my new bed but whatever 🙄

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Remember how I said a while back that Blu was having issues with being haltered and wasn't allowing it? He figured out what time of day the trimmer came (every 10 weeks) and wasn't letting us halter him for that (even when we went out before the guy came, he still knew, really shouldn't surprise me) and that just snowballed into not letting us halter him at all. So, we have been allowing natural consequences like just leaving him in the pasture alone until he comes to his senses and allows us to put the halter on. Poor little guy, just gets freaked sometimes. He had quite a story before us :-( So, this week when the trimmer was coming to do the donkeys, I haltered everyone and had them loosely tied in the shade of the coaching barn. I hope it was a good lesson, sometimes the trimmer comes and he never even touches Blu!

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I finally saw my first spotty babies!

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The itty bittiest frog (Brad's finger for reference):

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The Duchess of Cashmere is sooooo itchy! I didn't realize how much she was leaning toward me until Brad showed me the pic:

She's so funny, she walks up to the ponies all the time and aligns her body parallel to them and starts nibbling on their withers in hopes that they will return the favor. And now that she knows that I will scratch her, she walks slowly by me, giving me side eye, telling me to get scratching!

Once one goes down for a roll:

They all start dropping:

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MEMORIES

This week marked the two year anniversary of being without my girl Rayn:

I miss her so much. She taught me to communicate with animals. Because of her I started the coaching program that led me to all that I do today. Here is a great birthday post about her💜

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Dad brought me a bag of old photographs! Aunt Katy and me on the left, my younger brother (see? I told you we weren't twins lol) and also that sweater looks soooo itchy, and Mom on the right. Early 1980s:

Mom looking like she's on a hiking photoshoot for LL Bean:

One of the best things about Mom was that there was NEVER a doubt about how she felt about us:

HOW TO WORK WITH ME

Equine Partnered Coaching! With horses, without horses, in-person, or online, your choice. 

Neurofeedback Train your brain to calm and ease. The most common response I hear about neurofeedback is, "I'm so much less reactive in my life!" It really does smooth out the sharp spikes. Super helpful if your world feels harsh and spiky right now. 

Reiki Another way to facilitate relaxation, calm, healing. If the weather is nice, you can choose inside, outside, or outside in the herd!

And of course Women's Circles! 👈🏽This whole section is just a mess right now, outdated. Contact me if you want to talk about Women's Circles!

Wednesday Women's Circle has a waiting list, I will add you to it if you'd like. Newer people do indeed get in occasionally, as sometimes the people higher on the list end up with upcoming vacations, too busy at work, or just life is life-ing stuff. 

Tuesday Women's Circle, runs 11am—1pm, Aug 4—Sept 8, the 6 weeks is $210, contact me if you're interested!

Monday online art class via Zoom. Ongoing, every Monday, 7:30-9pmET. $35 There isn't a link about this one but you can contact me for the supply list and link here. I teach you something fun in watercolor or mixed media. It's a low key, jammies kind of class. Right now it's small so you get more one on one instruction if you want it. Last week we painted this:

This next week, Monday, 6/29, we'll be playing with chickens! As long as you can make two circles for eyes, a triangle for a beak, and a fluffy red comb, pretty much anything will read "chicken". Proof here:

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Hope you all have a great week!

Thank you for reading :-)

All of my art and writing is made with human intelligence!

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