Nobody Told the Ponies What to Do (They Did It Anyway)

Happy Saturday friends!

I have missed this magic:

I used to do energy work with clients and the herd back in Colorado but this is new here with this herd and boy were they into it! (This pic is used with her permission :-)) I figured it would be the donkeys and they were there but the ponies did the majority of the work, moving energy around and removing blocks as they saw fit.

Horses and donkeys are incredibly sensitive to energy, and what I've found is that they naturally gravitate toward areas in the client's body where there's energetic "congestion" or something that needs attention. They aren't trained to do this, they just do it on their own. They are also not haltered, or in an enclosed area. We are in an open air barn in the lower pasture and the herd can come and go as they please, engage or not, as they wish.

In a session I move through the whole body, but once the horses finish in a focused area, I move there next and spend extra time. Sometimes the client and I speak about what's going on in their life that relates, energetically, to that area. There is always something. 

If you're curious about Reiki for yourself (with or without animals), text, email, or call me to ask questions or set up an appointment.

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UPCOMING EVENTS:

Saturday, May 30th, 5-7pm, gentle flow yoga on the front lawn of The Mother Ranch, with time for reflecting, meditation, and journaling. 

Get your tickets here!  (Please purchase your tickets through the link. I'm not able to reserve your spot separately.)

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Sunday, June 7th, 5:30—7pm, Sunset Sound Bath on the Farm!

Join in for a peaceful evening of gentle and joyful movement, immersive sound healing, sunset skies, and connection with the animals. Held here on the front lawn at the ranch. Emily will be your facilitator and then I'll come join at the end to take the group down to visit the herd.

Find out all the details here! (Please purchase your tickets through the link. I'm not able to reserve your spot separately.)

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MONDAY ONLINE ART CLASS:

A fun and easy strawberry sprig pattern for Monday's watercolor class! This is a "no drawing" class, we just jump in with red watercolor and start off with heart shapes and then round off the bottom. There's a lot of imperfection in this one and that's what makes it fun. Monday, May 25, 7:30-9pm EST via Zoom, $35. Shoot me an email or text to sign up!

I read this little blurb from Lynn Hardin on Substack: "I met a woman in Paris who was widowed for nine years. When she sat down to work in her journal she spilled her coffee across the two pages. Not happy about the event she decided to work within the stain and began to draw simple lines. Afterward she was quiet for a long time. Then she said, 'I forgot I was still in here."

That's it. That's the whole reason. Not to make good art. To remember we're still in there."

OTHER WAYS 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! The Wednesday circle has a waiting list, I will add you to it if you'd like.

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THE RANCH:

Parsley turned two on Monday! Were you around during her birth? Wanna see? Click here to watch Parsley being born, she was the first. Look at Dancer's belly, still two more babies inside!

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My pumpkin patch has already started creating tiny pumpkins! One of the best things to grow when a) you have goats that love them and b) a herd of 12+ deer that call your farm home. Those prickly, hairy leaves and stems aren't attractive to deer:

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OMGaaawwwwd. The ponies were trimmed on Monday and it's really turning into a circus to get Blu haltered for it. Who knows what happened to him before he came to us, back when he was in that scary situation. And ever since Monday, he is really acting up when we need to halter him. Like Friday evening when we needed to move them back to the lower pasture because it's supposed to rain and they needed to go where there is shelter. He ran away from Brad and then Tori of course thought something was scary so she followed and it was just no fun at all for any of us. Thinking about what to do to fix this, what training is needed... Here he is tied to the fence because he will rear if he thinks he can get away with it:

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I was in my studio painting when movement caught my eye outside—a mockingbird was jumping up and down, hovering...and then pouncing and pecking! I thought maybe it was going after a mole or something. The attack continued so I finally stood up to see, it was a snake! | called Brad and we raced outside to see what was
happening—found this guy under a beautyberry bush, hiding from the bird.

Eventually it took off for another nearby bush and boy was it quick—l've never seen a snake move so fast! This one is not the norm around here and I've seen it twice now.
Introducing our plain-bellied water snake! Non-venomous, eats mostly fish and frogs and is very welcome here:

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In the Wednesday Women's Circle this week:

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Brad finished the arbor! Roses going in this weekend (along with deer fencing for protection), despite the 5" of rain we are supposed to get. At least it will be cool :-) I'm seeing some adirondack chairs there, don't you think? A nice place with a pond view for those who want coaching outside but no animals! Eventually the roses will cover the entire structure:

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My trip to Pittsburgh was fun as always. Princess Penelope has finally settled into a routine at their house. Part of that routine is getting her own Wendy's hamburger on the weekend:

Of course she can't eat all of that, she only weights six pounds!

A little kiss for her auntie:

And for those that are worried that she's loose on her little perch and could fly through the window in an accident, she has a special harness that is attached in the back. Of course. She is a princess after all.

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She survived and is back to thriving:

This is my heirloom African Violet. She was my maternal grandmother's, then my mom's, and now mine. When I measured her in 2024, she was 22" across leaf tip to leaf tip. Then we had the house fire in January 2025. Once we could get back inside a few hours later, we masked up, packed up important things, took all of the houseplants and put them in a back closet as far away from the room the fire had started in (and the horrible smell of smoke that had permeated the entire house). Most of them fared just fine. I only lost one. But this African Violet lost 8" and then she slowed her growth way down and I wondered if she was stunted. But no, a year and a half later, she's gained back 4 inches and is now 18" across and is blooming beautifully. Incredible.

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We are still in a drought here in North Carolina but are on the cusp of 5" of rain across 9 days. Such a happy sight:

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Was walking in from a visit with the horses late Wednesday night when I saw this pretty little daisy:

MEMORIES:

Do you remember the early days of The Mother Ranch in NC? I just stumbled across a few pics that made me smile, back when I hosted a whole set of Fairy House Workshops. This was my first, so sweet and beautiful:

I still see several of these women even now, three years later!💜 And do you see sweet Tessa the Polar Bear on the right side? Miss her so!

Those were really fun to make!

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My dad and ManChild playing Gun Fight at the OK Corral:

He was a TALL three year old! 💜 My Dad would say, "Ok you lily livered, yellow bellied...DRAW!" and the water would fly amidst giggling, shrieking, and running. Then they would refill from the pool and ManChild (who couldn't say his "Ls" or his "Rs" would say, "Ok you yiyi yivuud, yeyyow beyyied...DWAW!" and they'd go at it again! I just figured out the dates, this was taken on Dad's 66th birthday, he was a year younger than Brad is now. OMG!

Speaking of Brad, on Union Reservoir, Longmont, CO:

Goodness, I'm in a rambling mood tonight. I will wrap this up and go to bed!

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Hope you all have a great week!

Thank you for reading :-)

This is an AI-free newsletter! While I love to use AI to help me figure out a piece of software I don't understand, my intention is to use it to help me with the drudgery, never with writing, art, creation. All em dashes are intentional and mine, I was using them way before ChatGPT was a twinkle in Sam Altman's eye :-) 

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