Sunday, December 27, 2009

Monday Pictures, Holiday Report

I am sorry it has been several days since the last blog update. As you can imagine we have been extra busy (in a good way!) the last few days. The horses don't celebrate any holidays, nor do they believe in sick days or personal time for their helpers, so we have to fit in our family time, family meals and general holiday festivities around the usual farm work. It did not leave any time for the computer! We had fun and enjoyed our family gatherings, and the horses never realized anything different was going on except to wonder why breakfast was early and dinner was late! On Christmas Day I got up extra early and did morning chores myself, then Jason did mid day chores himself and we did evening chores together. We did have a white Christmas on a technicality this year. It snowed for about five minutes on Christmas Day, although of course it didn't stick to the ground and it was over before it started. But it still snowed on Christmas!

Jason was supposed to fly to Canada on Saturday to visit his mom for a few days. Thanks to the latest attempt at an airplane bombing (that thankfully did not happen) his flight was cancelled, the Nashville to Toronto flight was cancelled again today, and tomorrow is not looking much better. The problem is that the Toronto airport is having to really step up security on flights entering the U.S., and this is causing massive delays in screening of both passengers and baggage at an already over crowded Toronto airport and the commuter flights are being cancelled. Air Canada runs a commuter flight from Toronto to Nashville, with a return flight from Nashville to Toronto each day. The problem is the plane is never making it here from Toronto, and it is hard to board a plane that isn't at the Nashville airport! Travel at the holidays is just grand isn't it?

I hope everyone had a nice holiday week and is looking forward to 2010!

Chili over the fence; Chili is a Quarter Horse who worked cattle and was also a trail riding partner.

Asterik is a Holsteiner who showed in both the jumpers and the hunters on the A circuit

Winston is a Thoroughbred and retired show hunter

Lily, Buffy and MyLight. I like this picture not because it is a good picture of the horses but because they were standing on a rise and you can see a different part of the farm in the background. Lily is a Quarter Horse/Warmblood cross and retired jumper. Buffy and MyLight are both Thoroughbreds. Buffy was a show hunter and MyLight is retired from dressage.

The Big Boys love to run and p lay. Thomas, Trigger and Levendi are in the front. In the background is Ivan, Homer and Apollo. Thomas is a Holsteiner, Trigger is an Appendix Quarter Horse and Levendi is an Oldenburg, Thomas is retired from dressage, Trigger and Levendi were both show hunters. Ivan is a Thoroughbred and retired jumper. Homer is an Irish bred and retired show hunter. Apollo is a Hanoverian and retired from dressage.


Thomas, Trigger and part of Levendi

Tony and Baby on the run. Tony is a Dutch Warmblood and Baby is a son of the well known hunter stallion Jupiter. Tony and Baby are both retired show hunters.

Trigger, Tony, Levendi, Thomas and Elfin. Elfin is a Thoroughbred and retired show hunter.

Trigger, Tony, Thomas, Levendi

Homer, Thomas, Levendi and Baby

4 comments:

Gal Wednesday said...

Depending on where his mom lives flying in to Buffalo might be an option, or if he can get a flight to chicago or new york he could then fly porter airlines into the toronto downtown airport which is much smaller and isn't having such extensive problems with security! Of course this doesn't help you with your exsisting ticket!

(says a travel agent working over time thanks to this latest issue)

Jason said...

Thanks to delays and yet more cancellations, I was able to get a full refund from Air Canada (!). I think I'll let this mess sort itself out and worry about making the trip in a couple of months. Mom lives between Oshawa and Peterborough, so Buffalo's kind of unhandy, but I think it'd still be less unhandy than Pearson right now !

Anonymous said...

Sorry Jason's travels were interrupted!

Nice to see pictures of horses not involving mud or snow!

Cate said...

Oh my gosh...every time I see a photo of Thomas, I fall a little more in love with him! What a hunk!!