Celebrating Corn and the County Fair

Yee Ha!Today is the annual Corn Festival here in Swantucky. There will be a parade featuring corn. Then there will be games and booths and food featuring corn. There will be beer which has little to do with corn but in Swantucky, there is always beer. According to the weather man there will be rain which will make the corn grow but would suck if there wasn't beer. We take our corn seriously here people so come on over and grab a beer.

Our county Fair is in a week and a half and it is a huge deal. Its one of the biggest in Ohio and if you want to haul your camper out there to camp, you have to call on April 1st to reserve a site and if you are fortunate enough to get one, you NEVER give it up. We dont camp often so in our woods is a 1972 camper that sleeps six. We haul that baby out once a year and clean it up and take it to our site and set it up. One year we took a large refrigerator and we had a storm that actually blew the fridge over and tore the screened room we keep there. We spend each night going from campsite to campsite visiting with whomever is making a hobo dinner that night. A hobo dinner consists of sausage, potatoes, cabbage and you guessed it, corn. This has been our Fair routine every year now for 16 years and we are proud to say that our little camper is the ugliest one on the entire campgrounds. Dont knock it, its a Swantucky thing. We used to haul several horses up there back when we showed horses and were 4H advisors but now with our busy lives, we are lucky if we get to actually sleep out there one night. It's still nice to go out in the evenings and drink margueritas and watch the horse shows. As I said, no matter what, NEVER give up your campsite. NEVER!

One year, I had pneumonia and ended up in the emergency room at 4 am and the hospital wanted to admit me but alas we checked me out and went back to the fairgrounds because we had kids showing their horses in a couple hours. We showed up only to be yelled at by the kids parents because we were 20 minutes late. Bear had open heart surgery but his priority was Jen and I going out and setting up our campsite so we wouldn't lose it and go back on the waiting list. We did it for him and after we did, Jen ended up in the hospital and I had to take it all down by myself. It always rains, most often storms, always turns cold after days of seering heat with no shade, people are always stressed and nasty by the third or fourth day and bitchy, but there is the food and the rides and the corn and most of all the tradition that makes us return year after year to the same campsite and take it all in.

So here in Swatucky, we take our Fair seriously. We take our corn seriously and we take our beer and margueritas seriously and if you live here, the one thing you honor is tradition. Time to pull the little camper that sleeps six uncomfortably out of the woods and clean her up. Oh yeah, did I mention that the license plate on it is from 1982? It isn't ours either. I think the person it was originally registered to is dead now. Ahhhh, life in Swantucky! As usual, we will be enjoying the scenic route of the back roads hauling out to Fair. Rednecks who celebrate corn do NOT mess with tradition! You, fellow Swantuckians are the view from the back of my horse today. Rock on!!!

Blessings
Tena

Mama said there'd be days like this

Yesterday shall go down in the record books as one of the suckiest days but that was yesterday and I woke up this morning to a new one. YEAH! I try not to hold on to those bad ones for very long. If I do, I lose sight of the next day which could be a better one all together. Mama said there would be days like this as the song goes but she also said that if I kissed a boy, I would go blind so I cant believe everything she says.

I entertained myself by going to walmart last night and buying the neighbors baby black pajamas with glow in the dark bones on it. Like a skeleton. Best $3 I ever spent. Kids don't usually care what clothes you put on them unless it glows in the dark and then BAM! They are suddenly interested. He is seven months old, sitting up on his own and has no teeth yet but the dude is a great judge of what is interesting and skeleton jammies totally rock the house! Made me wish I had a pair to fit me.

So looking ahead... our mini aussie Sadie is due to have puppies in two weeks and she is huge! I love puppies. The only thing that would make them any cuter is , you guessed it, skeleton pajamas! Sadie now sprawls out on her belly with all four legs spread out beside her and last night, she did this in our bed and would not move. She had me pinned in one position for the entire night. It was storming so our bed is the most popular place in the house. With five dogs, I have to make reservations ahead of time to find a spot to sleep. Life is good!

Twitter is rocking and I havent been able to join in for a while so since it is going to be a rainy day, time to tweet, my friends. Then of course there is the Carnival Games by WII. Need I say more? It's like being at Fair. So the view from the back of my horse today is being kind to myself, screwing around and accomplishing nothing! I feel I owe it to myself and if I had them, I would spend the day in my skeleton jammies and glow in the dark. Have a good day everyone and mama...there may be days like that but today is not one of them.

Blessings
Tena

The Best advice

The best advice I have ever recieved is a simple one word that we should do by reflex and yet when things get really hectic, we sometimes forget. I called a friend one day when things were reallyu bad and she listened and then said that one word that I still remind myself of every day when I wake up feeling like that 600 lb weight is on my chest...BREATHE!

My life for almost five years now has been balancing on the edge of my worst fear which is losing my hubby. We still visit the emergency room, live our lives by the way he feels on any given day and get frightened at the possibilities. Recently his left arm has been going numb, he has been feeling nauscous and is tired all the time. Breathe!

He looks pale and his hair is going grey like overnight...breathe. Good advice. It really is but even the best advice is sometimes not enough to stop living in fear of losing him. I am only half of who I am without him and when I look at him, I am reminded of that and the fact that he is not the same as he was and never again will be. But back to the best advice...

The best advice in the world is not going to chenge you unless you genuinely feel it inside yourself. To hear someone say it to you is reassuring for a while but I can tell you that at 4 am when you lie there in the darkness and the scarey thoughts consume you, it is difficult to hear the reassurance and to hear the posisivity and it is difficult to breathe.

Maybe a post it on the headboard would help. Maybe a recording that I could play for myself and maybe just to wake one morning and look at him and know he isnt struggling through all the things we take for granted. Maybe all this would help, I dont know. I live in the moment and in this moment, I am frightened. So the view from the back of my horse is the best advice I have ever gotten and I pass it on to you. No matter how bad it seems, it could be worst and no matter how bad it actually gets, we have to remind each other and ourselves... to breathe.
Blessings
Tena

As summer draws to an end

What?! Did I really just say that?! Summer drawing to an end. I think I did and I am sorry but it is what it is and there aint notta thing we can do about it. This is where I say "but heres the good news" but there aint no good news really. Oh wait, thought of one...hurricane season. Thats right, hurricane season. See my friend Emily Jo taught me a new game.

Jim Cantone I think his name is, maybe Bill but I think it's Jim. I did get the Cantone part right however is a weather man who says "Hunker down!" Now I say that all the time but when HE says it, do a shot! So Hurricane Bill is building strength and when he does, ya'all better HUNKER DOWN. SHOT! Sweet!

Sweet as in short and sweet for todays blog. The view from the back of my horse is most definately Jim (or Bill) Cantone from the weather channel. Ya'all hunker down now and keep those shots coming!
P.S. I miss summer. :( I vow to everyone to wear my flip flops till the first four inches of snow falls on the ground!) That is me being rebellious. Im gonna hunker down no matter how cold my feet get and just deal. Maybe with a shot or two of that delicious Firefly vodka sweet tea! SWEET!

Blessings
Tena

Talent, Telephones and Talking with new friends

Talent... Remember this name people...Emily Jo Peak because she is one of the most talented photographers I have had the pleasure to meet and is just now starting to shoot professionally. In my line of work, I see a lot of photography but hers has that "it" factor and I have to do a project with her. She rocks and any magazine who doesn't contact her and use her is not thinking clearly.

Telephones... In November, I renewed my service with Verizon and used my renewal to get hubby a new phone after he washed his in the washing machine...oops! I was told that his would renew in August and I could get my new pink Blackberry that I so badly want. Yesterday I finally turn my calender to August and there is the note I made myself to call Verizon. Ironically, my env has been acting crazy so I took the time to call. They said when I renewed mine, they changed the date of hubbys renewal and blah blah blah, I cant get my new pink Blackberry!Now what I want to know is why a new person who may or may not pay their bill on time as I do or may or may not be a good loyal customer for as many years as I have been can have the damn phone but I can't. Loyalty is priceless and I pay a LOT of money for our three phones every month and unless I pay full price for my phone, I can't actually use their service when my EnV finally dies. I don't pay full price for anything! Pink is my signature color and Verizon... you suck.

Talking with new friends... I was invited to go to a friends barn and meet some people from Texas that share a few mutual friends with me and it was really busy here but we decided to take a break and catch the end of this persons clinic and chat for a while. Brent Graef and his wife Kris are especially nice people who all of you should get to know. At the very least, sign up for Brent's clinic if he is in your area. You will love it. o the view from the back of my horse is Clinician Brent Graef and his wife Kris, welcome to Ohio, again. It was very nice to meet you both. From the back of my horse, I can also see the vast open space of Verizon's millions of new customers who are loving their pink blackberries while I answer my EnV that is gauranteed to drop your call if I can dial it at all because the battery wont hold a charge and the talent of Emily Jo who is easily found on Twitter and FB. Happy trails to all of you

Blessings
Tena

Oklahoma

Well I just got back from a little town in Oklahoma called Burns Flat. I am not sure how many people live there because I only saw a few but it is near Cordell and quite a drive from the airport in Oklahoma City. I woke every morning to sit on the front porch and watch the cow babies and the horses play in the vast pasture that is their yard. I am sure they didnt know what to think of me walking out every morning and yelling "COW BABIES!"

I drank Firefly vodka sweet tea with my friend Holly and went fishing at the junction with the water moccasins and Holly's family. Oooo, maybe I should have mentioned the people before the snakes? Oh well, they know I love them. Did I mention the firefly vodka? I dented my head crawling into Holly's truck. Played with the horses, got mauled by cattle when the trigger to the automatic feeder on the truck broke while out in the pasture. We ate awesome Mexican food and took lots of photos for an article I am working on. Loved the red dirt and blue sky and 1000 degree temps!

My job may not pay much, being a writer but I can tell you it makes up for it in spades when I get the opportunity to call this work at all. The view from the back of my horse is my buddy Holly Clanahan and her hubby Chad and their many, many acres of animals. Had a great time, my friend. Thanks for the AQHA bling. Thanks for the friendship, the Firefly and oh yeah, the big dent in my head! Love ya

Blessings
Tena

Fish, Friends and Finishing What I Started

Some days, the world seems to be moving way too fast for me to keep up with it. When this happens, I just shut out the world and go spend time with my ole pal, Hootie. I've been sneaking more and more time with this horse and his mother, Cher and their friend the paint, Nova. At our farm, that is the most quiet, least demanding area and aside from a flake of hay and a full water bucket, they don't really ask anything of me. Beau, our stallion is cool too but when I walk out the back door, which I do quite often throughout the day, he calls to me to come and spray him with fly spray. He is obsessed with the ritual and I can be in the house ten minutes and walk back out the door andf he lines up at the fence and whimpers for me to pick up that fly spray. I spray him and he actually turns around for me to hit the other side. Then he is happy until I walk out the back door again.

As a writer, I have an editor. She (or he) edits everything I say so that it looks more intellegant on the written page. This way, I seem more insightful and more educated and well... just more. I am really grateful for editors. I have decided that I need one to edit my life. The decisions I make, the people I allow close to me, how I spend my time. I need a life editor to keep me focused on getting things done such as articles and this blog, the childrens books that I write for every child born to someone close to me. I need an editor who tells me when I have been on twitter too long and to tell me to RUN when I meet someone who is later going to cause me grief. To stop me when I am about to say something stupid and most of all to cover my butt when I need to go spend time with the horses. She could take my cell phone and my email and the kennel phone and just edit my life while I play. Anyone want to sign up for this position, the pay sucks, the hours are brutal but I promise you will never get bored as there is always something that needs to be done.

So moving on... FISH. We built a garden with a little pond just outside my office window so I would have a quiet place to go when I wasn't busy. First of all there is not one place or one moment anymore that is not busy or quiet now that the dog kennel is in full swing and the phone is always ringing and people are coming and going but it's pretty and I can hear the water bubbling as I write and that is really relaxing. Soooo we bought fish for the pond. How fun! Bear put a big bucket with holes in it so they could get out of the sun and plants and ledges for the tadpoles to climb out when they grow legs and turn into bullfrogs. One morning I go out there to find they are missing. Not floating, not sucked into the filter, just gone. After a long discussion as to where they might have gone, we go and buy more fish but this time, we are going to watch more closely to see if we can figure it out. The pond is a long way from the barn and it is nestled in a garden with a fence around it. I've seen birds land and drink from it or eat the seed I leave for them nearby but no raccoons or predators have ever been seen nearby. Then one day I walk out to find the orange barn cat, Redford sitting on the shale rock on the bucket, the little island of the pond with his arm all the way up to his shoulder submersed in the water fishing. REDFORD! I yell and I startled him, he lost his balance and fell into the water. Mystery solved. The damn cat has been fishing in my pond. Expensive meal for a barn cat.

FRIENDS... friends can sometimes be like that damn cat. You feed them with kindness, you open your door to them and what do they do? They eat your fish! Someone should invent a friend filter that warns you of which friends are going to be good ones and which ones are well, just psychotic. My life editor certainly would have warned me about this one. A year ago I met a woman who wanted a horse. Now don't get me wrong, I have some really good friends both old and new that I thoroughly enjoy but then there are ones such as... we shall call her ...ummmm Worm. For no particular reason aside from the fact that she wormed her way into my life and then ate my fish. Worm wanted a horse. I had two we werent using so they moved in to her barn. We made her wait a month before we gave her the horses so we would be sure she wouldnt change her mind because that is a big decision. The month passed, the horses moved, she also had two donkeys. Then three weeks to the day I recieve a call that she wants to get rid of everyone and everything and I needed to come get them because she was depressed and just wanted them gone. She wasnt a horse person and she had gone off her meds and was falling apart. So I did what any friend would do and helped her find a place for all four animals. The donkeys went to Ernies and the horses went to another lady around the corner. I couldn't bring them back here because I had taken the opportunity to strip the fencing in that pasture and rebuild it. Hootie and his crew were in the other pasture. She appologized up one end and down the other and I let it go, encouraged her to go back on her meds and she vowed she would NEVER change her mind. She showed up at my house and gave me a pretty little saddle and bridle and various tack to thank me for helping her. Nice!

Then the other day, almost a year to the date and completely out of the blue, she called to say "remember that saddle and bridle I LOANED you?" "Well I bought more horses and need it back." I said WHATTT??? My first thought was this woman was not a horse person by any definition, she gave me the saddle for helping her get through a really tough time, I had four saddles so I would not have borrowed one from her and oh my gosh, she is off her meds again. I recounted the events that had transpired the year before and toldher that the saddle had been passed on to someone who neeeded one and I wasnt sure if I even had the bridle anymore but would look when I had some time. The following morning she called to say she was going to come over and help look for the bridle. I had 14 dogs all together and was packing to go to Oklahoma and was really busy. She would not actually get the new victims, I mean horses for a month so there was no rush, right? No. I went out and dug through twelve boxes of tack and could not find THE bridle. I called and told her that I would just pay for the saddle and bridle but couldn't find it and didn't have any more time to look. She declined and this was followed by about six more phone messages about how she wanted to continue to be my friend, not to be mad at her, she doesn't really remember what she said because she was not right at the time. All of which I simply ignored and went about my busy day. At some point in the conversations, she told me that she had also been calling Ernie to get her donkeys back a year later. I bet he is feeling about as angry as I am at the moment but am afraid to call him. Sooo heres to a friend filter that filters out indian givers, people who dial my digits way too often and people who can't decide what they want in life. Saddle gone, bridle gone, horses gone, donkeys gone and a year gone by. Move on.

Long winded I know but now finishing what I started... I am headed to Oklahoma this week to write an article for a fairly new magazine who hired me to write two articles. One, I already sent in. The second article is about a wonderful man who recently passed away, a cattle man and the father of a friend. My reservations and research were set about three weeks ago. and I am due to leave in a few days. I have made an attempt to touch base with the editor at least five times since then and have recieved no response from her. I am a little concerned because she is supposed to reimburse me for my travel and I have a couple questions for her before I go. I think it is important to tell this mans story and to finish what I start andI have quite a bit of time into this particular article. So the plan is to go and get the story and write the article regardless. Then maybe my life editor can help me decide what to do from there. So Oklahoma, here I come. A few days with friends, some research and who knows, maybe itwill all work out and maybe it will end up in a different publication but either way, my job is to tell a story so thats what I intend to do.

So the view from the back of my horse is not the fish, the friends or finishing what I started, its the little corner of the farm where Hootie and his crew reside and after I finish this blog entry, spray Beau with his fly spray and find me a life editor, I will be taking the phone off the hook and headed to the back of the woods to spend time with my horse because thats what is important and that is where things become clear to me. My horses, they speak volumes without even saying a word.

Blessings
Tena