Feed the Fjords!

Today we let our horse herd go down to an area that is over grown with grass and blackberry bushes. They were in hog heaven. Had to take lots of pictures and show off some of the best ones.

Lana and her friend Amy took two fjords and went for a ride some place an hour north and as they were going up the freeway, Amy saw another Fjord owner/breeder going by and it was Catherine from http://www.hesthehaven.com/. Amy called her on the cell phone so they stopped and visited and found out that Catherine was on her way to Portland to take some puppies to a dog evaluation.

It was quite a surprise for them to just happen to be on the freeway at the same time and see each other like that. Small world!

Wedding Cake Decorating

My wife Lana is a cake decorator, and this weekend she was busy with a wedding cake. I have to show off her work because she is very good. Lana was a decorator at the local grocery store but with the slow business they had to close the store and now she is not working. So now she is doing cakes from home and lots of people have been calling for cakes. Wedding season is just around the corner so she is getting quite a few orders, along with birthday cakes too.

Lana has a new website pitcherperfectcakes.com

Lana's maiden name was Pitcher, so everyone that knows her in town, knows her family name.

Here is a picture of Lana in action.

And here is the finished cake set-up a the reception;

Here is another cake Lana made a couple years ago;

Anniversary Arch

A few years ago when we bought our small ranch, my wife Lana said that she always wanted a driveway arch. So evenings and weekends at my work, I secretly started building one. I work at a steel fabrication shop, so I gathered all my parts from scrap left over from projects that were headed for the scrap bin. Every piece for my arch was recycled. The best part of the plan was to use existing posts that were already in the ground on each side of our driveway entrance. This made my job much easier because it gave me a base to start building the arch. The other best part of my project was that we would be celebrating our 20 yr. wedding anniversary that summer and I wanted to make it for Lana as a surprise present for her. Of course in time it was hard to keep making excuses for why I was at work more than normal so I had to give in and tell her what I was up to.

I took many measurements and drew up a sketch and then started putting together parts on the floor to come up with a design, and found everything I needed to make the arch. Then I had to build it in pieces small enough to lift and handle because I did not have a crane to lift the parts. It ended up being 3 separate parts that I brought home and with my pick-up truck, a ladder, my brother, and my two daughters , we put it together and no one got hurt in the process.(warning don't try this at home)LOL.

We finished putting up the arch on a day when Lana was at work, so I was able to wait and see her come home and for the first time drive through her new Arch. She loved it and it was the best anniversary present I could have gave her. That summer we had a big family party to celebrate our anniversary and everyone loved the new addition to our ranch home.

Jeffy's Friend rides a Fjord

Recently our son Jeff had friends over to play and we saddled up horses and let them have fun riding around. Our fjord Elisie is so good with the kids that all we did is put a halter on her and tied off the lead rope for reins and let them ride. Didn't even need a bridle. With inexperienced kids riding, it is easier on the horses mouth when they pull hard on the reins or try to turn so we just use the halter. The boys had a great time riding and Elisie was a perfect Fjord as usual.

Our oldest daughter Karla also rode our Missouri Fox trotter/Quaterhorse named Josie. That is my wife's favorite and Josie is the queen of the ranch. All the other horses know she is the boss. When ever there is any activity around the ranch Josie wants to be right there in the middle and see what is going on. She was the first horse we bought when we started our horse business and she will be the last to go. She is the surrogate mother of the Fjords and treats them like they were her own children. If anything around the property is going on she has to investigate to see if there is any danger close by just like a guard dog.

Now that summer is on its way, we hope to have more friends and family visit and have fun riding horses. When we want to go on long rides we load the horse trailer and head to the coast or other places that have horse trails. A close friend of ours has a ranch that he manages for his boss, and there is 900 acres to ride and we really enjoy going there.

Saturday Night Music

Well our band played saturday night and it went pretty well. We had a good time and played from 8:30 till 11:15. Its always a good sign when people stay till you are done and most people stayed. We found out that later this summer a local vineyard wants us to perform two times at their wine tasting events. Along with other events going on we should be having a busy summer.With my work being slow I will be able to spend more time this summer with playing music and going on family outings with the horses.

Spring is in the air

We have finally started getting spring weather here in Oregon. It has been so nice to be able to go outside in the late afternoon and evenings and be in a T-shirt and not be cold. The fjords are losing their winter coats and so are we. Took some pictures this last weekend and got a great shot I like to call two-headed fjord. LOL

The next photo is just a nice shot of our first baby Fjord, Tallak. He is one of our favorites. Tallak has such a wonderful personality and loving nature, more so than the others. He now 3 years old. For some reason he loves to rest his head on your shoulder when you are close to him. All the fjords love attention and sometimes it is hard to pet just one cause they all follow us around and have that puppy dog look in their eyes. Now that the weather is warmer and the ground is drying up we can start spending more time with them and start training the young fjords.

This next picture is our Momma Fjord, Elisie. She has been a great horse and gave us our two baby fjords, Tallak and Nina. She has been a great horse for our kids to ride. When we go out on trail rides our son Jeff who is 10, can ride her and we never have to worry.

Band Photos

Today I went with the Band to have some pictures taken for advertising. We are going to be playing at the Axe & Fiddle Club in town on April 14, April 18 and then at the Cosmo Cafe on May 2. Hope we do good. If things go well we hope to get more exposure and have more gigs to play at as the summer gets closer. Will try to video from time to time and post them on You Tube so friends and family can see us.
Cast of players;
Brad Markham- Banjo
Kelly White- Rythym guitar & Bass
Herb Hill- Bass & Drums
Neil Fain- Lead guitar
Annie Mae- Lead vocals & mandolin

Horse Expo

This weekend was the annual Horse Expo in Albany, Oregon. We took our Norwegian Fjord, Elisie up for the three day event, and joined other Fjord owners to represent the breed. Each day of the expo the different breeds would have a one time show of their horses for the public to watch and learn. The rest of the time was spent hanging out in the main barn at the stalls, letting people walk through and see your horses up close and personal. We met lots of nice people and had fun visiting and showing off our Fjords. Many people loved to pet and talk to the horses and many commented on how gentle and cute our Fjords were. It is a perfect way for kids who do not normally get to see horses up close, be able to touch and learn about the different breeds of horses. Here below is a picture of Lana and Amy hanging out at our Fjord Booth.
A funny thing happened the first morning we were there, we could not get into the gate because we had not picked up our wrist bands to allow us to be let in the expo. So Lana called our friend Amy who was inside the gate, and told her that they would not let us in and we needed her to bring us our wrist bands. Only problem is Lana accidently called the wrong Amy from her cell phone and called our niece Amy who had no idea what in the world we were talking about. LOL Of course we did finally call the right Amy and she met us at the gate and we got in. We had a good weekend showing off our wonderful Fjord and met many new people and made some new friends.

New Banner

One word Motto

Find happiness and learn to live with others.

Many people in the world today try to find true happiness and sometimes this can be an uphill
battle in every day life. From my experience as a supervisor who deals with employees every day,
there is only one thing I need to remember to make life and work easier. There are so many
tips and tricks to guide you, that in time it is hard to focus when adversity comes your way.
In the hustle and bustle of life we can sometimes get caught up in day to day activity and
we lose track of what is really important to us and the life we lead.

One simple and always effective tool in interacting with those around you, is to Smile when ever
possible. It is a hard task to accomplish but can be the most rewarding with very little effort.
It is amazing how much a simple smile can change the attitude of you and co-workers. Even family members can benefit from the joy a smile brings. In this time of trouble and bad news from the media, we need to be more dependent on our family and friends to weather the storm. Find strength in the home and family.

Throughout world history the family unit has been the basic tool for survival and support.
Sometimes a family unit can be in the form of a small community or tribe. We can read the history books and see that a close association with a family group or community has been the foundation of a successful life. At home we have family members, and in business we have co-workers. Both go hand in hand to help us be happy in day to day life. We must remember to value and cherish these people around us and be a spark of light to help make our world a better place.

So what is the one thing that is the top of the my list for true happiness? I have found one word
that has been my goal to always strive to achieve and so far has helped me tremendously. That word is Respect. If everyone were to remember this one word and learn what is the true meaning, we would have a near perfect world. If you can discover the true meaning of respect, all other areas of interacting with others will fall into place. My favorite movie may sound corny but it has helped me understand what is most important in life. Pollyana is a simple movie but has a profound message that I have come to treasure. If you look for the bad in people you shall surely find it. Why not look for the good instead. Respect goes hand in hand with this ideal.

True respect is not a two way street. If you show and exhibit respect to those around you, will find that you will lose the feelings of despair or unhappiness. If you demonstrate respect to someone, you do so with the idea that you will receive nothing in return. I know this is a hard concept to grasp but it is the true meaning of respect. It is like giving a person a gift and then expecting them to give it back when they are done. Even if you find someone is treating you in a bad way or they are difficult to be around, find it in your actions and attitude to still show them your respect. You will find it hard to believe, but in time that person will become infected with your frame of mind and will learn to respect you as well. Sometimes they might not want you to be aware, but in the back of their mind it will become a seed.

Respect and love are actually very closely related. If you strive to show true respect to those around you with no strings or conditions, you will find it hard to harbor feelings against them. In a sense you will be showing signs of caring or love for those around you. This is a great tool to bring people closer together and you become a beacon of light shining to those who are near you. So always look for the good in people and soon you will find it hard to be unhappy, and life will be a better place. If you practice the thoughts and actions of exhibiting true respect, you will find that in time, you will not be as concerned about what is wrong with those around you, but have a happier outlook in life and make the world a better place. Sometimes it is a constant struggle to remember to live by this one word motto, but I have found great success and happiness by striving to live by this goal. Try for yourself and see what you can accomplish for your everyday work and life.

If you have any interest to see my happy place in the big world of life stop and visit www.buckcreekhorseranch.com