Brilliant Moments

So since I'm not just at home sitting around, I often have my camera with me and places that I go. That has been particularly timely and wonderful in certain moments that I've been here. I'll see something that needs to be captured, I'll grab my camera, and run to wherever to get the shot snapped.
Other times haven't been visual but maybe a bit more cerebral. But whereas I do have some sudden epiphanies, mostly I have issues or ideas that I wrestle with in my mind over a period of time. So there are less singular cerebral moments that stick out, unless you count times when I suddenly realize what might be bothering me or something I've discovered about myself.

So, cerebrally, I realize that I must feel like I'm competent about what I'm doing. You might have just misread that as confident, and that is part of feeling competent, but first I have to feel capable of accomplishing some task, and then I'll worry being able to do it efficiently and well. I have a distinct ability to put myself into situations where I'll likely succeed. It means that I'm having experiences that are purposely trying to build on each other to develop distinct traits and skills. these are generally nice, rewarding experiences because I'm already on the path to success the moment I start.
Part of what I'm trying to work with on the farm is taking on tasks and responsibilities that are foreign and outside my experience spectrum. It sorta is just a chance to keep me honest/help me appreciate responsibilities that I am good at. I've probably mentioned this in previous points, but that's because the challenge has been continual, and just the other day I was realizing that my frustration for that day stemmed from wanting and needing, but not being, competent and effective at whatever that day's responsibilities. So it sure doesn't make this summer just pure vacation because A) I don't work like that and B) I always have something that I want to be improving on or developing. It's sorta in my genes.

But there have been other spectacular visual moments that are almost completely and utterly wonderful. I guess the only bad part is that they have to end. but here they are.
At any time from 8:45 to 9:30, you can walk outside in the fields under an impressive sky. I love the dark blue, and it's just comforting and quietly intense.

The first brilliant moment was a great combo of people and place. On the trail up Kineo, you have the Rafuse-Mitchell clan staring off the bluff with a storm brewing in the distance.

So I captured this with our younger camper Siara (Sierra). Shows you can have horses and dogs to play with at the same time. We might not have tv at our camp but we keep the stimulation high.

This is Elles and I playing during one of my jaunts down to Portland. We will spend hours a day playing and laughing. We get along, though I made him mad later when I told him to clean up his spill or sit down.

Not all moments are about color and texture. This is about people and a moment. Gabe and Hannah flirt all the time and she is constantly in his lap. So Hannah and I had been taking cousin pictures and so I was in the mood to just hop on in and bust up the party. This was at the horse show when there are about 5 hours to kill during the middle of the show day.

At Kineo, the wind was wipping up the waves, and we actually had to drive some people across the lake through relatively dangerous swells. It was pretty exciting. But the wind just howled over the water and set up white caps all around. So what looks like soft frosting from far away are actually pretty hefty waves that'll toss a boat a bit.




this is the most recent moment. It had been a cold morning, then a beautiful day, then a stormy afternoon, then a sunny early evening, then a rainy mid evening with the sunset beaming through as the storm clouds passed through. It was the epitome of a spectacular moment. **You must click on this to enlarge it for better effect.

Is it slower or does it just take longer?

So usually you might hear the humorous aspects of life here. Well, I guess not so much humorous as I give them a funny spin. Here's the deal. I enjoy making life a little more bearable. That's why I've never had a real 9-5 job, and I take a break every few years to go live in a foreign country (and, yes, Maine counts). But, honestly, what that humor is doing his helping me cope with the fact that my brain works too hard with too much seriousness. It's going all the time, like those of many people, and it often to keeps me constantly on edge thinking about whatever I'm not doing that I should be doing. Sounds familiar, right? Well what also sounds familiar, probably, is that my brain sometimes just takes a chill pill and decides to thoughtfully reflect on things.
So here is my reflection on time. the post won't start with "time," but it should end up there.


In the consciousness of our society, thanks in large part to the massive expanse of the United States (Think 3rd largest country in the world) and our collective memory of going West into the unknown, there is a strong idealization towards the rural life. It is simple, local, familial, old. Hell, hanging out in the woods is so "cool" these days that old might as well mean "retro 19th century social patterns have re-emerged in our quickly modernizing society." Return to the land, the Romantics told us, and now we want to do it. There is a need to go live in a simple cabin, to escape the hustle and bustle. Enjoy the outdoors, go visit a National Park.
To these idealized motifs, I say, hell yeah. Do you want to know why? Because, whether true or not, there are values in these memories. Values like self-sufficiency, family, small communities, living off the land, enjoying the world around you, getting back to the basics. And I have no qualms with these things. Do I think we should all go live on communes and cabins in the valley? No, we are much too big, we've seen too much, Adam ate the damn apple, and life in one of these settings is hell-a tough. But there are values here that are held in the keepsake drawer.
It was a search for these values that made me want to come to Maine, work with my hands, and understand what it means to live on a farm. But I did not find all that I came here with a mindset of looking for. What do I mean? "The simple life." It must be redefined.
We have a notion that things slow down, that tasks are simpler, and that life is easier, less-busy and less-cluttered. I might conditionally agree on a few counts. Life is less-cluttered in that you can focus on just farm-related things (unless you're like Emily and are running for office, practicing law, and planning a wedding in addition to running a farm), and each task is done and then you move onto the next thing. The chores are straightforward. They are what they are and you do them on a daily basis. And so by that token it could be simpler. But here is the truth. It ain't.
The difference between the life I have here and life I have at home is that here I can't cheat and have one task going while I'm doing something else. There is no multi-tasking. You can't take a horse down to pasture while driving your tractor, or clean stalls while yelling out instructions to the student rider. Each task has to be done and you have to be the one to do it. There is no program that does stuff for you. So it's not like time slows down and you sorta walk slowly from one thing to the next and then the day is done. Rather, it's like you have several hours of work to do each day because everything on the list takes the time it takes to get done. So you might not be doing 20 things an hour all at the same time. But you will shovel poop, feed the horses, take horses to pasture and smooth out the riding ring. It'll take the time it takes and eventually you'll be done. And you'll have been completely aware of each part of the process because you can't be loading one page and then bring up the other 19 tabs distracting your attention.
So we might idealize this life, but it's not fully understood. It is just as busy and complicated as anything else. But here each step in the process has to be completed before moving on and there is no way to speed up the process unless you walk faster or move your arms quicker.

Top Ten: What separates Arkansas from Maine

*Note: There are no pictures in this post.

So there are plenty of stories I can tell and tangible items I can discuss. I mean, like the fact that I had three servings of beef pasta salad and veggie burgers, approx 3 pounds of food total, followed by two servings of ice cream and s'mores. (thank you, awesome metabolism). Or I could tell you about the windex, pine-sol and flea bombs that have dominated my life the last few days as I've been cleaning up an apartment. But I won't tell you any of that stuff.

No. Sadly, you'll have to endure the genius of my observations of time here. Speaking of time, that'll be topic of today's entry.
Oh quick note on things I notice in Maine.
10. The moment I say "y'all" I have to prove my sanity before allowed to continue speaking.
9. They have turnpikes where you have to pay to drive on a road. WHAT?!
8. You have to pay to drive on a road!
7. My family's schedule gives me an excuse to visit lots of cool parts of Maine.
6. They have pretty rivers, but they are so shallow that the major ones have rapids. It's low enough for rocks to show.
5. Old in Arkansas is 1850s. Old in Maine is 1750s.
4. Many people in Maine know little about Arkansas. I've been asked (twice) about alligators. Of course we do have them but I've never seen them nor do I associate them with Arkansas.
3. EVERYTHING is frickin' organic. grocery food, crops, I bet even sofas and matresses
2. There are more country rednecks in Maine than in Arkansas, but it's probably because more people live in the country here.
1. When they say "oh it's gonna be hot today." What they mean is that it'll be sunny, slightly breezy, and 85 degrees.

Kicks for Kane

I came to Maine with a good variety of footwear. I got sandals, I got dress shoes, I got tennis shoes, and, perhaps, most importantly, I have boots. I have actually had the occasion to wear each pair of these so far, but boots have undoubtedly been the most important Boots not only give me a passport into the working world, but I wear them everyday. When we do horses in the morning, I'm walking through mud and manure, and I need my footwear to be sturdy, and I need to be able to get it dirty.
But guess what I noticed. First of all, Bill told me that whatever shoes I wore outside would probably be destroyed by the end of the summer. Second of all, I didn't want to destroy the boots that I brought. And third of all, I am getting stepped on by horses at least once a week and I am walking through wet mud.

So my boots might be able to take me on a hike, but they aren't gonna work perfect on the farm. Now, it is true that I could just deal with it, but if you see any of the farm boys who come by the barn and look at their shoes, they all have heavy duty stuff. So I decided to make my first big purchase. Some cheap boots. And I had three qualifications. Price, water resistant, and steel-toed. Oh, and I need something with a heel so that I could ride in them.

So if you know me, the first part (price) is a "duh." The second part is so that I don't have to ask myself what that brown stuff on my sock is, and the third part is just fascinating. Did you know that they have a steel-toe shoe industry? New balance has steal toed shoes. And literally, they are tennis shoes with steel toes that just make the end of your foot impenetrable.

So I went on a search for this shoe. I stopped first at Marden's, which is a low, low, low, price overstock store that puts walmart prices to shame. But they only had army boots. So then I went across the street, which is where I learned about the steel-toed shoe market. I was just gonna get some rain boots but decided to keep looking.

So my search ended up probably where it should have begun...Walmart. I walked into the show aisle and there they were. my boots. Ozark Trail boots for $30. They didn't have a steel toe but they were waterproof and I just thought it was meant to be that they were Ozark Trail because everyone knows that the Ozark Trail might as well have meant "All Arkansans buy these!" So I grabbed them and headed towards the bathroom.

But wait, that wasn't all. There were some shoes on the back wall, and so I just decided to put my slow-paced shopping skills further to the test. So I grabbed 3 different pairs off the back shelf and repeatedly took them on and off until I narrowed four pairs down to two. I still had the Ozark Trail, but I also had these slightly cheaper, though less handsome, waterproof, and steel-toed boots made by Brahma.
And then I saw it. I was looking at the size when a magic word struck my sight.

I allowed a knowing chuckle to emanate from my lips. haha. and I smiled softly as I went to put back my OT boots. I looked at the box just to make sure I hadn't deceived myself.
Hell, after I bought my boots, I kept the tag on them another 3 days just because it was an awesome story.

It was meant to be, they were mine. They are the Brahma Kane all-purpose work boot.

I've had at least 3 horses step on me since I got them, and every time I say to them "step harder. I can't even feel that weak sauce through my steel-toed boot."

I've sloshed through wet mud and thought, "oh, that brown is nice." and I've walked into stores and said "yeah, that's right. these are my Brahma boots.


These are my kicks for kane."

My list of firsts (thru part 1)

I have now reached the half-way point of my time here. I don't want to impress people with all the things I've done, but the following is the daily updated list of all the things that have highlighted my time here so far.
So I had this list in my profile section, but that got too long so I'll try to keep this list updated throughout the summer.

drive Cadillac, -My uncle has a blue, green, purple Escalade and I got to drive
drive truck, - driving a truck is an extremely empowering experience
drive bushhog/tractor, - the most persuasive evidence that I'm slowly becoming a farm boy.
made phone calls for a campaign, - i hated it. I didn't know how to talk to people
seeing an eagle, - that was pretty sweet. Bill and I didn't know what it was until it flew by
tacking up a horse, - now this seems like old news
walking/cleaning a donkey, - won't try this again, the most obstinate beasts ever
held a rabbit, - there are two on the farm. I did it just so I could say I did.
went to a horse show, - that was an experience. horseriding as being call the most elitest word in the english language
successfully navigated a round-about, - did you know there are rules on a roundabout?
held political signs on election day, -I was hoping I wouldn't get hit by an angry voter
went to a town hall meeting, - that was fascinating. Direct democracy at its finest
bought a John Deere hat, - It's my working hat and I wear it to fit in with local worker guys
went to a municipal trash dump, - in the south we are so behind
saw a wild turkey, - i definitely didn't look like the pictures from thanksgiving cartoons
coaching a girls soccer practice, - I succeeded in keeping their attention for 1 1/2 hours!
posting on a horse, - you gotta get the rhythm of the horse
put together a horse jumping ring, - tedious but slightly creative
ran a drag harrow over a horse ring, - I was glad to help out with the actual jumping of horses
saw a horse have teeth cleaned, - she put her arm halfway into the horses mouth!! EWW
saw horse have it's shoes put on, - It smells really bed
had my gas pumped by a station attendant, - so awkward. Can I not pump my own gas?
ordered "fish and chips"- it was good while it was a generic taste but then it started to taste a lot like fish.
when to a moose hunting license lottery.- seeing about 500 men nervously waiting for their name to be called was quite an experience.
Went to a drive-in movie.- Bounty Hunter was an awful movie.
Went to both the New Balance AND L.L. Bean stores.- I love low prices
walked a dog and a horse at the same time- it was a veritable Dog and Pony show.
Got stepped on by a clydesdale. I am so glad that I have steel toed boots.
went on a trail ride with bill and emily- it took us a month, but we've finally done it.
had a bird poop on me- no worries, it was only my arm.
painted barn doors- the scraping is tedious, slow, and annoying, but the painting is extremely satisfying.
acted as a super- I've done all the clean up I've never done before: weeds, bathrooms, spackling, wiping, and, oh yeah, flea bombs.
drive a VW Bug- yeah, I know it's a mom car. Even worse for me, it has flowers next to the dash.
Drove a (bug) convertible. If a truck is like power and dominance, the convertible is pure fun and freedom.
posted on a horse-so now I can have personal experience with some of the stuff I see riders do.
picked up a yawn from a horse-and the same day (also a first) I rode on a horse with a spoon in a mouth, carrying a marshmallow in my mouth)
Being a counselor for a horse camp-the most important focus has changed from jesus communities to equine care and riding.
I've ridden Bugsy, Ivy, Jeeves, and Daisy- 4 down 8 to go.

A Time (Schedule) to every [place] under heaven (at least that I've visited)

Time. what a strange looking word. Anyway, I digress. So in Buddhist thought, the time is always now. It is the present eternity. Well, let me tell you that that is a load of balogni because when I look at my watch in each place I've been to, the time is always a little different.

At home in high school I was asleep by midnight every night, and I would wake up at 7:45 for school. My afternoons consisted of soccer, studying, and food consumption. I'd go to bed at 1 on the weekends because my friends mostly had curfews.

In Italy, I was asleep by 11 pm, woke up at 7 am, had lunch at 3 and dinner at 10. On the weekends, which consisted of one day, I'd stay out til 2 and wake up at 10.

In college, both at Davidson and Sewanee, I'd go to sleep between 12:30 and 2 am (and never before midnight), wake up between 7:30 and 9, and do a whole variety of things in my day while eating around 12:30 and 6:30. I had the same sleeping patterns on the weekend.

In Argentina, I went to bed around midnight, woke up at 8 and walked around Bs As all day, but on the weekends things got really wacky. I'd stay out til 4 am on nights where there wasn't much to do, and I'd be home by 7:30 am on the nights where I was at a club or something, which meant that I'd wake up on the weekends anywhere from noon to 3 pm.

Now, in Maine, I go to sleep between 10 and 10:30 pm, wake up at 6, done with chores around 7:15, start other work around 8:30, lunch at noon, afternoon chores at 5, dinner at 7.

That's a lot of different schedules

So what's been really crazy about all this is that there are certain times that have now become ingrained in my mind as to how a schedule should go.
So here it goes. Because of Italy, I now think it's proper to eat lunch at 3 and dinner at 10. Because of college, you should never go to bed before midnight. Because of Argentina, you should never wake up before noon on the weekends and should stay out til at least 4. Because of highschool, you shouldn't socialize after school on weekdays. Because of Maine you should always wake up by 6 (or 6:30/7 if you want to sleep in)

So what does that look like?
M-F Wake up 6am, lunch at 3, dinner at 10, bed at 1 am: No socializing between 4 pm and 1 am.
S-S Wake up 1pm, lunch at 3, dinner at 10, bed at 5 am: Call parents when I get home (hah, joke!)

So there is my schedule combined from all the places I've lived in under heaven.

STRIKE for Betty Lou!

I will admit something right now before my stories go any further... I am not a bowler and I probably bowl once a year...if that. I know. I know. The bowling alley for many young teens is like the mall. You go there to show your agility at arcade games, to wear hip clothing combinations, and to pick up chicks when they are not yet biker babes but a little bit past Tomboys. Well, I was not a normal kid. I did not bowl.
But I do now.

You see, the Bayside Bowl is a little establishment recently opened by my cousin Charlie. It used to be an arcade manufacturing warehouse...or something like that, and now he has turned it into part bowling alley, part bar and and night club. And it has figured prominently in my time in Maine.
In fact, it was the first place I came to upon my arrival. I was dropped off by a taxi on a nearby street and carried my 70 lbs of luggage around until I came upon the place.
A week and a half later it had its soft opening, which I attended, the last two days I went there to enjoy an afternoon with cousins young and old (BTW, do not take 2 year olds to a bowling alley. Any relaxation that might after been enjoyed otherwise is automatically compromised.)
And best of all, Bayside Bowl was the location of my Aunt Libby's election night celebration. Drinks and bowling and good old american democracy. Not a bad combo.

Now for the good part. The most important part of this place in my Maine experience beyond spending time with family and friends and celebrating political victories: how I've bowled.
Well, let me tell you what...It's been good. So I actually bowled two gutter balls on my first two bowls ever and had another gutter on the subsequent frame. Not an auspicious beginning. However, I quickly picked up the groove, analyzed the styles of more successful bowlers, and I have bowled at least 150 during every outing there.
This here is Emily and Lew-Dog. Lew was actually the second person I saw in Maine after my brief "hello" to my cousin Charlie. Lew is like Aragorn to Charlie's Gandolf. They have been putting in 15 hour days after these first 10 days, and I think that it's Lewis' Southern heritage (he's from Kentucky) that gives the place the charm it needs to thrive.







Emily is seen here posing (she seems to be an unpaid model in my blog. Maybe once I get some advertising then she'll be recompensed.) in her unique squat routine which precedes her bowls. [side note: she did successfully pick up the spare in this frame] "Bubbles," which is her bowling name, bowls a consistent 120-130.







So here it is. My most recent game. You don't see any "C" up there because most people have their own bowling names. For instance, I played with "filthy McNasty" the other day. I don't know his real name so I refer to him by his bowling name, though I call him "filthy" for short. Bill is "Barry"; Emily is "Bubbles" the little cousins are "Fashion Diva" and "Moe" and my cousin Will is "The Dude."
You'll find my score, the winning tally, under the name B.L. I rolled strikes or spares in every frame but one and barely eked out a victory against talented Barry. My name was actually given to me by the person at the shoe counter. I said to be original and so she thought Southern and quirky...Please feel free to refer to me by my bowling moniker Betty Lou.

In defense of Freedom

Now as you all know, I have traveled and lived in many places. This has been good both for my personal growth and give me instant conversation starters at parties. But it has also helped me to appreciate the place I am from. America. The land of opportunity...and free refills.

So I also took it as a point of consternation that other places made me pay some $2.50 for every refill, causing me to rethink my soda-drinking habits, while here in the US I could find that $1.75 was a ticket to unlimited carbonated delight. I have now discovered that this is a misconception.

Like many things in life, the truly great aspects of material living exist only in the South. By this I mean lower property values, cheaper gas, lower cost of living, and free refills.

So you can imagine my indignation the first time I was told, "no free refills." I thought it was a joke. But then it happened again. And again. And Again. So before I knew it, I had been made to face reality. The joy of high fructose corn syrup and carbonated water was not to be felt here to the extent of the motherland to the South. I would have to make a compromise in my hydration techniques. The other day I simply ordered water...WHAT?!?!

So I speak out now in defense of the true American value of freedom. Here that promise rings true more than another other place in the world, except that I have found a most unfortunate infringement upon that taken-for-granted characteristic of America.

Give me (free-refill) liberty or give me death (by unquenched thirst).

Campaign Season

So today is the election in Maine. I have a tie to a candidate in the race, and so it's pretty exciting times around here. I've also learned alot, and I'll tell you why.
Unlike our northern cousins, people in the Arkansas Mitchell Family (AMF) [my mom's side] have an interest in but not fully active role in politics. None of us are legislators or anything. However of the parents and four children in the Maine Mitchell (M&M) branch, 5 have run for political office, and so far 3 have held an office while one is in the election process and another holds elected office. So suffice it to say, there is a different lifestyle up here.
And you know what that means...questions. Yep, that's right. Turns out I like to ask questions and when I get around people with different experiences I just ask and ask and ask and ask...and ask.
And so I'll give you three thoughts/highlights about my political experiences up here.
1) New England town hall meetings. So I walk into the Vassalboro town hall meeting in time to here the announcer say "welcome to the 239th annual Vassalboro town meeting." WHAT?! 239? that's older than the United States. And they voted on everything that was going to go on in their town. It's probably the longest running form of direct democracy in the world today. It was pretty cool stuff.

2) I grew up a democrat and so I knew what values I was taught to have. Now, I can ask people who do this stuff in a daily, practical way, why these values are important, and what is their rationale beyond the simple ideals.

3)Taxes and Law. My uncle Jim blew my mind like I was back in 1969. (rhyme intended, with reference to drug craze of the late 1960s. Please see The 1960's by Edward Rielly for more information) when he talked about law and penal codes being the foundation for civilization and cohesive society, while government exists such that cultures are not predicated on the big beating out the small but for all persons having basic, common access to goods and services. So I liked hearing about gov't. I also liked hearing about taxes. "they are a small price to pay for civilization"- Oliver Wendel Holmes. So there is a necessary, valuable purpose to the burden of taxes and it is that we are contributing to the functionality of the system that supports us (i.e. In order to have a system that allows us to pursue life, liberty, and happiness, we must support that system.)

Additional moments on the trail. Painting signs for Libby's gubernatorial campaign, putting up signs for the campaign, holding signs at intersections, entering data on phone calls, making phone calls (which I absolutely can't stand because I have to see people's faces when I interact/I don't like imposing on people).

All in all, I like seeing how and why our democracy tries to work, and there are few people like the M&Ms who can give me that sort of up close insight. So good luck to all the candidates and GO VOTE!


Also, if integrity is what matters and you vote for someone for the politics and critical thinking that is the manifestation of their integrity, then my aunt Libby shore is a good choice.

Pile O' Shit

So, disclaimer, there is very little if anything that would I change and be frustrated about on the farm. There are pretty flowers, cool house mates, neat horses, tubular chores, yucky things, and new projects all the time.
But I do have to say that there is something that can't be described in any other manner than that it's just down right Shitty.
What I'm referring to is Lupine Farm's very own mound of defecation, which consists of that which has been dropped many moons ago and that which has been fresh just in the past few days.
(You can observe Emily here as the model for scale. She is approximately one pile of shit tall.)



So this pile is added to daily; it's where we drop off the freshly mucked horse stall droppings. You can even see the fresh stuff on the right, which is mixed in with hay and shavings, the stuff that goes on the floor of the stalls. The older, browner stuff is on the left.
Now this mound is actually a money maker. People come by to take our poop away for their own uses. It's only about $20 bucks for your own truckload, and it's free if you load it yourself.
It's also a good practice tool for me. No, I do not look and observe how poop forms and try to emulate it. That'd be not very possible. Instead, I work on my tractor skills. See, we have to "consolidate" the pile and sort of take the slopping sides, push the stuff to the top, and dump it so make everything more tall and less wide. Otherwise there'd be a softly sloped mount of poop all about the farm. So I spend about 5-10 minutes every week practicing scooping dropping, reversing and changing gears on the tractor. I think pretty soon, I'll have had a shit ton of practice (pun intended), enough to make me an adequate tractor driver.
Thank you, ye olde pile o' shit.

Party Portland

so I went to Portland yesterday to put up the signs that I had helped to paint for Libby.
That turned out to be only part of the adventure. Alex and I, with baby Elles hanging in the back seat, puttered all around Portland pounding in signs. And I accomplished an amazing feat, I helped Elles stay happy and smiling all day. So turns out Elles is not a grumpy. Really he is a very happy kid who is just tricking people for some reason. But I would just be like "Elles, don't even try that" or "Elles, are you trying to trick me?" and he would just start smiling so big. He's a goob. and he's just so damn cute. So I have broken through with him
then Alex and I went to pick up Abby from school, and she played it really cool, but hopefully she thought it was cool.
anyway, we (and by we I mean Sophie and Abby, Elles and Woody and Buzz) played on the trampoline for 2 hours. Do you know what that means? Jumping, laughing, tickling, dancing, and having an awesome time for 2 hours!
Oh, by the way, during this time, Elles had a shit ton of sweets and it was hilarious.
So then i went to James' (another cousin) b-ball game. and stuck around for an hour during the extra innings.
then it was on to Charlie's bowling alley's soft opening and holy shit it was awesome.
It's got a cool bar and restaurant that don't even feel like they're in a bowling alley. So I hung out at the table with Elizabeth and Alex, Will and Laurie for hours. and ou know who showed up? Gubernatorial candidate Libby Mitchell, proprietor Charlie Mitchell, and many more. basically, two of the biggest celebrities in Portland these days. So needless to say, I felt like I was pretty cool to be in their company.
The night ended with about an hour of bowling, and then a party with Hannah.
OMGoodness, what a full and awesome day!

my farm family

so yesterday we had a new addition on the farm, L.T.B. (Little thorough bred), and it made me realize that y'all don't know who I'm living with and feeding each morning. It is a farm that revolves around horses but consists of several different mammalia.

First are the humans. Me, 21, 6'0" tall and relatively even keeled. I keep a positive attitude but I do eat a lot. Then there are Bill and Emily, he's 32, she's 30 and they are both hard working, patient, and extremely competent. They're old hands at this whole thing.

The horses that are on the farm are competition horses and training horses. For instance, this sunday, several of them will head up to a horse jumping event and the riders earn points throughout the year in their quest for the top prize...Maine Equine Glory.

So every morning at 6 we go to the barn out back, feed the horses (they each have their own specific blend of several types of horse food consisting of grain, a sweet/molassas concoction, and healthy vitamin stuff), then take them to their respective pens. Paparazzi, Emily's gelding, Ivy, Hannah's mare, Noah, another gelding, and Paloma, the second newest arrival, all sleep in the barn because they are "thin skinned" and need protection. During the day, though, they move outside and that's how I'll divide the who's who of horses.

In the smallest pen are Paloma, a grumpy mottled white/gray horse who kicks alot and who I don't really get a good vibe from. Roux, a 5 year old former race horse who is the most attractive but is not trained to ride yet, and who kicks and is fidgety. and Petunia, the donkey.
The other day we were trying to wash Petunia, who is ugly, furry, and covered in mud, and Roux got out. Bill got him back in his pen but, having tasted freedom, he spent the next 10 minutes charging the gate, though never hitting it. Petunia is usually mild and slow, but when we set her up for washing she turned into a bitch, turned herself so that the ropes that were holding her got twisted around her face, and was attempting to kick at Bill, who heroically calmed her down about 20 minutes later and put her up again. I don't know petunia's purpose but someday they hope to have her pull carts.

in the other small pen are Ivy, a dark, tall, beautiful mare, who is the queen bitch, Prizm, a brown and white pinto who has a history of kicking with little children riding her, and Daisy, a sweet but excitable chestnut mare. She was the first horse I rode, and she is nice.

in the last, biggest pen are the boys.

There is Jeeves, the old man, who is a D-bag to all the other horses. He literally looks old. he's light brown with a funny nose and almost greying hair. but he is good to ride and a favorite for little kids. Then there is bugsy, another light brown with white lower legs, and he is the second best for little kids. he's very sweet, never has a tantrum and is very patient. Then there is Noah is who sorta blah. I don't really know him but he seems like a decent fellow. The last two are george and mckenzie who came to the farm together and who are best friends. I call McKenzie Clyde because he is a clydesdale and man are those things huge. I haven't seen anyone ride him yet, but I can't wait. He is like 8 inches taller than ivy is the second biggest. he is very sweet but he intimidates me. then there is George who is the local stallion. but i feel like he's still kinda young so he's really playful. He is dark, dark and still has his man parts. and by playful i mean he and mckenzie like to kick each other for fun. I don't know LTB well, though, as he just came last night.

Emily doesn't own all these horses. some are owned by others, like clyde, george, noah, and LTB, and stay on the farm.

the other animals are two rabbits, 3 cats, who are really cool and stay in a closet but jump through a hole in the bricked-in fireplace to get there, and Abbott, who is the awesome retriever.

oh, and Stella, who has her head on my lap right now, also wants to be mentioned. She is Alex and Elizabeth's 150 pound mastiff. when i first met her, she freaked the hell out of me because she is a guard dog who doesn't want to be messed with, but now she knows me and she is just wonderful. very mellow, and often bored. she is a just really cool, and extremely huge. once you know her, she'll protect you with her life, but if you're a threat she'll take you out in an instant.

So those are the animals that are part of my life. I'll put pictures up once I get home.

Settling in

So last night we took care of the horses, raked up all the droppings in the horse pins, cooked dinner and had a sit down meal. Why is this significant? Well, it was my first normal night since I've gotten here.
When we last met, I was telling you of my early hours, well now I've concluded the early days. In fact, as a sign of having become a tad bit more comfortable with my surroundings, when Emily told me to go feed bugsy and the girls this morning, I knew exactly who she was talking about. And when I led Bugsy to pasture I knew how to put the bridle on. How friggin' cool!!!
Anyway, what have I done recently? Well, I drove a tractor yesterday!! First time ever. So that was pretty cool, but the real highlight is that we spent the last several days at Kineo, which is an "island" on Moosehead Lake inhabited by a number of families with pleasant homes and dominated by a soaring mountain, which was actually sacred to the indians who lived in the area.

It's essentially a great way to get away and explore into the middle sections of Maine.
Anywho, most of the fam was there, save Charlie and Lisa (cousins), and Will, Laurie and their chillins (also cousins).









So there were 12 of us at our largest number and 7 at our smallest, but we filled our days with walks, rides, skips, and (golf) balls. There was an extensive amount of cardplaying (I introduced Spades and E.R.S. [a game that involves slapping and yelling]). Little Elles (sp?) watched toy story about 3 times a day. He is 2 and has tantrums but is like a fish in that within seconds he can forget he was mad. He actually named me by the end of the trip: Tain.
So I'd been to Kineo before, but I got my own room for the first time since I'm usually in the basement. And I was fed like a king.

The walks were incredible, the reading in the morning was great, and the play time was fantastic.
And two things of note come to mind. Some of the play time involved boating and let me tell you what, boating on rough water with 4-foot swells that I swear lifted the boat out of the water at least once, is not a thoroughly enjoyable activity. And at one point we were taking everyone across and Alex had to use expert driving and as we were turning toward land we get nailed by wave after wave and after a bit I look back at uncle Jim and he is sitting there with a grin half full of disbelief and he is completely soaked by water. HAH!! The other thing is that I would sleep in til 8 on most mornings and I felt like I had really enjoyed something nice.
Damnit Emily, I already think that 7 o'clock am is late in the day.

Thoughtful thoughts.
So part of the joy of coming up here was that I could spend time with my God daughter Abby. She actually picked me last year because she thought I was "cool," but I wasn't able to make it up to her christening thing. Well now I get to make up for lost time. She is 10 and awesome and when I first showed up to her house she just came over and gave me a big ole hug. We played cards, watched movies, hung out, it was great.
I had that sense, though, of a parent who really wants their kid to want to hug them all day and tell them everything and all that but who must instead let the kids do as they will and then just be thankful whenever the child does give a hug or a smile.

Thought 2, confidence. So one of the wonders of traveling and going to new places is that you sometimes have this defense mechanism of increased confidence because it allows you to mesh quickly, and then it wears off once you get into the groove. Well, good news is that I've gotten into the groove. Bad news is that that wonderful confidence is diminished. Now, what this means is that I just have my normal confidence, which isn't too shabby, but not quite as intoxicating as the Newcomer's. So tI make up for that is by voicing many of my insecurities so that they don't bubble inside, and just trusting that my fam enjoys my company. I wish I could just be full of confidence all the time, but that would mean that I wasn't a 21-year-old male. So I'm just learning with what I got.


This is Abbot and he is awesome. He is two and he is "Maine's Number 1 Dog." He also eats poo when we clean the stalls, but we forgive him.