All night long the rain beat against the boards on the deck, the wind chimes played a continuous tinkling melody through the pitter-patter of the raindrops and the whistle of the wind. The heavens have opened over the Pacific North West…..the trickle of the creek has swollen into white water and our new erosion control project is under pressure for the first time. Ironically, as the rain fell and the thunder rolled, the temperature rose and the pastures steamed. T shirts were traded for rain jackets and my hair reacting to 99% humidity, instantaneously transformed into uncontrollable frizz. Please remind me why I have been performing the rain dance over the past four weeks….please tell me why I wanted to see rain !

Today Player the grey thoroughbred was under our care, always over anxious to be taken to the pasture in the morning, this morning the gelding was decidedly indifferent about leaving his dry stall and very adverse to getting wet. In Pond Field, Misty the chestnut mare was feeling hormonal and consequently Starbuck, Charm and Tonto the trio of geldings were totally unconcerned by the weather ( rain….what rain ?) and very concerned at the wanton display of equine lust parading around the pasture. Inspired by the testosterone fueled posturing in the rain, Player, alone in his field decided to relinquish his refuge under the cedar trees and with tail waving like a banner and bucking like a rodeo ride he hurtled along the fence line in unison with his single minded stable mates across the farm road . Poor Tonto, Misty’s pasture pal is currently suffering a bout of lameness and is clearly unable to control the mare who has only one thought on her mind and clearly happy to influence every horse that gets down wind of her pungent chestnut tail. Helplessly Tonto tried to keep his wanton mare from the fence line where golden palomino Charm and black appaloosa Starbuck were intermittently aggressively chasing each other around the pasture and less than patiently offering their undivided attention to the pretty chestnut mare. Just throw in a few hormones, mix with a bucket of testosterone and you are sure to get a party…… we did…luckily, they didn't !

As the thunder rolled and torrential rain fell, the horses were happy to return to their cosy dry stalls where a bucket of grain and a full hay manger waited….except for today’s Prima Donna, grey thoroughbred, Player. Player had clearly decided that he was not going to make our day simple, easy, clean or dry and Player succeeded on every count. As the rain dripped off the end of my nose and my jeans soaked sodden dark blue, Player hid under the umbrella branches of the giant cedar tree.  As a puddle formed around my feet and the thunder drew closer….Player refused to move. One last resounding thunder clap and the rebellious grey surrendered his bravado under the tree and raced headlong for the gate but the grey gelding was no longer grey, Player was head to tail, ears to hooves, thick, brown, wet mud. There was no competition, no hesitation, no doubt, we have NEVER had a dirtier, muddier horse to take care of, Player has been awarded THE blue ribbon for grime, top prize for muddy and for once….we weren't sorry to give him back.     

Time to go, the cuckoo has spoken and it’s bedtime. Misty has taken her hormones to her stall, her ardent admirers are munching on hay and testosterone is taking a break. Player got muddy again today…..but he wasn’t ours and from a distance….it was mildly amusing !

Take care, keep safe, M  

From the other side of the Atlantic ocean, in the far Northwest of England, a very dear friend of a very dear friend came for a visit to the ranch. We had never met Kerrianne before her “we’re lost in the woods” phone call, followed by “we’re lost in the woods AGAIN” but when we saw the smart shiny clean white car appear trunk first, down the hazardously washed out gravel road we knew that our English farm guest had arrived. Cars usually arrive hood first ! From the first moment I knew we had a new friend when Kerrianne bounded out of the smart shiny car and enveloped me in a huge warm hug. Marlene and Lisa, Kerrianne’s  holiday hosts were designated the camera and assigned responsibility for photographing every move in every position in every place that Kerrianne stopped….and they did ! I got to ride Charm the golden palomino and Mr. Beauty with attitude for once left his attitude in the barnyard. Kerrianne rode Lady our Shire mare, clearly high on her holiday bucket list and judging by her smile, her bucket was full.  By the time a panting wheezing Shire mare trotted ( yes…trotted !) into the barnyard, followed by Charm who had dedicated the entire ride to attempting to keep his handsome golden nose under Lady’s tail, Kerrianne and I were firm friends and next year’s holiday had already been determined. Looking forward to our next ride Kerrianne and have a safe trip home.

Old friend Diane arrived on Friday from Blackpool in England, more used to the wind and rain, the hot August sunshine was a pleasant surprise. Grace and I set off on the adventure to Seatac airport, since neither of us have an inherent sense of direction, our 50 mile journey was backed up by technical support…..one GPS on and one on the back seat in reserve…..just in case.   Diane’s plane arrived around noon, at the same time as five other international flights. Clearly five  Boeing 777’s discharging umptyump Koreans, Germans Japanese, Dutch and English put unwelcome pressure on Seatac’s customs and Homeland Security and three hours later Diane appeared….without her suitcase which was still lurking in Manchester ( so, apparently it wasn’t customs who had required her extended company )and in the charge of an apparently fraught and less than happy wheelchair pusher. Welcome back Diane. I think last time they lost your wheelchair !

So, Julian is currently on his next American adventure, a road trip around the States with his dad, Grace returned home to Edmunds and was going camping in the rain forest…in the rain and Holly returned to Puyallup. The ranch is quiet without you all ! Take care and have fun.

Poor Greg. Anyone who knows Greg knows that he does love his food….sadly over the past few days food hasn’t liked him and just a sniff of what usually provides his comfort and pleasure has sent him racing to the bathroom. His “get up and go” “got up and went”, it has been a tough week Thankfully today ( 20 pounds lighter)  he looks and reportedly feels better.

Well, the rain fell overnight and the valley is shrouded in a heavy damp mist, looks like the Pacific North West is returning to normal…we’ll be complaining about the rain in a week ! Time to go….

Take care, keep safe, M

When is a Costco apple strudel muffin NOT an apple strudel muffin…..clearly when Costco forgets to put apple in them ! There is little so disappointing as an “appleless” muffin after the 10am break bell has rung, after the cow poop has been scooped and the sheep poo swept. When the smell of fresh coffee pervades the kitchen and the options….poppy seed, blueberry, chocolate or apple strudel have been offered, to bite into a muffin with no stuffing. Shame on you Costco, we have all suffered the disappointment of the shrinking sausage and egg Mc’Muffin and the nameless cardboard burgers with one lettuce leaf and the threat of a tomato ring but to sell apple strudel muffins with little or no apple is almost cruel and heartless. Wait while Annie arrives from England and discovers that she has waited impatiently for the muffins that are no longer what they purport to be……I may have to have a word with the powers that be, behind the desks at Costco HQ before the English contingent arrives and we have a mutiny.

Mr. Cooper has really been working on his latest skill. He already manages to transform the inside of his stall overnight into what would undoubtedly pass for all the world like the inside of a washing machine on extended spin. Today I found his water bucket contents looking like poop soup, yesterday his mineral container contained a perfectly aimed and complete pile of poop and the day before the old bay gelding had successfully raised his tail and pooped over his stall door. I’m not sure what to expect for tomorrow….but I’m sure it will be another Cooper achievement….and it will be poopy.

Apparently Key Center was the epicentre for a small earthquake…. I hesitate to confirm the authenticity of the news report because brother John is firmly established in Wales awaiting the fiancée visa that still sits on someone’s desk awaiting someone to pass it on to someone else. Everyone that knows my brother knows that those kind of circumstances wherever in the world they occur are invariably connected with his presence. Since he is not here and the earth didn’t move for us, busily moving the sumo chickens…I’m not convinced.

Greg allegedly owes the swear jar this morning but in all fairness, under the circumstances, I think his choice of word was ( really) warranted. Newton’s Law of Gravity says that “what goes up…..must come down” UNLESS it has been correctly stacked. Maureen’s rule of “no blame policy” had to be rolled out once again when Newton’ s law was exercised and the seven foot wood pile collapsed in a higgledy piggeldy heap. The falling wood pile wasn’t good but the falling wood pile on Greg was the cause for the profanity. I rest my case. Greg’s ok, I believe it wasn’t the tumbling wood pile that got him, it was him falling into the wood splitter as he tried to escape ! I think we should have shares in Ibuprofen.

Diane is currently winging her way across the Atlantic on her way here for a 10 day visit, today is  Grace’s last day and Julian leaves on Sunday. Thank you both for all the smiles and for all the enthusiasm, willingness and effort you have shown for all the projects you have helped Greg start and complete. We will miss you both.

Time to go, Take care, keep safe, M

The sun is still beating down over the Pacific North West, wild fires are burning and the ground that hasn’t burnt is brown and timber dry. M J, weather guru for Fox 13 says there is a chance for showers over the weekend but before the clouds arrive we have yet another record hot day ahead of us. If our aching old bones didn’t hurt so much we’d be out there doing the rain dance…but they do and we wont !!!

This weekend sadly brings to an end young Grace’s visit here at the ranch and Julian our guest from Germany also leaves us but Diane, an old friend from England and Holly a returning WWOOFER arrive ( welcome back Holly !!!). Grace has been a blessing…..(I’m sure it is her English heritage) and I’m hoping that she accidentally leaves something important here at the ranch just so she has to come back to pick it up ! If Charm my golden palomino ( beauty with attitude) happens to disappear over the next few weeks I think I’ll be checking out a back yard in Edmunds. Thank you for all your help Grace, I’m going to miss you and thank you Grace’s mum and dad for your kindness. Julian, you have also been special, my brain has had a real workout and my system got indigestion with deep discussions and heavy debates over dinner. The American Constitution, inter continent distances, time variables, genetically modified foods and generally putting the world to rights have all been covered over the past 10 days. I went to bed last night trying to work out how many golf balls could fill a school bus…..thank you Julian. Our new German friend has also been Greg’s right hand man and has, with Grace been instrumental in causing many of Greg’s “must do’s” on his priority list to be rubbed off the board. We will miss you both.

The erosion control project continued in the creek bed yesterday. Grace Greg and Julian loaded stones and used the improvised zip line pulley system to prevent their young backs suffering the same fate as ours as buckets of cement and bags of stones were lowered onto the bank. Greg’s smile is growing as his project begins to take shape. When the creek swells with the Winter storms……we’ll be ready ! Thanks guys, we will remember you.

My idea to commemorate each WWOOFER and ranch guest is now up, despite directional problems…..which way is Seoul ?….does it depend which way you go around the world ? and how come the distance to Taiwan varies depending on which search engine you use ? Julian is busily designing and painting his mountains and beer steins and Grace’s evergreens and waves represent her Pacific NW home. Song and Shoma’s arrows are also in place, my hope is that future WWOOFERs and guests will add their arrows with their names, locations and mileage to home to the posts in the barnyard. I’m happy.

Time to go, the cuckoo clock has spoken. Take care, keep safe, M

Thank goodness for the “no blame policy”! There I was, driving down the road in the big Chevy truck and a gate jumped out and hit me. What make it worse is…every time I look out the window, I get reminded. Every time I see the crumpled gate, I will be reminded. If Greg EVER reminds me…..repercussions will be severe!

It has been one of those weekends. Poor Charm our golden palomino has been bitten…I think by a vampire! My poor Mr. Beauty with attitude has his “attitude” all chewed up and swollen. Misty my Jersey heifer returned from the pasture with a chunk of her pretty golden ear missing and Mr. Cooper the big bay gelding was tempted by a succulent, juicy blade of grass which just happened to be under an electric fence which just happened to be live wire. Now, it could possibly have been his ulcer, or the fact that it was Sunday or the moon was in the wrong place but Mr Cooper was an equally live wire tonight, I swear that we had a whirling dervish in the stall usually occupied by a gentle placid older horse.

The house has been strangely quiet, Greg and I have been “home alone” for the weekend…..honey time!! Song our guest from South Korea has continued her American experience and is currently staring in awe and amazement at the size and scale of the Grand Canyon. Shoma our guest from Taiwan took a cultural tour of Seattle before returning home and Julian our guest from Germany is taking a weekend away from horses’ cows’ sheep and poo to visit with family. Grace our young WOOFER volunteer returned home for the weekend, sadly her precious Subaru now has a custom rearranged bumper courtesy of a one way driver ….driving the wrong way on Hemp Fest weekend when reportedly half of Seattle was driving in a hemp fueled fog. Happy travels and good luck Song and Shoma, I promise to try and sort out (1) which end up the chopsticks are held and (2) how to get food from my plate to my mouth ! If I had to rely on chopsticks as my eating tools….I’d starve!

Greg and Grace played water babies yesterday under the heat of the afternoon sun. Allegedly the object of the exercise was to test a pump which will be used for irrigation next Summer and to break up and move on or remove the yucky green scum slime that was covering the surface of the pond. The Loch Ness Monster and Jaws could both inhabit the murky depths without being located so the intrepid two paddling knee deep in the cloudy water took their lives in their hands ! (ok, maybe just a minnow or two !!) Whatever the reason, it was a great excuse to play in the water on a hot and humid summer afternoon.

Time to go, another day is breaking over the ranch. Take care, keep safe, M

Todays diary is going to be a short one. I have yet another doctors appointment…..yet more blood is going to be taken and, even worse……I can’t have my cup of tea !!! How can my brain work without my tea, I’m English !!!!

 A murky curtain of mist is covering the valley this morning. Yesterday a soaking rain was soaked up by the parched brown grass and the thirsty trees. Grey clouds filled the sky and a watery sun made little impact on the cooler temperatures, it was a welcome change for the livestock and a relief for the ranch team.

Song, our lovely young friend from South Korea left the ranch yesterday to continue her American Adventure. Remember Song….what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas ! Missing you already. Keep safe.

Grace, Julian and Shoma spent the day dodging the raindrops and under Greg’s supervision created a cement pad for the new staircase to the barn loft. Together they mixed the cement, poured the foundation and then levelled the form. A thing of beauty ( ?…..well….a thing !) was created by the team, and another “must do” was struck off Greg’s list. ( always a good thing !) The girl team, Grace and Shoma went to work on the ever expanding wood pile and the spluttering engine of the old wood splitter was combined with the grinding of the cement mixer, the crowing of the roosters and the gobbling of the turkeys. The ranch was a busy place as the rain fell.  When the final bubbles were smoothed out and a protective cover placed over the cement form Julian was instructed on the finer points of working the saw mill. The concentration was intense as our young German guest watched the saw roll a raw barked log and at the pull of a lever transform it into neat cedar boards.   Thanks team, it’s great to have you around.

Time to go, take care, keep safe, M

It’s Tuesday night and the younger element of the ranch family have headed out to Gig Harbor and the local cinema ( gone to the movies) which leaves Greg and I home alone with a sulking Border Collie who can’t understand why he wasn’t included in the party.

Currently our 10am break in the barn kitchen has a unique feeling, we are a cultural blend of East and West, America, England, Germany, Korea and Taiwan all happily co existing. As Costco muffins are sampled, eager fingers dip into the chocolate chip cookie tin and cup cakes are devoured. The rich smell of American coffee fuses with the sweet scent of Chinese tea and the animated conversation ranges from Asian fashion to International alcohol consumption and drinking laws. Shoma and Song eager to improve their English happily join in the lively discussions and add their own opinions and impressions to those of the rest of the team. All too soon it’s back into the barnyard and stacking firewood in the wood shed, gardening, clearing the pasture of brush and branches or cedar facing the barn wall our United Nations team co operate and prove that culture and language doesn’t have to be a barrier.

Grace our young WWOOFER had a near death experience…..well, not exactly but from the look of horror on her face when she emerged from her room sent Greg scurrying down to find the reason for her panic. Taking his 8 legs for a little wander through the hallway was THE biggest spider I have seen for a very long time. Grace doesn’t like to kill, she hesitates to swat a fly but there was little sympathy for a spider that really should have stayed outside. Sorry spider.

The Eco camp came back to the ranch yesterday. The sun was high in the sky as Jessica from Key Peninsula Parks arrived with her nine young campers. As I surveyed the eager, excited faces of our guests I noticed a young man firmly gripping the neck of a rubber chicken (oops…!)  and what looked like Billy the Kid wearing a hat pulled down over his eyes and a camouflaged bandanna…..! The youngsters proved much less alarming than first impressions indicated and after feeding the chickens, checking out the nest boxes in the hen house, terrorising the turkeys and over indulging Rodney the Ram’s love for wholemeal hamburger buns we set off the visit the Gentle Giants. Lady and Quest love visitors and happily accepted the carrot morsels thrust at them from every angle before we headed back to the barn. Thank you Eco Camp for spending your afternoon with us, you did a great job of clearing the pasture and we look forward to seeing you all again.

Hopefully the photographs will reflect the barn activities over the past days….Greg informed me that he had ONLY 280 photographs to select from. I guess the ranch paparazzi (me) was a little over enthusiastic !! smile.

Time to go, the team all got back from the movies safe and are all around the breakfast table ready for another day.

Take care, keep safe, M 

We are a happy ranch, our happiness all comes naturally. Our happiness comes from the beauty around us, the friendships that we share and the animals in our care. Clearly some need a little more assistance to be happy and apparently inadvertently shared their source with the ranch team. Thank you…..but no thanks. Sometimes our egg customers return their used egg cartons to the ranch and either tidily stacked or randomly thrown into the egg hutch we retrieve them for redistribution. Sometimes egg cartons appear to have been used as a child’s painting pallet, sometimes seeds have sprouted where rich brown eggs once nestled and clearly sometimes the cartons have been used as impromptu ashtrays. Yesterday, whilst sorting the contents of the egg hutch we discovered a new use for the humble egg carton. My imagination leads me to a rickety wooden deck on a cabin in the forest. My minds eye sees a rocking chair on the deck slowly rocking in a gentle breeze and a little puff of smoke wafting through the air as the occupant taps his “JOINT” into my egg carton. We feel that recycling egg cartons is responsible behaviour….but recycling used marijuana joints is not on our business licence. That was a new experience for us here at the ranch, I guess with legalization it shouldn’t be a surprise… but please, only clean cartons !

We would like to welcome new house guests to the ranch, yesterday Shoma from Taiwan and Julian from Germany joined the ranch family. As always we hope that they have many happy experiences and take wonderful memories back to their own countries.

Grace returned to us from her weekend back home in Edmunds and she didn’t return empty handed. Thank you SO much Grace’s dad, that fresh salmon is going to be enjoyed by our extended family this evening. Song returned excitedly from her weekend in Seattle, happy to be back to the peace and tranquillity of the ranch but eager to share her new experiences in the city. She disembarked the ferry gripping a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers that she had selected for me in Pikes Place Market, thank you Song.

Not quite so nice…..The bugs are biting out in the pasture. We are quite convinced that most crawly biting bugs have a preference for quality English blood…..mine, but it appears that out in the field poor Quest is the favoured bug’s diner. Yesterday our big Gentle Giant gelding returned to the barn with huge swollen bug bites on his shiny brown coat, he is already swathed in bug repellent, wears a fly sheet and a face mask. I think body armour is our last resort. Poor Quest.

Well, time to get our new volunteers ready for their first barn experiences. Old T Bone will be anxiously waiting for his breakfast and Tiger and Shy will be waiting for the truck to pull through the farm gate. Another day begins…Take care, keep safe. M

“I had a dream……” in actual fact, it wasn’t quite a dream but it has been on my wish list for quite some time now and it is starting to take shape around the table in the barn kitchen. When the sun is high in the sky, the mercury is rising and the “no see ‘ums” are biting, the place to be is the kitchen and that is where Grace and Song industriously set to work on my “special project”. Each of our young (and not so young) WWOOFERs leaves us with special memories of them and many of the projects and structures around the ranch keep those memories alive BUT I wanted something special….and I’m getting it ! It’s an English village sign, but my sign will have it’s pointers with the names of our ranch guests, where they came from and how far they came. Each guest will construct their own sign and Grace and Song’s arrows will be the first and will, hopefully reflect their culture and their personality. I’m smiling…..but then, I usually am ! Life is good.

As the sun went down last night, Charm the golden palomino and Lady our big placid Shire mare were saddled up for a trail ride through the woods. It would be difficult to say who’s smile was broader as the two horses returned to the barn but I think it would be safe to say they had fun.

Photographs included in today’s selection include pictures of my Rose of Sharon terraces. Last year Doris the deer and her extended family decimated the flowers before they had the chance to bloom, this year Doris appears to have taken her patronage to someone else’s free breakfast/lunch/dinner garden and my Rose of Sharon is flourishing. My family toiled and sweated through the concept and the construction of my floral wall. Digging, levelling, lining the troughs and planting the very insignificant little twigs, together we hauled stones and created a thing of beauty. Thank you Annie and Pauline, you will remember the pain, you possibly wont remember the project……but I do.

Well, we can’t see the barn, a heavy marine mist envelopes the valley, Grace and Song are ready for another day and it is time I posted this entry but first I would like to wish Mum J a safe and speedy recovery from her recent surgery. Take care, keep safe, M 

Grace couldn’t take any more raw smouldering emotion (????) and wisely abandoned the tv show….Song and I sat through the tears, wimpering and eye lash dabbing, can’t count how many times we heard “connection” and struggled trying to explain the concept of “The Bachelorette” to a totally bewildered Song. Clearly one woman, 25 guys, making up, making out, break ups and a cliff top proposal to the “runner up”  hasn’t yet made it onto South Korea’s viewing list and attempting to translate the process was almost as insane as the fact that I watched it….. but reinforced by a glass of Greg’s raspberry wine we made it through the whole emotional  mess…..sob, gulp.

The  sun still shines over the Pacific North West, the pastures have turned from green to brown and over the surface of the ranch pond a green slime of  milfoil, algae and dust is collecting.  MJ, Fox 13 meteorologist has confidently predicted cooler temperatures towards the end of the week and… (I know I’m going to regret this when the rain falls and the cold Winter winds blow) …..I will be happy to start rooting in my cold closet !

Song and Grace under Greg’s supervision have been busily working on the cedar siding which is giving the kitchen wall a makeover. From the depths of the barn the whining of the radial arm saw echoes through the valley as the two girls learn the basics….how to cut in a straight line and even more importantly how not to lose fingers in the process.

Doris the deer did make an appearance in the orchard in early Summer, alarmingly she was not alone and two young bucks were seen checking out the smorgasbord which is our garden. Thankfully sightings have been limited this year and either Doris and her close…. (and extended) family have either found tastier pickings elsewhere or someone has filled their freezer. Since we have not been singularly feeding the local deer population, our apple trees actually have fruit on them and yesterday Greg, Grace and Song headed up to the orchard to harvest the Summer apples before some other ungulate rodent or bird harvests them for us. Using the apple picker is an acquired skill and typically one learns all about Newton’s law of Gravity and how to dodge falling missiles before the picker is adept at collecting more than one apple at a time in the little plastic catcher on a stick. Well done girls.

Cleaning out horses hooves is always a risky mission and our WWOOFERS and house guests are drilled in the importance of safety. No instruction on where to stand, how to hold or what to do would have prepared our girls for the lesson I learnt whilst routinely cleaning out Mr. Coopers feet. With young Song intently watching I explained the procedure, Cooper the big bay gelding, relaxed and almost asleep was co operating…the lesson was going well when Cooper got a little too relaxed. With my head buried under his tail and unable to spot the warning tail lift, my first indication that all was not well was a howl of laughter from intently watching Song. Cooper emptied his bowls…..I think he had saved a whole day’s worth of poop as it passed my head by centimetres and thumped into my catching bucket. I guess things could have been worse…a LOT worse !

We had two young Taiwanese visitors to the ranch last evening and we were happy to introduce them to our ranch family, two legged and four. It is always fun to see the expressions on people’s faces when they meet Quest our big Shire gelding and our two overseas guests didn’t disappoint us. Take care and have a fun visit to the Pacific North West, hopefully you take happy memories back to your own country.

Time for me to get down to the barn, another hot steamy day ahead. Take care, keep safe, M