Virginia’s Equestrian Heritage

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Photo by M.A.D.

I love horses, all my life. Horses are majestic and formidable, a beauty that commands admiration and respect. One thing I regret is not learning how to ride in my younger years. Virginia has a rich equestrian heritage. This is due to the English settlers. Although it is more prevalent in the north of Virginia, our area to the south is also fond of these lovely creatures. Middleburg is called the nation’s horse and hunt capital. Known as a charming town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Warrenton is also known as having a growing equestrian community, and so is Charlottesville and Albermarle County where you can find lovely horse estates. Chincoteague Island in VA is known for its feral ponies, ingrained in its rich culture. Lexington is also known for its equestrian facilities. In our area, Chatham Hall, our town’s girls boarding school has extensive equestrian facilities and program. Girls from around the world attend the boarding school. Chatham is home to the Hargrave Military Academy for boys as well, although it does not offer an equestrian program. On a funny note, the movie Crazy People (1990) was filmed in Chatham Hall. The Olde Dominion Agricultural Complex, which has a capacity for 3,000 people offers many events including rodeos and shows for the horse enthusiast. Although our little town might not be the horse capital it definitely shows its love of horses, and they certainly make their presence known in the parades.

Although I will not be learning how to ride anytime soon, I am more than happy to call this charming town Home Sweet Home and display my love of horses throughout my indoor and outdoor home decor.

The Golden Man

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Here’s a little October poem, The Golden Man.

Fail and flail,

the madman on the golden throne.

Dreams of golden nuggets, of crowns, and crones.

Pumpkins (Photo by M.A.D.)

Spooky Excerpt

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It is October and spooky is everywhere, so I decided to share an excerpt from Sunrise Souls, last book in The Dinorah Chronicles trilogy. It is found on page 66.

… but this time I saw the evil energy that embodied her soul gazing through her eyes. A blaze of fire danced in her eyes with the fury of an unholy cadence. I jumped and delivered a lethal kick to her chest as she came charging with the force of a raging bull. We met in mid-air as she fell back foaming in hate, her mouth spouting a poisonous river of filth.

You can find SUNRISE SOULS on Amazon or order it where books are sold.

The Sum of Your Life

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An adorable visitor (Photo by M.A.D.)

Ever met someone who has gone through many vicissitudes in life? Somehow, knowing some of the details allows one to understand better the character of that person. I have met people who have been through many sad experiences in life and somehow, they seem to have a good and grounded personality. I am dumbfounded by the ones who have had a pretty good life since childhood and still manage to complain about how unfair life is and how it should be better. The first group of people is usually more grateful, and the later seems to be somewhat unhappy and in perpetual discontentment. It puzzles me. Does the sum of one’s life determine character? I think it determines the level of growth and maturity.

As a writer, I treasure the moments when I get to know someone a bit better in the details of a conversation, even if it is a brief conversation with a stranger. I know that I will never experience many situations in life that other people might have but knowing and interacting with people will make for better character building in writing. I always thought that psychologists could be good developers of characters if not writers because they have access to a range of human emotions and behavior.

Knowing the details or a bit more of the sum of someone’s life allows me to be less judgmental of others and more sympathetic. Think about the sum of your life up until now, how has it influenced the development of your character/personality? If you are “here-now” and are able to go back in time to answer this question honestly, consider yourself blessed.

Happy Autumn!

A Nice Start to the Season

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The first day of Autumn is here and signs of it are starting to show up around. There are hardly any birds around and the night songs of critters are slowly dwindling, and the Katydids are gone. Squirrels are busy and the nights are becoming cooler, nice crisp air that I love for certain. The not so welcomed critters will be here as well, stink bugs and the large migration of Japanese lady beetles. That is one thing I certainly dislike about the season.

A nice start to the season that I have been waiting for a few years now has finally materialized, and that is the harvesting of grapes from our one and only grape vine. For me, this is significant because I bought the lonely plant at Aldi’s at half price and almost dead. I just wanted to give it a chance. I planted it and it took well. The first year it just grew and spread its branches, the next year a few single grapes showed up but nothing to hope for, and on the third year a significant number of grapes hung from its large and steady branches; however, as they grew and matured approaching harvest time, all grapes disappeared overnight. I blamed deer but we had a fence. My neighbor was disappointed as well because we were waiting to taste the grapes. My husband and I decided to trim the plant all the way and retrained it to get it away from the fence. That meant another year without grapes. This year, I could see all the grapes, tons of them, and I was fearful that what had happened once would be repeated. I kept tasting them every few weeks to be sure when to pick them, but I missed the perfect timing, after all, it was my first time harvesting grapes. I skipped a few weeks of tasting grapes, and in the process, I lost a ton of them that were ready, many. However, the wasps, bees, and butterflies have been enjoying the mushy grapes, and not all was lost because the vine produced so many grapes that we were still able to collect a wheelbarrow full. We rinsed the grapes three times and kept a large bowl for us and gave the rest to my sister and neighbors.

I learned a few things during the process: never give up on a plant just by looks, it was an exercise in patience, butterflies love grape juice, who knew? Expect to deal with many different critters during harvest, and mushy fermented fallen grapes smell like strong wine. It was certainly an interesting process. My sister tasted the grapes, and she said that the taste was similar to Chateau Morrisette wine, which she loves. She got the largest bag of grapes, of course. Here are a few pictures of the little vine that could.

Early beginnings (photo by M.A.D.)
Growing and becoming stronger (Photo by M.A.D.)
Each year it grew fuller (photo by M.A.D.)
Starting all over, being retrained (photo by M.A.D.)
A “deer” fan (Photo by M.A.D.)
Finally, grapes galore! (Photo by M.A.D.)
Despite losing a large amount, we were able to collect five large pots of grapes. (Photo by M.A.D.)

In hindsight, I also learned that one’s life is a bit like a grapevine. I hope you enjoyed this post and that it inspires you to plant a tiny grapevine.

A Poor Mentality

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A poor mentality has little to do with money. It relates to vision, how we see the world and relate to it, and that world encompasses our past, present, and future. Our past shapes much of our personality traits but does not determine who we are. Its influence marks us but does not make us. Depending on our past experiences, we view the world as a battlefield or a field of flowers. Simply put, some people had it better than other people; however, that does not determine who we become ultimately. It does influence how we view our present and future, and the struggles we seem to endure, many real, other self-created. If we have developed a poor mentality, our vision will be cloudy and we will be in constant struggle, no matter our true reality.

Not long ago, I had a conversation with someone who struggles with a poor mentality despite blessings. This person was telling me how difficult things are financially, and overall, complaining about life in general. I listened, trying to understand this person’s point of view about the situation. I understood that this person had life challenges but also was very blessed at the same time. Knowing part of this person’s net worth I decided to bring some focus to the overall reality, hoping to ease some of the anxiety. I said, ” I don’t know how much money is in your bank account, but I can tell you about the assets you have that I am aware of, and for what I can tell, your real estate net worth is close to two million dollars according to real estate market value right now, possibly more. “ (I had a RE license when I was younger). This person remained a bit quiet, then said, “Do you think so?” I answered, “I know so, and that is only your properties’ market value, which are already paid in full, and you own straight.” That was the end of that, because this person totally dismissed the information I had just shared and continued to complain about how unfair life was. I was puzzled, but I offered my ears. I also knew that this person made double what my husband and I made monthly. This conversation was an eye opener for me. I understood that a poor mentality will keep your mind captive, jailed, and close the doors to much more than opportunity but also to joy, gratefulness, and in a way, to reality.

I share this real example because it truly shows how dangerous a poor mentality can be, and how blinding as well. It causes us to believe that our hands are tied when the solution is in front of us. It makes us victims when we are blessed. It robs our happiness when we have plenty to be grateful and happy about. It darkens our days. It shuts our mind. It dampens our spirit. It makes us believe what is not real and robs us of hope and much more.

Survival Mode

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The topic of survival is one that I have included in my novels. It is interesting to see how survival can bring out the best or worst in people. It separates heroes from the not so good characters. So is in real life, although I believe that there is redemption for everyone. When a person is in survival mode, it forces the individual to act one way or the other; it brings about the truth of that person. In other words, you cannot fake it when you are in survival mode. It forces you to be what you already are. It shows a person’s true colors.

I will venture to say that in today’s USA, many people are in survival mode, probably more people than we realize. Younger generations are having a tough time keeping up with a very high and unrealistic cost of living and many people are working two plus jobs and hardly making it. Young couples simply cannot afford giving birth because hospital care is simply unaffordable. Food prices, daycare costs, and rent or home prices are truly out of reach for most of the younger generation. It is simple very different from what it was for other generations. In simple words, this generation is being hit from all angles. Most politicians fail to see the struggle, or they are simply not in touch with reality out there. People are struggling to keep a roof over their head and put food on the table, even the most frugal people. Most of Americans are in survival mode. Many people are truly doing all they can, working all they can, and cutting costs as much as they can, and they are still not making it. The disparage and disproportion between wages, education, and labor is ridiculous. The middle class is slowly disappearing in this country. It is easy to put a blindfold and label a generation of being lazy without considering all factors and influences at play.

I have always been an observer by nature. How many times have I witnessed someone at the supermarket leave just a few groceries because the card did not take? How many times have I heard a mother tell her child, “Sorry honey, we don’t have enough for “this” today;” “this” being a food item, not a toy? How many times have I witnessed someone staring blank at the insane prices in the meat isle at the supermarket, a hopeless stare followed by bypassing the product section, or even putting groceries back? I can tell you more examples, from couples quietly arguing about food, to older people with less than five items in the food cart, oh, so much more. Food is a basic need, and people can’t even eat in what we call the richest country in the world. Many people are in denial, but that is just a coping mechanism when you are or are about to be in survival mode.

If you have ever been in survival mode and have come through, you know well that there is a lesson to be learned from all of it, and most likely, you recognize that lesson. Most likely, you come out with a sense of gratefulness, stronger, and wiser. Most likely, you have learned about yourself, your true self, and the things that are not to be taken for granted anymore. Most likely, there is a sense of renewal and hope, of clarity and inner peace, and a healthy dose of pride after surviving the event. Having experienced survival mode at one time in my life, I can say that faith is an important component to make it through, that is, faith in yourself, and faith in a higher power. Don’t forget to count your blessings because they are many, in any circumstance.