The details . . .

I find myself relishing the details of my horses, all the little things that make them unique individuals. Those little parts that some might not even see. I guess it's sort of like looking at the pads on the paws of a very young puppy in wonderment, staring at the beauty with which they were designed. So many little details on such big animals and they have been with me for so many years, it's not like I've never seen them. It's just been the recent light, the weather, my mood that makes me really look. . .

I love my sweet old mare. She never fails to make me smile and to warm my heart, so affectionate, so willing to be with me. She came to me at age 11, and she was definitely not the horse I expected or dreamed of but she was right - she chose me and it was good, very good.

The old gelding too, he is pretty irresistible with his beauty, his quick connection to humans and that little devilish gleam in his eye that seems to say he'll be getting into some kind of trouble any second. And he does, but you can't help but always forgive him. He arrived at age 4, a true wild child, breathtaking in more ways than one.

She's 30, a very uniquely beautiful, slim, hard keeper and probably 90% blind now. He's 25, a beautiful chunk of more classic looks and a rebel without a cause for at least 5 minutes of every hour. Different as night and day but the best of buddies, she is mine and he is husband's but they are family really... after all these years, how could they be anything but?

I thought I'd share them with you, in case you don't have any of your own to enjoy, to relish the little things like manes and noses and tails and feet. She is Sugee, short for Sugarfoot. He is Hopscotch and lives up to the name. They have taught me so many lessons over the years. I can't imagine having missed out on that. Someone wise once said, "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." I could not agree more.

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Reflections on the holiday, Arizona style . . .

I know, I know..... the Holidays are past.

Well, just barely, so I hope you'll forgive me. It may be January 4th of the brand New Year but I'm still basking in the glow of the Christmas season, remembering the good times with family and friends, relishing the spirit of the season and the beauty we humans create just "because".


TRADITIONS

It's sort of a family tradition, this post-holiday relishing.... from the French-Canadian family roots. Unbelievably, those ancestors put up the tree on Christmas Eve while the children slept. That was magical but extended the holidays into January rather than celebrating in advance as most folks do these days. So I'm still in a semi-holiday state of mind for awhile longer. Old habits die hard.....

Regardless of how it's celebrated, it's a crazy time of year for most, so many duties and chores, responsibilities. But it's still a time of wonder and wonderment if you let yourself go there. Honestly, I'm pretty sure we adults are mostly altogether too tightly wound and usually forget to drink in all the little details, the small good stuff of this beautiful season.


APPRECIATING THE GOOD STUFF

Planning to try to look beyond the schedule and the hustle and bustle this year, I set out to do a little more appreciating of the small details, to get some photographs of the Holidays, Arizona style. It was fun, driving around seeking out the good stuff, enjoying the crisp cold desert nights and hiking to perfect vantage points. One of those journeys included a visit with my friend Lourie Zipf who was down here in Arizona from Colorado, visiting with family. We got together for lunch and a long visit in the funky little town of Chandler.



MANMADE & NATURAL WONDERS

Now, Chandler's claim to fame is its annual Tumbleweed Christmas Tree. Even after 29 years in Arizona, I'd never seen it. The centerpiece of their town square, it's a 53 year tradition. The volunteers begin in the fall, gathering dead tumbleweeds, painting and glittering them. After forming them into a cone and stringing with lights, if you squint your eyes, you'd swear it was glistening with that certain kind of driven snow that we don't have here in the low desert but which is common in the upper elevations and everywhere it snows appreciably. Such fun to have finally seen it and it was much more than I expected, just as nice a pine, really!


We were also lucky to have the Blue Moon appear, something that only happens every few years. It was a beauty and really lit up our cloudy desert skies making for some dramatic photos of holiday lights scenes.

MORE PHOTOS
I'm trying something new, a smilebox slideshow, so click the link below and check out the photos from my Arizona Holidays project. Tell me what you think of it - it's just a test version so the images are smallish but the slideshow seems nice otherwise.

Hope you and yours had a wonderful season and that you'll stop and take a moment to relish the details in this new year. . .

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Sunset on a Master of the Fresh Perspective: Susan Sexton 1939-2009

It's been far too long since my last post here but this one demands to be set upon the page and so it is.....


Since hearing the news that my dear friend has passed from our world on November 11th, 2009, I've been dumbstruck. Feeling like I am walking in water over my head, shedding tears and yet also trying very hard to follow the old poem's dictate: "don't weep for me". She would want it that way, no weeping, just recognizing that she is still here in the hearts of loved ones, that she lives on in the beauty of her work. I guess I'm not up to her standards just yet though because the tears just don't seem to abate so easily.

Susan was a special friend to me and, although I know she is gone, I also am very sure her spirit will live on in my heart and in the hearts of so many friends and, of course, in the hearts of her beloved family. She was the kind of person who touched deeply, who made a difference in so many ways. She was bold, assertive, smart, insightful and commanding while also kind, generous, loving and fair. Truly, her artistic sense and photographic excellence and achievement was a pinnacle which remain the goal so many of us mere mortals aspire to. And yet, she was so down to earth, a real person, without the swelled head that sometimes comes with such great talent and success.

We were not to be lifelong friends, having only a handful of years together. Mostly we lived far apart, not seeing each other, yet we remained connected. When she would visit her family in Arizona, she always made sure to reconnect and it was like we'd just left off yesterday, so comfortable, so caring, so much fun. We shared birthdays two days apart and would joke about our Libran ways. I felt enveloped by the love of a good friend whenever I was with her and that feeling, along with her warm and genuine hug, is how I will always remember her.

Beyond her great and undeniable artistic gifts, Susan was such a great lady and a wonderful friend. So sweet and gentle, strong, wise and warm, her friendship was one of those gifts in life, adding such a unique richness. I'm so thankful and honored Susan chose me as a friend. Her influence through her work, through her creative and adventurous personality and through what she shared of her beautiful loving spirit enriched me and continues to be an inspiration.

Susan and I spent many hours together this summer. She was so very alive, so happy to be healthy again after beating that first round of this illness in 2008, so ready to reinvent herself through her work once more. If you know about her life's path, you know this was nothing new to Susan and she relished the challenge and the change. She had plans for great things for her planned "real" retirement phase of life that was just beginning this year and I'm sorry we won't be privileged to see them now. She was so energized and ready to jump into new horizons before the last episode of this terrible disease. We talked of past, present and future, plans, dreams, art and vision, words and connections, actions, perspectives and deeper meanings and, of course, of family and friends. Her sweet smile was almost ever present, her wonderful laugh a welcome punctuation in the conversation and that soft hushed but powerful voice laying out loving and wise words in so many directions - to the world, to the horses, to all her people....like a tonic, having that voice wash over you with all it carried.

Susan so loved her people. I cannot think of a time we met when she did not speak lovingly and proudly of each of her children, their accomplishments, their strengths, her love for them shining brightly through. She spoke lovingly too of her grand babies and their mother, her brother and sister, nieces and nephews, her sweet cousin Beth too and her friends, oh, so many of them, far and near, from all walks of life. I cannot recall her gossiping or talking about someone in a bad light - this was just not her way, she instead would acknowledge, accept and understand that others might have burdens we just did not know about, things that might push them to make poor choices and so she would move on to the positive, always the positive.

I'm going to miss her terribly. Honestly, I do already. But I am all the richer for having known her, for having been embraced by her wonderful friendship. My prayers and thoughts go to her family and friends now - she loved them all so deeply and fully.

Susan, my darling friend, fly free and far, bask in the glow of the beautiful heavens, feast your eyes upon the beautiful horses, ride them into the sunset and across all the rainbows, delight in the glories of heaven and know that as you so deeply loved, you were loved by many.