The Wild Ones

All my life I dreamed of owning a wild horse.  Growing up in Princeton, NJ made that seem pretty unlikey but I loved the stories of Flicka, The Black Stallion, Misty. Wtih no wild ones in sight,  I rode Throughbreds off the track, retired Starndardbreds, jumpers and hunters. I exercised polo ponies and was given seasoned Pony Club horses. I specialized in rehabilitating the hurt and the emotionally damaged. And then, I had years where I gave up my love affair with horses. I was too busy raising my children and attending to my birth center, horses had to wait.

About 10 years after relocating to Orcas Island, I again looked for a horse to 'rescue'.

Red, a retired jousting horse came into my life. His show name with the Seattle Knights was 'Jester'. He was a beauty!  But, oh so sad.  I looked forward to giving him a happier life, and hopefully  doing lots of cantering. He seemed like a really steady guy to help me get back into riding. After all he had seen everything, right?

 
Red had other ideas.  He had deceided he would retire. He was done working. This would be his post-career life. He'd get to explore all the things he'd never had time for before. Like the girls in the herd. Perhaps he'd learn to do watercolors. He was fond of grazing.

 
He never wanted to canter again. How he held it together jousting was beyond me. The horse was an emotional wreck. We went slow, had our good days, and worked in dressage. He was a sweet guy, but what he really wanted to do was just hang out.

Then one day, at the Horse Expo in Puyallup, I met a mustang. There were Warmbloods and Andulusians, Quarter Horses and Rocky Mountain Horses, but it was a Kiger Mustang stallion who seemed to put them all to shame. His name was 'My Tiger Kiger' owned by Kim Kellog. He did not act like any stallion I ever knew, he was so personable, friendly and well adjusted. It appeared that Kim could do anything with him! He seemed to be emotionally healthy and he was beautiful and perfectly conformed, with small hard feet, big eyes and small quick ears.

With all of those hurt and hurting horses,  I made a lot of progress, but frequently there were remaining glitches, some problems that never completely went away. What if I started with a clean slate? A horse raised in an intact family, in a herd, the way nature intended? What about a horse who had been gathered from the wild, and would not be able to go back, one slated for adoption. One like 'My Tiger Kiger'? The BLM had thousands of horses needing to be adopted.

Soon my husband and I were making pilgrimages down to the corrals in Burns, Oregon, where we would spend days dreaming of the day we would adopt our own horses. We frequently fell in love. We talk of many of those horses to this day, horses from the past ten years: Dog Solider. Jester, Double Eagle, Wild Girl, Sooty Face.  Often, we wondered why we would spend two days traveling only to stand in snow and frozen mud, our collars up around our ears in the cold winds to watch the wild ones. But we did, again and again. It called us, and we went.

How about the Buttermilk one?

Dog Soldier I would bet came from the Army Remount program.

We called this pretty little mare 'Hippie Chic"

I desperately wanted 'Hippie Chic'. Of course, she was a bossy piece with a mind of her own. A redhead, again!  And as you see here, her ears are always pricked paying attention to everything!  The wranglers kept suggesting other horses..by then I was listening..So, this pretty little filly did not come home with us.

Thanksgiving Potluck in Deer Harbor

 Pond in Deer Harbor

Friday night was my favorite potluck in Deer Harbor. Our November potluck is a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner with all the fixings and I don't have to cook!  No stress about getting the house clean, who's coming or not coming,  or if everything will be just right. No, just show up and bring a dish to share.
There must have been 80 people there, mostly locals from Deer Harbor. The turkeys were beautifully cooked and all cut up, lots of rich dark gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, but for some unknown reason no mashed potatoes. No matter, we all had a grand time.
Ken and I  sat at a table with our Accountant/Artist friends; Jerry and Mary. Mary is this incredible artist and has just started a blog: anordinaryartist.com. She's way too modest! Also at the table was Nancy Southern, she specializes in energy work, EFT which is Emotional Freedom Technique. This is a form of acupressure that is easy to learn and highly effective, and works well for both physical and emotional issues. Heidi was at our table also, she lives 4 doors down from us, and makes granola and sells it under her friend Rob's label: Local Goods. She told me in the summers she sells 100 lbs a week. Wow that's a lot of granola! Local Goods can be found on Orcas, Lopez and San Juan Island. She told us about her six week trip to an ashram to southern India. A the end of the table were Megan and Bob Harris. They have actually moved from Deer Harbor where they lived for years to OPAL in Eastsound. OPAL provides affordable housing on Orcas and is where over 30% of the school children on Orcas live. They have several communities with common grounds and very sweet homes. You would never guess this is considered affordable housing. Bob was an architect and he and Megan moved here years ago from Santa Fe. Megan was an avid gardener and for the 20 years they lived in Deer Harbor, I believe they lived out of their garden. They are also published authors.
So, who lives in Deer Harbor? Authors, Artists, Architects, Accountants, Cooks, Gardeners, Travelers, Energy Workers, Realtors, Builders and Horse Trainers!

We Painted our Green Built Home- Green!

Renovating a home, as my husband the builder has told me countless times, can be full of surprises and lots more work than you ever imagine. I don't like to admit it but he was right. Renovating this simple cottage seemed to take forever and of course cost more than we'd hoped.  

After barging from Sidney, BC and landing on Orcas our little cottage made  a perious journey down the road to it's new home on Orcas Island. There it was set up on steel beams until the foundation was poured for the house and  the new master suite addition. After approval by the county, it was lowered to it's new foundation. Then the fun began!

Ken and crew began tearing things out; like the kitchen, the pergo floors, the boring doors, the skinny trim, the carpet, most of the bathroom. Well, you get the idea, it was a top to bottom redo. The planning stage, that's the most fun when creativity surges and the ideas flow.

Our goal was to have a Craftsman-inspired Home with as many sustainable products that we could manage. We hired local carpenters, electricians, plumbers and painters. The cabinets were made on Island. We used wood from the property that we had milled. We both believe in details and high quality workmanship and were aiming for a jewelbox!  Sustainable in style with low maintanence exterior, single story living, and sited for sunshine.

Split cedar rails enclose the small garden by the entry. (Cedar from property)

 

 Oak Fumed Entry Door.

 

Suistainably harvested Bamboo Floors. A bank of windows faces west in the living room.

Hand crafted mantle on Blue Stone propane fireplace.

The view from the front door.

Glass vessel sinks in bath rooms on Island made cabinets.

Italian Tile in Master bath.

 Cork floors in Kitchen, High end Stainless Steel Appliances and locally made cabinets.

South facing bank of windows for solar gain in new master suite.

South facing porch off of living room.

Yes, we painted it Green! Three tones of green on Hardiboard planking. That will last forever and never grow moss! There is a small detail of deep red trim, but you can't see it in the pictures. This home on two level acres is just one mile to town. You can keep chickens here or a few sheep. There are horses in the neighborhood. It is a great place to garden as the soil is deep, rich, dark and well drained. Soil like this is rare on Orcas, mostly we have clay and rock!  All the surfaces are new in this home, and everything has been done with love and care. If you care about the planet, this home is one to look at. Available for the right folks for $479,500.

For more information about homes that may suit your lifestyle drop me a line! 

Kate@orcasdreams.com