At My Cousin's House

Last saturday I got the chance to visit my cousin Terry and play with her horses Chix and Sundance. I'm a sucker for horses, seriously. When I'm around them I completely forget everything around me and just focus on the wonderful fur, big eyes, and velvet lips of the creatures before me. I know they pick up on this, too. They know they can get away with being naughty around me...



Chix here is not just trying to give me a big kiss, he's about to grab hold of my bra with his teeth! Before he became my cousin's baby boy, he was trained to pick up and open things. He can do all sorts of tricks, however... he doesn't realize he can be too much and so Terry had to tell him to stop playing with me so much. I got nipped by him, too, but he didn't break the skin, just pinched me. And, let me tell ya, that pinch hurt! Ow.



Here's Terry giving Chix a kiss, but she's also making sure he behaves!



Chix sticks his tongue out at me while I take a picture of him with Sundance. Both horses seem to be very friendly and loving. They are characters, too!



Here's a close-up of Sundance's eye. I think horse's eyes are so bizarre yet so warm, so soft.



Sundance here looks like he's saying "Hello!"



Chix eye-balls my jewelry. I had to hide my rings and pendant from him, but he still found a way to play with my hair and clothes. My cousin wasn't lying when she told me that he likes to nibble and bite at things.



The apple tree wasn't far from the horses but out of their reach. They are ripe and sweet in the sunset, the very picture-perfectness of the season.



Besides playing with horses, Terry also has an outside cat named Rocky who is just a little lover. Rocky followed me everywhere I went while I explored the garden. My cousin really has decorated the place very well. Hers is the kind of place that spells comfort to me, plenty of little spaces to curl up at and lots of lovely details to photograph. Too bad I didn't have fresh batteries for my camera, otherwise I would've taken more pix.



Just moments before I took this photo, the sun reflected off this mirror globe was very brilliant and so bright that my Aunt Cathy remarked that it appeared to be glowing.

And, yes, I know my camera's handle made a surprise appearance here. I didn't notice that until I got online today. Oh, well. Not every picture I take needs to be perfect.



Okay, one last picture of me getting and giving kisses to Chix the Horse. I must say that it was a dream-come-true kind of visit. I nearly forgot how special my connection to my family is and I'm blessed to have such lovely relations. I consider my friends family, too, but after the loss of my mother and my Aunt Madge, it heals me to reconnect and strengthen the bonds of blood. I hope to visit with my cousins more often and make sure they know I love them. It's very important to stress that -- to make sure the people closest to you aren't forgotten. Too often I can get lost in my own little lonely world. I have to remember I'm loved back.