Wind, Wind, Go Away!

Another Day of Wind

Wind chills brought the temperatures down into the teens.  It eased up a little in the afternoon, so I went out to make the grave blanket.

If you don't know what a grave blanket is, it's time to explain. It is a decorative covering of greens or flowers used to lay on a gravesite as a memorial.  Most often, here in the USA, they are used at Christmastime or, in some cases Easter.  Some people might use something similar to remember birthdays or anniversaries. Some people just put a wreath at the grave, some floral arrangements.

Here is the one I made for my parents' grave after I finished it.  I decided not to put the shiny decorations on it I'd bought because I liked the more natural look.

I  used evergreen branches from the bush by the house, and holly from our holly tree.  It has a red ribbon I bought along with some artificial poinsettia.  

Here it is at the gravesite:

It looks quite pretty there in the cemetery.  My parents loved nature and both loved Christmas, so it's a fitting time for me to make a little extra effort to remember all the love and goodness they gave me in their lifetimes. 

It would not be fitting to blog from Follywoods without a mention of the equines in my life.  Thus, I include, to brighten up the mood, so pictures of the Boys taken a few days ago.  

Tucker's "glamor" pose.

Chance getting some exercise:

And Toby, warily watching me, ready to run off in an instant if I dared to approach him with the halter and lunge line. 

I think I may have figured out how to set the camera to better capture the action shots without too much blur, but it will have to wait for another day.  Today, the arena did not thaw out completely.  It was fine in some spots and frozen pretty solid in others.

I'd love to be able to afford some rubber shavings to mix in with the sand, but so far, it looks as if it would cost thousands of dollars to buy enough.  It's one more thing I intend to do when I win the Publisher's Clearing House Grand Prize.

There. I've said it. I am going to win. Yes.