Touchstone Blog….
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I write to you in hopes that you are having a lovely weekend. We are enjoying our Spring Fling families who arrived last night to a delicious dinner, farm tour and glowing bonfire, complete with S’Mores and the moon shining bright. We are so excited to ride, drive the carriages, vault (gymnastics on the moving horse), plow the gardens with the ponies, and play with all the farm animals. It is such fun to share the farm and our animals with folks who enjoy all the same things we love. I wish YOU were with us!
The best part of this week was Mother’s Day. We were all lucky enough to have everyone with us for a fun weekend of visitin’, eating, and just enjoying being together. My favorite part is having four generations on the farm. Morgan and Megan, my granddaughters, are the delight of my heart. We got up early on Mother’s Day and went to the plant store, my idea of heaven! We bought all sorts of flowers, dirt, pots and fertilizer. With my truck as the mobile planting table, we planted scores of window boxes and planters to make the farm beautiful. What a treat to work with these “Garden Girls” as they call themselves. They have a real love of the farm. Wait until you see the fruits of their labors when you come to visit!!!
This week at the farm was yet another set of great accomplishments. We had our first visit from the residents of Pheasant Wood, the local nursing home where my Mom now lives. Many of you have lovingly asked how she is after her stroke early last fall. I am happy to report that she is thriving at this facility, surrounded by excellent medical care and the devotion of my dear Dad. Wow, what troopers they have both been. After nearly 61 years of marriage, their love still shines through every single day.
In honor of Mom, we have put together a fun morning program once a week where her friends from Pheasant Wood are coming to enjoy both the farm animals and gardening. The first visit was this week. Despite the cold and overcast weather, they came anyway. We let each resident hold a chicken and sent home eggs to use in their cooking classes. We also planted lots of seedlings for the flowers that will eventually grow in the new raised beds which are handicapped assessable. The girls from the Antrim Girls’ Shelter came to help and were awesome with the older folks. Mom stayed to the bitter end, planting all the seed trays.
Next week, these folks will be treated to a “Beauty Spa” for the miniature horses, donkey and the goats and sheep. I am sure the bunnies and dogs will get in the action too. Meanwhile, the art students at the Dublin Prep School will be painting the cut out figures of the minis and donkey for the raised beds. These life like cut outs are of our four minis and Dunkin, the donkey. These students will then come and build the raised beds which will look like wagons that the minis are pulling. These five raised gardens will then be planted with flowers and herbs that will go back to Pheasant Wood this summer, when the residents will come for an afternoon a session to be with the camp kids. I call this a win win for everyone.
The final day for the nursing home visits this spring will be to meet the Bantum baby chicks, which will arrive this coming week. I have ordered all sorts of fun breeds. I think that this will be a real feature of camp. They will be young enough for the camp kids to ‘tame’, while being hearty enough to be handled. I will surely send you pictures.
The Touchstone and Horse Power Lesson Programs are in full swing, with lots of good learning going on. Our goal is to create life long horse lovers. It is such fun to watch the progress which happens all over the farm. It keeps us all hoping and happy! Seeing the horses taking such good care of their riders, and the teachers planning such fun, creative lessons just makes a body glad!
Best of all, our summer camp programs, summer lessons and our new Birthday Party business is just around the corner…..and wow, are we going to be ready in spades. We will be offering both the residential specialty riding camp, Pony Farm, which is full for the summer, and Barn Yard Buddies, a farm and therapeutic day camp, which still has openings. We will also be offering a full summer lesson program for children and adults. In addition to lessons, we will be taking students to both ‘home’ and ‘away’ shows. We are adding in birthday parties for children. A separate flyer will be going out for these “Summer Fun on the Farm” events. We hope you will be part of this summer fun!
Until then, don’t be a stranger. Come visit and sit a spell to enjoy the full beauty of spring here at Touchstone Farm, Pony Farm, Horse Power and Stepping Stone Lodge.
Warmly,
Isabella (Boo) Martin
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