We went to sorting last night and Levi did really well. Maggie got a fire under her and started moving better. Levi had one run that he and his partner got all ten in, in order, in the sixty seconds. The crowd went wild!! All of his other runs except one were really good. He had a lot of fun. Maggie finally seemed to realized she was there to work and dug in! Bannie was having a fit when we loaded her up because just last Saturday, we loaded Charlie up and he didn't come back, so Ban was afraid Maggie wasn't coming back either. But she did, and he was very happy to see her.
I've finally started on the stories for the Heritage Collection. I wrote one yesterday while I was waiting for them to load Maggie. It's called: Faith Under Fire. The main character is Thomas Miller and there's only one other person named by name in the story, George Ritz.
Here's some pictures of Mr. Pape combining the bean field next to the house, he let the kids ride with him for awhile, and some fall pictures I did some editing on. I think they look great! I'm hoping to get a video of Levi sorting up soon.
Lauren

I got a chance to go outside for a walk so here are a few of the scenes I came across. The farm looks its best in the fall!
Lauren

Here's some pictures of the sorting last Saturday and Charlie.
The trees are turning lovely colors, but I haven't been out of the house enough to get any pictures of them. Maybe today or tomorrow I might wander out and snap some.
Enjoy the pictures!
Lauren

I decided to do it tonight after all!
Lauren

Excerpt From Chapter 11: Mysterious Midnight Rider

   A few minutes later, she saw it again and the horses in the corral moved restlessly. 
    Suddenly, a hand was placed over her mouth. She gasped and fought desperately to free herself.
   "Stop kicking, will you."
   Amy sagged with relief as Clint took his hand off her mouth and whispered grimly, "I hope you haven't scared our visitor away." 
   "Sorry." Amy murmured. "I didn't know it was you. Why didn't you say something?"
   Clint lay down beside her. "I figured you would have screamed or something. What did you see?" he asked. 
   "Something moved in those trees." Amy told him. "I didn't get a good look but it might have been a horse and rider. How did you know I was out here?"
   "I was coming back from getting a drink at the creek when I saw you heading over here so I followed." he explained. 
    The horses moved again nervously. "Something or someone is certainly out there." Clint said in a low tone "Let's hope it's just a curious critter."  
    Amy and Clint lay silently side by side for a long time but saw nothing. The horses were still alert and restless but nothing presented itself. 
    "Looks like you scared them away." Clint got slowly to his feet. "Let's hope they're gone for good.  You get back to bed. I'll ride out and see what's going on at the herd. Maybe the boys heard something out there. Good-night." 
   "Good-night. Be careful." Amy could barely distinguish Clint's face in the darkness.
   He nodded and walked swiftly away. 
   Amy stood looking after him for a moment, then she turned and walked toward the wagon. 
    She was walking quickly and had almost reached the wagon when suddenly she tripped over something soft and fell to her knees. 
   "What's the big idea?" someone sputtered. 
   "Uh-oh!" Amy's shoulders shook with silent mirth. She recognized the voice. In the darkness, she had not seen Anders where he was sleeping on the ground.
   His voice was slurred with sleep as he sat up and looked around in bewilderment. 
    "Sorry." Amy bit her lips to keep from laughing. 
   "Amy? What are you doing wandering around this time of night? Stop laughing! It isn't funny." Anders shoved his blanket back
disgustedly.
   "I beg to differ with you." Amy said laughing.
   Tye, who had been sleeping nearby, sat up yawning and rubbing his eyes sleepily. "What's going on?" he asked.
    "That's what I'd like to know!" Anders stared at Amy. "Why did you wake me up like that?" he demanded. 
    "Sorry." Amy said again. "I didn't mean to." 
   "Oh sure!" he said sarcastically. 
   "I didn't!" Amy protested. 
   "Well if you didn't, explain what you were doing out here in the middle of the night." 
    Anders and Tye listened wide eyed as Amy explained.
   "Are you sure you weren't dreaming?" Anders asked when she
finished.
   "I'm sure. If you don't believe me ask Dad in the morning." Amy told him. 
    "Well, this looks like adventure for you, Amy." Tye grinned. 
    Amy smiled. "Good. Keeps life interesting. But we'd better get back to bed. We've got a long day tomorrow." 
   "Yeah, chasing a dream." Anders scoffed. 
   Amy shrugged. "It wasn't a dream." she told him, then turned and walked away, being very careful not to step on anything else.

Charlie is sold. We took him to the cowhorse sale on Saturday and Jess rode him in the competition before the auction for us. He did fine on his first turn in the pen and worked the cows well. The second time, everything was going fine until suddenly, he let loose and started bucking like crazy. Jess stuck with him as long as she could, but he was bucking so hard and twisting at the same time, she fell just as he stopped bucking. As she fell, her foot got stuck in the stirrup and Charlie drug her around the arena before she got her foot out. She brushed herself off, caught him and took him out of the pen, then climbed back on and worked him over good out in the riding area. She tried to make him buck again so she could correct him for it, but he wouldn't buck. That's what makes him such a hard horse to ride...you never know when its comin'. He doesn't buck every time so you always have to be ready. She rode him in the completion to the end, then in the sale. He didn't go for much, but we were glad we didn't have to haul him home and feed him any longer. He went to a good horseman, and if anything can be done with Charlie, he'll do it. As Dad and Jess were taking  the bridle off Charlie after he sold and putting on his halter, he got away from them and started running around the barn. All in all, he caused quite a stir that night! The highest selling horse went for 13,000 and he was worth every penny. He was a sharp horse.
We stayed after the auction watching the competition.  They were competing for buckles. It was lots of fun to watch, lots of action and excitement. Jess won a buckle and a guy got bucked off.
Yesterday we went to Ohio for church. We had the morning service, then a meal, then as they started the second service, the youth, our family and one other family went to the nursing home to sing. I really enjoyed that. We got back to church just as they were starting the sermon and afterwards, we made care packages for Haiti. It was a long day, but very enjoyable.
Today we worked at the hall and we'll probably be doing that for the rest of the week. I haven't been getting very much editing done the last few days. I'll try to post another excerpt and some pictures of the sorting in the next few days.
Lauren

First off, in the last post I said that the turkey Seth got was a hen...wrong! It was tom. Seth thought it was a hen because it didn't have a beard, but when we looked more closely we saw it had a shiny head, spurs and a big tail. So it was a tom. We had it for lunch the very day he got it. Can't get any fresher than that!
We went to sorting again last night. Levi did pretty well. After his first run, he kind of locked up and they weren't doing to good. I showed him how to position his legs and body to get more speed out of Maggie and had him practice some small circles when it wasn't his turn to get her to loosen her neck. He had too really good runs where he almost got all ten cows in in the 60 seconds. He had fun but I can't speak for Maggie! She handles the trailering really well and seemed to like the activity, just not the work! She's starting to figure out how move the cattle.
We're going to the cowhorse sale on Saturday. We'll all miss Charlie. Bannie and he have so much fun playing. I'm going to put up a video of them play sparring pretty soon. I've enjoyed watching them play from the living room window. I hope Charlie does well at the sale. I'm looking forward to a day out.
Okay, as I'm working through the book editing it, I've been looking for interesting spots to post here as excerpts....so here's the first!
Hope you enjoy!
Lauren

Excerpt from Chapter Nine

   They were both silent for a moment, then Clint asked.  "What are you going to do today?" 
    Amy made a face. "Mending. You boys wear out your clothes so
fast!"
    Clint chuckled. "I think I'll be outside all day!" 
    Amy laughed. "Yeah, I might be tempted to hand you a needle!" 
    After she had washed the dishes and tidied the kitchen, Amy settled down in the living room with her pile of mending. 
   With a sigh, she threaded her needle and picked up a shirt that was missing a button. Mending was not her favorite job, but it had to be done. 
    It was midmorning when Amy heard the door slam and looked up to see Anders, Daniel and Clint standing in the doorway. Water streamed off their clothes. 
    "You're soaked!" Amy exclaimed, standing up quickly. "Why weren't you wearing your slickers?"
   "We were in the barn and thought we'd come in and get warmed up. We thought we could make it across the yard without getting too wet but I guess we were wrong." Clint shrugged his shoulders under his wet shirt. 
   Amy pulled some blankets out of the closet, and handed them out. Then she hurried to the kitchen saying, "I'll get some coffee." 
   When the coffee was hot, she carried it to the living room and handed them each a steaming cup. 
   "How lucky you are!" she said, sitting down and picking up her sewing again. 
    "Lucky?" Anders stared at her. 
   Clint chuckled and Anders shot him a puzzled look. 
   Amy grinned. "Uh-huh. You get to work outside while I have to do all this awful mending." she said, frowning at the pair of pants she was holding. 
    Anders shook his head. "I'd say you were the lucky one, working inside while we're out in the rain and cold." 
   "We could trade jobs." Amy suggested, winking at Clint. 
   "No way!" Anders exclaimed. "I'm not about to become a
seamstress!"
   Amy laughed. "You sure fell for my little trap, Anders. I didn't think you would agree to a trade though. How 'bout you Daniel?"
   Daniel shook his head emphatically. "Count me out! I'll take the rain any day!" 
    "Well, I tried." Amy grinned. 
   "Amy tried to get me this morning." Clint told them. "She's a slick
one!"
   "I think I'm dry enough!" Anders grinned. "It's safer outside!" 
    Amy spent the rest of the day mending, stopping only long enough to prepare lunch. 
    "Someone should invent a material that doesn't rip." she thought as she laid aside a hopelessly torn shirt. "I'm so tired of sewing." 
    "Stop it Amy Kentworthy!" she scolded herself as she stood to her feet and started for the kitchen. "Be thankful you have clothes to mend. Some aren't even that fortunate. I'll start supper. Dad and Daniel will be in soon and that will keep me busy to I won't have time for negative thoughts."
   That evening, after supper, she and Clint sat in the living room listening to the rain pounding on the roof. Daniel had gone out to the bunkhouse to play checkers with Ken so they were alone.
   "Amy, I want to tell you how pleased I was with your attitude today. I know you don't like mending and would have much rather been helping us outside, yet you remained cheerful and pleasant. Your mother would have been proud." Clint told her.
   "Thanks Dad. I knew it had to be done, and that I could be miserable and unhappy about it or I could choose to be happy. I wasn't cheerful all the time, but whenever I started to feel blue, I just thought of the verse in Proverbs, 'A merry heart doeth good like a medicine but a broken spirit drieth the bones.'" 
    Clint nodded. "That's the way to think." he reached for his Bible. "Let's do our devotions now so you can get to bed." He thumbed through the pages. "Proverbs 26 tonight." He read the first two verses aloud. "As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool. As the bird by wandering, as the
swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come." 
    "What do you think the first verse is talking about?" he
asked.
   "Well, I think its saying that just as it would be odd to have snow in the summer, a fool should not have honour." Amy said.
   Clint nodded. "I agree. And the second verse seems to say a curse will not come upon us without cause. Meaning, maybe, if there is a curse, it comes with a reason."
   They finished the chapter, then prayed together.
    Clint set his Bible down and gave Amy a kiss. "Off to bed now! We've got a long couple days."

Seth got his first turkey today. A good size hen. He was out bright and early in the rain. I guess the old saying is true...early bird gets the...turkey?!
Dad is on his way to Lennon this morning to put out flyers for the land sale we're doing. Levi is off with his friend Johnny to a football game, Seth is going to the annual pie auction at my grandparents church, he's going to help my uncle bid call and ring. Me, Mom and Lydia are staying home and my Uncle George and Aunt Zina are coming over for a visit.
The trees are really starting to turn colors now. Fall is definitely my favorite time of year.  We have a good view of some woods from our front window so I can see all the lovely colors from my chair.
Next week we'll be getting ready for another auction with take in days at the hall. Since there really isn't anything I can do there, I'll probably stay home and work on my book.
The pictures below were all taken this morning....in the bottom of one of them you can see the arch grandpa has in one of his pastures...with case implements on top. 
 I might post another expert or two from the first book in the next few days so keep checking back!
Lauren

On Wednesday we went to the sorting at the Orchard taking Maggie and Charlie with us. Levi was going to ride Maggie in for the first time and a guy named Jeff had agreed to ride Charlie in for us to test him out. If he did well, we were thinking of putting him in the cow horse sale on the 26th.
When we got there, we learned that Jeff wasn't there, but Jess, the lady we got Smoke from, was and offered to ride him for us. She rode him hard and didn't give him any slack. He quickly learned she wasn't someone he could play around with. He tried to buck her, but she stuck with him and he didn't try it again.
He and Levi both did very well. Maggie was a little slow so Levi is going to use spurs on her in the pen from now on. We were pleased with how Charlie did and Jess is going to ride him at the auction for us too. I sat in my chair and watched....it was a fun evening and one of the ladies brought a cake for one of the girl's birthday. I had been a little concerned over how Charlie would load....the guy we bought him from delivered him so I had no idea how he would do. I had planned on working on it before going on Wednesday but of course, I couldn't after my accident on Sunday. He loaded right up...better than some trained horses I've had. So he'll be in the sale a week from now as a cowhorse prospect. I think he'll do okay.
My librarian checked out about 20 books for me until the end of Dec.! I was shocked when I saw the date. I got them last night and have already finished five I think.
I've been staying occupied between the little school I have, my book and reading.
I've solved the problem with the videos, so you can see the one of me and Smoke and the one of Charlie on the Videos page.
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying our lovely fall!
Lauren

Here's a great poem a friend of mine sent me.

There Once Was An Oyster

There once was an oyster
Whose story I tell,
Who found that some sand
Had got into his shell.

It was only a grain,
But it gave him great pain.
For oysters have feelings
Although they're so plain.

Now, did he berate
The harsh working of fate
That had brought him
To such a deplorable state?

Did he curse at the government,
Cry for election,
And claim that the sea should
Have given him protection?

"No," he said to himself
 As he lay on a shell,
Since I cannot remove it,
I shall try to improve it.

Now the years have rolled around,
As the years always do,
And he came to his ultimate
Destiny—stew.

And the small grain of sand
That had bothered him so
Was a beautiful pearl
All richly aglow.

Now the tale has a moral,
For isn't it grand
What an oyster can do
With a morsel of sand?

What couldn't we do
If we'd only begin
With some of the things
That get under our skin.

Author Unknown

I had a little mishap on Sunday. I guess I'll start at the beginning, Sunday morning.
I woke up that morning to Levi hollering up at my bedroom window. He had Maggie all tacked up and had already been out on a trail ride. He wanted me to come out and get Smoke so we could ride together. We weren't going to church because our well pump had broken so Dad and Grandpa were fixing that so I got into my riding clothes and hurried outside. Lydia and I went over and got Smoke and Lena. As Levi was trying to put Lena's bridle on, she pulled away and ran back across the road to the other horses. Smoke jerked her reins off the post and joined her. Maggie also managed to get loose and stepped on her reins, breaking her bridle. We caught her before she got across the road, then we caught the runaways. As I tried slipped on Lena's halter, I realized her eye was a little swollen and she wouldn't open it. Mom came out and put some drops in it, but we decided we shouldn't ride her so we put her back, then Levi and I went to the round pen to pretend we were sorting cattle...today was supposed to be our first competition. We had a lot of fun chasing make believe cows, yelling and tearing around. We got mom to come film us and after we were done doing that, Smoke was still ansy dancy because she hadn't been ridden in a few days. Mom suggested I take her out on a trail ride and run her out. Levi went to untack Maggie while I took off down the lane.
I turned at the back of the goat pasture and we ran down the lane by the pond, turned at the woods and ran through the hay field toward the corn field. About six weeks ago, Seth clocked me down the road at 25 miles an hour on Smoke and I wasn't letting her go full out. Sunday morning, we were going full out which mean it was over 30 miles and hour. As we ran toward the corn field, we had to either turn right or left. I told Smoke to turn right, but she leaned to the left, asking to turn that direction. I pulled harder to the right and she asked again to go the other way. As we were having this discussion, the corn field was suddenly infront of us. Smoke slammed on the brakes and I went hurtling over her head at thirty miles an hour. My left side struck her head and that is the last thing I remember. I don't remember hitting the ground.
While I was blacked out, Smoke had headed back to her buddies and Mom, who was with the guys at the well, saw a flash and thought Maggie got away from Levi. She started heading that way and at the same time, Seth started yelling for Dad. Levi yelled that it was Smoke without me. Seth jumped into one of the vans and took off to look for me, while Mom and Dad got into the other van.
My next memory is seeing the vans coming down the lane and thinking I should wave so they see me, but I couldn't make myself wave. I don't remember them picking me up.  Seth says I asked what day it was and why I was out there, what happened and if I was riding a horse. Later I thought I was dreaming the whole thing. I wanted to wake up and couldn't, not realizing it was real. There's about half an hour that I only remember snatches of. I didn't know who Dad was. I kept asking what day it was, couldn't remember what I had done on Saturday and when asked who my best friend was, said a different name. My face was cut up and my nose was bleeding. It was obvious I had hit my head, my face was full of dirt and blood. I had just gotten a new helmet and was thinking of returning it because it was too big...actually it probably saved my life because being too big, it turned instead of my neck when I hit the ground.
After they cleaned me up, Mom asked me what hurt. I told her the only thing that hurt was back, it just ached like a sore muscles. None of us thought anything of it.
Anyway, we got in the van and headed to St. Mary's in Saginaw. When we got there, I walked in and after checking in, walked back to my room in ER. The ER doctor met us in the hall and asked me how I fell and what hurt. I told him and instantly he had me lying flat on my back, with a neck brace on, they were calling Level 2 Trauma over the intercom and my room filled with people. They started two iv lines and ordered test.
After the cat scan, the doctor came in and told us I had broken my T9 in my back. I was one centimeter away from injuring my spinal cord. I was that close to being paralyzed.
They got me a room and I wasn't allowed to be in any position other than flat on my back until the brace they ordered came. I did not need surgery thankfully.
They measured me for the brace Monday afternoon and it came Tuesday afternoon. They put it on and showed me how to strap it on. They propped me up in bed, then physical therapy came and showed me how to get out of bed and took me for a walk down the hall. They had me do some stairs, then we went back to my room. I sat in a chair and started eating lunch, then I started to feel hot and queasy. I got up to go back to bed and then had to rush to the bathroom to throw up. I felt a little shaky for awhile and after a few hours, I got up again and lasted about three minutes in a chair before feeling wooshy again. They were talking of possibly keeping me another night, but I got up a third time and did fine, so they let me go. I was so glad to be going home! I had some great nurses taking care of me. Tina was my nurse the day I went home and she was great. Len wasn't my nurse, but he popped in a couple times when they needed help moving me and everytime he had some new horse joke. "So you were horsing around? Bridle us up! Are you gonna canter out of here? Is that your carriage or buckboard?!" He was very entertaining. 
So, I am very thankful I was not hurt worse. The ER doctor says he sees these horse injuries often and most are not as fortunate. I will be in the  brace for three months and on restrictions for awhile longer than that.
Our first competition was supposed to tonight....I certainly won't be riding by then! I'll probably be back to riding by spring. I know I will be nervous and much more cautious when I do get back to riding. I'll start on old slow Ban and progress back to Smoke.
I'm already feeling bored. I'll use the next few months to get a lot of work done on my book. I'm glad I have something to keep me busy!
Here's some pictures of me...obviously not looking my best!
Lauren

Well, seems like I'm finally getting somewhere with the book. I've been talking with Xulon and found out that I have a lot of work to do! I'm working on my last read through...still...and getting everything put together. I found an illustrator I like and I hope she'll do my book. Her website is www.monicaminto.com if you want to check out her drawings. They are exactly the old style pen and ink stuff I've been looking for.
My goal is to be published by spring of 2014...we'll see if that happens.
As soon as I get my cover done, I'll post it here for you all to see.
I've been doing some work with Charlie and got all the way on him the other day. We walked and trotted around the round pen for awhile...he kept sticking his head between his legs and alternately rounding or hollowing his back. I just pushed him forward and pulled his head up. I felt pretty comfortable with his attitude, so I asked him to lope. He went about five steps and gave a buck. I yanked his head up and gave him a slap, then pushed him forward again. We loped around the pen about 7 or 8 times and he did fine.
We're probably going to the orchard to compete on Wednesday for the first time and we're going to take him with us. Jeff, one of the guys there, is going to ride him in for us. Depending on how Charlie does then, we might consign him to the cowhorse sale there in two weeks. Even if we don't consign him, we'll go spend the day watching. That's always a lot of fun.
The other day, Levi, Lydia and I had our horses in the round pen and we were pretending to sort cattle. That was fun! Then I was running around the outside of the ring on Smoke and Levi started pretending I was an outlaw and trying to catch me. We played at that until Maggie was too tired to keep chasing me!
Levi and I got into the center and started square dancing with our horses! That was pretty neat! I put Smoke's head by Maggie's hindquarters and vice versa. Then I moved Smoke's hindquarters over which moved Maggie's shoulders, then I did the opposite with Smoke's shoulders. We weren't really square dancing, but it was fun to try. I like it when we have something specific to do...it makes it more interesting.
Well, we're at the auction hall for pickup right now and I've got a customer.
Lauren

Mom and I had a great time at the ladies retreat Friday and Saturday. I got to meet new people and see my friends. We got home Saturday night, then headed out early this morning back down to Ohio to church at Pleasant Ridge. It made for a long few days, but I've enjoyed them. Below are some pictures of us girls at the retreat.
While Mom and I were gone, Dad and the kids took Maggie and Lena into the round pen and while one rode, the two others ran around pretending to be cows while the one riding, chased them! Sounds like they had a lot of fun!
This week is our busy time at the auction with preview and pickup. It'll be pretty busy for awhile!
Enjoy our lovely fall!
Lauren

Sorting got canceled for this week so we aren't going of course. Next week is preview for the auction so we won't be going then either. Maybe the next week.
I worked with Charlie again the other night. I worked him around with the saddle on and he rounded his back a few times and gave a few hops but nothing really bad. After he settled down and was working nicely, I tied several feed sacks to the saddle horn and sent him out again. Although he was pretty scared and ran like crazy for forty minutes until he finally realized that monster on his back wasn't going to eat him! I got him to the point where I could crinkle the sacks and rub them all over him and he wouldn't even flinch. Then I rode him by standing in one stirrup so I could jump off if I needed to. He did really good and the next time I work with him, I think I'll get on.
On Sunday I got to meet Nathan, my friend Kristina's fiancée, for the first time. I enjoyed talking with him and Kristina and I've started on their story. We haven't picked a title yet, but I'll post it when we do. The main characters in the story are Rebekah and Sam.
We're working on getting the picturing for the auction done in time. Mom and I will be leaving on Friday for Indiana.
Well, tomorrow will be another long day!
I hope everyone is enjoying our lovely fall.
Lauren