My favorite x-mas cards this year

Here is a selection of some cards I thought were really lovely this year. That isn’t excluding the other ones I got - they are very special too! I big thank you to all the snail mailers ~ getting Christmas cards is so fun so thank you!

revenge is a dish best served cold

This peculiar image reflects well what I was picturing would happen to Secret and I the day we heard wolves while out riding in the woods. I am not quite sure what happened to my clothes but I assume the wolves ate them!

Upon further research I discovered this is actually an image of a man who has had the misfortune of sleeping with the wrong man’s wife. This seems a most adequate revenge I would imagine!

See: Mazeppa Byron's poem published 1819 based on passage in Voltaire's, Charles XII.

cat attack

I may not have been attacked by savage cougars but I did have a run in with a bunch of barn cats! I snapped this pic on the way into the barn - to be perfectly honest I was a little intimidated. I don't know when it happened but our sweet little farm kittens grew up. I escaped unscathed from the swarming but later found cat pee on my horse brushes!

killer mailbox

When out hacking there is nothing scarier to a horse than the sight of a mailbox springing up out of the ground ready to attack! Lately however we have had so much snow that they are hardly noticeable at all. Secret and I are confident now that we are no longer being stalked by mailboxes at every corner but have replaced our fear of mailboxes with something a little scarier. That same day I rode into the woods but the snow was much too deep and I began hearing wolves. Secret was snorting and didn’t want anything to do with them. I obliged him and turned around to head back onto the road. I could almost hear him say “you’re scared too!” and after that all he wanted to do was get the heck out of there and I had to hold him back from galloping away with me. Later I discussed the wolves in the woods with my boss and he said that the area has had an increase in cougar sightings!

This seems very scary to me since I know that wolves generally don’t attack humans but have heard recently about cougar attacks.

In order to prepare myself for a possible future cougar sighting I read up on what one should do if under attack:

“Aggressively defend your position. The idea is to deter their attack by making them think that it isn't going to be easy for them. Pick up a branch or a rock to help fight them if needed. They are just big kitty-cats, so you don't want to appear as smaller prey to them. In particular, running away makes them think you are prey, and will encourage an attack.”

That seems reasonable enough – get a couple twigs and scare the kitty away…but then I went on to read:

“However, you may not have to worry about taking action to prevent an attack, since mountain lions ordinarily either lie hidden, waiting for prey to approach beneath them, or approach unseen, and then attack and kill by a bite to the back of the neck that severs the spinal cord. “

So apparently I have nothing to worry about because I will be dead before I know it!

Juliette et Chocolat

It seems a pressing message I need to convey is where I found the best hot chocolate. So without further ado..

Juliette et Chocolat
1615 rue St Denis
Montréal, QC H2J 3K3

They serve the thickest Euro-style hot chocolate I have ever tasted. It comes in two styles l'ancienne or classique. I have had dark and milk chocolate both are amazing. But to get the full effect you must order l'ancienne ~ it is so thick you can't even pour it! I am a self-proclaimed chocoholic but it is a true test to finish the pot! This is a must stop in Montréal!

Thicket - an underused word

Blue Thicket 1974
Original Woodblock Print on Silver Leaf
by: Joichi Hoshi

So here it is my first blog! It is an early Christmas pressie to myself.

I am not sure how I thought of the name. I don't think I have ever used the word thicket in my vocab ever! Since rediscovering it and spreading the word about my blog I have been asked what a thicket is. I think it is a crazy bushy area that may even be a bit prickly in spots. My Mother asked "what were you doing in the thicket?" well that isn't the point but I think the blog name is a metaphor for a creative spot.

I hope you enjoy it.