Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Little Buddy at the farm

Little Buddy had the day off school yesterday.  His vision teacher invited him to attend and event held in the morning at a local farm.  Well sort of a local farm.  He loved it, so just in case you need an almost mid week happy fix here are some cute photos of him at the farm.


 He rode on a miniature horse named Missy.


He held on tight all by himself.   I walked alongside him just in case he got nervous or decided he wanted to slide off.  But he was a trooper and had a big smile on his face the whole ride.


Missy wasn't much bigger than Little Buddy, I think they were a match made in Heaven.  If only he could have ridden more than the few minutes allowed.  This little trip made me want to get him into Hippotherapy, where children with different special needs get to ride on and take care of horses.  It would do wonders for his balance and trunk stability, as well as help to relax his legs.  I believe he will be discharged from vision services soon as he is really doing fantastically with his vision.  When that happens we will have one free afternoon a week, so Hippotherapy might be perfect in that slot.


We met a pig although he/she did not oink for us.
 

We saw bunnies, goats, chickens and my favorite this beautiful little lady, Miss Donkey.
 

He got to go on a hayride with his vision teacher who also snuck him on the tractor that pulled the hayride trailer around.  


While they were off on their adventure I walked around and could not take my eyes off this old boat house.  It is part of an old campground that can be rented out and is still in use for boyscout retreats.  Can't you imagine all the squeals of delight this old boat house has heard over the years.  Frankly the water looks gorgeous but I wouldn't venture in it.  Fresh water in Florida houses water moccasins and alligators.  People say they stay out of the way of swimmers, but would you take a chance?  I took about a million pictures of this boat house as I walked around, it was so beautiful and almost haunting if you know what I mean.

 
On our way home we spotted this!  Seriously 30 minutes from my house is a 75 acre alpaca farm I did not know about.  We will visit next time they have an open house.

Hope your week is going well.

43 comments:

Amy at love made my home said...

You know that I always enjoy a little dose of Buddy, especially midweek, what could be better than to read just how well he is doing. I know that what used to be called "riding for the disabled" no idea what it is called now, over here was always something that was seen as being so very good for people with disabilities for all kinds of reasons, so I imagine that your reasoning that it would be good for Buddy is spot on! It certainly looks as though he is incredibly happy on a horse doesn't it. I just wrote about grace and I have to say that Buddy appears to have it in boundless amounts and so does his Mom! xx

Teresa Kasner said...

Oh my goodness! What a totally fun time Little Buddy had! I hope next time he gets to ride longer. My daughter had a pony like that named Sunshine and she rode it all the time. I loved that little lake with the pretty old boathouse! Gorgeous!
((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing Little Buddy's fun with us. What a day-brightener!

Home Meadows said...

What a fun afternoon. It doesn't look like he was afraid of the pony either. We took our son when he was little and he was terrified of the pony, so the ride ended in tears. I'm glad his ride was all smiles. The is a great way to describe the boat house; hauntingly pretty. I'm with you, I was thinking alligators when I saw the pond. :-) Have a great afternoon. Heather

Betsy said...

Oh goodness! You can japust feel the happiness radiating off of Little Buddy. I think the time at the farm was probably one of the best things he could have done and just what the two of you needed to do together. Having Fun. It's underrated! The boathouse looks so serene sitting there, but I'm with you. Alligators and Moccosins. No thanks!
Blessings my friend,
Betsy

moonstruckcreations said...

LB home on the range - looks quite the cowboy! He really does look as if he is loving it.

I had never heard of a water moccasin before, had to look it up on Google. Nope, I would not be going in the lake for a swim if those guys are in there!!

Helenxx

CJ said...

How happy he looks on his pony. The first time my littlest boy went on a donkey he grinned the entire time, he loved it so much. Is there room in your garden for a little pony..? I'm almost certain there is. I'm with you on the alligator thing. There will always be a rogue one that hasn't read the manual and that has developed a taste for human flesh. CJ xx

Jennifer Hays said...

What a nice day he had. He looks taller to me, and I don't think it's just because he was sitting on a tiny horse. :)

Anonymous said...

Looks like Little Buddy and Missy became pretty fast friends.

The boathouse is neat. I LOVE old buildings with a history.

Lucie said...

La vie est belle with little Buddy. I love to see him so much. Thank you for all pics.
Lucie x

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Little Buddy looks so happy on that pony! I think therapy like this would be amazing. His smile lights up all our lives!
hugs,
Linda

RedSetter said...

What a little ray of sunshine he is, and he is doing so well too. I just know you are going to end up with a pony in the back yard/paddock! His balance is fab there and he looks so confident. The only place I want to see a croc is the logo on the side of my croc clogs!

elns said...

What an amazing idyllic day. Love the boathouse, though it does conjure up a few scary movie feelings ;)

Carla from The River said...

I love the boat house too. A hunted tale is ringing in my ears.

Love the photos of your special day.

kristieinbc said...

Thanks for the midweek happy fix! :-)

I have a friend whose daughter did horse riding therapy, and it was such a great experience for her. Hopefully you are able to get Little Buddy into one. From the smile he has on his face while riding that little pony it sounds like it would be perfect!

Judy S. said...

Looks like the two of you had a perfect day! Great photos and wonderful memories in the making. Nope, I wouldn't swim in that lake either!

Taci simmons said...

What what a wonderful day for you and little buddy. It looks like he is having a world of fun. Hope you are having a pretty good fall.

mamasmercantile said...

You were so right, the post made me smile as soon as I saw his little face. He his doing so well, bless him. Loved the photo of the boat house, it had definite charm about it.

Ingrid K. said...

Oh Meredith, what a happy little boy LB looks in these lovely photos, thanks for sharing! Sounds like an ideal thing to let him experience animals in surroundings like this. The therapy you mention sounds spot on! That house does have a haunted look to it, even in bright sunshine!!! And the alpaca farm - I hope you get to visit it soon and let us see some photos, I adore alpacas, such beautiful creatures, not to mention their soft wool! :)
Thanks for such an enjoyable post!
love,
Ingrid xx
http://myfunkycrochet.blogspot.be

Elisabeth said...

Oh wow, little buddy looks so happy! These are some beautiful photos

mynestofyarnandbuttons said...

Meredith what a treat that was for Little Buddy and yourself. Such fun, it was wonderful to see LB so happy and outside with the animals. There is nothing like a farm, zoo and the great outdoors for little kids and big kids too. Loved the boathouse and the endless stories it could tell!
AND to think an alpaca farm so close!!!!! I would get myself there soooonnnn : )
Have a lovely day my friend, xoRobin

Anonymous said...

Go little buddy!! what a sweetie.

Gillian said...

What a brilliant place to go and he sure did well on that miniature horse. It would be a great idea to keep up with the horse riding.

Gillian said...

He did really well - keep it up and I'm sure it will help.

Pammy Sue said...

Those pictures of him on the horse are so sweet! I bet he was thrilled.

Jo said...

Your posts have not been popping up on my blog roll so I have been catching up with all your news. Great dish/face cloth stash you have there now. Well done you. Jo x

linda said...

That looks like a fantastic day out that little horse is so cute taylor made for little buddy what fun. I love the boat house too I could write stories about that boat house, even in the pictures I can tell there is something special about it, and no I will give the swimming a miss thank you. :)

Stins said...

Everytime I think it can't get any sweeter, it does ;-)!
What a cute couple!!!
Looking forward to your visit to the alpaca farm ;-).
Love from Mirjam.

Mindy said...

Pretty! What a fun trip. Hippotherapy would be fantastic! ...of course, only if it fits into the schedule. ;-)

Have a great day!

Joyful said...

Aw, how sweet. It's lovely to see children in such joy over the simple things of life. I hope you get to the alpaca farm. BTW, the scenery at the horse place was gorgeous. xx

Chris said...

Giddy up Little Buddy!! Love love your pictures and he is so happy and so excited. Wonderful. alligators and moccasins, that's pretty scary. No swimming for me either!!

Christina said...

A perfect mid week happiness boost! Thank you, it is just what I needed. Buddy is a little sunshine! x

Jill at emeraldcottage said...

Little Buddy looks so cute on the little pony :) As Amy said we used to have Riding for the Disabled ( prob different name now) and in fact my Dads cousin, Marie (pronounced like "marry") used to be the over-see-er of Riding for the Disabled in Northern Ireland. She was awarded an MBE (big important title) by the Queen for her services.
When you said Hippotherapy was I the only person expecting hugging hippopotamuses to feature ? I'm a bit disappointed really. ;)
Jillxo

kathy b said...

Lil Buddy on the pony is the BEST . I want him to do hippo therapy too! He looks so happy being a COWBOY. Yippie I kay oh kay eh

gaia said...

WOW! Sounds like a fun day!...

Stitchy Mc Floss said...

Aww LB is so cute. Sounds like he is doing amazingly well. Bless him always. I so love the pictures of the boat house and the water. Ahhh Florida. I miss it so much. Thank you for the pictures. ((hugs))

Handmade and off-centered said...

What a great day! Buddy looks like he had a blast and how funny it is to find a treasure so close to home that you didnt know about. I am very curious to see what an Alpaca farm looks like. This was a nice Happy Fix, thank you :)

Hugs,
Birgitta

Acorn to Oak said...

Looks like a fun day! Little Buddy is SO adorable! I follow someone on Instagram that has an adorable little daughter that looks so much like your Little Buddy that they could be twins. And, she wears glasses too. :-)

Helen said...

Oh how wonderful! he looks so happy :) Hippotherapy sounds amazing, and it's so good to hear how well he is progressing, what a fantastic little chappy he is :) xox

Angel Jem said...

:-)

Gracie Saylor said...

I too hope you are able to get LB into hippotherapy, Meredith. Although I don't have a personal testimony to its effectiveness there is a therapy farm just a few houses north of us and other facilities in the area that offer services, and LB had such a good experience at the farm I can imagine he would love the therapy. In their teens my daughters got to take riding lessons/horse care training through their home schooling and their experience was very positive. I especially love the picture of the donkey, and the boat house, too, but I am with you about swimming in the water there. In Missouri we had to beware of water mocs and add alligators to that...no thanks! xx

gilly said...

Back from my holiday and just catching up with some blog reading. I just adore these pics of little Buddy, and that sweet smile of his. That boathouse and setting is beautiful, and yes it must have lots of stories to tell too. Oh and yes, I'd stay out of the water too!
xx

ellen said...

So many exciting firsts and accomplishments for that sweet guy.
The boat house calls to mind The Yearling and/or Cross Creek.