Weekend Coffee Share; Tomato-less Plants and Murphy!

On By DianaIn Barn stories, Living life, weekend coffee share
  • Welcome to my coffee share, can I get you a cup of coffee or tea?

I am brewing up some coffee thinking to myself what the heck am I going to share this weekend. It seems I share the same thing and sometimes it seems I am a broken record. But am I? Haha, I sure hope not but it seems my hopes and dreams are one thing but the mundane day to day stuff is the same. I have felt a bit stuck lately, maybe its because I am not planning much towards future goals and/or long term plans. I feel like I am in what I will call a steady state time of my life or like a holding pattern ~ holding to wait and see what the future of my grown children is going to be and waiting to see “what’s next”. I didn’t know the things that have happened throughout this year so far was going to happen, and so here I am. I said good-bye to my handsome horse Zack and have welcomed into my life my new horse Murphy. My steady mare with me all along as I enjoy this ride called life!

  • My tomato plants, but sadly there has not been one tomato come to fruition. There has been many small flowers that dry up and fall off. Strange!

I can get my self all twisted up with frustration if I try and make plans that are huge. Meaning, I had set my mind a couple of years ago to move to be close to my family in Arizona. It was a journey my family was behind until door after door was shut and I decided this was not a good idea. I am super happy in my home town here where I live and maybe this is where we will stay, but will we? I am not sure, and I do not know what the future holds. I am not in a position to make a decision for myself and only myself as I have a husband and need to be compliant to all who surround me. It’s only fair. But for those of you who are single and free to do as you choose, you are lucky as I find life more complicated when you throw in a bunch of people and animals! 😀

I am surrounded by such wonderful friends. I had a wonderful lunch this weekend with my best friend and it is so wonderful to catch up with her and we are planning to do this more often as we share and update our horsey stuff. We will also share our family goings on as well. I thought I would share some of my thoughts and feelings as I am hoping it makes my post a little more interesting. I know I am not alone in this world with these same thoughts about life. I do count my blessings and am so thankful for all that I have and for my wonderful family. ❤

  • Murphy standing pretty but his ears are not forward.
  • Murphy’s looking forward with his ears, but his tail is swishing!
  • I like him standing next to these pomegranate trees! I zoomed in and enlarged this photo from the photo above with the tail swish! ❤

Can I get you a refill? I have some cookies too…. I had decided to throw some tomato seeds into my container with some new fertilizer and grow some tomatoes. Last year I had grown tomato and green peppers in this same container which fruited fine but I bought little starters from the store. Once these tomato seeds started growing I thinned them out and left 4 to grow. When my plants were half this tall with no fruit, I thought maybe its too crowded and I pulled out 2 plants and left 2 to flourish. They are growing taller and taller with some small flowers but no tomatoes. The flowers just dry up and fall off. I have never seen this happen before! CRAZY! Maybe there are no bees or other insects to pollinate them? that’s probably part of the problem, I am not sure. I have always gotten tomatoes, sometimes I over water and they split but this is bizarre. I’ll give them more time, maybe buy some miracle grow but I am just growing tall tomato plants with nothing! Haha!

He is the sweetest boy! He is tied at the tie rail or hitching post. He is learning and is so smart! He stood perfectly today!

I always turn Murphy out before I ride him. Since he is only 3 years old I like him to have this free time to be a horse and be silly if he chooses. (I will say, he mostly walks around and doesn’t do much unless I encourage him, lazy guy!) This way he can be silly and trot around or canter, buck if he chooses without me on his back. He is very smart and now knows that when he is free to do these things he does, and when he is under saddle he minds his manners and is very calm and respects what I ask him to do. He is very smart and is learning fast! The above photos are when he was lose and I loved how he was standing in the shade of the trees!

What a handsome guy! I LOVE this photo and you can see he is starting to muscle out a bit and gaining some weight! He also is standing perfectly square which he did on his own. (This means if you look at his legs and body it is shaped like a square box if you were to draw a box around his body. I think he has super nice conformation.)

I took these photos today because I bought a new girth for my saddle. My old girth is all black and a bit too short but I made it work but found as he is filling out it is not long enough. This girth has fuzzy white sheepskin which is so nice as it snugs all around and under his belly. (The girth is what keeps the saddle on the horse. Western riding it is called a cinch.) My old girth for this English saddle is a size 52″ which is fairly long but not long enough! So I bought a size 58″ which is the biggest size I could buy. I must say it is almost too big, but he will grow and fill out and so it is the perfect size! I measured Murphy today and he measures 17.2hh and he is still growing! He is a BIG BOY! Gentle Giant!! ❤

His other side and he is not standing square. Just to point out the difference. The new girth looks great! He stood so well today before our ride! 😀
Last photo I promise! His kind eyes say it all. He loves people and enjoys the time we are together. Love you Murph! ❤

I feel like the luckiest person, falling in love with this horse on a video I saw with a trainer I follow who trains off the track thoroughbreds up for adoption in Oklahoma! He is truly such a mellow fellow, a kind horse wanting to please. I have thanked the horse trainer for her honesty and great work with these beautiful horses! ❤

Thank you for stopping by and joining me for my coffee share. I enjoyed sharing some of my thoughts and feelings as we are heading into Fall here. I think I am thinking about these stuck feelings because we are heading into the holidays and oh, how I wish I was closer to my grandkids. But I know we will see each other and am thankful for that. I am so grateful for my beautiful family, and I am also very thankful for all my wonderful friends. Thank you to Natalie who hosts our #weekendcoffeeshare she does a wonderful job!

Horse Crazy Grandma,

~Diana ❤

28 thoughts on “Weekend Coffee Share; Tomato-less Plants and Murphy!”

  3. Ah, “the holding pattern,” I feel like we have been stuck in somewhat of a holding pattern lately with the world being so topsy-turvy. One step at time though, we will all get were we need to be. The horses and tomatoes look great. Thanks for the virtual cup of coffee Diana. Hope you have a nice week.

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    1. Thank you for visiting Shari and yes, so true that we all are in a bit of a holding pattern. And one step at time is a great plan. I’m glad you enjoyed my photos and I hope you have a great week too! ❤️

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  4. Thank you so much for the coffee Diana and so good to see how Murphy is filling out and growing into his frame. He seems far too laid back for racing and makes a wonderful companion – so happy you’ve found each other in this life! Wishing you a blessed new week ahead and please give sweet Chloe and Murphy a big pat from us all 🤗🧡🐴 xxx

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    1. Thank you so much Xenia for your wonderful comments. I agree! Murphy does not have that racing gene as he’s so laid back and is such a wonderful companion, so happy we have found each other too! Have a blessed new week too and I’ll give them a big pat. Please give Eivor and Pearl a big pat too from all of us here! 💖🐴😍🐾❤️

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  5. Hi Diana,
    I recall you sharing about the idea of moving and noted how excited you were about doing so.
    But the idea seemed to disappear from our coffee shares and I’ve wondered. I think this is the first time you revisited the idea. I can guess that you’re a tad disappointed with it not working out but you are correct that you have a great investment in where you’re at now.
    You also, were thinking out loud about what you share. I like hearing about your horses mostly because I’m interested in what feeds your passion and you glow when talking about them. Your passion is contagious. That said, I’d love to hear more about your work. You shared once about it when it was you new job and I found that fascinating. So — just a thought.
    Regardless, I look forward to the glimpses of life through your eyes each weekend.
    Blessings.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Hi Gary!
      Yes, it’s been exactly a year ago where I basically gave up with our move to AZ realizing it just wasn’t a good idea and with housing prices rising and then other doors shutting I had to stop writing about it because I was just too sad. But my daughter suggested I try and find a job locally with better hours which I did!! And I made that happen November of last year! YAY! I’ve been there almost a year. I’ll talk more about my job in future shares, that’s a great idea!! It helps to hear from you and others who enjoy what I share.
      So thank you for your positivity and it’s wonderful to hear my passion isn’t boring and as you put it contagious! YAY!! That’s what I aim to do in my shares, so that is so sweet of you to share your thoughts. Your comments make me SMILE!! I hope you have a blessed week ahead! Thank you so much for visiting! ❤️😍🐴🤠

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  6. Diana, I love all your stories and photos of Murphy and wish I could see him IRL. He’s a beautiful horse and if eyes are windows to the soul, he has a kind soul. The pomegranate tree is full of fruits, the owner may have to give some away. Maybe Dr. Google can advise on your no-fruit-yet tomato plants. I hope you get to see your grandkids soon. Thank you for linking up with #weekendcoffeeshare.

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    1. Hi Natalie!
      Thank you so much for visiting and your wonderful comments. I wish I could have you and so many others meet Murphy IRL! Oh he is so sweet and so tall!! And I agree, I think eyes are windows into their kind souls. Aww, such sweet comments!!
      There are so many pomegranate’s and I’ve taken home many to eat but they mostly get eaten by the birds. At least they aren’t wasted! I’ve added crushed eggshells to my tomatoes fertilizer and will look up for more help too. Have a wonderful week ahead! ❤️

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  7. Hey cow gal, Murphy is just magnificent, never too many pics. I love how you let him be horsey. I let Zina & Danny out the other day to forage the property(need rain) Zina danced around like a magnificent galah. I was thinking like you they do really look so beautiful, but so glad they don’t do that when ridden. lol. Danny just puts his ears flat back & face in some yummy grass, he’s not always in a dancing mood, he’s such a grumpy old boy, lol. I hope the holding pattern has eased it’s grip a bit for you. It must be a season for it. Thank crickey we have our happy places. As for the tomato plant that’s just plain rude. May your week ahead be filled with much frolicking fun, from cantering around your work place, try it it’s fun, to meandering on the trails. Much fun to you my friend.

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    1. Howdy cowgirl!
      I’m so happy you enjoyed all the photos! It will be fun to look back as I share now how Murphy looks and then see how he grows into his body! Isn’t it fun to see Zina and Danny romping around and foraging! It’s nice they can be horses. I hope you get that much needed rain soon! Love hearing about your ponies!

      Yes, it’s rather cathartic to put my thoughts down in written form. Kinda gets it out of my head and let’s me put things in perspective. I’m so incredibly thankful like you say, we have our Happy places!! YAY!! You’ve got me giggling as I’ll canter around my work place and the arena on Murphy! Haha, and you have a wonderful week sweet friend!

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  8. Hi Diana! Love the photos of Murphy – especially the last one. I am sure growing conditions are totally different down there but a few years ago Dan put all new soil in our planters with fertilizer and the tomatoes and peppers were producing nothing but leaves. I read that they need a lot of calcium (especially when freshly fertilized) so I have been drying our eggshells, powdering them and adding them to the soil and we have been getting lots of tomatoes. If the plants are already making tomatoes by the bottom dries up on them I put antacid tablets in water to dissolve them and pour the water right at the roots. I pull off the bad tomatoes and within a week I have good healthy tomatoes happening. Take care. Have a great week and hopefully we will both be feeling less stuck soon. 💞

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    1. Hi Anne!
      Thank you so much for your wonderful comments and that you love all the photos of Murphy. It’s so fun to share!
      I remember last year someone here on WordPress suggested adding eggshells too the tomatoes fertilizer and I was getting good tomatoes. (I completely forgot about that until recently! Ugh) So just this weekend I’m adding the eggshells so we will see what happens. I haven’t heard of the antacid tablets dissolved and adding, that’s interesting!! Thank you for the suggestions, I do appreciate it!! Have a wonderful week and yes, hopefully we both will feel less stuck! I know I feel better when I share so thanks for listening!! ❤️

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  9. Murphy is a fabulous 3 year old. There was one at the barn where I have Biasini and he had to be sent to a desensitizer to help him settle and be rideable. This trainer will take him out on trail rides and do some jumping some flat work and maybe take him to a show for an in hand class. Basically this horse would not tie in cross ties and was unsafe to ride. The young woman who is working with him now specializes in this sort of training. So Murphy already has all those things down pat. The tomatoes? Hmm not the right temperature at night? Air not humid enough in the day time? And as for your moving…. I believe in following the “signs”. It will work out if it is supposed to and if obstacles keep appearing maybe now is not the right time for a move. Just my opinion.

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    1. Oh WOW! I’m a lucky cowgirl. Thank you for sharing about the 3 year old at your barn. I know they can be a handful and then some, and I have trainers here if I were to need help and will be mindful if someday that may be the case. But I agree, I think Murphy is fabulous so far! I have plans as Murphy and I grow as partners to take some riding lessons as I know it’s important to have those extra pair of eyes when training them and you can only do so much by feel. I wanted to go slowly and let him mature before we get into more training adventures. I know I can do the basics, and next year I’ll start taking some lessons! ❤️🐴❤️

      I’ve been thinking the same things about the tomatoes, maybe it was way too hot last month, now maybe too cold at night? I’ll give them a few more weeks… And thank you too, as I believe in following the “signs” it will work itself out and it was definitely why staying put felt like the right thing to do. I’m certainly very happy here with my immediate family and with the horses! 😍 Have a wonderful week!!

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  10. Hi – I do not ever think you sounded like a broken record and so make sure you watch some of the negative thoughts (or second guessing with blog stuff) or just monitor it because you could be right (that more emotion were needed – ha) but it also could be just wonderful and you might overlook that.
    —
    anyhow, Murphy is such a sweet horse
    —
    and we had the same problem with our tomatoes earlier this year – and a master gardener friend of ours said “give them time” and he was right – a few weeks later and the tomatoes took off.
    However, I also added some food and manure to the soil and perhaps it was the weather –
    either way, I hope yours will have some fruits for you soon –
    —
    thanks for the coffee chat!

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    1. Aww, thanks sweet friend for the wonderful comments as I know I should not worry too much about second guessing with blog stuff!! Great way to put it, but then it’s nice to share some more personal thoughts here and there which is sometimes needed! At least it sure felt good to share, so part of it is a thought process as I write, if a little negative seeps in. It’s refreshing to hear such kind comments from you and others as is always shared here on WordPress. Everyone is soooo very kind!!

      Thank you! Murphy is super sweet! 🐴❤️

      I’ve already added some things to my tomatoes so fingers crossed they will take off with some yummy tomatoes soon, feeling more positive since yours took off eventually!
      Thanks for visiting and for the chat! 😍

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    1. Thank you so very much da-AL! Maybe I’ll consider that and give a podcast a try especially since WP has helped out to makes the process easier! You are so very kind, thank you for visiting and for your wonderful comments!! 💖

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  12. What a beautiful horse. I know what you mean about feeling like you post the same things, but my life is usually pretty routine since I work outside the home and do online work. THere’s not much time for other things…like recipe creating, diy, crafts. I’ve joined several weekly link parties and that has been helping me get back into a groove and I hope someday I can blog about topics, or new recipes etc. Right now for Weekend Coffee share, I look at it as a time of catching up with a friend, thinking of things we might talk about.

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    1. Hi Kirstin, thank you for visiting and for your wonderful comments. It’s good to know I’m not alone in being busy. It’s true, I do think of the coffee shares as chatting with friends to catch up too. That does help me get the writing juices flowing! 😀

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