The Elementals of Autumn

The 2010 fillies head off to better grazing on a different sector of the landscape.
(front to back: Levada, Tocara and Pinoteia)

My delay in typing up entries to the Journal of Ravenseyrie chronicling my week in Portugal has been hampered by two things...

A view of Gore Bay from the vantage point of the East Bluff during the autumn
(photo: Kevin Droski)

Long time readers may recall that I have a studio and art gallery down on the Gore Bay waterfront, which typically I keep open all year round.

The space I lease for my business is in a marvelous, yet derelict structure that has come to be known as the "Wharf Building".

Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Gore Bay Heritage Museum curator, Nicole Weppler, grant monies were gathered to save the building (owned by the town of Gore Bay) from further ruin and now the renovation work has begun! This means, however, that the all of Ravenseyrie Studio and Art Gallery had to be carefully packed and stored in a safe location for the five months that phase one of the renovations will take.

A view into the working studio section, where author Lynne Gerard creates arty things
(Photo: Angie Timan)

A short view into the gallery

I will move back in next spring, along with more creative studios and businesses. So officially, I am on a sabbatical and can spend all day, every day up on the bluff where we live among the horses of the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve.

Levada (Altamiro x Zorita) in October, looking oh-so prehistoric!

After I returned from Portugal, there were many preparations for the packing up of the studio which rather upset the normal routine of things and also, at home there has been the press of finalizing as much as one can around the house and land to be ready for winter. These two situations made for very little time to tap away at a computer, and even now, I do so with the pull of decent weather calling me outside.

So, until the next day of inclement weather, I will continue to put off writing about the rest of my Portuguese trip...but trust, me...what further experiences I wish to share from that interesting week are worth waiting for!

As a reward for dedicated readers, however, I could not resist taking a little time from the busy-ness of winterizing to share some of the stunningly beautiful scenes of autumn I have photographed here at the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve.

Altamiro, the Sorraia stallion who knows precisely how marvelous and special he is!

Please enjoy the array of images and forgive me for the delay in reporting on my Portuguese adventure, won't you?

Tobacco poses for the perfect October beach scene, with the North Channel of Lake Huron uncharacteristically as still as glass.



Zorita nurses Legado, with a bit of autumn colour still present in the background trees.


Altamiro posing with impeccable nobleness while his 2011 foals romp and play up near the bluff's edge.

Altavida

Esperanda

Legado

Another hike to the beach on a different day reveals the more typical character of the North Channel in autumn.



How splendidly the shades of grulla mingle with the landscape, especially in autumn!

The grulla colour has the marvelous ability to appear as grasses, darkly shadows, tree bark, dried herbs, distant shrubs, soil, etc....any elemental that the horses are surrounded by!

Destemido!

This past Monday I was finally able to connect with the three year old stud colt, Interessado while he was dozing--this allowed me to completely liberate his mane, tail and forelock from the copious wads of burrs that he had been carrying around for several weeks.
I did not photograph him until Tuesday, but still his tresses flowed freely. But this morning, the dark handsome fellow had managed to adorn himself with no small amount of Hound's Tongue burrs.
It is a good thing I like (truly, I do!) spending time deburring the horses and mules, because this particular task is one that will continue to need my attention all throughout the wintertime. ( I should note, here, that on Friday--unless the weather turns foul--Interessado and his full brother, Silvestre have a date with the veterinarian. We should have had them gelded before now...but it is not something I necessarily wanted to do, but find we must do, out of necessity...)



Mules look pretty lovely in the autumn, too! And how great it is to see Jerry's tail blowing in the wind instead of hanging heavily bound by burrs.


Doll yawns in the unseasonably warm morning sunshine...makes you want to take a nap, doesn't it?

I found this morning's light irresistible and stopped house work to go out and photograph the horses. Legado found me and my camera irresistible so he came over to say hello.
Unfortunately, our timing of this little visit didn't suit Altamiro at all, who was ready to take his family band to the northwest sector. Needing only a few steps in our direction with a lowered head and glaring expression, Altamiro impressed upon his son that it was time to leave.
and so off they go...
and so must I!

Confucius instructed:
First, set your HeartMind on the One.
Then listen,
not with your ear,
not even with your HeartMind.
Listen with your Qi,
the very essence of your ultimate self.
The ear can only hear.
The HeartMind is typically
entangled in evaluation.
The Qi is completely open and receptive
to every subtle level of being.
--Zhuang Zi, Inner Chapters, Fourth Century B.C.E.

There is SO much magic in these elementals of autumn...I hope you felt yourself enraptured for a little while as you mingled with them vicariously through the Journal of Ravenseyrie!