Tag Archives: ElkHorn Lodge B & B

Horse Whiskers

sketch of horse

“Horse Whiskers”, mixed media, copyright Kerry McFall

Another possible title:  Got Carrots?

We are staying at Elkhorn Valley Inn B&B, the residence of Larry our Host, and Woody and Buzz.  Larry makes tasty beautiful breakfasts (fresh-picked plums with yogurt, fruit medley, omelet, English muffins, bacon, avocado, golden potato slices, good coffee – which could fuel a young field hand for three days), and in his spare time, works at the Elkhorn Golf Course just down the road.  Woody and Buzz are two young horses who live in the neighboring pasture – Woody is the Pinto (?), about two years old, Buzz is the Palomino, just 8 months and suffering from parasites.  Yes, named after Toy Story.

Larry showed up last night at our cottage door with a bag of carrots for us to feed to Woody and Buzz.  I’m not sure who was more excited, me or the horses.  But it was dark, so into the fridge went the carrots, and I looked forward to feeding them in the morning.

Ah, the best laid plans.  When it rains at the end of a drought, you can’t complain.  You mustn’t complain.  Especially in Oregon, where a drought takes its toll so quickly on plants and animals accustomed to water.  So we enjoyed the sound of rain on the roof, had our lovely breakfast, and finally during a break in the Water Event, Griff held out carrots over the fences while I photographed.  “Do all horses have whiskers?” he asked incredulously.  I suspect that Buzz has more than his share, but yes, I’m pretty sure they all have whiskers.  Then again, I’ve never really looked that closely at a horse’s chin before.  So the fact that I was unable to perch on my stool in the pasture and sketch today is not lamentable… to be honest, drawing and painting from the cottage kitchen table has been delightful.  And much drier!

Once downloaded to my laptop, the photo of Buzz stood still for three hours!  That is roughly the equivalent of a two-year-old human sitting still sans screaming for three hours without the benefit of an I-Phone.   And I was able to capture every gossamer hair of his mane, every whisker, every eyelash.  What a delight for me.  And Buzz had some nice treats, too – although after the first carrot, (“Buzz, don’t crunch so loud!” ) Woody figured out what was up and came trotting over for his share.   With a bit more discretion and some table manners, Woody could have had more carrots to help fill in his skinny rib cage, but  Larry says the meds are doing their magic, and all in all, a rare relaxing day.