1 This is my horse trailer getting prepped for the trip to Fairfield Equine Associates.

2 The name of my farm on the side of the trailer

3 Gyurme is loading up the trailer cabin/tack room with necessary supplies.

4 A view through the trailer

5 Here's Betsy leading Meindert and Gelbu leading Ramon.

6 The horses were a bit apprehensive to enter the trailer.

7 Betsy had to coax Meindert in.

8 Once Meindert was on board, Ramon followed.

9 Gyurme making sure the horses have plenty of hay

10 The ramp is lifted.

11 The back doors are closing.

12 While chewing a mouthful of hay, Meindert is wondering about this adventure he's on.

13 After a 40 minute ride, they arrive at their destination.

14 Fairfield Equine Associates

15 The grounds are neat and tidy.

16 Ramon is looking around with great interest.

17 Betsy lowering the ramp

18 Meindert backed off easily.

19 Being led into the facility stable

20 And into a stall

21 Betsy brought a large quantity of hay from the farm.

22 Meindert was confused about his new surroundings.

23 He began neighing loudly.

24 Betsy thought it best to have Ramon stay with Meindert for company.

25 Horses are, after all, very social creatures and Meindert was happy to have his buddy for the 2 nights that spent there.

26 This is Traci Oliveira - certified technician - she gave Betsy a tour of the facility.

27 This is a digital radiograph machine, which will be used on Meindert.

28 There he is on the roster.

29 The MRI room - those blue objects are very powerful magnets.

30 This sign says it all.

31 They do their own lab work on premises.

32 This is an equine operating table.

33 This conference room has a window into the operating room for learning purposes.

34 All kinds of charts and info about horses

35 This is an actual horse skeleton.

36 The skeleton was tagged with numbers and letters as part of an identifying game for children.

37 A good view of the spine

38 And rib cage and hind quarters

39 An x ray of an unfortunate horse

40 A cross-section of an actual hoof

1 This unusual flower is called Scadoxus.

2 Another name for Scadoxus is paintbrush lily.

3 Shaun uses this very descriptive book for reference all the time.

4 It's called Container Plants by Byron Martin and Laurelyn Martin of Logee's Greenhouses. www.logees.com/

5 This beautiful plant is called Calliandra.

6 Its common name is pink powderpuff.

7 These buds are full of energy.

8 These giant elephant ear leaves add so much height and interest to the greenhouse.

9 With sunlight behind them, their texture is stunning.

10 Burbidgea scheizocheila - Golden Brush is a dwarf ginger.

11 It's flowers last for 2 weeks or more.

12 The very unusual flower of Aristolochia gigantea

13 A miniature spiny cactus garden

14 Shaun is rooting cuttings of Salix, or pussy willow - they will be planted outdoors near the wetland.

15 Some of the cuttings are already blooming with a fuzzy catkins.

16 These flowers are amaryllis Exotica.

17 Very beautiful, indeed.

18 This colorful leaf is coleus Odalisque.

19 These cuttings from it will root nicely. It is a trailing plant, good for containers and ground covers.

20 I love the vibrant orange of this Clivia, commonly called kaffir lily.

21 There are many buds about to burst.

22 The oxalis is even busy blooming!

23 The leaves of this begonia are covered with pink, fuzzy hairs.

24 I love the way they look in the sunlight.

25 The extraordinary bloom of a Lady Slipper orchid

26 And another

27 Shaun is testing how much light the orchids receive. You need at least 3,000 foot candles for orchids to bloom. He's happy to report that they receive about 5,000!

28 This is the light sensor in one of the orchid pots.

29 A darling miniature orchid blooming happily

30 The waxy blooms of a Cymbidium orchid

31 And another

32 And another

1 The horses seemed ready to go for a ride. Some of the streams that run through the property were frozen, others were not.

2 Here, the ice was thick and solid.

3 Betsy, garbed in her new red parka, leggings, and goggles, enjoyed the ride on Ramon, our alpha horse.

4 The snow still looked fresh on many of the fields and the sky was bright blue and cloudless. The trees looked cold.

5 Ramon was ready to trot across the middle field.

6 On second thought, maybe not!

7 The woods have suffered quite a bit this winter - storms with rain, snow, ice, and lots of wind - our biggest enemy here.

8 I am riding Rutger, who follows every step of Ramon with his own deliberate elegance.

9 There were many tracks in the snow. Betsy and I were trying to figure out whose tracks were which - Coyote? Rabbit? Squirrel?

10 The ride to the graveyard was especially tranquil and Rutger and I followed Betsy closely.

11 The fence surrounding the property is checked at least once weekly. I think I see a large plastic garbage bag that must have flown out of the dumpster and is circulating around.

12 The fence, looking very secure, keeps out hungry deer, which are quite devastating to the newly plnted trees on the property.

13 The actual landscape is quite barren in the winter harshness.

14 I love the shadows we cast on the snow in the bright sunlight.

15 Another frozen stream

16 Ramon, taking his time going down a slippery slope

17 Here he is using a bit of his fancy dressage training to traverse the hill.

18 This is the eastern field where I hope one day to graze milk cows.

19 Here is the signature sycamore tree of the farm.

20 These are young larch trees devoid of their needles - they are deciduous evergreens.

21 One of the young larch trees - we support new plantings with bamboo stakes.

22 This is a redwood sapling - another deciduous evergreen. I am trying them also to see if they do well in my landscape.

23 The road was quite frozen in spots, making walking a bit treacherous.

24 The magnificent signature tree - it has been photographed many times.

25 The ice formations on this large stream were magnificent.

26 More convoluted ice

27 This is the run in where the Friesians spend much of the very cold nights - they love being outside.

28 Another view of the shed - the floor is covered with a thick layer of hay.

29 The tree peony garden is wrapped in burlap.

30 The tree peonies look fragile in the very cold weather, however, they will come to vibrant life in April and bloom in May.

31 This year, I had the fall-flowering Franklinia trees wrapped in burlap to see if that would help them weather the winter.

32 The Franklinias are borderline successful here in Bedford - last year they did not leaf out until late May.

33 Our ride was almost over - here, you can see more of the burlap wrapping.

34 Ghenghis Khan came outside with Carlos to see the horses.

35 Francesca was a bit incredulous that the horses liked the new puppy!

36 Look at Francesca 'talking' to the Ramon!

37 She then stood up on Carlos' shoulders to further make her point that she was tired of all the attention the new puppy was getting, even from the horses!