Roller's 'Guilty' Pleasure

Sssshhh don't tell anyone but Roller has a little guilty pleasure that not everyone would understand, he has a little thing for ermm, we're almost embarassed to say but..... ok it's SHOES!

The wee man has a liking for footwear and is never far away when a new pair of shoes is introduced.  Imagine his delight when MH brought his new pair of wellies for inspection!

Roller has a deep appreciation for workmanship, raw materials and smell….. rather him than us we say!

Very diligent in his inspection of all footwear is our Roller, MH gave up trying to walk around with Roller following snuffling his shoes and allowed him full inspection rights.

Roller would like to know if wellies come in mini shetland size?  So that's Roller 'Guilty' Pleasure for today…. what's yours?

And in celebration of such a pleasure - no guilt attached is our quote for today :-)

There is no such thing as a guilty pleasure!

Douglas Wilson

Roller's Philosophical Friday: Happy

Greetings Fellow Philosophers!  Today I have decided to sit down on the job.... well thinking is hard work isn't it?  But actually thinking today was really quite simple because I was thinking about being happy :-)  

There are so many things in our lives to be happy about, in fact there are so many that it's hard to think of them all... but a few for today are:

1/. Carrots are yummy and we get a fairly constant supply
2/. Spring is on the way, if I look really close there are little green shoots on some of the plants! Mmmmmm.....
3/. The rain has stopped a bit this week, not torrential anymore just a drizzle and the sun has had his hat on a little bit too!
4/. It's Friday so nearly the weekend and I've been promised an extra long groom to rid me of my itchy scratchy coat.
5/. Our humans are happy, FH is busy expanding as she grows me my new rider and MH is busy decorating for the new arrival.... the nursery is shades of chocolate - that way the mud won't show and we'll all be 'happy' ;-)
6/. We have family, friends, health and beauty all around us.... how lucky are we?

So in celebration of happiness and wishing everyone a lovely weekend here is my favourite quote for the day!

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life.  When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I wrote down 'happy'.  They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life.
John Lennon

Roller's Philosophical Friday: Birthdays!

Hip hip hooray it's a Granny birthday.... and an Aunty birthday!  You see our GH and her twin sister AY have a birthday today!

Aren't brithday's great? Cake and cuddles and lots of fun things to do!  Here's wishing our favourite GH and AY a lovely day.  Alas the rain has started here again so we will have to make our own sunshine for the big occasion.... ah well it's easy when you're as cute as me.

So I thought long and hard about what to get GH for her birthday.... would she like carrots (who doesn't?), maybe a new grooming brush, or possibly some glittery hoof shine (FH said definitely not), I thought I had the best idea when I suggested a mud pack treatment but apparently the ones that humans like are a bit different to us muleteers, maybe some tasty hay?  Hmmm it seems that every suggestion is just not quite there... but then it came to me!  What better present than some snuffles and some cute pictures of myself?  Granny can't help but smile when I strike some poses for her, after all what more do humans need for their birthdays than smiles?!

So Happy Birthday GH and AY!  Sending you slobbery snuffles, swishes of my tail and a whinny chorus :-) And just a little reminder...

Age is an issue of mind over matter.  If you don't mind, it doesn't matter!
Mark Twain

Roller's Philosophical Friday: Size

Dumdedum, what a lovely week, some nice sunshine, lots of tasty grass and it's nearly the weekend - hooray! I've been having a nice time with my mini friend this week, we've been playing and chasing around, anyone would think we thought Spring might be on the way.... FH says we've got a long time to wait!  But you know what?  In Spring I'm gonna get a new playmate, I can't wait, imagine all those adventures I'm gonna have with Human Foal!

Cos us minis like a good adventure and we're not quite as placid as you think, when inspired to move and explore (and protest) we are giants!  Imagine my consternation when one of the humans peering at us over the gate announced that us minis must be no trouble, very easy to make do things and of course because we are small we are easily persuaded.... hmmm FH giggled and said that no we are not any less of a challenge than the big ones, just more wriggly!  One thing that us minis share is tenacity, never will a fence beat me, I'll find a way through, The Mini is not for persuading in any circumstances by someone he doesn't know and I will not be jabbed by the doctor man without a hoof waving hissy fit!  Hehe, just imagine all the mischief us minis can teach our Human Foal, I'm dreaming up the adventures already!

So for this week I leave you with a little saying that sums up what it is to be small.... it means nothing at all in the grand scheme of things, it's all about how you face the challenges in front of you ;-)

What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of fight in the dog.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Roller's Philosophical Friday: Truth

Greetings my Muleteer friends!  This week I have been listening to FH's grumblings about people who ignore the truth because it suits their politics or agenda.... hmmm weird human stuff.  But then I pricked my teeny tiny ears up and listened a bit more (as well as lending snuffles and soft nudges of encouragement) to the rant when FH mentioned badgers.  I like badgers, we have some friendly ones in our neigh-bourhood that we Muleteers like to watch at night.  They do us no harm.

So here in the UK the poor badgers are having a rough time, apparently they are being completely blamed for a disease in cattle called TB, hmmm now this isn't nice apparently and cattle and badgers can both get sick.... but it is a complicated story and badgers are not the only piece of the jigsaw puzzle, to blame them entirely sounds like it's nothing short of dishonest..... hmmm human logic again!  FH is a scientist and despairs of the bozos that seem to have been authorising people to kill our friendly badgers, all backed up by dishonest science and complete incompetency, our very own government department DEFRA..... finally they've had to admit they've messed it up AGAIN.... cue much more ranting from FH - Badger Bodges

Now we Muleteers have no time for politics or human logic, it's all weird but we are sad about our badger friends.  To base the cull of our friends on untruths is unforgivable.  So OK I listened hard to FH, my Roller brain is a little frazzled, I had to simplify things for my Friday thoughts. Who better to set us all straight than a very wise man indeed, Mahatma Gandhi.

An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.
Mahatma Gandhi

Have a lovely weekend my friends and please always question that which others tell you is true......

Roller's Philosophical Friday: Weather

Hmmm this weather thing is getting a bit frustrating isn't it? We've had torrential rain and flooding here with only the occasional glimpse of sunshine and our friends in North America have had arctic temperatures, snow and ice.

We're hoping that this weekend will bring some better weather for us all, the signs are good at least for a day or two.  I will cross my pony hooves and plead with Mother Nature….. again!

My mule friends are even more glum about this weather thing than me, they would like to move to the desert.  Underneath all the frustration I am actually quite content.  I get to shelter indoors, test out my lovely waterproof coat and it's a great excuse to indulge in the sweet hay!

But for the sake of everyone else come on Mother Nature let's have a nice weekend, I'd be very grateful.

In the meantime I have a little quote to put an optimistic slant on the weather, the others are a little cynical about this quote but hey sometimes it's all in how you look at things……

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.
John Ruskin

And just to prove this, here's the lovely weather we had just the other day…. with the rain follows the sun, it just makes us appreciate it that little bit more :-)

Happy Weekend and here's hoping for the sunny kind of good weather!

Rest Easy Mandela

Rest easy great man, for now you truly walk in the land of the free.  A man of great courage and equal
humility, your rejection of bitterness and revenge took strength most would never possess.

The world is poorer for your loss.

May those who are left behind walk in your footsteps and not stray from the path of peace.  There is still much work to be done.

In the words of the great man himself some thoughts for this day...

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

We must use time wisely and forever realise that the time is always ripe to do right.

Nelson Mandela 1918-2013

Roller's Philosophical Friday: Small Things

Oops I'm a little bit late with my Friday thoughts.... I got a little carried away with important things..... like eating and sleeping, things that make my ponyish world go round :-)

Did you see what FH said about me in my own special post?  I am famous and perfect and everything!  Yay!

I don't like to make a fuss about life and being good.... I leave that to the mules whose ears are also directly linked to the size of their egos on occasion.

So I reckon that rather than focus on the big things this weekend I'm gonna see how I can do on the smaller things.  Maybe a little more eating and snoozing, possibly a little pottering and I might just get FH to test out her photography skills on me, we are due sunshine and my fluff is coming along nicely!

So here's to a lovely weekend for you all, let's try to achieve the small things... in my world the big things can wait til later :-)

Happy Weekend Friends!


If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way!
Napoleon Hill

Roller's Philosophical Friday: Style

I like to think that I am a stylish kind of pony.... I have been busy ensuring that I am wearing this season's number one style.

Yes ladies!  The Roller Polar fluff is appearing for all to see :-)

It is my very own style statement and seems to be very popular, especially when it is paired with a liberal coating of mud!

FH says I have been rather muddy this week and she has only seen me in the dark so she is missing any recent pictures of my entire fluff..... so as a reminder to my lady fans I thought I would leave you with some pictures of the main winter event.... perhaps an aperitif to the full on Roller Polar experience.  So here I am in my winter finery of last year.  Up to date pictures to follow :-)

And here's to all you my stylish Muleteer friends with my quote for today!

Fashions fade, style is eternal.

Yves Saint-Laurent

Roller's Philosophical Friday: Laughter

Hehe, haha, teehee, oops sorry you caught me laughing! I have just been making the humans laugh with my Houdini pony antics again.... there was FH calling for me, where had I gone?  FH had put us to bed, all Three Muleteers happily in our yard / stable bits, but this morning FH was a bit late getting up and well I had got bored of waiting so let myself out by ninja commando crawling under the fence (are you impressed Carmen with my ninja antics? ;-)  I know you'll appreciate them!

So I thought I’d make FH jump and sneak up behind her. I hadn’t gone far, in fact I was right next to her.... it was just a little dark.  You see I had been busy rolling in the mud for my daily mud pack, I couldn’t wait for FH to get her lazy butt out of bed (OK it was still dark but in my defence I was really itchy).  Well I have to say The Mini was most put out by my antics and told me off when we were reunited, he is such a Mummy's Boy and would never do anything wrong (secretly he was happy to see me though).  Dragon was just jealous that she couldn't join in, it's a bit more difficult for her to shift her bulk under the fence (don't tell her I said that....eek, she'll breathe fire)!

So Ta-Da!  Here I am..... FH was so relieved I hadn’t been ponynapped in the night that she burst out laughing.  Brilliant!  First task of the day is achieved!  One of our most important jobs is to make the humans laugh, when all around is falling down we promise we will still make you laugh.  Laughter is good for the soul, makes humans’ faces smile, speaks a language you can all understand whatever your nationality and just improves life in general.  Oh and in case you ever wondered.... yes animals do have a sense of humour and we do laugh.... we just tend to do it behind you humans’ backs ;-)

So here’s my quote for the day:

There's no life without humour.  It can make the wonderful moments of life truly glorious, and it can make the tragic moments bearable.

Rufus Wainwright

And some pics to make you smile!

Have a laughter filled weekend!  I am off to plan my next Ninja Houdini Pony escapades.... oh the fun :-)

Roller's Philosophical Friday: Determination

Ever feel like life is a bit uphill?  This week has been a little like molasses in winter or trudging through mud.... hard work (especially if you've got little legs like mine)!  To reach Friday and look forward to the weekend has been a little hard for us all here at Muleteer HQ.  The humans have been back to work after holiday (never a happy occurrence!) and us Muleteers are have had to cope with terrible weather and the daylight fading.  It has felt a little like the sunshine may never come back and that winter may actually have arrived without allowing Autumn through the door.

But I have a secret weapon to help me get to the end of the week and achieve my goals - sunbathing, grow more fluff for winter, eat as much as possible, climb the steep hills of Devon, look my best at all times and of course talk to you my favourite fans :-)  I have the weapon of.... DETERMINATION!

FH says I am the most determined ponio she knows, when I really, really want something there is not much that can be done to stop me reaching my goal.  OK so my goal is generally food and it's often on the wrong side of the fence, but hey with determination I can always find a way!

So it's nearly the weekend, keep focussed and whatever your goal is keep being determined - you WILL get there in the end.  Our goal for the weekend is a picnic for me, an adventure for The Mini, a ride for Dragon and some sleep for the humans with no work bother. With all that in mind I am willing everyone to stay determined with my quote for the day :-)

Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.
Og Mandino

Tongue Twisting Tea

Greetings Muleteers, I'm afraid I had to confiscate the keyboard from Roller to tell you all about my new favourite thing!

As a traditional British Mule I do like to keep an eye on the mugs of tea that are brought outside by the humans.... I do like a little sniff and the occasional slurp.  Today I discovered my favourite ever!











I had a snuffle and found FH was drinking red tea.... hmmm peculiar, isn't this supposed to be brown?  Bring it here FH let me have a sniff....

Mmmmm I like the smell of this, there is blueberry and raspberry and it smells of honey - yum!

If I could only get my tongue in here I would be ok, don't know how you humans manage with those mug things?

So I tried to twist my tongue to see if I could get it to fit....

I needed to get FH to tip the mug but I got there eventually, oh my mule, how delicious is this tea!

Well that was the nicest hot drink, I will be ordering a lovely mug of this every morning.... along with my copy of The Mule Times, my soft slippers and breakfast in bed.... well a girl can dream can't she?

I was a little offended though when FH said that I was worse at backwashing in the mug than those pesky dogs.... we'll see about that!  Only one way to get neater FH - fetch me more tea!

In honour of it being Friday I leave you with one of my favourite quotes.... I know you've probably heard it from me before but it is kinda good?

A woman is like a tea bag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Roller's Phiosophical Friday: Memories

Memories are funny old things.  They can be good and bad all at once.  FH and I have been sharing memories of those that we are no longer lucky enough to have here present in our lives, we must make do with memories.  Those memories are what makes loss hard but manageable, such contradictions?

Every year about this time we spare thoughts for those we have lost and one very special person in particular.  That person will never leave our hearts for he will always be remembered. 
 
Everyone loses someone that is dear to them and we send you our thoughts too, we understand the pain of loss.  No words can heal of this we are sure but ask FH and she'll share with you the secret to heal a sad heart. 

Walk in to nature, look in to the sky, sit and reflect with a memory or two and let my Muleteers lend some healing care to you.  Roller sends his snuffles, a soft muzzle to blow dry your tears. 

Next will be The Mini who will place his furry head on your shoulder for a scratch before he lets a neighbray out and makes your smile come out!

Then there will be Dragon goofing at her best, watch her kick up those heels and gallop, that's what this girl does best, but then she'll stop and stare and give you 'the ears,' maybe a head rub and silence is more her style today. 

 

And finally there'll be kitty, that mighty Queen she is, full of purrs and head butts and ample heaps of love!

Hope your weekend is full of happy memories!
 
You will never be forgotten, not even for a day, for in my heart and mind, forever you will stay. 
Anon