origins-Blog 19: Saying Goodbye to Hoppy and Truffle: A Heartfelt Journey to Bainbridge Island

After 6 months of blissful caring and loving little Hoppy, mini horse Truffle’s baby foal, he and his Mom prepared to live on Bainbridge Island with Priscilla in January of 2003. It is heart-wrenching to see them go, but rewarding to see how loved they are in their new home. They are forever in my heart. Fortunately, I found two mini horses nearby looking for a new home: Nikita, a tiny dappled gray filly with a platinum mane, and her buddy, Rasta, a slightly larger pinto colt. They blended in well with our mini lead mare, Keely, and my riding horse, Lady.

Rasta needed special attention as he had trust issues. Giving them both a lot of attention was pure joy.

Keely needed special help because she became insulin-resistant. If she grazed on new grass rich in sugar, she was an unhappy, itchy creature. Monitoring her feeding was the key, plus she wore a green jersey hooded body sleazy to keep her from scratching, earning her the name of the Green Hornet. Visiting children thought she was a superhero in her body suit.

The winter of 2003 was filled with horse care, riding, and vending at shows like the Asian Art Festival & the Good Earth Show, both in Eugene, the Body, Mind & Spirit show in Portland, and Chinese New Year’s Festivities in Seattle. Spring brought another series of shows, keeping me busy. My Dad was sadly showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease. He was still functioning and driving at this point, but I was beginning to question this.

Best friends and owners of The Port Gamble Trading Post, where I sell my goods, offered me a rat terrier puppy from a litter sired by their jackrat named Lucky in May. Adorable Lily’s training takes priority. She was a constant companion, going everywhere with me, including all my shows. One show, the LaConner Island Country Fair, stood out due to the horrific death of the owner of the amusement rides on the Ferris wheel, as well as the passing of my brother Ray Jr in Connecticut that same day, and the passing of my best friend’s Mom the day before. The show was closed, allowing Lily and me to return home, grieving over all these losses. Below is a picture of my brother, Ray Jr, with his wife, Sue, and me. Lilly was a booth attraction at shows like here at the Festival of Mt Si in North Bend, and helping me set up at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival.

Geddy returned in the Fall from Panama. Lily journeyed with us for a metaphysical show in Boise in our GMC Yukon, pulling a trailer of goods for the Boise show. The Yukon broke down on the way home in Benton City. This prompted my buying a new GMC Gold extended Savannah Van, which I named the Golden Scarab. This was really a blessing in disguise, since I now had a van big enough to carry my show goods with ease, no longer needing a trailer assist.

We met a couple at the Boise show who later traveled to Panama with us, Terry and Rhonda, in 2004. They co-purchased a 5-hectare piece of land on a mountain with a lovely ocean view near Geddy’s house in Jose Pobre. In late October, we filled a 20' container with Geddy’s possessions, some 4 Creature Comforts goods, and an Isuzu jeep. We shipped the container to Panama. Geddy and little dog Starr left shortly afterwards in November. Packing the container and loading the jeep was a saga, but nothing like the issues Geddy faced when the container arrived in Panama in December. It was a challenge to get that container to the house in Jose Pobre, a relatively remote spot. The concept of “can’t be done” was like a red flag to Geddy. Despite the odds, he managed to get everything eventually to that tiny village. Lily and I drove to Sacramento to do two shows in late November. We stayed with Geddy’s niece, Sharon, where she hosted a pop-up show at her house. Fall is a lovely time of year to be in Sacramento. I bought a lot of gourds, which l later crafted into fun art pieces. As I rolled into 2004, I began designing a horseback riding trip to Kenya with my friend Robbi, who was still living in Crete. I finished out a series of Winter shows in January and February, before leaving my Dad, Lily, and the horse herd for the 28-day trip.

I flew to Crete, home of Europe’s earliest civilization, the Minoans, on 2/24/2004. Robbi and I visited the seaside town of Heraklion and the nearby ruins of Knossos, a Minoan Palace with connections to the myth of Theseus, the Minotaur, and the labyrinth. Robbi encouraged me to visit a warehouse run by a Swedish man who had brought artifacts from Indonesia and New Guinea to Crete. I was surprised to find that his collection was exceptional and his pricing was right. Robbi, who would be leaving Crete in a few short months, offered to put my purchases in her return container to Seattle.

I was delighted to select a large variety of wood and cement sculptures in addition to various smaller gift items to add to 4Creature Comforts’ inventory. The Kalimantan pig mask pictured above is one of 6 that I purchased. These whimsical antique masks from Borneo operate from the back. We continued on to Amsterdam, where we stayed with a local family located in the heart of the city. Amsterdam is a charming, picturesque city. We found the people extremely friendly. We enjoyed the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. We were awed by visiting the Ann Frank House.

Then we flew to Nairobi, Kenya, for a horseback riding adventure.

I had found a retired outfitter from Wyoming, Ray, who offered horse safaris. We arrived with camping gear for the week-long trek, but when he picked us up in Nairobi, he asked if we wanted to camp or stay first at his friend Petra’s yurts and then at her ex-husband’s lodge in a cabin. Camping is fun, but this was a very agreeable plan. It was great news that our safari would be comprised of only Ray, his Masai assistant, Naanyu, meaning Sweet One, Robbi, and me. We drove north towards Mount Kenya, saddled up, and rode to Petra’s guest yurts. Many safari horses in Kenya are retired thoroughbred race horses, as was my Tobago. We had our own yurt, but there were yurts for eating, hanging out, and other sleeping yurts, all attractively decorated and displaying Petra’s nature art. I bought one small enough to bring home of my beloved lizards. The small boy sitting with Ray often joined us on rides. Ray had adopted little deaf Alaric, the fearless one. It was amazing to see this small boy galloping along with us bareback on another thoroughbred. He was the one who often pointed out wildlife that escaped our vision. On a walk in the neighboring fields, the first night, we saw this stunning colobus monkey hanging out in a tree.

We saw these animals in the first days of riding around, outside of parks...just pure magic!

Zebras, Giraffes, Kobus Waterbucks, Duiker Deer, Black Rhinos, Warthogs, and so much more… just wild & in their element. We could ride close to zebras, but they were wary.

What took me over the moon was finding a herd of Zorses.

These horse-zebra hybrids felt comfortable with our horses, allowing us to mingle with them. They were magnificent...with so many varying shades of stripes. I found them breathtaking and vowed to paint them someday. Ray took us into Mount Kenya and Aberdare National Parks in his Land Rover Safari Jeep. We saw Kenya’s tallest waterfall, 896’, Karuru, and while we stopped to listen, we waited for a herd of elephants to pass close by. Leaving Petra’s to continue to Sandai Farm near Nyeri, we discovered that Ray had turned our horses loose that morning. He said they would travel to Sandai Lodge on their own and be there when we arrived by jeep. It impressed us that the horses would gallop the terrain for about 45 minutes to our next stop unattended. We entered the farm through a tall gate electrified at the top to keep the elephants out...not something we see at home in the USA.

Sandai was a destination for people who fly gliders, but we didn’t take advantage of that.

Remember, I mentioned that little Alaric spotted creatures that we would miss without his keen vision? Well, he pointed out this sleeping leopard on a log. We were able to get close enough to take a series of photos as he saw us, yawned, got up, stretched, and slowly walked off the log.

The park was teeming with amazing wildlife: flocks of Black Crested Cranes, more elephants, rhinos, giraffes, ostriches, and the most dangerous of all, the Water Buffalo. A funny story. By the time we rode into a tiny village one day, my knees were toast! I slid off super tall Tobago, catching my shirt on the saddle horn. I was stuck hanging there while surrounded by laughing village children...I was laughing too!

Leaving Ray at the end of our week was difficult. We had all grown close, and we were fond of him. Over many years, we stayed in touch. He wrote engaging stories about his riding journeys in Africa that I adored reading. I am still in touch with Petra, who is now on Sandai Farm running African Footprints Ltd., a holistic retreat. Sadly, Ray has passed on.

Robbi and I visited two amazing sanctuaries in Nairobi: The Nairobi Giraffe Center and the Nairobi Animal Orphanage, both dedicated to rescue, rehabilitation, education, and awareness of Africa’s creatures. Feeding the Rothschild Giraffes and being licked by a purring Cheetah are exceptionally memorable experiences. Look at the length of the giraffe’s tongue!

Dear friends, Rauf and Jeannie had recommended that we visit the magical island of Lamu and stay at the yummy Peponi Inn, owned by their friends, Lemmy and Wera. Our room was decorated in Swahili style, and we had a huge private outdoor lounge area from our room. Lamu, an island off Kenya in the Indian Ocean, is a UNESCO site. Lamu town is a conservative Muslim town with an ancient heritage of peace and goodwill. The Swahili culture is a blend of European, African, Arab, and Asian traditions and cultures. Sailors from these areas traded in gold, spices, and slaves. The slave market was abolished by the English in 1873. The charming town of narrow winding streets is built with coral stone and mangrove timber, all transported by donkeys... There are no cars on Lamu. We hired a guide for the first day, who invited us to have a local dinner prepared by his wife in their home that night. Our stay was filled with exploration of beaches, spice markets, and a day cruise on a traditional Mashua or dhow equipped with a sail. We experienced the fragrant bloom of the Night Blooming Cereus, a rare treat.

Next, I spent a short few days in Athens with Robbi before flying back home. Our focus was on the Acropolis, one of the most recognizable historic sites in the world, and it remains an inspirational monument to ancient Greek civilization. Standing tall above the city of Athens, it contains the Parthenon Temple, the Erechtheion Temple, the Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Nike, and the Theater of Herodes Atticus on the SW slope, all pictured here.

Arriving in Seattle, my Dad picked me up at the airport, and Lily was not in the car. As we drove away, I asked about her, and my Dad had to tell me that she was killed by a car when they were walking horses from the back pasture to the front pasture. Lily heard voices and in her exuberance, she ran to the walking trail on the street and the car never saw her. My Dad didn’t tell me while I was on the journey because he wanted me to enjoy the trip. He was correct. I could barely speak for weeks due to the deep grief of loss of my cherished little rat terrier, barely one year old.

As luck would have it, John and Stacy from the Port Gamble Trading Center had another litter of pups ready to come home. They offered one to me. My Dad and I picked out a little boy we named Valentino since he was born on Valentine’s Day. We called him Tino. Tino’s Dad, Lucky, was also Lily’s Dad, but the Mom, Gracey, was a Jack Russell Terrier. So he was a Jack Russell-Rat Terrier mix: a JackRat. Let’s continue with the next nine months of 2004 in the next Blog 20...as the adventures continue.

Join us Oct. 11-12, 10 am - 4 pm for our Autumn Open House!