Meet the Newest Member of the Penn State Herd!

It was a custom of mine, when I worked at Penn State, to make a point to meet and greet every single new foal born at the Penn State horse barns in springtime. In mid-March, there would be new ones arriving almost every day. It was exciting. There would be frequent announcements on the Penn State Quarter Horse Facebook page.

Well, I don't work anymore, and I don't make it to town nearly as often as I used to. That is a thing that changed with the pandemic, and then my retirement. But on this day, I went to town and met the newest member of the Penn State herd!

It was quite fortuitous, actually. I had decided it was time for a visit to the Arboretum and the art museum, and the weather was mild and sunny and beautiful. When I drove past the horse barns, I saw horses out. I stopped. I took pictures, but there were no babies among them. But as I drove away, I saw a man taking a mama horse and a tiny baby into the back of the barns. Aha! I should check back later!

So I went and parked my Mazda, and I walked to the Arboretum. T. Tiger was with me, of course, and he had on him his brand new beekeeping hat! Yes, the marvelous news I have not shared with you yet is that T. Tiger, who wished with all his heart for a beekeeping suit, got one!

For the Internet is a wonderful thing, my friends. And in certain corners, certain gentle, warm, loving, and well-lit corners, there are wonderful people waiting. Call them what you will. A host of Internet aunties. Fairy godmothers with magic wands. Enablers of photographic shenanigans!

To put it simply, people see my Crittergators and T. Tiger having fun, and they send us things. We receive small packages in the mail, full of amazing gifts. We had been gifted a whole wardrobe full of hand-made outfits, and then a little scarf and hat set with matching mask. Guess what arrived this past week or two: a beekeeping hat for T. Tiger!*

When we arrived at the Arboretum, there was a big bonus. Two of the hives in the sunniest spot of the bird and pollinator gardens were open, and bees were flying all around! T. Tiger put on his hat, with fancy white netting, and nary a bee strayed his way! You may see T. Tiger sweet-talking the bees in a photo in the extras.

And then we went to the Palmer Museum, which I have loved to bits ever since I arrived at Penn State. As a student living in North Halls, and then, as an adult working in Mitchell Building, I walked over to the museum and creamery regularly. Several times a week, easily.

The Palmer Museum is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, and it has one of the finest collections of American art in any academic museum in the U.S. So we walked around, looking, like Walt Whitman, and every object we looked upon, that object we became -- at least for a moment, in our imaginations.

It was a win-win. Our souls were chock full of art, and nobody got arrested! And this time the credit card machine worked, and I was able to buy the Winter 2021 American Art Review edition that features two of the Palmer's current American art exhibits. I laughed to note that the main art work they decided to feature in the story of the An American Place exhibit was the gorgeous purple and green confection of a Glackens painting that absolutely steals the show! So - high five, art lovers; we chose . . . well!

T. Tiger and I walked all around campus, and it felt like spring. Lovers were holding hands everywhere. You could practically smell the pheromones in the air. Or maybe that was just the mulch, which was abundant and fragrant. Mulch to the left of us. Mulch to the right of us! Big piles of it!

The sun was shining. The turtles were out preening on the duck pond by the alumni gardens. There was time for a visit to the former IST (now Gateway) building, which was lots of fun, but I don't have room to show you all those photos, and I'm so sorry. I love the reflections at that building, and it has so many interesting angles. I also love people watching there. A bronze goddess walked by, wrapped in gold silk and teetering on five-inch black fancy heels. It was awesome.

Finally, it was time to head for home, so, after walking around campus for three hours straight, no stops, T. Tiger and I got in the car to go. Which took us past the stadium and the horse barns, and guess who was out: this sweet little filly, with her mom. Say hello to the newest member of the Penn State herd: this filly is by Red White N Good, out of Pinella Pea Deville.

This little gal was born not even two days ago when I met her, and she was tiny, with long, wobbly legs. But I saw her racing around the paddock like a champ. So maybe running is easier than walking at that age.

I was trying to be respectful of the mama horse, who was on the nervous side, with such a precious brand new baby to guard, so I tried not to stand too close. I am no pro with horses but I can sense a nervous nelly when I see one. So I gave the mom a lot of room.

At one point, the little filly came up to the fence, curious, ready to sniff, and I had my camera in one hand, and the other hand out, waiting to touch her sweet little face. And what happened next? She SNEEZED loudly, all over my camera lens!

Ha ha ha ha ha! I am still laughing! That was her version of baptizing me upon the first meeting (like when a baby barfs on you when you first hold it; hello, little one, hello world, THAT'S the real christening). What a perfect ending to a perfect visit to town!

It's my tradition to include a soundtrack song, and I'd like two for my two pictures. First, for the lovely little filly and her mom, here are the Rolling Stones, with Wild Horses. And here's a great cover by the Sundays. My second song is Big Big Train, with Telling the Bees.


*A big shout-out and thank you to my friend Tracy R., who is one of T. Tiger's fairy godmothers; she is the maker of the adorable little beekeeping hat with white netting.