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Anna Blake
Anna Blake
@annablake.bsky.social
An animal advocate, award-winning author, solo RV traveler, old-school feminist, unabashed lover of sunsets, and professional horse trainer/clinician. Dogs like me.
217 followers36 following265 posts
Jolene and I Make Hibernation Plans (And Edgar Rice Burro hollers like a tuba band...) #horsesanddogs #agingcantankerously #dressage annablake.com/jolene-and-i...
annablake.comJolene and I Make Hibernation Plans - Anna BlakeMaybe herding will be too stressful. Maybe it will be like horses, and our sensitivity will be our strength.
The thing about aging is that everybody starts trading jobs. #agingcantankerously #vote #democracy In Our Own Ways, We All Act Our Age annablake.com/in-our-own-w...
annablake.comIn Our Own Ways, We All Act Our Age. - Anna BlakeThe thing about aging is that everybody starts trading jobs. Kids become adults and adults age. We need to keep up.
One step forward... #affirmativetraining #herdingsheep #dressage Musical Chairs, or Any Ears Will Do annablake.com/musical-chai...
annablake.comMusical Chairs, or Any Ears Will Do - Anna BlakeJolene is facing her first real training challenge. Problems are opportunities, says the affirmative trainer. Mister rolls his eyes.
Left in the dust of confusion and change… To Herd or Not to Heard annablake.com/to-herd-or-n... #agingcantankerously #herdingdog #changingseasons
annablake.comTo Herd or Not to Heard - Anna BlakeThat's the way with change. You don't choose the time or get what you thought you wanted. Instead, you eventually get something better.
Seasons change. Horsewomen try. #agingcantankerously #appleultra4 #change Fall Equinox, the Birthday Shower Report, and Mister's Request annablake.com/fall-equinox...
annablake.comFall Equinox, the Birthday Shower Report, and Mister's Request - Anna BlakeThe hottest summer in Colorado history. Climate change takes all the fun out of complaining about the weather.
Have you been to one? #affirmativetraining #horsesanddogs #calmingsignals Swimming in the Deep End at a Calming Signal Clinic annablake.com/swimming-in-...
Joking/Not joking. #dogsandhorses #dressage # annablake.com/part-one-a-d...
annablake.comPart One: A Dressage Queen and a Herding Dog Walk Into a Bar - Anna BlakeAny horsewoman who has seen the movie Best in Show knows that the dog world and the horse world are pretty much identical. It takes all kinds.
How we become who we are… and Dolly. #dogsandhorses #affirmativetraining #agingcantankerously annablake.com/things-jolen...
annablake.comThings Jolene and I Have Outgrown. Things We Never Will - Anna BlakeI've been thinking about the things Jolene and I have outgrown and the things we never will. What are the truest parts worth sharing?
A Horse Trainer of a Certain Age Gets a Puppy... In which I can’t tell the difference between dogs and horses. annablake.com/a-horse-trai... #calmingsignals #horsesanddogs #herdingdog
annablake.comA Horse Trainer of a Certain Age Gets a Puppy... - Anna BlakeHave I wandered out of my lane? I’m not a dog trainer, just a horsewoman. But none of us are just one thing, are we?
Weather Reports from Other Species… or making peace with heat, time, and change. #affirmativetraining #agingcantankerously #herdingsheep annablake.com/weather-repo...
annablake.comWeather Reports from Other Species - Anna BlakeDon't we all develop more elaborate survival instincts as we grow up? Survival frenzy begins early for prey animals like ducks and sheep.
Translating the universal language annablake.com/calming-sign... #calmingsignals #horsetraining #horsesanddogs
annablake.comCalming Signals at a Horse Clinic and Running with the Big Dogs - Anna BlakeI trust this erratic process because in the end, horses always get us to where we need to be. We don't deserve horses.
Doing what our ancestors have done for millennia. #agingcantankerously #swedishvallhund #herdingsheep annablake.com/anna-pretend...
annablake.comAnna Pretends to be Jane, or History Comes Alive for Jolene - Anna BlakeAs intelligent as sheeps are, a dog must be quicker, smarter, but not threaten the sheep too much. It's a tightrope.
Have I spoiled Jolene? #loveandloss #agingcantankerously #swedishvallhund Sheeps... Or Things to Do While Mourning annablake.com/sheeps-or-th...
annablake.comSheeps... Or Things to Do While Mourning - Anna BlakePerhaps you have forgotten how this story started, all those months ago, when I was Nipping at the Heels of Despair.
Unstuck in Time. Jolene Meets the Grandfather Horse (Who Has Been Dead for Years) #agingcantankerously #horsesanddogs #scentwork annablake.com/scentwork-tr...
annablake.comJolene Meets the Grandfather Horse (Who Has Been Dead for Years) - Anna BlakeA trip to an amusement park was fun, but it isn't about ribbons. I know the real win. Jolene is easy company. We get to have each other in this life.
Barking back. Maybe lifting a leg... Authors, Literary Dogs, and Artificial Intelligence #womenofacertainage, #yourvoicematters, #authorwriter annablake.com/authors-lite...
annablake.comAuthors, Literary Dogs, and Artificial Intelligence - Anna BlakeA beady-eyed burnt-orange sun crept over a smoky horizon, and it’s hot-air balloon season in Colorado. Juxtaposition: A new day dawns, but the same destructive fires continue to destroy homes, kill an...
What if you aren't pickleball material? #agingcantankerously #herdingdog #swedishvallhund annablake.com/totally-quan...
annablake.comTotally Quanked and in Search of Our Own Personal Pickleball - Anna BlakePickleball is good exercise. A game of strategy and finesse. Considering how I feel about poeple lately, probably not a good time to take up a racket sport.
What have you noticed? Horsewoman, Has Your Neighborhood Gone to the Dogs? #horses #agingcantankerously #lovetheland annablake.com/horsewoman-h...
annablake.comHorsewoman, Has Your Neighborhood Gone to the Dogs? - Anna BlakeWould I rather be cantering a half-pass before my tempi changes on a horse young enough to still have a spring in his back?
Falling in Love All Over Again for the First Time #agingcanterkously #change #home annablake.com/falling-in-l...
annablake.comFalling in Love All Over Again for the First Time - Anna BlakeComing home, the washboard road is as close to a drumroll as we'll get. We are bleary-eyed and dog-tired.
Before it is totally erased… #aging #womenofacertainage #roadtrip annablake.com/the-cemetery...
annablake.comThe Cemetery of My People, Part Two - Anna BlakeMy parents couldn’t be any farther from the family plot and still be in the same cemetery. How did I feel? It was the first time I'd seen their grave.
Traveling to the Cemetery of My People, Part One #roadtrip #Agingcanterously #itstheland annablake.com/traveling-to...
annablake.comTraveling to the Cemetery of My People, Part One - Anna BlakeI have no plans to retire from travel, but I also have no plans to end up whiny with regret. I've headed to the Hannah Cemetery in the land of my people.
Dogs or horses, the goal is the same. What Jolene Knows That I Don't #dogsandhorses #AffirmativeTraining #Agingcanterously annablake.com/what-jolene-...
annablake.comWhat Jolene Knows That I Don't - Anna BlakeMy instructor gave hand signals to her advanced dog who was so quiet that it looked like he was taking the sheep for a walk.
Liking the wild in-between place. #AffirmativeTraining, #dogsandhorses , #Agingcanterously Mister Says More Praise Please annablake.com/mister-says-...
annablake.comMister Says More Praise Please - Anna BlakeMister would like you to know he would never be the cheap show-off that Jolene is. With curmudgeons, it's always hard to tell if it's age or attitude.
Shhh... We're Being Watched. And the feeling when we take ourselves a little less seriously. #horsesandogs #Agingcanterously #calmingsignals annablake.com/shhh-were-be...
annablake.comShhh... We're Being Watched. - Anna BlakeThe language of the farm is peace because we need to feel safe here. Calming signals are a language of nuance and clarity. Lowering the volume ensures that everyone can be heard.
I'm awkward at aging... #dogsandhorses #agingcantankerously #swedishvallhund annablake.com/jolene-says-...
annablake.comJolene Says, Lock Up Your Sheep (While I Flounder On) - Anna BlakeWe're on the road at 6:30 AM on a Sunday, and the first vehicle we passed was a horse trailer. And I'm on the road to change.
Yes, I said it. #horses #horsewomen #calmingsignals annamblake.substack.com/p/horses-are...
annamblake.substack.comHorses Are Like Bad BoyfriendsOr Why the Wrong Answer Might Be Better. Enjoy this free episode of The Gray Mare Podcast for subscribers. I post two podcasts per week. If you like what you hear, consider subscribing.