Coyote Thunder Farm

I’d like to pay tribute to Frank’s mother’s farm, the Coyote Thunder Farm.  This farm has been sort of a refuge for unwanted and sometimes misbehaving animals.  This is where my cat, Tucker, went to when we moved to Florida. The property itself is set on 35 rolling acres just outside of Hudson NY.  I have many a fond memory of hiking through the woods and shooting guns.  I may have even shot my first gun on this property.  This is also where Frank’s 5 year-old twin brothers grew up playing in the fields and climbing trees.  They even taught Tucker how to climb trees and be an outdoor cat.  He's become a bit of a killer, hunting birds, mice, and grasshoppers.  I'm both horrified and proud when I see him with his tortured catch. This is also where Frank’s sister, Krystie, has learned to be the horse whisperer.  When Catherine (Frank’s mom) first got the horses, they were wild, jittery, and sometimes dangerous creatures that you were a little afraid of.  Krystie is a lot like Frank and can be obsessive with her interests, and this is the case with Krystie and horses.  In the past 5 years, she has spent countless hours reading book after book on horse lineage, behavior, anatomy, breeding, and medicine.  If you were to talk with her about horses, you would quickly be in over your head and forget that she is merely 13 years old.  I have always been quite impressed with her as she is entirely self taught (she taught herself how to read at age 6) and has yet to slow down.  (Frank had a proud moment the other day when she proclaimed her disdain for Justin Bieber….did I mention she was a smart girl?)  In the past 2 years we’ve been away, she has transformed the wild unpredictable horses into docile, loving animals.  They are the gentlest creatures, following you around like giant puppy dogs, and nuzzling with you as if you were one of their own.  Krystie, herself, has transformed into a beautiful young woman, though at times I still see her as the 4 year-old I met years ago, playing in her makeshift cardboard playhouse and talking about fairies. Aside from being home to Molly, Jasmine, Zara, and Wings, the farm has also been home to 15 cats, 4 cows, several goats, and numerous chickens.

  

Krystie with Wings and Zara

Frank showed the boys the magic of firecrackers

Frank's mom

My darling, Tucker

Zara is the most social one

Krystie and Sumatra