when i studied botany
fashion was my hobby,

then i studied fashion
( & it became a career)
and
botany (err.. gardening)
became my hobby !

:-)

All my 'play' time is spent reading garden books and magazines, reading Garden Web or dreaming of whats next for my garden. It is my passion.

Ronda

Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden

Horses are my 'main' hobby as well. I have three and they are mostly pets, though I do some carriage driving from time to time. Luckily they give back to the garden hobby. :) After that I love to sew, do graphic design and logos, paint and pastel. I would like to get into wood working...though I am not sure where I would find the time or money. :)

yes, it's my main hobby, but i have a lot of different interests that i flit between too. second by time spent is reading (or even first sometimes, but some is garden related), and i don't know if movie watching would count or not, but we catch 2-3 a week, mostly netflix. our birds (and other pets- fish, turtles, crabs) would also count i guess- but i don't think of them as a separate hobby so much as feathered members of the family. their care is no different in my mind than ours. i also like do most anything arty-farty - ie: to sew, paint/sketch, photography, make jewelry, paint fabric, make soaps, bake, cards, etc. i tend to get really into something for a while and then switch gears. i normally end up revisiting each passion periodically- so i don't think it's a fad so much as not having enough hours in the day. :)

My response is similar to Tammy's, though my craft repertoire isn't as extensive and we don't have all the animals. I spend a LOT of time reading, especially in winter. My favorite thing to do in summer is read my book out in the garden, but then I always get distracted by something that needs doing. And now back to my book...

I love reading too, mostly at night -- can't fall asleep without reading. I am always looking for new books -- Ais and Tammy, what are you reading?

Amy, what kind of horses do you have? I have a Half Arabian who'd be cute as all get-out pulling a carriage but in all honesty she's too hot to be a carriage horse.

Gardening is definitly my main hobby, hoping soon to make it a pt job. We are expanding our growing space significantly this Spring and hoping to seel at the local Farmers Market.

I can't get enough of my gardens.

Gardening is my main hobby. We did own a miniature horse and I thoroughly enjoyed "playing" with the others at the ranch. I've always liked my daughter's interest of horses.
I would love to hear more or see pictures of you guys' horses.

Carla

Let's see, I guess gardening is about my most consistent hobby. I've enjoyed plants since I was a little kid and won a geranium at a school bazaar. I also love to build dollhouses and do other craft type things. I like to knit periodically and I love to read, but I don't know if I've ever really thought of it as a hobby. We also have a bunch of animals and I used to show dogs. We're getting horses sometime this year probably.
Dana

I have 2 horses. One is one half Thoroughbred/ half Hanoverian gelding, who was orphaned shortly after his birth. I had known his mother for 7 years and owned her for 5 years. She was an ex-racehorse who won $78,000 but was not stakes-placed. Here we are at a show in Southern Pines 10 years ago:
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This is her son as a baby:
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And as an adult. He is now 7.

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We also have a Half Arabian pony that we got as a yearling, who is now 8 years old. I decided to keep her since she's too hot and sensitive for most kids to ride, and she has a beautiful trot -- she rides much more like a horse than a pony. The two pictures below are from last weekend. She looks a lot more Arabian in the summer when she doesn't have a winter coat.
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alicia your horses are beautiful! so, is the white one a different color in summer? or is the coat just shaggier? my daughter would be in 7th heaven if we ever got a horse but there's no way we could afford one or have room for one, so we will just experience it vicariously through all you lucky ducks! she reads A LOT of horse books- typical of a 10 yr old girl.

as to what i read- a little bit of lots of stuff. all of the daily paper except for the sports, birdtalk magazine, garden mags occasionally, tho i found i got bored with them- and i read a lot of that type stuff online now, garden catalogs, in print and online, reference books & online- gardening, birds, hobbies, etc, some misc fiction, and lastly, my guilty secret- paranormal romance/mysteries. i also like some sci-fi and fantasy, tho there's only a few writers i tend to read of that now (they used to be my mainstays). i stopped reading anything but the paper or the occasional magazine when my kids were little because i had so little time and have only gotten back into books heavily in the past year or 2. i feel like i can't get enough now- i went so long without! my problem is once i start a book i can't put it down and even though i'm a fast reader it's really hard to carve out enough time to get 1/2 or the whole way through one with kids & a busy schedule. so i would read mags & newspapers that were segmented, or not read at all (i get really cranky if i have to stop- it was a much better solution for everyone). pete and the kids are good about setting a book down at whatever point they're at. our whole family are voracious readers- book potatoes if you will. i think we have out over 100 books right now at the library, all on pete's card. i'm not sure if i'm happy or embarrassed about that. LOL

Gardening is one of my main hobbies although since I moved to a shady property It's become challenging but still fun. When I am not gardening I am finishing my sewing projects, this is my second hobby and a career. By using Winter sowing method I was able to get 50 plants of Lobelia Cardinalis from my potted plant. They are thriving in the shade.

Thanks Alicia, they are all beautiful.

Carla

Thank you Tammy and Carla. The pony looks more refined in the summer because she's less shaggy. She's changed color as much as she's going to -- she was born dark bay and has grayed out over the last 8 years to pure white with little flecks of chesnut -- "fleabites".

Pony in summer, in 2006. Her legs weren't completely white yet.
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Pony as a yearling. She was even darker than this when she was born.
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Prince under saddle in 2006. He's had the last year off due to an injury.
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Alicia, your horses are beautiful!
I read everything, especially fiction, except spy or suspense (and I'll read those on occasion). Tammy, sci-fi/fantasy is my current favorite genre but there is a lot of really bad stuff out there so I wait for recommendations. I also really like Ken Follet and I just got the sequel to "Pillars of the Earth" which is one of my all time favorite books. My whole family and many of my friends are also voracious readers, so I always have lots of stuff on my list.
Tammy, that's a lot of books from the library! Did you guys know that lots of libraries these days will let you request books online and they'll hold them for you at the desk so you don't even need to go looking for them? They'll even send them to the library of your choice (at least here in Wake Co.) Makes it so easy!

Alicia your horses are georgeous. I was horse crazy growing up and rode every chance I got - some day I'll have a spot to have a pet to ride. Meanwhile I have a sweetheart of a handsome shelter dog and plan to get another dog this Spring.

Gardening makes me happiest, but I love to read. Have you tried Sharyn McCrumb's Elizabeth McPherson mysteries? I like a lot of the English country house mysteries from the 30's through 60's too - lots of good writers.

ais- that's exactly what i do (reserving from home, and renewing, too)- in fact, i'm in the library so little they hardly know me, but on the rare occasion i do pick up the stuff, and since its always under pete's card- they make the connection and the light bulb goes on. it's fun to have them say 'oh, so you're the other half!". they know the kids fairly well; they stop with pete at least 1x a week- he's there 3 or 4 x at least, so they know him very very well. i've often said he should have been a librarian. embarrassing admission- but many of our first dates were to the library (i was only 16 when we began to date), and we actually invited one of the librarians to our wedding.

i know what you mean about sci fi/fantasy. i read so much of it there for a while in my 20's i kind of burned out and now will only read what i consider the really good stuff that gets away from the stock problems/plot/solutions. i really like urban fantasy- and some authors i especially like are charles de lint, emma bull (both urban fantasy), sherri tepper (odd fantasy/close to present day sci fi, but on a very believable, personal level & great heroines), christopher pauloni (good fantasy- tolkien like), orson scott card (good fantasy and sci-fi, tho i haven't read all of the latter) and of course, tolkien. pete used to read tons of sci fi and could probably recommend some of the ones he still enjoys (he went through the same thing as me with getting tired of the genre). who are some of your faves? i'm always open to new to me greats, esp since i've read most of the books of my faves already. if i find an author i like, i'll burn through all their books in a run & pete does the same. probably 'cause our kids are the right age, but we've both found that we really enjoy some of the young adult literature that's out there- it's simply, but well written. the 'gregor' series is a good example. harry potter of course, was another one that all 4 of us read.

no, i haven't tried those, joy, but i'll have to look into them. thanks for the recommendation!

alicia- i love seeing the pix of your horses. it was neat to see the age/color progression on the one. they area so gorgeous. i'll have to show livian tomorrow. :)

Yeh its my main hobby...that and and weather, but most people don't know about it!!

I've never thought of gardening as my hobby, though I suppose it is -- as such it's definitely my main hobby. It's a pretty integral part of my life and I swear it's what keeps me sane some days. Years ago my husband used to refer to my gardens as my experiments. I was rather offended at first but now I think he was right on the mark.

I don't have time for much else, but do make time for choral singing, which I've been doing since high school. And I used to reupholster furniture though it's been years since I had the time or space to tear apart a sofa. We have space for horses and even had approval for it written into our contract when we bought this house, but I always resisted the family pressure to buy one. I figured it would end up being my main focus and wasn't willing to give up other things. Over the years I've also blocked llamas, goats, and chickens. Maybe we'll take on some more critters after the kids leave home.

Thank you Joy and Ais. Thanks for the author names also -- I love sci/fi/fantasy -- there are fanastic works and a lot of God awful stuff too. I've read some of Orson Scott Card -- Ender's Game was my favorite. Joy I haven't read the Elizabeth McPherson books. I'll have to try those.

I wouldn't say my main hobby is gardening, it is just what I choose to take up the most of my time :-) ;-o

I knit daily, do beading and charity quilting, read anything and everything, collect rocks, try new gourmet cooking recipes and bake bread at least once a week, and presently I am rebuilding my summer kitchen. I have told my DH that I am too interested in too many things and have too much stuff. He agrees and says he has never met anyone who goes gung-ho on several things concurrently. He's the one who does one thing until it is finished. Me? I have forty seven projects going at once, at least. ;-)

I hope I can keep learning new things until I keel over. I'm Soc Sec recipient now, boy do I love being retired, and hope my good health continues to my 90's or so. My DH is as energetic as I am so we keep each other interested in life, the secret to a long and happy one. He bought me/us a two-seater kayak and lots of fishing at the lake (5 minutes away)is on my list for this summer.

I do make time for my friends because I realized years ago that every hobby I enjoy is solitary, especially gardening.

Nancy the nancedar

Alicia, I only have Miniatures now. :) Your pony mare looks a lot like my ancient Arab/Welsh mare that we lost a couple of years ago. I love the Pinehurst pic! I did the Carriage Classic in the Pines ADS driving show down there a couple of years...but that was about 7 years ago.
Getting ready for a roadster class...
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/littlamy/RainyatDelMarva20053-500.jpg[/img]

Right after in-hand obstacle and jumping...
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/littlamy/RainyatDelMarva20052.jpg[/img]

My fat and sassy girls...
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/littlamy/Picture077.jpg[/img]

My youngest who I hope to finish with cart training this spring...(sorry--fuzzy video shot)
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/littlamy/Picture104.jpg[/img]
As a yearling...
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I LOVE my minis!

Amy, my pony is Half Arabian, half grade. Although my pony's mother does not have papers, she is probably a Shetland, as she is only around 10 hands. The sire is 14.2, so I'm happy that my pony matured to 13.2.

There is a miniature horse farm next to our farm. Our neighbors still have around a half dozen full size horses, but I don't even KNOW how many minis they have.

Now dangit....I don't know why my pics didn't work...that is so annoying. I hate that their isn't an edit feature on here either... Ah well...

Amy, you need to choose the image link that's labelled HTML Code in photobucket (

so that your images will show up here.

Trying this again...sorry

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My fat and sassy girls...
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Half clipped...
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My youngest who I hope to finish with cart training this spring...(sorry--fuzzy video shot)
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As a yearling...
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Amy they are cute! Our neighbor talked about training his paint mini stallion to drive but I don't know if he did. The last 2-3 years we've happened to be at the State Fair during the mini classes -- there are some beauties.

Wow, all these pictures take me back to my childhood and living on a farm. I miss the smell of a sundried horse and hay bales.

I would say gardening is my main hobby. It has taught me a new awareness of life and shown me beauty in the smallest details.

Other than gardening I'm into reading (gardening books or biographies) and sports. Shannon

I think gardening is second to fitness for me, but not by much. I work out 5-6 days a week, doing cardio, weights and martial arts. I have recently taken up road biking and have bought a great bike to start riding in the spring.

I love seeing the horse photos...I had horses for several years and would love to start riding again. I just don't have time to do all the cool stuff I want to. I need to hit the lottery...

Sally

It is one of many for me. Below is a link to my blog which includes gardening, books, and essays, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: Becky's Carolina Journal

First off, I LOVE the horses ladies!! I had Tenn. Walkers for years, both show and pleasure. I miss them and riding horribly! We do have the land now so eventually I'll be getting horses again but only a little later in life when I have the time to devote to them they deserve. My job is too demanding now to allow time for the new house and horses. Your hunter/jumpers are beautiful Alica and the Mini's are so cute, I could just give them a big hug!! :-)

Gardening isn't my main hobby but one that I deeply enjoy. I've not done much in the last few years with selling a house/renting while finding the right land/building a house, but one I will be spending a lot more time with going forward. Kinda getting back into things after a quiet period to concentrate on the house. Aside from gardening, I'll be doing a lot of painting and interior decorating this year as well. Blank slate inside and out. I also enjoy cooking and strive to be the amateur gourmet in the kitchen. I love to experiment with new flavors, methods of cooking and food. My loves are my pups, I have 2 Labbies and a Flat Coat Retriever. I'm starting to spend a little time with my Flat Coat on obediance, I want to eventually compete in Rally with her. And I have one hobby you may think a little odd for a woman, I have classic cars. Currently I have a 67 Camaro, a 91RS Camaro and have a one owner 68 Beetle on the way I recently inherited to restore. I'm also the president of a GM Muscle Car club in the Carolinas with about 100 members. I have so many things that interest me, I don't have enough hours in the day for it all. My hubby has to be my anchor a lot of times to keep me from biting off more than I can tackle. I'm not a real craft person, but I do crafts as I see the need for decorating. I would love to learn how to make stained glass and will most likely try some small pieces soon to help with the interior decorating. Honestly, I need to win the lottery!! LOL

Gardening and dogs are my main interests. Now I work at a mail-order plant center, and the neighboring field holds horses. I love to see them as I drive my golf cart around work, and hear them start to talk and gallop around in excitement when their people come out and saddle up the "wrong" horses. I say "wrong" because the horses not being taken out are doing their best to get noticed so they can go for a ride too!