Sharing and Painting

Written By: Sue Blair - Carpe Diem Farms | Issue: April 2025

In September 2002, publishers Marjorie and Janet asked if I would contribute articles about Carpe Diem Farms and our activities to their new magazine, The Mountain Laurel.

Now, lovingly known as Laurel, and marking 23 years of publishing, it has been my privilege throughout all these years to offer a glimpse of Carpe Diem Farms, a Highlands non-profit, “Exploring the Human Potential Through Equines” each month.

The September 2011 issue is certainly one I won’t forget. Selected as that month’s Cover Artist showcasing a pastel I had recently completed of nine-year-old CDF Lola’s Promise, our magnificent Morgan, the only foal ever born on the farm.

As life does seem to flow, the first article in 2002 had showcased his arrival and now he was a cover!

There have been 23 horses who have participated in all we do in our programs for men, women and children. Seventeen are remembered daily as they rest in the Saint Francis Cemetery, and six now make up the herd.

Once again, I have begun to paint, this time acrylics in a much freer form than that of my pastels!

I thought it would be fun to share my latest…our newest and biggest, “Journey,” the three year old Shire and the latest of him with his friend Pumpkin, our 34-year-old miniature “Sharing Breath” on a Cold Winter’s Day.

If you would like to do a photo shoot, come paint with us and our teacher, Susan Jagar, on Thursdays or just come to the farm to meet the herd.

Please call (828) 200-9725 or email me at blair.carpediem@gmail.com to schedule a time to visit. Drop-ins don’t really work, so please schedule a day and time to experience the magic of the horses of Carpe Diem Farms.