When we knew Shane the Blacksmith would be coming Valentine’s Day morning, Mousie and I put our heads together and came up with a plan. We’d bake him a special Valentine cookie! Here’s Mousie, posing with her favorite blacksmith. The photographer kind of let down the team, catching Shane in a blink, but he was pleased with his cookie.
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!
Willow House Chronicles 
That’s so cute. 🙂
It’s neat that your blacksmith is so young. I can’t imagine many kids are going into it as a profession these days.
What a good girl Mousie was, to give her very young blacksmith a cookie! I hope that the weather cooperated and you had the warm weather that we had yesterday and this morning.
Sheri — Oh I think that is so sweet of Mousie to remember the man of her well-being — shoe-wise that is. Cute photos. Shane’s smile is wonderful. — barbara
Seab, non-horse owners tend to think of blacksmithing as a lost trade, but there is plenty of work for farriers. Young blacksmiths are not unusual at all.
Louise, It was a mild day, but there is a flash freeze warning out now as the temperature is dropping rapidly. Shane says he prefers working in the cold of winter to the heat of summer and appreciates not having to deal with flies and bugs!
Barbara, isn’t she thoughtful? Shane is a very nice young man, and gentle with the horses. He has been working on his own for several years and just bought his first house!
It’s less that I think of it as a lost trade as just that I think trades in general don’t draw youth the way they once did – I think there’s a cultural stigma against them: trades are for the dumb kids. One step down from college, which is also for the kids not bright enough to get into university. When they were talking to us about post-secondary options, back in high school, I recall the greatest focus being on university, with slightly less emphasis on college. And then there was “oh yeah, and I guess there’s trades too, if you wanted.” But in actuality, I think trades can offer just as much or more than university. Certainly there’s no shortage of work – people will always need electricians and plumbers and blacksmiths. And because they’re in demand, they get paid pretty well, too.
Soooo cute. It must have been crowded in your kitchen with Mousie helping you bake.
Seab, probably most young people who become blacksmiths have some connection with horses and are aware of the option from sources other than school. Generally though, I would agree with you, and more apprenticeship programs would be a good thing. Also, as you were in advanced classes, you were expected to go to university. Other classes might have got a bit different message.
Deb, yes, she was really all hooves, but she did her best.