Jeanne Maisel Russo

06/08/2026

06/06/2026

Nearly extinct. Now nesting on skyscrapers in every major city. With we**ams. And millions of fans.

THE SPEED:

→ 240+ mph in a dive (stoop) — fastest animal on Earth
→ Special bony tubercle in nostrils prevents lungs from bursting
→ Third eyelid protects eyes at speed
→ Can generate forces that would black out a fighter pilot

THE NEAR-EXTINCTION:

→ DDT caused eggshell thinning (same as bald eagle)
→ By 1964: ZERO nesting pairs east of the Mississippi
→ Peregrine Fund launched captive breeding in 1970s
→ Over 6,000 birds released across North America

THE URBAN COMEBACK:

→ Skyscrapers mimic natural cliff nesting sites
→ Cities have endless prey (pigeons, starlings)
→ Now nesting in 60+ US cities
→ NYC, Chicago, LA, Baltimore, Indianapolis, San Francisco
→ Webcams at dozens of sites — millions of viewers

THE WEBCAMS:

→ Live-streamed falcon families in major cities
→ Naming contests for chicks (community engagement)
→ Educational goldmine for schools
→ People watch egg-laying, hatching, first flights in real-time

From zero pairs to we**am celebrities.

The fastest animal on Earth made the greatest comeback on Earth.

And it chose your office building.

06/06/2026

Reach for the stars (or maybe some clover), when you Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

06/06/2026

When we were putting out a fresh hay round in the mare’s field this afternoon, Rick said, “The flies are biting.” I felt a little defensive with my months-long efforts at fly control. Perhaps it showed. He came right back with a conciliatory correction, “Well, it really is just one fly.” LOL.

This was a little before 3 this afternoon. I had left the horses in their stalls down at High Tide after I fed them because they were being bothered by the flies and it was obvious to me that they didn’t really want to go out (yet.)

We went down to let them out later in the evening and when we let them out, they bolted out to the top of the field and they were grazing quietly when we left. I noticed the horses in the neighboring field were also enjoying the fading light of sunset and quietly grazing.

There is a specific kind of quiet that sometimes settles in on quiet summer evenings. My favorite time of day? Maybe. The work for the day is done. Everyone is fed and set up for their evening of horse chatting or whatever they do when we aren't listening.

And as for that one lone fly Rick spotted? Hopefully, he’s turned in for the night, too. There’s nothing quite like the magic of the barn at sunset, so why not come experience it for yourself? Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

06/05/2026

Usually, I tend to take the weather in stride. After all we can’t do a thing about whatever Mother Nature throws at us, so why stress about it right? Compared to what other parts of the country have endured, we’ve been pretty lucky here in Pasadena. To be honest though, this last week has been a bit stressful. We went from it being 95 degrees on Wednesday afternoon to being in the low 50’s Thursday evening. It may not seem like a big deal to many, but such extreme weather changes can cause real issues with the horses. We’ve had 2 scares this week.

On Tuesday the temperature was in the low 90’s. The mares were in the barn for the day. After having their dinner we began to turn out. We noticed when we turned Olive out she walked about 20 feet from the gate and immediately laid flat out. She didn’t roll, she just laid there. Every other horse out there took a turn coming over and sniffing her. Olive just laid there. It may not seem alarming to you, but Olive typically strutes out with her ears pinned back, reminding all the other horses who’s in charge. Normally, she would NEVER lay down and NEVER allow the other horses to come near her much less sniff at her. What was even more shocking was they were even brave enough to go near her. They must have sensed something was off with her. We had no clue why she was doing what she was doing, but it was odd and very worrisome. While we were trying to decide what to do, she suddenly sat up, stood up, and shook herself off. She immediately walked to the water trough, took a good long drink and went and stood in the run-in. She seemed perfectly normal. We watched her through the evening and as an added precaution we brought her into the barn for the night. Thankfully whatever was going on seemed to resolve. Was the extreme weather a factor? I guess we will really never know.

Tonight, after feeding we realized Buffy our donkey was choking. Evidently, she had something stuck in her esophagus. I’m guessing she did not chew something completely and it became lodged in her esophagus. She was pacing, drooling and coughing. She looked and sounded really bad. After about 40 minutes without it resolving, we decided we needed the vet. Thankfully the vet was already in Pasadena on another emergency. She would let us know when she was on her way to Dun-Pikin.

We brought Buffy up to the barn to wait. We realized after about 15 minutes in the stall that she finally resolved the choke on her own. The drooling had stopped and she was nosing around in the stall looking for dropped grain and bits of hay. She was looking much better. Thankfully Buffy seemed fine and we were able to cancel the vet. Her reward for healing herself was a few minutes of grazing on the grass.

The vet told us to 'keep our wits about us.' The crazy weather swings were causing a lot of issues with horses. It certainly keeps us on our toes. With the scares behind us, we are looking forward to much calmer days ahead on the farm. Grab your boots and Come Ride With Us!

Cindy 🐴

06/05/2026

Dun-Pikin Farm: Family-owned equine facility in Pasadena, MD. Offering riding lessons, Pony Pals, boarding, summer horse camp. Come Ride With Us!

06/05/2026

I admit I panicked a bit when I realized today was the first day in June. We always start planning for summer camp in January. We look at the school calendar and pick our dates. In January, June seems so very far away. Now suddenly, just like that it’s June. It’s now time to get serious about Summer Camp.

This year our camps filled up early, really early. We kinda have a plan. Over the years we’ve learned what works best for us, the kids and the horses. That being said, it still takes a lot of planning to have the week run smoothly. We need to double check our paperwork, buy snacks, craft supplies and plan our schedule making sure we have what we need for each day. We’ve gotten it down with probably 20 years of camps behind us but I still get nervous every summer when June arrives.

There are almost as many staff as there are campers. Safety is number one for me and with so many kids coming most with no horse experience at all, you can just never be too careful. It also takes a lot of hands to adjust stirrups, double check girths and give some anxious riders confidence. Camp is supposed to be fun. We make sure we have plenty of help so everyone has a good time while being safe.

Even with camp going on, the farm routine continues. Horses are fed and turned out. Fields are cleaned and hay is put out. Water troughs are scrubbed and filled and the stalls are cleaned. Our campers get an up close look at what goes on at the barn everyday. They also get to be a part of everything that goes on.

By the time Friday afternoon rolls around, the exhaustion is real—but so is the pride. Seeing a kid who was nervous on Monday morning laughing and confidently leading a thousand-pound horse by the end of the week makes every single bit of the planning, the sweating, and the pre-camp jitters completely worth it. We are so excited to welcome this year's groups, make some incredible memories, and show these kids the ropes of barn life.

The countdown is officially on, and we are ready. Pack your boots, bring your smiles, and Come Ride With Us!

Cindy🐴

06/05/2026

This is the problem with run-ins. If you don’t know, a run-in is a shelter out in a paddock or field that horses can access during inclement weather. Some horses never use them and seem to prefer to stand out in whatever Mother Nature is doling out at the time. Others count on them to get out of the rain, wind, snow, sun and flies. All of our horses seem to use them at one time or another.

I watch the horses in the run-ins constantly just because of what’s happening in this picture. Do you see it? If you look really close you can see Olive in the back of the run-in standing out of the sun. It looks like the others probably thought that was a good idea too, until they realized Olive was in there.

Olive is definitely in charge of that field and all the others take their cues/orders from her. I’m sure she probably pinned an ear. I can tell by just looking at the picture. Ruby, obviously a little braver being Olive’s sometime friend, is standing halfway in. At least getting her head out of the sun. Kate and Tammy … they’re just not brave enough to even try to walk in, so they stand outside looking in. I feel really bad that a run-in that is big enough for 6 or 7 horses only has 1 horse standing in it because of 1 pony with a BIG personality.

This is a pretty typical problem with run-ins and horses. Having a run-in out in a field does not always guarantee shelter for all horses. At Dun-Pikin since they don’t all have access to the run-in, the mares will probably stay in their stalls out of the sun and extreme heat that is on the way. They will be turned out in the evening.

The geldings on the other hand get along much better. Percy and Arlo stand happily together in their run-in. Marley, Cash and Shine share theirs fine too. The boys seem to be happy to make room for everyone. There just always seems to be less drama with the geldings.

We always try to keep an eye out for issues with all of the horses. Are they happy? Are they comfortable? Are they healthy? We do our best to make sure we can answer yes to all. Happy horses make for happy riders.

Come Ride With Us!
Cindy 🐴