Mike Jackson is a retired electric lineman and supervisor from Battle Ground, Indiana, who has trained English Pointer dogs for horseback field trials for many years. For this episode of Heartsong Fit, I interview Mike, one of our farm neighbors, in his barn as he is preparing for a trip from Indiana to North Dakota and Montana for training his dogs and younger horses.

He rides and trains Tennessee Walkers, a gaited horse breed, and he raises and trains gorgeous English Pointers. This breed of dog is popular for bird hunting.

Whether you are a dog lover, horse lover, or you are specifically, an enthusiast of English Pointers, Red Setters or other "big running dogs," I'm sure you'll enjoy hearing Mike talk about his adventures.

In this sport, the animal handlers and trainers, work from horseback as they communicate with their highly trained hunting dogs who are broke to wing and shot. The horses, who are also broke to a variety of distraction from gun shot to dogs biting at their tails and winding around their legs, to the flush of birds from the terrain, are very key partners within the team required in this sport of field trials.

Both the American Field and the American Kennel Club (AKC) have divisions for hunting dogs in this sport. You will find categories of Shooting Dogs, Gun Dogs, All Age Dogs, Puppy, Derby, Amateur and Open.

Check out www.dogsunlimited.com for articles about the sport as well as:
www.akc.org
http://americanfield.villagesoup.com
http://www.aftca.org

I continued my interview with Mike in a discussion about teamwork. To hear our conversation on teamwork that he and his fellow competitors have with their horses and dogs, check out the episode in my other podcast, Agile Digital Business.

"Pulling the help chain" is a phrase I describe in Episode 23 of Heartsong Fit. In the Toyota Way, this phrase is related to Andon. The help chain, help cord, or yellow stop button, is a mechanism that line workers can use to stop production and call for help. It's also used to notify the line that something has gone wrong in the manufacturing process.

In this solo show, I record my thoughts about pulling the help chain if you're a caregiver and need help from family and friends. I recorded this episode on a Saturday while in the barn and hanging out with the llamas. They munch their hay and communicate with each other, and with me. I share with you about what it was like to "pull the help chain" in the previous week. I reflect on how helpful my friends, coworkers and family members were in a week of "caregiving on steroids." I thank my friends for stepping up and helping out.

You can hear the llamas' activity as if you were in the barn aisle with me. They munch on hay, stomp their feet, chortle complaints to each other, and give me kisses to make me feel better. Videos available here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dpfllamas

Several of the episodes of Heartsong Fit include short stories by my mom, Lucille Maris, about life in the US during the 1940s when World War 2 was underway. I have been interviewing her about how she dealt with the stresses of those times from finding housing, to scarcity of food and supplies to dealing with the deployment of her young husband (my dad).

This episode is an audio index of the locations of the stories in the podcast so that you can easily find them and listen. You will also hear a brief overview of the topic of each story.

Podcast host, Vickie Maris, and her husband, Scott Greeson, share their takeaways from living unplugged for a few days at Fox Lake Resort in Marcell, MN. Planning and preparing meals; fishing; exercising; following a morning routine; and living without digital devices for a few days were all aspects of the week that contributed to relaxation and rejuvenation.

You can hear a song about Minnesota, co-written by Scott Greeson and Vickie Maris when you check out the "Riverside" album by Scott Greeson. Here is the URL to "Minnesota" in Apple iTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/album/minnesota/1456467984?i=1456468210

Margaret Williamson and Lucille Maris recount details of their memories of learning the news from President Theodore Roosevelt on Dec. 7, 1941 that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States was entering the war.

These women discuss the atmosphere of the country during the early 1940s and what happened around them as men were enlisting in the service. Both Margaret and Lucille were married to pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps.

This is a glimpse back 70+ years into the lives of these strong women who were married to valiant service men. They teach of the importance of independence, persevering and taking action.

This episode is a conversation in the studio between podcast host, Vickie Maris, and Scott Greeson, right after the two had played a music gig with their band, Scott Greeson and Trouble With Monday, at the Indiana Bacon Festival in Delphi, Indiana.

Other topics of the show include accordion lessons via Skype with Bev Fess; details of the Bacon Fest gig; and the annual trek to Accordion Camp.

Vickie has been learning accordion from accordionists Bev Fess, Murl Allen Sanders, Ron Borelli, Gary Blair, Ilmar Kuljus, Dick Myking, Courtney Von Drehle, and many more. Friends and fellow accordionists who attend camp make the event a reunion of sorts. 

You'll hear the sounds of nature in this episode of Heartsong Fit. I recorded it out in the woods as I was taking a morning walk for exercise. I have my llama, Heartsong, with me.

You'll hear the cicadas singing in the background as we navigate around tree branches, unsuccessfully duck under spider webs and frustrate my horse, Madison, who wanted to go with us on the trail.

If you like to walk for exercise, you'll hear about reasons for getting off the treadmill and taking your exercise outdoors! It's very good for our brains!

Take a Walk for Exercise or Stress Relief
You might like to do yoga, cross fit, running, cardio and other forms of exercise, but consider adding some walking in your day to break things up. If you walk alongside a body of water, you reap even greater benefit!

Below you'll find links to the article I mentioned about the benefits that come when you exercise outdoors. You'll also see links to our music which I have in the background in the podcast. 

Blog post about beneficial changes in your brain while walking outdoors -  http://www.wimp.com/what-hiking-does-to-the-brain-is-pretty-amazing/

I share methods for managing stress that I use while in the caregiver role with my mom. These are ideas you can adopt if you are in a caregiver role and helping your loved one if he or she needs to make a trip to the emergency room or hospital.  

From keeping a bag packed and ready to having a plan for communicating with siblings, to reminders about wills, living wills, health care representatives and more, I touch on several simple steps you can take.

Have a plan in place and take steps ahead of time that will help you manage stress during an upcoming hospital visit.