Barn Dance: Nickers, brays, bleats, howls, and quacks: Tales from the herd. Paperback – December 9, 2016

I have loved reading all of Anna Blake's books so it was hard to choose which one to write a review for. This one has one of my many favorite pieces: Horse/Human Creation Story. Each chapter or poem can stand alone and bring with it belly laughs, awe-ha moments, involuntary deep breaths (from reading "breath" or the resonance of her words), learning, or tears. I love that I can count on her writing and am always glad to have picked up one of her books to spend precious moments of life with.

This was a wonderful read. Heartfelt and thoughtful. The animals are so important and symbolic to Anna Blake as she relates to relationships and the passage of time. Issues of aging and independence relative to living a life of one's own choosing. Beautifully written. I highly recommend it.

Anna Blake has a unique writing style. I have shared some of the same experiences with my small farm which houses 3 donkeys that we rescued a few years ago. I literally could not put the book down. Looking forward to read more of her books.

Liked the descriptions of the different personalities. It got a little carried away there towards the end .k

"Remember what horses have always meant to you and feel your heart warm, as your shoulders soften. Then say thank you, just like your mother taught you." -Barn DanceLike a good movie, Anna's memoir of her life with her barn family at Infinity Farm ran me through the full gamut of emotions. I alternated between sad and happy tears as her stories were sometimes poignant, sometimes beautifully reflective, sometimes inspirational, sometimes mournful, always instructional on how to be the best care giver of our fur friends as humanly possible. The hopeful hellos when she brings home a rescue, a few inevitable sad goodbyes, since we humans for whatever reason have longer lifespans than our dearly adored animal friends. She handles it all with incredible insight into how we can deal with this rollercoaster we are all on called Life. Thanks for this Dance, Anna.

I want to get a farm and fill it with donkeys, horses, dogs, cats, goats, ducks and any animal who needs a home after reading this book. This book is funny, heart warming and honest. I am 3 years older than Anna and I get inspiration from her goings on with her ranch life and her animal family. Makes me want spend all of my time with my horse, dogs and cats. I've read Relaxed and Forward and loved it too. I tell everyone that will listen that they have to read these books. Anna has such a great sense of humor, her books make me laugh out loud or chuckle to myself. I'm off to read my next Anna Blake book.

Anna's stories are all told with a large dose of humor as well as heart. They are compelling and addictive.

This is a collection of essays, apparently collected over a span of several years. They are each very short, and usually present rather poetic observations of Blake's farm animals (goats, donkeys, horses, dogs), and her relationship with them. Many of her essays are casual and chatty, as if you were catching up with her at the local feed store. Some are actually quite perceptive, capturing small lessons from the behaviors of the animals. A few draw insightful parallels between the aging animals and Blake's own struggles with age-related infirmity.I enjoyed enough of the essays to keep reading to the end, but I really wished for more of a distillation, a sense that these essays were taking me somewhere, that Blake was building toward some revealed wisdom. But they were more like old black and white photos with no writing on the back lying loose in a box - often more puzzling than delightful.

Love how Anna writes, her words about all the personalities on the farm hit close to home. It sometimes was like reading my own thoughts.

Anna Blake is a wonderful writer and has written an insightful, witty book that will have you laughing, crying and feeling like you definitely need a goat to make your life complete. Anna transports you to her farm and tells the tales of her life which she shares with her animals on the Colorado prairie. If you have a farm, have ever dreamt of having a farm or just have a love of animals, then this book is for you. I didn't want the book to end and let's face it: that's a tell tale sign of a really good read. Can hardly wait to read her other books.

I loved this book as much as I loved the other two written by Anna. So much wisdom and so many ideas to try. I think my small herd of horses will be grateful I read this too.

A book you can read at a nice slow pace, and enjoy each chapter individually. Perfect. I shall be reading Anna's other books

Loved this book. Anna has a way of making you smile even when writing of the most profound subjects. Of course there are also some sad moments, but all so well written. An other great book..Kudos Anna.