Tree of Life Hollow

06/01/2026

Once in a blue moon — and this time we mean it literally. 🌕

In the early hours of June 1, barely a day after May’s rare Blue Moon reached its peak, Etta James foaled a bay c**t here at Tree of Life Hollow. It was the smallest full moon of the year, and riding right beside it that night was Antares — the deep-red star the ancients called the Heart of the Scorpion, and the rival of Mars.

So we didn’t have much say in the matter. Meet TLH Once in a Blue Moon — “Antares” for us.

He’s by our stallion Fichik Okchakko, whose name means “Blue Star” in Choctaw. A red star for a c**t born beneath a blue moon, son to a Blue Star sire. We couldn’t have scripted it if we’d tried.

Antares is a Choctaw Colonial Spanish Horse — one of the rarest horse populations in North America, a living thread back to the horses that came up through the Southeast long before us. Every foal like him is a small act of preservation, and we don’t take a single one for granted.

Welcome to the world, little one. You picked quite a night to arrive. 🐴

05/29/2026

People sometimes ask why a Virginia farm cares so much about a strain of horse with roots in the Choctaw Nation. The answer is in stories like this one.

The Choctaw Nation's Cultural Services recently shared the history of Pineywoods cattle – Spanish stock, descended from animals brought to the Southeast in the 1500s and shaped by Choctaw hands across two centuries. They were part of Nation life long before the Revolution, with families ranching by the 1730s. Even the word carries the history: the Choctaw wak comes straight from the Spanish vaca.

How extensive was it? Extensive enough that a backcountry soldier at the Battle of Cowpens, watching the British break and run from the field, could describe them – in Jim Stempel's American Hannibal – as "hard to stop as a drove of wild Choctaw steers, going to a Pennsylvania market," and trust his listeners to understand exactly what he meant.

For a frontier soldier in the Carolina backcountry to reach for Choctaw cattle as his measure of “impossible to stop,” those droving operations had to be common knowledge – large enough, and far-ranging enough, to live in the everyday speech of men who'd never set foot in the Nation.

That same deep tradition of Choctaw stockmanship is the one that produced the Choctaw horse – the strain of the Colonial Spanish Horse we steward here. Spanish stock, shaped over generations by Choctaw hands and the land itself into something wholly its own. The cattle and the horse are two threads of one inheritance. Preserving the horse is, in a small way, keeping faith with all of it.

(With thanks to Choctaw Nation Cultural Services.)

A brief history of the Pineywoods Cattle, a breed of cattle used by Choctaw people for over 200 years. Choctaw people adapted the word "wak" from the Spanish word for cow, "vaca."

05/28/2026

Goats, man… 🐐

Our Spanish goats are a real joy… and can be real pains. 🤣

We’ll be fixing their perimeter fence thanks to Celeste’s antics.

And both of us had to temporarily fix it at various points during last night’s storm. 😵‍💫

We managed to rig up enough to keep them safe and secure for the time being.

But yeah, goats…

Do you have goats? What antics have they gotten up to lately?

05/26/2026

There’s a reason we call Achukma “Fabio,” because he’s such a MAN!!!! 💪🏻🏋️‍♂️

All joking aside, how gorgeous is he?!

All comments acknowledging his glory will be read aloud to him in a subsequent video.

Trust us, he’ll love it. 😍🤣

So, pour out your praise below to our resident cover boy!

05/25/2026

It’s been a very chaotic week for us, but we wanted to let you all know Manny made it through to the other side.

He’s home. After surgery, two weeks in a clean stall, and a long month of holding our breath, both the original wound and the incision are healing nicely. The teams at The Oaks Equine and Farm Service, Woodside, and Double Knot Equine Services got him there, and we can’t thank them enough.

The first thing he did back in his round pen? Found a sandy spot, dug it up, and dropped down for a good long roll. After two weeks of stall rest, that’s about the most Manny thing he could’ve done – and the best sight we’ve seen in weeks.

To everyone who sent thoughts, prayers, and good vibes our way this past month: thank you. It carried us, and it carried him. We felt every bit of it.

We’ll complete his recovery at home, and are so happy he’s doing well.

05/15/2026

It’s the weekend!

How are you spending it with your horses?

Cuz it’s work and family time for us!

Let us know in the comments what you’ll be up to.

02/05/2026

Not only did we say adieu to our two foals today, we also sent off one of our older fillies, Homma.

It’s such a privilege as breeders to help keep this amazing breed going, seeing them go to new homes is bittersweet.

And while we didn’t breed Homma, we’ve known her since the day she was born, just like Layla and Rose.

We are so humbled and thankful that our girls went to wonderful families.

Congratulations to the Evans, Harris, and Cox families for finally being able to bring them home. Our blessings and joy go with you as you start this incredible journey of horse ownership.

01/26/2026

It’s been a weekend, friends. Hope everyone is faring well after the storm! Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need a hand . . . Love this rural community of ours.

Good afternoon everyone. We hope everyone has been doing as best as possible through this weekend storm.

If anyone in the area still dont have power,water or food. Please dont hesitate to call us. we have power now at the store and our house and welcome anyone that needs to get warm, food or just needs some water.

The store will be open tomorrow for normal business hours but we can open it up at anytime for those in need.

757 357 2128 is our number if anyone needs assistance threw the rest of today.