We had our differences only because we are so much alike, but DAMN.... I really miss him.

I think of him so many times each and every day.  It can be taking a deep breath under the mane of a horse, pounding a nail, grabbing a screwdriver to tighten a hinge, reaching for pliars, hearing the gobble of a turkey across the field, admiring the beauty of a simple creek and wondering where the fish are, playing with the dogs, talking to Mom, watching a storm roll in, changing a tire, cooking up a batch of beans and weinies....  there's nothing I do that doesn't remind me of him.

I'll be working on something and grab the phone to ask him a question... then I stop cuz I don't know the number where to reach him that way.  My stupid phone doesn't work anyway, so I just talk.....  I just talk seemingly to myself.  Is that prayer?  I don't know.

I stop... I stop and feel like dropping to my knees sometimes.  But he wouldn't like that.  He would tell me to get my butt up off the ground or he'll give me a reason to get my butt off the ground... so I stand back up, put on a strong face and keep moving forward.

I know he's watching.  I know he's there.  I hear his voice.  I hear his voice all the time.  It's loud and clear.  "Honey, I'm right here".  Damn... I miss my Dad.

(singing....)  I'll be right around the bend until I see you again.......

My house is a mess.  I look around and think "I need to do this and need to do that" but the order of things starts with "but I need to do this so I can do that and I need to do THAT before I can do that"...

....... so I dug in today.

I have a corner in my kitchen that has a bunch of random tack and horse-show stuff in tubs.  I'm sick of walking around it.  To clean that out, I had to get my tack shed in order.  So... last week, late at night (that's when I seem to get my biggest urge of motivation, much to the dismay of my daughter, Vanessa) Jay and I dug in.

Vanessa got lucky and wasn't involved in the initial CLEAN THE TACK ROOM venture.  Jay was crabbing (hee hee) but we got a lot done in a short time.  Just straightening things out, cleaning out mostly empty feed bags, sweeping and stacking/hanging properly.  I DID have to move Jay's stoooooooooopid solid-bonk-yer-head-hard-freaking rope canister.  Who hangs a "bucket 'o ropes" right in the middle of the rafters???  The bumps on my head are a wondering.

So today, I was waiting for Jay to get home to help me with some things and, as usual, he was behind schedule.  So I grabbed a big heavy tub of mystery tack and crap and headed outside (#1 step of cleaning the corner of the kitchen).

This tub had been sitting in the kitchen for quite a while.  I knew there were a set of stirrups on top of the heap, but had no idea what was underneath.  It was a tub that, apparently, my Dad had dumped things into.  I hauled it out to the shed and started going through things.

I had absconded an old dresser from a dumpster site (I'm not proud... it struck me and it wasn't garbage, so I tossed it in the back of my truck).  The dresser is now in my shed and as I began to fill the drawers, I kept digging in this tub wiping back tears and actually caught myself saying "Omg Daddy".  I never really looked in this tub before and found several brand new saddle-string packs, a bag of remnant leather straps for emergency repairs, a pliars holster thang? numerous hoof picks, several decent lead ropes that I didn't know he bought, curry combs and brushes still with the tags on them, a set of old spurs that I thought I had lost, but have been informed by a young bronc rider that they are vintage rough-stock spurs that have always been too heavy for my feet, but apparently worth something.  They will stay with me.

On to Tub #2!  I had images of someone behind me taking a picture because it was so heavy that I waddled down the hill carrying it.  I may have to try to draw myself in the image of my mind.  It took me forever with tiny dork-steps to get it to the shed.

As I began to dig through it, I found one of my snake-skin boots (have no idea where the other one is, so I only have $175 worth of the pair lmao)... gah.  I found a decent pair of leather gloves, several roping gloves, polo-wraps that needed to be washed, two brand new bottles of MTG (look out Annie's tail!), more hoof-picks, a bridle-bag, and a THOUSAND white mane-bands that I thought I had lost forever!  

Last season, I kept looking around wondering where in the H all those white bands were that I bought.  Well! I found them this year!  Unfortunately, a mouse had gotten into this tub which also contained some sample bags of horse treats and scattered the mane-bands all around in treat-crumbs and a large box of regular rubber-bands.

I got to the bottom of this and sighed.  

I could have dumped it out and bought new mane-bands, but because I am poor and frugal, I sat for an hour picking out the still-good mane-bands and put them in a fresh new sammich bag.

Annie's mane is only half white, so we should be set for a few years lmao.

I was home alone, had the pups keeping me company, and listening to the radio play everything from Stray Cat Strut to Boston.

My tack-shed is looking good.

OH! and I even installed a hitching ring to the frame so we can tie right next to it (I haven't mustered the motivation to install an actual hitching post yet) so we can either tie to the trailer and tack up OR now I have this cool tie-ring to loop a horse through right at the tack-shed door!  Not that it matters because the pones seem to like to hang out with us right there... but still.  It was a goal, and I accomplished it.  I nearly sprung my carpal-tunnel hammering, but switched hands and finished left-handed.  (that sounds bad).

ANYWAY!  I got a lot accomplished today and found some treasures in tubs I turned a blind-eye to.  I have several more that I can't wait to dig in to.

OOOOOOOOOoooooooooo! AND I found my old old roller bit that dear ole Rowdy wore 1,000 years ago!  It pays to spend some good money on a bit (granted, back in 1974 it was only about $50) because super Spike liked this bit too.  I will try it on Dewey because I think he may like it.  It's got a lot of shank, but it also flexes on the side.  It's been a good bit for me, and it's kinda purdy.  Dirty but Purdy :-)

Happy for the day.

I may need a bigger tack-shed!

This song says it all and it was fun putting my own photos to it.

Age... less?????

Once upon a time, I was little.. and young.  I was a small girl whom most people believed me to be of a younger age.

I think I was 7 or 8 here... many many MANY years ago.  My horse was 2 or 3 at that time. :-)  And he wasn't gelded yet.

I was a "hero" that I rode around on a STALLION!!!

Oddly enough... ole Rowdy was the only "stallion" I rode for a long LONG time.  It wasn't long before he was gelded and things got a little bit easier. 

As I "matured"... like that will ever happen... I found myself trying to look "older".  At age 24 I cut my hair short because "old women don't have long hair!"  Mistake.

At age 30 it was still short but dang, I was hot.  Hot enough to snag the man I've been with for the last 20 years!!!!! woo Hoooo!!1

That's a story for another day.

So then, I got a few years older and people still questioned my age.  Naturally, Glamour Shots tend to do a FANTASTIC job at making anyone look presentable.

Yeah... that's me... once upon a time.

HOWEVER!  The man in the wedding photo above helped to guide me back to my "roots" and enjoy the fact that pretty fades, but stupid lasts forever (snort).

Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that make-up is a waste of money, I'm pretty handy with a pair of scissors... AND... it's really REALLY difficult to have a serious conversation with someone while wearing a frog stocking-hat. :-)

Time flies and we get older... but do we have to get "old"?????  Hell no, my friends. :-)  It recently dawned on me that I "look my age".  At first I was surprised and then I realized... well HELL... I AM that old lmao.

Enjoy the ride.......







My Birthday Ride

Yesterday was my 47th birthday. Yesterday I had a lot of mixed emotions and I fought tears all morning. Why? I have NO idea, but it was there.

Then some friends, my husband, and my parents made the day better. Dan and Clarissa planned a small ride, Jay coordinated (smirk) and Mom and Dad started a rack of ribs early in the day so we could eat before the ride. Oh! and we stopped in afterwards for cake. :-D

The BEST gift, however... came from my dear friend Janie. She and I have had our battles in the last year or so. She's dumped me twice and I've been working diligently to help her get over her head-shyness.

I took her to the playday just to hang out on Saturday and she was a bit wound up. She fought me, and we danced. She was vocal looking for "her friends" and I went along with it for the most part. She wasn't the dream-girl I know on that day. But tonight? She didn't miss a beat.

I left work about 5 minutes early because I was anxious to get home to ride. As I pulled into the drive I see a pretty sorrel face with a pretty white blaze peeking around the trailer at me. Right then I smiled. She loaded perfectly and we headed out to my folks to eat before the ride. We got to Branched Oak and she unloaded like a veteran and stood kindly while I saddled up. She was relaxed, I was relaxed, and she moved out as lead horse for most of the ride.

Then we get to the good part. There's a sandpit with swallow nests. Those who have been there know it's a small area, but it's very steep in some parts. And it's sandy. Sand is loose. Ok... that said..... I will continue on.

My friend, Jamie, was the brave soul last time I was out there and she took Cherokee up a slope and over the top that you had to step up about two feet to get over the edge. We followed that day and I was tickled to death. So tonight the four of us rode in there and I thought I'd do that again! YEAH! lol

Only! I don't know if Janie suspected that that particular route was unsafe or what, but she headed up the slope I guided her to and instead of going what I thought was "the easy way" she instead headed straight where I had initially pointed her and went up what I thought was THE HARDER WAY! And we did it twice. :-)

Here I have a beautiful young horse who has the brains and athletic ability to take you safely through something like that. I have NO doubt this horse would be a blast at Whoa Cripes or any other extreme trail I would find.

When we got back to the trailer I rubbed her down completely and gave her the biggest hug I could muster. She truly gave me the best gift I ever could have asked for tonight. The pictures aren't clear because the sun was going down and we were down in a valley. But I will cherish them nonetheless.

2009 Lancaster County Fair

Vanessa and Annie executing the gate to go on to win Reserve Champion in Elementary Trail!

The best old horse in the world waiting for his turn at the Working Ranch Horse portion of the Fair!

Vanessa and Spike showing off one of the three trophies they won at the Working Ranch Horse show. They won Goat Tying, Working Cow Pattern I and got Reserve Champion in Working Cow Pattern II. One of the COOOLEST parts of the show was the fact that they caught their calf in Breakaway roping. I was so excited I messed up the camera and ended up photographing the ground instead of their ride. :-)

Heather/Dudley and Vanessa/Annie at the 2009 Lancaster County Fair. Pretty girls and pretty horses.

Vanessa and Annie sporting their Trail trophy.

Vanessa and Annie with identical expressions on their faces as if to say "Can we PLEASE be done taking pictures now?"

Makena crashed out. Fair is exhausting!

Vanessa/Rosebud and Heather/Prince lined up for placings after their Reining patterns.

A llama walked by lol. One would think neither Buck nor Jay has ever seen a llama before!

The Capital City Bit and Bridle 4-H Club dirty and tired after a long week of Fair!

All That and a Bag of Chips

My two best riding buddies and our hubbies headed up to Oak Creek Trail Friday night. There was supposed to be a full moon. Rich and Michael haven't ridden much so we put them on the trusty steeds named Cherokee (the appy) and Rosebud (the paint).

Rich was quite pleased with the fact that his daughter painted up Cherokee with blue handprints on his butt in fine indian style! Rich is part Sioux and he was feeling right at home on his painted appy!

We loaded up our saddle bags. I was riding my 4yo Paint mare, Janie. She's getting quite good at being "pack horse". I had a drink holder and two bags hanging from the horn. I also had a big bag of chips wrapped inside a jacket and tied behind the cantle. Each time we would trot or lope we risked breaking chips because they were making nice annoying shaky-rattly noises on her rump, but she handled it like a pro.

We came to a water-crossing. Jay and Buck flew through. Not much bothers Buck. Rich and Cherokee hesitated slightly but Cherokee went through really well. Marie took Michael up to the limestone and around because we knew Rosebud would take a flying leap over it and figured Michael probably wouldn't be on the top side once she reached the other side!

Prince hestitated so Janie and I walked past them to see if he would follow. She hesitated only slightly then moved forward. I actually thought she was going to walk through, but I was wrong. She took a leap and I'm grateful for prominent swells because I wasn't quite as ready for it as I thought I would be.

Deb had a bit more of a difficult time. Prince has come a looooooong ways in the last few years but he still things that water and mud just isn't worth his time crossing.

The picture tells the story and you can see it on my youtube! Prince was ok, Deb was ok.. albeit she got really dirty lol. But I about crapped when I saw them disappear from sight! It's a good thing this wasn't a river with a current or I'd have been racing down the shoreline trying to find a large limb for her to grab! :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-gKEF8hfok

Soooooo down the trail we went. I'm not really sure what type of foliage this is on Prince's head, but it makes for a dandy bridesmaid hairpiece. He wore that thing the entire rest of the ride.

At last! we reach the fine burg of Loma! Most famous for the filming location of Too Wong Fu, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmahr (or something like that). It's a really cute town. Other than one day where a dude pulled up waving a gun at me asking "Where's Big Jim?" it's full of really nice people! Actually gun-guy turned out to be nice too, he was just looking for a local fellow who does gun repair. But it was quite an interesting experience so say the least!

Ok, I digress.

Deb had packed two pie-tins FULL of excellent taco-y bean dip. I heard her mention dip and thought I saw her put something in Buck's saddle-bags, but I had NO idea that it was this yummy treat! So I untied the bag of chips from Janie's saddle and we munched to our hearts' content! None of the chips were even broken! :-)

Marie was feeling fine.

Rich reminded me of Prince's fart cloud at the exact moment that Deb wanted me to take a "nice picture" of them.

Betty is the proprietor of the bar in Loma. What a nice woman! She loves when we stop to visit her. She was even telling one of the local guys about the time Jay and I were on the trail and got caught in a thunderstorm. We waited it out in the bar with her while watching the radar on television.

She was happy to see us and gave Jay a nice big zuchini!!!! (how in the HELL do you speel zookini? lmao.. giggling at myself)

Marie is suddenly back in love with her long-time boyfriend, Michael. I must say, he did a damn fine job riding Rosebud for 14.7 miles just to please her. Methinks he's okie dokie.

Buck faked us into thinking he was tired. However.. as always... he was the first one back to trailer by a long shot.

We were getting ready to head out of Loma and make the return trip back to the trailers. It's midnight now and very dark. The full moon is hidden by cloud cover. Oh well!!!!!! Mount up Outlaws!!!!

I always wonder about the rumor of mountain lion and hobo-ghost on that trail though. But I haven't seen either yet! :-)

Jay still has his zooooooookini. I have no idea where it is at the very moment, but he had it then, by gawd! Since I'm the one usually sporting the camera, Jay was kind enough to take a picture of me with the rest of the group. I look like a tiny-person!!!!!! (that's me on the far left) Janie's not a small horse and I'm not a small woman (ok, I'm short... but not small!), but I guess standing next to 16-3 Gus we're dwarfed. I might start calling myself my own mini-me.

It was a beautiful ride back. The fireflies were out in full force and I got to see the moon briefly at one point. Janie was a rock-star and really moved out at a nice long-strided walk. A couple of times I relaxed, dropped my shoulders and head and took a little doze.

Lucky for me the mountain lion and hobo decided not to make an appearance during those times.

We got back to the trailers around 3:00 a.m. but I got to spend some really quality time with my horse and good friends.