Afternoon Fun

A couple of weeks ago we had our friends Micah and Dania over for lunch and then spent the afternoon talking about guns, law, politics, married life, he said, she said, you said, I said and so forth and so on.
After conversing for a while we all headed out to get on the 'ATV's'. Dania and I saddled up the original atv's while Micah and Bryan took the motorized versions out.

It was a little nippy out but that didn't slow us down.

Micah was informing Nina that if she did anything to hurt his bride there was going to be a meeting-notice the firearm!

I told them that she was on 'good hooves'. Kind of like ' in good hand' but horses don't have hands, they have hooves so............oh, never mind.

And were off...............like molasses in January(literally, well almost; it was January)

out in the arena

The sunshine felt great

"and here they come around the corner, neck n' neck.......

'oh it looks like Lena is pulling ahead..........this is going to be a close race!'

"looks like its been a fun filled afternoon for all involved"

Have a great day!!

Little Posse

I remember as a little girl that I loved horses and would ride one at any opportunity that came up or that I caused by a sweet little 'batting' of the eyes, smile and of course 'please'. Hmmm...........not much has changed. Knowing how much I loved this as a child, it is a great experience that needs to be shared and I feel extremely grateful that it is possible for us to do this.
Today that is exactly what we did. Brianna, Shyla, Katie, Brooklynn, Nathan, Robert, Rodney, and of course my two Jessie and Marisa took advantage of the weather, friendships and two good horses and had fun riding for a couple hours. This is also the perfect recipe for pre-naps; Shyla and Brooklynn crashed right after lunch.

From left to right: Nina(horse), Brianna, Marisa, Shyla, Katie, Brooklynn, Lena(horse) and Jessie.

Brooklynn and Marisa-Marisa was a great help with the 'little' kids; it helped them feel comfortable to be around and on such a big animal.

Jessie showing us how a princess rides.

Brianna on Lena(paint) and Jessie was leading Nina with Shyla and Katie.

Her hat did not want to stay but she adapted quickly to riding with one hand on her head and the other on Shyla. This was Katie's first time on a horse. She had a blast!

Around we go again.

Nathan and Robert for their first time on a horse too. Jessie and Brianna were troopers and did a lot of walking around and around to help make sure everyone got a good ride or two in.

Jessie and Rodney.

Jessie again. Lena was sleep walking by this point.

When they weren't on the real horses, they were riding 'barrel horses'. These horses were tough to ride-they more than once got a taste of the dirt but they always got back on. After a while they decided that the 'gang-up' approach was the best way to ride them.

When all was said and done.....................

I am convinced that gray, dreary days affect our attitudes, motivation and just the way we feel especially when its day after day after day-kind of like what we've been having. Its gets somewhat depressing. Now I realize that this summer when its HOT we will be wanting the cloud cover, so we will be complaining again so I've determined that its also the temperatures. Cold and overcast is just gloomy and hot and sunny can be miserable-they can both drain you so the key is ..........contentment and remind yourself it could always be worse.


At the end of another gray, cold day. You got look harder for the things that might make you smile and sometimes they only last a couple minutes.

We aren't the only ones that affected from the weather. The animals seem to go up and down with it too. Today, they were all loving the sunshine-as was I. Katie claimed this piece of floor as her basking spot to 'energize' her batteries.

And the horses..........they were taking full advantage of catching some rays.

Lena was standing guard. "Shhhhh..........."

Oops! I disturbed her.

Nothing like rolling in the rocks in the sunshine.............maybe I should try this?

Sierra has her special spot in the woodshed.

Contentment

Awe..peaceful relaxation

Got to be careful to not get to many rays..........not good for the furry complexion.

Poppy had decided that she had had enough too..........can't bleach that fur you know.

Morning Moonlight

Another reason to get up early-the moon!! I took these the other morning when I was up at it nice and early to go feed out at the Chapin's, plus take care of our own and be back in time to make sure Jessie was ready to head out the door with Granny by 7. In case you were wondering, I forgot Jessie didn't have to get up that early, therefore I rushed for nothing but had I not gotten up early and headed out I would have missed this beautiful sight!

This was in the morning in the western sky just down the driveway as I was heading out.

Here is on my way out to Chapin's not to far from their place.

Turn the camera a different way and it totally changes the picture but whats amazing is how fast it changes on its own as its setting and the sun comes up. You have a very small window of opportunity to get great pictures.........esp. when clouds start coming into view.

This was about 2 min. from the previous picture and just down the road a bit more...I was feeling a bit rushed, needless to say.

But I got it! Think, imagine feeding horses and buffalo by moonlight........I'm sure somehow it could be romantic, maybe charming, picturesque, courtly, chivalrous...........all right, I'll move on back to reality-Bryan's not going to get up that early to go feed 'on a date', but I can dream.

And to think that God made this-He spoke it into existence. This particular 'picture' in time will never happen again.

General Lee

For those of you who haven't met Lee, he is one of our 4 dogs, one of the shepherds that we have, one of our 'guardians', one of our manufacturers of 'doggy down' carpets, clothes, etc.... and one of our 'entertainers'.

Be afraid, be very afraid......the guardian is guarding.

I'm watching you

Oh, hey, did you hear that?

Just checking

Here is the side profile of his very intense look

For fun, Lee likes to attack things........ tennis balls don't have a chance, jolly balls last a while but eventually succumb to the constant chewing, chomping and crushing power of his jaws; and as for snowballs.........they don't have a chance! He also thinks he's a 'herding' dog and that the goats need constant 'attention' but that another story.

Back to the "trespassing snowballs"

Kill the snowball!!!

Ready....

Steady........

ATTACK!!!! It must die!!

Oh boy, more 'practice' is on its way.

Yes!! A perfect hit!! There are no survivors-total annihilation!

We feel very fortunate to have a dog with such devotion to making sure of our safety and well being when it comes to trespassing snowballs, un-ruley jollyballs and invading tennis balls. So if you ever come by, try not to look like a snowball, jollyball, tennis ball or goat-you may end up meeting Lee. Oh, that's General Lee, by the way.

Trick Horse Nina

In the past I have posted numerous pictures of the critters around here that are a constant source of 'entertainment' and enjoyment. If you ask Bryan, they are a constant source of irritation and 'draw' on the checkbook, but were not asking him.( I do have to say though that some days i do agree), but you have to take the cons with the pros if your going to have them so lets focus on the pros.

Nina was my first horse. We got her about 11yrs ago. She is now 15 and is the girl's horse-but I still ride her frequently. She's a great horse, great 'horsenality', and I think has a bit of a sense of humor. She takes everything in 'stride;' never seems to get to upset about things.
I have started doing more 'ground' work with the horses-I think it has a lot of benefits for under the saddle later on, plus its fun to do. Anyhow, by doing this I have been able to see/discover some 'horsenality' traits in my horses that I didn't know were there. For example, Nina is part monkey-she loves bananas and loves to climb......on everything that you put in her path, including.........

Ta..Da....big hay bales!!

Walking over just the tarp that was lying on the ground was to boring for her.

Getting up was a lot more graceful then getting down but I do like the fact that she was willing to just take her time and not just 'take a flying leap'. I mean, when your a horse and there is food right below your nose and you really just don't care about whats going on, why not stop to take a bite.

Bottoms Up!!!