Lessons

Bobby, Bo and I loaded up Dixie, Stylin and Ringer for a trip to the Woodard's place. Ringer took it like a pro - all of our prior preparation paid off. We had fun letting Ringer play with Mike's new colt, Rusty then we all saddled up and rode on their property. Both youngsters did very well with their ponying lessons. Rusty is just a few weeks older than Ringer, but is quite a bit bigger. Traci fed us some bean soup and candy after our ride and sent us home happy !

Happy Birthday Jesus !

What a wonderful Christmas ! We all went to candlelight services last night and then to a Christmas Day service at 10 am this morning. The whole family was here at at our house after church to exchange presents and eat a big traditional dinner. Here are some more pictures.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

New Trick

Ringer's new trick - standing on a tree stump............

Graduation Weekend

We had lots of activity this weekend. My neice, Melinda Hill, graduated with honors from Flagler College on Saturday. Mom, Robbin, Tim, Julian, Shelly, Bobby and I were all able to attend the ceremony. Mindy was trying to act all cool and not look at us, but Robbin was able to snap some shots anyway. You can view all of them here................ GRAD PHOTOS

Jenny and Ben traveled to Atlanta for his company Christmas Party. The company put them up in a hotel for 2 nights so it was a good little getaway for them.

Shelly looks fabulous - she's lost over 50 pounds ! Woo-hoo ! She'll go back home to TN tonight and come back with the kids at Christmas .

Good Time

We all had a great time last weekend. Thanksgiving dinner was great, as was the company. Rode Friday at the Ravines and then Saturday at Doe Lake as planned. Very pretty place but we probably won't do a day run again. It's a good 2 hr 45 min drive - so hopefully next time we'll be able to camp. It's set up really well for horse people and the trails are great. We've got our Happy Trails Christmas Party tonight and then tomorrow I've got an all day class for Stephen's Ministry. One more class after that and then I get commissioned !

Long Thanksgiving Weekend Coming Up

Well.......... my daughter is in Shreveport, LA with her soon to be in-laws, my sister and her family are headed out to camp for the holidays, so Bobby and I are taking Mom to Newberry with us to have Thanksgiving dinner with his mom & sister. We'll have way too much food for our little party, but it will be fun.

Hope to go riding with some friends on Friday and then we're driving down to Doe Lake on Saturday to spend more good riding time with more friends.

Hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving !

Progress

We had a great weekend camping and riding at O'Leno State Park with our friends. It was the first time sleeping in our new trailer and it worked out really well. MUCH better than a tent !!

Then Sunday we really made progress by talking Ringer into loading up ! He'll be on the trails with us soon.

NEW TRAILER !

We finally got a new trailer so we can camp and also take Ringer along. We weren't really looking yet, but a great opportunity came up that was perfect.

Bobby, Charlotte and I took our horses to a charity function on Saturday and gave "pony rides" from 10 till 2. Boy were my dogs tired ! I haven't walked that far in years ! It was a lot of fun, though and for a great cause.

Horse Camp

Jenny and I went to "horse camp" last weekend and had a lot of fun. It's called 4-H Adult Horsemanship and is a great 3 day weekend with horses, friends, instruction and good food. We weighed our horses - Maybe is 1050# and Stylin is 958#. I had a pine tree stop my truck for me.....just jumped out in front of me. :<) and when I got home on Sunday - I got bowled over by the horses in the pen. Maybe chased Ringer and Ringer ran..... right into me ! Luckily I just got rolled in the dirt and no one stepped on my head. All in all - a very exciting weekend.

Homecoming

Stylin came back home after 2 weeks being boarded. All the horses were watching over the fence and calling to her as we unloaded her . Of course Stylin had to act all cool, like she was the Queen. Ringer was happy to see her as were Dixie and Maybe, but it was no big deal. After about 10 minutes of greeting and sniffing, Stylin turned her back and ate her hay. Just another day...... we'll probably keep Stylin separated in the paddock for another few weeks at least. Here's the rest of the pictures of "The Mother & Child Reunion" .

Weaning & Riding

We started the weaning process this past Saturday. Stylin got her last grain feeding on Saturday morning then we took off for a 4 hour trail ride with our Happy Trails buddies. After the ride we dropped Stylin off at JW Stables where she will board for a couple of weeks to dry up. She's been 5 days off grain now and her bag is going down a lot, but was able to express milk tonight. I'm told that she needs to go another couple of days. She gets all the coastal hay she can eat and has been drinking well, but her belly has drawn up like a greyhound. I feel badly, but I know it's best for her. Ringer has done extremely well...he whinnied and looked for her for 3 days but never paced or acted up. He hasn't lost a pound and has continued to eat well. I'm looking forward to the time when I can ride Stylin and pony Ringer on the trails.

Photo Contest is over - WE LOST DANG IT !

I have entered a picture of Jenny and her horse Maybe - "Zippo's Diamond Girl" in a longest mane or tail contest. Please click HERE and vote for # 2 ! Voting ends on Sep 30th . Thanks !

Beautiful Weekend

We enjoyed a wonderful weekend..... Mom stayed with us because her roomie, MaryLou, was gone for a few days and Mom didn't want to stay in her house alone. It worked out pretty nicely - maybe we can talk her into moving in with us after all.

The best part of the weekend was that I got to ride Stylin out on the trails for the first time since March !! It felt wonderful to be riding my own horse again! Bobby and I rode for a little over an hour on Saturday and then we joined Cathy after church on Sunday and rode for 2-1/2 hours. Style did not mind leaving her youngin' at home at all. Ringer whinnied and squeeked for a little while but settled in with his sister/girlfriend Maybe and was fine. He was happy to see his mom when I brought her home and barely waited for her to get off the trailer before he started nursing. The vet comes tomorrow for his second set of booster shots then next weekend will start the weaning process.

Crazy Week

The terrible aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has filled my heart and my prayers this past week. It's hard to imagine myself without a home, belongings and not knowing if my family was safe. It has made me very grateful for all my blessings.

We stayed home this holiday weekend - partially because of the fuel prices and partly because it felt wrong. I did have a great time riding Stylin each day on the property and working with Ringer. Jenny put her boyfriend, Ben, on Dixie and they went for a ride today in Jennings State Forest.

I hope to start weaning Ringer in about 2 weeks.... he'll be 4 months old. I plan on keeping Stylin at JW Stables for a couple of weeks while she dries up. Stylin should be ready to go to horse camp on October 13th.

Nothing exciting happened this past week. Bobby's been working hard on keeping the yard looking nice. I've been without tunes in my truck for over a week now and listening to my own thoughts is about to drive me crazy ! :<) Ringer turned 3 months old this past weekend and got his first set of shots this morning....wish I could have stayed home for that, but had too much going on here at work. Mom's vision is improving since her cataract surgery - she's surprised at how much more color she sees now. That's it for now........

Great Weekend

We had a really nice weekend.....got to ride with our friends on Saturday morning then I worked with Stylin and Ringer later in the afternoon. Got Ringer over his fear of being bathed by using the suggestions of Jenny and also Mike W..... worked like a charm. Mom went to church and lunch with us Sunday, then we spent the rest of the day working in the yard. Bobby tried to seal the leaky tin roof over the horse stalls again, but it didn't work for the tiny pinholes. Back to the drawing board. While eating dinner Sunday evening - all the lights went out. It was the main breaker to the house - Jenny and Ben came over to check it out and got us back on again. Our friend Bobby G. said he would look at it today for us. Thank goodness for friends! Hope it won't cost too much to repair.

Monday morning - back to work

Had to get back to a better schedule this morning....the new school year started today so traffic will be horrible. That means feeding up in the dark again....and leaving the house on time... oh well.

We enjoyed a really nice weekend. Bobby and I met Charlotte for a ride at the Ravines early Saturday morning. The weather was nice and we really didn't have to contend with many bugs. We were out of the woods and heading home before it really started getting too hot. I'm still riding Maybe and looking forward to riding Stylin on the trails again.

I keep working with Ringer daily and he's coming along nicely. He's like a human boy though... if there is anything to get into or hurt himself on - he'll do it. I just got one boo-boo healed up and last night I saw a nice, clean 1-1/2 " slice on his leg. Back to doctoring. I'll just consider it more training for both of us. :<)

Weekly Boring Update

Time for another posting.... I've been told it can help with insomnia.

Jenny, Cathy and I were able to squeeze a ride in last Wednesday evening. We were sweating up a storm just getting the horses ready and thought we were in for an uncomfortable ride - but a breeze picked up and cooled things off a little. We rode in the forest for about 1-1/2 hours and got back to the trailers right at dark.

Ringer got his first bath this past weekend....well... a good hosing off anyway. He didn't like it much, but he'll learn to love it soon enough.

Got confirmation this week that Jenny and I are going to the 4-H Adult Horsemanship Camp this fall. I'm really looking forward to spending some time with my daughter and our horses. Maybe Ringer will be weaned by then and I can take Stylin...that's what I'm aiming for.

Work and Fun

We had a real busy weekend. Saturday we skipped riding with our friends and helped out at the church, then came home and "busted" it all afternoon in the yard in that good ole' Florida sunshine. Kim and Alexis came over Saturday afternoon for a little while....boy that little girl has grown! Kim owns Ringer's daddy. It was really good to see them again. Sunday was a special children's service at church and Julian was participating - he's such a hambone and dances to his own drummer. Then Sunday evening Robb and Tim took us all out to dinner to celebrate Julian's becoming an official US citizen. The first picture was taken Sunday and the other was 4 years ago when he was adopted.

Weekend

We watched Julian last weekend and had a lot of fun. Julian had a lesson on Dixie and did really well. You can see in this picture that he was following instructions...look where you want to go then ask for the turn...

Ringer is 2 months old now and doing well. We put all the horses together this weekend and he likes pestering his "aunties". He's trying to make friends with his half sister, Maybe.

Training

I was able to ride Stylin for 1/2 hour Tuesday evening after work. Other than trying to snatch some grass; she was great. After letting Ringer run off some energy, I decided it was time for his first ponying lesson. I hooked a lead line to him, managed to clamber back up on Stylin and lead him around the back yard. Needless to say...it wasn't very pretty. Between my uncoordination and his resistance, I almost came out of the saddle one time! :) Finally got him up beside us and leading fairly freely so I stopped on that good note. His whole leading lesson only lasted about 10 minutes.

This n That

Ringer had his first tying lesson Wednesday evening and did real well. I actually just ran the rope thru a tie ring and held on to the other end so that he would get the pressure but I could release if he got into trouble. No trouble though...when he felt the halter pressure he gave, stepped forward, then stood like a good boy.

We have a yard again; most everything has dried up - just some mucky places left. I had to scoop up the nasty, putrid pile of dead tadpoles before the blow flies had a field day with them. Ewwwwwww!

My neighbors have offered a corner of their pasture to re-set up our round pen. (Had to take it down recently to have some trees taken out) That'll work well; give me more room in my back yard and allows them easy access to the round pen also. Win-win for both of us.

Floods Receding

Got a whole day of sunshine yesterday and the floods are finally receding. Another couple of days of sun and hopefully our "lake" will be gone. Nasty, little tadpoles hatched yesterday and are swimming in the driveway and back yard by the thousands! Yeah, they're cute when is not your back yard that's gonna smell to high heaven when the mud dries up! Here's a couple of PICTURES.

Rain...Rain... and Ringer

It's been raining for days..... hopefully it hasn't washed away all the grass seed that we put down last Sunday. Last night there was standing water in the stalls and half of the back yard !

On a bright note..... Ringer is officially registered with APHA as
CANT BAYOU DIAMONDS. He thinks that's great !

Work Weekend

Bobby and I worked in the yard all weekend. We rode with friends in Cary Forest Friday night, but all day Saturday and after church on Sunday, we busted it to make our place look presentable. Powerwashed the outside, pulled vines from the portico, patched the stall roofs, rehung a stall door,raked and seeded the back yard with Argentine Bahia, replanted some greenery. Whew ! Bobby worked so hard I was afraid he might get heat stroke.

Also, on Saturday, my old friend Gale and her youngest daughter Katie stopped by for about an hour. We hugged and chatted like it hadn't been since 1978 since we had actually seen each other! It was wonderful to see her and hear how well she and her family are doing on their dream farm in East Tennessee.

Where's Mom ?

Mom went back to Tennessee with Shelly 2-1/2 weeks ago. I think that's the longest she's been away from home ever ! Glad she's having a good time, but we do miss her. Shelly's current plan is to drive back down this coming weekend, drop the mother off and visit her eldest daughter Mindy, who will turn 22 next week.

Also heard from an old, old friend of mine (back to the 7th grade) who lives in Tennessee that will be coming through Jacksonville this weekend also and hopes to drop by. That would be awesome ! I can't remember the last time I actually saw her.

Birthday Boy

Today is my nephew Julian's 7th birthday ! He and his family are coming over tonight and I'm cooking him breakfast for dinner....yummy! Julian likes to ride our horses and can't wait till he's big enough to join us on the trails. Here he is last fall riding Maybe bareback with just a halter.

Here's Jenny and Ringer working on another leading lesson at 17 days old.

Visit and Stuff

It's been so nice to have my sister Shelly from Tennessee and her son Bo visiting us this week. She decided on the spur of the moment to take off and drive down to Florida to visit and we're glad they did. Bo is painting our fence for us - Woo-hoo ! It was getting a little green and he's such a good worker.

Ringer is 2 weeks old today and growing like a weed. We've started his halter/leading lessons this week and he's catching on nicely.

Jenny's in a wedding tonight, so I'll be attending and I also get to meet her boyfriend Ben's parents. I'm looking forward to that.

Going for a ride in Cary State Forest tomorrow for National Trails Day. Gonna get an early start because it will be very hot tomorrow and the bugs have been crazy.

Boy, it's been a busy week. It's been hard to get to work on time cuz I want to stay out playing with Ringer in the morning. I've had to start wearing a watch when I go out to feed so I don't lose track of time.

Ringer started limping last Tuesday so I called the vet ... she said just keep an eye on him. By Friday morning it hadn't resolved so I called her again and asked her to please come out and check him over. She found a big staple stuck in his sole - poor youngun! Pus came out when she removed it; she gave him a tetanus shot and said we need to soak his foot twice a day thru the weekend. It's not as hard as I thought it would be - thank goodness. He's such a good boy. He feels 100% better today - no limping at all. Here's some pictures taken today at 1 week old.

Well....he's finally here ! Ringer was born on May 20th at 8:20 pm and is almost the spittin image of his mom.

Stylin is at day 330 and is showing all the signs of impending foaling. Maybe will have a new addition this weekend !

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day last Sunday! Mom went to church with us, then Mom and Jenny joined us for steaks on the grill. Jenny mowed the back yard, cleaned the stock tank and then went for a late afternoon ride with me. Robbin was out of town with her family and couldn't join us.

Mare Stare Update

Stylin's rump has softened and her bag is full and tight. The liquid expressed is still clear. The due date the vet originally gave us is May 15th, but realistically it could be weeks. She loves her new condo and hangs out in it most of the day. When we converted the picnic house, we just boarded up the lower half and left the screens up on 3 sides. I think it's helping with the bugs.

Getting Closer

Put straw in Stylin's stall today - she's at day 312 and moving a little slower.... here's a pic of her from tonight....

Just Stuff

Had a very busy weekend...... 4 friends and I went riding at San Felasco on Saturday. What a great place to trailride !! We found lots of different trails branching off of the main ones - some crossing creeks, some hilly ones and a great one call Hidden Pond Trail. We stopped and ate lunch on a hill - I took a few pics at lunch with my digital and took more with Charlotte's regular camera; so will add them later. We were out for 4-1/2 hours and probably didn't hit half the trails available. I had to get back to go to a shindig out at Sawgrass that evening so we had to get back to the trailhead before it got too late. I'll learn not to make plans for more than one thing at a time. Bobby and his friend, Richard, went to a vintage motorcycle show at World Golf Village and also had a great time.

Dr. Tammy came out Friday to give Stylin her last shot and said that we should go ahead and put straw in her new stall, because she is due in about 2 weeks. Boy she's getting big - (Stylin that is )

Back Home

We had a great time on our cruise but were really glad to get back on solid ground and come back home to the farm. Both of us got a little seasick on the last day out. Cruise Pics

Everything was quiet on the homefront - Jenny took care of all the critters for us. I swear Stylin looks fatter in just one week! Only 30 days to go! We were able to complete her paddock the day before we left for the cruise - she seems to think its okay. Now we just need to get that old monster of a satellite dish taken down.

Good Weekend

It was a good weekend....starting with feeling Style's baby move for the first time on Friday evening! YAY ! I've been talking to the baby for a couple of weeks now....I know - silly, but I'm doing it anyway. We got a lot done in the nursery....put up some fence and a gate, cleared out some brush and cleaned up an old burn barrel/firepit that had lots of glass and stuff in it. I will go back over it this week to make sure there's nothing left that could poke a hoof. Went to church in Gainesville today and visited with Bobby's mom, Ruth.

Nursery

We going to skip trail riding this weekend and get to work on the "nursery". We've set aside a separate paddock for Stylin and we need to put up some fence and convert the picnic house into a foaling stall. We're starting to get excited about the baby coming and are trying to come up with some good names. Our mare is Stylin With Class and the Stud is MG Cajan King - we're open to suggestions. I'm still hoping for a little filly.....I'd love a palomino overo, but we're probably going to get a bay tovero. Anything healthy will do ! Stylin has strong palomino background but Cajan has black.

Dang it !

Just found out yesterday that 35 acres have been rezoned in our neighborhood and 115 homes will probably be built in a new subdivision.....with the entrance on our road. Our quiet little rural neighborhood is going to change a lot. At least our immediate neighbors have some acreage and provide us with a little buffer.

Easter

We had a really nice Easter Sunday. Mindy came up from St Augustine and went to church with Bobby, Mom and me. Jenny and Ben joined us for lunch. Too bad that Shelly and Bo had to go back to Tennessee on Saturday and couldn't enjoy Easter with us, but Shelly had to be back for school on Monday. Robbin, Tim and Julian hung out with the Painters so that Julian could hunt Easter eggs. The rain held off all day !
EASTER PICTURES

The Flood

Me, Bobby, Charlotte and Katie thought that we would go ahead and try to ride at San Felasco park today even though the weather forecast didn't look great. We thought the bad weather would hold off till afternoon. WRONG !! What started off as a fog turned to drizzle and then to full blown rain and lightning. We got to the park, turned around and came on home. The storm got worse as we were driving down 441 - hail starting banging the truck and a gust of wind and rain came sideways and scared me half to death. We made it home safely, (after a 3 hour round trip) and the horses were just a little wet....guess we should have been smart like our friends Mike & Traci and stayed home.

Camping Report

Boy did we ever have a great time ! We had 15 total riders for the Saturday morning ride. 4 of the riders had never gone over the land bridge before - so it was a fun time for them. We rode a little over 3 hours then had lunch back at the camp. 6 of us stayed for the night. After we set up our tent and relaxed for a while...we all went back out on a short ride to explore the trails closer to camp. It is such a beautiful place - I think it's my very favorite place to ride so far! The only downside was TICKS! We picked ticks from ourselves and the horses -nasty little critters - gotta remember to spray ourselves with a deet product before we head out next time.
PICTURES HERE

Going Camping

We're going to Princess Place with the horses this weekend and camping with our Happy Trails group. The weather has been rainy and cool, but is supposed to clear and warm up for the weekend. We'll be in our little 2 man tent with Bobby's legs probably hanging out of the door. :) I'll be riding Maybe and leaving Stylin at home since she's just 2 months from foaling.

I plan on using this blog to post our Happy Trails schedule and let anyone keep track of what's happening at our place. Stylin is not due to have her foal until the middle to end of May - so I'll probably be updating her progress.