All Creatures Great and Small

We had a Blessing of the Animals at our church this past Sunday afternoon and our senior pastor invited me to bring my horses.  It was a wonderful gathering of dogs, cats, birds, turtles and horses...... each one got blessed individually.  My horses, Stylin and Dixie, were perfect ambassadors.

 Listening to the service



 My BIL Tim and my nephew dogs Kobi and Balto

 Our Senior Pastor Debbie McLeod

 Blessing the turtles

 Blessing the beautiful bird

 Little bulldog meets Dixie

 Cutie Corgi

Pastor CJ Hill

Here are a pile of pictures showing the smiles on the faces of all the pet owners as we all gathered together.  All animals were wonderfully behaved......     PHOTOS

Horses in North Philly - I Love This Video

Marilyn's Grand Adventure

My dear friend Marilyn Whitford used to do cross country and endurance riding in years past and has regaled us with those tales around the campfire. Now that she is a little more seasoned, she has switched to mules and riding not only every local trail she can find, but casting far and wide for riding adventures.


She did the Grand Canyon by mule earlier this summer, along with an America by Horseback Ride at Circle E Ranch in Tennessee, a ride at Leatherwood in North Carolina with some of her mule buddies and just returned from a week in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, riding alongside her mule trainer/mentor Brad Cameron. Mind you, this was camping in a tent on a bedroll with possible grizzlies running around at night.

Relax and enjoy the slideshow of the gorgeous vistas of the Canadian Rockies by muleback.

Click for the photos........... Marilyn's Grand Adventure

Cracker Trail Tired Out !

Woo-Wee!  What an adventure !  Our 8 day odyssey across the state of Florida was a lot of play, a lot of work and a lot of riding.  I met some really nice people and had a blast with my daughter and friends.

I was going to keep a journal so that the days didn't run together, but that plan failed.....  I was tired after a couple of toddies and dinner and hit the sack early almost every evening.  That doesn't mean that there wasn't some serious partying going on around the campfire each evening though.  Oh, to be young and tough!

Our mornings started at 5:30am by getting up to feed, then breakfast was served between 6 and 7 each morning.  Our caterer/cook wagon did an awesome job...  grits, eggs, biscuits, bacon, cereal, hash browns, juice, milk were all offered.  And of course big pots of coffee.  Then it was time to get your pony saddled and ready, clean and pack your camp to be ready to move your rig at lunch time.  We were in the saddle and on the road by 8 am each morning except for when the dense fog made it impossible to ride alongside the road safely.  Our trail boss was good at finding ways to make up the time when we got started late.

Believe it or not, my rear did not get very sore and Stylin's back held up well too because we stopped for a water/snack break each mid morning and got almost a 2 hour rest at lunch.  The lunch break was a little hectic and nerve racking for me as a driver that had to go move my rig.  As we stopped at lunch, we'd water the horses and leave them tied to whatever was available (with a friend to watch them), grab a boxed lunch to go and pile into the big bus.  (one time we had to pile into a stock trailer because the bus couldn't come down the dirt road!) The bus carried us back to our morning camp where we would crank up and race to the next evening stop, park the rig, and get back on the bus to go back to the lunch stop and get back on our ponies.  This part was stressful to me because it was a big rush to get to the next stop and get back on the bus without getting left behind.  One day, my troop turned the wrong way, got corrected and then missed our next turn......the bus was honking at us and threatening to leave when we finally got settled in.  I found it much more relaxing to take my rig and pick up my horse at the lunch stop, then take my time getting to the night camp and only ride a half day.  I think I did that 3 times during the week.

We were hosted at ranches along the way, with 2 special nights in the beginning as the guest of Mr. Duck Smith of the Bar Crescent S Ranch.  He was very gracious; allowing us to enjoy riding on his vast ranch, swim in his pond and visit his beautiful lodge.  All the other nights along the way were in open fields provided by generous land owners.

I will say that riding along the road is not very fun.....unfortunately people litter everywhere, even in the country.  We were kicking cans and bottles almost every mile of the way along the roadside.  I did however really enjoy riding across ranch lands, through some small towns, visiting two elementary schools and a lovely State Park called Hickory Hammock. 

The final day when we paraded through downtown Fort Pierce was a thrill which culminated in taking our horses into an outside bar!

My pony learned a lot of new things during our trip:

• walking on pavement is preferable to stepping on trash and breaking bottles
• multiple (loud) cracking whips will not hurt her
• big trucks full of oranges are not scary
• drink water whenever offered (even if other horses have their heads in the trough)
• take a nap whenever you can
• conserve energy - don't trot when you can walk and canter only when asked

One night was game night and children and adults had a blast with the pantyhose race, buddy pick up, cloverleaf and a mounted shooting exhibition.  My daughter, Jenny, got to take a lesson afterwards and try it herself.  She and Maybe did great!

We had some sort of entertainment almost each evening, with my favorite being the cowboy poetry and singing.



It was quite an experience and lots of fun, but I don't know if I will do it again...... ask me in a couple of months.  :-)  Here is a compilation of pictures taken by me, Mustang and Jenny.     PHOTOS

Cowboy Cool

Pajama Party !!

Thirteen of us girl cousins got together for a themed party/sleepover on Saturday.  We had two generations dressing up with a cross of Mardis Gras and Gypsy themes.

Here are the youngsters

We ate too much, drank a little, talked and laughed a lot, watched a movie and crashed.

And  us oldsters

 Robbin and Deborah pose for the camera

Thanks to Tina and Sharon for putting this together and making it so much fun! 

Also thanks to Mike (Tina's man) for letting us use his awesome place.



On My Way ... One Week From Today !

One week from today I will be on my way to a week long adventure with my trusty mount Stylin.  We'll be joining Jenny and Maybe, Christina and Hope, Mustang and Linc, Susan and Clyde and Marilyn and Bonnie.  We're all participating in the annual Florida Cracker Trail Ride. 

This will be Marilyn's 6th year, Jenny and Susan's second year and the first time for the rest of us.  Marilyn's talked to me about it for years, but I never thought I coiuld hang for 7 days of semi roughing it with no shower.  Well ..... now I'm sure I can with the help of my trusty bucket and a bar of soap.  I did a 5 day outing back in 2008 with Marilyn called the Osceola Wagon Train and Trail Ride and survived.  It was a little different in that we stayed at one base camp.....we will be riding to a new camp each evening on the Cracker Trail.  Here are some pictures that were taken on last year's ride...   PHOTO LINK

I won't be able to ride any distance this weekend, but I'm sure Stylin is ready for the 15- 20 miles that we'll be doing each day.  Her girth may be tightened a few holes by the time we get back though. 

I plan to take pictures and keep a journal so that I can relive it through my blog and a photo album.

I did get to camp and ride last weekend with the girls at River Rise.  We rode on Friday and Saturday  and while I had to come on home Saturday evening, the rest of them stayed to Sunday.  Jenny and Cathy switched horses for Saturday and Jenny had a fun time working with Busta, while Cathy enjoyed a uneventful and comfortable ride on reliable Maybe.

Jenny on Busta

Sarah - Before and After

Decided to clip Sarah after my ride today.  She's prettier with her fur coat, but it's hard to keep swept up in the house.  She has the thickest undercoat I've ever seen....looked like I had sheared a sheep.

I'm a Fanilow Now!

My sister won free tickets to the Barry Manilow concert on Wednesday night and invited me.  I know, I know.....older singer singing his old hits.....but you know what?  It was a great concert and you can't help but sing along with "Mandy", "I Write the Songs", "Nights in New England", etc....  We had excellent tickets - 4th row on the floor.

Some members of our church choir at Mandarin United Medthodist were invited to sing backup on his final song "One Voice".  Pretty cool !

He put on a great show and the crowd (mostly older women) absolutely adore him!  His voice is still very strong and he sings about as well as he did 30 years ago. I had a fun time - thanks Sis !

Check out these shoes and stuff that we saw in the stairwell of the parking garage...... weird.....

Good Times With Good Friends

 I got to ride with my daughter and friends this Saturday at San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park in Alachua.  It's one of my favorite places to ride and it's been about a year since I've been.  It's an hour and 1/2 drive from my house, but it's well worth it.   

The weather stayed stayed cool and breezy but was warm enough in the sun.  We rode for 5 hours and hit most of the loops available.  We had a nice lunch break at the picnic spot by the creek. 

My daughter Jenny

After we got back to the trailers, Jenny was giving whip cracking lessons to Mustang.  I had a dinner date, so I had to get my little caravan headed back home at 4:30.

Karen and Doug

I got home after dropping Cathy and Busta off at 6:00, got the horses settled, wet my hair, washed my face and hands, changed my shirt and Bobby and I hurried to meet another couple for sushi at our favorite place at 7:00.  Whew !  Good thing it wasn't too fancy of a place - they didn't mind my horsey pants. 

Bobby and me getting our sushi on!

Here's the rest of the photos I took and added some that Mustang and Jenny took as well....   PHOTOS

Whip Crackin' Momma !

That's what my daughter calls this short video of me on my mare Stylin.  Jenny taught me how to crack a whip and then had me desensitize Stylin on the ground for the last several weeks.  Yesterday, she decided it was time for me to put on my big girl panties and do it while on Stylin.  I made her do it first, then I climbed on using the round bale holder and voila !



Then I climbed on my trusty Appaloosa, Dixie and rode for a little while.  She's such a good ole mare.....she's 24 years old this spring and still going pretty strong.  Isn't she a cutie?

Making Progress and Product Testing

I had a great week and weekend. To start off with, I exercised 4 days in a row at work - haven't done that in a long while.  Worked half a day on Friday, then Bobby and I went to a dinner party at a friend's house.  I actually made an appetizer to take instead of cheating and swinging by the store. 

On Saturday I rode in Jennings State Forest for almost 6 hours with another group of friends.  It was a breezy, slightly cool day and I got to check out the back side of a loop that I've never completed  before. I was excited to try out my new Go-Girl device that I had purchased on line.  Go-Girl is a funnel that allows a woman to pee standing up and I was really looking forward to not having to drop and squat in the woods this time.  I had practiced at  home and thought I had it down pat.  NOT...  :-)  I waited until I had to go too badly then tried to use the thing without pulling my pants down enough.  It was so funny and I giggled while I was almost wetting my drawers.  Poo -  I wanted it to be as easy as unzipping and going.  It's still a good product if you don't want to sit on a port a pottie seat and even for going in the woods.  I should have practiced in jeans instead of jammy pants.

 Then Saturday night, Bobby and I attended a small wedding in Jacksonville Beach then went to dinner with the wedding party at the Sawgrass Marriott.  Sunday was church, lunch with Mom, hit a couple of stores then headed back home to do some serious poop scooping in the horse pen.  Ended my evening with a long hot soak in the tub with a cup of hot tea and a good book.  (If you like easy, entertaining mysteries, you might like the Hamish McBeth series by M.C. Beaton.  I love them ! ) All and all a busy and productive weekend.

A New Year ~ New Opportunities

I spent New Year's Day doing what I love most......riding my mare Stylin with my friends.  A lot of us were still fighting colds and my poor hubby was too sick to come camping with us, but we all still had a great time.

I'm taking a leave from being a Stephen Minister for a while and figure out where my volunteer time should be spent. 

Although I'm not making any resolutions, I want to become more healthy this year and rid myself of some excess poundage.  I'm looking forward to the cross Florida Cracker Trail Ride that I've signed up for at the end of February and would like to be a little lighter by then to make things easier on my horse and on my knees.

Here's to a healthy and happy new year!