Independence Day Weekend

Bobby and I spent some quality time in the back yard on Friday....whew....it was hot! Bobby cleaned off the big garage roof while I did poop patrol in the horse pen then helped rake up the leaves that came off the roof. We set our patio tables and chairs out by the road and they were gone within 30 minutes then we also got rid of an old broken concrete statue and bird bath. We got ourselves cleaned up and presentable and joined some of our church friends for a good, old fashioned 4th of July cookout over in Mandarin. It was a lot of fun to hang out with our friends in a different setting and get to know everyone better. We came on home just before dark to tend to another friend's critters and our own before it got dark. The horses got a little "skeered" when the fireworks began, but nothing was too close and they calmed right down.

This morning I picked up Shelly and Ranger (my old Ringer) and met some other friends at Cary State Forest. (That's him as a baby in my blog header.) He is a strapping 3 year old now and seems to be growing some more. It was their first time off the farm since Shelly bought him earlier in the year. He did really well for her; slogged thru some muddy trails and even crossed a steel grate bridge.

During the ride, while I was running my mouth, Michelle S tells me, "Your bridle came off"....I look down and sure 'nuff Stylin's bosal had slipped off her head and she had then stepped through it and was continuing to walk on. I pulled up on the reins which were now useless and told her to whoa, which she did. Boy, it sure pays to teach your pony that whoa means whoa. I got down, rebridled her and off we went. I love my girl ! Here's a link to more photos of our ride today. PHOTOS

"With Her Feet Flying Up in The Air"

My nephew JT and I had a blast with the horses in the back yard this evening. JT came over to have a riding lesson for the first time in quite a while. He's grown so much lately I had to let his stirrups out another notch. Anyway, he picked right back up where he left off and did very well. (After trying to run me over a time or two) :) I took a video of him and then he took a one of me.... hence the title. :) I asked Style for a canter and thought I was ready, but you can see my feet "flying up in the air". Remember the the lyrics to the old Aerosmith tune? Yeehaw !!!

Here's another VIDEO of JT and Dixie - it's a little longer so I posted in on YouTube.

Super Sunday

Bobby and I traded Moms for the day. I skipped church and drove to Gainesville to volunteer with my mother in law at St. Francis House to feed the homeless and Bobby went to church then picked my mom up to go purchase a washing machine. I had a really nice time helping out at the soup kitchen. We fed over 175 people lunch today - all kinds... anybody who's hungry. I felt priviledged to help out and very blessed in my life.

Bobby and I took a nice little nap this afternoon then went to dinner at Longhorns in Orange Park..... Yummmmm. When we got home, the rain had stopped and it had cooled down enough, so I got Dixie out, gave her a good grooming and rode for about 45 minutes in the back yard. All in all - a wonderful day.

Ride with friends at the Ravines

I got some of my friends of our First Coast Trail Blazers group to take a short ride this morning before the heat set in. Read about our ride and see more pictures HERE. As you can see, I continue to ride Stylin bitless and we love the Cavallo Simple Boots. Since she lives on sand, the boots protect her from the rocks and roots on the trails we ride and she can be barefoot otherwise.

June evening

This is my little frog pond - I used to put bleach in it to keep it clean and pretty, but killed a bunch of tadpoles one time and felt guilty. Now it's home to anything that wants to live in it with the exception of mosquitos.




For those who like spotted butts, here's my girl Dixie - 21 yr old grade Appy. Stylin didn't get her picture tonight - she was busy in the back part of the yard. Look at our grass....that's what a couple of good rains will do.


Here's our little "Mighty Dog" Jesse.



And this is Sarah posing with her summer clip. You can still see the gray undercoat....she's a chow mix and just gets way too furry for Florida summers. She's a wonderful Therapy Dog and loves to visit our local Community Hospice.

Weekend Update

I need to put the fresh batteries I bought into my camera and take some new pictures. I had a great, busy weekend. I took Sarah to the Community Hospice on Ramona Blvd on Friday and we visited the patients there. We haven't been to the Hospice in about 4 months since I had to back off some - had too much on my plate. Sarah loves visiting and is very gentle with the patients. Saturday was spent in a training class for Emmaus - I'll be working a weekend with them in July and am looking forward to it. Saturday was also my nephew JT's 10th birthday and he wanted "breakfast for dinner" at Aunt KD's house. There was bacon, sausage, eggs, grits and waffles for everyone. Sunday was spent first at church, then meeting the farrier back at the house, then a trip to Wal-Mart with Mom. (I just sat in the McDonald's reading my book while she shopped.) The book is a great one - especially for us horse crazy old broads. It's called "Chosen by a Horse" by Susan Richards. It's a memoir and I recommend it; it's got all the horse talk we need along with a lovely story of a 40 something woman facing her past.

Solo Ride

YAY!! I loaded Stylin up on Saturday and we went to Sal Taylor Creek Preserve by ourselves! I had a good talk with myself and realized there is no reason to be afraid to ride alone. I know the trails, I had a phone and best of all I had Stylin. We wound up having a great 2 hour ride exploring some offshoot trails that were mostly in the shade. I had to laugh at myself when we came up on 4 different deer - I'm usually chatting with my riding buddies and miss a lot of the wildlife. :) I had her booted up so there would be no problem if we came across any slag that the State seems fond of putting on the trails, I had my helmet on and Stylin was happy in her homemade bosal. We trotted and cantered quiet a bit and even had a deer running parallel to us about 30 feet away in the woods. Seeing her bounding along with that white flag in the air made me smile. With the hot weather here to stay, I may be doing some more early Saturday morning solo rides since a couple of my riding buddies don't ride during the hot summer.