Chatting Over the Garden Fence! :-)

Well I have had a surprising day!  I knew my eldest granddaughter needed to be driven to the stables as she was taking part in a dressage show this afternoon.  What I didn't know was that she was going to need help getting the horse ready.  Oh! my goodness!  What I know about horses is the front end bites and the back end ..........um............................doesn't, lol.

So here I am in all innocence in a mucky paddock, then in mud where the horse had to be washed!! And I must hold the horse still while cold water  is squirted on it!!!  Yeah, right!! lol.   Then if that wasn't enough - I get given a brush and asked to groom the horse while madam plaits his mane.  (I was slow on the uptake there!!).  Oh well I suppose I know how to scrub and clean so I was probably the better qualified for the job, lol.

So today the weather decided to be absolutely gorgeous and there I am "grooming" this horse (which seems to get bigger by the minute!) and I have 4 layers of clothes on - a precaution against the expectation of sitting around in a freezing cold wind.   That was about 5 hours ago and I am now starting to cool down, although that might be because the temperature has dropped considerably too, lol.

This was the first time she had ridden this horse in a show and I think she was a little bit nervous about it.  At least I guessed that was the problem when the horse decided to leave the ring in the middle of her session, jumping over the poles around the edge of the ring!!  Thankfully they were fairly low, but I think she got a surprise!! Anyway it was a friendly sort of competition and once she had the horse calmed (although I think it was her that needed it).  She repeated the exercises and didn't do too badly.  The big advantage now is that she has done it and there won't be another first time with this horse.

So you just never know what the day may bring!! Lol

The avatar is my granddaughter on her horse practising!

THE HORSE .....  A Beginners Guide

Four legs that will kick you.

Fast but no brakes.

Steering failures are common.

Hold up the traffic.

 Scared stiff of them !

Thats quite the experience, Cathy. 

I've been around horses, but they unnerve me no end.  

She looks good on it....my girlfreind growing up...Pat Van Ende....her family raised Arabians....they still do not to far from me, though we have lost contact over the years. Their horses were quite intelligient and very beautiful....and you want to bet...they are an LOT of work to keep them that way also. By now, she's probably "retired" also. The Calvary... and the Pony Express Riders in the 1800's use to use Arabian horses...before the telegraph came in and so did autmobiles. .There is an kind of "charm" in dealing  with them these days....and my neighbor kid use to live couple houses down went into the Rodeo after graduating from High School. His dad was an contruction tychoon at one time...and they took on an "German" foregin exchange student one year...you culd not imagine two totally different people in your life. The student's father had an up-scale office in New York City...dealing with investments. Shaun use to drive me "nuts" at times..he broke his leg one time...and he was always the last one to make an run for the school bus,... which he often missed...and would come over and ask me to take him to school. So with crutches on and books in his arm..take me to school one morning...the bell rings in about 10 minutes....I throw him iin the front seat...the books and crtuch in the back seat...I go barreling down the road, get to the bottom of the hill where the stop sign is at and "slide" through it...to an stop. I was petrified...he looks at me and he says..."Gee, that's what my sister does in Tahoe every winter!"..smiles weakly...I said, Shaun you stop this last mintue stuff on me, you could of gotten us both killed had there been an car coming. Well, he didn't bother me to much after that....but when I was working Boston Market, he came in and wanted an "some grub" for an hungry cowboy...we loaded it on him...an huge big plate of "man" type food...that's when he told me he was up visiting his parents for Chirstmas and was in an Rodeo Circuit and an Bronco-Bull Rider and roper. I swear by then he was at least 6'8 and over 200 pounds of solid muscle. Kind you don't argue with to much. He says the pay is really good, but the career don't last to long. What you want to bet by now he's pushing pencils somewhere. 

I love your stories, Shirley. Always such fun or interesting to read. We used to have Boston Market here and I liked their mac and cheese, but the only one we had closed several years ago.

Cathy, I wondered who it was in your new avatar. Your granddaughter looks great on her horse. I used to be around draft horses a lot so I know how nervous they can make you when you're not used to them. I never did get quite comfortable, but the ones that I knew well were very sweet. We used to go to the horse sales and walking through the barn was always an experience with the horses hind legs right there waiting to kick.

We had a beautiful rainbow here today after a storm. Took some nice photos of it. 

Well, for an short time tonight...I was actually in my gmail server to read messages sent to me for the last six months...and now I just tried and can't get in it again..so an message not sent that I went back to do and can't......

JAMES PRESCOTT....Thank you for sending the lovely pictures of your yard and all your flowers...your house looks neat and trim and an very admirable place to be for tea, or for good hospitalitly. You must enjoy the work or it wouldn't look so nice. We too try to change ever so once in an while our landscaping. When we first moved here...it was very "country" and we tried to plan our yards to grow up to be serene and country like. Some people did OK..others that came in could of cared less, the houses were an medium they used for profit in climbing up to bigger houses. But the original owners had the best intentions and we often shared our ideas to make it blend in from one house to another. Back then I had an bird's eye shot view of Mt. Hood straight down my street...but I knew as the trees grew I'd lose it and I have. For an while we had an above ground swimming pool and every summer my house if you were an kid was the place to be...that finally wore out and we went to an boat to teach water skiing and took the pool down to be safe. My father helped me make my back yard...and he helped me set in an back side walk that also served as an small wading pool for little kids...and I made my pond into an sand pit area for little kids as it acquired an leak in it. That gave away to an huge yard long swing set and trampoline. We took the swing set down this last weekend and put up an tent in its place. So now I have an "fire pit" area for making "smores" at night, and small BBq area and patio table, two round ceramic bowls that have oil wicks in them for lighting at night...and two mid-yard flower borders and flowers along side the back sidewalk...and garden area. I was also going to put an pulley rope from the boys little watch tower lookout to the pine tree across the yard, but haven't done that as yet either. We try to keep things simple these days also. We have an school 1/2 block away for playing softball games and such in also...so we don't need an big back yard. Front yard has an small patio deck and table so I can eat breakfast outside in the summer and the rest if grass and shrubs. I am trying to get an border of herbals along one side. We BBQ out front, in the back yard, or off the master bedroom patio if need "privately". for us this year is pink an purple primarily...some yellows. Last time I looked our house up in "goggle" all you could see was the trees growing above the house and nothing down on the ground...so we cut some of the trees recently...looked like an jungle...from above.  My yard is not near as neat as is yours...something I could  stand to work at doing I suppose. Thank you for your pictures...I love flowers and I like unique ideas. We all walk in this area...so it's nice to find an yard with some place to sit down while doing it and just chat with people/neighbors. Share my summer tomatoes with. Not many of the older folks left like to share food like we use to many years ago...Alma use to send me down at least an jar or two of her fruit chuntey...and I'd send back something for her also. Betty Pliska an old neighbor had her son living up the next street from me...and when we were nieghbors she'd send me over brownies every time she made an batch for her boys...my son's first ever babysitter.  Before Sharon left the area, she passed on to me her son's football...for the littlier kids following years later.  Much of that has changed these days. We use to have 23 along just my street and are lucky  now to have six in the whole nieghborhood.

I have one fountain I've found that I like...it is three spires in the air, ..I beleive steel ones..together...and water comes out of the top of them and runs down thier sides..and they are placed on an cross over an small rectangle shaped pool underneath.  They are in themselves an art form and an "prayer" perhaps. They stand simple and unique in detail. You must walk upon the cross to get to them.. to put your hand on them..to steady yourself.. and feel the water flow of life go over your hands...and then look up at the top. You know they must stand for the father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost...but nothing near them is posted as such....they could to anyone just be an piece of modern artwork. That's why I like them...they are unique. Almost as inspiring as some of Cathy longely words of wisdom and thoughts she has sent me....they are an "calling" to the higher ideals in life.