Welp. I dare say that was (well, still is) a whopper. A doozy whopper of a hurricane. I just came up with that. Just roll with it.
(Disclaimer…blogging from your phone is difficult and annoying. Please forgive any spelling or grammatical errors.)
Words really can not describe the magnitude of devastation. EVERYWHERE.
I had a friend ask me if I or my parents had ever seen anything like this. My response? My grandparents haven’t ever seen or heard of anything like this. And my family has been in this area for a long time.
It will take me a little while on this one to gather my thoughts and put them into words. To be honest, I am not even sure if I can. I will try though, not just for me, but for my people, my city, my region, my state. Please know that me and my animals and my people are all well. We are safe and on the right side of the worst of it. We have been blessed and I am more sure than ever that God provides. And He is here. Always. I so appreciate all of the comments and messages from you, my dear readers. It means the world to me.
I apologize for being MIA since my last post. That was not my intention, but in circumstances such as these, your prioraties change pretty quick.
I hope you are all well. I do not even remember the last time we spoke. That is how long this storm, horrible Harvey, has been going on.
There is much work to be done now, but until then, please enjoy our aftermath of the storm.
I do not like to talk about politics and I am certainly not going to do that here. That is not what this is for. Do not you worry.
I will say this. I am proud.
Proud to be a Texan.
Proud to be an American.
I can not speak for people from other states or countries, but Texans seem to be born proud. It is in our blood and we take it pretty seriously. You do not have to be born here to get it in your blood either, but I have also come across some people in my life that just do not quite seem to understand it.
Sometimes, I can’t quite explain it either. It is somewhat of a mystical thing and has a sort of magnetic pull, something that just wells up inside and grows throughout your life. It is certainly a special place. A place unlike any other. Not the South. Not the West. Uniquely its own. Naturally there are songs written about it. You did not think I would skip that, did you? We will get to that in a minute.
The 4th of July always makes me reflect on this. I feel blessed and grateful to live in this country. To do the things I love to do. To be my independent self. To be able to see the light every day. Prouder still, to be a Texan. It is part of who I am. So. This weekend I celebrated with my family doing what I love because I can. I am free to do so. That is what being an American and being a Texan means to me.
I went to the country. I had quality time with my family. I rode my horses by myself.
I rode my best mare with my Nephew behind me, holding on, while my sister rode Ike with my Niece wrapped in her arms in front of her. One in front of the other and side by side. I baked.
We ate. We drank. We splashed in the baby pool in the yard. We played with dogs. I went fishing with BIL B, his brother, and my Nephew. Which, by the way, is my second most favorite thing to do next to riding. I not only fished, but I caught. I even got to fish with my rod that BIL B made for me because he brought it just in case I wanted to go with them.
I napped. I read. I lost count of how many times we watched Tangled and Frozen during the heat of the day.
People, it would seem, are so terribly divided as of late. I wonder where the pride went. Are they not grateful to be able to see the light everyday? To be able to do what they love? Is it not part of who they are? Where is the love? Love of country? Love of people? Love of themselves? Why focus on the hate when you have a choice?
Focus on the light and love. It is a choice.
Spread the love by walking in love, dear readers. Lead with love!
Wrong. It is one that was not promised. I bet that changed your Monday blues.
Make the most of it, dear readers, and make it a great one.
Dare I say, make it a marvelous Monday!
Shine your light and spread the love! Get all hippie-dippie. Go on. You know you want to.
I had a lovely, restorative weekend at the farm (I even took a nap! Gasp, I know), capped by an amazing dinner with family last night. Seriously, that meal. Fresh caught red fish on the half shell topped with hollandaise and fresh crab meat served with green chili rice and green beans. We ate like kings. However, the meal was nothing compared to quality time spent with my niece and nephew. Love those little people!
I hope everyone had a great weekend and is getting their week off to a great start.
I for one am glad to be back in the swing. Bring it on! I have missed y’all!
Sunrise. My favorite time of day. If you have not deduced that little factoid about me yet. It is. It is just my favorite time of day. Everything is new, fresh, and innocent. Dynamic and colorful. An event you can count on every day. For me, I am always struck by the blessing. The blessing to have a new day as a gift. A fresh start. To do what makes my heart smile. To begin a new day in the best way possible viewing God’s painting. It certainly did not hurt that I got to see all of the horses right before I had to load up in my car and head to town for work. Nothing like country morning air laced with the smell of horse. I started out the day seeing the positive. The beautiful. The light. These shots were taken by the front gate as I was leaving.
I usually take her with me, but I left Darcy in town for the night because I was not going to get to the farm till late just to turn around and come right back. Barely enough time to do what needs doing, but it needed doing. Anyway, dogs always amaze me. I left her at my parents’ house in the care of my dad while she looked at me with confusion and sadness and came back to her happy face and wagging tail, seemingly asking where I had been. All perceived sadness and confusion gone as if it were not there in the first place. Today I came to pick her up after work and there she was, all smiles and ready to go. Are we going? Yes, we are going!
On Sunday, when I got back from my girls riding weekend, we had a much needed, grass growing rain. I got everything unloaded and the trailer cleaned out and parked before I took care of a couple of things. I cooked burgers for a late lunch with my parents while they worked on some chores themselves. They had been working all morning. Just as we sat to eat the sky opened up. It didn’t last terribly long, but the drops were big and plentiful. You know the kind. The kind that drenches everything before you realize it’s raining.
This weekend was much needed. I can’t say that I necessarily rested, but it was relaxing and I was able to forget my anxieties and all the balls floating in the air. There were 5 of us. We ate. We drank. We rode. We talked. We were leisurely and relaxed. We lounged by the pool. Rain was promised all weekend and we did not get any. We saw stunning sunsets set in thunderclouds illuminaded by lightning and serenaded by distant rolling thunder. Everyone was able to get home safe before the rain on Sunday.
My Cheetah girl was her usual, saucy self, but settled nicely once we got riding. We both needed that weekend.
Lito and I are proceeding with our hand walking regimen. It started out a little dicey, but today he was much better. But let us be honest, he is still easier than probably most other 4 year olds. After our walk, I let him graze for a little but while I enjoyed the shade and the sounds around me. Let us all marvel how he has not rubbed his mane out while being penned up!
All of this to say, I’m chugging along over here, juggling all the balls and doing all the things. Soon enough, life will settle back down and get back to ‘normal.’ Whatever normal is. Just less balls in the air I guess! Here is hoping I will be in my townhouse by the beginning of next week.
I miss you, my dear readers, and can not wait to get back to talking with you more!
For the past several days, I have woken up at exactly 4:47 AM. Exactly. Every day except one. Isn’t that odd? I wake up, hope that I have a little bit longer to snooze, look at my phone and see 4:47 on the read out. That same time every morning. Strikes me as rather curious. I had a little chuckle this morning about it. I just thought you should know! Does that ever happen to you?
In other news…
I snapped a couple quick photos of the sunset yesterday. The hour long commute may get a little old, but being at the farm never does. I love being able to see the day full circle. Sunup to sundown. Such a blessing.
We are now one week down on our restricted, solitary turnout sentence. Lito is probably handling it better than any of us. Thank God for his good brain and laid back attitude! He is a little antsy at times, but he is handling it better than I had hoped…and certainly better than Cheetah ever would. Oh, lawd. I am finally not spending all of my time there staring at him.
Please ignore that ugly pole that used to hold a Purple Martin house. Also, look how tall he is! I know I have said this before, but I am not that tall. Here is to improving my mounting skills. After our Hill Country adventure, I realized I suck at mounting this horse with my squatty legs. It is a whole different kind of leverage equation!
Petunia seems to be taking it harder than anyone. Poor Tuners. It is a long story, but Lito needed more than just a neighbor to keep him from running around. Chance does not seem to care about being separate or alone. Enter Tuners. Who, unfortunately has to stay in a stall for this whole thing to work. She is none too pleased, but maybe she will lose some weight?
I wish someone would just stick me in stall so I would lose some weight. I would probably be worse than Petunia though. At least she is cute when she is mad.
Family weekend at the farm for Memorial Day with lots on the list to get done! First though, I have movers scheduled this afternoon to empty my storage unit into my new townhouse! Well, new to me. Cousin S used to live there with her daughter, but she just got married last weekend and my Aunt needs a tenant. Side note, the wedding was beautiful and it is so great to have new, happy memories in my Aunt’s house. These past several months have been difficult. The next several will likely be harder once the dust settles. It has been a busy several months. Both purposeful and divine. I am requesting prayers for my Aunt and Cousins. Prayers for strength, peace, and acceptance. To grow in their faith and closer to God. To see His hand.
Anyway, back to positive things! We actually made this plan way back in March or so. It is a win, win, win situation for everyone. Especially for me because I will no longer be living at my parents! I am so fortunate I was able to go there when I thought I might lose my job. I was able to save a lot of money and not be worried. It is way past time time though and I am so glad to be moving out.
Busy day today! Get out there an conquer it.
Walk in love, dear readers.
By the way, I am so glad you are here. AHAmoment. Thank you for stopping by and reading my little blog. You followers, commenters, likers, and readers have blown me away in this short time I have been blogging. Thank YOU! You are a blessing.
The spring winds, they blow! Or blew, as it were. I almost felt like I was in West Texas, just without all the red dirt.
How many times my hat blew off my head and I ran after it this many times…
The weather this past weekend was spectacular even if it was a titch windy. A cool front blew in Saturday and Sunday morning it was almost cold. Luckily the sun got to work and warmed things up. Today’s weather is no different and the wind has finally calmed down.
When I got to the farm Friday, I unloaded and ‘turned the house on’ before going to the local Mexican restaurant to treat myself to an early dinner. I was back in time to take a walk with Lito and Darcy down to the river. I will let the sunset speak for itself.
On Saturday, I took my time getting going. I spent around 40 minutes grooming my Cheetah girl and then we had an amazing ride. We did all of our hard serious work all around the house/barn and then took a long, relaxing cool down walk all around the farm to check the cows. I was trying to remind her about not being barn/buddy sour. I was very proud of her and she seemed to be very happy and proud of herself. We finished at a point where she was solidly between all my aids after some leg yielding, shoulder in, and stretchy lengthens. I was able to giver her a quick bath (her favorite!) before the wind got too chilly.
After lunch, I went to the little town by the farm to take care of some errands. The most important of which was going to the feed store where they apprently did not have what I needed, again. I got back to the farm and had lunch, worked on some chores, watered the herb garden, checked the vegetable garden, and lunged Lito. Lito was being a little silly in the chilly wind, but he eventually settled into the work. After the hard stuff I worked him around and over some obsticals and a couple little jumps. Homeboy can fly over a jump when he thinks he needs too. Then he realized that was a waste of energy and proceeded to do just enough to awkwardly plop over them.
Before we know it the gardens will be overgrown.
I was going to sit by a pit fire after dinner, but before I knew it, I was hungry and tired and it was about to be dark. Oh well, next time.
Sunday I relaxed and waited for my cousin to come out to the farm. When he arrived, I rode Lito while he went fishing in the pond.
Big boy Lito did very well in the wind and with the change. It was windy, chilly, and clear as a bell without a cloud in sight. I lunged him out in the pasture and then just hopped on and rode around. All of our rides to date have started in the arena. I intended to do this a long time ago, but because our rides have been so far apart, it seemed like the smart thing to do to wait…maybe not smart to choose a very windy day, but he gave me all the green lights to do it. It was the first time I have ridden him in my big saddle. He has packed it around, but never with me in it. It was the first time I made him wear boots while riding. He has worn them, but never while riding. I also rode him in a new bit. He did pretty ok with it, but the jury is still out. Time will tell. All in all I was very proud of him. A lot of change. Maybe too much. But moving forward and not making excuses. At least I can do that in this part of my life!
While all of this may not seem like a very big deal to some of you, it feels like a big deal to me. Every step in this process is a big deal to me. To me it means we have taken the step because he said yes. That he was comfortable moving on to the next thing and building upon what we have done. Our path is not conventional and I am OK with that. It is our path and it works for us. AHAmoment. Just like in everyday, real life. Everyone has their own path, weather you choose to take it or try to copy someone else. Walk your own path and do it in love.
Cousin W made the comment that Lito has mellowed a lot. I always thought he was very mellow, but I’m with him all he time. I will take any compliment!
After our ride, Cousin W and I went and picked up BBQ from a local joint and brought it back to have at the farm. We hung out the rest of the afternoon until we had no choice but to go back to town. Nothing like green therapy, as my mamma calls it. The traffic was terrible, but I honestly did not mind driving slow because I was bringing the horse trailer in to take to the shop and get a good once over before my girls trip with R.
I dropped it off this morning before work and before I knew it, the work day was over. Grateful for that! Another big meeting tomorrow. Praying that this seals the deal. One more step.
I hope y’all had a great weekend and start to the work week!
Easter is always a special time at the farm. Well, Easter in itself is obviously special in its own right, but it is different at the farm.
I remember the first Easter after my parents bought the place. I do not remember who all was there. I know my Father and at least one sister was there. I can not remember who else. Anyway, it was windy. It is always windy at the farm on Easter. We must have come out directly after church as we were in our church clothes. At the time, the place was raw. Well, raw its own way. It needed a ton of work and even more just plain cleaning up. It was cross fenced in every way you can imagine. I do not remember why, but my Dad climbed over a gate and when he stepped down on the other side, he landed right in a fresh cow patty while wearing his nice loafers. My sister and I probably thought that was pretty funny while dear old Dad did not.
We have always celebrated Easter in some way at the farm. It has changed over the past few years, as it happens when families grow, but it always feels the same. Special.
This year, it was somewhat of a revolving door with people coming and going. Middle Sister and her Hubby could not come to town because of work commitments (that part was not special…). My Parents, Eldest Sister’s Hubby, Niece, Nephew, and myself went out Thursday. Eldest Sister had to work on Good Friday. The men, that would be my Dad, Bro in law, and Nephew, went fishing Friday for the day and the ladies, my Mom, Me, and Niece, hung out at the farm. I think I mentioned that before and how I rode Cheetah, Lito, and Ike.
Saturday, my Aunt and Grandparents came out for lunch. When my Grandparents got there, I was just riding up to the house at the end of my ride on Lito. He was amazing, by the way, if you were wondering. He is getting really consistent and more balanced. For around 20 or so rides all spaced out, he is doing better than some that get ridden every day. At least in my mind. He is pretty tractable and rates really easily. I am surprised at how well he responds to my seat and even my voice. I am really excited for our hill country adventure. While we were on our ride, we discovered a brand new calf born not that long before. Nature never ceases to amaze me.
Sister and her family went back to town to go to church in the afternoon and participate in the church Easter egg hunt. When my Aunt arrived, we had burgers, fries, and my Grandmother’s molasses cookies for lunch out on the porch, under the live oak. That tree and porch, I tell you, there is no better place to be. My grandparents went back to town later that afternoon and my Aunt stayed to spend the night.
Saturday evening, I spent some time riding Lito bareback in a halter, just relaxing and having fun. Making sure he remembers how to do that. That it is not always hard work. He remembered.
Sunset rolled around and we had even more porch time with a steak dinner and wine. I am so glad that my Aunt was able to come out and stay. Get a away, even if just for a short time. We are all still sad, but none more than her I am sure.
Sunday morning found us sitting there on the porch again drinking coffee, looking down the valley watching the fog rise, listening to gospel and nature. Words can not express the beauty of His creation, especially in that place. The rest of my coffee got cold so I grabbed Lito’s bridle and went and did my favorite Sunday morning thing. Ride bareback.
We wrapped things up at the farm before lunch to head back to town and get ready for Easter diner with my Mom’s side of the family. I made and decorated a coconut cake. It was pretty dang good! Doesn’t look too bad either. Holidays are my favorite because I get to see both sets of grandparents close together. I am savoring all my time with them.
Happy times were had with the still at times sad. Slowly, the happy times will start to outshine the sad. Still grieving my Uncle, but we had a new calf born and we got to watch mamma introduce him to the heard. The kiddos got dirty and tired just like the dogs, running around and playing. Like it is supposed to be. I have had some amazing rides on my 2 dun babies. I rode Lito more times that I had even planned. We all had a good time together and wished that the rest of the family could have been there. God is great.
I hope y’all had a great Easter, creating new happy memories.
I am currently sitting on the porch at the farm next to my mother as she reads, under the great live oak, enjoying the breeze. Apache is across the yard, eating his fill of senior feed. I am about ready to make a cocktail. My dad just let the cows up from the meadow and into the pond pasture where the horses live. I have been blogging a lot from my phone lately, so apologies if the formatting looks goofy.
Things went pretty well this morning and only time will tell how well. After our meeting, we (everyone in my company) all had a relaxing lunch together at my request. Not long after, my boss told everyone to go home and enjoy the long weekend. I am so blessed to work with he people I do. I know it has been hard working in this industry during this downturn (harder for many others than for me…I still have a job). I know sometimes I am unsure if this is what I should be doing and that I do not know what my next step will be, but I am happy and proud to work with such high caliber individuals that know what it is all about. Family always comes first. Blessed beyond measure to be there.
Enjoy the long weekend with family, dogs, and horses I will!
I am shooting for riding Lito Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, in addition to everyone else. I have his first off property, ridden experience booked for the first weekend in May in the hill country. More on that later. I hope to get the trailer in for a good once over on Saturday if the place is open in preparation. R and the horse she rides, Ronan, are coming with us. In addition to all the riding we will be doing, we are going to have our own little Kentucky Derby watching party!
That is what is going on in this moment. It is a pretty good AHAmoment to really feel how blessed I truly am.
Spring has officially arrived! The sun is warm. Horses and dogs are loosing their winter coats. Everything is yellow, including the nastys I have been coughing up in the morning...er…The pollen is exploding on the trees. The air is soft, both in feel and temperature. Besides the nastys, it is glorious.
I have decided on a schooling show to work towards at the end of April, have submitted payment for a working equitation clinic in June, and am going to audit a Charlotte Dujardin Through The Levels Masterclass in November. I am really excited about these! Making good on my 2017 goals! Just need to make lessons a priority now.
I am a little under the weather because of these allergies (seriously, these never used to be a thing for me, ugh)…and possibly, maybe, because I have been staying out too late, but oh well, you only live once.
I am house and dog sitting for the rest of this week. All the dogs are played out and enjoying basking in the sun. This past Sunday (how is it already Tuesday??!), I loaded everyone up and headed out to the farm for the day.
The day started out extremely foggy. Quite literally in a cloud. Once at the farm, I decided to wait out the fog before riding and convinced my mom to come on a walk with me and the dogs after I fed the horses. As per usual, my Darcy girl had a grand time doing her thing and running circles around the other two. These city dogs though! They had the best time being dogs! Their coats were sopping from the dew and covered in pollen within a few minutes.
We walked down to the pond first where they waded in to prime their coats to get really good and dirty. Deciding it was best to avoid the cows with the newbies, we turned around to walk back up to the front gate and back again. With all the rain we have had, there was a big muddy hog wallow by a group of live oaks. You an probably guess where this is going, but I will tell you anyway. They all promptly got in and laid down with the biggest panting grins on their faces. After a good chuckle, we called them out and continued back to the house. A good run through the tall, wet grass got all their coats moderately clean. They were so dang happy. There is nothing like a happy, dirty, and tired dog. Except maybe three of them! Impossible to smile.
I put them all in the kennel and went to grab Lito for a ride. Darcy is always with me when I ride, but I put her up with the other two to make sure the others would stay safe. A quick groom session and I had Lito tacked and ready to go.
I have stopped counting his rides, but we are somewhere in the neighborhood of 15. He continues to amaze me with his incredible mind. In an ideal world, I would be riding him around 3 times a week. I have still only been able to ride him every two weeks or so. I was worried that it would be a problem and I would have to bring him somewhere closer to town so I could ride him more. It is not only not a problem, but he continues to get better. I might still have to do that somewhere down line, but for now it is working.
We did a little arena work and then went down to the cow pasture with my mom (she is the best) to have a little trot and then back up to the front gate. I am so proud of him. We are pretty consistently forward and have pretty good rhythm. He is continually reminding me, since he was born, to be relaxed and open. He is so sensitive and responsive in a very good way. If I remember to think and ask first, I almost do not even have to do anything. He is such a blessing.
After lunch I spent the rest of my time there helping the horses shed some winter hair before heading back to town. Now is it the end of Tuesday and work is work and it is busy. Most everyone was out of the office last week, so it is back to the normal hustle. Which is not really normal, incidentally.
That is all for now. Super exciting stuff, I know. Please, try to contain yourself over there. This week is going by so fast, hence the lack of posts! Sorry about that!
