simple gifts

 

The prairie is in full bloom at last. The wildflowers seem to enjoy the summer heat much more than I do. It sure makes packing around a chubby baby in a too-big frog hat tough work, much deserving of a round of frozen fruit popsicles for all afterwards :)

hello again

Just thought I ought to say hello and send you all some pictures!

if it were a sunset (instead of a sunrise) it would be straight from the set of Gone With the Wind, no?

This whole month has been a bit of a blur. Poor, poor Momma has been ill in bed for most of it as a result of her last chemo treatment. Thank goodness it was her last. She's still very unwell even today, more than three weeks later.

 In other bad news, Fia, the grey mare we took in last Fall, caught a hind leg in our neighbor's barbwire, tearing it up badly on the front of her hock. We have done all we can, bandaging her up (there wasn't anything left for stitches) and slathering everything with anti infection salve, keeping her on Bute (painkiller), etc. Now we're waiting to see how she heals. I want to be optimistic, but the hock is a busy intersection of tendons, nerves, and just about everything important. As deep as her wound was, I can't see a way that none of that was severed.

It's rather disheartening when you realize that three of our four horses are now lame (Shyanne & Wilber we can't figure out why, despite numerous vet trips), and one of our two ponies is missing an eye. Which really isn't that big of a deal, considering she's doing just fine. Though, she may steamroller you if you're on the wrong side :)

Well. That was all very cheery. But it gets better:
 //The flowers are blooming & my gardens are growing (we might actually get some potatoes this year!). And strangely all our fruit trees have fruit on them - even the peach tree has fuzzy little nobs! this.never.happens!!!!!
 //My nephew just reached his 7 month birthday, and it's my favorite when he laughs.
 //Little Brother and I have been jousting on the ponies, and yes, we really do have padded lances and try our best to biff one another off. So far the score is in my favor - LB needs to work on his knight/steed communicating skills. ha.
//Big Brother and I dusted off our pistol bullets for the first time this year and had a mini gun show last night. He shot the Ruger Blackhawk (think cowboy-looking piece), and I shot the snub .38 special. It's my favorite because it's small, about the length of my stretched out hand, and it's a challenge to shoot well (because the barrel is so short you loose accuracy). But it and I get along very well and have some holy targets to prove it.

happy weekend, everyone

roverandom

bonjour, bonjour! and all that jazz.

Ooh, I've been away from Blogger for a long time! Partly purposely, and partly because of some great adventures. Purposely because I am desperately trying to pare-down my list of 'hobbies', so that I can fully invest in the ones that make me happiest. Namely: riding, writing, music, and gardening.

Now, if that gives you a vision of me spending the long summer days blissfully pursuing such activities, you are - unfortunately - wrong.

Caring for my six month old(!!) nephew and trying my best to run the household for Momma (whose chemo sessions are nearly over! :D), have kept my nose to the grindstone. Plus we are planting this week after two weeks of constant rain (nearly 11 inches, which is unheard of).

But you don't want to hear about all that now.

You would rather read a bit of my Adventure.

It might as well begin here, at the heart of horse racing. 

My sister graduated from med school this May, even as I unofficially-officially graduated from homeschool-high :) I still have some finishing up to do, but now she can have Dr printed before her name on return address labels.  

The whole familial troupe, except for my other sister and nephew, made the 2,000 mile road trip down in time for the ceremony, but not without making a requisite stop at Churchill Downs on the way.

One very important item scratched off my bucket list!

rosie napravnik
 We were there on Mother's Day and they were running races one after another. We saw three and Momma should have bet on two. I can't even describe what it was like being there after watching the Kentucky Derby every year on television. It was great. greatgreatgreat.

calvin borel

 The next day might have been even more amazing, as we spent the morning at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. (FYI: I have decided Lexington is the place for me. I will live there one day. That is all.) There at the park I got to meet two of my biggest track heroes: Cigar (above), looking magnificent at 25. And Funny Cide (below), who is a giant. Both live in retirement at the Park, and on certain days are brought out to meet the public their adoring fans.

 Then it was onward to Charleston to meet family, graduate Sister, and to eat waaaaaay too much good food. It's a good thing so many of Charleston's residents jog. I suppose they have to, otherwise they'd just roll.

best breakfast scones. ever.

 The last weekend there, we rented a beach house with my aunt and cousins on Kiawah Island. It was great. Breakfast with Sister & Brother in the village, beach in the afternoon....

arnold the three-legged alligator
 ....alligators in the golf course hazards.... 

 ....friendly photogenic squirrels, watching Psych under the covers until the wee hours... and a cockroach raid even later that involved a flip-flop, muffled screams, and a wobbly kitchen chair not intended for a vantage spot when swatting the offending creature from his ceiling refuge.

..................

This is the simplest version of my second trip down South with the least amount of detail. I took over 500 pictures, so what you're seeing is also just a sample. But I think it will all have to do for today.