Girls Day Out...

NOPE...
No pictures of my sister in law and I getting a manicure and a pedicure.

[very interesting as I'd never had this done before in MY entire life]

We went to lunch in a town called Staunton, VA for our beauty treatment and a 'girl' lunch.

My one real regret is that my sister in law lives in Virginia and I live in Wisconsin.
Why?
Well, we get along so well together and enjoy doing things together.
This is something I don't have much where I live now.
I'm sure we'd get into all sorts of things if we lived near each other.

I feel like my time is too short here for the fun I am having.

I see that Silver, the cat, has come into the room here and has staked a claim on the end of my bed.
She is telling me that it is time to hit the sack....

What a good cat.
She'll come and stand on my head in the morning when she decides it is time to wake up.

Tomorrow looks like a busy day visiting my father's old haunts and historic downtown Charlottesville.

A stroll in Narnia

Today I went to Narnia.

Not the storybook Narnia...but the neighborhood Master Gardener's property. I strolled down a wood chip path across a small bridge to a park like area.

I chose to explore all of the paths this lady has made through her property and each time I came around a curve, I found something interesting and beautiful.


I have many photos of course, but these are just a few of the things I found interesting.

I still think my brother and sister in law have an evil plot to make my lifestyle healthier.

Joan and I went 'running' again on the 'commons'. For the first few minutes I felt as though someone had put lead weights on my legs.
After I got warmed up and was 'perspiring' or 'glowing', my old body felt so much better and we jogged along the grassy paths.

A quick shower and we were on our way to a Volleyball game in Orange County. [I think~since I have no idea where we actually went...]

This was my second opportunity to use my camera indoors.
Last night I went to the team's practice and 'practiced' indoor photography~~~
Last night's practice:

[Awesome girls, eh?]

What a huge difference to doing outdoor work.
The girls were awesome tonight [they won!] and I took 250 some photos of the game.

I enjoyed the new challenge and almost wished that I could do this more often. [The Volleyball games!]

Tomorrow?

Gosh, I think there is a manicure and a pedicure happening [never had one!] along with a nice lunch at a vineyard...then home for more 'running' and perhaps a photo session at my nephew's soccer practice?

I am being kept very busy!

...and loving every second.

Come play with me~~

Meet Bailey [I think that is how you spell her name].


She, along with Marmalade and Silver live with my brother's family here in Virginia.

Bailey~~is ... well, let's just say that she is 'independent' cat personified. She has attitude.
But I enjoyed pointing the camera at her anyway.

I skipped out the door a little before 8:30AM EST and went to play in the woods [common area] in my brother's neighborhood. You can see so much and not really have to go far.

I sat by a small pond and watched the sunlight reflect on the water.
A giant snapper turtle poked his head up out of the water ~~ he had something he was chewing on.

I was a bit repulsed but took his photo anyway. I think the snapper is cleaning the pond of 'carrion' that was in the water.
[I may post his photo later as it is still on my other camera]


Today was a wonderful day to just walk around and enjoy the warm sunshine. I took 3 hrs to just walk and explore.

Tonight I went to watch my brother coach his volleyball team and took photos of the practice.

Now~~that was interesting and fun as I'd never used my Nikon D40 inside before with a telephoto lens and was not sure of what the results would be.
I was satisfied enough to decide to 'shoot' the game tomorrow night.

GO Western Albemarle Volleyball!

See Yah!

Have a good week while I am traveling.

I'll be back next week unless I get internet access where I am going!

Meet Opal

Meet Opal
Just a hair under 14 hands
Aged: 24[ish]
Molly
Red Roan with a Freckle face
Unknown heritage.

We purchased Opal in 1998 for my husband from John Higgins Sr. and Jr. from Missouri. Opal's specialty was Gymkhana and yes, she has the speed, the reining, and the moves.
Hubby competed with her against horses in our local club and had a great time.

Opal also competed as a Coon Jumping Mule and won the 56" and under Championship at the IDMS show I believe in 2000.
She has a wonderful smooth running walk which makes it hard to keep up with her [I think Siera can!!!]
She will, as my husband says, quote:
*Walk a hole in a Tornado*

She will sit down and spin if you ask her to~~and go from walk to overdrive in less that .001 seconds [kinda like a car commercial, eh?].

She is probably the MOST sure footed mule I have ever ridden [yes I have!]. I take her out in the winter when the hills and woods are very snowy and treacherous. She never takes a misstep.

Opal is our 'people handicapped' mule. She distrusts people, she may even dislike people. She is hard to catch, so we plan a day ahead of time to catch her.
Believe me, we have worked on this ever since we got her.
If she is in a paddock, she can be caught; give her an open pasture and then trickery has to come into play.

She is sometimes terribly ear shy.
She is definitely not a mule that anyone can walk up to and grab hold of.

Yet with her 'holes' and quirks, we think she is special and will never leave our place. When not climbing rocks and doing challenging rides with me or hubby, she is used for our son-in-law [who is a novice] to ride.
She dogs along like an ancient mule, but perks up if asked to. She takes care of her rider above ALL else and never hesitates to do any task asked of her.

We once considered selling her, but we decided that others may not be able to deal with her idiosyncrasies and she would end up being passed from owner to owner.

Besides, she is perfect to bring along with a young mule who needs to see what confidence is all about.
She is still not showing much of her age, and by golly, I'm not going to remind her either.
She is with us forever.

Meet Mica

Meet Mica.
14.3 hands
Aged: 13
Molly


She is a grey roan molly mule who was born on Duane and Jane Anderson's farm in Spencer, Iowa.
We first met Mica while visiting some friends in Missouri. A young man named Chris French was riding her and roping off from her.
My husband was looking for yet one more mule that could he could compete with while team penning.


Rich brought Mica home in 2001 while I was in Hawaii with my father [hmm, how convenient!].
Mica was 4 years old, flashy as you can see with her gray dapples which each summer fade to a little more white...each winter she does retain some gray.

I have not ever ridden Mica, but have done much with her. I of course, catch her and get her tacked up for hubby when I want him ~~~to git his butt moving so we can ride~~~. She has some of the best ground manners I've ever seen in a mule.


She does work cattle very well. But mostly we use her for trail riding.
She is not what I'd consider 'kid broke' unless a kid knew how to operate a mule that is a thinker and a doer. She has a sweet true western rein to her, and will do slide stops and turns.

Mica hates to be stalled alone [what mule does?]. Sometimes Mica thinks her name is 'Dammit' Mica.
Overall?
She's a keeper and fun to have. She's one of those go anywhere and do most anything kind of mules.

One day I'm going to sneak out and ride her!
;-)

Ride the Ride...

I got out of the trailer and began saddling up Siera for her first ever off our farm ride. We were at Wildcat Mountain State Park in Ontario, WI.

Funny, for some reason I wasn't nervous at all. I thought perhaps, I should be. But I had confidence in the ability and good common sense that this little 14 hand mule had shown me so far.

My hubby had brought his good seasoned mule, Mica.

We'd decided to take the easier trails offered at Wildcat.
Siera soon took the lead, walking with her ears flopping and eagerly looking ahead. Her pace was smooth as silk.

We rode the Red Trail, which winds up and down through the valleys and hills. In most places it is pretty wide open and two animals can ride side by side. Here is the view from on top of Johnny Cake.

When we got into some single foot tough stuff on a steep hillside, I let Mica lead the way. At first Siera seemed to want to rush going down steep hills. But this was a learning trip for her.

She learned that she could slow down and be careful on steep downhill grades.
She learned that we do NOT jump tree roots, logs, and other things across the trail. [she only had to be shown this once]
She learned to watch where her feet were being placed.
She learned poise.


WE learned:
Siera is very forward and curious.
She will lead or follow.
Strange items [such as the car in the gulley, the mule eating pine, other horses, a pile of wood, and fire rings] are worth a look, but not worth much else.

In short, she made some of our experienced mules look a bit foolish. She was quiet, well behaved, and she acted like an old broke mule.

...and finally, back at Day Camp~~she was eager to 'do it again'.


I think I am prejudiced...but oh my ~~~
I think I love this mule!!!