*** 17 Thur - "Foxy" passes away at Gail's home & Gail's family bury her. *** 17 & 18 Thur & Fri - I chaperone for the WHJROTC Color Guard going to Charlotte for the Mecklinberg County awards ceremony. *** Thursday nite, after the presentation, Linda & Mike are called home as their home is on fire. *** On the way back Friday morning, we stop at the Aviation Museum. *** 19 Sat - WHJROTC goes to 71st HS for a Drill Meet, but it's cut short & we return to school. *** The girls get ready for Prom and have a great time Saturday evening. ***
*** Gail & I take Masquerade & Loverboy to Dunn, to see if a family would like to do a trade off on Masquerade. Storm in the background - holding off. We end up doing a trail ride that is "EXTREME RIDING" - wow!! Gail & I stop to eat before returning home. *** Not long after Matt delivers the girls' back home, the water heater finishes it's rusting out - and we have a flooded laundry area and kitchen with no way to turn water off. In the storm outside, Sierra and I figure out how to turn the water off at the road while Matt & Skye mop up the resulting mess inside... *** 20 Sun - Gail & I ride at home rather than going on the trail ride with the Cape Fear Trail Riders. Then try to pick up the new water heater at Lowe's in Sanford. Didn't happen. *** 21 Mon - Landlord says the water heater there, paid for and ready, so I return only to have manager say "No, it's not." Laundromat & Gail's house for shower time. *** 22 Tues - Larry stops and straightens out "mess" at Lowe's and returns w/ water heater & torch, then finds out that work is more than he can do. Home owner contracts w/ Roto Rooter to come out and do the work on water heater. *** 23 Wed - Gail & I pick up 17 bales of hay (12 mine/5 hers). *** 26 Sat - Ride with Gail to deliver Masquerade to new home in VA. Very pretty farm & great folks getting NICE horse!***Madira rides PG around AC Morrison loop (2.3 miles). *** 27 Sun - Gail picks up Jazzy in the morning. *** Madira rides PG at home while mom @ Gails actually weighing out feed for feeding program and checking on Jazzy. *** 29 Tue - Gail takes Jazzy & Loverboy to Twin Oaks to work them in arena, then Jazzy refuses to load in trailer. Steve picks up our stock trailer & me to go help. I worked Jazzy outside back of trailer, then she decides it's much better to load then to be behind it. *** 30 Wed - Harli, for some reason, runs into the road & is struck by a motorist. Death is instant & he's now buried in Gail's pature. ***
2008 May - 2 Fri - Gail takes Jazzy & Loverboy to Twin Oaks to work in arena 2nd time - they do great and she asks me to go back with her in evening to watch. Awesome - no problems w/ trailer loading issues now. *** 3 Sat - Sierra & Shem go to JROTC Summer Camp Training. Long day - Gail teaches several of the stations. I volunteer to help and to watch. *** Before lunch, Linda steals me away to do some shopping and give me a tour of the new house they are currently renting. The old house wasn't completely burned & we stop over there to look for a missing "Kitty". *** Skye & Matt go to Sanford's Pottery Festival. *** Madira is working on Suessical Set w/ the Set Crew. *** 4 Sun - after going to get new blades for Gail's lawnmower, we spend the next 5 hours mowing & weedeating at our place. Wow, what a difference. Hadn't realized how much the "grass" (weeds) had grown since we'd had the rain. ***6 Tues - "Monster" gets away from Larry. Searching doesn't bring him home & he doesn't return. On a good note - there are no "bodies" on the roadside anywhere around us. *** 7 Thurs - Skye & Sierra go to the production of the Suessical. *** 9 Fri - Harnett Cty Animal Control hasn't had "Monster" turn up. Larry & Paula go to watch the Suessical. *** 10 Sat - WHJROTC has 4th & final Summer Camp Training day & Sierra finishes 5th for the day & 9th for overall. There are only 8 slots at this time, so we'll have to wait and see if Sierra is going. *** We go to Gail's for an evening cook out in celebration of her 20th year in the Army. *** Madira goes to Cast Party after the Saturday production. *** 11 Sun - It's an enjoyable Mother's Day. *** 12 Mon - I've learned how to set up video on YouTube & insert the results into a webpage. Currently have video on Chaunter's, Satin's & Star's pages. *** 17 Sat - Armed Forces Day Parade for WH JORTC in Sanford in the morning. *** AJ goes to "kiddy" party in Spring Lake & does about an hours worth of work for a group of little girls & 3 boys. The B-Day girl turned 4. ***
*** 18 Sun - 1 round of Coastal & 3 of Oat hay picked up from Little River Trails (Lanier Brothers). *** 19 Mon - Darryl out to do pony's trims - AJ, Rhythem, Pretty Girl, Iggy & Star done at our place while Jazzy gets done at Gail's place. *** 21 Wed - Video done for Stuffy's page. *** 25 Sun - Gail, Sierra & I go to Raven Rock. Gail rides Lover Boy, Sierra on Jazzy and I rode Pretty Girl. We did the "new loop" first, then the older loop. Pretty Girl is practicing her walking - she's not a happy camper. *** 26 Mon - Star bred to Iggy early morning. *** Gail, Niccole & I haul Lover Boy, Jazzy and Pretty Girl to Moss Foundation in Southern Pines. Jazzy decides to escape during bridling (giving Gail a scare!), jumps over the hitch between the truck and the trailer and gallops merrily from one end of the trailer area (next to 3 board fence) 3 x while avoiding capture. I start to mount up one of the times that Jazzy races by & Pretty Girl has a come apart, causing me to hook knee under the cantle & then to hit the ground. PG looks at me as if asking "What are you doing down there?". I ache, but get mounted & when both Gail and I close in on Jazzy, she flirts her tail over her back, whirls away & races down May Street towards Southern Pines. UGH, poor Gail - I think she's now having heart failure. Rather than "chasing" along w/ Gail, I stop Pretty Girl creating issues w/ her as she's highly upset that her "pasture mate" has left her behind... I get that under control, send Niccole back to our trailer and "PG" & I head down May Street at a more relaxed pace, looking for a loose horse & a mounted horse. Finally found them at one of the barns that Jazzy decided to visit at, about 2 miles down the road. Gail has bridled her and puts her to work by riding her back. We join up and ride back to trailer - where Gail takes a much needed cigarrette break. But we aren't done - since we "haven't ridden". We head out & spend approximately 2 hours practicing walking and behaving w/o getting upset (of course, both Jazzy & Pretty Girl are, while Lover Boy & Niccole are wondering what all the "hubub" is about). Arrive back & don't know about our mounts, but Gail & I are "whipped". Lunch at El Chapalla's in Southern Pines brings us back to life & we head home. *** 27 Tues - Star bred to Iggy. *** Star & I go for walk. *** 29 Thurs - Star bred to Iggy. *** 30 Fri - Star bred to Iggy. *** Gail picks me up at work (Larry has car) and we hook up horse trailer and go pick up Pete from Kim T for training w/ Gail. *** 31 Sat - At 8, I'm in the saddle headed towards Gail's house. Pretty Girl is insistant on not walking, along w/ lots of screaming for pasture mates. In minutes, she's worked up and drenched but she's responding. Meet up w/ Gail on Loverboy. We start on a road around the field on McLean & Ernest Brown Rd & get stopped. Billy Ray Brown invites us to ride, anytime, around their property. He said it's about 13 miles of trails. We continue & wind up at the Triangle store on Peach Farm & Hwy 27. Then go to Gail's where she washes and swaps Loverboy for Jazzy & I wash/cool down Pretty Girl before remounting. She rides Jazzy down to the intersection of Ernest Brown and Tim Curry. I continue home - having spent almost 4 hours riding. A bath for PG, a shower for me & I'm ready to head to CNL Anderson's home for the Pig Pickin' & JROTC awards. I get my hat!! *** Still no word on "Monster". ***
2008 June - 1 Sun - Nicole, Madira & I arrive at 9:30 for CFTR Horse Show & get right to work. Both Madira and Nicole work with the concessions & I hit the show office. *** I did see AJ's son - Grasshopper. He's being ridden by Tyler Hornbeck for Willow Chase (Kim Krivit's daughter). He was done up nicely in proper braids & presented in hunt seat. So exciting to see another of AJ's offspring out doing things! At 12:30, I leave the girls & go home to meet w/ Darryl who is bringing the girls' home. *** Darryl arrives & I worm and get a halter on "Ellon" in the trailer. After unloading, Chaunter gets wormed. *** After Darryl leaves, I take pictures of the two, watch to make sure they are settled and then head back to show grounds. *** When the girls and I leave CFTR grounds, we go to check out Kim Young's new baby, Illi. *** Arriving home, I eat first, then it's out to catch Chaunter & Ellon. That becomes a workout as Chaunter doesn't want to be caught. 20 minutes later, she gets a bath w/ Ellon also getting her 1st bath (while loose). Then saddle Chaunter & Ellon is upset because momma looks different. We ride a while - 1st having Ellon follow us then turning and following her. After our ride, Sierra comes to check her out and we get our hands on her. Once we're holding her, she's great to work with - even dealing with the Fly spray. ***
*** During the week, Ellon gets worked with several times while Chaunter is ridden. *** 6 Fri - Skye and Matt both graduate from Western Harnett High School.***
*** 7 Sat - Gail & I actually SHOP - going to Fayetteville - Southern Gin & Grain, Family Farm Store & Bronze Fox. Then to Coats, to "our" Double L. Fly masks purchased for Rhythem, AJ, Ellon, Star, Iggy & Jazzy. *** 8 Sun - Gail, Niccole, Madira & I meet up with Cape Fear Trail Riders - Roy Carter, Herbert & friend at Raven Rock. Sorry, no pics. *** Ellon does OK - takes a spill after settting back and rolls into stream, but gets up and crosses water on her own. Barks up her legs a bit later when refuses to step over a log and Chaunter pulls her across. She leads now. *** After our ride, we flyspray everyone heavily and then stop at MiCasita's for lunch in Lillington. We are back at home by 12:30. *** 9 Mon - Volunteer w/ WH JROTC getting group ready to go to Summer Camp at Oak Ridge Academy. *** Pick up Madira & attend Danny Stone's funeral. *** 11 Wed - Sierra & WH JROTC leave for Summer Camp. *** Horses haven't seen me much as I've pulled something in my arm & w/ heat wave & 3 visits to Chiropractor I'm more dead than alive. Skye has kept up basic chores this week. *** 14 Sat - AJ & I are picked up by Rob to go to Brownie Party. AJ works for about 2 hours being petted and doing "pony rides". *** Gail, Niccole, Madira and I check out pools in Lillington. We'll stick with going to Ft. Bragg. *** Gail & I continue up to Siler City Critters Tack to check out equipment & some good looking QH. We both bring home built up & cut back pads & other equipment. *** A stop is made at Blue Sky Equestrian shop and I find another Cashell mask - for Chaunter & a SuperMask that should fit Star. *** 15 Sun - Sierra returns from JROTC Camp with fun stories to tell. *** 16 Mon - I ride Chaunter w/ Ellon & then 'Dira takes video which is now up on Elon's photo album. *** Gail & Niccole ride over on Lover Boy and Pete. They return home via truck & trailer. ***21 Sat - Gail and I go to Blaine McLaughlin's clinic in Four Oaks from 9 - 1. *** Then go to Fuquay to go to Tractor Supply Co. *** 22 Sun - Gail w/ Lover Boy, Kim Timbs w/ Pete, Paula w/ Prettty Girl & Sierra w/ Star haul to Twin Oaks Trail Rides. We ride for about 1 1/2 hours. Kim is getting a feel for the riding/fitting that's been done by Gail with Pete. *** 25 - Wed - Off from work and working on "the place". Shem weed eats the ditch and around the outside of the 3 "board" paddock along road. He also finsihes putting in the posts for the stocks. *** Sierra, Skye and Paula are alternating mowing and picking up downed "timber". Madira is working inside the house. *** Late afternoon, we head down to Kathy Oxford's with Niccole to visit with Karen and check on Stuffy and get to swim. *** 26 Thur - Off - and finishing up with cleanup. Skye replaces boards on the fence. The weed eating and mowing are finished up, old washer is sold to shop, new washer repaired, trash to the dump, the door on shop is repaired. *** I ride Pretty Girl towards Gail's house. We are still having problems with that WALK. *** 27 Fri - After work, Paula rides Chaunter w/ Ellon. *** 28 Sat - Gail picks Sierra & Paula up w/ Chaunter & Ellon. With Gail on Pete, Sierra on Lover Boy, Paula on Chaunter ponying Ellon - we ride out to B & B to ride past the lake on Ernest Brown RD. Ellon is ponying great - still using a "butt rope" along w/ the "harness". Ellon is turned loose later - to run w/ Chaunter. Get a really nice gallop before coming out on tobacco fields closer to Gail's house. Ellon is caught and led w/ only the lead rope on the way home. *** 29 Sun - Gail picks Paula & Pretty Girl up and we again leave from her property to ride on the B & B. This time - Sierra is on Lover Boy, Gail riding Jazzy & Paula on Pretty Girl. We turn in from around the tobacco fields. Working on Pretty Girl's WALK - getting there, but when seperated from the other two - still a "screaming demon". Ended up backing her into the pond - but we went in belly deep, go girl! *** 30 Mon - I bathe and clean up Ellona for pictures. *** Darryl out to do Chaunter, Pretty Girl, Rhythm and Star's hooves. *** He's quite happy with "Ellona". ***
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