pole bending

My horse with a mane made of short rainbows.
My horse with ears of round corn
My horse with eyes made of big stars.
My horse with teeth made of white shell.
The long rainbow is in his mouth for a bridle
And with it I guide him...

Traditional Navajo song

princess number one

My biggest girl is now officially away at college. She attends California State University at Los Angeles. Of course she is playing soccer. She got a scholarship!

She recently broke up with her boyfriend, but when we went to Disneyland she got a new one right away.



She is pretty and funny and smart. I got to see her play when her team traveled to San Francisco a few weekends ago. She plays forward but since she's a sophomore she waits for her turn a lot.



We bonded in Disneyland. She only lives 25 minutes from the resort, and we had the best time. I drove her home around 1:30 a.m. (no traffic!) and got to see her place. Six girls in a tiny three bedroom? Two blocks from school? Sounds like college heaven to me. She seems very happy with her life now, and I am glad.



I miss her, but I know she is learning to take good care of herself. And she has her team. She makes me feel proud... and a little jealous. Remember how twenty felt?

nice dad eats meat

For about six months, my vegetarian cowboy husband, Nice Dad, has been requesting "more protein". Beans, tofu, cheese, and all manner of combinations have been cooked and eaten and frankly we were exhausting the possibilities. So when the CGA State Show BBQ happened, imagined my surprise when Nice Dad ate tri - tip.

This was quite an amazing thing. Here was this guy, vegetarian for twenty years, and he eats tri - tip! Well, why not? It was grass fed, local, and totally delicious.

Since then, I've been reeling with excitement at expanding our menus exponentially. I picked up some organic ground beef and made chili. He ate three bowls. Last weekend I made pot roast - and he gobbled it up while making mmmmmmmm sounds and smacking his lips.

Grass fed beef is not cheap; the pot roast alone cost me $23. But being able to cook something besides endless vegetables?

Priceless.

summit riders

Last month we showed up at the Summit Riders Playday. Horsey Girl had a hankering to be Rodeo Queen at our local show and since Nice Dad had other plans she rode Sparky to a brilliant first place in the barrel race. Fat Boy and I came in 2nd of course.




It was a dusty day, and a pleasant haze settled across the sunny arena all day. Here Miss Nelly seems like an angel horse and Little P. looks so big and confident.



She didn't fair as well with the egg and spoon race, but made a good effort. I turned down the fun runs and just stuck with barrels and poles which we won handily. We are definitely improving in pole turning.



I love my red white and blue gear, but I have a new saddle now and have been riding with an old brown fleece coolback pad and brown nylon reins. I also have a new sparkly blue breast collar to match the headstall above. I like the blue and brown together and I want to make a new Western shirt to match!


Sometimes it's nice to be able to enjoy your horses and your friends right in your backyard. It was a pretty and relaxing day on the mountain.