What a Great Time We Had...

The weekend was great! Friday evening was very peaceful and relaxing. I needed that after the week I had at work :) We did absolutely nothing - ahhhhhhh how nice. I did make dinner but it was quick and easy. Afterwards we just sat in our respective chairs and watched tv until time to go to bed. I can't tell you the last time we did that. Do you remember the last time you did that? Please share :)

We had smothered red okra (from the CSA basket) with onions, green peppers and tomatoes, field peas with snaps and thinly sliced pork chops seasoned with adobo and black pepper then just lightly pan fried. It probably took 30 minutes from start to finish.

While everything was cooking I filled the bird feeders once again. I've been told that they should have already left to fly south for the winter but since they keep hanging around, I feel like they still want to be fed. They are really getting fat now though. It used to be they would hover and drink from the feeders. Now, if there is a perch on the feeder or anything nearby they can perch on, they do. Their bellies are so full looking it's as if they might topple any minute. Somehow they manage to remain upright.

The roosters have started hanging out closer to the cabin but still not right up along the porches. The dogs could care less. Oh, by the way, now that they are coming closer, it appears we have all roosters. There is possibly one chicken but we haven't been able to get close enough yet to tell for sure. Over the weekend, we somehow ended up with 7 instead of 6. We don't know where he came from but he hasn't been 100% accepted by the others as of yet. As he is usually wandering all by himself, we call him The Lone Ranger. He's the only one we've named :)

One of them is apparently too young to have completely developed his cock-a-doodle-doo and sounds more like a teenage boy going through puberty. It's pretty funny sounding! I continue to throw scratch out for them in the hope that they'll venture closer to the cabin but that will come in time. For now, they spend most of their morning in the front yard over by Dizzy's apartment. When it starts getting warmer, they move off into the shade on the other side of her apartment. When late afternoon starts closing in, they move about freely. I saw them walking through the outdoor kitchen yesterday and was surprised to see them that close up. That's when we figured them to be mostly roosters.

Just before it starts to get dark is fast becoming one of my favorite times of the day. This is when they "get their rooster walk on" (as opposed to getting their drink on) like only roosters can do.  They all end up over behind the cabin in a stand of trees where they roost every night... and then the noise begins. "Cock-a-doodle-doooooo!" "cock-a-doodle-dooooo!" over and over until, by whatever means they decide, it immediately becomes quiet as a church on Monday morning. They flutter their wings and up into the tree they go. One last cock-a-doodle-doo and everyone settles in for the night. They go to bed before I do and that's pretty darn hard to beat!

After everyone is settled in, then the dogs decide they want to go catch roosters. Ha! They know they don't stand a chance catching them while they're in that tree but that's probably why they wait until this time. In any event, they get under that tree and start barking their heads off. They're so excited they turn circles and bark and act like they really did tree them there roosters all by themselves. lol!! Maybe it's just me or maybe you have to see it in person but it cracks me up every time!

They might beat me to bed at night but I'm awake way before they are in the mornings. Everything is very quiet when I get up and come downstairs. I even have time to get my shower and get dressed before they know I'm about. Once I start making my lunch though, it's not long before the light from the kitchen awakens them and off they go to crowing. Wally said that they quiet down again after I leave and he turns off the light. Lazy roosters! They go back to sleep!

Saturday we went horseback riding. As you can see from the pictures, the horses, while very beautiful, were none too happy with us for saddling them. Wally showed me how to put the saddle on Smokey and then showed me again with Rebel. I'm not a fast learner. We had to let them stand there for a little while so we could tighten the girth (new word for me!) around their bellies. They puff up when you first saddle them and then let it out after a while. At that point you have to tighten it back up or risk the saddle being too loose to stay in it.

As you can see by the distance from where their lead ropes are tied to the hitchin post to where it clips under their chins, we have to keep them pretty tight. Smokey will untie his rope and take off. Rebel is a very well behaved horse but even he would bolt if given the opportunity at this point. So after about 5 minutes, we went back over to them and mounted up. I almost made it all the way up all by myself! I had to have Wally give me that extra little push to get my fat butt over the top. But once up there boy it sure did feel good. Smokey's not one to linger so Wally handed me my reins, unclasped Smokey and away we went.

This being his first ride in over a year you can imagine his excitement (ha ha - that's a joke) at having me on his back. It's been a while for me too so it took us a little getting used to each other before we fell into a rhythm. We were headed down the driveway by Dizzy's apt. in no time and Wally, on Rebel, was quickly closing in on us.

I had some re-learning to do since it's been so long. I had to remember to hold the reins tight and keep my legs straight in order for Smokey to know to get in his natural gait. They're both TN Walking Horses and Rebel will naturally fall into his gait. Smokey can but won't typically unless you want him too. It makes for the smoothest ride you've ever been on. There's no bouncing or hard hitting in the saddle, just a slight wiggle of your backside and you know your in it. Of course it's that same backside that tells you later on just how long you were in that saddle!

We rode down through the holler to the barn where Darryl was and hung out there for a while. It was so pretty riding down through there on the horses. It smells so fresh and outdoorsy and with the trees towering overhead, the temperature was nice and cool. The guys did some mechanic-ing while I rode Smokey down the road to where the pasture is. He didn't much like being away from Rebel so we headed back up to the barn. Before we even got near him, we could hear Rebel whinnying for Smokey to come back. They've been together for so long I guess they get worried when they aren't.

After a while we got back on them and rode up to the cabin. I like when we ride up a slight incline because I get to let Smokey take over and use whatever speed he needs to get to the top. It's so exhilarating on the back of a horse! Indeed, they always go faster than I ever expect :)

We gave them some water and we all took a break and hung out for an hour or so before getting back on them. This time we went up through the new trails by the gate and Wally hung the "Hunting By Permission Only" signs. Rebel was pretty well behaved but Smokey didn't want anything to do with it. He went but he wasn't happy. A couple times I had to walk him up the path a little ways and then turn him back around so he could see that Rebel was coming along.

We started back down the holler when I saw that something was bad wrong with Rebel. He was bending his head down and biting at his legs, belly, everywhere he could. Before I knew what was happening Smokey started getting wild too. He climbed straight up the embankment (I didn't even know he could!) and was snorting and biting at his legs too. In a split second, Wally told me we were in a bunch of bees and in that same second, Smokey turned on a dime, just missing a big tree, and was running full speed right back out of there onto the driveway and up towards the cabin. Oh my goodness what a ride! Smokey and I both still had bees on us and with Wally behind me he could see where they were and swat them away from me while I swatted them away from Smokey. Bees really do follow you if you get into them!

Gosh, I needed a break. I was breathing heavy and feeling a little anxious. I was also very thankful that Smokey's instincts kicked in when they did or I would have been covered in stings. As it was, I ended up with about 10 of them. He got me out of there so quickly I really didn't have time to think about it until we got home. We got off the horses and petted them to calm them down and then I had to come out of my shirt and rinse off. I think my adrenaline kept the stings from hurting me because I didn't feel them at first. Then, after about 15 minutes, the pain started. I held a cold rag to my skin so the throbbing would quit and then Wally sprayed me with some anti-itch spray. That felt so good. I was still kind of hyped up so we just chilled on the front porch going back over what had happened.

For all his stubbornness and mostly not wanting to come to me, that horse was a life saver. He performed perfectly and I can't brag on him enough for doing what came natural to him. I just happened to be on his back when he needed to do it. I petted him and thanked him and petted him some more. We had to ride them again so their last memory wouldn't be of getting in a bee swarm so again I got back on him. He was very calm and collected this time and we all headed down the front yard and through the gate to more new trails.

We rode them down to the spring where they enjoyed a cold drink of fresh spring water and Wally and I enjoyed the breeze and beauty of the scene around us. If I don't take you anywhere else on the farm, I have to take you to the spring on the back of a horse. Like the very best president of the United States of America once said "The best thing for the inside of a man is the backside of a horse." He couldn't have been more right and I was really feeling it at that moment.

We decided to take the trail up through the woods that leads to the side of the cabin where my garden is. Since the horses live down here most of the time, they already know this path even if their eyes were closed. With Rebel leading the way, up we went. We found that they have a very different path than the one we would have taken (lol) and it was pretty cool to just let them go and make their way to the top. They don't need much room that's for sure. Many a time I thought I was going to be unsaddled by a branch or a tree trunk but I held on and they kept going. Before long I could tell where I was... ha ha ha everyone else knew but me :)

We hitched them back to the post and started taking off their saddles. I'm not strong enough for most of the undoing but Wally helped me and showed me what to do. We brushed them down and gave them some carrots and then walked them over to the gate to let them go. We took off their lead ropes and thought they would make their way down the hill but they stayed there, just inside the gate, eating the tall, sweet, grass all around them. We poured out some sweet feed and then left them to their own devices.

We showered!!! My goodness you can get dirty on horseback. I'm not sure how it happens, since you're up that high and so far away from the ground and all things dirty but we were both pretty darn filthy. The shower felt wonderful on my stings and who knew I had so many leaves and stems in my hair. It was even in a ponytail and I still had stuff in it. lol! Probably looked like a scarecrow.

It was a day to remember for me and my rear end is still reminding today of just how much I enjoyed myself :) That night we had chili for supper. I probably drank a gallon of water with it. Not just because it was spicy, which it was and has to be, but also because I was craving it, I was so thirsty. We watched a little tv and then headed upstairs to bed. Talk about stiff, oh yeah, that was me.... I got in the covers, got my pillow situated and I don't think I moved the rest of the night...ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

Sunday was as relaxing as Saturday was invigorating. I did my laundry, made the quince preserves, finished my fall decorating and watched racing and football all day. I brought the quinces into the living room with me so I could watch the race and peel them at the same time. It took a while but they had softened up quite a bit so it wasn't as bad as my first attempt. I got them cored and into the pot of sugar water and let them boil for about an hour and a half. The recipe called for an hour but they weren't completely cooked down at that time so I let them keep going. I poured them into the jars, set the lids and seals and waited for the "pop" to come. It took probably 10-15 minutes before the first pop and then they were all popping like crazy! I get so excited when that happens and Wally just laughs at me.

I have 11 jars of them. I hope someone likes quince preserves because Wally can only have just a little bit at a time due to the sugar. They aren't really sweet, in fact, I should have probably used more sugar. Rather they are kind of tart - not a bad tart - but tart like a green apple. I might try to figure out a way to bring some when I come down this week. We'll see. If it's too much trouble I'll just wait until someone else comes up. The jars will keep :)

The race was pretty decent although I would have liked to see Tony win for mama Joyce and Wally. Kurt Bush (sorry Kris) needs to be fined, suspended or at the very least warned about his intentional bumping that is really starting to cost the other drivers some serious time, money and points possibilities. That's all I'll say about that.

The games were all quite surprising with the exception of the Manning Bowl II. Most surprising of all to me was the Dallas loss. Not that I'm a big fan but c'mon...? Tonight the Saints and 49ers go at it and I'm looking forward to hearing Hank Jr. belt out "Are You Ready For Some Football? A Monday Night Party...!!" Too bad for my QB, better luck next week Brett. Too bad for AZ too - who would have guessed they'd get spanked like that by the Falcons? Onto next week...

For Sunday night supper we had ribeyes, corn (not on the cob) and pea salad. Not too filling, not too light, all in all, it was just right.  :) ha ha I'm a poet and didn't know it... get it?  lol  Enjoy!

"In my opinion, a horse is the animal to have.  Eleven-hundred pounds of raw muscle, power, grace, and sweat between your legs - it's something you just can't get from a pet hamster. " ~Author Unknown