3 Day-tona 500

Another reason I never watch sports-I'm a bad luck charm. When I watch the Super Bowl, the team I root for loses. So my friend asked if I wanted to come over and watch the Daytona 500, and I thought, "This might be a sport I'd actually enjoy watching." There was even a girl racing and she became my favorite instantly. Well, my bad luck didn't end at the Super Bowl.

Sunday, when I got to his house, we watched ESPN analysts talk about the drivers for FOUR hours while we waited through a rain delay. The race was postponed until Monday. First at noon, then postponed again until 7.

Finally, my first NASCAR race went like this:

"Go, Danica, go!!" (She's the only green car.)

That was lap 2.

"Well, the only other driver I know of is Jeff Gordon."

Yep. That's him in smoke.

And to top it all off:

One driver lost control and smashed into that poor service truck. They were both ok, thankfully. But that added another two hour delay for clean up. And apparently has never happened before.

All in all, after the race finally ended at 1am Tuesday, I was pretty happy with my first. This might be the beginning of something new for me. And hopefully the end of my bad luck.

Did anyone else watch the Daytona 500?

Rest In Peace

There are times when I join my community. I wish it was always just for the Relay for Life campaign or similar events, but more often than we'd all like, it's for the tragedy of a death.

Over this past weekend, the vice-principal of our high school was involved in a large car-pile up, due to highly snowy conditions. Both he and his wife were two of the three deaths. The news spread through the town quickly as everybody tried not to believe it.

He was a well respected man in the school and good at his job. He cared about the students and worked with the parents. My little brother was close to him and feels the loss greatly.

My thoughts go out to the family they left behind, as well as all of the students and faculty in the school district.

'He worked as both an English teacher and as a coordinator for the gifted program before moving into various administrative roles at both the senior high school and middle school. "Bob was a valued colleague for all of us," Shaneyfelt said. "He was highly respected. and certainly served the district with integrity and with dedication for all of the years that he was there. We're going to miss him desperately."' -Shelley Shaneyfelt, director of instructional services and public relations.

Horses In Need

My mom volunteered her and I to help with a group of rescue Arabian horses at the fairgrounds today. It was an opportunity I'm glad I took part in. There were nearly 50 horses left on a farm and the owner asked Arabian Rescue Mission to help them out.

At the fairgrounds, the horses were herded off the trailer in a group and we had to guide and encourage scared, unsocialized horses into stalls they've never been inside. The process could've been dangerous, but fortunately all the volunteers were experienced horsewomen and men.

After they were all safely in their stalls, we were allowed to observe each individual horse on their temperament, stress level, and health conditions.

Here are just a few of the horses rescued with my mom. 

This young mare was nervous, but curious. 

She's my favorite. She's a quiet, sweet mare. 

This little guy was just weaned from his mother not too long ago.

None of the horses were in dire condition, a few cuts here and there and all had a skin condition called rain rot. A well respected vet from our area is checking and treating them all on Monday. Most were curious and just unsocialized. 

If my mom finds one she really likes, we might end up with a new horse. We could use a new lesson pony on the farm, and with love, work, and training, any of these Arabs would make great lesson horses. 

The adoption is Tuesday, February 28th if anyone is interested in adopting. 

Partners in Crime

My family, on my mom's side, consists of ten grandchildren including my brothers and me. So family get-togethers are always a chaotic mess of fun. My little brother and my cousin Jason, are only a year apart in age and neither of them can sit still very long.

When the families congregate at my grandparent's farm, the kids usually get told to "go outside and play." The results are things like, lawn tractor racing, playing on large machinery, or climbing rafters.

Time Capsule

Have you ever made a time capsule and buried it?

When I was about fourteen, my friend moved away to another state. After she moved, my other friend Meredith and I took some stuff that reminded the two of us of our other friend.  We put it in a box, then in a bag, and buried it under the Cancer Tree in the stable's driveway.

I haven't had the courage to dig it up yet. Even though most of my friends from the stable have moved on with their lives, I still want to give the time capsule more years underground. Someday the Cancer Tree will die, or construction will unearth the capsule and we'll look at it then. But for now, I'll just leave it be.

The time capsule is buried underneath the right hay bale. 

If you have any time capsule stories, from high school, or childhood, I'd love to hear them!

Ten Points for the Jogger, Twenty for the Biker

I'm an occasional runner. When it's sunny and not too hot or cold out. And when I have time to hit the gym at school. But I do thoroughly enjoy running, which is why I can't really yell at the people who run around my streets day and night.

But then, when I run outside, I try not to run down the roads that really should be one-way, or have blind turns, or are thought to be the town's speedway. So why do the residents of my town feel the need to jog on said roads?

It's not just joggers though. There are professional bikers, and even the lunatic moms, and yuppiegawkers, who think taking their child for a stroll through the twisted, windy, backwood roads is a brilliant idea.

Come on, people. They make sidewalks, and treadmills for a reason. You're really no match for my car, it's just illegal to run you over.

Puppy Birthday

Now I know you guys probably don't care much, but my dog is 8 years old today. I realize I sound like a crazy old lady, but he's my baby. I used to work for my neighbor and dachshund breeder, so I've raised my dog, Pudgy, from day one, literally. He seems so old now! He went from this:

To this:

Overnight.

He's the biggest baby in the world. He follows me EVERYWHERE, sleeps under the covers, and bites my brother if he's teasing me. Pudge also has his signature, 'sit pretty' trick that gets everyone.

I couldn't ask for a better best friend, than my furry little man. Seriously, if you're thinking about a new pet, look at the (long haired) dachshunds, they're amazing. Happy birthday, Pudge!

No Barn Sense

I've mentioned my cat, Fire before. I've also mentioned he has zero barn skills. I found this video of him from when he was a kitten, just a few month ago (sad face).

This video proves he's had not one barn cat bone in his body, from the beginning.

Equestrian Humor

Just for laughs.

Yuppiegawker

Yuppiegawkers; (noun)

 A Yuppiegawker is a person or group of people who drive past our pastures or arena and pull over to stare at and drool over our horses. They often let their spawn roll down the windows or climb around our fences for better views. They usually drive  minivans or some type of SUV. Yuppiegawkers are most commonly harmless, but ocassionally need to be warned not to stick their fingers inside the horses' mouths.

(Picture found online)

Community Day Fun

With the new park behind my house came new headaches. Our favorite is the town's Community Day. Since the Park is in Town-Timbuktu, they have to post arrow signs for people to find it, which happens to be at the intersection of my house and my stable. Oh what fun.

For four years, my friends and I tormented the Park's signs. If they were dumb enough to put up arrows that moved, we were smart enough to move them. We caused all kinds of traffic jams, and sat back snickering in the front lawn.

Well, finally the town got creative and painted blue signs on the road at every intersection, pointing which way to go to get to the Park. Thus, putting an end to our mischievous pranks. Or so they thought. If different colored signs painted the opposite directions on the road show up Community Day morning this year, I can't tell you who did it.

Maggie

My brother's black lab mix is not the brightest dog we've had. In fact, she's just plain dumb. But she, like many of the girls in my town, makes up for her low IQ with a cute face.

(Please sir, may I have some more?)

I tried to teach her to roll over last night, but she couldn't focus on the cookie AND the movement at the same time. At least when we adopted her, she was previously taught a few things. My favorite is when she holds her leash in her mouth. Since my little dog pulls on his lead during walks, it's nice taking Maggie out. Plus, I bought her a snazzy new collar and leash.

In case you can't see it, she has a pink John Deere lead/collar. She may not be able to learn new tricks, but she's good for playing fetch and going for walks. As dumb as she is, she's our country dog, through and through. 

Dog-gone Deer (Antlers)

My dogs love bones. I'm sure if you have dogs, yours love bones also. But those suckers get so damn expensive at the store, and if your dogs are like mine, they're gone within days. And I'm talking the good hard kind, not even the rawhides.

So with the lack of bones currently lying around my house, my dog improvised. He somehow, for a 20 pound wiener dog, stole my brother's trophy deer antler and was happily gnawing away. Fortunately this particular one wasn't anything amazing, so there were no tears.

I've since then found them at Tractor Supply specifically for dogs. If you're interested check out the all-natural antler chews here.

Parental Date Night

Date Night for most parents means a night without kids at a fancy or at least nice restaurant. Not for my parents though. Their version of a date is going to an auction, or, like last night, an Angus Beef meeting.

How romantic.

I can't tell you how many times I've been swept off my feet by discussions of cattle genetics. But hey, they enjoy a night off the farm together once in a while.

A Word from the Wise

A long day's work deserves a little nap.

Touch the Wire

Whether by a dare, or by accident, I can almost guarantee every farm kid has touched the electric fence wire. It's inevitable. 

 

Sometimes it's the casual lean and, "Ow! Crap! I didn't know it was there!" But more often it's the, "Dude, I'll give you five bucks if you touch it. Full hand, not just a finger like a wimp."

 

Either way, we've all touched the wire, and that shock HURTS. 

Girls Love Shoes

Rumor has it that all girls love shoes. So why should country girls be any different?

The craze right now is boots. Furry, fuzzy, warm and fluffy, boots. Although, I'd rather spend my money on Ariats over UGGs. (For anyone not familiar with Ariats, they are a very popular brand of riding/paddock boots.)

                        Ariat                                        UGG

 

                   (Both cost the exact same price)

Ariat boots, once broken in, are comfortable and tough. Even after mud, muck, and snow, my paddock boots are still intact. I've seen girls hesitate to wear their UGG boots on snowy days, because the sidewalk salt will ruin them. Silly me, I thought boots were supposed to get a little dirty.

If anyone's interested in Ariat boots, you can check out their website here.

Moonlight

One thing I've always loved about living away from the city was being able to see the stars on a clear night. Now, I know that's sappy, and it's not even like I can see the Milky Way or anyting, but nonetheless, I still appreciate it.

The other night I walked out to my mailbox to get the mail, (our mail doesn't come at 11pm, we just forgot to get it earlier) and it was surprisingly bright. Due to the near-full moon, I was able to amuse myself by reading the mail on the short walk back to the house.

No street-lights or house lights. Just moonlight.

(It's a small picture, taken from my phone.)

This isn't the first time I've been surprised by just how bright the moon is. We used to play outside on full moon nights (many moons ago...ha-ha). It's the weird little things no one really thinks about that make me appreciate my lifestyle.

Forgotten Lifestyle

Driving around my town you'd first notice all of the big huge houses.

 (This puppy has two pools, a jaccuzzi, and a tennis court.)

And big huge cars.

But, if you look closer, you'd realize there are tons of old barns littered about, forgotten and decaying. These structures are some of my favorite things to drive past daily. They're beautiful, simple reminders of what this town was built over.

Baby Bike

My brother used to ride his dirtbike competitively, but after he wrecked hard on his birthday (and trashed the expensive, four-hour-old helmet I bought him) he decided to ride just for fun. He bought me a tiny bright green bike with a matching helmet so I could ride with him. I absolutely love my bike, and it's been nicknamed "Baby Bike."

Cute huh?

The first time I wrecked my dirtbike my brother ran over to me all concerned and asked if I was okay. I stood and shouted "Awesome!" We compared crash wounds and scars. Everyone makes fun of my bike but I love it.

Battle scar!

Do you have any unique hobby scars? I'd like to hear that story!