Tour de Conway

July has always been known for speed. It's been two weeks since I have made a blog post and I can honestly say it feels like I just made my last post a few days ago. How time flies! Maybe one day, after I have invented my Time Slower Downer, I will blog more often.

A lot has been happening! Last weekend Brandon and I went to Boston to visit  friends. My brumby was not invited. She got to stay home and have her nails done. With an alpaca looking on.

On a hot day, who isn't happy to be in the barn, in front of a fan with no bugs and lots of attention? It has been buggy and muggy around here lately. Sometimes even with bug spray, the flies still buzz around us on the trail. Now that's obnoxious!

Most people (aside from Bill maybe) aren't always snapping photos like I am. Perhaps that is why this swimming suit (spotted in Vanity Fair) appeals to me. I would wear it! Maybe on a hot day I would even wear it in the saddle.

If the weather is decent and I don't have anything else going on, I have been trying to get to see Lilly mid-week. I don't even plan to tack her up. I take her down in the round pen and get her walking, trotting and cantering upon command, just like Julie Goodnight. Maybe using the phrase "just like" is an exaggeration. First my brumby ignores me and nibbles the clover along the rail. And then she throws a double barrelled kick in my direction when I ask her to trot. Is that before or after she pins her ears to her head? I can't remember.

Here's the problem: It's late and she wants to eat. And horses are like toddlers who like to test boundaries. And I'm probably not as good as Julie Goodnight either (probably, heh heh, that's a good one). And Lilly has never liked the ring. Here's the bottom line: Ringwork  is something we both need to get better at.

What to do when ringwork gets you down? Head out on the trail! This Saturday was extra nice because Jackie K showed up! I have not ridden with Jackie K in forever! Wait, where did she go?

There she is!

I was on Lilly, Jackie was on Pokey, and there is Bill on Ruby, tinkering with his GoPro.


Trail rides do not get any better. Even though there were a few aggressive flies (grrrr), the trail was so beautiful and the horses were kind and mellow. Even Pokey was super sweet, and sometimes he can be a handful!

Pictures in the winter pasture always look so nice.

In the middle of January I will look at these pictures and give a little sigh. This is July at its best!

After passing through the winter pasture, Jackie and I carried on to Trollwood, but Bill turned left onto the road and headed back to the BP to drop Ruby off there.

To see Bill's GoPro record of his trail ride both with Jackie & me and after, Just Click here! He's labeled in August 26, but it truly is  from yesterday.

Jackie and I traveled through Trollwood, down the nave of the "Chapel,"  through the In-Between, across Carrot Bridge, and then back toward the barn via the Upper and Lower Trails. One day, when I finish my map, all of these trail names will make perfect sense!

The great thing about a weekend is that when Saturday is history, Sunday still remains! Today I was back on the trail again. It was like the Tour de Conway! No other riders this time though. Just me and Lilly. Our own break away! This colorful Amanita caesarea caught my eye immediately on Sunset Trail. I had to get out of the saddle and snap it's photo.

Here's a grown up version of the same. Don't you love it's little skirt?

We also discovered these remains! Actually, to be completely honest, I would have to say that my brumby could not have cared one bit about these discoveries. I do know that she loves my frequent  stops to take pictures though, because it means she can snack on all of her favorite leaves.

These are from a pignut hickory tree.

A  nosy somebody thought they were little green apples and tried to gobble them up.

After feeling very sure we heard a bear crashing around in the woods to the right of us, we popped out of Trollwood and into the Blueberry pasture where Bill is working on harvesting some hay. I thought maybe we would run into him out there but he must have called it a day by then. Lilly sees this field the exact same way I would see a giant dish of ice cream. DELICIOUS!!!

I love how someone in the Road Department thought that just in case you couldn't read the sign on the left, they set up the exact same sign on the right.

One final discovery out on the trail!

 Look what Mother Nature provided for entertainment on my way home!


Good grief, the next time I post it will be August. Open letter to July: Stay a while! Don't hurry off!