“Ho-Ho-Ho – Meeeerry Christmas and to all a Happy New Year!”

WOW! Was fuer ein Jahr…….es ging im Eiltempo von Hoch’s zu Tief’s. 2009 war fuer unsere Familie, Gruninger und Hartner auch ein sehr emotionales Jahr. Doch versuchen wir doch das ganze Jahr der Reihe nach durch zu gehen. Weihnachten 2008 feierten wir mit Mami und Papi Hartner. Wir erlebten ein paar sehr schoene und ruhige Tage mit ihnen, bevor dann so richtig der Besucher Sturm losging. Ein Grund wieso wir hier in Florida sind ist natuerlich das Wetter. So genossen wir strahlenden Sonnenschein und 25 Grad zwischen Weihnachten und Neujahr. Kein Wunder also, dass der erste Besuch aus Canada kam. Dort gab es neben sehr kalten Temperaturen auch tonnenweise Schnee……Ursula und Ignaz, Patrick’s Arbeitgeber waehrend seinem Aufenthalt in Canada ueberraschten uns mit einem Besuch. Mit ihrem riesigen Motorhome samt 4 Hunden und einer Katze, fuhren am 26. Dezember bei uns ein. Sie genossen das schoene Wetter und wir erlebten eine tolle Zeit mit ihnen. Sie unterstuetzten uns auch sehr in Haus und Stall. Dass so manche “alte” Geschichte wieder aufgefrischt wurde versteht sich von selbst. Es gefiehl ihnen so gut, dass sie bis im Februar bei uns blieben. Maerz und April gaben sich dann Besucher wortwoertlich die Klinke in die Hand. Dank dem Guesthouse unserer Nachbarn Bonnie und Rick fanden wir aber immer genuegend Betten fuer alle. Vreni vom Aeugstertal, Franz und Myrtha von Frauenfeld, Sandy’s Goettibub Philipp von Schaffhausen und Patrick’s Schwester mit Ehemann Andreas und ihren Kids Lara und Noemi. Allerdings lernten sie Florida von einer Seite kennen die auch wir noch nie erlebten. Wir hatten eine Frostnacht nach der anderen und auch ziemlich viel Regen. Unsere subtropischen Pflanzen litten gewaltig, ganz zur Freude der hiesigen Gaertnereien. Waehrend wir die vielen Besucher genossen fing waehrend dieser Zeit auch das abfohlen von Stuten an. So wurden auf unserer Farm in dieser Zeit 15 Fohlen geboren und fuer einmal verlief ausser kleinen Bobo’s die wir selber behandeln konnten alles reibungslos. Zwar gab es wieder einige Nachtwachen und grosses Bangen, aber am Ende war es eine sehr erfolgreiche Zeit. Auch die Decksaison verlief sehr gut und bis auf eine einzige Stute konnten wir alle Stuten tragend den verschiedenen Besitzern retournieren. Unsere eigenen zwei Fohlen Vinnie von Jewel und Lutz von Snooker gedeihen praechtig und wir geniessen es ihnen beim spielen auf der Weide zuzusehen. Sie sind mit drei anderen Fohlen auf einer grossen Weide und geniessen die Freiheit bevor dann im Spaetherbst 2010 der Trainingsalltag beginnt. Im Mai und Juni gab es vorallem im Garten um Haus und Stall viel Arbeit. Pflanzen mussten ersetzt werden die den kalten Winter nicht ueberstanden haben, Weiden mussten gegen Unkraut gespritzt werden und auch der Rasenmaeher kam wieder regelmaessig zum Einsatz. Sandy organisierte wieder monatliche Reitwochenenden und auch einen recht anspruchsvollen Trailparcours mit nachvollgendem Grillplausch. Alle Anlaesse waren trotz fortgeschrittener Rezession recht gut besucht. Anfangs Juni stand dann zum siebten mal die Reise nach Montana auf dem Programm. Wie immer reisten unser Papagei “Cory” und unser kleiner Boarder Collie “Skittles” mit uns. Wir stoppten bei Freunden die wir in den vergangenen Jahren kennen gelernt hatten und nach 4 ½ ereignislosen Tagen erreichten wir gesund und munter Townsend, Montana. Sandy’s zweite Heimat. Bis anfangs September erlebte sie einen nasskalten Sommer. Das harte Training zahlte sich aus; so konnten Sandy und unser “Scooter” ein paar tolle Turniererfolge verzeichnen. Trotz erneuter ernsthafter Erkrankung von Mami Gruninger, schaffte es Patrick’s Papi wieder nach Florida zu reisen um mitzuhelfen die Farm in Florida auf “Hochglanz” zu halten. Es war aber auch geplant, dass er dann zusammen mit Patrick nach Montana fliegt, um dann die Rueckfahrt von Montana nach Florida mitzuerleben. Wir genossen es sehr, dass Papi mit uns reiste und die 10-taegige Rueckreise war ein tolles Erlebnis. Die Reise von Townsend, Montana ueber Cody, Wyoming (der Heimatort von Wild Buffalo Bill), Wellington, Colorado, Albuquerque in New Mexico verlief reibungslos. Die Eindruecke des Westens werden wir nicht so schnell vergessen. Weiter fuhren wir quer durch Texas mit Stops in Amarillo und San Antonio, wo wir den Riverwalk und das historische Alamo besuchten. Weiter oestlich stoppten wir auch noch in Alabama, wo wir ein Kriegsschiff und U-Boot Museum besuchten. Nach unserer Ankunft in Anthony genossen wir noch ein paar Tage mit Papi, bevor er dann wieder in die Schweiz zurueck kehrte. Fuer Patrick war es ein kurzer Abschied, denn er reiste Ende September fuer einen Besuch in die Schweiz. Waehrend den ersten zwei Wochen erlebte er eine ziemlich intensive Zeit mit seiner Mutter, die ja seit mehreren Jahren gegen die heimtueckische Krebskrankheit ankaempfte. In dieser Zeit lebte sie auch noch einmal richtig auf und zusammen mit Papi und den Enkeln Lara und Noemi genoss man noch eine Ferienwoche im Schwarzwald. Anschliessend daran erlitt Mami aber einen grossen Rueckschlag und sie musste demzufolge wieder in den Spital, wo eine sofortige Operation nicht umgangen werden konnte. Der unermuedliche Kampf hat Mami zuviel Kraft gekostet und sie konnte sich vom erneuten Rueckschlag nicht mehr erholen. Am 27. Oktober schlief sie im Kreise der Familie friedlich und fuer immer ein. Dank dem unermuedlichen Einsatz von Sandy konnte Patrick seinen Aufenthalt in der Schweiz noch bis Mitte November verlaengern und wertvolle Zeit mit Papi, Bruder Andreas und Schwester Sandra mit ihrer Familie verbringen. Herzlichen Dank gilt auch allen Verwandten und Freunden, die Patrick und der ganzen Familie troestenden Beistand gaben. In dieser Zeit meisterte Sandy nicht nur den ueblichen Alltag auf der Farm, sie schmiss auch die jaehrliche Reitwoche mit Trainer Pat Wyse mit Bravour. Natuerlich merkten wir in der Teilnehmerzahl, dass die Rezession groessere Opfer fordert als in den Medien erwaehnt wird, trotzdem koennen wir auch dieses Jahr mit dem Ergebnis sehr zufrieden sein. Der “Honeymoon” nach Patrick’s Rueckkehr war von sehr kurzer Dauer. Sandy ging bald nach Punta Gorda um ihren Eltern Support zu geben, denn ihr Mami, Dolly, erkrankte an Multiple Myeloma eine Art Blutkrebs. Die ersten Behandlungen verliefen vielversprechend und lassen grosse Hoffnung auf eine baldige Genesung aufkommen. Chemo ist aber auf jeden Fall hart fuer einen Koerper und mit vielen Nebenerscheinungen verbunden. Wir wuenschen Dolly viel Kraft und Mut. Vom 7. bis 11. Dezember reiste Sandy, dieses Jahr alleine, nach Fort Worth in Texas. Dort fand wieder die Cutting Horse Futurity statt und es gelang ihr eine wirklich huebsche Stute von CD Super Dually zu kaufen. Es ist ein dreijaehriges Pferd, das Sandy sicher hilft einige Shows zu gewinnen……. Ja, und jetzt steht bereits der Weihnachtsbaum, schoen geschmueckt in der Stube; das Haus schmeckt von Weihnachtsguetzli und bereits um 17.30 ist es dunkel draussen. Wir freuen uns auf eine schoene Weihnachtszeit zu zweit. Und wenn dann die Uhr zwoelf schlaegt am 31. Dezember werden Millionen von Menschen rund um die Welt sich zu prosten und sich ein gutes Happy New Year wuenschen. Fuer die einen Menschen ist dieser Tag nichts anderes als ein Wechsel des Kalenders, fuer andere simbolisiert es den Beginn einer besseren Zukunft. Unser Weihnachtswunsch fuer Euch, unsere Freunde ist nicht ein einfacher Wunsch. Wir wuenschen Euch Hoffnung, Freude und Frieden. Tage gefuellt mit Waerme und Sonne. Wir wuenschen Euch Freundschaften, wie wir sie erleben duerfen, dass das neue Jahr gefuellt ist mit Lachen und Happiness. Das wuenschen wir Euch und noch viel mehr! Moegen Eure Traeume in Erfuellung gehen und mag Eure Weihnachtszeit gesegnet sein!

“Ho-Ho-Ho – Meeeerry Christmas and to all a Happy New Year!”

Wow!!! What a year it has been… we are still trying to catch our breath cause sometimes things just happened way to quickly for us to catch up! The year has impacted us greatly with lots of emotional experiences. Looking back to the beginning of this wonderful year mixed with joyful events and sorrows, we’d have to start with our busy winter… Christmas of 2008 was spent with Mom and Dad Hartner on our farm. We so truly enjoyed their stay with us and the weather was just marvelous. Once again, it showed us the reason why we moved to Florida in the first place. So we spent the holidays at 80 degrees, clear sky and abundant sunshine! Ursula and Ignaz, friends who reside in Canada, made a surprise visit with their motor home and liked it so much down here (no wonder, they were up to their nose in snow where they came from), that they ended up staying through February. What a welcome change their stay has been and a big help with lots of work to get done around the farm. Their 4 dogs have kept us and our own dogs busy, but they all got along great! February, March and April was really the time of trying to juggle our company. I think that’d be the best way to describe it. Sometimes we had to stack them (ha, ha, ha) having one stay with us and the others stay over at Bonnie and Rick (our neighbors) in their barn apartment. Vreni, Franz and Myrtha, my God-Son Philipp and his parents to just name a few! Wow – the time just flew by, cause once we didn’t have any guests, we tried to catch up on what was getting left behind during our company’s stay. April came around and with that a little bit warmer temperatures – we had a cold, miserable winter, – after we got spoiled up to Christmas, January through March it was testing our tolerance for cold and dampness – long days where it just wouldn’t warm up enough to take the jacket off and nights with long periods of frost, so that our sub-tropical plants have suffered severely. But April promised a bit warmer weather and it went from Winter to Summer in only a few weeks – we welcomed Patrick’s sister Sandy and her family who were staying with us for 3 weeks. It was the first time I’ve seen their kids since they started to walk and talk. So it was GREAT to finally see them again and be able to spend some quality time with them.

Of course foaling season was in full swing and of course we also had our share of mares to foal out and rebreed. Mostly it went uneventful and w/o bigger disasters and we could wrap up the foaling season successful with only one older mare left open…. It’s fun to watch the “kindergarten” in the field playing (all the foals are together out on the pasture) – let’s hope we’ll have another smooth foaling season in the Spring of 2010! May and June is just a blur. The warmer weather finally sunk in and it looked like everything and everybody came out of hibernation…. The yard und its plants survived more than we all anticipated – so lots of work was being done with getting everything cut back and replanted before the Summer and its rainy season began. We started off Summer in May with an with an Obstacle Course Challenge with the horses that was followed by a BBQ.

Beginning of June our yearly trip to Montana was coming up quickly and off we went with a trailer full of horses, our beloved Parrot “Cory” and “my” little Boarder Collie “Skittles”. The trip went uneventful and we got to see several friends we have made during our yearly trips and got to stay over at their places. This was the first year that we have had lots and lots of rain on our trip – I think it rained 3 out of 4 days of travel. YUCK. And that kept up most of the Summer. It has been by far the wettest and coldest Summer I’ve ever spent in Montana. Nonetheless we’ve had loads of fun as always, learned a lot and met a lot of new people, but brrrrrr was it cold and wet. And with the wetness came the muddy terrain and with it its challenges (like going up and down the hill on your feet instead of your butt).I got

to show Scooter quite a bit and had fun in and out of the show pen, training and working him on cattle. We became quite a team and have done well in the few shows we’ve attended. Meanwhile Patrick was busy in Florida keeping the grass growth under control by mowing from sun up to sun down. Summer (can we call it Summer in Montana?) went by just as quickly as the first part of the year and it was hard to believe that we should return to Fall in Florida…. Patrick’s Dad, who has been visiting for the past few years in the Summer while I was in Montana, has extended his stay and flew with Patrick to Montana to wrestle with us the scenic drive home. So of course we tried to make the most out of it and took a different route than the most direct one. We went south through Wyoming and Colorado and then started going East when we were in New Mexico and went all the way through Texas, Louisiana and Alabama before hitting Florida soil. We had a wonderful trip and got to spend some extra time in New Mexico (Albuquerque) and in Texas (San Antonio). We took some extra time in Alabama to visit the Battle Ship Museum that was very interesting and worthwhile the extra time! Once home in Florida, we truly enjoyed the remaining few days with Patrick’s dad, who was going home to Switzerland shortly after our return. For Patrick it was only a short lived “goodbye” as he was heading over the Atlantic himself just a few short weeks after that. He was going home to visit his mom who has fallen ill to cancer a few years back and to see his family and friends. Patrick’s Mom has longed for him to come see her and truly blossomed during his first weeks of the visit. However her health has deteriorated rapidly and has since passed away shortly after being hospitalized again. We are all very grateful that Patrick got to be there with his family during such difficult times and that he got to spend some quality time with all of them. Thank you for y’alls support during those hard times! While Patrick was in Switzerland supporting his family, I tried to wing things over here at the Farm in Anthony. Our yearly Pat Wyse Community Clinic was again scheduled and we soon had the place filled with horses, trailers and excited participants from all over. The clinic was once again a success – thank you all for participating this year and making it another fun-filled event! – Once Patrick was home, we only had a short ‘honeymoon’, before I was heading south to see my parents. Mom is still trying to recover from her chemo-therapy. She has been diagnosed earlier this year with Multiple Myeloma (some type of blood cancer) and has been in intensive treatment since early this Summer. So far her test results look promising, however the treatment naturally has taken its toll on her – and Dad. I just gotten back yesterday, from a weeks visit with them. Now I’m getting ready to go to the NCHA – Futurity Horse Sales in Texas. Sadly enough Patrick won’t be joining me this year in this endeavor, so I will only be gone for a few days to see what the horse market is doing. Then we will get ready for Christmas and for Patrick’s dad who comes to visit for a few weeks..….…. When the clock strikes twelve on December 31st, people all over the world cheer and wish each other a very Happy New Year. For some, this event is no more than a change of a calendar. For others, the New Year symbolizes the beginning of a better tomorrow.

Our Christmas wish for you, our friend

Is not a simple one
For we wish you hope and joy and peace
Days filled with warmth and sun
We wish you love and friendship too
Throughout the coming year
Lots of laughter and happiness
To fill your world with cheer

We wish this all and so much more

May all your dreams come true

May you have a Merry Christmas friend

And a Happy New Year too

please note the difference in attire!!!!

Hard to believe, but it’s already been a week since I got BACK! Wow…. Well we all know that time just races by, so no reason to ponder about it, is there? Anyhow, needless to say that I had a blast. Anymore you need to know? The group was rather small this year – Only Pat, Doreen and myself. But not to worry we got in just as much trouble, from starting with Margaritas early to watching plenty of cutting and of course getting caught up in the frenzy of the horse sales – we did it all LOL. So Pat came home with a BEAUTIFUL own son of Smart Little Lena. The gelding has been show already and Pat told me yesterday, that he rode him already a couple of times and thinks he hit a home run! HA! My pocketbook wasn’t as deep as his, but I managed to pick up a nice 3yo CD Olena mare, that is about 3-6 months away from showing. I rode her yesterday for the first time and me too can report that I hit a home run – whoooo hoooo! She’s very smooth and easy to ride and pretty to boot (well beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess) – but I’m happy with my purchase and I hope we’ll get to our goal of showing soon!

Once we got home, we tried to enjoy the last few days with Patrick’s Dad who was flying back to Switzerland soon. The good bye for Patrick was short lived as he was soon following his dad and travelling to Switzerland to visit his family and friends.

  (Patrick’s best friend Martin and his wife Ursula)

The visit was long over due and especially his mom was giddy with excitement to see him. Patrick’s mom, for you who don’t know, has fallen ill with cancer quite a few years ago and the battle against the vicious illness has kept her from coming to visit us. It’s hard to be so far away when one of your loved ones is going through tough times, so it was great for Patrick to be able to go and visit.

(Patrick and his mom)

The first two weeks of his 4 weeks stay was filled with catching up and visiting friends and family and of course lots and lots of hospital trips to see his mom. Unfortunately enough, she had to stay in the hospital off and on during his first 2 weeks of his stay, but then got released and they all went, with grand kids, for a week to the Black Forest. Even though the illness was always present and sometimes restricted them in their activities their stay was memorable and they had a great time over all.

However her health started to deteriorate rapidly and we decided to extend his stay in Switzerland so he could be with his family in time of need. His mom has since passed away, on the day he was first scheduled to return to the US. We both feel very fortunate and blessed that Patrick got to be there and say his good bye’s and having had the opportunity to go through it all with his family at his side. Thank you all for your condolences and your phone calls and words of encouragement.

Meanwhile as it sometimes seems life stands still and the world quits turning for some, it goes into overdrive for others and with Patrick being in Switzerland and the upcoming community clinic with Pat Wyse was coming up pretty quickly. So the place wasn’t quite as groomed, the arena wasn’t dragged after every session, the home cooked meals weren’t as exquisite and the party Saturday night wasn’t going quite as long – Patrick was missed thoroughly, but with the help from everyone we got through and once again had a successful Community Clinic – thanks everyone for making it just that and for participating! I hope to see y’all next year again!!!

A couple of weeks after everything has quiet down, I finally could pick up Patrick from the airport in Gainesville! How exciting! I felt like I haven’t seen him in years! However shortly after he got home – a week later to be exact – I made the trip south to see MY parents. My mom too, is battling cancer, and is trying to recoup from chemo. So I went to help them, ease everyone’s burden just by taking over the daily chores (for everyone that knows me, knows how much THAT was just my cup of tea…. cooking (yup, ME! I was “cooking” – even made Thanksgiving dinner!!!), ironing (well, granted, it still looked like a cow chewed it up, even after I was done with it LOL), cleaning (I’m better cleaning my barn/stalls than a house), shopping (nope, not for fun, but stuff I needed to cook/prepare a meal… thank goodness there was a convenience store close by!), etc, etc, et – the week went over way to quick and it was time for me to leave again….I’m sure I’ll be headed south again before too long! Now I am/was  home this week – just in time to catch up and catch on everything and getting ready for my yearly trip to the NCHA Futurity on Monday. I didn’t think I was going to go – actually didn’t plan on it till just a few weeks ago. But circumstances have changed my mind and I booked the airplane ticket. I’ll be meeting Pat and Doreen there who have as well decided at the last minute to take the trip. So we’ll see what this year will bring!!!! I’ll be sure to let you know and keep you up to date!!!

here a few more pictures from his Swiss-Trip:

Patrick’s brother Andy (green shirt, standing) his Dad (center), his sister Sandy and her hubby Andi (blue shirt) and their two wonderful kids Lara (center) and Noemi (front, left)

Patrick and his god daughter Martina met for dinner one evening

yes, it is true – all the pictures you see of Switzerland – it REALLY is that beautiful!

Kappeler Brugg – Lucerne

“hiking the swiss way” ha, ha, ha (see the plastic bags?!)

Patrick who misses the mountains just as much as he misses his family in Switzerland, got lots of hiking done while he was there!

isn’t this a fun way to stack wood?

ok that was Sunday (above) …. here is Saturday (below)…. well, I guess it says that on the title LOL

now I at least brought you up to speed through August ha, ha, ha – September, October and November were filled with lots of stuff going on -  some very sad and some good, so I will post them next time!

As you know – I have loads of news to share with you, but I thought I’d first post some pictures from our trip from Montana to Florida, before overloading your patience to read through another lengthy post…..

time to say good bye and load up the horses….

the two Pat’s going over the most scenic way to drive to Cody, WY.

Shoot-out at the “Irma” Hotel in Cody, WY

our overnight stay (well our HORSES) in Wellington, CO

dinner or cocktails? That was the big question here at the nice little Mexican Restaurant in Albuquerque, NM

Skittles and I on our little hike where dogs were allowed….

Amarillo, TX

at the Big Texan, getting ready to devour a BIG Texan steak

“ can I go to the River walk”

River Walk in San Antonio, TX

load and unload and load and unload…. what great troopers our horses were once again!

SWAMP?????

the Battleship Museum, Mobile, AL

I don’t even know where to start! SCREAM! I have not ‘blogged’ for what? 3 Months???? Oh boy. So much has happened and I don’t even know where to start to bring y’all up to speed! Ok – well, let’s start from my last entry… I think I was just getting ready to pick up Patrick and his Dad from Helena airport so we all could tackle the scenic drive home. We took the longer, but more scenic route back, which we’ve taken a few years ago and were excited to show Dad. Off we went from Pat and Doreen’s Horse Wyse Ranch the back way to Wyoming, where we stayed overnight in Cody. Of course we roamed the picturesque town and had dinner at the famous Hotel “Irma”, Buffalo Bill’s Hotel in downtown Cody. The next day we drove to Wellington, Colorado, where we are pretty much regulars – mostly on our way home. It’s a great place to stay over, as it’s right off the interstate, the place is wonderfully kept up and they take great care of the horses and a nice motel is just near by. We had to leave Wellington early in the morning, so we’d get through the busy town of Denver before too much traffic. But I think no matter how early we leave, traffic just keeps getting worse with every year and it was a tough ride…. roads were in bad shape and all the lanes were almost bumper to bumper at 80 mph! Once through Denver, things started to ease up a bit and there were loooong stretches of ‘nothing’ – the vegetation sure started to change drastically the more south we got and shortly after (at least that’s how it felt) we were heading for New Mexico. Albuquerque was our next destination, where we planned to stay an extra day. We went to old town and after a short stroll found a really nice little Mexican Restaurant, where we had dinner. We have spent the night in the middle of town (well, somewhere in the middle of town LOL) – one of the few horse boarding places around the Rio Grande. The next day we went to Sandia Peak, where we had a nice little hike and a couple of drinks at the Mountain Restaurant with a fantastic view all over Albuquerque. Sadly though we couldn’t take Skittles on our little excursion, so we had to leave early to check on her – she was “watching” the truck in the meantime and we were worried that it might get too hot in the afternoon for her. However the friendly employee at Sandia Peak allowed us to park our truck at her parking spot that was nestled in the shade and has supplied us with a water bowl for Skittles…. Skittles had no clue that she got the royal treatment and was sound asleep when we came back to check on her…..So we took her to another little park, where she got to run around amongst the big cacti and got to chase all kinds of different scents…. Off we headed to Amarillo, TX, where we stayed once again at the BIG Texan. Again an interstate facility that have a great steakhouse, wonderful motel and a real nice boarding facility for the horses all under (almost) one roof. Very convenient and always our choice to stay over night if we go that route. The next day we were headed for San Antonio – what a charming town and of course we wanted to show it to Dad. So again we opted to stay an extra day and it was well worth it! We did the Alamo by night, the strolled along the River, the Imax was on the list and a great dinner by sunset in the Space Needle restaurant.  Our horses stayed with a wonderful couple that took great care of them and were hauling water buckets by hand, since they had a broken water pipe close by…… Corey and Skittles were sharing the trailer and luckily it wasn’t too terribly hot – matter in fact it was the first ‘cool’ day of the season, which was greatly welcomed by the locals. Me, having had a rather ‘cool’ Summer, just looooved the hot and humid southern air and was dreading to hear that Fall has arrived already. But it was better and easier on the critters, to travel with some cooler temps, so I wasn’t about to complain (already). Off we went after San Antonio and headed to Baton Rouge, LA. We’ve lost our ‘usual’ overnight stay, because the people have moved, but have found another nice and easy to access place to put up the horses – a country facility right next door to the college campus, 10 min off the interstate. We have stayed there a couple of times already and knew how it all worked, so we took care of the horses, Corey and Skittles and went off to find a motel to stay overnight. The next morning we left again early, so we could drive to our second to last stop in Alabama. Thanks to the navigation system we got thoroughly lost and had to call our hosts to pick us up ‘way out there’ . After we put the horses up and tried to find our way around again, we headed to the Battleship museum. Wow – that was great! I try to post some pictures, even though I don’t think that they will do our impressions justice. The self-lead tour we did was great and the documentation and information was were impressive. Well worth it! Patrick and I have been wanting to stop so many times on our way home and never did – so we finally got around to it! Well and then we tackled our last leg of the trip – the hardest, cause once you know it’s the last leg, you just want to be home! And the FL heat and humidity is greeting us way before the boarder and that makes everyone more tired as well…. but we arrived around 4pm, just ready for barn chores and while Patrick’s Dad and I unloaded truck and trailer to some extent, Patrick hurried off to do chores. Bonnie, our wonderful neighbor has once again watched our place with her eagle eye and has taken wonderful care of the horses and the people at our place. We are truly fortunate to have such great people so close to us, WILLING to step in and take over! How lucky is that, huh????

well it’s hard to believe, but Summer’s almost over… but then again, did it ever get here? I don’t think I have used any of my tank tops at all this year, but got lots of wear and tear on my fleece jackets and mud boots…. but it was fun, fun, fun…. I actually concocted another long entry yesterday with pictures and everything and then got disconnected. We had a rainstorm come in and my connection was fading quicker than I could save the entry …. so I try again. By now I’m sure y’all know that Scooter and I had a great show in Great Falls. I will try to post some video later on – We had two first places, a second and a 4th place. Wow – it was way cool. The neatest thing though was to have the support and enthusiasm of Kathie, Bob and Stacy who came along to support Pat and I in the show pen. I truly enjoyed their company and their support was beyond words. Thank you guys for being there and being such great friends. How fortunate I am to have you in my life. You really made showing (and celebrating) a whole lot more fun!!!!

The second week of the clinic went over even quicker than the first – if that was even possible. I love the August Seminar – simply cause I get to see and ride with all my friends. The July is always fun, cause I get to meet so many new people! Anyhow, after the fun filled weekend with Charlie Russell Train ride and gathering cows etc we dashed into the second week with lots of enthusiasm –

here we once again enjoy a wonderful evening amongst friends – pretty tough to “rough it” like that, huh?!

Bob, grilling our steaks to perfection – thanks Bob!!!

no puppy was save of Kathie’s spoiling…. they either laid down at her feet, waiting for some “involuntary” food droppings or then they stood in front of her camper, waging their tails, waiting for some dog cookies or then the real sneaky canines figured out how to go INTO the camper and sprawling out on their bed!!!!! Thanks Kathie…. it’ll only take us 10 months to get our puppies back to reality

To Doreen’s dismay, Pat figured out the “train whistle” he’s got for watching/feeding the horses while we were off on the Charlie Russell Chew-Choo ride ….

look how GREEN it still is…. usually by August the grass is brown and burnt…. so yes, we had lots and lots of rain, but the sunny days made up for whatever bad weather we had….

This is Cory in his new outdoor cage…. sharing his food with his pet Chipmunk….

well, I hear the Kubota’s engine… so I know Pat is not too far … I best get ready…. I will continue the entry another time – more pics to come and of course more stories…. cause Summer ain’t over till it’s over

well, after a fun filled week with lots of riding and visiting with friends, I had a run in with Ceena on our last run on Friday afternoon (last run on the last day of the week – go figure) – she pulled, I pulled, she tried to pull her head away and one thing led to another…. and I ended up with a big chipped tooth and a big shiner …. however I did NOT come off….

Friday night we had a great dinner at the local Cowboy Coffee House, however we were all pretty tired and didn’t make it to the dance and the local Rodeo… Saturday morning, we worked the cowhorses and then headed out to Lewistown where we boarded the Charlie Russell Chew Choo train…..

I think we were the “hired” entertainers of the whole train and were asked to move from wagon to wagon to lighten up the other passengers LOL… needless to say we had all a good time and arrived back at the Horse Wyse Ranch way past our bedtime and of course were not all too thrilled when the alarm went off after only a short night sleep…. Sunday morning we worked the cow horses again and then changed horses to go up the hill to gather new heifers for our “fun time”…. we didn’t get home till 2pm, so we all were pretty tired by then (running on low fuel). We went down to the campground to gather the garbage, did a ‘dump run’ in town and came home for a nice get together BBQ with all the friends around here……

Today we started the week off pretty exciting, but nothing seriously happening….

now we sit down in the camp ground, having Bob grilling our steaks to perfection, before we are heading up the hill to work cows … then around 10pm it’s ‘wrapping up time’ for us….

“trying to scare the people with my shiner”

“the big glasses help”

“Stacy, Kathie and Doreen”

well, my steak is cooked, so I best go… I’ll try to check in with more pics soon….

Honey… I love you