4th of July Celebration...

Cool Slideshows!

The servers over at Picture Trail are experiencing a temporary hiccup and just as soon as they cure this one, I will add a slideshow of the pictures I took at the 4th of July Celebration...UPDATE ~ Slideshow added!!!

We had a wonderful time on the 4th over at the stables! It was very hot, barely in the triple digits at 100 degrees, feeling so much hotter than that though! About 55 people showed up to share food, conversation and the heat while we waited for the fireworks show that would brighten the sky above the park. There were a few who stayed close to their horses and some that didn't make it out to the stables. I tried to get around and talk with everyone.

I was disappointed that only four people went out on the trail ride, but it was extremely hot. Travis rode Fancy, Tony started out on Coal, Kayla rode Lucky and Kayla's mom rode Pumpkin (Kayla's mare). We could see them on the horizon as they rode up to the palm. Lucky fussed around a little too much, so Tony switched horses with Kayla and had him straightened out by the time they got back to the stables.

Scott Rice came out early to set up in the new round pen with his barbecue grills and smokers, and Leah Mayfield and Jann Hardy were my "angels of mercy" as they stepped right up and helped set up and tear down the food tables!! Scott did an excellent job on the tri-tip (Larry), the hamburger patties (Leah), hot dogs (Jim & Carrie Henshaw), corn on the cob (Kerrie and Chief) and even had a platter of hot peppers and onions that he said would separate the men from the boys!!! A few of us decided without even tasting them that we would fit in the "boys" category! And as a special treat there was a sampler platter with many different flavors on hamburger patties, brats and pork! There was plenty of food and drinks to share with those who didn't get a chance to bring anything.

When we stepped up to the tables, we had many decisions to make! Watermelon, honey dew melon, cantaloupe, calico sweet beans, chili beans in three different flavors, potato salad, cornbread, stuffed peppers, cake, banana pudding (to die for with fresh strawberries and blackberries on top!), jello jigglers, sliced lettuce, tomatoes and onions (both white and red), and a cake decorated like an American Flag that Sheila Horn baked! It was hot enough for the teenagers to have a water war, even though some took refuge beside the sleeping baby and my camera so they could rest!!! Coal, Cahlibur, Belle and Oakley hung their heads over their rails for attention and received some watermelon rind for their efforts! Several people had to leave early, Tony among them, to get to work or beat the car traffic after the fireworks.

I didn't get too many pictures of the fireworks, because they were not as crisp as I wanted them, but I chose 4 of the best to share with you. I hope that everyone had a great 4th and would like to thank everyone for bringing food and drinks (and yourselves) and for braving the heat to come to the barbecue!! Thank you again to Jann and Leah for their wonderful help, to Scott for barbecuing such awesome meat, to Keirdon for helping me clean stalls before everyone arrived (and Cameron for dumping the last load), to Steve for bringing (root)beer for me and to the City of Taft and all the contributors for a wonderful 4th of July Celebration!!!!!!!

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posted 7.8.07 on July 5th to make room for more posts!!!

Celebrating Our Country's Independence!!!

Happy 4th of July to Everyone!!! Here at MnC we will be busy today getting ready for our 4th of July Celebration over at the Franklin Field Horsemen's Association stables! It looks like there will be a big turnout tonight starting with the Trail Ride @ 5:30pm. While everyone is out riding their horses, those of us who don't or can't ride will be gathering around the barbecue grills and food tables under the Ash trees. It is supposed to reach 102 degrees today which is cooler than first predicted!

Take care and have a safe 4th of July.



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Katy 'n' Rusty's 1st Day of Summer Litter!!!

It has been very busy around here! Katy started having her puppies a little after 3pm today. The official 1st day of Summer! So far everyone is healthy and strong. There are 3 black 'n' whites, 3 rust 'n' whites, and 1 white 'n' black. We do not know the gender yet, but it looks like they all have white tipped tails! Miss Katy is being VERY protective...we barely got her bedding changed and the igloo (doghouse) moved into the back room (nursery)!

I know that I did not give you any fore warning that Katy was even going to have puppies by Rusty, but we have been busy working on helping Cahlibur feel better. For those of you who don't know, Cahlibur has been diagnosed with ringbone, a form of arthritis in horses. I took Cahlibur and Coal into the veterinarian last Saturday and both boys lost 5 pounds. Cahlibur is supposed to be loosing weight (more than 5 pounds) and Coal is supposed to be gaining. I think that Coal did pretty good considering he has been working up at the ranch for 5 of the last 6 weeks.

Cahlibur received a followup shot for the ringbone and his West Niles Virus while Coal was brought along to get his West Niles Virus. Tony had me ask Doc Pipkin if she had something we could give Coal for his fly bites (which are on 90% of his chest and front legs) and she gave him a allergy shot and suggested that we use a water-based fly spray on him.

Daffinah is doing great! I need to get pictures of Travis riding her for the first time, Tony taking her across the "Grand Canyon", and post the picture of Daffinah and her owners. The guys have been riding her all over the stables and took her for a trail ride out into the desert behind our place (need to post the pictures TnT took of that ride) and she is getting pretty good about taking her baths after a good ride. I almost forgot that Tony worked with her on loading in the trailer and she did wonderful. After Tony had worked with her for about fifteen minutes, I was able to load and unload her with ease!

Travis and Tony worked on the FFHA round pen all day today and got several more sections completed. I took lunch 'n' lemonade over to the stables about 1pm and we discussed how miserable Katy seemed to be. TnT asked me to take her home and when Katy and I walked into the garage she walked right into her igloo. She had been steering clear of it for the last couple of days. TnT came home about 3pm to rest during the hot part of the day and found Katy in the igloo delivering her puppies! We left her alone for a couple of hours (with just a few peeks to make sure everything was okay) and then moved her into the nursery when we got back from the stables.

I only got Daffinah's pen cleaned because I was catching people to let them know about the 4th of July picnic that we are going to have in front of Cahlibur, Coal, Oakley and Belle's pens. It looks like everyone is going to come over around 5 or 5:30 the evening of the 4th. Those who can ride will take a short trail ride, while the ones like me that can't ride or don't have a horse they can ride yet will start gathering the food and drinks for the barbecue.

So far it looks like John and Sheila are going to bring chili beans and a desert, Kerri and Chief are bringing cornbread, Jim and Carry will bring hot dogs, Donna is bringing paper plates and plastic forks, knives and spoons, her daughter is making potato salad, Phil didn't tell me what he and his family will be bringing, Larry and Kayla will be bringing a couple of 46 quart igloos filled with ice and tri-tip, John A. will be bringing macaroni salad and I will be making a family recipe of Grated Potato Burritos with a Curry Dip. I talked with Rosalee's owner and she will be bringing a green chili dish and ice water. Everyone will be bringing their drinks and something to sit on.

I have several people that I need to talk to yet to personally invite! There is Cindy, Krystal and the kids, Coco and Eric, Ed and DeeDee, Bill, Diane, Michelle, Leah and her family, Steve, Marty and his family, Craig and Lacey, Babe's new owners, and a couple guys I am not sure of their names. I still need to talk with Scott to see if he will barbecue for us, and make sure that I don't leave anyone out! Also, I will need to get a hold of a couple of people that don't have horses out at Franklin Field anymore but like to come over for the fireworks. Hey, Jann if you read this, you and Vicki are welcome as usual and Tom if he feels like it! Do you think that Carol and family would like to join us? Becky if you are in the area visiting your Grandma, you are welcome too! Give you a chance to see Katy 'n' Rusty's puppies!!

We have a front row seat for the fireworks that are staged in the softball fields just northeast of the new round pen. TnT and I will make sure that the grass is mowed and the dust is sprayed down and tables are set up. It should be a great evening of celebrating our nations' birthday!!!

A couple more pieces of news...TnT are going to Australia for vacation in August and have put in for a transfer to Pecos, TX which should transpire the 1st of September. I will keep you posted...we didn't break 100 today...hopefully it is a sign that we will have a milder summer! Try to stay cool this summer and drink plenty of liquid!!!



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