This week I discovered that I kind of like mules. At 10:20 Friday morning, I loaded up my car, like a pack mule, with way more stuff than necessary, and I left for Nashville. I wanted to have everything I might need at the Mule Capital of the world, Columbia Tennessee, where the Mule Day's (Wed-Sun) were being held. Courtney was treating me (Christmas / Birthday) to this fun weekend.
I enjoyed an easy drive and the pretty scenery. Seen left, all the Redbuds along I-40.
I got near to Courtney's neighborhood at 12:15 and decided to go get gas and use the restroom because she wouldn't be home until 1:00. Well, I had difficulties navigating the back country roads getting to a gas station and then back to Courtney's. The adventure used up an hour of time and Courtney was ready to go when I finally arrived at her house.
We got to Columbia before check in time at the B&B, so went to the Maury County Park where the Mule Days activities were going strong.
There were arts and crafts vendors galore, many food booths, tents with tack and western wear...
and tons of folks camped out for the duration.
There were all sorts of carts and people riding mules all over the place.
Mule shows were going on in two different arenas and there was live music all day in another area.
We did some "window shopping" to get an idea of goods and prices. Check out the wood carving below. Wonder what it sells for.
We left the park around 4 pm and went to check in at The Inn At Bigby Creek, only a mile away.
It was a beautiful bed and breakfast that Joanne and Larry (both retired IT folks) ran. The Inn was a neat, clean, cozy, and friendly place.It sat on the banks of the Bigby Creek and had a large, pretty back yard, with a nice view of the creek.
Courtney and I unloaded the car, freshened up, accepted bottled water from Joanne, and headed back to the fair grounds.
We settled in on the bleachers with our dinner, each of us got a stuffed baked potato with steak. It was delicious, and we ate like mules.
Just as we finished our yummy (and we thought fairly healthy, considering fair food) meal, the Gaited Mule Show began.
After presentation of the flags, a prayer, and singing of The Star Spangled Banner, the competition began.
There were 18 different classes of riders and mules. It was fun watching the different groups and we thought the mules whose big floppy ears bobbed with their head as they gaited or walked (video), was so cute. We especially liked this little cowboy who did quite well on his mule, but might have gotten a little bored during the ribbon presentation.
It was a bit cool with the cloudy skies and wind, especially once the sun went down. We moved to a different side of the arena (seen left) so our backs were to the wind, and it was much better.
On our way back to the car after the show, we walked through one barn to look at the mules. I thought these little minis were so cute.
We went to bed relatively early and slept great.
I was up by 4:30 Saturday, and took a walk from 5 to 6 am while my tea steeped. I went into the down town area to check out logistics of where to park and sit for the parade.
The house kitty (Derby), who looks a lot like Stevie, came to see what I was up to, while I messed at my computer during my morning tea.
After a great breakfast, (with four other guests and our Inn owners) we all headed out (in our own directions) to the parade. Courtney and I had forgotten chairs, but I had found this perfect wall for us to sit on.
The wall was at a park, where a large crowd gathered, many of whom were partying it up during our hour wait.
Vendors came by and Courtney and I indulged in Kettle Corn while we waited.
Finally, parade viewing for us began, starting with the presentation of flags.
There were a variety of mules (in all shapes, sizes and colors) being ridden and pulling carts.
All of the buggies in the wagon train that rode into town on Wednesday were also in the parade (video).
There were 274 entries in the parade, many of which were mules. I didn't realize so many people like mules. But there were also a ton of horses and several motorized vehicles (video).
The mounted police made up a formidable force that had the crowd standing and cheering.
We were near the end of the parade route, and one of the later entries (seen right) decided to stop to buy cotton candy from a vendor. He then went cantering off down the road to catch up with his group, passing everyone that had gone by him while he was making his purchase.
After the parade, navigating home through traffic was a bit of a challenge. The attempt to go down side roads to avoid the most traffic didn't work too well, but Courtney was a good sport driving as I co-piloted.A short break in action while we re-grouped back at the B&B and then we walked the one mile to the fair grounds. This turned out to be a very good decision because traffic was backed up for miles.
We watched halter classes for a while, and then went to check out the harness pulling mules.
It was amazing how they dug in their heels, so to speak, to try and pull the "sleigh" of weights. Some of these guys were as large as Belgium horses, and they were strong as mules... they were mules.
We walked back to the B&B for some R&R. After a ten minute nap, I got up to walk around outside and get photos, while Courtney continued to nap. There were two large beds of Helleborus (seen below), the plants I had just put in. I hope mine will spread, grow this lush, and have lots of pretty colored flowers too.
We showered and dressed to go out dancing, but found out the "dance" was just a one hour performance so we opted to got to dinner at O'Charley's instead.
The evening ended in our loungers out in the family room, chatting with Joanne (holding Derby) and Larry (petting Ben). They were a very nice, easy going, lay-back couple, as were their cat and dog.
I opted to sleep in Sunday morning, knowing I would be driving home in the evening and not want to get sleepy. After another wonderful breakfast, Courtney and I packed up and said our goodbyes to Joanne, heading back to the fair grounds.
I did a little boot shopping, and found a pair I liked, that fit okay and was a great price. I put them on to start breaking them in so the fit will feel better.
The day's show started out with more halter classes but soon moved into the riding competition. This little girl with her big draft mule was quite cute. She later rode him in two events and also rode a western pleasure mule in a couple of events. She won a few ribbons, not because she was so cute, but because she could ride and had well trained mules.
Courtney and I shared a fried onion blossom for lunch and both got overloaded on the grease. But umm was it good. So were our lemon shake ups.
The mule show ended and we left Columbia just after 2:00. I made a quick pit stop at Courtney's, and was in my car driving home by 3:30. I made great time until just after Plateau Road (exit 311) when I hit a traffic jam. Long story short, a semi-truck had broken down in the one lane construction traffic. There was no where to exit, until 317 (Main Street in Crossville) right were the truck was being towed from, when I got there. It cost me 50 extra minutes of driving time so I got home at 6:30. I walked the dog, ate dinner, watered the grass seed, showered, and unpacked. But I couldn't stay awake to work on my Blog, so went to bed at 9:30.
Zorro seemed to think eating was a better idea. I had to work to keep him moving. Eventually, I treated his front hoof (which, last Wednesday, the farrier said has thrush) and then turned him back out in the gelding's pasture.
I worked, like a mule, out in the yard all afternoon, which mostly involved cleaning out the drainage ditch. I moved rocks, leaves and some silt that had accumulated along the path of the main "run way" for the water. I have concrete mix to better secure the rocks, but am still pondering over what will be the best (easiest and least likely to fail) method for making a better drainage ditch. The water is washing away all the dirt on the hillside and leaving bare tree roots.
Seen right, I made a retaining wall of rock and then, as an experiment, I put old concrete slabs down in the stream bed, to see what the water does running over the top of them. I also uncovered more of this large rock (left) and watered the grass seed.Unfortunately, working out at the gym has been squeezed from my schedule, so I really need to fit it back in. Also, long dog walks are few and far between. But at least I have been riding Amiga a little more often.
I had Jeremy and Stephanie re-build both sets of deck steps so they would be easier and safer to navigate. The steps are now equal width and Jeremy used screws to fasten the boards so they wont start to wobble like the old ones did. I don't want Mama, or anybody else, falling down them. I had Jeremy use the old deck lumber so they look bad right now, but will improve with paint.
Our two helpers also put quarter inch round molding on the guest bath floor to finish it off and hide the bad linoleum job done before we bought this place. Stevie followed the fixer-uppers around the house, watching them wherever they worked. Seen left, she inspects the new molding. It looks so much better. We still need a strip to go down in front of the bath tub.
Jeremy and Stephanie left about 2:30 and I went to the barn to check on the horses and ride a little. Jan and I headed out together, but Cash and Amiga were both really doggie. We could tell they felt bad from yesterday's shots so kept our ride to a short 40 minutes.
Back at the barn, I checked on Zorro, who
seemed to be fine, but like Amiga, had some swelling at the shot site. I treated his thrush hole (seen left), then loaded up more manure. I brought home and unloaded the manure, watered the grass and came inside at
dark. Joe had brought home supper from Big Boy's Barbecue. I tried not to eat like a mule, so only ate half a
loaded bake potato with chicken. It hit the spot and was so yummy. I shaved my legs when I showered so when I went to bed, climbing in between clean sheets, it was oh so nice. Maybe swimmers get a similar sensation when they shave arms and legs before an important swimming competition.
To start out, Wednesday was cold (38 degrees), even though it was sunny. I had gotten cold during the night, missing flannel sheets and heating blanket... and maybe the hair on my legs. Ha ha ha. It didn't warm up much, and later got cloudy and started to rain. On my way out for a morning walk, I took these photos of the phlox blooming in the front. The two beds are looking good.
I met up with Shirley, Carole, Rosemary, and other ladies at the Conference Center just after 10 am. It was the Lady's Club Fashion Show and gift basket raffle.
The theme this year was "Dressed For Adventure," so I decided to dress like a cowgirl and wear my new boots. The way all the other ladies were dressed, I think their sense of adventure is a trip to Sak's Fifth Avenue. Oh well.
We had great seats this year, right by the run-way. The business meeting was very short and the basket raffle tickets were drawn before and after lunch, and again between "sets" of the fashion show to give the ladies time to change. I had no luck winning any baskets I had put tickets on, and wanted to whine like mules do. Seen right was my favorite outfit of the show. I later asked the price on the vest ($150.00, and it was vinyl). I could never bring myself to pay that kind of money for a clothing accessory item. I didn't even spend that on refurbishing Mom's wedding dress to wear 35 years ago.
Once home, I was thinking I should walk before the rain hit, but Jeremy was to come in 90 minutes, with his wife and daughter, so I decided to pull out some games and puzzles for us to do while Jeremy worked.
Stevie helped supervise while I got this puzzle (that has different size pieces for different age groups) set up. I also got a fire going in the fire place because the house seemed cold and damp. I ended up getting all the pieces flipped and sorted by size, and Jeremy still hadn't come.
I checked my phone for messages and apparently, as often happens, I had gotten a call but my ring tone had gotten shut off. Jeremy had not left a message so I called his number and spoke with his wife Stephanie, who wasn't sure what the plan was. Ugh. So I waited to see if Jeremy was going to show. By the time I had gotten all the edge pieces put in the puzzle, there was still no sign of Jeremy, and it was 5:30. I called his number and there was no answer and no voice mail set up. Now I was feeling a bit frustrated. I could have gone for a long walk, or worked out at the gym if only I had known he wasn't coming. Jeremy is a good guy, does great work at a super price, but promptness and dependability are his weakness.
Joe was off playing cards for the night so I had the other half of my leftover potato for dinner, took a 30 minute walk between rain showers, and watched HGTV by the fire. A big thunder storm before bed had Maggie quite worried and she followed me everywhere I went. I don't like that storms are starting to become an issue for her.
Thursday morning dawned sunny, breezy, and was 53 degrees when I took this photo during my third walk with Maggie. The dogwood are blooming now and I just love their lacy appearance.
The dog and cat continued their fight and play antics throughout the morning and I enjoyed watching the silly pair.
Seen right, Stevie is teasing Maggie by pawing at her tennis ball. Also notice I have a sheet of cardboard on top of the table, covering all of my puzzle pieces.
I finally got my self to the gym to workout before going into work. I thought I would have to drop down on my weights (it has been 3 weeks since my last workout) but I could lift them all just fine and even upped a few weights or repetitions.It was busy at work and the seven hour shift flew by. However, I had to wait 40 minutes for security to come pick up our deposit because they were out on a call. I did a little vacuuming in the lobby to keep an eye on the front door to let the officers in once they arrived, and to pass the time. I climbed into bed after 11.
Friday was a cold 38 degrees and I was wondering what had happened to our warm spring weather. I had added an extra blanket to our bed but still woke a few times during the night feeling cold. I took the photo on the lower right this morning to compare this section of yard to what it looked like (left photo) two years ago. What an improvement I think, even though I need to get grass growing in a few more bare spots.
It was a lazy morning, and I was feeling pretty sore from the previous
days weight workout. I really need to build in stretching
time into my exercise routine, then maybe I wouldn't be so stiff and sore the next day.As usual, Stevie was looking for trouble, trying to get at the puzzle pieces under the cardboard cover. Maggie was concerned when I was trying to discipline the cat, that she too might be in trouble. The dog can always tell when I am annoyed, Stevie... not so much.
I know I can be stubborn as a mule. But it seems to me that this personality trait would lend well to "waiting it out." However, this is not my strong suit. Again Friday, my patience was tried, almost beyond my control. I was ready to kick like a mule, but just didn't know where to aim my blow. Long story short, I drove two hours round trip, and waited an hour for a noon endodontist appointment that did not happen. It was a one year follow-up, so the date had been set long ago. Well, the office is no longer open on Fridays. And the other office wouldn't answer when I called multiple times (Out to lunch). Joe did some internet research back home and called to tell me the situation. I hit the road for home... MAD! Joe eventually got through to the office ladies, who claimed they tried calling me (and Joe) but had our numbers incorrect. Ugh! That was probably my fault. I feel God has been putting my patience to the test recently... stuck
in traffic with parade goers, house moving, broken down truck in a
construction zone, getting lost on the back roads in Antioch, waiting for Jeremy, waiting for security,
and now this three hour loss of time for an appointment... that will be
rescheduled, and now I will have to dread going to it all over again. (I
fear my tooth may still need some work.) 
I soon met head of Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Officer Miller, who was working at wildlife management of a neighborhood nuisance, a bear, who has been often visiting at night, for easy eating at bird feeders.
Jason and I chatted for quite awhile. He said the bear was not a threat to people, but needed to be captured and moved into deep woods farther from humans, because people were complaining. Folks need to bring in all foods sources at night, or not put them out at all.
It was dark by the time I got home with the dog. We, like our animals, need a time for rest. I took to the biblical advice and was glad to have down time finally. After dinner, Joe and I, and the cat and dog, sat by the fire and watched Survivor. I was glad to see the girls making an alliance, but doubt it will last long. We'll see.
No comments:
Post a Comment