Game On

After 'Kickoff' it is now 'Game On.'  We were off to a soggy start for the summer pool season, but this week was much sunnier, so the pool was actually open (not closed due to rain) and  we started getting a decent number of customers.  Betty and I also started our park trail riding with a three day (two night camping) trip even though we hadn't done a 'practice' run.  And, now that our second granddaughter (Layla Belle) is here, it is game on for Dan and Vale.
 

Saturday 5/31 - Rose often follows Maggie and I around the block on our morning walk, but today she chose to sit at the columbarium and watch us.

I tossed together a lettuce salad with several accoutrements and was on my way to work at the pool before 9am.  

Vale had been admitted to the hospital and was being induced, it was time for baby Layla to come out, whether she was ready or not.  It was 'game on' for Vale, with labor underway.  





I had requested up-dates from Dan and photos from Courtney of how her babysitting day went.  It was 'game on' with Courtney sending a bunch of photos.  
Ava watching Bluey while waking up and waiting for them to "take the baby out."  




Ava painting with Courtney and Dan reported 💦 - I'm thinking Vale's water broke.  We were on our Facebook Family messenger thread.

It was overcast but fairly warm, yet took awhile for folks to start coming to the pool.  







The girls taking Tango for a walk.  






I decided to get in on the photo game and sent this one of me working at the pool.  

Dan reported things were progressing smoothly and Vale was up for an epidural next.  






By 11am, Courtney and Ava were at the park enjoying baseball and free cotton candy.  
And then Cathy chimed in that it was only 63° out in Dayton OH.  

Now it was 'game on' for Britney and Juan Carlos... to report and send photos, as they too had been watching messages closely.  They were at a bar.  

Ava enjoying a picnic lunch with Tia Courtney.  What a fun babysitter.   

At this point we got a message from Dan.  Unfortunately the epidural hadn't been given yet because they had to do back to back C-sections in other rooms, so the only anesthesiologist hadn't been available.  Now they were doing the Oxytocin slower to keep Vale in a holding pattern, just in case.  






I was having lunch at the pool.  








And who knows what these two were drinking. LOL




I had gotten busy at the pool with several customers coming in just after lunch, and then Tish (the new employee) needed extra instructions at shift change.

After work I went straight to the ranch, and these three were waiting to be let out on pasture.  

I started the mucking process, getting more interference than help from the Pasos, especially the two boys.  








I was followed to the stretch gate when I took the full wheelbarrow to the manure pile.  And then they just stood there watching and hoping I would open the gate.

I was waiting for Bonnie to feed the three boys in the lower paddock so I could then put Rico out with them.  Thus all three horses had to wait to be let out.  

With fly masks off and horses out on pasture, I went down to the barn to gather a few things to put in the trailer for our trip to a horse campground.  I was also looking for replacement reins.
 





In the middle of this photo is a Bald Eagle that Bonnie spotted while I was chatting with her and Dave.  If you zoom in you can see it soaring high above the shop. 

Finally with some down time at 4:15, I checked messages.  Vale had gotten an epidural and was measuring 7cm at 3:15.

Britney and Juan Carlos had moved on to the park for some ice cream.  


And Ava was getting into her backyard pool for some splash time.  







I checked on Rico in the front pasture before heading home, and he was making friends with Cowboy.  Banner and Dorado were nowhere to be seen.

As I was leaving the ranch, Dan posted:
"Fully dilated, they did a successful test push.  Giving it another 15 minutes then will start."









By the time I got home at 5pm, Layla had been born.  

I didn't get this photo and message from Daniel until after I was done with pet chores:  "Bit of a bruised face but otherwise healthy 10lbs, 20 inches, born at 4:48pm."

Courtney reported that when she showed Ava the photo, Ava said "aaawww" and then went back to throwing water balloons.  


Joe posted the Eric Clapton song 'Layla' and then grilled chicken stir-fry on the black top.

By now Vale had all the medical things disconnected and was eating meatloaf.  




Then Britney reported they were watching meatloaf videos and I thought she meant they were watching videos of the singer Meatloaf.  Then she sent this photo and it became clear.  Bah, ha, ha.  

After consuming a bit too much, I took Maggie on a long walk, up Library Trail, to look at the construction site of the new Druid Club House and Restaurant.  All these guys were having a good time on the putting course.  




And right next to it was the barren land/construction site.  They have really changed the 'foot print' of the land here, leveling more of it out.  







It had been hazy all day, with a sunrise that looked even hazier than this sunset.  There had been discussion at the pool about it so I looked it up and found: "A solar flare on May 31, 2025 did not cause hazy skies. Instead, hazy skies were caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires that traveled south due to a cold front in the Carolinas."


Returning home by way of the 18th fairway, to turtle pond behind our house on #17, Maggie had a chance to cool off.  There is a big snapper, underwater, just above her back in this photo.  








Courtney was spending the night with Ava, while Dan, Vale, Layla and Yaneth were staying at the hospital.

Vale works as a dental assistant, so Ava has good training on how to keep her pearly whites clean.

Sunday 6/1 - Shirley was unable to make it to church so I sat with Nolan and Lisa.  I had good intentions when I got home, to do some yard work, but was tired due to my waking up in the middle of the night and not getting back to sleep for several hours. 

Rose hunting for chipmunks down back.  

I ended up laying on a lounge chair, reading my book, and taking a nap.  It was only in the upper 60s and rather overcast, so not even hot laying out in the sun.  






I worked at the pool from 1:30 to 5:30, getting out early because everyone left, and it looked like a storm was moving in.  But the rain never came.  

 



Courtney took Ava to the hospital midday, and sent lots of wonderful photos (taken by her and Yaneth) of Ava meeting Layla.









This is such a precious moment caught in so many delightful pictures.  









































I had commented:  'Tell Ava that Nana thinks she’s going to be the best big sister ever!'

And Britney replied: 'Nope, that title is already taken by Courtney Villhauer.'  And that is so true.  I guess Ava will have to tie with Courtney.  

Courtney has already been a great example to Ava of being a fantastic big sister and a terrific aunt.  She has done so much for Britney and for Daniel.  



And Dan and Vale have been great parents, also setting a wonderful example.


It was a quiet evening with Poker Joe gone.  I stayed busy, getting this blog started.  I was also distracted by thoughts of our camping trip.  Betty and I would be taking Rico and Dorado to Timber Ridge Horse Campground Tuesday morning.  There was lots to pack and several things concerning the adventure had me a little worried.

Monday 6/2 - I left home at 7:30 this morning to do chores at the Ranch.  Britney had sent this photo of the farm dogs outside their apartment door.

 








It was warm out, but the pool water was still quite cold, so I didn't have a lot of customers.  Judi had me take this photo of her and Pat.  They braved the water for their walking exercise.

Yaneth had dropped Ava off at pre-school and then had to catch a flight home.  Dan and Vale got home with Layla mid-day.  Look at the cute blanket Courtney had made her.

I worked at the pool for 4½ hours, and then went right back to the ranch to ride Rico for an hour with Betty and Karen.  



From the looks of this photo, Dan has not gotten enough sleep.



Courtney went to Dan and Vale's after work to help with Ava, because she knew they had their hands full.

After Ava had some baby sister time, Courtney took her to the park again.  

As we all know, Courtney is a great big sister and a wonderful aunt.

After we ladies got finished with our ride, Betty and I loaded the trailer, put hay in the truck, and we got things ready for an early morning departure.

I had to really hustle to get home from the ranch, feed the cats and dog, change real quick, and get to Mirror Lake Blast.  I missed the opening song.  Joe was there for a bit and then Micki joined me and we split a pizza and enjoyed beer and popcorn. 









I danced a fair amount for the two hours of music, but really was at the end of my energy, dragging myself home and to bed, but first a few more baby pictures.

I had troubles falling asleep because I had reservations about Rico and how he would handle the trailering and camping trip, a first for me to do with him.

Tuesday 6/3 - I was moving slow, a little short on sleep, and still had some last minute packing of food and cooler.  Luckily Betty and I had decided not to leave too early, because check-in time wasn't until 2:00.  Although, we had planned to get in a ride before it got too hot.  

We had a little snafu with the trailer hitch, but soon had it rectified and then it was game on... time to load and go.  Both Dorado and Rico walked right onto the trailer without hesitation and we were on the road by 10am.   

Our 90 minute drive went without problems and both horses backed slowly and calmly off the trailer when we unloaded them.  Rico was very sweaty, from nerves, and later had a very loose stool, but he seemed fairly calm.  








We were able to check in early, so put hay and water in the stalls and stuck the horses in.  We unloaded stuff from the truck into our cabin, and then had ourselves some lunch.

 

 

 

It was a cute one room cabin with restrooms and a large community kitchen just down by the barn.  






We could sort of see the horses stalls from our porch, which was nice so we could keep an eye on them.  

And the air conditioner was a nice amenity as well, because it had gotten into the 80s each day.

When the RV campers in front of our cabin put their horses in stalls on the back side of our horses, Rico started acting up.    


He kept kicking the wall between him and the 'strange' horse that actually kept staring at him through the slats in the wall.  For some reason Rico did not like the horse.  Once we switched Rico and Dorado (seen in this photo and you can see the solid wall behind Rico now) everything settled down and Rico did well in his 'new' stall the rest of the camping trip.  I was so thankful for Betty's flexibility.  




The day was only going to get hotter, so right after lunch, we saddled up for our first ride.  Rico stood well, tied to the trailer.  When we were ready to go, Betty and Dorado led the way. 
 
 




We did a total of six miles, an out and back (three miles each way).  So we had six water crossings which Rico hesitated doing at first, and then did well on after that. 

In this photo, I had pressed on his 'pole' to tell him to put his head down to get a drink if he wanted.  


He didn't, but there were a few times during our three days of riding, that he did drink from the creeks.


Dorado did most of the leading going out, but once we turned around, Rico was more confident so we had him lead a fair amount on the way back.  

There were a few little spooks, but nothing too big to unseat us.  

 

Rico was afraid of the dark overhangs, which I understood because it was difficult to see what might be hiding back in the dark crevices and recesses.  


It was nice that Betty took lots of photos of Rico and I, although I know I have included too many, but I just can't pick a favorite.  









When we got to the little park where a bridge leads you over the creek and on around the big riding loop, it said 'Trail Closed'.  We knew part of the trails had been recently closed because a new land owner, who had bought 143 acres, forbid the community from continuing to use the trails on her property.  But all the trails leading to her property said Private Trail, Keep Out, and/or No Trespassing.  So I wasn't sure it was really off limits.

I really wanted to see how Rico would do on the bridge and knew it would be a good experience for him.  So I talked Betty into it and we took our chances and went across it, twice.  

Come to find out when later talking to the horse camp owner, half the bridge is owned by the Ridge Top Trail Association and half by the land owner.  She has kept the bridge open so she and her riding friends can get to and from her property.  


So apparently, the land owner thought it was okay for her to use the trails the association owned or had the right-of-way to, but she could keep members of the association off her trails.  The trail association then told her she couldn't ride on their trails, and rightfully so.  The feud is now involving lawyers and gotten rather ugly.  It’s a very disappointing and sad situation that one person can ruin the experience for all, because the big loop was such a great ride.

Well, the horses did great on the bridge and all of the ride (videos).  Betty and I were both quite pleased.  

The view from our cabin porch.

Once back to the campground, both boys got hosed off after we untacked them.  They then had some grazing time before being returned to their stalls, which we had cleaned and supplied with more hay and water.  

We enjoyed the front porch of our little cabin for the remainder of the afternoon and evening.  We also hung out in the community space, talking with other campers and the campground owners, which is when we got the whole story about the dispute going on between the association and this lady who has forbidden riding on her property.  






This is the year of the 17-year locust, which is actually a cicada, Magicicada septendecim.  They weren't thick at the campground, but could be seen and heard. 

We walked our horses around and let them graze some more, freshened their stalls, and then we all hit the hay.  It was lights out by 8:30.

Wednesday 6/4 - Betty and I both slept pretty well.  I woke at 2:30 to take my levothyroxine and went out and threw some hay to both the horses in their stalls. 
I went right back to sleep and then got up at six and started my tea and breakfast.  During downtime, I read my James Patterson - Alex Cross murder mystery.

Our (8am) morning ride took us into big South Fork.  We saw Hippie Cave and Fiddler's Arch, which are very cool rock formations.  These two merged photos were taken from the trail that was circling around to pass across a ledge.  You can see the dark cave under where we were about to ride.

Betty had never been to Fiddler's Arch because the trail is hidden, but the camp owner had told us where to find it and how to ride to get down under it.

 









It was a very neat geologic rock formation.  












Rico looking a little like a horse you might see in the wild, peeking through his forelock that was hiding his eyes.

On our way back to camp, we met up with Joe and Betty, a couple we had just met at the campground.  They had been at Wildwood Stables a year before it was closed.  Small world.  

 

Here is another cool spot where the trail passed over a cavern.

And look at the trees growing right on top of the rock.  

















Rico still did not like going into the dark areas under these rock outcroppings, so I let him stand here for the photo because he had tried, and gotten closer to it. 
The horses handled the rocks and hills very well, were very willing to move down the trail, and didn't have any big spooks.  
 

Again after riding back into camp, we hosed the horses off.  Rico watched Betty hose off Dorado while waiting his turn.  We had quickly discovered that neither horse wanted to be left without the other.  So we, and they, did everything together.  






We gave the horses some grazing time while they dried, hand walking them (or following them) from one grassy spot to another.  Rico also enjoyed a good roll.  
We were hot, tired, and hungry, so put the horses in their stalls, and after lunch, we both took a nap.  

Later when I peeked in on Rico, I caught him napping too.  But soon it was time to get up and get out on the trail for another ride.  







We rode on the Ridge Top trail loop, going the opposite direction we had gone the day before.  They groom the trails on Wednesday, so it was in really good shape. 

Not as many photos were taken this time, but here is my 'between the ears' shot.  I was trying to show this big cliff we were riding along side of.  And here are today's (videos).  













We had gone 6.2 miles in the morning and went another 6 miles in the afternoon.  Both boys were getting a little tired, but still did great.

It was the usual hosing off, grazing time, and stall cleaning when we got back to camp.  Betty and I took turns holding each other's horse, while one of us would muck our stall and fill hay and water.  Dorado had decided to lay down to scratch and roll while I had him. 

Betty and I both took much needed showers.  It had been in the 80s again, so we'd gotten hot and sweaty, even with the breeze that helped cool us.  
 
  

This photo was from the internet, but shows the community area just outside the kitchen.  Our stalls were in the barn just to the left of this and our cabin was on the other side of the office, seen past the tables on the covered deck.

We had dinner on the porch and went to bed shortly after dark.

Thursday 6/5 - Once the horses were fed, we had to strip the stalls, cleaning everything out down to the rubber mat.  We didn't have to vacate our cabin by the 11:00 checkout time, but packed up everything other than our food.  Then it was time to saddle up our horses and hit the trail.  We had liked the trail we rode yesterday afternoon so well, that we went back out on it before 9am.  This time we went the whole loop, riding nine miles.  

Rico was afraid of this concrete table, so I made him go up to it, and took a 'between the ears' photo.

Today was no exception to the weather, trails, horses and experience, that had all been great.  


Few photos were taken out on our ride.  Here is a shot Betty got of Rico and I, and a (video). 


The boys didn't get as tired today, although Betty and I were feeling the effects of the just over 27 miles we had covered in three days.  Upon our return to the campground, we had to hitch the horses to the trailer because the stalls we used were no longer available.






Because the trailer was in the sun, Betty moved it in front of our cabin, since our neighbors had left.  So this was our view from our front porch where we ate lunch.  




The boys had hay and had gotten drinks of water, and were happy to be standing still, resting.  

  

I can't reiterate enough, in how happy I was with Rico.  My confidence in him and in myself has grown a lot in the last three days.  I am also very thankful for Betty, and her desire to trailer and ride.  She was a big part of this experience.  We are ready to do it again... after resting up some.  


We loaded the horses, trailered home, and unloaded them along with all our tack, in just over two hours.  It was a little early to feed, but I kept Rico in the round pen with Dorado while doing some things, like letting Amiga and Zorro out and mucking their paddock.

After the four boys ate, I put Rico and Dorado out with Cowboy and Bannner.

 

Rico joined up with Cowboy, and Dorado joined up with Banner.  I wonder if our two were tired of each other, or did they have a lot to tell to the other two that had not gone on the adventure.  

I got home thoroughly exhausted and barely had the energy to unpack bags and bedding.  I tried to work here on this blog but went to bed early.  

Friday 6/6 - I continued work here on this blog but was way behind and had so many photos to share.  

At the ranch by 8am for morning chores, first I helped Joe unload shavings into our two sheds.  Then I got Rico in with our two Pasos and fed them.
  

I hit Food City on the way home and took this photo of Druid construction, because it has changed the landscape so much.  

Then it was back to work on my blog.  








I got baby updates from when I had been gone the past three days.  Layla was a bit jaundice but otherwise doing well.  Vale was quite sore and had needed to heal some more.  






Ava continues to be a proud, happy, excited big sister and wants to hold Layla any chance she gets.  


Dan with Layla at her one week check-up.  

I d-r-u-g myself to the gym, having very little energy, but by the end of a good ab and arm workout, was feeling more energetic and much less sore.






Layla in the cardigan Titi Courtney made her.  I love all the matching colors.

I was too far behind on this blog, with all it's photos and writings, to get it finished in time for my usual Saturday morning posting.