True Grit's My Name and Trail Riding's My Game!

This past Sunday was absolutely gorgeous!  We all decided that it would be a perfect day to get together and go 4-wheel riding.  The sun would shine on our faces and the wind would blow through our hair.  What more could anyone want?  But first........

 As usual I woke up early, eager to go for my morning walk.  I donned a jacket and set out for greener pastures.  About thirty minutes into my walk I noticed that our dogs were chasing each other all over the pasture.  THE NEXT THING I KNEW I WAS FLAT ON MY FACE IN THE DIRT!!  The "3 Musketeers" ran right in front of me causing me to flip over them and land hard in the gravel.  It would not have been so bad had I been able to access my injuries and crawl, yell, or phone for help, but no...........those dang dogs thought it was play time!  They began jumping all over me, licking my face (YUCK!) and causing me to think words that I have only heard on TV!!  The harder I tried to get up the more they bounced on top of me.  After much determination on my part, I grabbed hold of Curly Q (QE) and struggled to a standing position to see if I could still walk and talk.  I noticed an odd taste in my mouth which turned out to be a combination of dirt, rocks, weeds, and heaven only knows what else!!  I spit and spit and spit until there was no spit left!  Thank goodness there was no blood.  I would have fainted dead away and been mauled by our crazy dogs!!  I eventually took a few tentative steps to determine if I could still walk.  My knees dripped blood, my ankles sagged, and my elbows felt like a steam roller had payed them a visit.  But hey....I am tough! I am WOMAN!  I am master over my body!   What's a little blood and grit on a beautiful, almost fall morning? 

Back to our 4-wheel ride......I thought it would be best not to mention the " four-legged beast attack" until after we were on our way to meet up with everyone.  I had to get to packing anyway.  Lots of crunchy snacks, fruit, drinks, diapers, baby wipes, diapers, jackets, baby wipes, diapers, sandwiches, diapers, etc.  (We all pack for Wee Bob in case someone forgets something!) Bob and Pooh and Wee Bob met us at our house and we formed a caravan to the mountain top to meet up with Meme T, Papa G, Big A and Little A (Little A was a friend of Big A who happened to have the same first name.)  And off we went!!! 










We drove down into the valley on our way to the river and trails.










 
We passed an old, deserted store. I bet those benches could tell lots of stories -  if only they could talk!

We arrived at the river trails, unloaded our 4-wheelers, and set out for the unknown! (That's Big A and Little A waaaaaay ahead of us.) A person could have gotten seriously wet if they had not been careful! However, we just had to cross the creek to get to the trail head. 

 

 

 

 

This part of the trail was extremely muddy and bumpy not to mention extremely painful to my bruised body! But I'll never tell.........Hey!  Wait up!  How did Meme T, Papa G and Wee Bob get ahead of us???  

 

 

 



We stopped at a small clearing as we waited for Bob and Pooh to let air out of their tires so the ride would be a little less bumpy!  Wee Bob just rode with whoever was available at the time.  He was not particular as long as he could ride up front.  Big A and Little A are to the left, JR is in the middle, and Meme T, Papa G, and Wee Bob are to the right. 

Here come Pooh and Bob! Now they have Wee Bob.  (Wee Bob was playing "musical 4-wheelers!) Further down the trail we met up with another family who was enjoying the day.  Their two boys were caked with mud so they must have been having a good time!! We stopped and took a short break to stretch our legs and quench our thirst.

Time to hit the trails again.  This time we entered a wooded area where the trails were less rough! (Thank Goodness!)

 

 

Next, we bounced along paths that led through meadows of wildflowers.

 

After about an hour and half we decided it was time for lunch and rest!!  That's me on the left, JR in the middle, and Bob on the right.  (Bob really knows how to relax!)  I believe that is the only picture ever taken of me  - in my entire life  -  that shows me tall and slim.  I use to dream about having a picture made like that.  Who ever thought a cell phone camera could work such wonders?

 

 

Tailgating at its finest!  That is Papa G drinking a coke, Bob (who has not moved an inch), and Pooh with the leaf mask on!

 Big A and Little A decided to explore the area on foot! What's a bear, mountain lion, or snake to those two brave warriors?!

 

Wee Bob really took to this place so he decided to build himself a cabin and homestead! That's the pioneer spirit Wee Bob!!  He wasn't even worried about indoor plumbing.....

 

 

 

Every cabin needs a cornerstone!!   Nothing is to heavy for this fellow!

 

 

After eating and resting, JR and I decided to turn around and head back to the drop off point.  We had a few side trails we wanted to explore and really, this was the only way we were ever going to be ......

THE LEADER OF THE PACK!!!!

The rest of the group continued on up the mountain for a few more miles.





 

Ahhhhh!  Peace and quiet.  We explored an old cemetery and stopped for me to take pictures and more pictures.

We took our time over the muddy, bumpy areas.  We looked for tadpoles.  We counted the rocks.

We panned for gold. We turned up a trail that said KEEP OUT!  We were so brave!!

 

 

 

 



Finally, we returned to the starting point - all in one piece!  As we were loading up the 4-wheeler we heard the rest of the crew coming in.  Meme T thought we would have been long gone but Big A figured it out........Big A's quote..."You know DeeDee, always stopping and taking pictures!"  Smart boy -- he was so right!

We journeyed out of the valley by a different route.  Down beautiful, tree lined, country roads....

Past green fields keeping watch over hay bales .......

 

 

 



Past old, abandoned barns.......

 

 

All the way home I cradled my left wrist in my right hand.  It had turned black and blue and was sending out signals of pain.  OUCH!  It must have been all that "holding on" I had to do over the bumps.  After showering, I put an ice pack on it it which helped - some.  But the ice pack was not reaching all the areas of pain.   The problem was that my whole palm was one big ache of pain.  What to do?  What to do?  But then a light bulb went off in my head.  Why not fill a cup with ice cream and wrap my palm around the cup?  Instant relief!!  By the time I finished eating the cup of ice cream (chocolate works best), the pain had subsided and I figured I would be able to hobble to work the next day.  I fell asleep soon after and dreamed of wildflowers, bears, and no indoor plumbing!!    

 

See you soon,

                 True Grit (alias DeeDee)                  

WORK, PLAY, WORK, PLAY, WORK, PLAY, PLAY, PLAY!!

 

We have had a few days of dry weather so JR and Wee Bob are headed out to the east
 pasture to see if it is dry enough to move the hay to its winter storage area.  Wee Bob has it down pat how to start the 4-wheeler and where to give it the gas!!  He loves going "zoom, zoom"!



Here they come back!  The field is dry enough to start moving hay.  That's a really good thing because the grass is tall enough to be cut again.

Wee Bob and I drove the mule and watched JR as he moved the hay from the home pasture to the storage area.  (Don't tell anyone, but first we went down to the barn and grabbed a few Popsicles to cool us off.  We needed the energy because driving the mule and watching hay be hauled is hard work!!)

 

Moving the hay from the home field was not an all day job as JR only had about 35 rolls to move.  When he cuts and bales - what I call the "real hay field", which consists of 120 acres of  coastal Bermuda grass, JR can spend two or three days hauling hay. 

Between tractor trips, Wee Bob had to prove that he was still "KING".  He was trying to tell the dogs to "get back to the barn", without a lot of luck.  Our dogs are not good listeners.  Maybe they need to go back to school and take a special listening comprehension class!!

 

 

 

 



 

 

(As you can see, the dogs paid no attention to the Little Hay King.)  This picture shows one area where we store hay.  It is an old road bed and is higher than the surrounding fields which is good in case of torrential rains.  There used to be a man who would bring his grandson every year to climb on the hay.   Maybe he will notice the hay is stock piled again and return with his grandson for some hay jumping fun!    Pooh, Big A and Tosh loved to do that when they were kids along with our old dog, Checkers.  Watch Out!! I can see the gleam in Wee Bob's eyes as he is calculating just how long it will be before he is old enough to jump the bales!!!

Barn Raising and Other Stuff!

 

 As you can see, our new barn is going up!  When it is complete, it will house the catch pen for the cattle - among other things.  With a roof over their heads, the cattle will no longer get their dainty little hoofs muddy and their hides hot when it is time to vaccinate them or round them up to take to the auction.  Cattle often have heat stroke, especially when they are under stress.  So it is very important to "work" cattle early in the morning or on a cool, cloudy day.  Now, having a roof over everyone's head, will make loading cattle for sale day a cooler, safer, happier, less soggy place to be.  Because it is ALWAYS raining on sale day!!  No matter what the local weather report says - IT WILL RAIN!! Guaranteed!  100%!  And it is not fun to slip and fall down in a foot of mud and cow poop with lots of nervous cattle less than one foot away!! 

This barn is actually going to be about 40 feet larger than our "old" barn. However, it is made out of wood instead of steel like the "old" barn.  Have you priced steel lately?  We would have to win the lottery to be able to afford a new steel barn!  The multi-million dollar lottery!!  But the new barn will have a metal roof so the "pitter-patter" of rain can lull the cows to sleep!!

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 Notice the hay raked in long rows in the background?  JR is always cutting, raking, baling hay -  between rainstorms!

Some of the trusses arrived Friday.  Yea!  The men worked hard, in 90+ degree heat, raising part of the roof.  Hopefully, more trusses will arrive after Labor Day. And maybe even some cool, dry  weather........maybe.



 

                        This is our old catch pen.  New pens will be built under the new barn. When Big A and Pooh and Tosh were young kids, they loved to play in the catch pen.  They would climb in and over the gates and pretend to be cattle.  Then they would swing back and forth on the gates!  WHEEeee!  The cows would just stare at them like they had lost their minds!!!

This is the "old barn".  It houses all the equipment....tractors, backhoe, rakes, bush hogs, hay baler, etc. etc. etc..... There is also a smaller building underneath - part of the old, old, old, barn - where JR has a workbench, tools, freezer, refrigerator, etc. etc. etc.  (The little kids (and BIG kids) discover the freezer at an early age because there are always Popsicles hiding among the necessities. And....in case you did not know, calcium helps build strong bones and teeth!)

 

This is a view of the barns, in the East pasture, from the main gate.  The new barn is to the left and the old barn is on the right.  That is "Dark Vader's" shadow you see!   We finally had a bit of sunshine.  So..... since "Dark Vader" saw his shadow, that means we will have 6 more weeks of summer!  If it works for the groundhog it should work for Dark Vader!!  It is official  - keep the grill out and the lemonade in the refrigerator!!

 

 

 Moving on to another subject, Pooh sent me this picture of Bob and Wee Bob  (and their dog, Duke)  petting a cow.  I just had to share it. (No wonder I rarely eat beef.)
 

 

 

                  Around these parts, children are raised up to be cattleman -  starting at birth!  These pictures were taken on the farm owned by Bob's parents - high up on the mountain. Wee Bob is a "little bit"  spoiled.  Every evening when Bob arrives home from work, Pooh, Bob, and Wee Bob set off on their four-wheeler to check the cows.  Wee Bob's first words were "moo" and "cow" instead of "mama" and "dada".  And then he added "tractor", "truck", "rake", and "bobcat".  A true farmer in the making!!!  No doubt about it. 


Moving again to other important "stuff".....

Meme T, Papa G, and Big A took a short vacation this weekend to sail The Lost Sea.  What you see are blind fish that swim in the underground lake..  Their eyes are really scary looking because they have been underground for hundreds of generations.  They glow with a white, eerie light.

Yikes!!  Look at their eyes!! 
They should have surfaced sooner!!
(Warning - if you ever sail The Lost Sea make sure to check your watches OFTEN.  Do not spend more than two hours in the deep!!!)

I am not sure what this is but Meme T sent it by text.  It was something in the cave. 

I just love technology.  It gives me a chance to use my deciphering skills!

 

 

After emerging from the cave, Meme T and family took their "googly eyes" to a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater.  I wonder if everything they looked at glowed???

 

 

 

Last, but not least, since football fever seems to be spreading, there is nothing left to say but .....

ROLL TIDE !!!!!

 

Dee Dee