September so far

It's been pretty busy around here since my last blog entry. I didn't do much for most of this summer, but the halfway through August I seemed to be doing something every weekend! I went to a Trakhener mare inspection and branding on August 23, photographed a local dressage schooling show on the 24th, attended the county fair from the 27th to September 1st, went to see a local band in Wausau on September 5 and stayed up all night, and on the 14th I traveled down to Mequon with some friends and their horses to see an Oldenburg inspection and branding. I was planning to go to the Michigan Renaissance Festival this coming weekend, but I'm not sure I can make it, I may have to push it back to the 27th and 28th.

I promised in an earlier blog that I'd write about Heather, my newest addition, and I will, but I think she needs to have her own entry with pictures and stuff. I'll try and write that up tomorrow.

Other things in the news: I was on a ladder, without a spotter, and of course fell off and screwed up my knee. It was dumb, really dumb, and I knew better, but for some reason I did it anyway. Hopefully it will continue to heal nicely, and I won't see any lasting effects.

Otherwise, there's not much going on. I should get back to working on pictures for Ken, and stuff for Cafe Press. I finally subscribed to the pro shop, and hopefully I can get it to generate enough money to cover the feed bill this winter. Maybe if I'm lucky, I can make enough to get shavings too.

Finally, a day of 'rest'

Today is the first day in about a week that I can kick back and 'relax', meaning I can finally get some stuff done around the house. The only thing that's stopping me from mowing the lawn right now is the dew still on the grass. Laundry is washing at this very moment (I ran out of jeans), and a list has been made of other things that need doing today: clean my room, wash dishes, finish editing the photo proofs for printing, sweep the office, mop, etc....

I got behind starting last Friday, when I went to my friend Billie's to spend the night so we could leave early the next morning for the American Trakehner Association's mare inspection at KD Trakehners in Watertown, Wisconsin. We stayed up late chatting, and thus at 4 am we were a little wasted to say the least. The trip went well, though, and was a lot of fun, with gorgeous mares and cute babies everywhere. After the evaluations and scoring (one was approved as a model mare), we were treated to a jumping exhibition featuring their stallion Blitz Und Donner.
I would dearly love to breed Hope to such a handsome boy, I just have to find the money for the stud fee!

After the brandings, we said our goodbyes and went back to Billie's for supper. It was late, so I stayed the night again and went to the Marshfield Saddle Club's schooling show the next day. The weather was wonderful, not too hot or cold, and the sun and blue sky made taking pictures easier. Hopefully I can get enough orders to put towards a new (to me) camera, as having just one makes me very nervous.

Heather was delivered Monday morning (more about her in another post), and the rest of the day was spent running around town, shopping for food, and downloading cf cards. Tuesday was mostly spent in front of the computer converting RAW to jpg, sorting the good from the bad, and posting the proofs to my site. Wednesday and Thursday I spent at the Central Wisconsin State Fair taking pictures of friends and working on my gymkhana photo technique. I'm planning to make prints of the best run of each person and handing them to the county horse project superintendent to hand out to the riders. Maybe next year I'll donate my time to take ribbon pics if they're interested.

So we come to Friday and the weekend. Tomorrow starts the Pepsi All Wisconsin Draft Horse Show at the fairgrounds, with the youth classes in the morning and the first of the hitches in the evening. The biggest crowd pleaser is the ten horse pyramid hitch, though I like the four horse competitive driving class. That gets exciting! Sunday is stallion and gelding at halter, then the cart and other hitch classes, and in the evening the tandem classes and champion four horse hitch. Monday wraps up with mare and group halter and the last of the hitch classes. It's a fun time, and if anybody is in the area they should stop in and check it out. The horses are top quality, and the handlers are incredible!

Well, I should get back to work. Hopefully I'll be able to start preparing for winter next week. It seems a little early to be thinking about it, but I'm tired of cutting wood in a foot of snow and ice, and I'd really like to get my gardens laid out and fertilized for next year.

Just a quick post

Thought I would do a quick update before I head for bed.

We baled second crop this afternoon, and I may have just enough of it to last Gem and Jul the winter, maybe 200 bales total if I'm lucky. It cost a lot to make it, in regards to fuel mostly, but they're worth it. I have more than enough first crop for everybody, but those two prefer the second crop for taste and texture. Who am I to argue with a 35 yr old mare and her 30 yr old son?

A friend called me the other day and invited me to go to a Trakehner inspection in Watertown on Saturday, and of course I jumped at the opportunity! Woohoo! Then on Sunday I'm photographing a schooling show in Marshfield, which is always fun. I must be one of the few photographers out there that enjoys taking pictures of dressage shows, no matter the level.

Also, I did something spontaneous and possibly foolish today, but I don't think I'll regret it much. I can't say anything at the moment, as I don't know if Ken or Jac (or anybody really) reads this blog, but next week I'll write about the what, how and why.

And that's it, I'm going to bed...