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| Cat Snack! |
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| Chillin' in the Shade |
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| Now that's a big cat! |
Beauty shot ...
And taking a nap!
family pictures
13 years ago
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Cute Cats
Just a few cute photos of the boys ... hanging out around the house.
Beauty shot ...
And taking a nap!
Beauty shot ...
And taking a nap!
UofH Stadium Tour
We've had UofH football tickets at the original Robertson Stadium for years, but this past season was played at Reliant while the new UofH stadium was under construction. To prepare season ticket holders for the purchasing process - quite the ordeal - they offered tours since the new stadium is very different than the old one.
They've changed the orientation from north/south to east/west and this provides a view of downtown between the scoreboard and the upper seats on the west end.
It was fun to see the progress and get an idea of where we wanted to buy our seats. Also, any excuse to wear a hard hat is a good one.
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| 3/30/14 - UofH Stadium |
They've changed the orientation from north/south to east/west and this provides a view of downtown between the scoreboard and the upper seats on the west end.
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| Lower Seating, Loge Boxes, Champions Club and Suites |
It was fun to see the progress and get an idea of where we wanted to buy our seats. Also, any excuse to wear a hard hat is a good one.
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| JB lookin' good in a hard hat and vest! |
This is the student beam ... they let students sign the red beam before installing it. That will be something those students will come back to see for many years to come.
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| Student Beam |
Ticket sales were handled via a lottery where Cougar Pride donors were ranked based on total dollars contributed in the last year. Then we were issued a password, assigned a 5 minute time slot on a specific day to log in and purchase the best of what was left. Since we were farther down the list, we didn't get a loge box, but were able to snag some great seats on the lower level in the section where we wanted to be. This is pretty close to our view ... we're a little closer to the field.
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| Seats with a View |
Let's hope they have a great season - go Coogs!
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
At the Zoo
While we waited for the big event, we could pet these little creatures ...
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| Small Dragon - he was kind of cute! |
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| This little guy was some type of hedgehog from Madagascar - felt like broom bristles. |
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| Jonah showing off! |
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| Taji - Anatolian Shepherd & Kito - Cheetah |
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| Kito & his handlers on their way out of the exhibit. |
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| Kito |
It was a fun outing!
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Ice Storm #3
Technically, this was the third ice event, but the second one didn't deliver as advertised! I thought this one would be a bust too, but mid morning we suddenly had a beautiful accumulation on the tree-tops.
I know it's terrible for the plants and really terrible for traffic, but you have to admit that the ice on this pine tree is beautiful!
This cold squirrel ventured out in the freezing rain for breakfast.
And this cold cat ventured out on the balcony to have a look around ...
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| Mary Louise's Magnolia Tree |
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| Oak Coated in Ice |
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| Pine Ice |
I know it's terrible for the plants and really terrible for traffic, but you have to admit that the ice on this pine tree is beautiful!
This cold squirrel ventured out in the freezing rain for breakfast.
And this cold cat ventured out on the balcony to have a look around ...
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| Elvis, making good use of his beautiful fur! |
Monday, February 24, 2014
2014 Salt Grass Trail Ride - Day 3
After questioning our sanity for committing to ride another 18.2 miles on Monday, we were renewed after getting a good night's sleep in our own beds. Brenda drove Joe and I to the outskirts of Chappell Hill where the riders were camped and we began again.
Surprisingly, it was cool, with a mist in the air, and I think that had the horses feeling frisky. We saddle up, move over by our Wagon and wait until the call to line up. This photo is best titled "before the incident".
We're just hanging out on our horses and they're getting a snack and I look down and see that Joe has let his reins go slack and his horse has stepped one leg through the reins. Dangerous situation. Joe asks what he should do and I said he could get down and drop them over Hoagie's head or I'd get off my horse and he could just hand the reins to me. As it was, if the horse had raised his head, he would have realized that the reins were erroneously "between his legs" and freaked out.
You can see where this is going.
So I get off and as I walk around the front of TieDye, Hoagie raises his head and realizes he is "trapped" and starts jumping around. At this point, TieDye is jumping around too and an actual cowboy has seen the commotion and is headed to Joe to help. I swing back up into the saddle and turn around to face the action.
I'm not really sure what happened next, but neither the cowboy or Joe had the reins. Joe was still in the saddle, but the cowboy was controlling Hoagie by holding onto the saddle horn. This excitement causes TieDye to bolt, but luckily I was already seated so no harm, no foul. Cowboy gets the situation with Joe and Hoagie under control immediately - I swear these horses know when they're dealing with a REAL horseman - and we're ready for line-up. Joe's confidence is slightly shaken, but he's still game and Hoagie did calm down.
Now we're on a gravel road about 6 feet from a barbed wire fence and all bunched up together and here comes TROUBLE. Big white horse - young and not trail ready - being ridden by a woman who seemed to be a good rider, but wasn't respectful of the rest of us. Big white horse rushes through the group in front of us and whinnies loudly, then rares up (think Lone Ranger and Trigger). When he came off the ground, the rider smacked him on the neck (stupid idea) and he let out another unhappy/wild noise that spooked all the horses. Hoagie was basically dancing on his little hooves at this point.
White horse is backing into the barbed wire and horses are shifting around to get away from him and I see an opening, so Joe and I get out of line and circle back to an open area to wait. Things calmed down after that and we got off to a good start, but the big white horse was a MENACE the entire ride. He was so wild he could not stay on the pavement with the rest of the horses, so she was riding him along the sides of the road - this was better, but he was making all sorts of noise all morning and creating unnecessary anxiety in all of the horses near him.
It was a very nice ride - beautiful trail - but the cold front was coming in early and the weather had turned cold and windy with blowing mist. We weren't that uncomfortable (neither Joe or I brought our jackets) but the roads were getting slick and the horses would slip when they trotted.
Although he's not a bad horse, I've ridden him before, Joe vowed to never ride Hoagie again after the last rest stop where he got it in his mind that if he wasn't going to be allowed to eat the road side grass, he was going to back his way through the crowd. He didn't exactly buck - it was more like a small series of back-kicks to clear his way into the crowd.
With 11 miles under our belts - and another 5 hours in the saddle - we bagged it in at the lunch stop. Dallas and Lisee, who own the horses we were riding, meet the crew at lunch each day to check in and they offered to give us a ride to evening camp. We all waited there until Brenda and her step-dad came to pick us up.
I hated to drop out after having gone so far, but my knees needed a rest and Joe had Achilles heel repair/surgery last fall and really didn't need another 7 miles in the saddle ... particularly Hoagie's saddle. That said, he was fine after the rest stop.
Last look at Wagon 7 for 2014 ...
Next year we're going to make it three full days ... unless the weather is bad.
Surprisingly, it was cool, with a mist in the air, and I think that had the horses feeling frisky. We saddle up, move over by our Wagon and wait until the call to line up. This photo is best titled "before the incident".
We're just hanging out on our horses and they're getting a snack and I look down and see that Joe has let his reins go slack and his horse has stepped one leg through the reins. Dangerous situation. Joe asks what he should do and I said he could get down and drop them over Hoagie's head or I'd get off my horse and he could just hand the reins to me. As it was, if the horse had raised his head, he would have realized that the reins were erroneously "between his legs" and freaked out.
You can see where this is going.
So I get off and as I walk around the front of TieDye, Hoagie raises his head and realizes he is "trapped" and starts jumping around. At this point, TieDye is jumping around too and an actual cowboy has seen the commotion and is headed to Joe to help. I swing back up into the saddle and turn around to face the action.
I'm not really sure what happened next, but neither the cowboy or Joe had the reins. Joe was still in the saddle, but the cowboy was controlling Hoagie by holding onto the saddle horn. This excitement causes TieDye to bolt, but luckily I was already seated so no harm, no foul. Cowboy gets the situation with Joe and Hoagie under control immediately - I swear these horses know when they're dealing with a REAL horseman - and we're ready for line-up. Joe's confidence is slightly shaken, but he's still game and Hoagie did calm down.
Now we're on a gravel road about 6 feet from a barbed wire fence and all bunched up together and here comes TROUBLE. Big white horse - young and not trail ready - being ridden by a woman who seemed to be a good rider, but wasn't respectful of the rest of us. Big white horse rushes through the group in front of us and whinnies loudly, then rares up (think Lone Ranger and Trigger). When he came off the ground, the rider smacked him on the neck (stupid idea) and he let out another unhappy/wild noise that spooked all the horses. Hoagie was basically dancing on his little hooves at this point.
White horse is backing into the barbed wire and horses are shifting around to get away from him and I see an opening, so Joe and I get out of line and circle back to an open area to wait. Things calmed down after that and we got off to a good start, but the big white horse was a MENACE the entire ride. He was so wild he could not stay on the pavement with the rest of the horses, so she was riding him along the sides of the road - this was better, but he was making all sorts of noise all morning and creating unnecessary anxiety in all of the horses near him.
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| Joe |
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| Lynn Burns, Joe & me |
It was a very nice ride - beautiful trail - but the cold front was coming in early and the weather had turned cold and windy with blowing mist. We weren't that uncomfortable (neither Joe or I brought our jackets) but the roads were getting slick and the horses would slip when they trotted.
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| The Long View Looking Back |
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| Rest Stop and Scene of Incident #3 |
Although he's not a bad horse, I've ridden him before, Joe vowed to never ride Hoagie again after the last rest stop where he got it in his mind that if he wasn't going to be allowed to eat the road side grass, he was going to back his way through the crowd. He didn't exactly buck - it was more like a small series of back-kicks to clear his way into the crowd.
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| Pretty Views with Wildflowers Just Peeking Out |
I hated to drop out after having gone so far, but my knees needed a rest and Joe had Achilles heel repair/surgery last fall and really didn't need another 7 miles in the saddle ... particularly Hoagie's saddle. That said, he was fine after the rest stop.
Last look at Wagon 7 for 2014 ...
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| Magnificent 7 & Crew |
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| Wagon 7 "b" - our group has two! |
Next year we're going to make it three full days ... unless the weather is bad.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
2014 Salt Grass Trail Ride - Day 2
Day 2 - call to saddle at 8:30am, line up and then the morning prayer, followed by the National Anthem.
We're on the road at 9am ...
Aside from the "madness" of mixing hundreds of horses who don't know each other, there's something relaxing about the rythm of the ride once you get out of the big city of Brenham.
You'll notice that the sun has come out and even though there are clouds in the sky, it's casting a long shadow. Surprisingly hot, and as the hours go by, it's not easy for horse or rider.
The ride was fairly uneventful, although I'll confess to walking TieDye across the first wooden bridge. He was a little spooked by our second wagon - the mules were wearing bells - and I didn't feel like I should risk his already "dancing" gate across that plywood. I liked him a lot, but wasn't going to take any chances. All the others rode across and TieDye did the second bridge without any issues.
The funny story about Sunday happened mid-morning as we were moving through a neighborhood area and realize the wagon is out of "lemonade," just as we are riding past some little kids who have set up a lemonade stand in front of their house. Sandra Montalbano jumps off her horse, yells "someone give me some money" and takes off running for their stand.
The ride keeps going and shortly she's jogging back to get her horse with a big Tupperware pitcher in hand. She told the kids she wanted ALL the lemonade they had and with a very surprised look, they said they had to ask their mom if they could sell the Tupperware too. Sandra gave them a $20 and the mom said she was welcome to keep the pitcher or bring it back next year. LOL!
Day 2 is sort of a "trial by fire" - it's 14.4 miles and 11 of them are before the lunch stop. I'm posting this unflattering photo because the looks on our faces are exactly how we felt as we neared Chappell Hill. There was an accident with one of the back wagons that had us on hold and put lunch back about 30 minutes - our horses needed water and we needed food.
The fun/silly thing about entering Chappell Hill is that they turn it into a mini-parade and the Fire Dept. donates their pasture for our stop. Coming into town we have to get into formation, but I don't think our group would win any prizes for straight lines!
We can SEE the lunch stop from here and our moods were dramatically improved ... the horses too!
Lunch stop means a break for the legs because you're out of the saddle, but you're also taking turns holding horses while riders eat their lunch. The delay from the rider who was injured meant our break was cut short because the Highway Patrol was set to close 290 at 2:45pm and the entire trail ride had to cross by 3pm.
This is only our second year, but you learn a little something each time you ride. This year, I added a "tush cush" to my saddle (visible in the photo with Jerry & TieDye above) and while it wasn't a complete transformation, my saddle was easier to take.
Call to saddle at 2:30 with line up and crossing of 290 ...
I will admit that we all felt 100% better after lunch and were ready to take on the last 3+ miles. Here we go ...
It was another fun day and another important lesson for me. Do not ever get on a horse going 11 miles before lunch without a power bar!
Although Joe and I were riding Monday, Jerry was headed to the office Monday morning and Brenda needed to be home on Sunday night since her son would be back from his Dad's. After a quick dinner at the Wagon, we headed home.
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| Morning Prayer & National Anthem |
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| Cameron |
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| Jerry, me & Joe |
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| Joe & Hogie |
You'll notice that the sun has come out and even though there are clouds in the sky, it's casting a long shadow. Surprisingly hot, and as the hours go by, it's not easy for horse or rider.
The ride was fairly uneventful, although I'll confess to walking TieDye across the first wooden bridge. He was a little spooked by our second wagon - the mules were wearing bells - and I didn't feel like I should risk his already "dancing" gate across that plywood. I liked him a lot, but wasn't going to take any chances. All the others rode across and TieDye did the second bridge without any issues.
The funny story about Sunday happened mid-morning as we were moving through a neighborhood area and realize the wagon is out of "lemonade," just as we are riding past some little kids who have set up a lemonade stand in front of their house. Sandra Montalbano jumps off her horse, yells "someone give me some money" and takes off running for their stand.
The ride keeps going and shortly she's jogging back to get her horse with a big Tupperware pitcher in hand. She told the kids she wanted ALL the lemonade they had and with a very surprised look, they said they had to ask their mom if they could sell the Tupperware too. Sandra gave them a $20 and the mom said she was welcome to keep the pitcher or bring it back next year. LOL!
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| 5 Hours in the Saddle |
The fun/silly thing about entering Chappell Hill is that they turn it into a mini-parade and the Fire Dept. donates their pasture for our stop. Coming into town we have to get into formation, but I don't think our group would win any prizes for straight lines!
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| The Magnificent Wagon 7 |
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| Our Posse |
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| Morgan & Cameron |
We can SEE the lunch stop from here and our moods were dramatically improved ... the horses too!
Lunch stop means a break for the legs because you're out of the saddle, but you're also taking turns holding horses while riders eat their lunch. The delay from the rider who was injured meant our break was cut short because the Highway Patrol was set to close 290 at 2:45pm and the entire trail ride had to cross by 3pm.
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| Just a man and his horses ... |
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| An exhausted TieDye |
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| Morgan with Her & Cameron's Horses |
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| Rocky & TieDye getting a much needed lunch break! |
Call to saddle at 2:30 with line up and crossing of 290 ...
I will admit that we all felt 100% better after lunch and were ready to take on the last 3+ miles. Here we go ...
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| Scouts Leading SGTR |
Although Joe and I were riding Monday, Jerry was headed to the office Monday morning and Brenda needed to be home on Sunday night since her son would be back from his Dad's. After a quick dinner at the Wagon, we headed home.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
2014 Salt Grass Trail Ride - Day 1
Back in the saddle for the Brenham "circle ride" on February 22nd - kicking off the 2014 Salt Grass. Jerry is riding Rocky and Tie-dye is carrying me.
He's starting to look like a genuine cowboy!
There was a photographer along the route, so I've got more shots of our "posse" this year - we had a large group on Saturday.
Saturday was a great day - the weather was beautiful and the horses were spunky, but well behaved. We all stayed in the saddle (8.2 miles) and had a great time around the Wagon 7 campfire that evening. They really know how to "feed and water" a bunch of tired cow-pokes!
He's starting to look like a genuine cowboy!
There was a photographer along the route, so I've got more shots of our "posse" this year - we had a large group on Saturday.
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| Barkley, Jr. - Brenda Stubb's Nephew |
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| Cameron - Joe Stubb's Son |
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| Y'all Know THIS Cowboy! |
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| Looking Back ... |
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| Joe Stubbs |
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| Morgan - Cameron's Girlfriend |
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| Nan, Barkley & Joe w/Jerry on 2nd Row |
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| Action shot ... I have no idea what I was doing. |
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| Ride 'em Cowgirl! |
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| Sandra Montalbano & Morgan |
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| Trail Ride is one of the most patriotic places on earth! |
Saturday was a great day - the weather was beautiful and the horses were spunky, but well behaved. We all stayed in the saddle (8.2 miles) and had a great time around the Wagon 7 campfire that evening. They really know how to "feed and water" a bunch of tired cow-pokes!
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