Renegade, Say It Ain't So!

We have been having a spell of incredibly gorgeous weather. I mean--aside from that hurricane-style storm that blew through two nights ago leaving a few neighboring towns without power, and looking like they were turned on their heads. Aside from that, Mother Nature has been terrific.


The last time I made a post I had detailed how Lilly had lost one of her new Renegade boots while out on the trail. This was a bummer for two reasons, the first being that I really liked them! The second reason was that they were very expensive shoes! Well, I was not bummed for long. Bill was out doing trail maintenance and found the missing Renegade! It was wedged in some muckity muckity muck.

This week I only worked Monday and Tuesday. I took the rest of the week off. On Wednesday, Bill and I headed out on the trail, with Lilly wearing the Renegades. But when we were almost home, I noticed something wrong with one of them. The one that had been caught in the bog. It was flopping around on Lilly's foot. Uh-oh. If you look at this picture closely.....

...you will see that the little cable acted like a little tiny saw and cut through the shoe itself. Bill and I looked and looked at this before we realized what had happened. I squealed: DESIGN FLAW!!!! But , could it be possible that Lilly and I had been too renegade for the Renegades???

Here is a picture Bill took when he found the Renegade. Do you see that little o? That's the Renegade!

It was really wedged in all that mud. I see exactly how the tear happened. As Lilly lifted her foot out of the mud, the shoe was stuck so tight that it resisted the motion of her foot. And then the little cable sliced through the material of the shoe like cheddar cheese! I am sending these pictures to Renegade and I'll ask them to replace the shoe. I hope they do not tell me I am out of luck. Because out of luck means out of $85!

Apart from that small hoof boot melodrama, Bill and I had an excellent ride. He had worked on the trail in Trollwood and chopped up all the fallen trees that were hindering the path. Here's a picture Bill took while on Ruby in Trollwood. Long live the chainsaw!

Here is a shot Bill took of me crossing Carrot Stream. You can't even see the water. After crossing through, Lilly indeed got a carrot. Good brumby. It was really hot on Wednesday. The temp was 96!!

There's another shot of me, but you see it is also a self portrait of Bill! This was right before Lilly stepped on Sally's foot. Thank goodness she just pinched it. Lilly has no patience for dogs. I must keep a better eye on Lilly and the dogs. Because stepping on them is absoluetly not allowed.

That is a blurry picture of Bill and Ruby and the dogs in Trollwood.

Here you can see Bill's previous handiwork with the chainsaw.

Don't Bill's white socks crack you up?

Coming back to the barn, Ruby didn't like the tractor in the road. Bill's tractor is in that big shadow there. I thought Lilly might give that tractor the hairy eyeball too. But she didn't!

She went charging right by Ruby and went past it. Nothing stands in the way of this brumby and her barn! Naturally as soon as Lilly went ahead, Ruby had no trouble following.

It was so hot that day that Bill decided the horses would like to be hosed off. There is something very satisfying about spraying the hose on a hot, sweaty horse. It must feel so good to them. And it is nice to see all the dirt run off their backs.

Someone's big bum got in the way of this photo.

Ruby made no fuss with the hose at all. But she seemed slightly skeptical.

Of course, not every horse loves water as much as this brumby. She LOVES the water. It doesn't matter how cold it is, she loves it.

If this picture looks like Lilly is fussing, I can assure you she was not. It was so cute, she made me laugh and laugh. If my camera hadn't been malfunctioning, I would have gotten even better snapshots.

I love it when Lilly's big ole lips open so she can try and drink the water. Horses are so funny!

This is what Lilly looked like through most of her shower! She was in heaven!!!

The following day I got in a ride with Christine. It was not as hot so the woods were extra beautiful. Today I also squeezed in a ride, but I forgot my camera! When was the last time I forgot that? I was solo, and halfway out on the trail I realized I wasn't wearing my helmet! I forgot that too! (Secretly, being helmetless felt great)

I was putting my most recent pictures on the computer and look what turned up! Looks like a certain husband has been documenting his model airplanes with my camera!!! Do you see what he has done to my blogging room?? He has turned it into a model-airplane-building studio!!! That pegboard is so ugly!!! Sometimes just for a snort I hang my necklaces on it. This particular plane is a glider. It's still just a frame right now.

This one has a little engine in it. Because Brandon is not good at flying the planes, he has already crashed this one. I guess those big hand-held piloting thingamadoodles require some practice.
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I won't be riding this weekend because we are going to the seashore.

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I'll blog again when we get back!