Everything is Beautiful

I saw this fly bonnet at last year's Equine Affaire and thought it would be perfect for hunting season, never minding that it appears to have been made for donkeys. One year later and I still have not made the needed alterations. So now it looks like Lilly is wearing sock puppets on her ears. Pretty cute, brumby.

I have been having a pretty awesome weekend. We started Saturday off by going to Elmer's cafe and general store in the center of town. I found this hilarious entry on the menu.

Since I was busy with the Equine Affaire last weekend and didn't ride, I was very excited to go over to Bill's right after stuffing myself at Elmer's (gluten-free chocolate chip pancakes and Eggs Benedict sans muffin) and spend time with Lilly. Upon getting her out of the pasture,  I thought her back legs looks a little puffy. However, I tacked her up anyway because I had a feeling she was just stocking up, and a little walk up the road would solve the problem.

Did I mention I bought a new girth at the Equine Affaire? Bill has one just like it and loves it. I liked the look of how comfy it looked. Here you see Bonnie Bell giving it a sniff of approval.

Fits like a glove.

That looks very comfy, brumby. Feeling satisfied with the new girth, my brumby and I headed out.

Even though this spot is only 20 feet away from Bill's driveway, it is the first place I get resistance from Lilly. This is where she starts to indicate that she is not so interested in  trail riding after all.Good thing I have packed some carrots to lure her away from her buddies...who she just wants to bite anyway.

 Lilly's initial reluctance to get moving is not the only part of getting started. Once we get walking along the road, we have to contend with the town of Conway's idea of acceptable road material! This rock looks like it could cause a miserable stone bruise. Ouch!

I always try to make sure the little prongs on the reins point outward. I never thought of this at all until CC mentioned it one time. Now I try to remember to check it.

Oh! Look at this trailside discovery!

Further up the road we happened upon this cute little nest that was invisible in the summer.

I wonder what little bird was in there all summer as we ambled by. I think birds are amazing.

Uh oh! Someone is coming! It turned out to be an old guy in a chevy pick up. As he passed by he asked me if I was OK. I guess when you see a horse with a saddle on but the rider on the ground, it is a fair question to ask. I told him I was just investigating a bird's nest.  He smiled kindly and drove on.

There's my crop on the ground again.  Looks like Lilly is attempting to trample it. Maybe she was hoping it would snap in two when she stepped on it.

This is what happens when I ride alone. I pause for strange photo shoots.

I am not exactly sure what Lilly thinks is going on. But she never complains.

I think I qualify for the brumby cheerleading squad. GO TEAM BRUMBY!!!!

This rock made a good makeshift tripod.

I got so involved in my crazy photos that I did not realize that it was getting late. The sun started to drop behind the mountain and it was starting to rain a little. As we started back, we ran into Bill who was on his way to the Winter Pasture to give the horses there some hay. He reminded me it was getting late.

I almost forgot to show a photo of Lilly's new boots from the Equine Affaire!!

 Sparkly pink boots in action!

Puffy leg update: All better. Just getting Lilly moving around solved the problem just like I thought it might. 

Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner, I will conclude my post with some mushrooms called turkey tails.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!