🎶 You Can't Call Him a Cowboy, Until You See Him Ride 🎶

 Well, I may have reached cowboy/girl status finally this month! Earlier, we came across the biggest bee's nest of all time! It was going up Underwood by the big Elderberry bushes. I looked down and saw a tornado of bees. Thankfully we were right on Toby because it's a hill Jupes loves to run. We ran it the fastest I think I may have ever ridden! It's one of our trails that is low overhanging branches and pokie stobs.* We have to make a quick right turn to miss the really low branch that came down a few years ago. He was humping and kicking out like crazy. He got stung a bunch of times. Dang it! I later found I had lost my water bottle. Lynn and Rachel went back and sprayed the nest and retrieved it. Lynn said the nest is enormous and not only took two and half bottles of spray, but it goes horizontal and probably didn't kill all of them. They got spooked by the rumbling the angry bees made and hightailed it outta there! Yikes.

*Interesting fact: the word "stob" comes from "hillybilly slang." LOL. It originated as a Scottish/Old English word that became part of Appalachian and Southern languages. It's defined as "A small, straight stick, peg, or pointed post driven into the ground (such as for a fence or marker), or the leftover stump of a small sapling or bush." You can also use it for stub, or even to stob your toe. hahahahahaha

The second time this month was last Saturday when Lynn ponied Big Zigs. She rode him once and brought him along once before after getting him shod. It went really well, except it hurts her shoulder a bit to always be pulling him along since she doesn't have a horn. (or does she?) Anyway, on Saturday she said, "I think I'll just let him be loose. He'll just follow along." Right. Once he realized he was free--it was on. He ran his big floaty self up the rutted, hard road from the bottom ranch meadow to the top. Jupiter humped and jumped and did some mini buck for joy. He was going to run with his friend! 

I was definitely "clenched" and pulling him up tight. All I could think was, "I am NOT going off here!" It would have broken me. Too hard, too rocky, too many deep holes. So I just screamed at him and yelled, "EASY, EASY!" When we got to the top, there were two men standing next to their vehicles. My first thought was, "Oh please don't shoot us." It's bow season. 

I have said I wondered what they were thinking with all the loud hooves and a woman screaming, "JUPITER!" They probably thought I was fine and was yelling at the horse in front. LOLOLOL Too funny. 

Lynn and her big ideas.

We have had a very different summer. Lynn has had to take care of Lee and then Katie. I have a new puppy who has to have a babysitter when we ride. We have not been as free to ride as we normally would have been. Yet, we have been riding as much as possible and had some great days. We've seen a bear, turkeys, rabbits, COWS (lol), hawks, pileated woodpeckers, and an occasional group of bikers and now hunters. The bees have taken some of shine off, tarnished some of joy, but overall, it's a pleasure to be in the saddle and up on our trails.