WHERE to begin???

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted, but...there's been gardening, camping, riding in the mountains, keeping the grandbaby, camping, riding in the mountains, keeping the grandbaby...oh, I think I've repeated myself, well...you know I have turned 54 since I last posted, and you can see by the sequence of events, what my priorities are!! :-) 

Is it hot where you are??  I know the last few days it's been in the high 90's here and we're in the mountains.  Humidity, heat, sweat (that, I hate) has kept us in the house for the most part.  We go out and do our chores early in the morning, but we're back in the house ASAP.  We went camping for a week at Cades Cove about 2 weeks ago and had to have cover at night...saw 11 bears - 3 momas with babies and a big male.  Met up with a mule buddy (Lynda Carr) and she brought her mules over from Sevierville and we rode the Cove trail one day.  Ten miles, 5 hours in the saddle with my stirrups too short...knees hurt that evening, but was fine the next day.  Went riding again with her this last Friday, took my saddle, rode 12 miles, 6 hours in the saddle and went up 5000' elevation...Rich Mountain trail out of Cades Cove...BEAUTIFUL overlooks and views of the Cove and Tuckaleechee Valley, cool but humid AND NOT sore a bit (guess this ol' gal's still got it!)!!  Wonderful memories with a great friend!  All's great here at AWESOME ASS ACRES...the hens are laying, the rooster's crowing, the peahen's settin' (YEA!!), the peacock's struttin', (in fact, I think he's in love with me...he fans his tail feathers every time I'm around), the mules are braying, horses neighing, the goat and sheep are bleatin' and we're all healthy!!  We're having fresh tomatoes, squash, beans, cucumbers from the garden, so we're eating good AND I forgot to mention that we have a new lamb.  He was born while we were camping, but he's healthy and cute as a button...black and white, just like Ray, our ram.  BTW, we're calling him FAA, to add to the others -- Doe, Ray, Mee! 

I've also been painting "in my spare time"...several ACEO's, a couple of guineas on old roofing slates, and I'm trying my hand at a "Paint Your Own Painted Pony".  I should have it finished and listed on Ebay by the end of the week. 

Last, but definitely not least, we've had Alayna (our 2 1/2 yr. old grandbaby) visit twice in the last month!  Her mom and dad (our son and his wife) are expecting another little one in December.  Mom's doing great now, but had a few days of needing a little extra rest, so.....we were the chosen ones to entertain that sweet little girl and entertain we did!!  Barbies, coloring books, story books, feeding chickens, gathering eggs, building blocks, painting, playing in the wading pool, cuddling in the rocking chair, taking naps, telling tales, a whole lot of laughing and of course, the BIG thing...riding in the golf cart around the farm, was our daily routine while she was here!  Too much fun AND soooo looking forward to her next visit!!  Take care, God bless and happy trails from AWESOME ASS ACRES!!  I'll be posting pictures soon!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!

I can't believe today starts a new decade...I'm into my 6th one and though that doesn't sound bad, it really hits you when you do the multiplication!!  It's been several weeks since I've posted and I have been instructed to do better!!  Of course, we're all through with the Christmas season...decorating, cooking, company, wrapping, taping, eating, shopping, visiting, taking down decorations, cleaning up the wrapping and taping, tired of the cooking, regretting the eating, paying for the shopping and left with wonderful memories of the company and visiting!  We were blessed with a healthy, safe Christmas, so we enjoyed the busy times!  I hope each one of you were blessed, also!
During the days leading up to Christmas, I was in a frenzy painting ornaments!  Each one was different, but most depicted a woodland critter...lots of raccoons, skunks, squirrels, deer, a fox and a 'possum or two.  Of course I auctioned them on Ebay and I've met some wonderful, new customers/friends, through their sales!  I've posted pictures of a couple of my favorites...

All of our animal crew here at AWESOME ASS ACRES, are fat and sassy!  The mules and horses have their winter coats on and all are healthy and wooly!  ChaCha, the baby of the bunch, had her 3rd hoof trimming this last week and of course, again was the perfect little lady!  My farrier is amazed at her patience and sweet nature...let's all hope for that to continue into the spring, when she's introduced to other things, like the saddle, bridle, lounging...I'm really looking forward to working with her!
The cat population remains at 8...all healthy and doing their own thing...some are mousers, some are by-standers and some are trouble makers...but all are loved!!  The dogs keep us on our toes, alerting us to anything that might be going on, that we need to know about!  We have occasional night hunters during deer season and that's NOT something you want at any time, but especially when you have livestock, so even though it's hard to drag out of a warm bed, when it might be raining or in the single digits outside, it's worth it to check out why the dogs are barking!!  Our chickens and peafowl are all great...I'm sure they're looking forward to spring, when the weather warms, birds sing and everything's in bloom!  Our guinea flock is still on patrol around the property, so between them and the dogs, we're set for security!!  Well, I think I've caught up with any news, gossip and chit-chat, so I'll close for now!  I've got to go put on our collard greens, black eyed peas and cornbread for dinner!  I hope everyone is blessed with not just a wonderful year in 2010, but many more ahead!

MULES & MORE!

Alot of you know by now, that we operate a small farm (AWESOME ASS ACRES) in East Tennessee, near the beautiful Smoky Mountains. We have an assortment of animals, and we love all of them, but we have a farm because of our horses and mules! I decided to post some pictures of them today on this dreary, wet Sunday!! The dark sorrel/bay is Maude, the spotted App mule, is the holder of my heart, King Solomon and the young light sorrel is our yearling, Cha-Cha. The dark chocolate is Minnie, Cha-Cha's mom and a Haflinger cross and the beauty with the blonde locks is Dolly, a full Haflinger...we ride the mules and the horses are our wagon team. Some of you have asked about our animals and I thought I'd re-introduce them!! Take care from AAA!!

MORE PICS!!

Just wanted to add a few more pics from Mule Day...my favorite is the chunky, chocolate mule with the lady and dog riding. The mule is 22 years old and she's had him 10 years...I think he's out of a Paso Fino mare. One shows another mini, in full harness and the grey mule was one, of a pair of wagon mules, that camped next to us. The spotted saddle mule belongs to a friend and is gaited...there were several gaited classes this year and all had great entries! For those that are surprised to hear that there are gaited mules...ALOT of folks nowadays are breeding the best jackstock to Walking Horse, Paso Fino, Foxtrotter mares and getting mules that are as smooth as silk to ride. The annual Columbia Mule Sale was held on Tuesday and we were amazed to see gaited, riding mules going for $4500.00 & up...especially when in todays market, horses are being given away! I guess that's what happens when hybrids are "in"!!

WE'RE BACK!

Well, another fun time in Columbia, TN has come and gone...already looking forward to 2010! The week was filled with riding, laughing, visiting with old friends, making new ones, sittin' round the fire, tellin' tales, listening to others tell tales, more riding, seeing some BEAUTIFUL ears, hearing non-stop braying and oh yeah, a tornado evacuation! We wagon rode 28 miles from Etheridge to Columbia on Monday...the day was gorgeous, about 70* and sunny! We pulled into the park about 4:30, set up camp, and started the week there. Things were very uneventful until Thursday...a tornado touched down in Mt. Pleasant, about 8 miles away and the officials decided to evacuate the park and have us "visit" in the hallway of a nearby high school. That lasted 2 hours, with flooding, hail, wind outside, but no touch down that we know of. Several large campers that were parked in a low area of the park were sitting in water up to their windows...we felt bad for those folks, but no injury to anyone. We rolled back into AWESOME ASS ACRES this past Sunday evening, glad to be home, but already planning next year's trip! I've posted several pictures...one is of the back of our trailer, we're always surprised at the folks that want to take a picture of it!! The next is a pair of grey mules that were in a "one line, voice command" class...it was AMAZING to watch these draft mules respond to a slight built, older man as he held a LOOSE line and softly told them how to navigate an obstacle course, dragging a log behind, to boot! They also stood UNTIED, throughout the class waiting for their turn! The next one is "Shorty"...of course, I'm referring to the mule...the mountain man in front, is my husband, Larry!! Shorty is the tallest known mule in the world...he's out of a Percheron mare, 8 years old and measures 19.2". I wish Larry had gotten closer to his shoulder, but Shorty was a little antsy and didn't want to stand still. The last picture is of some miniature mules that are soooo cute...I'm afraid that I'm going to have to add a couple of those to the farm sometime in the future!!

I'm back to painting now...will be adding some more things to Ebay this week!!

Take care and let me hear from you!!