Lure Coursing!

On June 10th Levi and I went with Molly and her dog Mandy to a Lure Coursing Competition! It was great fun and next time I will get Levi entered for real!  Two white bags get pulled across a course on a flat field for the dogs to chase. They are timed and get points taken away if they take any short cuts!
Mostly Greyhounds and those type of breeds do this sport but it has become popular for shorter breeds and non-hunting breeds too.
Here is a video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmS7VehZoPM
Levi is the last dog to go, this was his second try at it and I think did pretty well.  Molly and Mandy did the course in 23 seconds on Saturday and 27 seconds on Sunday! She is the third dog to go!

There was a lady there selling big dog beds at a very good price. So I got Levi a bed to help train him with for the living room! After all that running he sure enjoyed it that night!

Baby Birds!!!

 My friend Tara gave me some Ferns and the first week they were up birds made themselves at home! Five Eggs turned into 3 chicks!!! Too cute!

Congrats Tollie & some Hat Shopping!

Congratulations NEW MULE Owner Tollie Mitchell!  He is now the proud owner of a mule named Charlie! The two are a perfect fit! We got another one hooked on mules!!! 

After a nice ride with Tollie and Aimee, Reed and I had some Italian for lunch and then cruised into the Zebulon Hat shop! We were trying out hats for Driving Donkeys!!!

Supervision!

The amount of supervision I need from my charges to keep the St. Clair Red Mule Farm running smoothly is amazing!  Now if they could just all help out! 

Levi in the yard, Seven to my right and Sadie's nose to my left, Charlie the visiting mule behind me! We are filling the guest paddock's water trough!

My New Donkey!

When Christina and I were headed back from the Trail Obstacle Race in Denton we stopped at this little road side stand. They did not have the angel statue I was looking for but I think I found something better!  He is about the size of a soccer ball and just too darn cute!!!  Has found a home in my garden next to the side door!!!

Trail Obstacle Race 6/9/2012

Well the first obstacle of the course was the Teeter Totter! He went right over it like a CHAMP! I was so proud of him! Next was a mattress, no problem. He did the rest of the course with no problem, I was so pleased with him! Competition was steep so we did not place in the Money this time! But we will be working on some stuff for next time!!!
Photo of us heading for the pipe jumps that go along the pond! I just love his stride, collection and roundness! Just soft and light!!!

Crops ready to be harvested in the field cross from my farm!  June, 2012

The Dreaded Teeter Totter!

Seven had been getting a little uneasy on the Teeter Totters at the trail competitions so I took him up to see our friend James Lamm!  James has Rocky the trick mule and does shows with him. He has Rocky lay down on a tarp, jump into the back of a pick up truck and stand up on pedestals!

Many years ago I was at a parade and Seven and I were riding back to the trailer. We got near this man who was standing in the street next to a truck. Seven stopped in his tracks and gave a hard look at James. So I introduced ourselves to him, I had to Seven had pretty much already stopped and said, "Who are you?" We have been friends ever since.

For those of you who know Seven personally, you know that he is a little stand offish and unsure of new people or someone who moves quickly and is very animated.  Well not around James. He acts so calm and relaxed, he just lets James do any thing with him or to him! It still just amazes me!

So James helped us work on the Teeter Totter to prepare for the Trail Obstacle Race coming up this Saturday! That was my main goal for the course this time, was to make it over the Teeter Totter with out loosing any points!  We shall see if James has worked his magic!

I got the prints of my great photos that Bryan Pittman took of me with Sadie and Seven at the Trail Obstacle Course Weekend. I can't decide which photo I like the best, so I guess I will just post both of them! Check out  http://www.sliveroftimephotography.com/  to hire Bryan for your next event or photos!  I am going to get together a small group of people to have him out for more portraits!

Pilot Mountain Trip

Over Memorial Day weekend Aimee and Tollie came up to my house, as well as Molly. We all took off for their land near Pilot Mountain for some mule riding and creek swimming!  We got there and started dinner once we got settled. Tara arrived with her two mules just before dark!
The next day we went on a ride through the Yadkin River to an Island with about 1 hour of trails! The then headed back to camp were we rode some more and then did some rafting in the big creek along their property. The dogs, Mandy and Levi also had a wonderful time! We ate well both nights, with gourmet food!
Monday morning we took our time to pack up. Mandy looked out the window and handed Seven a carrot! It was so funny! We hauled the mules over to another area of he trails. We rode for about 2 1/2 hours and then headed home from there.
It was a wonderful weekend, everyone had a great time!

Check out the videos I made from out trip:
Muley Memorial Day Weekend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhgE_lLOUhQ&feature=channel&list=UL

Mandy's Big Weekend (Dog's Video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO-eXNNIKEU

On the way home, for the first time in all my travels, we had to pull over on the side of an exit ramp for an emergency! Can you guess what that emergency was?  A HUGE SPIDER!!!  Tollie save the day by killing it! It was under the visor on the front passengers side seat.  I was laughing hysterically during the hole thing, but I also got out of the truck because I did not want that spider jumping on me either.  
We decided that all those people you see pulled off the side of the ride and diving out of their cars, must be running from a spider!!!  Wish I had a video of that too!!