Back from camp. And ridin' again!

August 26th.
Well us girls are back from music camp! It was absolutly the best five days in August!!!! I'm working on a review of it that I'll post later. My instructor, Chris Jones from Minnisota, was so good! We became really good friends by the end of the week. But then, you'll read all about it in the review. The end result of camp? We want to go back for two weeks next year! LOL! :-) I think Naomi, Hannah, and I at least are planning on signing up for two weeks, and I think we have to do it pretty soon too. Kenosee Lake Kitchen Party is getting famous! :-)
Yesterday Ellie, I, Martha, and Cilla rode down to Rockford (about 5 miles away) to pick up the two mares that were there. I rode Sugar. She was trying to be a bit 'wolfy' to start out with out, trying to buck at the trot, and the canter. But she never tried really hard, and I was able to start almost before she got started. On the way home I got to close behind, Al, whom Cilla was riding, and he kick out, catching me in the left leg. :-'( It hurt pretty bad for a while, but thankfully now it only hurts if I touch it. I'll be more careful about watching Al after this. Sometimes it just takes a sharp reminder to keep your eyes open. Ouch! Sugar's a real sweetheart! She's pretty fun to ride. I'm planning on riding her again today.
August 28th
This morning Mom woke me up with, “Lydia! Hurry and go get a horse! There's a herd of cows in the hay!”
Well I tell you, I was out of bed and changed into coulottes in a hurry. On my way out I told Mom to call Brad, (our pastor and neighbour), and tell him that the cows came out of the pasture right beside the lake, he'll know whose cows they are. I knew which pasture they came out of, because of the palomino horse that runs with them. When I went outside I saw Jesse with Coyote, and dicided to ride Grey Girl, as Sugar probably wouldn't be much help, means how she's just a colt. So after cachting GG I threw a saddle on her, and after lenghening the stirrups from Martha's length, I and Jesse took off, him in the field and me on the road. I met Brad down at the corner of our land. He pulled up, “You sure got that horse saddled in a hurry!” he laughed. And then he said that he had got the cows back in their pasture. So Jesse and I headed back home with a 'that was fun'!

Jesse, Ellie, and Martha all want to go to music camp for two weeks next year too! It should be fun! I think I'll be taking guitar both weeks, and Jesse wants to take guitar one week, and manodlin one week, Martha wants to take, piano and guitar, and Ellie will probably be taking fiddle both weeks, Naomi and Hannah would both be taking one instrument for both weeks as well. I asked Jesse what week he wants to take mando on, and he said, “Which ever week Fred is teaching!”

One thing I forgot to tell you about is the new cow that we got. Her name is Sally. And she's about the prettiest thing on the place! Besides the horses that is! :-) She's kinda black and brown, with white. I'll have to take a picture of her. Martha is in charge of milking her, and she says that Sally's not doing too bad for it being the first time she has ever been milked. She's a first time heifer, but we didn't get her calf as it was 6 months old, and that's old enough to be weaned.
Ellie, I, Jesse, Martha, and Cilla went riding in the afternoon. I made sure and kept a sharp eye open looking for Al's heels. :-)
We rode up into the Provincial forest, it was fun! Sugar is doing better, I have been working on her being able to lead the horses, and be able to go a little ways with out the other horses. She listens to me when I talk to her so I find I end up talking her a lot. I love watching her ears flicking as she liestens. Sometimes when she is getting excited, like when she gets in deep mud, I'll start to talk to her, and put my hand on her neck and she turns her ears back and listens and starts to settle down.
August 29th
This morning we went and picked raspberries at Stehr's and Young's. We didn't get very many, I think the raspberry season is almost over. Here at home, Naomi and Hannah picked our raspberries, and Hannah was babysitting one of our neighbour's (Covlen's) girls so she watched over her too. After dinner I wrote letter to a friend, went and weeded my part of our garden, and then vacumed the main floor. After that we all went over to Covlen's and weeded for an hour there. Anything for money for music camp! :-D I was able to get in a little internet time there, (they have wireless, so we just bring the laptops), befriended a lot of people from music camp on facebook, and sent a letter/email off to a friend.
After supper Ellie, I, Jesse, Martha, and Zeke went riding in the provincial forest. We had a lot of fun! I love riding so much. I'm more used to riding 'colts' so riding Sugar is like old hat for me. Sometimes I prefer riding a young inexpierenced horse than I do riding an older horse, of course maybe that's because the only older horse I have to ride right now is Coyote, who happens to be very bullheaded and dull. The kids ride him because he's quiet, and well, he was bullheaded to start out with. So I only ride him when I have to. I should look for a 'investment turn around' horse, to raise some money for being able to go to music camp, I have enough money for it right now, but it'd be nice to be able to raise enough money that I wouldn't have to take any out of my account. Maybe I'll be able to get some more horses to ride/break for other people.
I didn't get in guitar practice today. :-( I'll have to make sure to practice tomorrow sometime. I've been prcaticing like Chris suggested, warm up some, then work on a new song, and then play several songs that I already know so as to not forget them. So far as I can remember (and I've been writing them down) I know 30 song/tunes by heart. I was able to add a new one yesterday, it's a tune out of Steve Kaufman's book, 20 Bluegrass Solos That Every Parking Lot Picker Should Know, and it's called Forked Deer. It's a neat tune. The next tune I'm going to learn is called Gold Rush. It's out of the same book.

August 30th
Dad decided that we wouldn't go to chruch today as from Martha on down have a pretty bad cold. I'm not so sure it's a cold, I think it's probably allergies the way it's acting. One day it's really bad, and the next day it's almost gone. We've been like this for months. I've had a touch of what feels like a cold for around a year and a half, sometimes it gets worse, and then it'll set into my ear. :-'( But it seem's like no matter how heathly we eat, no sugar, no prepared foods, etc. We're always sick. I don't really want to eat all the store bought food, I think homemade stuff tastes so much better anyways, but I wish we could figure out what we could do to kick this cold out of the house. Anyways. :-)
So I'm sitting here writing this and listening to the Whistlepigs and telling myself that I really should practice guitar if I ever want to get as good as Chris is. So I guess I'll practice. Todays' songs will be, Gold Rush, Nothin' To It, Ragtime Annie, Redhaired Boy, Turkey In The Straw, and Eigth Of January. Should be fun, I have one of my favourites this time! I love the tune, Nothin' To It, it's Doc Waston's version of 'I Don't Love Nobody', at least according to Steve Kaufman. :-) On the 27th I really gave my hand a workout! :-) Besides of Forked Deer, I had, Bill Cheatham, Billy In The Lowground, Blackberry Blossom, Under The Double Eagle, and Flop Eared Mule. I decided to try playing Blackberry Blossom without my first finger, I tell you! That's a workout for your little finger! I played it twice like that, and then the next song, Under The Double Eagle has always been a hard one for me, and after three times through it, my hand was starting to cramp up and I still had one more song to go. I like to play the songs at least three times through.
Okay, I'll go and practice now. :-) G'day for now.
August 31st
Five of us girls are going to weed Covlen's garden again. Hannah's driving, the rest of us are praying! LOL! She's not that bad of driver! :-)
Yesterday after dinner Hannah, Ellie, I, Martha, and Cilla went for a ride. It went really well. :-) It was my ninth ride on Sugar. She's doing really good for not being ridden for a year. She's basicly just green broke. So I still have to work on priciple things such as, backing, leading the herd, going off by herself, etc. She's coming along really well! I think that Millers will be pleased with her.
We're almost to Covlens and that's where the internet is so.....
Singingly yours,
Lyddy