Gambler's Choice

Most people that love show jumping go to Devon on Thursday night to see the big $100,000 Grand Prix of Devon. I've been and it's great but it's very crowded and I can't stand crowds. My favorite night to go is Friday for the Gambler's Choice. It's a fun event were each fence has a sign in front of it assigning a point value. The riders come in and try to accumulate the highest point total in a set time. After the time is up they can jump the joker fence which usually quite high. If they fail the joker points count against them. It's a fun class with a lot of tight twists and turns. My favorite rider to watch in this event is Leslie Burr Howard. Too bad she wasn't there on Friday. And too bad only 5 out of 17 riders had a go at the course because of the rain and mucky arena. It wasn't very good for photographs either as you can see...


Danielle Torano's horse Pandoer, didn't like to get his feet muddy in the warm up.


And he didn't want to jump the Joker fence either!



But she was all smiles leaving the arena:)


Laura Chapot is so thin, I always thought she did well because her horses felt like a feather was on their backs!


Needless to say is is a phenomenal rider!

Scenes from Devon

One of my wonderful friends invited me to go with her to the Devon Horse Show last night. Let me start off by telling you why I love Devon so much...

The life blood of Devon for years and years was Hope Montgomery Scott. My dad worked for her on her dairy farm of prized Ayrshire cows and rented an apartment in her mansion, Ardrossan. In return she helped him through med school and when the Devon Horse Show came around, she would give us tickets. I used to think I wanted my ashes scattered there. It was my Disneyland, the happiest place on earth!
I would spend a month or more before the show doing anything I could to earn money to spend there on horsey trinkets and Ferris wheel rides.
Of course it was always a dream to ride there. Maybe someday, I'm not dead yet! :)

So last night the weather was less than perfect. By less I mean the scenery on the drive there looked like a tornado had blown through. When we got there it was still raining. The main ring was flooded. The coaching classes were cancelled. Only 5 out of 17 riders were electing to compete in the gambler's choice jumping event which usually attracts many Olympic riders. Saddlebred riders were dropping out right and left because they were afraid of loosing shoes. Fine carriage drivers swapped blue jeans and rain coats for their elegant hats and dresses.

That being said, a bad night at Devon to me is like saying you had a bad pizza, there is no such thing. I still managed to take over 100 photos! This is the first post on my Devon experience - some behind the scenes/non show ring shots. Please check back in a day or two for the jumpers and saddlebreds!



A walk through the barns when we arrived since no one was in the warm up arena.


Nice little midway for the kids.


I'm always surprised they let you walk through the barns. This saddlebred seemed pretty sweet.


"Let me out!"


The stables at night always look so neat to me.


A celebrity siting?? Sorry Carson. I was actually photographing the Friesians when I turned and spotted you.

Serenity now...

I am a freak for the show Seinfeld. When it came out I was such a fan that my aunt gave me a pair of tickets to see him live in 1992. Even though it's been off the air for a few years, my husband and I find ourselves quoting the show quite often and we still watch the repeats on cable and laugh just as much as when we first saw them.
My most often used quote would be - "Serenity now."

When my 3 year old digs up newly planted flowers - Serenity now.

When the groundhog eats my lettuce - Serenity now.

When driver cuts me off on the road - Serenity now.

And yes, I know what happens. Serenity now, insanity later. :-)



So I've always wanted to paint a simple "serenity now" sign for my house. Being an artist and relying on my creations to pay for groceries and things, I never paint anything for myself. Until now. And I painted a second one and put it on Ebay just in case there are any other Seinfeld freaks out there like me!


Do you have a favorite Seinfeld quote? I'd love to hear it!

Raindrops on Roses

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens;
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens...





Okay, so my cat is not a kitten and my kettle is less than bright! I don't have any warm woolen mittens either but you can knit your own with hand dyed and spun fiber from from one of my blogging buddies at Split Rock Ranch.

I'm really excited about that kettle though. I bought it at a yardsale this weekend for $2.00! I'm going to turn it into a birdhouse. On Sunday we went to Shupps Grove to look around and I found this lady that makes birdhouses out of old tea pots, coffee pots and lunch boxes. Then she mounts them on an old porch railing. She also takes old coffee cans and nails them to the post for planting a flower. I couldn't afford to buy one (although her prices were fairly reasonable) so I decided that I would make my own! I'll post some pictures when I finish it.

Sleepy Hollow

I know you're thinking it's a bit early for Halloween but it is my favorite time of year (well, okay, Spring is too). I was feeling the Sleepy Hollow vibe this week and thought I would create a fun folk art painting for those out there that love the Hunted Horseman as much as I do!
Check him out, he's on Ebay right now!
And if you're a fan of Halloween, please check out the offerings of my fellow EHAG artists on Ebay and Etsy.

You know,I couldn't write a blog post without adding a few pictures from the garden.
My cat found that baby bunny yesterday but she didn't harm it thankfully. I put that cat back in the house and tried to take a few pictures before she crawled back into the ivy. I hope her momma came back to care for her!



“The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others” ~ Saint John Chrysostom

Wordless Wednesday - Yard Critters

50 old bricks + stone = no more pile of branches in my yard!

Blood, sweat and dirt...

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers."-- Claude Monet



I have been so busy in the yard I haven't gotten much else done. I'm so proud of my new flower garden (mostly perennials) that I thought I would share a few pictures. My wonderful husband bought me a weeping redbud that is in the corner of the boomerang shape. I can't wait to see it bloom next spring!


This was the garden half way finished. I wish I had taken a before photo. When we moved in nearly 2 years ago there was an oval garden in the back that was entirely over grown and a butterfly bush that had a lot of dead wood that I cut off and put a large saucer in for a bird bath. This year I enlarged the space around the butterfly bush and connected the two beds in a large boomerang shape.



Here's the finished garden. I have a lot of plants in there that will grow tall and spread such as shasta daisies, lupine, black eyed susan, yarrow, coneflower, dianthus, salvia & baby's breath.
Also planted a knock out rose, two blueberry bushes, glads, spirea, lady's mantle coral bells, scotch broom, meadow rue, borgae, obedient plant, sunflowers, spiderwort, morning glory, geranium, portulaca, foxglove and more!


Veggie garden is getting big. Just added a small patch behind it for cantaloupe and watermelon. Instead of bamboo poles for tomato teepees, I thought I would try using large branches.


Guess who's going eating lots of salad this week? I have three varieties, like this romaine, to choose from. My favorite is red sails but the black seeded simpson is ready too!

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One more gorilla photo from last Monday! Thanks for all the comments. I'm sorry if I'm not able to always comment back but I do appreciate hearing from other bloggers.

Wordless Wednesday - Philadelphia Zoo

A visit to the oldest zoo in the US on Monday...

Steeplechase

For anyone not in the know, steeplechases are horse races that are on the turf, usually several miles long and often include large fences. They were started in the UK where the horse and riders would race from church steeple to church steeple, across hills and fields, jumping whatever obstacles came into their paths. This is my final post from the Willowdale Steeplechase (the first two covered the pony races and other festivities).



Riders up, goggles down.


Would you believe they have breathe right type nasal strips for horses?


Blue jockey in the paddock.


Warming up a nice grey thoroughbred.


"See, it's not that high. Just watch out for that big ditch on the other side!"


Approaching the start.
They don't start in a gate like flat track races.


A jockey falls right in front of me in the second race. I was too startled to get a good photo!





Up, up and away!



Thanks for going to the races with me!