whats been goin' on

I did go out for that test ride, and it was super great! Sunny was awesome. I was having some trouble with his canter (which is hopefully slowing down some to a nice easy lope!) but other than that he was perfect. We were out on our neighbors lane and I saw a small shape coming out of the bean field on the right. It was tan and small, and it just stopped and looked at us for a few minutes, then started coming towards us. I kept Sunny moving forward at a walk, but was a little nervous about this because of the light, I couldn't see exactly what it was. I knew it wasn't another cougar (at least the reasonable side of my head did, lol!) but I sure didn't want to meet up with a strange, possibly feral dog. Fortunately it turned, and I could see its ears. It was a fawn, which had been precisely what I was hoping it would be. We got within about 20 feet of it, which was really cool. (What a time not to have a camera along! grrrr.) THEN, when we were riding along the road, we came to the crossroads, and I looked down to the left, and there, standing right in the middle of the road, was what must have been the mom. She didn't stay nearly as long as the baby, but a lot longer than I would have expected. I think she was confused about a human smell coming from an animal! I was REALLY pleased with how well Sunny behaved with the new animals.
The rest of the week comprised of short bareback rides. Thursday through Friday I was busy baking for the 4-H foods show, which was Friday afternoon. (that went well, btw) Then Saturday I had a cousin's wedding. Then Sunday (today) was church and then a 50th wedding anniversary party. I am really tired. I did go for a nice ride this evening, just bareback with a halter again, and (oops) no helmet- it was so hot I barely could force myself to put on a pair of jeans, let alone a helmet. Good thing he was his normal awesome self. I went up and down the drive several times at a foxtrot, and around the house. Almost all the way back down the drive (which we walked, since the last time coming towards the house I always walk him) I just had the lead rope on his neck and both arms up in the air in a V sign. I was totally thrilled to be back on him again!! It felt T-E-R-R-I-F-I-C !!!
I have a show on Thursday, so I'll try to write about that this week if I have time.
OH... and the blog will be pretty quiet the weeks of July 2-15, 'cause I'll be in PERU!!! I am going with Focus on the Family on their Brio missions trip and so... yeah. I'll miss Sunny of course, but I know he's in capable hands, and I can't WAIT to soak in all the new experiences. It's not a sightseeing trip or anything, we won't see Micchu Picchu (sp.?) or anything like that, but I'm sure the whole experience is going to be awesome. Mom is happy about it too, for a different reason (NOT the fact that she gets all my chores since Dad is too busy!) She seems to think that I am going to want less fancy horse stuff after this. She's probably right (sigh). Our group will be spending time in Lima, basically in the slum sections a lot. We are sponsoring a child through Compassion International, so- I get to meet her, since she's from Lima!
Please pray for this trip ( and my parent's sanity as they worry about their 'baby' )
happy trails to all!!!!!!