Up Up and away!

Motocross Boy's first word was UP.  UP could mean anything from the actually meaning of UP to "I want milk".  I still don't know how we were able to guess which version of UP he was using all the time but we always seemed to know.

Now it's the Boy who is UP.

Frank's Track

Actually, it's Frank's Dad's track...

Motocross Boy is friends with a nice kid I call Jack in the Box.  His Dad and Grandpa built this amazing motocross track on their farm.  The boys have been out there quite a few times to practice but I'd never gone.  A couple weeks ago we went out there on a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I tagged along.  It was extra cool since I remembered the camera and was able to take some up close and personal type pictures!!

Kicking up dirt on the take off!

Kickin' up more dirt!

I don't normally get shots where I can see Motocross Boy's eyes!

Hey!  Slow down!

Going over the whoops.

This is Jack in the Box.  Over my head.

Is he EVER on the ground any more?

Sure doesn't seem like it!

Modern Art - not

Kinda looks like a shot gun, doesn't it?

Nope.  It's a wet spot.  And yes, that's the ceiling.

About a week ago I noticed a shadow on the ceiling.  Or what I thought was a shadow.  It's a leak.  Very odd shaped leak but a leak.  Even odder is that Equestrian Girl's BED is right over this spot!  After much contemplation and walking outside to look, we figure out the skylight over her bed is leaking.  Luckily it's not leaking on her bed but running down the trusses and into the kitchen ceiling.

You can see the skylight window in this old picture of the house on the back left part of the roof.  It was installed in 1981 so I suppose it's paid it's dues...but still.

Growing up...

Why do little girls have to grow up?

First they are so little and cute and will wear anything, including little over-alls with elastic ankle pants.

Then they get a little older and want to wear party dresses for their birthday - with tights.

And are still willing to dress up for Christmas - even going to far as to wear matching hats!

And then they grow up.  And go shopping with friends to try on dresses for some future homecoming dance and look like this.

And this.  Oh my.  I want my  baby back!!!

The Long Way Home

After I had my fill of photographing sunsets, Equestrian Girl took control of the Nikon for the rest of the drive home.

This little cemetery is in the middle of nowhere.  She was freaked out that the house was literally next door.

We both thought this old silo was pretty cool.

This appy and paint were playing pretty rough.  Loved the appy's coloring!

You'll have to look close to see what Equestrian Girl was photographing in this picture. Can you see them?

Shoes.  There are about 20 pairs of shoes hanging from the branches of this "shoe tree".

 The end.

Sunset in October

On the evening we took "the long way home" I was happy to have the camera as we wound down country roads at sunset.  It was a beautiful evening.

This was over some crisply changing farm trees.  The sky was this awesome pink/yellow.

A few minutes later the trees gave way to an open field of freshly cut corn stalks.  It looked so cold and desolate except for that ball of fire in the background.

This farm was just to the right of the sunset in the previous picture.  It looks so much brighter...

Just a few seconds later that sun had dropped even more and changed the whole color of the landscape.  Weird how that happens...

Domino's Farms Part 2

We've seen these guys from the expressway for months.  They are always in the same pasture on a hill.  From a distance I could tell they were big for donkeys but really had no idea.  We went looking for them.

As we drove up, this one turned right away and started walking towards us.

Then his buddy turned too.  Dang - they were bigger up close than I had imagined!

Here they come - one behind the other.

Oh goodness!  What faces!

A pit stop for a bit of grazing or maybe just to prove they weren't THAT interested in us.  Typical donkey behavior.

Look at the coat on this guy!

For perspective, Equestrian Girl is about 5'8" and she was standing level with them.

They were both very friendly!  Look at the hair on that one - he looks Rastafarian!

OMG aren't they just the cutest?

So we came home really having no idea what breed these donkeys were.  I had read once about Mammoth Donkey's so I was guessing that's what they were.  I sent this last picture to some friends and before I could blink, one suggested they might be the very rare Poitou donkey.  Sure enough!!  There are only about 500 in the whole worlds and we are lucky enough to have a pair less than 15 minutes from our house!  As it turns out, Domino's Farms has several rare breeds of animals:  Domino's Rare Breeds.

Domino's Farms

I drive past Domino's Farms 4-6 times per week.  I don't pay all that much attention to the buildings and grounds.  They are just there.

Then the other night, in an effort to avoid a traffic jam, we took the long way home which took us through Domino's Farms.

This sunset picture totally does not do this justice.  It was breathtaking.

This cracked me up.  The sheet OBVIOUSLY can't read and are going the WRONG way!

I love the flag.

Domino's loves it too. There are actually two rows of flags like this.  They used to have lots of different international flags.  Now they are all AMERICAN.

The grounds are so well kept and the trees are really turning.  It was beautiful.

This little village of miniature houses looked so pretty clustered behind the pond.

Next stop at Domino's Farms...the freakish donkeys.

Fun with Friends

Halter Girl belongs to one of the barn owners.  She has a gorgeous Arabian gelding that she shows in halter and has only recently started riding again after a couple of years on the ground.  This is her Mom's horse Tea.  She came out to ride Tea just as Equestrian Girl was finishing up her practice.

Equestrian girl mounted up bareback with just a halter to cool Stanley off.

Halter girl found Tea's power steering was a bit off.

Equestrian Girl thought Stanley's power brakes were out with no bridle and no spurs.

So they decided to do barrel racing with jump uprights.

Stanley was pretty good at it.  He'd had practice this summer with REAL barrels.

But it was fun and Halter Girl was laughing!

Equestrian Girl was all smiles too.

The horses were smiling too.  It's hard to tell.

Next they did an odd version of the Indiana Flag Race.  With jump uprights and no flag we improvised with a halter.