Halloween - it's a Treat!

Wow!  What gorgeous weather we're having for Halloween.  It's in the 60s!  This time last year, we'd already had a blizzard. 

Paj don't need no stinkin' blanket today

Reggie soaked up the sun

and Boomer gave his owners Bob and Diana a nice drive

What a treat!

Our Town

I enjoyed the town tours that John Gray (click here to visit Trelawnyd, Wales), Louise (visit Webster, New York), and Jim (visit Halifax, Nova Scotia) posted so much, I'm inspired to post about our town. 

We live a ways out from Elizabeth, Colorado.  There's two different stories of how the town got it's name.  It was either named for the governor's daughter, or it was named for the first woman who stepped off the train.  I like the second story.  I can just imagine the cowboys saying "hey, let's go see Elizabeth".

The westernmost part of the town is the new part, and has all the basic necessities.  There's a grocery store, a chain sandwich shop, and a huge ranch supply store.  The old part of town is about a block long, and retains its 1890s old west look.

My favorite stores on the street are the Powder River Hats store (click here), where they custom make western hats,

and The Wildflower.  The Wildflower is a tack store where they make western saddles and chaps.

 There's nothing modern about it.  When you walk in the door, you feel like you've stepped into the real old west.  I'd take you inside, but stores were closed today for a girl's high school soccer game.  It's that kind of town.

Elizabeth is situated where the plains meet a fat finger of Colorado's Black Forest.  There's little transition;  you are either on the virtually tree-less plains, or boom, you're in a jungle of Ponderosa Pines.

The town started as a saw mill camp on the banks of Running Creek.  At the height of the saw mill days, the Denver and New Orleans Railroad would run through town six times a day.  Running Creek flooded, destroying the saw mill and railroad tracks.  After the second flood, the mill was abandoned.

It's hard to imagine Running Creek as a raging river.  Today it was about three inches deep, barely flowing through the Cottonwoods.

I know this post is getting a wee bit long, but I want to show you one more thing.  My favorite building in the county is the library in Kiowa, the town to the east of us.

It is just as charming on the inside.

The only thing I miss about the city is dining out.  Elizabeth has three Mexican restaurants.  Period.  Now, I like Mexican food (or at least I used to!), but please, three Mexican restaurants and nothing else?  Waaaa.

A Lovely Day for a Drive

It was a brisk morning, perfect for a drive.  The mares next door were feeling fiesty.


We drove down to Chuck's, then headed home.  I liked our shadow as we headed up the hill.

Then we were home and headed up the driveway.

Thanks, and Moving On

Thank you so much for your good wishes.  It means a lot to me.  I'm over my disappointment, and back to enjoying this beautiful Fall.

I don't remember a prettier Fall.  Today we went to "Halloween for Horses".  It was a warm day with a cobalt blue Colorado sky.  There were hay rides,

a "Stable of Terror", jugglers on stilts, pony rides, and best of all, costume classes.  That would be for horses, of course!

There was a beautiful princess on a unicorn,

the University of Colorado "buffalo",

and my favorite, Little Bo Peep with a very large sheep.

The horses were so good-natured and tolerant.  Only one person had an unplanned dismount.

I remembered my camera but forgot the battery, so photos are courtesy of David and his cell phone.

Disappointment (Warning - Graphic X-ray)

I am beyond disappointed.  I went back for x-rays this morning, and there is no improvement.

Tomorrow I will get my good attitude back, but today I'm going to let myself feel bad.

A Visit to Suzanne's

We had a special bonus when we visited our friend Suzanne and her horse Phamous up in the foothills;  we saw a herd of elk!

They were hardly shy.  They wandered across her lawn and napped on the golf course.  Suzanne fed us  a delicious lunch, and then we were off to visit Phamous.  He has landed in the lap of luxury horsey living.

He has a huge stall and yummy treats.

We used to see Phamous and Suzanne every day, and we miss them.

David and Suzanne

Art at WEG

This post is especially for my talented friends:  brother Tom and sister-in-law Pat at http://tompatbauman.blogspot.com/, who make jewelry, friend Jan who makes bronzes, friend Suzanne who taught art for years and years, blog friends Lori at http://skoogfarm.blogspot.com/ and Sandy at
http://dustyd-flyawayhome.blogspot.com/, who are both artists.  I don't have a drop of artistic talent, and I so admire you who do.

The sparkle horse was suspended from a ceiling.

For brother Tom - Samari under construction

You can click on this photo (or any photo) to get a detailed view

"Warhorse" by Douwe Blumberg

"Reflections" by Douwe Blumberg

This piece is 11' tall.  The horse is bronze, and the reflection is stainless steel.

It's stunning.

Sunrise

When Cliffie and I went down to the barn to help David feed this morning,

we saw a beautiful sunrise.

but when we looked towards Pike's Peak,

we saw storm clouds.

When the clouds cleared, we saw

snow!

Lexington's South Hill District

The South Hill District is right in downtown Lexington.  The neighborhood is an interesting mix of styles built over a hundred year period.  The oldest house in Lexington is the Adam Rankin house, built in 1784 for the minister of the Presbyterian Church.

The Adam Rankin House

All of the following houses were on the same street, and some were side-by-side.

 I liked the quirky mix.  Most of the houses were built right up to the road.  Well, more likely, the road was widened right up to the houses.  I liked the tree roots too.

WEG - the Venue

There was lots to see,

lots to eat ($$$$$),

and lots to buy.

Need a custom top hat, anyone?

I'm sure that Lilly at http://rlilbitofcash.blogspot.com/ needs this halter.

David found a nice big tractor,

and I found a nice big horse.

David was a star on a mechanical cutting horse.  It speeds down a track,

spinning around as it cuts a mechanical cow on a parallel track.

Look at that seat!

If I wasn't lame in the right front, I would have loved to ride the mechanical dressage horse.

This horse is loaded with sensors that analyze your aids.

You can ride any movement.

Here Jane Savoie makes some position corrections.

How cool!

No vet bills!

Hmmm.