Tail Gate Birthday Party

Barbara, Susie, Linda, Bonnie and I had decided to ride in Phippsburg today. It was going to be a cold windy day but that was ok, we'd just bundle up. We had decided to throw Susie a surprise tail gate birthday party. Bonnie was going to bring coffee and Linda was making some cupcakes. I just happened to be up very early this morning so decided to make some brownies to bring along. When I first got up I grabbed my watch and put it on. I had not worn it in a while but needed to keep track of time and would be outside a lot this morning. We were doing to meet at 10:00. I got a call from Bonnie around 8:00 am. She was not going to be able to ride as her dog was sick and she had to get her into the vet. So, I would have to make a pot of coffee to take with me. Since I had extra time from being up early, I pulled my trailer up to the garage and cleaned and vacuumed it out. We had my granddaughter this weekend. Fred had to take his motorcycle into town to get a tire put on it. So, I was doing to drop Madison off at my mother's house. She lives right next door so that was no problem. I was inside making coffee, so pleased to have gotten so much done and still have nearly an hour before I had to leave. That was when I looked at the clock in the house (I'd been checking my watch) and realized I'd never changed the time on my watch when the time changed!!!! It was a hour later then I thought!!!!! I needed to leave at 9:00 am and it was 9:05! YIKES! I went into warp speed, finished making the coffee, told Madison to hurry and get ready while I loaded the horse and mule. I threw everything in the truck and headed out. I'd called my mother and had her come down to the end of the driveway to get Madison and Lance. I called Susie to tell her I was going to be a bit late arriving. I felt bad as Susie had time limitations today and had to be headed home by 12:15 pm.

I actually wasn't too late. I arrived at 10:10 am. And Linda was running late also and had not arrived. A friend of hers, Diane, was coming with her. They arrived shortly after I did. We got tacked up and Linda realized she was missing the cinch strap off her saddle. I dug a spare one out of my trailer for her and soon we were on our way. Louie was a bit jazzed up but behaving very well. We rode down to the basin. On the way back Linda and Diane split off to make a longer loop. Barbara and I decided to ride back to the trailers with Susie, have our little party then go out riding again after Susie left. Linda told us to get the cupcakes, cookies and coffee in her truck for Susie.

When we got back to the truck, we tied Louie and Marie to the trailer with a bag of hay. I went to get the food from Linda's truck and it was locked! All we could do was drool on her windshield. I was glad I'd made the brownies and brought coffee also so we had a quick party anyway. After Susie headed out, Barbara and I mounted back up and went out for another ride. We were just going to ride to the end of Devil's Highway and back but decided to do a nice longer loop instead. I led with Louie most of the way and he was wonderful. He hesitated a few times at some things but was easily convinced to keep moving along. He seems to really starting to trust me again and I'm feeling a change in him with each ride. Both physically as he gets stronger, and mentally as he gains confidence. We didn't see Linda or Diane and they were gone by the time we got back to the trailer. It was a really nice ride.