The hottest month

July 2023 has been the hottest month in recorded history.

Colorado has missed the worst of it.

Still, it's been hot.

I would say it's been too hot to ride, but that's not entirely accurate.

It's definitely been too hot to ride endless trot circles in the middle of the day, but early morning trail rides?

It hasn't been too hot for that.

The river bottom has dried enough to be semi passable, so instead of sticking to the wide open trails up top, we've started ducking under the trees...

 and dipping into the low lying areas.

There's nothing like splashing through water on a hot summer day.

Despite everything, this has been a pretty good month for riding.

Here's looking forward to an even better - and hopefully cooler - August.

Celebration horse

This is not an accumulating year, so my BreyerFest purchases were extremely minimal. I ordered a set of stable props from Jake Heaps' Break the Mold Studios and a capybara from Cameryn Oswald's Camelot Studios. Neither have arrived yet, but I did receive my celebration horse, Bravour 54, last week.

Like most hobbyists of a certain age, I have a lot of affection for the old Chris Hess molds. 

The Trakehner looks great in this color. I like his new tail, and the neck ribbon is a nice touch.

After reading so many complaints about box rubs, I was pleasantly surprised to unbox my guy and find a perfect model.

This is not an accumulating year, so he probably won't stay long enough to get a name. Still, he's a pretty horse, and I'm happy to have him, no matter how briefly.

Thanks, Breyer!

Daisy Chain

A couple months ago, my friend and fellow blogger, Lynn Isenbarger, spotted a Beswick Shire at a local antique mall. She didn't buy it that day, but went back and got her after I expressed an interest. We arranged a mutually beneficial trade. My part shipped immediately, but neither of  us was keen on putting an old china in the mail. Instead, we decided to deliver her at BreyerFest.

Of course, neither one of us actually attended BreyerFest. What happened is, Lynn gave the Shire to her friend, Kelsey, who gave it my friends, Fabian and Angelo, who drove her home to Colorado.

Last night, Piper and I went to Angelo's after work. 

We admired her BreyerFest loot.

Is it wrong that I'm most jealous of the goat?

Then I unboxed the Beswick.

I had a lot of "help."

I tried to get a picture of all three of them sniffing the box.

"Ha, ha. You funny, mom."

And there she is on Angelo's desk. She survived the trip in perfect shape, thanks to a wonderful packing job by Lynn and careful handling on the part of everyone in this horse delivery daisy chain.

Here she is at home in my basement.

I've wanted this particular Beswick for a long time. I am so happy to finally have her on my shelf.

Thank you, Lynn, Kelsey, Fabian and Angelo!

Compare and contrast

James and his friends went to the Colorado Renaissance Festival in Larkspur on Sunday. I saw him as he was getting ready to leave. He wasn't in full cosplay, but an attempt had been made, and he looked cute. I asked him for a picture and he said no.

"I don't have time, Mom," he said, "I need to go. Someone in the group will take a picture when we get there."

"Send it to me!" I told him. "And take pictures of the horses."

He assured me that he would. Then he walked out the door and that was that.

Several hours later, I messaged Angelo about getting together to pick up some models.

She answered immediately with a picture of her and a "bunny horse". 

Her hair was braided and everything about the photo screamed RennFest. I asked if that's where she was, and she confirmed.

Then she sent me about a million photos.

It was almost like being there, minus the heat and turkey legs.

To date, James has not sent me a single picture.

Running amok

I am not a woo woo kind of person. I believe in facts and logic, and although I really like the idea of the other worldly phenomena, I don't think that's how the world works.

But also, I know that there is an energy that comes with writing about things. It's like the mere fact of typing words onto a screen makes things a whole lot more likely to happen. Talking about something on my blog is akin to inviting it into my life.

Because of this, I really did not want to write about the BreyerFest 5k. I thought was a slippery slope that would end up with me - someone who is really not a runner - participating in this very event next year. And, you know, that's just not something I want to do.

But I wrote the post anyway.

Then Heather Dunaway sent me a guest post. I published it and - like magic! - another guest post - this one by Sara Bowman - appeared. Also, in the midst of all that, I received an email from Breyer's Vice President, Stephanie Macejko.

She writes: Hi Jennifer!  I saw your post about the 5k and since it's a favorite event of mine - I wanted to share the email recap sent to all registered runners for your reading pleasure!  

I would estimate that about 35-40% of the entrants walk this 5k, probably taking an average of forty five to sixty minutes to finish.

They get to see a pretty backside of the Park, in the back by Walnut Hall Farm.  

We get tons of families running it - including a lot of little kids!    

I know you said never...but it's actually a great way to start the day, even after being at the AG until 11 pm!!  

Then she sent me a link to Ruby Cline-Eaton's photo galleries of the race.

I have to admit, it looks like fun.

I am not promising anything, but I do plan on attending BreyerFest next year, and Against All Odds, the 5k might be a thing. Maybe.