Not quite fall colors

One of our favorite fall traditions is to drive up to the high country to see the aspens in all their autumn splendor. Usually we take Emma who is mildly enthusiastic at best.

This year, we decided to take Piper instead.

We took Highway 287 to Grant, then turned onto the Guanella Pass Scenic Byway. 

We stopped several times to take pictures and hike.

There was a little bit of fall color, but not much.

That's okay. There were a lot of other things to see, including a waterfall,

big rocks...

and small critters.

After our hike, we got back in the van and headed further up the mountain.

We stopped at an overlook.

Seth held Piper up high so she could have a better view.

Then it was back in the car and up to the summit.

The parking lot was crowded. 

Most of our fellow adventurers were tackling Mt. Bierdstadt. That's a serious hike and much  too ambitious for us. We set our sights on the lake on the lake instead.

We made it!

The ground around the lake was surprisingly swampy.

Piper got a little bit dirty.

Ewwwww!

Fortunately, by the time we got back to the car, she was mostly dry again. We brushed her off as best as we could, and headed down the Georgetown side of the highway.

This is where the aspens are.

There were some nice yellow leaves, but mostly, they were still green. This was a little disappointing, but not surprising. We knew this week was a bit too early, but the rest of the month is really busy. Basically, it was a case of now or never.

As we were heading down the mountain past all those green leaves, we saw a bighorn sheep sign. I laughed and told Seth, "I want to see some sheep. That would make up for the leaves."

Then we went around a curve, and there they were!

Most of the flock crossed right in front of us and disappeared up the side of the mountain.

Goodbye little lambie!

The stragglers eventually did the same, but it took them a lot longer.

I really enjoyed watching the sheep.

I was right. They totally did make up for the leaves.

This was such a fun day.

I can't wait to do it again next year. With any luck, we'll get fall colors and bighorn sheep.

Give me an "X"

In honor of Karen Crossley, a Canadian hobbyist and active blogger who passed away in 2020. Lynn Isenbarger, Anne Field and I are finishing Karen's alphabetical tour of her collection. Today's letter is X. 

Breyer's traditional scale zebra was sculpted by Kristina Lucas-Francis and released in 2000.

At the time, I was sharing a red brick duplex on Xenia Street with my husband, our infant son, Ryan,

my dog, Abbie...

and Seth's bird, Festus.

The duplex was really small, but I was able to carve out a little space for tack making.

This was the very beginning of Braymere Custom Saddlery as an actual money making venture. Most of my profits went towards bills and supplies, but occasionally, I treated myself to a new model.

One of these was the Breyer zebra. I bought her from an eBay seller and named her Xenia.

I always meant to get a second one - preferably customized - to call Xanthia, which was the next street over. It never happened so Xenia remains the only X model in my alphabet.

This is my last post in this series. Thank you to Anne and Lynn for joining me on this journey. It took us more than two years, but I am so glad we were able to finish Karen's alphabet.

Taco-ver

For the first time ever, I did not have a horse in the NaMoPaiMo winner's collage.

I tried really hard.

I got so close.

Then - with just thirty six hours to go - my pony had an unfortunate accident. When I posted a picture of the carnage to the NaMoPaiMo Facebook page, I had a lot of people tell me I could fix it. A few even went so far as to tell me how to fix it. I get it, but also, no. The ear needed to be rebuilt from scratch, then attached, primed and painted. That's a lot to do in a short amount of time, especially if you also need to eat, sleep and answer a million desperate, last-minute NaMoPaiMo questions. Probably someone could have managed it, but I know my limits.

Taco went back on the unpainted shelf for awhile, but then I realized I didn't like seeing him there. He was an unpleasant reminder of everything that's wrong with NaMoPaiMo. Eventually, I wrapped him in a piece of cloth and hid him from myself. 

Earlier this week, I finished one of my other NaMoPaiMo projects.

I was so pleased with how she turned out, I decided it was time to take another look at Taco. One thing led to another, and now he has two ears again.

Even though the new ear is bare epoxy, he looks so much better. I don't mind looking at him anymore. In fact, I think he's pretty cute.

Who knows, maybe I'll even finish him.

Ten month Oliversary

Today Olive and I celebrated our ten month Oliversary. 

This was a busy month filled with riding...

and not just in the ring!

After months of preparation, I decided it was finally time to attempt the main trail. We did it in-hand first.

That went well, so the next day we followed Therese and Thunder around the short loop.

Olive was so good.

We did this a couple more times, with a couple different horses.

Olive was so good.

After that, we decided it was time to ride Olive all the way out past the edge of the golf course.

We walked past bikes...

and went up and down hills.

Olive was so good.

Our next goal was to ride all the way out to the bench.

There were four of us on this ride. 

Olive liked being part of the herd and was very bold.

We made it to the bench without any problems.

Then we rode home through the berm - another first.

Olive was so good.

So, so, so good.

Of course, progress isn't always linear. Our next ride had some surprise horses and roofers on top of a house. Olive got really stuck, and I ended up getting off a couple times to lead her past the worst of it.

That's okay, Olive. You're still a good girl.

Today, we tried again. The roofers were still there, but this time Olive was prepared. She stopped a few times, but didn't freeze, and eventually, walked past them quietly.

The rest of the ride was fun and uneventful.

I am so proud of this pony.

Happy ten month anniversary, Olive. We've come such a long way. I can't wait to see where we're going to go!

Finding my groove

Aside from Tiffany's BreyerFest bridle, I haven't made anything hobby related in a really long time. Lately, I've been feeling the urge, but what to make? I couldn't think of anything, so I asked for suggestions on the Braymere Custom Saddlery Facebook page.

LOL, I'm not sure some of you know what a "small, fun prop" is.

There were a lot of great ideas, but in the end, I didn't make any of them. 

As much as I wanted to, I was just too busy - and too distracted - to actually sit down and make things happen. 

It was like that for more than a week. Then, last weekend, my schedule and my distractions all magically went away. I didn't have to work, Seth went camping and it was too rainy to ride Olive.

"This is it," I told myself sternly. "There will no better opportunity to get something done." 

But the question remained, what should I make? I reviewed the list of project suggestions and rejected them all. I pawed through my tack hardware boxes, hoping for inspiration. Nope. Finally I looked up at the shelf and noticed my little Ilona Himmelman Dotty resin which I'd started painting during NaMoPaiMo.

"You know," I thought. "I might be able to finish that."

I was right.

I'd originally planned to give her spots, but I decided she didn't need them. I love her exactly as she is. 

In fact, I was so pleased with my efforts, I decided to keep going. Here's what I'm working on now.

It's slow going because my schedule is full and distractions about. Still, I think the worst of the creative block is behind me. And who knows, maybe when I'm done with Mushu, I'll make him a bee suit or a hot walker!