Our Wednesday

Another day late on posting but the evenings around here are too busy and fun to sit at the computer. Yesterday was another beautiful day. After breakfast the Borks went out to feed the gulls their breakfast.

 

They are amazed at how many gulls come and how they will just snatch the food out of the hands.

 Nolan was fishing again and just as I walked up caught one.

 This one he threw back pretty quickly.

 Rhoda made this huge alligator sunning himself on the beach.

 We all went swimming and boogie boarding. The waves had tamed down enough they were giving us good long rides without smashing us into the sand. No pictures though as I was boogie boarding too. We all went to the pool to rest in those calm waters after we were all tired out. The pool here is 9 and a half feet deep which keeps it cool enough to be refreshing. Sarah, Nolan, Rhoda, Lee and I walked down to Bahama Bob's for lunch. Mark drove 20 minutes away to an open air fish market. The fish were being brought in fresh right off the ocean. Mark bought shrimp, red snapper, and 2 other kids of fish which were grilled for supper. Sunset on the beach was gorgeous. News from home, Ribbon's colt is doing excellent. We can watch him on the monitor from here, he is bouncing around his mom. Emily delivered Star's filly this afternoon to her new owner.

We played Mexican train again until way late into the night not getting to be until after 10:00 pm. And of course I over slept this morning missing sunrise. These relaxing days are starting to mess up my sleep schedule. This is the first morning down here that I did not wake at 5:00 am. How in the world would I get all the work done at home if this continues.

Fun Filled Exhausting Day

Nolan started fishing this morning around 7:00 am and it didn't take long for Sarah to send this picture back:

 

He came in for our usual breakfast then after breakfast the storms came rolling in from the Gulf of Mexico. Below the clouds were boiling above the water and buildings.

 The rain came down hard for a bit them stopped. Lee thought the waves looked like they were going to be good for boogie boarding and talked Rhoda, Nolan, Sarah and Debbie into joining him.

 Above is Sarah waiting for a wave and below Rhoda has just caught a wave.

 

Above Lee is about to get dumped on and below the wave is crashing down on Nolan. 

                 The waves were a little too strong for Debbie, knocking her down quite a few times.

 After all were worn out in the turbulent waters of the gulf, they were more than willing to relax in the still waters of the pool.

To see the rest of the pictures from today and some from yesterday click HERE. The sun came out brightly heating up the outside until it was almost too hot. Mark and I walked down to Bahama Bob's for their lunch special just before 2:00 pm. Rhoda, Lee, Sarah and Nolan went for a long bike ride all the way past Orange Beach past the state park and over the big bridge then back. Diane only has 3 bikes and there were 4 that did this long trip so they took turns with someone running along while the other 3 rode. Everyone was pretty wiped out when they got back. This evening was the dolphin cruise for the Borks. They took the last cruise going out so some of the pictures of the jumping dolphins were pretty dark.

 They were able to watch the sun set from the boat.

 After the cruise they went to dinner at Hurricane Wings and Grill in Orange Beach. The were all well pleased with their meals. Mark and I went for a long walk on the beach this evening coming back at dark. Sarah and Nolan had already left for their hotel when we finally made it back to the condo. News from home was all good. Ribbon and her colt are doing well. Jamie stopped in and took this picture of the colt:

He is such a handsome fellow. We are all tired from our fun filled day and are all heading to bed early. Who Knew playing could be so exhausting.

Ribbon's BOY!

Emily sent a text last night with this picture attached: 

I did not expect her to have a colt as she has only ever delivered fillies but this is a big bouncing boy. He will be the largest born for the Horsemeister farm in 2016 and is just huge. Hopefully more pictures will be sent from home soon. Ribbon delivered 11 days early, another first for her but she was so uncomfortable with this pregnancy in the heat last week it is a good thing. As Valiant is the sire this colt is sure to be amazing and sweet.

Another Beautiful Day

We are having so much fun down here there has been no time to update the blog. Yesterday Nolan went out early to fish and caught enough for he and Sarah to eat fish for dinner.

 The pictures above and below were taken yesterday morning. We were surprised at how crowded the beach was but found out later there were races scheduled. The sun was bright the weather warm and the waves beautiful nice rollers.  Below is Nolan doing his favorite occupation on this trip.

 He caught quite a few fish yesterday but only cooked one.

 We walked the beach, swam in the pool and the Gulf, fished, then went to dinner at a Japanese restaurant for dinner. The show was probably better than the food so I won't recommend that restaurant.

Back at the condo we played games until way late, why it was after 10:00 before we finished our fun game of Mexican Train and headed to bed. Today was another beautiful day. Right after breakfast Nolan went out fishing and his very first cast caught 2 at the same time.

 Debbie, Kristie and Lynn went out to feed the breakfast leftovers to the gulls. This was their first time of feeding them and they were surprised at how many gulls came so quickly once the food was thrown into the air.

Rhoda and Lee brought their rafts out and had a relaxing morning floating on the calm gulf water.

 

Lynn, Debbie and Kristie took another long walk on the beach.

 This afternoon was spent lazing the day away either in the gulf or in the pool. Diane's townhouse is centrally located and has such a nice pool and yard. Of course today Rhoda took the guests to Souvenir City but the only thing purchased was a swim suit.

 

 Diane has 3 bikes here and the bikes have been used each day. This evening we went to Desoto's for the early bird specials. This restaurant is one of our favorites here and the food was delicious. We brought our left overs for the gulls and had fun feeding them.

 We could see a storm coming with rain showers toward the west.

 

Lynn, Debbie and Kristie took a  walk toward the west but came back before the rain hit our area.

As I was walking back to the condo the group heading in right in front of me were loaded down with lots of fun stuff they used on the beach. Trying to get it up the stairs the loaded down cart spilled and the man pulling it up thought I was his daughter walking behind and asked her (me) to take a picture. 

Of course I obliged as the camera was ready and when he looked up and realized I was not his daughter had a good laugh. Of course his daughters all laughed too. They are staying in unit 2 so we are just 2 condo's down from them. 

Rhoda and Lee took the bikes all the way to the gated community this evening. They came back after sunset but brought a few pictures of the beautiful colors as the sun went down.

 

Kayaking Fishing

We awoke to a bright sunny day on the east side of the building but rain on the west side and soon a rainbow with one end in the Gulf of Mexico and the other end toward the city of Gulf Shores. The morning soon turned to all rain for an hour then sunshine the rest of the day. The guys had a flat tire coming down around 3:00 am and they had to travel the last 4 hours going no more than 55 miles an hour on the donut spare. When they finally made it here Rhoda took the car in to Walmart and got 2 new tires on the car. This afternoon Rhoda and Lee rented a kayak and went kayaking around the bay while Nolan and Sarah went fishing.

Both activities were good, the kayakers saw schools of jumping fish and the fishers caught fish. Lee's parents and sister arrived down here around 4:00 pm, went for a walk on the beach then we all walked down to Bahama Bob's for dinner. After dinner we played a game of Mexican train before heading to bed. A good day!

Gulf Shores Friday

We had a beautiful bright sun shiny day here in Gulf Shores, Alabama. That wasn't the case at home. The weather there was miserable. I know this because the scheduled trail ride at Middle Grove had to be cancelled but only after Mike had all the horses tacked up and waiting. The group coming were at the Goose Ranch in Canton, IL and called to report it was raining there but since it was just sprinkling at Middle Grove they made the trip only to have the rain follow them over.
All the reports from home were that the day was overcast, gray and raining pretty much all day.
Our day here was relaxing, first breakfast at Waffle House, swimming in the pool, walking to the pier, wading in the warm gulf waters, bike riding, shopping, napping, reading and eating at the Original Oyster House for dinner. That has changed owners since the last time we ate there and I was disappointed in the menu and the prices. The salad bar is good but no longer comes with the meal but an extra $2.50 can be used as one of the 2 sides.

Much Needed Vacation

Yesterday was jam packed trying to get everything done before heading down to Gulf Shores for my much needed vacation. We started early and even though it was raining we still walked all of us with our umbrellas open wide to keep the rain off. The Bibles still needed to be stamped and mailed at the Berean office. To read about our week there click HERE.
Ralph and Jamie's mare Dakota and her brand new Valiant filly were suppose to be taken over to their home today but with the almost 2 inches of rain that fell and was still falling we decided to just leave them. Jamie and Ralph will need to drive over 3 times a day to care for them then move them over when the ground dries up a bit. On Tuesday when Taunya arrived to pick up her children I noticed a bunch of turkey vultures hovering over the lake. I decided to take the golf cart over to check on what was dead or dying.

 There were around 10 flying down close but then taking off. I couldn't smell or see anything dead so not sure what they were gathering for, I'm pretty sure mom was safe in the house and she is the oldest out here hopefully they weren't gathering for her.
This morning was weaning day for Eliza's colt. We kept him on as long as possible but Eliza is just losing too much weight. Thankfully the colt had already been eating grain and hay well. Emily put him in a stall with April as the 2 of them will be traveling to Ohio together. April is staying in Ohio while Caesar will be traveling on to Virginia.
Sarah, Rhoda and I left from Rhoda's house last evening around 5:00 pm and arrived at Diane and Mike's condo in Gulf Shores, AL just before 6:00 am. The sun was just starting to color the sky over the gulf when we pulled in. The pictures below were taken from one of the balconies on the condo.

We are thankful for the safe and easy drive down. Mark, Nolan and Lee will be joining us tomorrow morning then Lee's parents and sister Saturday evening.

City vs Country

Today I got to play with my city grandkids, Addyson, Jack and Jace. We were working out by the barn when Jack announced he had to go to the bathroom. Instead of telling him to run all the way down to the house I suggested he just water the tire of the horse trailer like the dogs do since there were no trees readily available. The rest of us headed into the stall barn with Dr. Pallen to check Dakota's stitches. Pretty soon Jack came in the barn and mentioned that didn't work very well, it splashed on him. Seriously!! Someone needs to show those city boys how to relieve himself without splashing. I didn't even know that was a possibility. Dr. Pallen just shook her head at my grandmothering skills. Rosalie and her filly were stalled across the aisle from Dakota and her filly. It was just too sunny and too hot for these young foals to be outside today. After Taunya picked them up Emily and I loaded Jenis, Anna, Serenity and Roxanne to take them to Middle Grove. This was the easiest trip yet. I pulled in to the field, shut the gate, opened the side door and removed halters. As each halter was removed that mare jumped out the side door then waited until the trailer was empty before taking off at a gallop. There is something so satisfying watching mares head up the hill to find the herd at the big big property. Once back at the farm the stalled horses had their water buckets filled then the car was taken to Big R in Pekin for grain. Today was senior day and as I am a senior the 50 pound bags of grain that usually are $6.49 were only $6.12 each.  Big R has senior day the first Tuesday of the month. I'm going to have to remember that. Next was the trip to Aldi to get groceries for tonight and tomorrows lunch at Berean. The best part about driving first to Middle Grove then to Pekin was the air conditioned car. The worst part of the day was unloading 600 pounds of grain in the heat. After dinner the stalled horses taken out to the paddocks, the stalls cleaned and made ready for tomorrow.