A Funny Story...

I just have to share this story because I think it's funny and hope you'll get a chuckle out of it too!

I decided that with all the pots I'm planting this year, the seeds that I started indoors and need to bring out to harden off and my bad luck with pots/plants and the dogs in previous years, it would be best to block off the porch area to the dogs. I figured it would be temporary and one side already had a gate that we could close so there was just the stairway to worry about. I was just going to see what kind of baby gates they have available and stick one on there, easy peasy. But after a day of running errands and no baby gate and really needing to get it blocked off so I could get to work, I decided to just scavenge stuff we have and see what I could do.

This is what I came up with...

A roll of fence that we took down in the back yard when we bought the house. I was too lazy to cut a hunk off, so I just brought the whole roll over. Yes, I realize that the effort "saved" in cutting the fence was negated by the effort expended in moving the entire roll. After wrestling with that thing for a while I was really wishing I had just taken the time to hunt down a pair of wire cutters!

So after getting the fence in position I fastened it in place with none other then....

Yep! Baling twine! Any horsey person knows that this stuff is almost as good as duct tape. And there is ALWAYS some around! But, I have to admit, it was maybe just a smidge ghetto looking. I reassured myself that it was free! And temporary! And easy to get the job done! And did I mention it was free? I figured I'd look a little harder for a baby gate later, but for now, I could get to work on what I needed to do.

That's when I heard the Boyfriend banging away in the garage so I went to see what he was working on. Apparently, he'd had a very bright idea for the gate issue. I thought he was busy with other things, so I'd just gone ahead and done the ghetto fence.

Well, 10 minutes later, he had this hung...

He had stuck two of the garden border panels together, one on top of the other, then used some hinges and a latch that I had gotten for another project that we hadn't used and voila! We have a nice swinging, latching wooden gate that coordinates with the garden border all the way around the front of the house and doesn't look completely ghetto. LOVE it! And the best part? It was also free, made with things we already had laying around the house.

And really, with all the time I wrestled with that darn roll of fence, it probably didn't take any longer to get done either.

I try. But I probably don't have to tell you that my ghetto fence was taken down shortly after that gate went in. lol

Sunday Stills Challenge - Motion

The first Sunday Stills challenge that I am taking is In Motion. "This can be anything that conveys motion." Since the weather around here is horrible this week and I can't really think of any indoor action shots that wouldn't suck, I decided to cheat just a little bit and go back to some older pictures.

This challenge also happens to coincide with a blog that's been percolating in my head since I took these pictures a month and a half ago. It has everything to do with motion and these pictures definately "convey motion"!

First off though, this is my "official entry" for the Sunday Stills Challenge: In Motion...

This was a beautiful, sunny day in January that we pulled the horses blankets and turned our two mares out together to romp and have some fun. This is Sugar and she was not waiting so patiently for her turn. This was about a half a second after her halter was off. Brat. There are a ton more motion shots here, where I originally blogged about that day. I was shooting on the continuous action shot mode. I did make a few minor adjustments in the color and exposure with my Windows Photo Gallery program to perk it up a little bit. Unfortunately, it does not edit out the obnoxious white electric tape fence.

When I was going thru all of the pictures from that day I noticed something interesting. I had to really pick thru the pictures of Sugar to find ones where she didn't look like she was about to fall over or like a complete retard. She just wasn't that graceful looking. Midori, on the other hand, was totally photogenic and I was hard pressed to find a bad action shot of her. Atleast one that was her fault or caught her in a bad position. There were some bad ones, but I was still getting used to my new camera and the bad ones of Midori were mostly my fault.

It is funny looking at it though.

First up, lets look at their roll. It's pretty much the first thing they do when they get out there.

Midori is on the top and this was the goofiest pic of her in the bunch. She is right in the middle of flipping sides so her back is arched and there is a lot of effort going into the roll. She still looks pretty coordinated though. The second pic is Sugar. This was a pretty typical picture of her rolling. Her legs are going every where and I've never seen her roll from one side to the other so all that effort is just going into getting mud on every single square inch of her.

Next up, the running.

Above is Midori running. Perfectly horsie and graceful. Below is Sug running. Perfectly...not horsie or graceful. I don't even know what is going on in the first picture. The last two I was waiting for the nose dive and flip, but somehow she caught herself and kept on going. No idea how she managed that. (Not sure why, but when the sun was bright in the picture it would show streaks, still need to do some research on the new camera to get that to stop, so just ignore the crappy quality of the shot and pay attention to how funny Sug looks!)

And last, their "bucks". I use the quote marks because they are pretty pathetic bucks. Not that I'm complaining.

Above is Midori's "buck". It's decent, coordinated. Spunky, but controlled. In the pic to the right Sug is the red head on the left and that is her "buck", if you can even call it that. I think the tail gives it away. There was obviously some effort, though she just looks gangly and awkward.

It really made me think looking thru those pictures and noticing just how different those girls really move. I wonder why they are so different also. I suppose it could be their age. Midori is coming 7-ish (she's not registered) and Sug is going to be 4 this year. They both look and move great under saddle. Sugar has never struck me as uncoordinated under saddle, just a little baby-ish at times.

The boyfriend says it's because of him, that she's a reflection of him, just like Midori is a reflection of me. lol I'm not sure that's entirely true in this particular case, but I think I'm going to go with it anyways.

So there's my pics of motion. I'm anxious to see what the next challenge is and hopefully I'll be able to actually challenge myself to take some new pics! :-)

Important Health Advice for Women! Sorta.

Do you have feelings of inadequacy?


Do you suffer from shyness?


Do you sometimes wish you were more assertive?


If you answered yes to any of these questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist about Margaritas.


Margaritas are the safe, natural way to feel better and more confident about yourself and your actions.

Margaritas can help ease you out of your shyness and let you tell the world that you're ready and willing to do just about anything.

You will notice the benefits of Margaritas almost immediately and with a regimen of regular doses you can overcome any obstacles that prevent you from living the life you want to live.

Shyness and awkwardness will be a thing of the past and you will discover many talents you never knew you had.

Stop hiding and start living, with Margaritas.

Margaritas may not be right for everyone.

Women who are pregnant or nursing should not use Margaritas.

However, women who wouldn't mind nursing or becoming pregnant are encouraged to try it.

Side effects may include:
Dizziness
Nausea
Vomiting
Incarceration
Erotic lustfulness
Loss of motor control
Loss of clothing
Loss of money
Loss of virginity
Table dancing
Headache
Dehydration
Dry mouth
And a desire to sing Karaoke

WARNING:

The consumption of Margaritas may make you think you are whispering when you are not.

The consumption of Margaritas may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them.

The consumption of Margaritas may cause you to think you can sing.

The consumption of Margaritas may make you think you can logically converse with members of the opposite sex without spitting

Amen to that!

Thank god for 'ritas and to my sis for sending this to me!