Friday, July 6, 2012

LADIES OF THE RODEO



Long before Buffalo Bill Cody created the first major American rodeo in 1882 
there were ranch-versus-ranch competitions to test the skills of the people 
of the cattle industry in events such as bronc riding, bull riding and roping.


Most rodeos have queen contests for several age groups. 
Being a rodeo queen requires skills in western style horse riding, 
public speaking, rodeo knowledge, appearance and personality.

At our July Fourth rodeo there are always plenty of cowboys 
showing off their strength and flair in the riding of...


...the bucking horses and bulls and the wrestling of big calves to the ground, 
but more and more I’ve seen the ladies enter and win in the events 
that demanded horsemanship and dexterity.


Barrel racing has traditionally been an event for the cowgirls.


It is almost a dance involving horse and rider as they 
speed through a course around barrels in the arena…


…and then race full tilt back to the start to try and score the quickest time.


Muttin’ Bustin’ is open to any boy or girl willing go for a ride 
while hanging on to a rope around a sheep’s middle.


This year’s first place trophy went to a very feminine red head.


Some of the best calf roping was done by the ladies.


Lady ropers and their horses compete with the same rules as the men.


When the calf scramble was announced for anyone between the ages of 
eight and eleven our granddaughter and her BFF jumped up 
and hurried down to the arena with the rest of the kids.  
That’s her in the burgundy shirt and her friend is on the far left. 
Note the granddaughter is wearing flip-flops.  
That didn’t seem to slow her down at all.


When everyone was ready a calf covered with dollar bills was turned loose.  
The crowd of youngsters kicked up quite a cloud of dust 
in the stampede to grab some cash.


Check out that burgundy shirt on the right just missing the money.  
Her friend was right there too.


They came back empty handed.  Granddaughter said she was going for the 
five dollar bill on the calf’s head or nothing.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

EVEN BETTER THAN THE PARADE

Although I love to watch a parade...

...even better than the parade--I think...

--is to watch the parade watchers.

Working Mom and Dad for a share of their slurpy

Reveling in parade candy

"This is just weird"

"I must be patient.  I must be patient."

"How LONG is this going to LAST???"

Happy Birthday U.S.A.!

Monday, July 2, 2012

PEACE LOVE AND CRABS--WHAT ELSE COULD YOU ASK FOR?


Our California family knew DH and I hadn’t traveled all this way just to see them.


In no time at all we were all sitting down at one of their favorite seafood eateries.


Our table had a view of the marina and plenty of sun and palm trees.


Menus were not long in coming.  
There was a great selection of shellfish entrĂ©es 
plus mac and cheese or pizza for those with different ideas of good food.


There was even a drink that included a shark on ice with a vial of “blood.”


DH and I ordered the steamed crab and shrimp.  We were outfitted with official bibs.


---Because this meal was hands on.  
It was yummy enough to make eyes roll to the ceiling 
when we pulled out the fresh crab and shrimp and dipped it in lemon and butter.


The servers turned up the music and did some energetic line dancing for our entertainment.


When we were through there was nothing left but sticky fingers, smiles and shells.

For some reason this member of the family didn't make it into my camera 
on this photo shoot, but she was right across the table sharing
plenty of the latest news.