Happy, Happy Thanksgiving !!!

Have not been around much....just been working so darn hard....at work and at home. Getting ready for the holidays and trips.

We are leaving on Wed to go on a 5 day camping / horse riding trip at KC Ranch in Double Springs, Alabama.....my favorite place.

Then when I get home Bear and I are house / horse sitting for 10 days for our trainer. They have 3 studs and about 14 horses that have to be fed, stalls cleaned etc. They are going to California for a Vet conference (she is a vet tech also as well as my trainer).

Then the next weekend we have our friend / client Christmas party, then the next weekend is my family Christmas at my house.

Then we are leaving the day after Christmas for a 6 day camping / horse riding trip to Winchester, Tennessee at Circle E.....

Soooooo.......just been getting my house and camper ready !!!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy and Safe Thanksgiving.

Love you all !!

Those gorgeous TN Mountains

Just after we got started on the trail....it was kinda chilly, but as soon as the horses started heating up - we got steam.

This is a place for hikers to stay during the night, so the bears (yes I said bears) will not get them. There is a place for you to hang your food up really high on a highwire also.
There are signs everywhere up here that tell you that there is active bear activity, and not to approach them. Not sure if the horses understand that -
Have you ever been on a horse that even smells a bear????
They start snorting and dancing around.....even sometimes start to bolt.....just say - they FREAK out !!!
The bears up in TN are pretty much protected, so they really do not fear humans, and they pretty much stay hidden.
Although in Cades Cove (where they have a drive around road to look at the animals), they just walk around - through cars and such. I have some pictures of our honeymoon where my Bear is about 4 feet from a real Bear.....oh scary !!!!

Gorgeous shot of the mountain we were riding on.

Ooooo.....So Steamy !!! LOL

Look at Rio biting at my foot.....she is crazy and does this alot while we are standing still. (not in the show ring), but on trail rides....I think it calms her nerves....LOL

She really just teethes on my stirrup or my boot.

Getting a drink from one of the many, many streams

I love this picture of Chance and Bear....

Creek running beside the trail.

Gorgeous waterfall we went by on the trail. There are lots of these, especially after the snowfall. The melted snow has to have somewhere to go.

We went up during the drought last year and there was almost no water.

Thanks for letting me share - I still have some other pics to get, so hopefully I will have some more.

Jamie

Whew ! Am I seeing daylight yet?

Well after being off work for 3 days, I have spent the last few days catching up, or trying to. I am almost seeing daylight.
Had a wonderful trip, and will be posting more photos as soon as my friend Kat, gets me the disc of everyone pics.....those have more of me....LOL
This is on top of one of the mountains at Spence Field which is a gorgeous place. Just a few of us, when I get all the pics there is one of all of us that a hiker took.
Hope to get them this week. Here is Bear and I near the trail head coming out of Cades Cove (we have to walk through the picnic area off our horses and then mount when we get to the trail head). Some people acted like they had never seen a horse before - and some did not care if they ran over us with their car.
But after we got on the trail, it was worth it.
Rio did exceptionally well for her first LONG ride. We rode about 7 hours on Saturday at Tremont - or Smokey Mountain Institute which is a gorgeous ride. Have some great pics of the water coming off the mountain that I will share later...(come on Kat - need those photo !!)
Then Sunday we rode in Cades Cove and rode about 6-7 hours
I believe we rode a total of 16 miles on Saturday and about 15 or so on Sunday. It rained on Friday so we did not get to ride.

Gonna get those other pictures and share them with you.....they are really really pretty.

But in the meantime, I wanted to share my cute little boxer - Sugar - with you.

I am always checking out those cute boxers on Trail Boss's site and then last week Train Wreck showed us her doggy and made us guess what kind it was. I did not do very well at that - but heck I had never heard of an Argentine Dogo. But it sure is cute !!

Well this is Sugar, she is my sweet little boxer. Some say she does not look complete boxer, but I have her papers, and met both her mom and dad when I bought her, so......

I really don't care one way or the other - I had her fixed so there is no breeding in her forecast.

Here she is with Bear in the pool right after we got her.....notice how white she is with just that little black eye and a little bit of black on her ear. She was so pink on her belly.....oh she just made my toes curl.

Here is Sugar at about 3 months old

Notice the little freckles she is getting on her belly?

She is now covered in them all over her underside and even on her topside a little too. However, they are only on her skin.....not on her fur.

We did not have her ears clipped, she does have a docked tail, as they did that when she was first born....(oh I don't want to think about that).

She is my buddy - she goes everywhere with me (except work), she camps with us, she trail rides with us (when she can - most places say "No Dogs on the Trails"). She is a gem and I love my cutie pie.

She gets along pretty good with other dogs, as long as they don't try to love on her momma ! She is very jealous of me.

You like her Auburn collar? She has an orange one now and it looks too cute on her. Also got her a flea collar (they have been horrible this year) and it is baby blue.

She is a hoot - and thinks she is a tiny puppy.....she gets in the chair with me and wants everyone to pick her up and hold her, funny thing, most of my friends do....

We all love Sugar !! Hope you will too now.

I will get those pics from Kat asap.....we are trail riding again this weekend, just an overnighter, and it is also mine and Bear's 11 year anniversary.

See ya all soon !!