Farm Livin' is the Life for Me...

Last Sunday evening, our A/C at home went out. Coop's bedtime was closing in, so we headed to Simonton while Chris stayed home to wait on the repairman. He's been cranky enough lately, cutting 4 molars at once; we didn't need him hot & sweaty, too. It was a long night anyway, but the next morning, the weather was nice.(It seems like every time we've had a chance lately, the weather has turned sour on us!) So we ventured out to see more of the animals on the ranch--"Gator-style".



Our mission: To see and ride a real, live horse! Our niece, Katie, has a horse that stays at Gran & Pop's house. Champion was more than happy to help us accomplish our mission. Up until this time, Cooper has seemed to equate pictures of horses to dogs. (He signs "dog" for most 4-legged critters.) Perhaps the fact that our dog is so BIG confuses him a bit. But, after seeing how big a horse is compared to Cash, I think he has a better idea now.

The first encounter:

Now, face-to-face:Wow! His head is much bigger than Cash's!


Cooper wasn't hesitant at all about riding. He seemed to like being way up high. Pop walked Champion around while I held onto Coop.




"Good boy, Champion!"

Next mission: To chase those noisy peacocks!*

*Several years back--I think it was after one of the floods--a couple of peacocks showed up at the ranch. Dad contacted a nearby exotic animal farm to see if they were missing any, but they didn't claim them. So, they stayed. And they've multiplied. So, if you ever visit the ranch, and hear very loud, annoying squawking resounding through the trees and barn, don't be afraid. It's just the pesky peacocks.

Back at the house, we just had to stop and say hello to "Duke", their chocolate lab.

I think dogs are still his favorite.

P.S. Special thanks to our friend, Gerald Aguirre, and his dad who fixed the A/C in a jiffy, and very inexpensively, too! If you ever need A/C repair here locally, let us know--we'll get you in touch with them.