For those of you who do read this, thank you! And I apologize that I haven’t been doing it weekly, but when people tell me they read these I always get excited and am so honored you take the time to follow my long winded stories of the ranch!
The last two weeks have been crazy but so much fun! We had two family reunions the week before last and let me tell you, it is adorable to have younger girls showing off their flips and splits, one of the little ones could even backbend and then run while in the backbend, made me want a message just watching her! Something that always makes me happy is when people show genuine gratitude and respect for those around them and we had a birthday for Austin that week. His Grandparents bought him a Jake Steer and a rope, I made up a little printed card showing a picture of each and they gave it to him at dinner after we all sang Happy Birthday. The tears. Ugh, Lynn, Ginny, Austin, and myself were all tear eyed as he hugged and thanked everyone for such a good week and a good gift.
This week was the week for line dances, if you didn’t know, Emily always helps out and teaches some line dancing either in a class or on Thursday nights and this Thursday was full of line dancing. I try to help teach if I know the dance and I was lucky enough to teach a few of the little ones how to foot loose so she could join her friends. She was feeling a little left out at first but once she picked up the steps and I got to step back and watch and it was adorable to see them all together! Our youngest of the week was 5 years old and already showing off her splits and moves, keep it up youngster!
The 4thof July is my favorite holiday. It’s always been special to me because it’s a day where people get together not to give gifts or expect anything from anyone, but just to eat and laugh and blow things up a bit as we celebrate the founding of our country. We stampeded the horses out to the field and had live music, line dancing, beer, and laughter then a few fireworks lit up our skies in the perfect Black Mountain way. Due to our live music scheduling and it being a Thursday, we couldn’t go into town for any celebrations so we made our own. Put up our American flag gear and the Donahoo clan busted out the American flag bandanas for the whole family. Ginny said it best when she smiled at Perry and said, “This has been the most perfect 4thof July”
Last week we had just 31 guests and a quieter grouping. Finally the pool is starting to be used and everyone seemed content to just relax and enjoy everything we have to offer out here. The group in the Golden Eagle Cabin would sit on their porch drinking wine and talking with their friends, I’d stop by on my way down the hill and Barb always gave me a hug and thanked us for being so accommodating and just fun. She was a lovely woman who I hope to continue to be friends with going forward, if only for her hugs! Her husband loved the shooting range and made sure to get out there as often as possible. The Etter’s were here for the first time and I got to chat with them quite a bit during Sunset ponies and took some photos of Krista with Reba since Nicola was off at Pack Camp. What a lovely couple, Krista wanted to take Reba home with her by the third day and seriously, those are the type of horse to person relationships we try to create out here.
Tom and Tatiana were a joy to have around, after getting used to the altitude (we sit at 8,300ft) he was nothing but fun to be around and made everyone laugh! I missed it but heard that he has one hell of a HEEYAW! when moving cattle and after he loped for the first time he shouted how wonderful and excited it all was! They plan on coming back and I hope I’m here when they do. We celebrated Ashley’s graduation from high school and had Grayson Capps grace our stage on Thursday night. His wife Trina even has 3 Grammars, I have heard, in music production. Sometimes we get damn lucky out here with things like that. They sounded amazing and brought out a small crowd to join in the festivities. It’s always a treat to get locals and travelers alike together to dance, sing, talk or just listen to music together.
Saturday ended with lightning cracking across the sky in the distance with a perfect view from Nowell’s house. This brought our power down for the evening but never stopped any of us! We put out candles and lanterns and used a phone with a Bluetooth speaker for the saloon. We ate, gave speeches, shot pool and hung out all evening giving goodbyes by the light of fire, moon and lantern. Never a dull moment, I swear. As twilight descended upon us, so did a full double rainbow over the ranch. I attached two amateur photos below that I got with my cell phone. The second rainbow is harder to see, but is above the brighter one.
This week we’re back up to 43 guests with 14 of em being in the kid category, it’s packed but a good time and can’t wait for more. Planning on trying to join Pack Camp tonight to sing with Rita and since Grayson is around, I’m sure he’ll shine with the stars up there. I’m looking forward to it.
Thank you and until next time, enjoy life y’all.
Amber IZ
