July 28^th- August 11^th

How crazy is it that we’re beginning week 12 right now? I was just writing about SNOW on the second day of summer and now Avery and Zach are heading to school and Thatcher is packing up for college… Good lord.

Quick update for those reading on Blondie’s healing process and other horse craziness! Blondie is healing up nicely but last week Cyndy noticed she was off in her front and still quite swollen in the back, having had her stiches out she feared it might have been an infection so down to the vet she went. No infection, just bruising and then, soon after she got back, she learned from Rickey that Blondie had been kicked again and that’s where the swelling came from! So good news is that there was no infection, bad news is the poor girl had been kicked at again. Can’t catch a break! Now not long after Cyndy returned with Blondie did their new horse Cinder (a lovely black mare who looks dark chocolate brown in direct sunlight) got kicked by her pasture mate in an awful spot on the leg opening up an artery! Lots of blood for that one but Amy and Cyndy were quick and got it clotted and wrapped. They loaded up and back down to the vet they went again! Happy Birthday Susan (our vet)! Thanks for working on your special day. Cinder and Blondie are resting in front of Amy’s house and will heal well; horses are just finicky creatures but they have amazing strength.  They’ll be fine before too long.

Back to people! The week of July 28^th- August 4^thwas a relaxing one. After the whirlwind of week 9 that left us exhausted, this was a nice reprieve for all of us. There were only a few kids this week but they had fun together and little Ross was so spunky that he kept all the adults laughing at his antics and boldness of speech. He actually managed to trip within two hours of his arrival outside the saloon and cut his knee pretty deep. You know how in the War of 1812 bayonets were triangles so it wouldn’t stitch together as easily? (I’m a nerd, I know!) Yeah, this boy landed on a triangular rock and he’ll definitely have a scar to remember BMR forever. His father and I joked that he now needed to be branded with BMR right there to commemorate this trip! He was tough though and did not let it slow down his trip, Mark did a great job cleaning and wrapping up the wound.  

This week was home to Maureen, Maureen was 77 (If I may be so bold to say and hope I remember that age correctly) and she was climbing these hills like a champ, rode every day and Saturday night she and I danced together AND THEN she got on the bar with all the other ladies and had a blast! I only hope I age so gracefully and full of spunk. 

During our time here you’ll never know what kind of conversations you’ll end up in, everyone always has a story and a place they come from. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with Albert about Brazil, Jake about Germany, Peter about Denmark and the Faroe Island and then I spoke at length with Noel about Theatre and history.  

Everyone is going through something, has been somewhere and is going somewhere so its always fun to learn and listen and share with all those around us. We may be off in the mountains in our own little haven but we’ve all sure got some stories for the camp fire up at pack camp. 

This week was Grayson’s last week with us, he brought up the Hussy Hicks from Australia who gave us a song on Thursday night and then an impromptu performance on Sunday night! Grayson was kind enough to let me sing with his Thursday, so we practiced Hallelujah, Jolene and Mama Don’t Let Your Baby’s Grow Up to be Cowboys briefly while everyone ate dinner and then he invited me up later on to sing. It was a lot of fun to get behind the mic so thank you for the opportunity!!  

Last week we had a 23 person family reunion in addition to another 22 guests with ages starting at 5 months! We always want to be accommodating and willing to go the extra mile for our guests so we were happy to help Terri set up this reunion and make sure they all had a great time. I got to teach Terri, and those who wanted to learn with us, line dancing for her birthday Tuesday night and was so honored that she beamed about it saying she’s always wanted to learn. As you know, if you’ve been reading, line dancing is usually Emily’s thing but we all step up when needed and Jess was doing her job in making sure her guests were happy by asking me to assist with this. Come Thursday I also got to teach Heather and Justin a nice two-step and gave 16-year-old Jacob a few pretzel lessons that he perfected by Saturday! One of my favorite things is when I teach a guest something and then I see them take the initiative to ask someone to dance, it really makes me happy that they’ve grown enough confidence to go for it with assistance! Carlos from Spain also asked for a dance lesson and he was so kind and easy to talk to then surprised us all by being the first man on the bar Thursday night!! Carlos and his daughter came from Spain and have been here more than once, Allegra is really becoming quite the rider training in Spain and then coming here to tackle the mountains. 

Emily went out on an adventure with her guests and sadly her horse stepped into a bog and went down, landing on Emily’s leg.  Bogs are a sticky mess and when ground is that soft, it’s no good for the horses. She’s up and mobile but limping, her poor ankle is wrapped up and she’s been to the doctor to make sure it’s all just bruised. She’s been such a good sport with it, still spending time with everyone and getting around the ranch even with the injury. She is letting it rest for those of you shaking your head, but she’s a strong woman and knows how to handle herself and will heal up just fine! Feet always take awhile and a lesser being would let it ruin her time but not Emily. 

At pack came a young calf got a bucket stuck around its neck when trying to snatch up some grain, calves are fast and don’t want to be caught so once they realized they would need to do more than chase it, Thatcher jumped on Custer the Wonder Horse (aptly named by Nicola). He grabbed a rope and took off after it, among the trees and with a bucket in the way, it wasn’t an easy catch but Thatcher managed it and I know the calf is much happier without the bucket. 

Vicki was with us this week to celebrate her birthday, visit with Cyndy and see her granddaughter who is working with us for a few weeks. If you’re friends with Cyndy on Facebook then you might have seen the video, if not… Well, you’re missing out and my words won’t do it justice enough. Thatcher, Kyle and Branden got together and made a dance to the Git Up song and honestly, it was the best and I hope it caught Vicki as off guard as we wanted it too. I heard the song and some stomping one night in the office while reading in my room and came out to see Blanka laughing and them three in jeans dancing around and I thought ‘what in the world….’, it all came together pink boas and a pink throne for our birthday gal. If you can, definitely check out the video. I got to film it on Cyndy’s phone and thank goodness Nicola came out Saturday night with her camera cause those photos are gold! You really never know what this place is up to and that’s part of the fun! 

I got to do my favorite thing again and taught Heather and Justin how to dance a basic two-step with some spins and it is so much fun to see people go from "oh, I couldn't do that" to literally spinning around the dance floor! Thank you so much for stepping up and taking my advice and giving me the joy of watching y'all learn and dance together. Hope to see you all next year dancing!

I had Sunday off this week and managed to get out on a nice 3-hour ride through the mountains. My mother has been begging me for photos that I am actually in all summer long, it’s hard when you’re in the office and not on the trails. But yesterday I managed to get out there and have some photos taken that made my mothers day.  Here are two shots that made her the happiest for those of you who are interested. 

 

 

Hope to see y’all out here soon! If not this summer, then the next one,

Amber IZ