Long Overdue!

One of our favorite places to go on vacation has always been the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area. In the early to mid '90's, we went as many as two or three times a year, mostly camping or cabin rentals. Since getting heavily involved in horses, moving to the farm, and with the ever increasing demands of B's sports, our visits have been few and far between at best. It has been a couple of years since we have been, even though we have Timeshare property there. This past week we decided to bite the bullet and make the trip. It was great! B took a friend which kept her boredom factor to a minimum. The visit to Dollywood for the first time in quite a few years was super. Lots of park additions since we were there last. The traditional (for us) visit to Granny Ogle's in the park for ham-n-beans, greens and cornbread was good, as always. With schools being in session and the fall colors not yet near peak, the traffic/crowds were as sparse as we have ever seen it. Virtually no waiting for rides and the parkway backups normally seen, were non-existant. Part of any trip to the Smokies is the culinary delights. Dinner on Monday at Johnny Carino's and lunch on Thursday at The Old Mill Restaurant were tops. Not to mention the fact that we walked straight into the Old Mill at noon with no waiting. Unheard of.... Our mandatory trip to Cades Cove yielded minimal traffic, a bear sighting, the always present deer and wild turkey as well as two obnoxious bikers. As always, we hated to leave and could have stayed forever. I think we have promised ourselves it won't be nearly so long before we are back again.

Temporary Boarders

B and I were working outside this past weekend when we heard a strange and loud noise coming from the shed. Upon investigation we found two very young kittens that appeared to have gotten trapped in a deep storage box and seemed to have been abandoned by the mother. As I guess is the case with most rural farm areas, we have any number of cats that come and go as they please. This is certainly far from the first litter of kittens to have been brought into this world on our property, but they are the first that have required our assistance. They were very tiny and as best we could guess were not more than a couple of weeks old. As a result, we are working as a team to provide baby bottle feedings every few hours. They are certainly living the life of a king compared to the dirty heat and humidity of the shed. Our newest Boxer, Cricket, thinks she wants to be their mommy and has turned out to be very protective of them when the other dogs start sniffing around them. At this point we are unsure what their future holds since we really don't need additional critters. All we can do in the meantime is provide them with the opprotunity live and grow and hopefully move on with their lives. Keyword....move on.

Peace College Visit

B had her second college visit this past weekend. As a result of her recruiting service, she had been communicating with the basketball coach there for some time and had recieved an invitation to make a visit to meet the coaches, tour the campus and attend a women's basketball game. The campus was beautiful, with many historic buildings. It is located in the heart of downtown Raleigh which could raise a number of concerns but it does have a Krispy Kreme located right on the edge of the campus. As we were running ahead of schedule for our visit, we stopped in to check it out. It was an extremley busy place. We had a good visit with admissions, a thorough tour, lunch with the head coach and enjoyed watching the game. B really enjoyed the day and indicated she could see herself going there. I think she most liked hearing from our tour guide that the main building on campus, which served as a hospital during the Civil War, is said to be haunted.....

First College Visit

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B has been using a college recruiting service for quite some time. One of the very first colleges to show interest in her was Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. This week, while on a family vacation to Massanutten, Va. we got a request from the head coach at Hollins to come out and take a tour. It was just a wild coincidence for us to be less than two hours away at the time. We had a very enjoyable tour with the coach. B got to meet several of his players. The campus was absolutely gorgious and the athletic facilities were first class. We also toured their equestrian facility which is world class. B has had routine communications with the coach for some time and we think this is a location where she could enjoy her college years

Another Milestone

Our youngest is growing up fast and it seems the milestones of her young life just keep coming faster and faster. This week she got her first car. Her dream from just about day one was to have a Mustang. We stumbled across a nice one that she really liked at a local lot one evening when she was headed to basketball practice. When we went the next day to check into it, it turned out someone else was interested in it as well. As it turned out we were literally in a race with this unknown party. It was simply a matter of whomevers bank could get the cash into their hands first. In the end, we came in under the wire which made for one happy young lady.

Sick of it

Having been here for over 5 years, we have still not done much to renovate the water system for the barn or pastures. As a result, the winters have been taxing with frozen lines and troughs, but manageable. Last winter was the worst so far, but this winter has finally reached the point of being unbearable. We have been constantly busting ice, thawing lines and carrying water. Since it appears as though this global warming is going to freeze us to death, it's time to make some changes. At this point there is not much I can do until warmer weather, but I can install a water hydrant inside the barn so that we are assured of having water available where we most need it, when we need it.

Pretty, But....

Our newest storm has come and gone, leaving behind some beautiful scenery. What was originally supposed to be 2 to 3 inches off to our west, turned into just a tad under 8 inches here. It was a dry, powdery snow. Not at all like the wet, heavy stuff we usually get when do get any snow at all. Only problem was, late Monday and most of that night we had light freezing rain that compacted the snow and left an 1/8th inch of ice over everything. It has now been three days and we are just now seeing the normal drab, brown grass starting to return to view. The horses have not been happy with the crusty mess at all. Our Boxers loved playing in the snow, but once in crusted over and re-froze, they quickly became obviously tired of having to negotiate through it. As for us, it was pretty, but we are tired of frozen pipes and transporting water. I promise to be a little bit more tolerant of this coming summer's heat.

Global Warming?

Last winter was tough. Overall, it was the coldest winter we could remember in quite some time around here with some periods of bitter cold as well as a six inch snowfall which is an exceptionally rare event in these parts. We lost our entire water system in the barn last winter, due to damage from frozen pipes. This winter has started off to be even worse. December closed out as the coldest on record for this area. We have already had a mild icing event as well as a four inch snow and are now bracing for a new storm late tonight, to be followed by a week of frigid weather. We have taken temporary (and expensive) measures to insure our horses have access to drinkable water but this summer will be spent putting the entire water system underground and installing frost proof hydrant style spigots. We will also be completing our electrical overhaul of the barn which will include underground service to all of our water troughs to allow easy use of trough heaters and/or heated buckets. Hopefully this will be our last winter of ice busting and water toting.

Gators move to 2-0 in TRC

The Lady Gators returned to conference play Friday night with a home game against Red Springs. After struggling in their last several games, the girls hit the floor looking like the Gators we are used to seeing. After a quick start that put 35 points on the board at halftime, the girls only managed five points in the 3rd quarter but finished strong to come away with a 53-21 victory. B played what may have been her best game of the year finishing with 10 points, 5 steals and several nice passes for assists. A few quick clips of B (#14) can be found here . A local news clip from WECT TV can be seen by clicking on the title of this article and scrolling to the bottom. The win put the Gators at 6-3 on the year and 2-0 in the Three Rivers Conference. The girls will have to wait a bit to hit the hardwood again as the next game in not until Friday, at St. Paul’s.

Gators Bounce Back

After suffering their first loss of the season to start the week, the Lady Gators finished the week with a solid conference win on Friday at West Columbus to move their record to 3-1. In a game that saw considerable playing time for the reserves, the Gators cruised to a 59-33 win. B was a bit off on her jump shot and finished with 8 points and 4 assists. She did have a very good night on defense with 6 steals and 1 blocked shot to go along with 3 rebounds. A couple of clips of her (#14) play is included below. The Gators do not play again until next Friday when they host in-county rival Whiteville in a non-conference game.

Lady Gators Fall to Eagles

Monday night the Lady Gators faced off against the defending East Regional Champion and State Runner-Up, East Bladen. The Eagles and their all-star center led from start to finish and pulled away to an impressive 70-48 win. B played a solid game despite having an off shooting night. B finished the night with 10 points, going 5 of 13 from the floor. She also had 4 steals, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 turnover. A few clips of her play (#14) can be found below. The Gators will be back in action on Friday night at West Columbus in their first conference game of the young season.

Gators Move to 2-0

Friday night The East Columbus Lady Gators moved their record to 2-0 with a non-conference win over South Columbus. The Gators played stifling defense from start to finish and held their turnover count to a minimum in route to a 44-18 victory. B had a very good game going 5 of 10 from the floor including 4 of 5 from the 3 point line. Along with her 14 points, she had 3 steals, 2 assists and 2 rebounds. The best stat she had on the night was ZERO turnovers. A couple of clips of her (#14) play can be found below. What looks to be the toughest task of the season will come Monday night when the Lady Gators travel to last years state runner-up, East Bladen.

Off to a Quick Start

The East Columbus Lady Gators got the new season off to a quick start Tuesday night with an impressive win at North Brunswick. After losing a starting guard and their spotlight post player to graduation, the Lady Gators came into the game as a concensus underdog with a young starting lineup that included two freshmen and a sophomore. Early on, the Gators looked to be filling that role as the Lady Scorpions jumped to a quick 7-0 lead. After shaking the early game jitters however, the Gators steadily fought back and pushed to a 25-23 lead at the half. The second half belonged to the Gators as they quickly pulled away to rack up a 55-38 win and put a solid "W" on the board to kick the season off. B played a solid floor game and despite a slow shooting start finished with 8 points as well as numerous assists and rebounds. A couple of quick clips of B's play (#14) can be found by clicking here . A TV news clip of the game is below. The next game is Friday night at home against in-county rival South Columbus. We can't wait to see these young ladies hit the floor again.

It's Hardwood Time Again

It's basketball season again and the East Columbus Lady Gators kicked it off by going 3-0 in the East Bladen High School Preseason Jamboree with wins over Clinton, Lakewood and West Bladen. As was to be expected, play was overall ragged and all teams envolved have much fine tuning to do before their season openers. My early assessment is that the Gators will have the edge on most anyone they play this year when it comes to raw speed. The general rule that speed kills is a basic staple of basketball, but it is only lethal when it is coordinated and controlled. Therein lies the biggest improvement opportunity for these ladies this year. B played well at times and showed the early season rust as others. Here is a couple of quick clips of some of her play (#21).With about two weeks till the opener, it will be interesting to see how much these girls can jell.

Missing Rocky

While sorting through some old cell phone photos, I ran across a couple of Rocky and was reminded how I miss him. Rocky was one of the occasional strays that seem to make their way to our farm. For a dog, or any other sizable animal, it's not as easy as you might think to simply wonder onto our property. Other than our lengthy and narrow driveway, the rest of the farm is surrounded by wire fencing and gates. Anyway, Rocky appeared from nowhere one evening in the summer of 2008. He was a pitiful sight. He had obviously not had a real meal in a long time and was suffering a number of injuries such as scrapes and lacerations. His left ear was split in two and infected. With his condition and him being a pit bull, we were initially worried that he may be violent or even rabid. As it turned out, he was one of the most gentle, large dogs we had seen. As with our previous strays, Rocky was well fed and his injuries and intense flea infestation were treated. It didn't take us long to settle on the name Rocky, as it seemed the best fit for his rough appearance. As best we could figure, it looked as if Rocky had been used (abused) is some sort of dog fighting. Anyway, Rocky stayed with us for several months. In the end, we had to find a good home for him as he was somewhat destructive with whatever he perceived to be play toys. He also liked to dig large holes to lay in, usually in the worst possible locations. C was able to place Rocky with the family of a co-worker. Although the end result was best for Rocky and us, I do find myself missing him from time to time.

Vacation??

One of our main projects while we were on vacation last week was supposed to be replacing a run of fence along the small pasture area that leads to our barn. The old wire fence along that run is way beyond needing replacing, as is many of the poles. On Monday, an overcast day held temps down so we jumped on the project. A couple of rain showers slowed our progress so we figured to finish it on Wednesday, since Tuesday was given to running errands and shopping for project materials.
By Wednesday however, we were well into what proved to be the hottest week I can remember. After Monday, the entire week produced a daily heat index in excess of 105. Ultimately, we cancelled the fence project and moved to some of the items on the barn "to do" list as a means to stay out of the Sun as much as possible. We did manage to install the piping for the automatic water system in the stalls. We lost the whole system to freezing this past winter and this time we installed it with insulation. I also installed a tap for future use when we build our wash room. We also got one more of the stall fronts replaced. Part of our shopping on Tuesday was to purchase our remaining four stall fronts. We found some at Agri Supply in Lumberton but they were mix-matched as far as the doors, some were damaged and all were pretty well weathered from being left to the elements, apparently for some time. After determining there would be a good bit of work to be done on the stall fronts for us to be able to use them, we managed to get a pretty good deal of about 1/3 off the posted price. Overall, it was a pretty productive week despite the extreme heat and humidity but I must admit I was pretty glad to get back to the real workday world complete with air conditioning and minimal labor.

One Down, Four To Go

We have been planning on replacing the stall fronts in our barn ever since we moved in 5-1/2 years ago. We did actually purchase a stall front from Tractor Supply about two years ago. Since that time it has sat under our shed. Today, we finally got around to replacing the first one. In planing for the task, I was convinced it would be at least a two day effort to tear out the old front and install the replacement. We actually completed the whole job in about six hours. I had been concerned about how we would secure the panel at the bottom, but setting a railroad tie for the footer and bolting to it worked great. We still have some final tie in to the existing poles, but that should be a piece of cake. It was exceptionally hot today and we were basically non stop on the project in a heat index over 100 degrees. It proved to have been too much for C as she struggles with high heat anyway. B stuck it out all day and we were so proud of how hard she worked with no complaints and constantly looking for whatever she could help do. When it was all said and done, I realized that during the day, which involved a couple of other small projects as well, I had consumed almost two gallons of fluid without ever needing a restroom break. That's a lot of perspiration. Anyway, we were well pleased with the look of the new stall front. It is certainly a nice improvement over the original. Hopefully it won't take us quite as long to get around to making more progress on our barn makeover. We are talking about making a significant dent in it by summer's end. But then, we have always been great at making plans. It's actually getting around to executing them that we struggle with.

How does your garden grow?

For three years running, C's parents and ourselves have tried to grow a productive garden. Keep in mind that our property is for the most part, white sand and/or a powdery black substance that is supposed to be dirt, but basically resembles talcum powder. In either case, it is not nutrient rich by any stretch of the imagination and holds water for about half a day. Additionally, there appears to be some sort of curse on the property that prevents any appreciable rain from falling during any time of year that we may wish for something to grow. The combination of those two maladies have resulted in the first two garden attempts failing, miserably. This year however, is so far, looking promising. We had a good deal of rain this winter which I think gave us a good jump start despite the fact that once again, this spring has been extremely dry. Lots of watering has thus far kept things looking good, but we are in dire need of some substantial rain before the seriously hot weather sets in.

Spring Fling

The Wilmington Hurricanes had their first "big" tournament of the spring last weekend in Greensboro. The was an AAU "showcase" tournament where college coaches/scouts have access to look for potential talent. We did see a number of them around, but there didn't seem to be an over abundance of them. Anyway, the tournament was held at the Greensboro Sports Complex which is an amazingly HUGE and BUSY place. There are eight bball courts which are only separated by curtains, literally. That and a minuscule walkway. All of the courts are surrounded by numerous indoor volleyball, hockey and soccer courts. All of the whistles and players/parents moving from court to court, etc., made it very taxing on the brain. At least from a parent's standpoint. As one would expect at such an event, the competition was very stiff. On Saturday we had our first game against a team from West Virginia that jumped to a early 12 point lead on us. The girls settled down, however, and came back to take it to the wire. Trailing by two points with about 15 seconds left, B got the ball on the inbounds and drove full court for a short jumper to send the game into the first overtime. Yeah, the first. We finally prevailed after three overtimes! A great game and a great win. The problem with three OT's is that tournaments are played on a tight schedule and we had just played our way into the start time for our next game. A three overtime game and playing back to back? What a way to kickoff the weekend. Needless to say, the girls eventually ran out of gas in the second game and wound up dropping a close contest to the Lady Phoenix. We all did have enough energy left for an enjoyable team dinner at Texas Roadhouse before hitting the hay at the motel. Sunday was an afternoon game against Phoenix South. It seemed that half of the teams there were some sort of Phoenix. The girls played hard, but were well over matched. Instead of discussing the final score, I would prefer to leave it with "that which does not kill you will make you strong". In the end, it was a good trip and B played well overall with her best effort being 16 points or so in the first game. It was good experience for her both from the court time as well as seeing what a showcase level tournament is like.

Tank Goes To School

We decided it was time to get Tank started on his transformation into show material. A short trip to Holly Ridge would put Tank in the capable hands of our trainer, Roey Mobley, at Milestone Walking Horses. Roey, as do we, believes Tank could well be a diamond in the rough. Roey run a fine establishment with a great stable of students. We will be making periodic trips through the process for lessons and to see how she is coming along with polishing Tank's rough edges.