Woahwoahwoah

So, apparently the month of July didn't exist.

Actually, it did, and it flew by so fast I hardly knew it was there.

So here's an update, from the end of June till now. In thirty seconds or less:

Iturned21June14thandtwoweekslaterIranfromatwisteritwasthescariestthingthathaseverhappenedtomethenIgotreallyhurtinafallfromahorsetwoweeksafterthatTeriwonReserveGrandChampionmeatgoatwithherhome-bredwetherGalileoandGrandChampionmeatpenwithherhome-bredrabbitsattheCrawfordCountyFairthenIfoundaduplexinColumbiaandleaseditGrandmaConnieandEdcameupforourfamily"vacation"mylastdayatthecavewasFridayandImovedintomynewhhomeyesterday.

Whew. Okay, so here is the whole, drawn out version. I'm just hitting the highlights here:

Turned 21 without fanfare or drama. In fact, I worked. Blah

Teri competed at the Meramec Community Fair and placed middle of the class all the way around with the goats. Better luck next year. The highlight of the fair was the tornado that touched down between the fairgrounds and I-44. I have never experienced mass panic and hope to never do that again. Everyone was still reeling from the deadly tornado that hit Joplin just a month earlier, so people were screaming and sobbing and running from this huge swirling monster. We never saw the whole thing; over half was hidden behind the grove of trees behind the barn. It was headed straight for the fairgrounds, towards Rodney Atkins and the midway and the livestock barns with our precious goats--the core of our herd (remember, this was show-- we take the best!) I just got a sick, sick feeling in my stomach and started running, along with Mom and Bobby, towards a ditch near the big lake. We didn't really have a choice, it was either run or get trampled. By the time we dared to look behind us, the twister had turned towards the hospital and was ascending into the clouds. No damage, no injuries, a lot of frightened people.

On the 30th of June, I went to get paid for a ranch-sitting job. The owners had just returned and had picked up their Haflinger mare from the trainers. Would I like to ride her? SURE!!!! I gleefully swung up into the saddle and off we went-- me, riding Cotton, and owner, driving her other mare.

To the trainer's credit, Cotton was definitely well-trained. I wouldn't have bet a nickel that a Haflinger could spin like this mare, and with just a lift of the reins and a tap with a heel! Amazing. Until she decided to beat Baby May back to the barn and took off in a full gallop.

Now. If you have never ridden an older (say, 14 year old) Haflinger mare at a high rate of speed, let me describe it for you:

First, Haflingers are DRAFT horses. They are powerfully built for pulling. Not for riding. It's something like riding a barge.

Their necks are like steel. Like a cylinder of steel, two foot in diameter. Try bending it to slow your barge.

Now, as I said, they are built for pulling, and their conformation reflects that. They have short pasterns and CHOPPY strides. So it's like riding a kayak in the wakes of a huge speed boat. Up down up down up down up down.

And they are stubborn. Add a loose cinch (hey, we were almost done with the ride-- I knew it was loose, but didn't bother with tightening it since we were ALMOST DONE.)

Sooooooooooooo... I still don't know if I hit the tree and was dragged off by a limb, or if I landed by the tree coincidentally, but the owner found me sprawled out on the ground, unconscious. Nothing like being knocked out to smash your ego. The saddle was dangling on the ground under Cotton, who was standing cheerfully at her hitching post.

The injuries are as follows: GIANT goose egg on head; huge purple bruise covering my upper left arm, shoulder, and part of my back; a little bruise on my right shoulder; injured ribs, and a large hematoma behind my left knee. As the days went by, everything went away except the rib pain and the black bruise that ran from halfway up my thigh to my heel. And the large cut from Cotton's shoe that graced the back of my knee.

Eventually, I went to the doctor. Apparently you are supposed to go to the doctor right after you fall off a horse?? Especially if you were knocked out. They radiographed my ribs and said that my ribs were not broken, but definitely bruised and there could be some damage to cartilage and intercostal muscle. Recovery time-- approximately 4 weeks.

Flash foward to the Crawford County Fair. Teri did much, much better here. Here second-generation home-bred wether, Galileo, took Reserve Champion market goat! If you aren't familiar with county fair livestock, winning Grand or Reserve in a market class is a big, big deal. Do it with an animal you bred and raised yourself-- pure ecstasy. She also won Grand Champion meat pen with bunnies she raised herself.

She won Grand and Reserve Champion Dairy Goat, and some awards in the Meat Goat division.

I won Grand Champion Meat Doe and Meat Buck with Lane and her son, Rory.

I also exhibited Stella, my Dorper ewe. I'm going to get back into Dorpers in a big way at some point.

And then I went apartment shopping. I didn't have the money AT ALL but amazingly enough, right before I had the time to go look for a place, Lindenwood sent me a check for $720. So I went to look at the first place I found, and it fit the bill. Cheap, two bedroom, washer and dryer hookups, and pets allowed. Best of all, they let me bring Honor (my Great Pyrenees, if you don't know him).

My Grandmother, Connie, and her husband, Ed, came up for a week. My aunt, uncle, and cousins came back up for awhile, too. It was a lot of fun and I found some AMAZING deals to furnish my house. I'll have to add it all up, but I was able to furnish this place for less than $300, easily.

Lane, my Grand Champion Meat Doe (two years running!) died. We don't know why. Heartbreaking; she was my herd core, the base of my foundation.

And then I moved. My last day at the cave was sad, but that's okay. Life is about moving on. I rented a U-Haul trailer and loaded everything (well, almost everything) and started the two-hour trek. And now I am settling in with Tippy and Honor and Loki (the fish) and waiting on Mom and Teri to bring the rest of my things.

And that's just about all for now. I have teambuilding camp ("VET") next week, and classes start the week after that. It's happening!