“What to blog about“? I pondered that question for quite some time. It wasn’t too often that the Club’s DOC asked favor’s, but when he did, it seems he was always picking on me.
However, I reveled in the fact, that soon, he would be asking other unsuspecting club members to write a blog for the Club‘s web site, & they to would have the privilege of staring at their blank screen,,, wondering,, "What to blog about?"
I should write about soccer, of course, that's natural, that makes sense, after all, this is a Soccer Club,,,,
Do I blog about,” myself"? Hey, I don't want the readers to become comatose.
Okay, maybe some tidbits about our family, so prepare everyone, grab a blanket to snuggle in, a cup of hot cocoa, a full box of Kleenex, because this will be handy when you tear up out of boredom, & fall fast asleep.
Our family, on rare occasions, will sneak out on an “empty week-end” (an empty week-end means, no games, no practices, or dare I reveal it, absolutely no plans you’ve made, or those that others have planned for you)! So, these sneaky week-ends are infrequent & precious, and we usually end up going to the Ranch where I lived & worked for several years.
Rocking Chair Ranch was once bustling at any given time with 50 head of horses. As years have literally flown by, my best friend & owner of the Ranch has had some minor health problems, & has now managed to dwindle it down to about ten head of horses. One of those ten is my favorite, Rocky.
Rocky comes straight out of the Mountains of Tennessee. Rocky is a Tennessee Walking horse. Most horses have four gaits, while Rocky types have 5 gaits,, it is equivalent of riding a Cadillac compared to a Volvo.
Towards the end of November, while it still was somewhat warm, we headed lazily out to the Ranch, prepared for peace & quite, grilled steaks, & spending the day with horses, & various other ranch animals.
Pulling into the long lane, we were soon riveted out of our laze haze when several dogs announced our arrival with the heart of a blaring tornado warning.
After being mulled, licked, & crotch rocketed several times by the well meaning welcome wagon, Jack was off to investigate the chicken coop.
Jack, not too familiar with handling of ranch chickens,, bravely strode in the middle of hens pecking about, & soon was sent shooting out of the hen yard, they letting him know that he just was not part of the pecking order.
Jade & Josi, however, were already in the pasture, searching for the horses.
Soon, after the shake of an oat can, they emerged from the hills with high hopes of dinner time. After a time, they soon realized they were duped, & gave in to the many petting hands & sounds of admiration.
Rocky, the beautiful, black, mountain horse was soaking up the sun & treats, & probably was numb to the fact that I had sneakily brought his bridle & soon was saddled for fun!
Off to Big Lake Park we went. As always, horses are always reluctant to ride “away” from home, & he indeed needing some prodding, but soon, we were trotting down the road, & before we knew it, into Big Lake Park.
Wow,,, we did not know that on that particular week-end, everyone had decided to have a last cook-out, a last ball game, a last,, wow, soccer game!
It was a bit muddy, but Rocky dove over the mud stream with gusto & we were surprised to find a welcoming committee starting to form, but Rocky would not have any of it, we spurted up the hill, & soon were at a full bore across the top of Big Lake. We did this several times, & Rocky even bucked a few times, as he is an exhibitionist at heart, the little show-off. I could hear people screaming in delight, shouting, & even several groups broke into song, “Ole, ole, ole, ole”. I know I heard it clearly, but still thought I had to be imagining things. After slowing Rocky down to a walk, I realized I was not imagining things at all,
It was the soccer players, they had stopped & were pointing at us & singing the “Ole” song.
Instantaneously, we seemed to be celebrities at the park, people had their cell phones open, taking pictures, kids came running up, parents ran up to ask of they could pet the pretty “horsy”,, what was to be a nice, peaceful, quite ride, had turned into show boat. Rocky is feisty, but he seem to know that the kids were curious, & allowed a few to pet him, he scared several have to death when he shook his whole body to cool the sweat off of him, & to rid of flies at the same time,, most of these kids have probably never even seen a horse, let alone have one shake sweat &horse snot all over them at once, what a treat!
After sensing Rocky growing bored with all the hype, we excused ourselves & started for home. Riding home went much faster, as horses are always eager to be rid of the bug on their back.
Meanwhile, back at the Ranch,, (oh, come on now, you know you all have said that at least one time or another),, the kids took turns riding Rocky around a bit, & then soon he was relieved of his duties, brushed down, fed some grain, & happily joined his comrades back in the pasture.
The girls had brought soccer balls, & played around a bit, but the vigilance of the ever amorous dogs, the occasional clucking of the chickens, the neighing of horses looking for the buddies, the adorable new puppies crawling about the yard, & other peaceful sounds of the country took over, & we were soon lulled into a relaxing, peaceful, late afternoon, enjoying the smell of steaks sizzling on the outdoor grill.
The Moral of the blog is, (even if it’s real lame), “No matter where you go to relax, a vacation, a get-away, a cruise, a retreat, Disney World, a sneaky week-end, someone, somewhere, is always playing soccer”.
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