Breakfast was made for us and we had a lovely church service afterwards. Then, we took off on a 5 mile trail ride on the ranch in the cool morning air. Only two riders had off-horse experiences that we heard of today! One happened in the mud, so at least she was not hurt as the horse rolled over her! The other episode was in the creek! The young lady, who was a very experienced rider, laughed as she poured the water out of her boots, patted her horse and said "he was just hot"! We all laughed with her!
Duck Smith and his wife Susan have been such gracious hosts! They have such a long generational history of ranching in Florida. We toured their wonderful hunt camp home last night. Both Duck and his friend Ken could name every person AND every horse in all these old black and white photos in the wall. Susan's dad was in the Senate and her grandfather, Doyle Carlton was the Governor of Florida back in the early 1930's! They have all been a part of this ranch, the Cracker Trail legislation, and even Cracker Country, at the Florida State Fairgrounds for a long time. The 2-story house at Cracker Country was the one Doyle Carlton grew up in!
We spent the afternoon cleaning up, resting, and repairing tack. I had to make a run into town (20 miles one way) and our new friends Debbie and Mitch loaned us thier truck (the one NOT attached to a trailer) so I could do that! Their kindness and generosity was amazing and we truly love them. They said "Hey, that's just the Cracker Way". We have seen such love and kindness around us! These are truly wonderful people!
We are off to the auction where a bottle of Cindy's Brookstone Wines Blackberry Merlot and 3 of my Shallow Water Designs leather pieces (phone case, holster, and journal, all handmade) are up for grabs!
I have included a photo of Cindy doing her morning stretching routine, which she kindly taught me! It looked to me like she was greeting the world! Perfect way to start a Sunday!
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