182/365

BW Bronc Rider

Bronc riding event at the rodeo.

171/365

Horse Sculpture

There's a park in Lampasas, TX that contains a large variety of sculptures, some of which are for sale.  This one was created by Carolann Haggard and is made of Marble Mosaic and Fiberglass.

165/365

Barrel Racer

Barrel Racing event at the Coleman Rodeo in Coleman, Texas.

164/365

Bronc Rider

One of the events at the Coleman Rodeo in Coleman, Texas.

313/365

Barrel Race

Another from my files.

Two summers ago, before we had to deal with the brutally hot summers we've had recently, these events (Playdays) took place mostly at Cowboy Church arenas on a Sat night.

My heart is grateful for:

God's creativity and the beautiful animals He created

259/365

Barrel Racing 

One of the events at the West Texas Fair & Rodeo

My heart is grateful that:

the grandkids were here today and the oldest (5.5 years) is old enough to play my favorite board game, 

"Sorry".

253/365

Abandoned Horse Trailer

As I was driving down a country road, I saw this abandoned horse trailer.  When you consider how much these trailers cost, it makes you wonder why anyone would abandon one.

My heart is grateful for:

the rain and cooler temps we had today

160/365

The Rodeo

There's an annual rodeo in Coleman, TX which is one of the only outdoor rodeos that's anywhere near to me.  I've been several times and just love it.  It begins at 8 pm so there's still enough light to get some good photos even though I don't have the best lens for low light.  I considered renting one for the event, but I have a lot of bigger bills that come due in June, so I just dealt with what I have.

Fortunately, the first event, while still pretty light, is the bronc riding.  I had a difficult time deciding which "one" image to use for this post.  So here ya go.

I'm grateful for:

living where cowboys still rock the world

3/366

Random Thoughts

So...this virus has done a number on America (and other places I'm sure).  My opinions about it and the measures that have been taken shall not infringe on my posts, but it needs to be said that I haven't been taking the kinds of photos I would have, had the virus not happened.  Also...living in West Texas doesn't help.  It's ugly here. Finding a prettier place involves traveling for hours, and right now everyone is too leery to travel, which I find annoying, but that's the way it is.

So here is a random collection of photos:

An barrel-racing event at a mini-rodeo called a PlayDay

     So sweet that this little guy was guiding the horse for the littler girl.

 

Senior photo of a recent seminary graduate.

A group of us were out for a day of shooting practice at a gun range.

A Christian University graduate.

Lesson Day

13/365

It's been a while.  A long while.  I'd have a difficult time saying why I haven't posted, but it seems like the time just gets away from me.

I found out about halfway through the day today that the grandkids were scheduled for a horseback riding lesson.  The girl was taking lessons last Fall and she started again this spring with her brother, but this is the first one I heard about so I jumped at the chance to be there and get a few photos.

They both did so well.  Even though their expressions are very somber because of all the concentrating they were doing, they really had fun.

After horseback riding lesson, soccer.  I was glad to get home tonight, it was a busy day.

Storm Aid

71/365

Last year at the end of August, a hurricane ripped through our area.  Very much out of character for the weather here in upstate NY.  It devastated several communities, leaving them in severe shock and overwhelming destruction.

Clean-up efforts began immediately and once that was taken care of, the rebuilding began.

Ten months later, some of the homes and businesses have been put back together, but some are still in various degrees of restoration.  Fundraisers continue.

Today the Altamont Fairgrounds hosted one of those fundraisers, Storm Aid. Various vendors, a bouncy house, bands,  face painters, a caricaturist, horse show & competition and an old car show were just some of the activities on site.  

Sadly, it was not well attended.  But there will be more, and I guess any amount of money donated to the rebuilding of the community is better than none.

It occurred to me as I was walking around taking photos that I could use my images to give a completely different story.  I could make it appear as though there were scads of people, that the action never stopped, and that the funds raised were significant.

Instead I just photographed what appealed to me and what I thought would give

a good representation of the afternoon's event.